Herne

“ The iron grip showed no sign of relaxing, and to Herne, lying at his mercy, there came a fierce impatience at the man's delay.
"Curse you!" he flung upwards from between his teeth. "Why can't you strike and have done?" ”

“ Meanwhile Katharine had bought a handsome house on Convent Avenue, Harlem, and my brother and I often were there of a Sunday, and when we all came together in those days the walls resounded with our clamor. Herne was a great wag and story-teller, one of the most marvelous masters of dialect I have ever known. He could imitate almost any nationality, and could dramatize at a moment's notice any scene or dialogue his wife demanded of him. He was also in deadly earnest as a reformer, and was always ready to speak on the George theory or the modern drama. ”

“ Herne's art was almost unbounded. I felt that she could play other and much more important parts than Mary Miller. There was in "Drifting Apart" a scene—in the dream—wherein a poor little mother sits holding her child in her lap while it dies of cold and hunger, and the exquisite restraint and the marvelous fidelity to nature with which Katharine Herne played this tragic episode convinced me that she was one of the great actresses of America. The music which accompanied this scene, a wailing little melody, came to embody for me all the pathos and defeat which lay in the failure of the play. ”

“ Monty!"
Again the gulf of years was bridged; again the voice he knew came down to him. Herne wrestled with himself, and opened his eyes.
The man in Arab dress was still kneeling by his side, the skeleton hands still supported him, but the face was veiled again.
He suppressed another violent shudder.
"In Heaven's name," he said, "what are you?"
"I am a dead man," came the answer. "Don't move! I will call your man in a moment, but I must speak to you first. Do you feel all right?"
"Bobby!" Herne said.
"No, I am not Bobby. He died, you know, ages ago. They cut him up and burned him. Don't move. ”

“ The speaker neither stirred nor looked at Herne. He seemed to be gazing into space.
Herne waited for more, but none came.
"I want proof of his death," he said, speaking very deliberately. "I must know beyond all doubt when and how he died."
"The Englishman was burned with the other captives," the slow, indifferent voice went on. "He died in the fire!"
"What?" said Herne, with violence. "You devil! I don't believe it! I thought you did not kill white men!"
"He was not as other white men," came the unmoved reply. "The Wandis feared his magic. Fire alone can destroy magic. ”

“ Charles E. Hurd, literary editor of the "Boston Transcript," gave me two theater-tickets and asked if I had ever seen Jim Herne play. I told him I had not.
"Do so at once," said he; "for he is a realist after your own heart."
I accepted the tickets with pleasure, and that night witnessed the performance of "Drifting Apart," by James A. and Katharine Herne. ”

“ The birds were warbling their sweetest notes in the mulberry and walnut trees, and the hum of the bees were heard around the flowers. All Nature sang through these various forms, that All is life, All is love, All is joy, and All is God.
On this day two ladies were sitting out on the porch of the Herne residence, one was a lady with gray hair, the other was her daughter. Both were sitting in silence. The younger was thinking how very much like this beautiful day was, to the one five years ago when she entered her new home as the wife of Charles Herne. Many thoughts were crowding upon her mind ”

“ Even you couldn't kill a dead man. Feel that, if you don't believe me!" Suddenly one of the shrivelled, mummy hands came down to his own. "How much life is there in that?"
Herne gripped the hand. It was cold and clammy; he could feel every separate bone under the skin. He could almost hear them grind together in his hold. He repressed another shudder; and even as he did it, he heard again the bitter cry of a woman's wrung heart, "Bobby is still alive and wanting me." ”

“ Jennings thought that Mrs. Herne must have Jewish blood in her veins, seeing she was so fond of gems. Certainly she was very like Maraquito, even to having eyebrows almost meeting over her thin high nose. But these, as was her hair, were gray, and her skin lacked the rich coloring of the younger woman. Jennings rapidly took in the resemblance, and commenced the conversation, more convinced than ever that there was some bond of blood between Mrs. Herne and Senora Gredos. This belief helped him not a little. ”

