myrtle and rosemary intertwined with silver, which seemed to it the finest in the shop. When the ominous wreath was presented, both mother and daughter shrunk with horror from the sight, but instantly recovering themselves, tried to laugh at the child’s simplicity, though the accident cast a weight over their spirits from which they could not with all their efforts disengage themselves. The stubborn lock was again applied to, and yielding this time with almost no resistance, the proper wreath was placed upon the maiden’s beautiful ringlets, and the inauspicious one deposited in the drawer.
The hunters returned, and the commissioner was inexhaustible in praise of William’s skill. After what I have seen,” said he, “it is almost ridiculous to call for other proof; but old customs must be kept up. To despatch the form, however, as briefly as possible, yonder is a dove sitting on the top of the pillar, bring her down.”
“For God’s sake, William,” screamed Katherine, “not the dove! Last night I dreamt that I was a white dove, and that my mother had put a ring around my neck, and then you came, and my mother was covered with blood.”
William raised the gun which he had already levelled, but the commissioner, when he marked his suspense, laughed aloud. “What! So timorous! Nay, such silly fears become not a forester’s wife! Courage, girl, courage! Or stay, perhaps the dove is a pet of your own?”
“No,” answered the girl, “mine it is not.”
“Well then,” cried the commissioner,—“courage, my lad—steady—fire!”
