{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_66169/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_66169","id":"gutenberg_66169","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66169","summary":null,"tags":["Archery -- Juvenile fiction","Category: Adventure","Category: British Literature","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Novels","Clergy -- Juvenile fiction","Kings and rulers -- Juvenile fiction","Outlaws -- Juvenile fiction","Robin Hood (Legendary character) -- Juvenile fiction","Sheriffs -- Juvenile fiction","Sherwood Forest (England) -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"[Illustration: MARRIAGE OF ALLEN A DALE.\n\nJ. Gilbert\n\nDay & Haghe lithographers to the Queen]\n\n\n\n\n                               ROBIN HOOD\n                                   AND\n                          HIS MERRY FORESTERS.\n\n                            BY STEPHEN PERCY,\n                AUTHOR OF \u201cTALES OF THE KINGS OF ENGLAND\u201d\n\n                 \u201cMerry it is in the good green-wood,\n                 When the mavis and merle are singing.\u201d\n\n                                 LONDON:\n                      TILT AND BOGUE, FLEET STREET.\n                                MDCCCXLI.\n\n                                 LONDON:\n             CLARKE, PRINTERS, SILVER STREET, FALCON SQUARE.\n\n\n\n\n    TO\n    MY SISTER ELIZA,\n    WITH\n    A BROTHER\u2019S MOST AFFECTIONATE LOVE,\n    I DEDICATE\n    These Stories of my Boyhood.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n    EARLY SCHOOL DAYS.\u2014THE OLD SYCAMORE-TREE.\u2014ROBIN HOOD\u2019S\n    YOUTH.\u2014THE OUTLAWS OF SHERWOOD.\u2014ROBIN HOOD AND LITTLE\n    JOHN.\u2014ROBIN HOOD AND THE BUTCHER.\u2014THE GAY FORESTER.           Page 1\n\n    OUR SECOND MEETING.\u2014ALLEN-A-DALE\u2019S MARRIAGE.\u2014THE MONKS\u2019\n    PRAYER\u2014ROBIN HOOD AND THE RANGER.\u2014GUY OF GISBORNE.\u2014WILL\n    STUTELY\u2019S CAPTURE.\u2014THE RESCUE.\u2014ROBIN HOOD AND THE BEGGAR.         29\n\n    THE THIRD EVENING.\u2014THE OUTLAWS\u2019 SPORTS.\u2014ROBIN HOOD AND THE\n    FRIAR OF FOUNTAINS\u2019 DALE.\u2014THE BISHOP OF HEREFORD.\u2014A PRIESTLY\n    QUARREL.\u2014A MERRY DANCE.                                           63\n\n    OUR HALF-HOLIDAY.\u2014THE WOOD.\u2014ST. BARTHOLOMEW\u2019S DAY.\u2014FINSBURY\n    FIELD.\u2014THE QUEEN\u2019S CHAMPION.\u2014THE OUTLAW\u2019S PARDON.\u2014THE KNIGHT OF\n    WIERYSDALE.\u2014ROBIN HOOD\u2019S GENEROSITY.\u2014THE ABBOT OF ST. MARY\u2019S.     87\n\n    OUR FIFTH MEETING.\u2014REYNOLDE GRENELEFE.\u2014THE SILVER\n    BUGLE-HORN.\u2014THE SHERIFF\u2019S PANTRY.\u2014A CURIOUS COLOURED STAG.\u2014THE\n    SHERIFF\u2019S COUCH.\u2014A RURAL FAIR.\u2014THE MONKS OF ST. MARY\u2019S.\u2014THE\n    KNIGHT\u2019S GRATITUDE.                                              112\n\n    OUR LAST EVENING.\u2014THE SHERIFF\u2019S COMPLAINT.\u2014THE GOLDEN\n    ARROW.\u2014ROBIN HOOD\u2019S SMILE OF TRIUMPH.\u2014A DESPERATE\n    COMBAT.\u2014WIERYSDALE CASTLE.\u2014THE SHERIFF\u2019S DEATH.\u2014THE OUTLAW\u2019S\n    ALLEGIANCE AND PARDON.\u2014ROBIN HOOD\u2019S REBELLION.\u2014HIS DEATH.        135\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF PLATES.\n\n\n    MARRIAGE OF ALLEN-A-DALE         _frontispiece_\n\n    THE FORESTERS\u2019 WELCOME                 _p._ 14\n\n    ROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNE              46\n\n    ROBIN HOOD AND THE FRIAR                    72\n\n    THE BISHOP OF HEREFORD                      82\n\n    THE KNIGHT OF WIERYSDALE                   110\n\n    THE GOLDEN ARROW                           138\n\n    THE OUTLAWS\u2019 ALLEGIANCE                    150\n\n\n\n\nROBIN HOOD.\n\n\n\n\nEARLY SCHOOL-DAYS.\n\n\nTales of Robin Hood and his merry foresters were the delight of my\nboyhood.\n\nMany an hour which my school-fellows spent in games of cricket or\nleap-frog, I passed happily away in the rustic arbour that we had built\nin the corner of our play-ground, deeply intent upon a volume of old\nballads that chance had thrown before me. Sometimes a companion or two,\nweary of the sport in which they had been engaged, would join me in my\nretreat, and ask me to read aloud; and seldom would they leave me till\nthe school-bell warned us that it was time to return to our duties.\n\nAfter the tasks of the day were done we had two hours at our disposal\nbefore we were again called to study our lessons for the following\nmorning. In these short intervals it was that, forgetting for awhile\nC\u00e6sar, Cicero, and Virgil, freed from restraint, and exulting in health\nand spirits, we passed the happiest moments of our early days.\n\nThough many years have since glided away, I can recall these pleasures\nmost vividly. Well do I recollect the youth who shared my bed, and who in\nschool hours sat next me on the first form; and well do I remember, as\nwe sauntered together one bright summer\u2019s evening through the shrubbery\nthat encircled our play-ground, his asking me to tell him some tale of\nRobin Hood. Willingly I complied. There was an old sycamore tree close\nby, standing alone upon a little lawn. Its weather-beaten trunk was girt\nround by a low seat, whence, through an opening in the trees, a wide\nextent of country presented itself to the view. The shrubbery was upon\nthe side of a steep hill, at whose base lay broad and verdant meadows:\nthrough these a navigable river winded peacefully along, bearing upon\nits surface the white lateen sail of the gay pleasure-boat, or the more\ndingy brown canvas of the heavily laden barge, that constantly lent a\nfresh charm to the delightful landscape. Beyond the meadows was a little\nvillage, almost concealed by the venerable trees that surrounded it,\nwhile, to the left, the white front of some noble mansion glistened afar\noff, amid the dark tint of the distant foliage. Many a time had I chosen\nthis favourite bench, and now, with my young friend at my side, I again\nreclined against the broad old trunk. Scarce had we seated ourselves\nwhen another of our school-fellows happened to pass by, and at the\nintercession of my companion stayed to listen to my promised tale.\n\nI endeavoured to recall the earliest mention of my brave hero in the\nballads that told of his exploits, and thus began:\u2014\n\n\nROBIN HOOD\u2019S YOUTH.\n\n\u201cMore than six hundred years ago, in the reigns of King Henry the\nSecond and Richard C\u0153ur de Lion, there lived in the northern part of\nEngland a most famous outlaw, named Robin Hood. The daring exploits and\ncurious adventures of this renowned hero have been celebrated in songs\nthroughout almost every country in Europe; and so great a favourite has\nhe always been in England, that, as the old poet says,\n\n    \u201c\u2018In this our spacious isle I think there is not one\n    But he of Robin Hood hath heard, and Little John;\n    And, to the end of time, the tales shall ne\u2019er be done\n    Of Scarlet, George-a-Green, and Much, the miller\u2019s son;\n    Of Tuck, the merry friar, which many a sermon made\n    In praise of Robin Hood, his outlaws, and their trade.\u2019\n\n\u201cRobin Hood, whose true name appears to have been Robert Fitzooth, was\nborn and bred in the sweet town of Locksley, in merry Nottinghamshire,\nabout the year 1160. He was a very handsome youth, with light auburn\nhair, and dark bright eyes that glanced and sparkled like stars, and was\nthe most expert archer and bravest wrestler among all the lads of the\ncounty, from whom he oft-times bore away the prize in their rural sports.