“ Renfro had mounted, Herne the Hunter swept an arm around. The scene was savage and sombre, despite the sunlight. The intensity of the solitude about them dragged upon the mind like a weight.
“Behold,” he said sadly, “this is my world. I can tolerate no other.” ”

“ Herne has his French counterpart in the Grand Veneur of Fontainebleau. Mention is made of Herne in The Merry Wives of Windsor and in Harrison Ainsworth’s Windsor Castle. Nothing definite is known of the Herne legend. It is suggested that it originated in the life-story of some keeper of the forest; but more probably it is only a variant of the “Wild Huntsman” myth common to folk-lore, which (E. B. Tylor, Primitive Culture, 4th ed. pp. 361-362) is almost certainly the modern form of a prehistoric storm-myth. ”

“ You don't see any of the trees in his orchard barked through having careless, mad teamsters while harrowing and cultivating. Herne's horses, harness, and machinery look better and last more than twice as long, because the men take great interest in caring for them. It's not all go out of pocket with Herne in what he does for his men. ”

“ Herne were very much impressed with the personality of their distinguished guest, and they enjoyed his visit with them. He had been several times there since his first visit, and they had become great friends.
Charles Herne remarked to his wife one day: "What a genial, sociable, humorous companion Penloe is; while of course, he is thoroughly in earnest and has but one purpose in all he does, which is to manifest what he calls the Divine, yet he is not serious, sober, and grave all the time; he is so joyous, hopeful, and full of good-natured fun, but he never lets it overcome him. ”

“ No one but simple Jane Bilway, blinded by love, would have believed so improbable a story. There was now no doubt in Paul's mind that the theory of Herne was correct. Lovel and Milly had met in the Winding Lane between eight and nine o'clock on the night of the murder, and had been seen by Brent as he was on his way to meet Jane near the church. Lest he should tell Herne of the meeting Lovel had bribed him with the five pounds.
"Though it is a large sum for a man like Lovel to give," thought Paul; "he is not well off, and would not part with so much money unless he was forced to. ”

“ As the legend is generally told Herne was a royal keeper whose unusual skill at the chase caused him to become a great favourite of his royal master, and at the same time made his fellow foresters mighty jealous of him. So they combined together to try to plot his undoing.
To one of their secret councils, held beneath great oaks in the heart of the forest, there came one day a mysterious dark man of unusual stature and strength, whose face seemed familiar yet whom none could place. ”

“ Close following the holiday production with its nymphs and fairies our old friend "Jim" Herne opened a three weeks' engagement on January 5th, 1874, in the now familiar Rip Van Winkle, following it up with a variegated repertoire, including "Bombey and Son," "Rosina Meadows," "Wept of the Wishton Wish," "People's Lawyer" or "Solon Shingle," etc. Herne, during his previous engagement, established himself as a great favorite with Salt Lake audiences, and now he added new laurels to his wealth of fame. Herne was a great actor. He excelled in eccentric comedy all the actors I have known. ”

“ Herne have lived for twelve years in Ashmont, a suburb of Boston. They have a comfortable and tasteful home, with three children, Julie, Crystal, and Dorothy [aged ten, eight, and five] , to give them welcome when they come back from their seasons on the road. Mr. Herne is very domestic and lives a very simple and quiet life. And he enjoys his pretty home as only a man can whose life is spent so largely in fatiguing travel. He is fond of the fields which lie near his home, and very many are the long walks we have taken together. ”

“ There, however, is the problem. The sea is in a destructively encroaching humour, and thus the most elaborate defensive works have been necessary, to arrest the scour of the shingle. No fewer than ninety-one stout timber groynes project from the beach fronting the town, and do succeed in keeping the foreshore intact.
Herne, the parent village of Herne Bay, is a quiet place, a good mile and a half from the shore. It was originally subject to Reculver, the mother-church of this district, to which the lesser churches paid dues. ”

