"Haunted Beech-tree, near Norfolk Farm," byW. Alfred Delamotte for W. Harrison Ainsworth's "Windsor Castle" (1844; rpt. 1880)

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Haunted Beech-tree, near Norfolk Farm

W. A. Delamotte

1842

Wood-engraving

15.7 cm at the highest point by 9.6 cm wide, vignetted at the bottom

Sixteenth Delamotte illustration for W. Harrison Ainsworth's Windsor Castle. An Historical Romance, first published in the September 1842 number of Ainsworth's Magazine; Chapter V; volume, p. 43.

[Click on image to enlarge it.]

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

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Passage Illustrated:

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, andthey 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 ofthe forest suddenly emerged from the trees at the lower end of one ofthe 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. [Chapter V. "Of the Ghostly Chase beheld by the Earl of Surrey and the Duke of Richmond in Windsor Forest,"pp. 45-46]

References

Ainsworth, William Harrison. Windsor Castle. An Historical Romance. Illustrated by George Cruikshank and Tony Johannot. With designs on wood by W. Alfred Delamotte. London: Routledge, 1880. Based on the Henry Colburn edition of 1844.

Patten, Robert L. Chapter 30, "The 'Hoc' Goes Down." George Cruikshank's Life, Times, and Art, vol. 2: 1835-1878. Rutgers, NJ: Rutgers U. P., 1991; London: The Lutterworth Press, 1996. Pp. 153-186.

Worth, George J. William Harrison Ainsworth. New York: Twayne, 1972.

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Last modified 8 December 2017