ped detection.

"At last, however, the king returned to the castle, and accounts of the
strange doings in the forest were instantly brought to him. Astonished
at what he heard, and determined to ascertain the truth of the
statement, he ordered the keepers to attend him that night in an
expedition to the forest, when he hoped to encounter the demon huntsman
and his hand. Much alarmed, Osmond Crooke, who acted as spokesman,
endeavoured, by representing the risk he would incur, to dissuade the
king from the enterprise; but he would not be deterred, and they now
gave themselves up for lost.

"As the castle clock tolled forth the hour of midnight, Richard,
accompanied by a numerous guard, and attended by the keepers, issued
from the gates, and rode towards the scathed oak. As they drew near the
tree, the figure of Herne, mounted on his black steed, was discerned
beneath it. Deep fear fell upon all the beholders, but chiefly upon the
guilty keepers, at the sight. The king, however, pressed forward, and
cried, 'Why does thou disturb the quietude of night, accursed spirit?'

"Because I desire vengeance!' replied Herne, in a hollow voice. 'I
was brought to my present woeful condition by Osmond Crooke and his
comrades.'

"'But you died by your own hand,--did you not?' demanded King Richard.

"'Yea,' replied Herne; 'but I was driven to the deed by an infernal
spell laid upon me by the malice of the wretches I have denounced. Hang
them upon this tree, and I will trouble these woods no longer whilst
thou reignest!'

"The king looked round at the keepers. They all remained obdurate,
except Roger Barfoot, who, falling on his knees, confessed his guilt,
and accused the others.

"It is enough,' cried the king to Herne; 'they shall all suffer for
their offence.'

"Upon this a flash of fire enveloped the spirit and his horse, and he
vanished.

"The king kept his word. Osmond and his comrades were all hanged upon
the scathed tree, nor was Herne seen again in the forest while
Richard sat upon the throne. But he reappeared with a new band at the
commencement of the rule of Henry the Fourth, and again hunted the deer
at night. His band was destroyed, but he defied all attempts at capture;
and so it has continued to our own time, for not one of the seven
monarchs who have held the castle since Richard's day have been able to
drive him from the forest."

"Nor will the present monarch be able to drive him thence," said a deep
voice