\nOne day as Robin Hood was going to Nottingham upon a visit to his uncle\nhe passed by an ale-house, at the door of which stood several foresters,\nkeepers of the king\u2019s parks, drinking ale and wine. Young Robin joined\nthe party, and entered into conversation with them, when he learned that\nthe king had commanded a shooting match to be held at a town close by in\nthe course of the following week.\n\n\u201c\u2018I will be there,\u2019 cried Robin Hood with great glee, \u2018and will show King\nHenry a good cloth-yard arrow well shot.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Ha! ha!\u2019 laughed one of the foresters. \u2018Dost thou think that a\nstripling like thee may shoot before a king? I\u2019 faith, my young fellow,\nthou must give place to better men.\u2019\n\n\u201cRobin Hood\u2019s brow flushed with anger at this slight, and he half drew\nhis dagger from its sheath, but recollecting himself\u2014\u2018I\u2019ll wager thee\ntwenty crowns,\u2019 he replied, \u2018that I will strike a deer at five hundred\nyards.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Done,\u2019 cried the forester. \u2018I bet thee twenty crowns thou canst not.\nOur host shall hold the stakes while we go into yonder wood.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Agreed,\u2019 said Robin Hood; \u2018and if I do not _kill_ the deer thou shalt\nwin the bet.\u2019 Each then paid twenty crowns to the host, and the whole\nparty set out merrily to the wood. Young Robin strung his noble bow, and\nchose one of his best arrows, and in a few minutes a hart bounded across\nthe plain. Although the animal was at a considerable distance farther\noff than the space agreed upon, Robin would not lose the chance; he drew\nhis arrow to the head, and let fly with such force that when it struck\nthe deer upon its side the poor creature fell plunging to the earth in a\nstream of its own blood.\n\n\u201c\u2018Give me the money,\u2019 said Robin Hood proudly, to the host, \u2018if \u2019twere a\nthousand pound, I\u2019ve won the wager.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018The wager\u2019s none of thine,\u2019 cried the man with whom he had laid the\nbet. \u2018Thou hadst better take up thy bow and begone, or by\u2019r lady I\u2019ll\nmake thee rue this day;\u2019 and thus saying he bestowed a buffet on the\nyoung archer\u2019s head, while the other keepers stood by and laughed.\n\n\u201cRobin Hood took up his bow as he was bidden, without saying a word,\nand smiled as he ran away from them across the plain. When he had got\nsome good distance off, he turned round, and aiming at the treacherous\nforester, let fly a shaft which struck him upon the breast, pierced\nhis heart, and laid him dead upon the spot. Before his companions had\nrecovered from their surprise, Robin Hood sent arrow after arrow among\nthem, wounding some severely, and stretching others lifeless upon the\ngrass.\n\n\u201cThe people of Nottingham hearing of this, came out in great numbers\nto take the bold young archer, but he had escaped far away before they\narrived; therefore, contenting themselves with taking the bodies of the\ndead foresters, they buried them \u2018all in a row,\u2019 in the churchyard in\nNottingham.\n\n\u201cFor a long time afterwards Robin Hood dared not show himself in any town\nor village, as a reward was offered for his apprehension; but he lived in\nthe forests under the green-wood trees, where he quickly met with several\nother youths who for various causes had been outlawed like himself.\n\n\u201cIn these times immense tracts of land, especially in Nottinghamshire and\nYorkshire, were covered with dense woods, which generally abounded in\ndeer and every description of game; and as these were the property of the\nking, rangers or foresters were appointed for their protection, and the\npenalty against any one who dared to slay a stag was death.\n\n\u201cRobin Hood and his companions cared very little for these rangers, who\nindeed stood but a poor chance against them. They shot the king\u2019s deer\nwhenever they were in want of food, and cooked it well enough by a fire\nkindled with branches of the royal trees.\n\n\u201cThey likewise were sometimes bold enough to stop his majesty\u2019s liege\nsubjects upon the highway, and politely request the loan of a few pounds,\nwhich was most frequently granted them without their giving any security\nfor its repayment, the poor traveller being glad to escape with a safe\nbody.\n\n\u201cAs the young outlaw thus continued to live in Sherwood forest, his\nsuperior skill in archery and his prowess at all manly exercises gained\nhim great fame. Many young men joined him in his retreat, and placed\nthemselves under his leadership, so that he soon found himself captain of\nat least three-score gallant youths.\n\n\u201cRobin Hood and his followers all dressed themselves in cloth of Lincoln\ngreen, and generally wore a scarlet cap upon their heads. Each man was\narmed with a dagger and a short basket-hilted sword, and carried a long\nbow in his hand, while a quiver filled with arrows a cloth-yard long hung\nat his back. The captain, besides wearing a better cloth than his men,\nalways carried with him a bugle horn, whose notes he taught his followers\nto distinguish at a most incredible distance.\n\n\u201cOne day Robin Hood said to his men, \u2018My brave fellows, here have we\nbeen fourteen long days without any kind of sport. Stay ye here awhile\namong the green leaves, while I go forth in search of some adventure.\nIf I want your assistance three blasts on my bugle horn will tell ye\nwhere I am.\u2019 And bidding them adieu for the present, he shook hands with\nthem, and with his trusty bow in his hand set out on his expedition. He\nsoon reached the high road, where he thought he should most easily meet\nwith something to do, and marched along boldly for a considerable way.\nPresently he came to a wide but shallow brook that ran across the road,\nover which there was but one narrow bridge, that would only permit a\nsingle person to cross at a time. Just as Robin Hood set his foot upon\nthe plank at one end a traveller appeared upon the other side, and as\nneither would return they met in the middle of the bridge. The stranger\nwas a tall handsome young fellow nearly seven feet high, but unarmed,\nexcept with a stout oaken staff.\n\n\u201c\u2018Go back,\u2019 cried he to Robin Hood, \u2018or \u2019twill be the worse for thee.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Ha! ha!\u2019 laughed Robin, \u2018surely thou jestest, man. Were I to bend this\ngood bow of mine I could send an arrow through thy heart before thou\ncould\u2019st even strike;\u2019 and stepping back a pace or two he drew a shaft\nfrom his quiver and fixed it ready to shoot.\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou talk\u2019st like a coward,\u2019 replied the stranger; \u2018with a long bow\ndrawn against one who has but an oaken staff.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I am no coward,\u2019 answered Robin Hood, \u2018and that thou shalt see. Stay on\nthe bridge awhile. I\u2019ll be with thee again in the twinkling of an arrow.\u2019\nAnd laying aside his bow he ran back along the plank, plunged into a\nthicket close at hand, and quickly returned bearing a good oak branch.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now,\u2019 cried he to the traveller, \u2018now we are equally matched; let\u2019s\nfight out our quarrel on the bridge; whoever throws the other into the\nwater shall win the day, and so we\u2019ll part.