“ He appeared in a flash of sulphurous flame, and they knew him to be the Evil One. He told the terrified men that Herne would appear to them soon, and that they must do exactly what he bade them do, otherwise he would seize their souls.
Soon Herne appeared, a ghostly figure with huge antlers, and commanded his fellow-keepers to assemble at the oak the next midnight with horses and hounds equipped for the chase. They had to obey, and night after night, led by the ghostly huntsman, the party swept through the forest. ”

“ Herne said: "Penloe, you are so near and dear to me as a friend, that I don't fear to tell you anything, and to show my confidence in your friendship, I am going to reveal to you something, that I have never thought it best to tell my husband."
"Your confidence shall never be betrayed by me," said Penloe.
"Thank you, Penloe," said Mrs. Herne. "Now, let me tell you what it is. Previous to my marriage to Charles Herne there was something in addition to his true worth and genuine character that attracted me to him; something about his personality, for I always felt a thrill of joy when with him ”

“ Clara Herne was very happy in her new home as the wife of Charles Herne. She found her duties light and pleasant. Everything in the house and about the house was order and system, no friction, all harmony. She remarked to her husband one evening: "It pays to have good help. Every one here takes an interest in what he has to do and does it the very best he knows how, cheerfully and willingly." ”

“ In the last act everybody is in the forest, preparing for the festival of Herne the hunter. All are masked, and Sir John Falstaff, being led on by the two merry wives is surprised by Herne (Fluth) , who sends the whole chorus of wasps, flies and mosquitos on to his broad back. They torment and punish him, till he loudly cries for mercy. ”

“ Wentworth's disposition, as given by his wife, and said, in a quiet tone: "We all need more patience and self-control."
On the following day all were very busy in the Herne household, [Pg 207] making preparations for the party. Penloe and Stella attended to the rearranging of the furniture and decorating the rooms, while Clara superintended the supplies for the table. The guests arrived a few minutes after five. To Clara Herne's great surprise, the last guest to arrive came in the form of Mrs. Harding. Clara Herne, in receiving her, said: "What, Phebe, I am so glad you are able to come." ”

“ Ere we proceed far on our way, an object of once agreeable, now melancholy, interest attracts our attention. This is the famous Herne’s Oak, which stands in the enclosure known as the Little Park, to our left. It is contended by some authorities that the veritable Herne’s Oak was cut down by some orders of George III., delivered in a mistake as to its identity. ”

“ Herne is a woman of extraordinary powers, both of acquired knowledge and natural insight, and her suggestions and criticisms have been of the greatest value to her husband in his writing, and she had large part in the inception as well as in the production of Margaret Fleming. Her knowledge of life and books, like that of her husband, is self-acquired, but I have met few people in any walk of life 551with the same wide and thorough range of thought. ”

“ Penloe said: "That would show that you were tired of living on your old plane, and you were now ready to leave a lower plane for the higher one. But, supposing I had seen you a week before you were married to Charles Herne, and explained to you the new way, do you think you would have been ready to commence your married life by living the new way?"
Mrs. Herne laughed, and said: "I see it all now; I had to go through this experience in marriage in order to be ready for the better way. But are there not some who are ready to live the better way without having any experience?" ”

“ If women were there he would stand aloof until they left; on meeting them in the road he would sternly avert his eyes as though from a distasteful presence. One day the wife of a storekeeper, waiting on him in her husband's absence, ventured to say, while wrapping up his purchases:
“I've all'ays wonnered, Mr. Herne, what makes ye wanter git outen the wimmen folks' way? Mos' men likes ter have 'em eroun'.”
Herne the Hunter frowned heavily, but made no reply. ”

“ The action concerned two brothers, one, the elder, sweet, patient, self-sacrificing; the other, discontented, sullen, and resentful, eager to make money without labor. The play was in fact a bitter struggle over the question of "cuttin' the old farm up into buildin'-lots," and as he read it to me scene by scene the lines appealed to me strongly. It had something of the quality that made Mary E. Wilkins's stories vital and amusing.
It was by far the best play Herne had ever done, for it was written out of love for the scenery of New England united to a thorough knowledge of coast characters. ”