The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-09-14
uN THE OXFORD WOOD
THE SCENE OF ONE OF WALTER
| scoTT's BEST STORIES.

: Woodstock Forest - Bevis, Sir Henry
Less Faithful Hound.
The Norman mobiles, as well as the Sax
on peasants, loved the forest, though In a
different fasnion. The peasants built their
wattlod huts In the depths Of the woods,
| where they saw the timid hares frisking In
tho March moonlight or heard the whir
| of the shy pheasant as he rose from the
ground at their feet. The Norman noble
traversed the forest with horse and hound
and erected his hunting lodge near the out
skirts of the woods, strong for defense,
| cunningly devised for concealment and
beautiful for pleasure and feasting.
Such, with its tower and labyrinths, was
the hunting seat Of Woodstock; rich with
legends Of kings who loved to hunt IN Ok
| ford wood, from the days Of Stephen and
his tricks played on Winkin, the Woodstock
tailor, to the time Of the Stuarts.
A kings park, especially If the king
were Norman, usually showed some
thought of picturesque effect. Clearings
were made 50 that the golden sunlight
might glow on the massive and rugged
trunks and the rich bronze and coppery
tints of autumn foliage, or the "silvery
silence" of moonshine Unfold some ancient
tree hid in o very mist Of It's own moss.
The original manor house of Woodstock
was built by King Henry I, but 1t was
added to by many succeeding kings, espe-
cially by Henry II, who built for the use
of the beautiful Lady Rosamond Clifford
curiously planned dwelling with tower
and drawbridge and many vaults COM
munlcating with each other underground
and lined with brick and stone, also vari-
Gus secret stairoases and apartments.
The building was Of considerable strength,
and one of the inner courts Enclosed wall
ed spring called Rosamond's we'll, to be
used In case of a SIEGE
The most singular point about the house
was that person who understood its plan
might live within and pass from room to
room and not be seen by those whom he
wished to avoid, or he might converse with
Others In the great hall and without appar-
emily opening a door disappear by secret
ways and soon afterward be encountered
In the wood or on the road at distance
from the house.
The forest is most beautiful one, with
ancient and broad spreading oaks-"the
kings oak" etc.-and many glades and
wide greenwood ranges
An old story, long believed by the peo-
pie, but untrue in many respects, Is that
the trees or shrubs of the pleasure grounds
were arranged In a maze or labyrinth, only
to DO traversed by one who hold the clew,
and that one day Queen Eleanor, watch
ing the king from hiding place, discover
cd this clew, and entering after his depar-
ture found the lovely Lady Rosamond and
made her drink cup of poison from her
own royal hand. Lady Rosamond really
left Woodstock Of her free will and spent
the last years Of her life in religious
house, untroubled by king or queen.
Tennyson has, however, preserved the folk
story In his Dream Of Fair Women" in
which Fair Rosamond appears.
Many of the simple country people in
Oxfordshire, having heard such stories of
these from childhood, were afraid to go
near the lodge of Woodstock after sunset,
especially as the forest roads were narrow
and darkened by the shadows of mighty
oaks and beeches. Weird tales of things
seen and heard were rife when Oliver
Cromwell sent his commissioners down to
take possession Of the property for the ben
eft of parliament.
secretary and servants, took lodgings in
Woodstock House and behaved with lit
tie respect for the old traditions of the
place, brewing ale in the ancient council
hall and causing the "king's oak" to be
dug up and cut into frewood, throwing it
into the dining hall as their woodhouse.
But they did not stay long. Soon curl
GUS noises were heard, the wood was
thrown violently about by invisible hands,
and their own beds were shaken and tum-
bled until they were pitched out on the
floor and their books of valuation were
burned. At last they fled in terror, leav-
ing another ghostly legend behind them.
The secret is easily unraveled. The
king sfollowers, Of whom there were many
In the loyal neighborhood of Oxford, knew
of the curiously planned hiding places in
the Woodstock lodge and used them to
brighten the commissioners-an easy feat
in so superstitious an age.
Sir Walter Scott takes this incident as
the basis Of his romance of Woodstock"
The Puritan lover, Markham Everard, for
tho sake of his cousin, sweet Alice Lee en-
treats the permission of Cromwell for the
return of her father, Sir Henry Lee,
sturdy loyalist, and formerly keeper of the
royal forest, to his home at Woodstock
Cromwell readily grants this, having
shrewd suspicion that the fugitive prince
Charles Stuart will seek refuge there when
1t is again in Sir Henry's hands.
The arrival of the prince at Woodstock
In disguise and his perils and final escape
make most thrilling tale. The romance
ends with graphic description of the res
toration of Charles to his fathers throne,
when Woodstock becomes again Il royal
chase, and the tall ferns once more rustic
waist high around tho kings WARRIORS.
One of the most interesting characters in
the story, Bevis, Sir Henry Lees faithful
dog, may almost be called historical one,
as he is drawn from Nadia, Sir Walter
Scott's famous deerhound, whose portrait
was painted by Landseer. He is described
as q large wolf dog, in strength mastiff,
IN form and almost in tleetness a grey
hound. Devils was the noblest Of the kind
that ever pulled down stag, tawny col
ored like lion, with n black muzzle and
black feet, just edged with line of white
around tho toes. He was as tractable as he
was strong and bold
Bevis indeed, plays no unimportant part
In the tale, for he recognizes Trusty Joe
when his disguise had batfied all his former
ucquaintanccs; comes near putting an end
to Charles career as he tries to enter Wood
stock through the window by night; is
even sentenced to death and afterward set
FREQ along with Sir Henry Lee, and the
very last words of the romance tell of his
DEATH for his loyal heart could not long
survive his masters loss.
For several years he had been too old
and stiff to range the forest and keep off
poachcrs as in his prime. 'To lie by Sir
Hcnry's feet in the summer or by the fire
in winter, to raise his head to look on him,
to lick his withcred hand or his shriveled
cheek from time to time, seemed now all
that Bowls lived for" Nor was he sepa-
rated even in death. "The image of Bevis
lies carved at his master feet on the tomb
that was erected to the memory of Sir
Henry Lee''-two faithful guardians of
the kings forest.-Ella +. Moses in Phila-
delphia Times.