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018With all my heart,\u2019 replied the stranger, \u2018for go back I will not;\u2019 and\nwithout a word farther he bestowed such a thwack on the head of Robin\nHood that his teeth chattered together.\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou shalt have as good as thou giv\u2019st,\u2019 cried Robin, and laid such a\nblow on the shoulder of his opponent that every bone in his body rung\nagain. At it they then went in right earnest, and thick and fast rattled\nthe staves upon their heads and backs, appearing like men threshing corn.\nGetting more enraged at every stroke, they laid about each other with so\nmuch fury that their jackets smoked as if they had been on fire; but at\nlast the stranger gave Robin Hood a blow upon the side of his head that\nmade him stagger, and losing his balance the outlaw tumbled into the\nbrook.\n\n\u201c\u2018Where art thou now, my fine fellow?\u2019 cried the victorious stranger,\nlaughing.\n\n\u201c\u2018Good faith,\u2019 replied Robin Hood, \u2018I\u2019m in the water, and floating\nbravely with the tide. But thou art a bold yeoman I needs must say, and\nI\u2019ll fight no more with thee. Thou hast got the day and there\u2019s an end\nof our battle.\u2019 Then wading to the bank he caught hold of a projecting\nbranch of a tree, pulled himself out of the brook, and setting his bugle\nto his lips blew three such loud and lusty blasts that the woods and\nvalleys echoed and re-echoed them, till they reached the ears of his\nmerry bowmen. In a few minutes they all appeared dressed in their bright\ngreen coats, and ranged themselves round Robin Hood, who was lying on the\ngrass to rest his bruised limbs.\n\n\u201c\u2018Good master,\u2019 cried one of them, named Will Stutely, \u2018what wantest thou\nwith thy merry men? Hast thou fallen into the brook?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018No matter,\u2019 replied their captain; \u2018this youth and I have had a famous\nfight, and he knocked me into the water.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018We\u2019ll duck him, we\u2019ll duck him,\u2019 exclaimed the men, running up to the\nstranger, and seizing him by the arms.\n\n\u201c\u2018Forbear!\u2019 shouted Robin Hood. \u2018He is a brave young fellow, and must be\none of us.\u2019 Then, springing to his feet, he advanced towards him. \u2018No one\nshall harm thee, friend,\u2019 he said; \u2018these merry men are mine. There are\nthree-score and nine, and if thou wilt join them thou shalt have a coat\nof Lincoln green like theirs, a dagger, a good broadsword, and a bow and\narrows, with which we will soon teach thee to kill the fat fallow-deer.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Here\u2019s my hand on it,\u2019 replied the stranger, striking his palm into\nthat of the bold outlaw; \u2018I\u2019ll serve thee with my whole heart. My name is\nJohn Little, but thou\u2019lt find I can do much, and that I\u2019ll play my part\nwith the best.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018His name must be altered,\u2019 said Will Stutely. \u2018I\u2019ll be his godfather,\nand we\u2019ll have a merry christening in the green-wood.\u2019\n\n\u201cA brace of fat does were presently shot, and a fresh barrel of humming\nstrong ale was broached for the occasion. Robin Hood and his followers\nthen stood in a ring, while Will Stutely, attended by seven of the\ntallest, dressed themselves in black garments that had once belonged to\nsome unfortunate priests, and prepared to baptize this pretty infant.\nThey carried him into the midst of the ring, and throwing a bucket of\nwater over his face, for fear a little sprinkling might not be enough,\nWill Stutely in a very solemn tone said, \u2018This infant has hitherto been\ncalled John Little; we do now hereby change his name, which from the\npresent day to the end of his life shall be called Little John.\u2019\n\n\u201cA loud shout from the men made the forest ring again. When this ceremony\nwas concluded, and when Robin Hood had given his new attendant a coat\nof Lincoln green, and a curiously carved long-bow, they all sat down on\nthe grass to a merry feast. Music succeeded, and their bold captain, in\nhonour of his new guest, trolled forth the following song:\u2014\n\n    \u201c\u2018You\u2019re welcome, my lad, to the forests o\u2019 green,\n      Where the wild deer so merrily bounds;\n    Where the foresters bold their gay revels hold,\n      And their bugle-horn cheerily sounds.\n\n    \u201c\u2018Thou shalt be an archer, as well as the best,\n      And range in the green-wood with us;\n    Where we\u2019ll not want gold nor silver, behold,\n      While bishops have aught in their purse.\n\n    \u201c\u2018We live here like \u2019squires, or lords of renown,\n      Without e\u2019er a foot of free land;\n    We feast on good cheer, with wine, ale, and beer,\n      And ev\u2019ry thing at our command.\n\n    \u201c\u2018Then welcome, my lad, to the merry green-wood,\n      Where the wild deer so joyously bounds;\n    Where the foresters bold their gay revels hold,\n      And their bugle-horn cheerily sounds.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: \u201cTHOU\u2019RT WELCOME MY LAD TO THE MERRY GREEN-WOOD.\u201d\n\nJ. Gilbert]\n\n\u201cMerrily and gaily did they pass the evening; now dancing round some old\nmonarch of the forest, and now listening to the rude but pleasing ditty\nof one of their companions. At length the sun went down, and the deep\nshades of the forest began to draw around them. Robin Hood drew forth his\nbugle, sounded a few notes, and in a minute or two the whole band were\ndispersed in groups to their huts and caves.\n\n\nROBIN HOOD AND THE BUTCHER.\n\n\u201cShortly after this merry-making Robin Hood was one morning sitting by\nthe way-side, amusing himself with trimming his bow and arrows, when he\nespied a jolly butcher hastening to market with a basket of meat before\nhim upon his horse.\n\n\u201c\u2018Good morrow, my fine fellow,\u2019 quoth Robin Hood as he passed by. \u2018What\nmay\u2019st thou have in that basket there?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018What\u2019s that to thee,\u2019 replied the butcher: \u2018thou\u2019lt not buy it I\u2019ll\nwarrant me.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Nay, now, my good friend, be civil,\u2019 returned the outlaw, rising\nfrom the grass, and patting the man\u2019s horse upon the neck. \u2018What value\nsettest thou upon this beast of thine, and the basket, altogether?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well! an thou mean\u2019st to buy,\u2019 answered the butcher, still doubting,\n\u2018thou shalt have the whole lot for four silver marks.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Throw that greasy frock of thine into the bargain,\u2019 said Robin, \u2018and\nhere\u2019s thy money:\u2019 at the same time he took some silver pieces from a\nleathern pouch that hung from his girdle, and held them to the butcher.\nWith great joy at having made so good a bargain, the man instantly\ndismounted, and giving his horse\u2019s reins to his new owner, he quickly\nstripped off his outer garment. The bold outlaw as quickly encased\nhimself in it, and, mounting the horse, took the basket from the butcher,\nand galloped off to Nottingham.