The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1876-11-13
The White Lady Of Wa,ford.

4 through the English collection n she
Centennial Erhihation Of rietare-. have
stoppe-i wiih s0tnet bing like amax~sneet
IN their admisatlssl t,efore pstti-'s " 0n-
dsrfal work that hang. between tts
thrss Tadef.a- and the portrait ot sIT
Jorhu. keyuolis. how many kbo~ the
storyuS the picture, or even IS history
Evefyboly asasf stop aid gre ., -.
and slthoggh ~h., wc technically ciIi
''nude. lt is anIike any osh~r F~pFe-
.enta.io.a of fhe f-rnale form aud cha Fac-
ter that u ,o ~ f-wnd n these crowded
galleries Tae ez.asss - only thirty by
forty isehes. aisd tA.. -uljecs merely
r.pseseu<s l.eaat 81, girl ~ssnf!s.. z
! upon the 81 = bro 4 l' asnse and
+ tangled grav |, Is light. .nd sof
ray II in,sstai - i.t falling through the
tres touche. h,r whte face AMI body,
ant glofihrs tn ga with - ln.tre which
though purely ma'srtal In>'a'tly sng-
gests 10 the ssu~-~ thst pFsts r. atar.I
shining white" spoken III in Scripture
And .lways associsted in our minds with
the spiritual body
/ You do not AK yonrself Why the girl
is there in the shadows OF the wood un-
a;tired. For il appears emincn'iy prop
er that she should lie there She is in
deed . part of the scene, as " er. Nioi,e
and Narcisse Of other SCENES, having
grown out OF /. in the ultimate endca-
vor Of nature
Nearly every Observer attributes IL it
some classical or allsgorical meaning.
bat il has neither
Ii is q portrait of II u oman who lived
IN the latter part Of the eighteenth
century. and the artist IL ade sn attempt
10 commemorate an actual incident in
her life.
The facts Of that life have been gath
cred by that arduous antiauary. Viii
liam Beckworth Forse. and it is upon
the basis Of his strange but intensely
interesting narrative that Mr. Petite
made his picture.
| From this narrative we learn that Sir
William Richardson lived in Hereford
! shire on an ancestral estate of several
hundred acres, which ran to the base Of
Malvern Hills. and was partly over
| looked by the remains OF On old Roman
fortress, s,ill 10 be seen. and which 10
known as the "Herefordshirc Beacon" "
sir William Lost his wife while visit.
ing tho Marqucsa- Islands in 1894.
where he had been sent rs Government
Commissioner The lady had just ar
rived and was being brought ashore
when the boats containing her party
were attacked by large party Of make d
savages who were in the water. and who
at the time successfully disarmed sue
piciou Of their intentions by pretending
,o exhibit their skill ~ swimmers.
Lady Richardson. who was pregnant
at the iine. MAS saved from violence,
aud the savagss wcie repulsed. but the
fright proved loo great. aud, after Civ
iug birth to female child, she died
Hearthroken, S,r William returned To
England iew months later with his
child. and. retiring from public service,
settled upon his estate in fIcrefordshire,
where liis daughter grew up. At the
age IT eighteen she was beautiful
enough Ia attract the attention of all
the neighboring gentry. The Trader
who has seen the picture need not be
assured of this
But with all her loyelipess she pcs
sessed certain traits of character which
neither education nor associa'ion
could eradicate or modify Accom-
| piished and refined she still evnced a
curious love of FREEDOM and u strange
passion for the water
No one in the county coald ascend
the Malvern Hills as she and often her
| father aud his companions found her.
when still . mere child. worn out with
fatigue, IN the almost Inaccessible ruins
of. the Beacon"
At the age OF twenty. formal suit
was made to her by young Lieutensn',
Craddock HAmpden. the son of one Of
the w.althiest gentlemen of ST. Alhan's.
The match WAS a prosperous one and
withou; impediment the young peo-
! pie were prssionately attached To each
other. aud the parents favored the al
lisnec. Archibald Hampden spent
much of his time ~ Sir William Rich.
ardson's house He appears tn have
been a rather sus'ere Puritan and no
doubt connected with the Hsmpden
stock at Warwiokshire. for Ia. figured
extensively IN what We're known ~ the
" hop troubles 1T that year. taking
sides vigorously against the common
people of the county. aud himself
leading troop of gentry against a
riotous gathering Of hop -pickcrs.
Although these troubles were speedily
repressed, = grra, deal of annoyance
/ MAS inflicted on the land owners far a
long time after ir revenge. and no one
suffered mere than the Hampdens. At
this time arose the frat stories OF the
White Woman Of Watford." They
were regarded as are the supcrsti.ious
leg~nds Of the common people general
ly. and NJ special significance Was at
tached 10 them until Sir Williams barn
MAS one night burned. and several Of
the hop-pickers insisted that il WAS set
on tire by the White Woman of Wat
ford. and then i, was insisted upon by
iae elder Hsmpden that this was n
convenient myth upon which these pso-
pie 'ois;ed their own mischief. Others,
however. with love Of mystery. made
patient inquiries loug after concerning
the white woman. aud the results may
hc found in Sheldrake's " Legends os
81. Alhsn" Here we come across the
gho>,ly tradition of he,utifal spirit
that walked the banks Of the Wye At
night. She MAS seen by belated srav-
slers returning through the wood that
hcrderesi the Richsrdson domain, hot
she always vanish, 4 into the air om be
ing sc~n.