"
"Oh, say not so! "cried Mabel, in a tone of commiseration. "I will tell you
how my doom was accomplished," rejoined Herne wildly. "To gain her
of whom I have just spoken, and who was already vowed to Heaven, I
invoked the powers of darkness. I proffered my soul to the Evil One if
he would secure her to me, and the condition demanded by him was
that I should become what I am--the fiend of the forest, with power to
terrify and to tempt, and with other more fearful and fatal powers
besides."
"Oh! "exclaimed Mabel.
"I grasped at the offer," pursued Herne. "She I loved became mine. But
she was speedily snatched from me by death, and since then I have
known no human passion except hatred and revenge. I have dwelt in
this forest, sometimes alone, sometimes at the head of a numerous
band, but always exerting a baneful influence over mankind. At last, I
saw the image of her I loved again appear before me, and the old
passion was revived within my breast. Chance has thrown you in my
way, and mine you shall be, Mabel."
"I will die rather," she replied, with a shudder.
"You cannot escape me," rejoined He me, with a triumphant laugh; "you
cannot avoid your fate.
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