\n\n\u201cWhen he reached the town, Robin Hood made his way to the part where the\nmeat was sold; and having put up his horse at an inn, he uncovered his\nbasket, and began to sell its contents. He knew very little and cared\nvery little about the price that was usually paid for meat, and the\nladies in the market quickly discovered that he gave about five times as\nmuch for a penny as any other butcher. His stall was soon surrounded,\nand his brethren in the trade were left without a customer. At first they\ncould not imagine what could be the reason of so strange an occurrence;\nbut when one of them learned that the new butcher had actually sold a\nwhole leg of pork for a shilling, a general council was held, and it was\nunanimously agreed that he must either be mad, or some prodigal son who\nhad run away with his father\u2019s property: but they were all determined to\nlearn something certain about him.\n\n\u201cWhen the market was over, one of them stepped up to Robin Hood. \u2018Come,\nbrother,\u2019 said he to him, \u2018we are all of one trade, come and dine with us\nto-day.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Right willingly that will I,\u2019 replied the outlaw; \u2018and a jolly dinner\nwill we have. \u2019Tis my first day among ye, and by my faith it shall be\na merry one.\u2019 They were soon seated at the board, at the head of which\npresided the sheriff of Nottingham, while \u2018mine host\u2019 sat at the other\nend. Robin Hood, being a new comer, said grace, and they commenced a most\nfearful attack upon divers smoking flanks of beef, and many a goodly\nhaunch of venison. The jovial outlaw did his duty with the rest, and\nwhen at last the dishes were allowed to be taken away, \u2018Fill us more\nwine,\u2019 he cried, \u2018let\u2019s be merry, my brethren; drink till ye can drink no\nmore; I\u2019ll pay the reckoning.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018This is a mad blade,\u2019 said the sheriff to his next neighbour; \u2018we must\nfind out who he is.\u2019\u2014\u2018Hast thou, friend,\u2019 he continued aloud, addressing\nRobin Hood, \u2018hast thou any horned beasts to dispose of?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Aye, good master sheriff, that have I,\u2019 answered Robin, \u2018some two or\nthree hundreds, and a hundred acres of as good free land too as thou\u2019st\never seen.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I want a few head of cattle,\u2019 rejoined the former, \u2018and if thou wilt,\nI\u2019ll ride this day to look at thine.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Fill me a bumper of sack,\u2019 cried Robin Hood; \u2018here\u2019s to a good\nbargain;\u2019 and tossing off a goblet of wine, he rose up, threw a handful\nof silver upon the table, and with the sheriff left the astonished\nbutchers to finish their wine and talk of their extraordinary comrade.\n\n\u201cThe man of dignity saddled his palfrey, and tying a heavy bag of gold,\nwherewith to pay for his purchase, to his girdle, set out with Robin Hood\nto Sherwood forest. Merry were the jokes and loud was the laughter of\nthe bold outlaw as they trotted along the road, and the sheriff thought\nthat he had never met with so pleasant a companion. \u2018Heaven preserve us,\u2019\nsaid he, \u2018from a man they call Robin Hood, who often frequents these\nwoods.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Fear not, master sheriff,\u2019 replied Robin; \u2018I saw him in Nottingham town\nnot two hours ago, and I\u2019ll warrant me he has not overtaken us.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018In Nottingham!\u2019 cried the sheriff, with astonishment: \u2018why didst not\nthou tell me that before? I must go back and capture him.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018\u2019Twill be a profitless errand for thee,\u2019 answered the outlaw. \u2018Though\nI know Robin Hood as well as my own self, \u2019twas with difficulty I\nrecognised him in his disguise.\u2019 The sheriff looked hard at his\ncompanion, as he claimed so intimate a knowledge with the outlawed\nforester, but said not a word, only spurring his horse on faster, and\nkeeping as far from his fellow-traveller as the width of the road\npermitted.\n\n\u201cPresently they arrived at the borders of the forest, and striking\ninto a narrow road that led through it, reached an open lawn of some\nconsiderable extent. Just as they entered upon it, a whole herd of deer\ntripped gaily across the path.\n\n\u201c\u2018How likest thou my horned beasts, master sheriff?\u2019 asked Robin Hood;\n\u2018they are fat and in good condition, are they not?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I must tell thee, good fellow,\u2019 returned the sheriff, reining up his\npalfrey, \u2018that I would rather be elsewhere than in thy company.\u2019\n\n\u201cRobin Hood replied by taking his bugle-horn from his side, and blowing\nthree distinct blasts that made the woods re-echo, and his companion\u2019s\nears to tingle with no small degree of apprehension.\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou art a knave,\u2019 cried he, \u2018and hast played me false; take that for\npayment:\u2019 and the terrified sheriff drew his sword and struck fiercely at\nthe outlaw, who, spurring his steed aside, dexterously avoided the blow.\nIn a moment after, sixty or more foresters, with Little John at their\nhead, burst from the thickets and surrounded the two horsemen.\n\n\u201c\u2018Welcome, good master;\u2019 said Little John to his captain. \u2018What will\u2019st\nthou with thy merry men?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I have brought the sheriff of Nottingham to dine with ye to-day,\u2019\nreplied Robin Hood; \u2018make good cheer, and give him of the best.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Aye, marry, that will we,\u2019 returned the tall forester, \u2018for I know he\nhas gold to pay for it:\u2019 and gently obliging the sheriff to dismount,\nhe unfastened the bag from the unfortunate man\u2019s girdle, and taking his\ncloak from his shoulders, he spread it upon the grass, and emptied the\ngold upon it.\n\n\u201c\u2018Three hundred pounds will serve us for many a carouse,\u2019 said Little\nJohn, when he had counted the money and replaced it in the bag. \u2018And now,\nmaster sheriff,\u2019 he continued, laughing, \u2018would\u2019st thou like venison for\nthy dinner? Hast thou any stomach for a smoking haunch?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Let me away,\u2019 cried the sheriff, running to his horse\u2019s side, \u2018or\nyou\u2019ll all rue this day.\u2019\n\n\u201cRobin Hood sprang to his assistance, held the stirrup while he mounted,\nand politely wishing him a pleasant journey home, desired to be\nespecially commended to his wife. The poor sheriff, glad to escape sound\nin body, returned no answer; but striking spurs into his palfrey was soon\nout of sight. The merry foresters quickly repaired to their wonted spot,\nand with many a bumper of ale or wine, drank to the health and prosperity\nof the liberal sheriff of Nottingham.\n\n\nROBIN HOOD AND WILL SCARLET.\n\n\u201cThe bold outlaws were afraid to show themselves for some time after this\nadventure, and for several weeks retired to a distant forest, where their\nhaunts were not so well known as in Sherwood.\n\n\u201cRobin Hood was one morning rambling among the woods, when, through the\nbranches of the trees, he caught sight of a gay young fellow walking\ncarelessly along and whistling merrily. The stranger was clothed in\na silken doublet of beautiful scarlet, his hose were likewise of the\nsame bright colour, and his gay green cap was ornamented with a crimson\nfeather. By his side hung a handsome broadsword, the hilt of which\nwas studded with precious stones, and in his left hand he carried an\nelegantly carved bow; while a quiver of polished oak, inlaid with silver,\nwas suspended by a silken baldric at his back.