第19章 Anne Boleyn (18)

"You heard the health given by the king just now, my lord," observed the Duke of Suffolk to his neighbour the Duke of Norfolk; "it was a shrewd hint to the lord legate which way his judgment should decline.

Your niece will assuredly be Queen of England.""I did not note what was said, my lord," replied Norfolk; "I pray you repeat it to me."Suffolk complied, and they continued in close debate until the termination of the banquet, when the king, having saluted the company, returned to the presence-chamber.

V.Of the Ghostly Chase beheld by the Earl of Surrey and the Duke of Richmond in Windsor Forest.

On that same night, and just as the castle clock was on the stroke of twelve, the Earl of Surrey and the Duke of Richmond issued from the upper gate, and took their way towards Herne's Oak.The moon was shining brightly, and its beams silvered the foliage of the noble trees with which the park was studded.The youthful friends soon reached the blasted tree; but nothing was to be seen near it, and all looked so tranquil, so free from malignant influence, that the Duke of Richmond could not help laughing at his companion, telling him that the supposed vision must have been the offspring of his over-excited fancy.Angry at being thus doubted, the earl walked off, and plunged into the haunted dell.The duke followed, but though they paused for some time beneath the gnarled oak-tree, the spirit did not appear.

"And thus ends the adventure of Herne the Hunter!" laughed the duke, as they emerged from the brake."By my halidom, Surrey, I am grievously disappointed.You must have mistaken some large stag, caught by its antlers in the branches of the oak-tree, for the demon.""I have told you precisely what occurred," replied Surrey angrily."Ha!

there he is--look! look!"

And he pointed to a weird figure, mounted on a steed as weird-looking as itself, galloping through the trees with extraordinary swiftness, at a little distance from them.This ghostly rider wore the antlered helmet described by Surrey, and seemed to be habited in a garb of deer-skins.

Before him flew a large owl, and a couple of great black dogs ran beside him.Staring in speechless wonder at the sight, the two youths watched the mysterious being scour a glade brightly illumined by the moon, until, reaching the pales marking the confines of the Home Park, he leaped them and disappeared.

"What think you of that?" cried Surrey, as soon as he had recovered from his surprise, glancing triumphantly at the duke."Was that the offspring of my fancy?""It was a marvellous sight, truly!" exclaimed Richmond."Would we had our steeds to follow him.""We can follow him on foot," replied the earl--" he is evidently gone into the forest."And they set off at a quick pace in the direction taken by the ghostly rider.Clambering the park pales, they crossed the road leading to Old Windsor, and entered that part of the forest which, in more recent times, has been enclosed and allotted to the grounds of Frogmore.

Tracking a long vista, they came to a thick dell, overgrown with large oaks, at the bottom of which lay a small pool.Fleeter than his companion, and therefore somewhat in advance of him, the Earl of Surrey, as he approached this dell, perceived the spectral huntsman and his dogs standing at the edge of the water.The earl instantly shouted to him, and the horseman turning his head, shook his hand menacingly, while the hounds glared fiercely at the intruder, and displayed their fangs, but did not bark.As Surrey, however, despite this caution, continued to advance, the huntsman took a strangely shaped horn that hung by his side, and placing it to his lips, flames and thick smoke presently issued from it, and before the vapour had cleared off, he and his dogs had disappeared..The witnesses of this marvellous spectacle crossed themselves reverently, and descended to the brink of the pool; but the numerous footprints of deer, that came there to drink, prevented them from distinguishing any marks of the steed of the ghostly hunter.

"Shall we return, Surrey?" asked the duke.

"No," replied the earl."I am persuaded we shall see the mysterious huntsman again.You can return, if you think proper.I will go on."Nay, I will not leave you," rejoined Richmond.

And they set off again at the same quick pace as before.Mounting a hill covered with noble beeches and elms, a magnificent view of the castle burst upon them, towering over the groves they had tracked, and looking almost like the work of enchantment.Charmed with the view, the young men continued to contemplate it for some time.They then struck off on the right, and ascended still higher, until they came to a beautiful grove of beeches cresting the hill where the equestrian statue of George the Third is now placed.Skirting this grove, they disturbed a herd of deer, which started up, and darted into the valley below.

At the foot of two fine beech-trees lay another small pool, and Surrey almost expected to see the spectral huntsman beside it.

From this spot they could discern the whole of the valley beyond, and they scanned it in the hope of perceiving the object of their search.

Though not comparable to the view on the nearer side, the prospect was nevertheless exceedingly beautiful.Long vistas and glades stretched out before them, while in the far distance might be seen glittering in the moonbeams the lake or mere which in later days has received the name of Virginia Water.

While they were gazing at this scene, a figure habited like a keeper of the forest suddenly emerged from the trees at the lower end of one of the glades.Persuaded that this person had some mysterious connection with the ghostly huntsman, the earl determined to follow him, and hastily mentioning his suspicions and design to Richmond, he hurried down the hill.But before he accomplished the descent, the keeper was gone.