KERNELS OAK. 45 



found that, among the rest, the remains of Kernels 

 Oak had been destroyed.' 5 



Either Mr. Crofton Croker, on whose autho- 

 rity this statement is made, must have misunder- 

 stood what Mr. Nicholson told him, or else Lady 

 Ely had misrepresented to him, what the King 

 had told her, supposing she had asked him the 

 question, which may now be fairly doubted. It 

 may be added that Mr. Davis assures me that he 

 not only frequently heard the King assert that 

 he had cut down the supposititious H erne's Oak, 

 but that he repeated the assertion during a suc- 

 cession of years, when his mind and body were 

 in a perfectly healthy state. 



Fifthly: The fact that the King placed the 

 present tree under the especial charge of Mr. En- 

 gall, who is still the manager of the Home Park, 

 forty years ago, telling him at the time that it was 

 Herne's Oak. It may be added, on the same au- 

 thority, that some chairs were made from the 

 supposititious Herne's Oak, and presented to the 

 King, as interesting relics of that tree, but which 

 he refused to accept, stating that Herne's Oak 

 was still standing. Many things, also, were made 

 from the tree and sold to various persons in the 

 neighbourhood, which left the impression that 

 Herne's Oak had been felled. 



Sixthly : A statement which I know was 

 made by his late Majesty, George IV., that 