\n\n\u201cAs he emerged from the thicket upon a little plain, on which the\nnoon-day sun was permitted to shine unobscured by the deep foliage that\non all sides surrounded him, the traveller\u2019s heart leapt with joy at the\nsight of a herd of deer grazing quietly at the other end of the verdant\nglade.\n\n\u201c\u2018The fattest among ye,\u2019 quoth he, loud enough for the outlaw to\nover-hear him, \u2018shall serve my dinner to-day:\u2019 and drawing an arrow from\nhis quiver, he fixed it upon his bow, and discharged the weapon with such\nkeen velocity that the noblest animal among the herd fell dead at the\ndistance of forty yards.\n\n\u201c\u2018Well shot! well shot, my friend!\u2019 cried Robin Hood, advancing from his\nconcealment. \u2018Would\u2019st like to be a forester in this merry green-wood?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Where springest thou from?\u2019 said the stranger, turning round sharply at\nthe sound of a voice: \u2018Go thou thine own way; I\u2019ll go mine.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018If thou\u2019lt accept the place,\u2019 returned the outlaw, unheeding this angry\nreply, \u2018I\u2019ll make thee a bold yeoman, and give thee livery of mine.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Livery!\u2019 cried the other. \u2018By St. George, an thou dost not take to\nthine heels, I\u2019ll give thee such a buffet as shall make thine ears ring\nfor many a mile.\u2019\n\n\u201cRobin Hood drew back a step, and bent his ever-ready bow, and at the\nsame time the stranger, quick as thought, drew another arrow from his\nquiver, and pointed it at the outlaw.\n\n\u201c\u2018Hold! hold!\u2019 cried the latter. \u2018This is cowards\u2019 play. Take thy sword,\nman, and let\u2019s fight it out under yonder tree.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018With all my heart,\u2019 replied the traveller; \u2018and by my faith I will\nnot leave thee till thou dost cry \u201c\u2018a mercy.\u201d\u2019 Then laying aside their\nbows, each drew his sword, and stepping beneath the shade of a broad old\noak, began the combat in right good earnest. The bold outlaw, seizing an\nunguarded moment, laid a blow upon the shoulder of his opponent that made\nhim wince again; but, in retaliation, the stranger rushed furiously at\nRobin Hood, and struck him so violently upon the head that the blood ran\ntrickling down from every hair.\n\n\u201c\u2018Mercy, good fellow\u2014mercy,\u2019 he cried, dropping his sword\u2019s point to the\nearth, and leaning himself against the tree; \u2018thou hast fairly beaten me.\nTell me,\u2014who art thou? and what seek\u2019st thou here?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Ha! thou alterest thy tone now,\u2019 answered the victor with a laugh;\n\u2018but, if thou\u2019rt a true man, thou may\u2019st stand my friend. Know\u2019st thou\nwhere dwells a yeoman they call Robin Hood?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Wherefore dost thou seek him?\u2019 inquired the outlaw.\n\n\u201c\u2018I am his sister\u2019s son,\u2019 replied the youth. \u2018I had the misfortune to\nslay my father\u2019s steward in a quarrel, and am forced to flee from home.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Thy name?\u2019 asked Robin Hood anxiously.\n\n\u201c\u2018Is Will Gamwell, of the town of Maxwell,\u2019 replied the stranger.\n\n\u201c\u2018My brave boy, I am thine uncle,\u2019 exclaimed the outlaw, clasping him in\nhis arms with delight; \u2018thou should\u2019st have said this before we shed each\nother\u2019s blood.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Forgive me\u2014forgive me,\u2019\u2014cried the youth, bending on his knee; \u2018and I\u2019ll\nserve thee day and night.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Give me thy hand,\u2019 replied Robin; \u2018thou art a bold fellow, a true\nmarksman, and a right valiant swordsman, as I know to my cost. Let us go\nseek my merry men.\u2019 And with many a pleasant discourse the newly-found\nrelations beguiled their path to the haunt of the outlaws. As they\napproached the spot, Robin Hood drew his bugle from his girdle, and\nsounded a few short notes. Before the music had ceased Little John stood\nat his side.\n\n\u201c\u2018Is danger at hand, good master?\u2019 he said. \u2018Where hast thou tarried so\nlong? Whence this blood?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I met with this youth,\u2019 replied Robin Hood, \u2018and full sore has he\nbeaten me.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Then I\u2019ll have a bout with him,\u2019 cried the tall forester, and see if\nhe will beat me too;\u2019 and with a staff in his hand he stepped before the\nstranger.\n\n\u201c\u2018Nay nay,\u2019 said his captain, interfering, \u2018that must not be; he is my\nown dear sister\u2019s son, and next to thee shall be my chief yeoman.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Welcome, my friend, to merry Sherwood,\u2019 exclaimed Little John, shaking\nthe new comer by the hand. \u2018We\u2019ll have a rare feast for thee to-night.\nBut by what name shall we call thee among our jovial comrades?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018His name is Gamwell,\u2019 replied Robin Hood; \u2018but we had better\nre-christen him as we did thee; he has forsooth a fine scarlet doublet,\nand Will Scarlet shall be his name.\u2019 Then again taking his bugle, he set\nit to his lips, and winded it till\n\n    \u201c\u2018The warbling echoes wak\u2019d from every dale and hill.\u2019\n\n\u201cMore than a hundred tall yeomen, clad in Lincoln green, soon attended\nthis summons, bounding among the trees like so many playful deer.\n\n\u201cWill Scarlet, frightened at the sight of so many men, all armed with\nbows, cried to his uncle to fly from them, and was himself starting off\nat his full speed, when Robin Hood caught him by the arm, and laughing\nheartily at his terror, bade him behold his future companions.\n\n\u201c\u2018What want\u2019st thou, good master?\u2019 said Will Stutely, the leader of the\nband. \u2018Thy bugle sounded so shrill we thought there had been work for us.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018The danger\u2019s over now,\u2019 replied Robin Hood; \u2018but welcome your new\ncomrade; he is my own sister\u2019s son, and has proved himself a gallant\nyouth, for he has given me a famous beating.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe foresters set up a simultaneous shout, and each advancing in his\nturn took the hand of the delighted youth. The rest of the day was spent\nin feasting and sporting, till the departing rays of the sun warned them\nto their caves and bowers.\u201d\n\nJust as I had thus concluded, and my young companions were making their\nvarious remarks upon the merry life of the bold outlaws, the deep tone\nof our school-bell rang in our ears. Off we started, like a herd of deer\nfrightened at the notes of Robin Hood\u2019s bugle-horn.\n\n\n\n\nOUR SECOND MEETING.\n\n\nROBIN HOOD AND ALLEN-A-DALE.\n\nOn the next evening, when I took my seat beneath the sycamore, I found\nthat it was surrounded by no less than six of my school-fellows; so\npopular had been the legends of Robin Hood with my hearers of the\nprevious day. I was mightily pleased at this, and with renewed confidence\nbegan the following tale:\u2014\n\n\u201cShortly after the accession of Will Scarlet to his company, Robin Hood\nwas one morning roaming through the forest, when he beheld a young man,\nvery elegantly dressed in crimson silk, skipping merrily over the green\nplain, singing a roundelay; his face was lighted up with gladness, and\nhis heart seemed overflowing with joy.\n\n\u201cOn the very next morning Robin Hood again encountered the same youth.\nAll his finery was gone. He wore a russet suit, and his countenance was\noverspread with melancholy. He walked slowly, absorbed in meditation,\nand now and then broke out into exclamations of the keenest grief. The\noutlaw\u2019s heart was moved. \u2018What can have caused this sudden change,\u2019 he\nsaid to himself: \u2018perhaps I may relieve his sorrows;\u2019 and emerging from\nthe grove he stood before the young man\u2019s path.\n\n\u201c\u2018What ailest thou my friend?\u2019 he said to him; \u2018but yesterday thou wert\nas gay as a lark, and to-day as thou wert at a funeral.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Why dost thou ask?\u2019 said the youth: \u2018thou canst not help me in my\ndistress.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I have a hundred as good yeomen as ever drew bow in the green-wood,\u2019\nreplied the outlaw, \u2018that will do my bidding as I list.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Lend me thine aid,\u2019 cried the young man eagerly, \u2018and I\u2019ll be thy true\nservant for ever. My name is Allen-a-Dale. But yesterday I was to have\nwedded the fairest maiden upon whom the sun ever shone. To-day she is\ntaken from me, and will be forced to marry a rich old knight whom she\ndetests.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Where is the wedding to take place,\u2019 inquired Robin Hood.\n\n\u201c\u2018At the little church in the vale \u2019twixt here and Nottingham,\u2019 replied\nthe lover; \u2018\u2019tis not five miles distant.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018We will try what\u2019s to be done,\u2019 rejoined Robin. \u2018Come with me, and by\nmy faith it shall go hard but thou gettest thy fair maiden yet;\u2019 and\ntaking the now hopeful youth by the hand, the outlaw led him away.\n\n\u201cGreat preparations were made for the approaching wedding in the village\nchurch that Allen-a-Dale had mentioned. The lord bishop of the diocese\nwas there, dressed in his gorgeous robes; and the cottagers, decked out\nin their holiday costume, were waiting anxiously to witness so grand a\nmarriage. An old man with a long flowing beard likewise demanded and\nreceived admission into the interior of the sacred edifice. He wore a\nsombre-coloured mantle that entirely covered him, and carried, slung by\na belt across his shoulders, a harp, which, as he seated himself near\nthe altar, he placed at his feet, ready to strike on the appearance of\nthe bridal party. Presently the grave old knight entered the church,\nleading the beautiful damsel by the hand. Young girls, dressed in white,\nscattered roses in their path as they advanced, and the harper sounded\nhis noble instrument. The poor maiden seemed totally unconscious of all\nthat passed. She walked slowly, with her head bent to the earth; and\ntears burst from her eyes, and coursed each other down her lovely cheeks:\nbut the old knight was unmoved, and hurried her to the altar. The bishop\nopened his book and began the ceremony.\n\n\u201c\u2018I forbid this match,\u2019 exclaimed a voice that seemed to proceed from\nwhere the harper sat.\n\n\u201cThe reverend father, surprised at so unusual an interruption, stopped,\nand looked around:\u2014\u2018Stand forth, whoever thou art, and state thy\nreasons,\u2019 said he, after a long pause.\n\n\u201c\u2018This old knight is not the damsel\u2019s free choice,\u2019 cried the old man,\nrising from his seat, \u2018and I forbid the marriage.\u2019 At the same moment\npulling away his false beard, and casting aside his cloak, ROBIN HOOD\ndrew a bugle-horn from his baldric, and stunned the ears of bishop,\nknight, and maiden, with the loudness of his blast. At the summons four\nand twenty yeomen darted out of a grove that was close at hand, bounded\nlike wild deer over the plain, and quickly entered the church. The first\nman among them was Allen-a-Dale. He ran to Robin Hood, and gave him his\ntrusty bow; then, rushing to the altar, he hurled the old knight aside,\nand clasping the lovely maiden in his arms, bore her to the outlaw.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now, my good lord bishop,\u2019 said Robin Hood, \u2018thou may\u2019st marry this\nfair lady to her own true love.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018That cannot be,\u2019 returned the bishop, closing his book with a loud\nclap; \u2018the law requireth that the banns be published three times in the\nchurch.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018We will soon remedy that,\u2019 cried Little John, stepping forward from\namong the bowmen. \u2018Lend me thy gown awhile, good master bishop, and I\nwill do that office;\u2019 and as he spake, he entered the enclosed space by\nthe altar, and stood by the side of the reverend father, who, with a very\nill will, suffered his robe to be taken from his person.\n\n\u201cThe foresters and villagers, one and all, could not restrain their\nmirth when the tall yeoman put the garment upon himself, and took up the\nbishop\u2019s volume. For fear that thrice might not be enough, he published\nthe banns seven times, while Allen-a-Dale and his betrothed took their\nplaces at the altar steps.\n\n\u201c\u2018Who gives away this maid?\u2019 asked Little John when he had finished that\npart of his duty.\n\n\u201c\u2018That do I,\u2019 answered Robin Hood, who stood at the damsel\u2019s side.\n\u2018Where\u2019s the man who dares dispute my gift?\u2019 and clapping the bridegroom\nupon his shoulders\u2014\u2018Cheer ye, my gallant friend,\u2019 he cried; \u2018by my troth\nthou hast boldly won the fairest maiden in Christendom.\u2019\n\n\u201cNeither the old knight nor the bishop interposed, but while Little John\nproceeded with the ceremony they both left the church. As soon as all\nwas concluded, the young girls again strewed flowers in the path of the\nnow joyous bride, the bells struck up a merry peal, and the villagers\nand foresters, rushing out of the church, greeted the happy pair with\nloud shouts of joy. Robin Hood and his men escorted them home, and having\ndrunk to the welfare and happiness of young Allen-a-Dale and his fair\nlady, they again returned to their green-wood shades.\n\n\nROBIN HOOD\u2019S GOLDEN PRIZE.\n\n\u201cThere were many days in which the outlaws of Sherwood scarcely knew\nhow to pass away their time. They often grew tired of their easy and\ncareless life, and longed for an adventure where more active exertions\nwould be required. Robin Hood, especially, could ill brook the monotony\nof a forester\u2019s life. He was ever bent upon some enterprise, either by\nhimself alone, or with the assistance of his followers; and rarely a week\npassed but that the bold captain threw a good store of gold into his\ntreasury. One day he disguised himself in the dress of a friar. A long\ndark-coloured gown completely covered his green doublet, and a large cowl\nover his head nearly concealed his features. His waist was girt round\nwith a white woollen rope, from which were suspended a string of beads\nand an ivory crucifix. Thus attired, with a staff in his hand, he took\nthe high road, and trudged on merrily. The first persons he met were,\nan honest husbandman, clad in tattered garments, carrying a chubby boy\nin his arms, and his wife, with an infant, following mournfully in his\nsteps. Robin Hood stopped them, inquired the cause of their grief, and\nlearned that their cottage had been burned down by a party of marauders,\nand that they were then on their way to Nottingham, where the poor man\nhoped to obtain employment.\n\n\u201cThe seeming priest, moved with compassion at their forlorn state, drew\nforth a broad piece of gold and gave it to the wanderers, who ever after\nblessed the day they met the generous friar.\n\n\u201cRobin Hood walked on nearly a mile farther without meeting a single\ntraveller, when at last he espied two monks in black gowns coming towards\nhim, riding upon mules.\n\n\u201c\u2018Benedicite,\u2019 said Robin Hood meekly, as they drew near him; \u2018I pray ye,\nholy brethren, have pity upon a poor wandering friar, who has neither\nbroken bread nor drank of the cup this day.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018We are grieved, good brother,\u2019 replied one of the monks, \u2018we have not\nso much as a penny. Robbers met us on the way, who have stripped us of\nall our gold.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I fear thou tellest not the truth,\u2019 returned the friar. \u2018Wherefore did\nthey leave ye those beasts?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Now by\u2019r lady,\u2019 cried the second monk, \u2018thou art an insolent fellow,\u2019\nand pushing on their mules he and his companion galloped off. The outlaw\nlaughed at their precipitate decampment, then starting off at his best\nspeed, he soon overtook them. \u2018Brethren,\u2019 he cried, as one after the\nother he pulled them from their saddles, \u2018since we have no money, let us\npray to our dear lady to send us some;\u2019 and falling on his knees he made\nthe monks kneel down beside him. The old ballad says\n\n    \u201c\u2018The priests did pray, with mournful cheer,\n      Sometimes their hands did wring,\n    Sometimes they wept and cried aloud,\n      Whilst Robin did merrily sing.\u2019\n\n\u201cAfter some time thus spent, the outlaw rose. \u2018Now, my brethren,\u2019 quoth\nhe, \u2018let us see what money has been sent us\u2014we will all share alike;\u2019 and\nputting his hand in his pocket he pulled forth twenty pieces of gold,\nand laid them on the grass. The monks fumbled a long time amid their\ngarments, but could find nothing.\n\n\u201c\u2018Let me search,\u2019 cried the friar; \u2018perchance ye have not hit upon the\nright pocket.\u2019 The monks reluctantly consented, and presently the outlaw\ndrew forth two purses, and counted out five hundred golden crowns.\n\n    \u201c\u2018Here is a brave show,\u2019 said Robin Hood,\n      \u2018Such store of gold to see;\n    And ye shall each of ye have a part\n      \u2019Cause you prayed so heartily.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe then gave them back each fifty pieces, which the monks eagerly\nseized, and running to the side of their mules they were about to ride\noff. \u2018Stay,\u2019 cried the outlaw; \u2018two things ye must swear: first\u2014that ye\nwill never tell lies again; and secondly\u2014that ye will be charitable to\nthe poor.\u2019 The priests fell on their knees and gave the required promise\nto Robin Hood, and then\n\n    \u201c\u2018He set them on their beasts again,\n      And away then they did ride;\n    And he returned to the merry green-wood\n      With great joy, mirth, and pride.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cCan you remember the whole of any ballad?\u201d asked one of my hearers. \u201cIf\nyou could I should like very much to hear it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd so should I.\u201d\u2014\u201cAnd I.\u201d\u2014\u201cAnd I.\u201d\u2014cried two or three other voices.\n\n\u201cI fear there will be some parts that you will scarcely understand,\u201d I\nreplied; \u201cbut as you wish it, you shall hear of\n\n\nROBIN HOOD AND THE RANGER; OR, TRUE FRIENDSHIP AFTER A FIERCE FIGHT.\n\n    \u201cWhen Ph\u0153bus had melted the \u2018sickles\u2019 of ice,\n      And likewise the mountains of snow,\n    Bold Robin Hood he would ramble away,\n      To frolic abroad with his bow.\n\n    \u201cHe left all his merry men waiting behind,\n      Whilst through the green valleys he pass\u2019d,\n    Where he did behold a forester bold,\n      Who cry\u2019d out, \u2018Friend, whither so fast?\u2019\n\n    \u201cI am going,\u2019 quoth Robin, \u2018to kill a fat buck,\n      For me and my merry men all;\n    Besides, ere I go, I\u2019ll have a fat doe,\n      Or else it shall cost me a fall.\u2019\n\n    \u201c\u2018You\u2019d best have a care,\u2019 said the forester then,\n      \u2018For these are his majesty\u2019s deer;\n    Before you shall shoot, the thing I\u2019ll dispute,\n      For I am head forester here.\u2019\n\n    \u201c\u2018These thirteen long summers,\u2019 quoth Robin, \u2018I\u2019m sure,\n      My arrows I here have let fly;\n    Where freely I range, methinks it is strange\n      You should have more power than I.\n\n    \u201c\u2018This forest,\u2019 quoth Robin, \u2018I think is my own,\n      And so are the nimble deer too;\n    Therefore I declare, and solemnly swear,\n      I\u2019ll not be affronted by you.\u2019\n\n    \u201cThe forester he had a long quarter staff,\n      Likewise a broadsword by his side;\n    Without more ado, he presently drew,\n      Declaring the truth should be tried.\n\n    \u201cBold Robin Hood had a sword of the best,\n      Thus, ere he could take any wrong,\n    His courage was flush, he\u2019d venture a brush,\n      And thus they fell to it ding dong.\n\n    \u201cThe very first blow that the forester gave,\n      He made his broad weapon cry twang;\n    \u2019Twas over the head, he fell down for dead,\n      O that was a terrible bang!\n\n    \u201cBut Robin he soon recovered himself,\n      And bravely fell to it again;\n    The very next stroke their weapons they broke,\n      Yet never a man there was slain.\n\n    \u201cAt quarter staff then they resolved to play,\n      Because they would have the other bout;\n    And brave Robin Hood right valiantly stood;\n      Unwilling he was to give out.\n\n    \u201cBold Robin he gave him very hard blows,\n      The other return\u2019d them as fast;\n    At every stroke their jackets did smoke;\n      Three hours the combat did last.\n\n    \u201cAt length in a rage the forester grew,\n      And cudgel\u2019d bold Robin so sore\n    That he could not stand, so shaking his hand,\n      He cry\u2019d, \u2018Let us freely give o\u2019er.\n\n    \u201c\u2018Thou art a brave fellow, I needs must confess\n      I never knew any so good;\n    Thou art fitting to be a yeoman for me,\n      And range in the merry green-wood.\u2019\n\n    \u201cRobin Hood set his bugle horn to his mouth,\n      A blast then he merrily blows;\n    His yeomen did hear, and straight did appear\n      A hundred with trusty long bows.\n\n    \u201cNow Little John came at the head of them all,\n      Cloth\u2019d in a rich mantle of green;\n    And likewise the rest were gloriously drest,\n      A delicate sight to be seen!\n\n    \u201c\u2018Lo! these are my yeomen,\u2019 said bold Robin Hood,\n      \u2018And thou shalt be one of the train,\n    A mantle and bow, and quiver also,\n      I give them whom I entertain.\u2019\n\n    \u201cThe forester willingly entered the list,\n      They were such a beautiful sight;\n    Then with a long bow they shot a fat doe,\n      And made a rich supper that night,\n\n    \u201cWhat singing and dancing was in the green-wood,\n      For joy of another new mate!\n    With might and delight they spent all the night,\n      And liv\u2019d at a plentiful rate.\n\n    \u201cQuoth he, \u2018My brave yeomen, be true to your trust,\n      And then we may range the woods wide.\u2019\n    They all did declare, and solemnly swear,\n      They would conquer, or die by his side.\u201d\n\nThis ballad was highly approved of; and when, as usual, a few remarks had\nbeen made upon the valour of the champions, I resumed my tales, and told\nof\n\n\nROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNE.\n\n\u201cHow delightful are the woods upon a summer\u2019s morn. The bright foliage\nof the trees now shines in its deepest verdure; the lawns and glades\nare clothed with luxuriant grass and sweet wild flowers, upon which the\ndew-drops glisten in the rising sun. The merry birds sitting upon the\ntender branches pour forth their morning lays; and yon lark, now soaring\nhigh towards the blue expanse of heaven, makes hill and dale re-echo\nwith her melodious carol;\u2014all telling of the goodness of their Creator,\nand praising him for his wondrous works. Thus thought Robin Hood as, on\na bright morning in the pleasant month of June, he wandered amid the\ntrees of Barnesdale. He had been awakened earlier than usual from his\nslumbers by the loud and incessant singing of a golden thrush: he arose,\nand rambled forth, enjoying the freshness of the morning breeze, and the\nsweet music that was borne upon it. Many a hart darted across his path,\nand many a young fawn skipped playfully at his side, and then bounded\ninto the recesses of the forest. At another time the outlaw\u2019s keen arrow\nwould have followed them, but now he smiled at their merry gambols, and\ncharmed with the loveliness of the scene, he rested upon his bow, and\ncontemplated with heart-felt pleasure the tranquil beauty of the morn.\nHe continued thus, absorbed in meditation, when suddenly a distant sound\nbroke upon the stillness of the air.\n\n\u201cThe outlaw listened for a moment. \u2018\u2019Tis the tramp of horses,\u2019 he\nwhispered to himself; and stepping to a tree, quick as thought he\nclimbed amid its branches. Thence he could plainly distinguish the\nglitter of spear-heads and bright helmets, and scarce had he secured\nhimself from observation, when several horsemen, followed by a troop of\nsoldiers, passed within a few yards of his hiding-place. In the leader,\nRobin Hood at once recognised his old friend, the sheriff of Nottingham,\nwho he had no doubt was now come with his men to seek for the traitorous\nbutcher of Sherwood.\n\n\u201cIt was not till some time after this little band had gone by that the\noutlaw ventured to descend the tree; and then, striking into a narrow\npath, he endeavoured to retrace his steps to the spot where his men were\ndwelling. On his way he was obliged to cross the high road, where a\nstranger arrested his steps.\n\n\u201c\u2018Hast thou seen the sheriff of Nottingham in the forest?\u2019 he inquired.\n\n\u201c\u2018Aye, my good fellow, and with a fine band at his tail,\u2019 replied Robin\nHood. \u2018Art thou seeking him?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Not him,\u2019 returned the stranger, who was a bold yeoman, dressed in a\ncoat of the untanned skin of some wild beast, and who carried a bow in\nhis hand, and a sword and dagger at his side. \u2018I seek not the sheriff,\nbut him whom he seeks.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018And who may that be?\u2019 said the forester, at the same time forming a\npretty shrewd guess.\n\n\u201c\u2018A man they call Robin Hood,\u2019 answered the stranger. \u2018If thou canst show\nme where he is, this purse shall be thine;\u2019 and taking a well-filled\nleathern bag from his girdle, he rattled the contents together.\n\n\u201c\u2018Come with me, my friend, and thou shalt soon see Robin Hood,\u2019 returned\nthe outlaw. \u2018But thou hast a brave bow; wilt thou not try thy skill\nwith me in archery?\u2019 The stranger at once consented. Robin Hood with\nhis dagger cut down the branch of a tree, and fixing it in the earth,\nsuspended upon the top a little garland, which he entwined with the long\ngrass. The archers took their station at the distance of three hundred\nyards, and the stranger drew the first bow. His arrow flew past the mark\nfar too high. The outlaw next bent his weapon, and shot within an inch\nor two of the stick. Again the yeoman essayed; and this time his shaft\nflew straight and passed through the garland; but Robin Hood stepped\nup boldly, and drawing his arrow to the very head, shot it with such\nvehemence that it clave the branch into two pieces, and still flew\nonwards for some yards.\n\n\u201c\u2018Give me thy hand,\u2019 cried the stranger,\u2014\u2018thou\u2019rt the bravest bowman\nI\u2019ve seen for many a day, an thy heart be as true as thy aim, thou art a\nbetter man than Robin Hood. What name bearest thou?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Nay\u2014first tell me thine,\u2019 replied Robin, \u2018and then by my faith I will\nanswer thee.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018They call me Guy of Gisborne,\u2019 rejoined the yeoman. \u2018I\u2019m one of the\nking\u2019s rangers; and am sworn to take that outlawed traitor, Robin Hood.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018He\u2019s no traitor, sirrah,\u2019 returned the forester angrily; \u2018and cares as\nmuch for thee as for the beast whose skin thou wearest. I am that outlaw\nwhom thou seek\u2019st,\u2014I am Robin Hood:\u2019 and in a moment his drawn sword was\nin his hand.\n\n\u201c\u2018That\u2019s for thee then,\u2019 cried the yeoman, striking fiercely. \u2018Five\nhundred pounds are set upon thine head, and if I get it not I\u2019ll lose\nmine own.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: ROBIN HOOD & GUY OF GISBORNE\n\nJ. Gilbert]\n\n\u201cRobin Hood intercepted the intended blow, and fought skillfully with his\nfiery and more athletic antagonist, who poured down an incessant shower\nof strokes upon him. Once the bold outlaw fell; but recovering himself\nsufficiently to place a foot upon the earth, he thrust his sword at the\nranger, and as he drew back to avoid it, Robin Hood sprung up, and with\none sudden back-handed stroke slew poor Guy of Gisborne upon the spot.\nHe immediately stripped off the hide from the dead man, upon whom he put\nhis own green mantle; and then taking his unfortunate opponent\u2019s bow and\narrows and bugle-horn, he drew him into a thicket, and darted off swiftly\nto assist his men.\n\n\u201cIn the mean while the sheriff of Nottingham and his attendants had\npushed their way through the woods to Barnesdale, where they had been\ninformed the outlaw was lying.\n\n\u201cThe bold foresters, ever on the alert, heard the unusual sound of the\ntramp of armed men, and with their bugles gave notice to each other of\nthe danger. Little John had been in pursuit of a fat doe, which he was\nbringing home upon his shoulders, when the warning sounded upon his ears.\nConcealing his booty among the underwood, he bounded through the forest\nto the scene of danger, where he found that Will Stutely and many of\nhis comrades were urging their utmost speed to escape from some of the\nsheriff\u2019s men, and two bold foresters lying dead upon the grass. Little\nJohn\u2019s wrath was kindled. Forgetful of the imprudence of the action, he\ndrew his bow, and let fly an arrow at the cause of this mischief, but\nthe treacherous weapon brake in his hand, and the shaft flew wide of the\nsheriff, but striking one of his followers stretched him lifeless upon\nthe turf.\n\n\u201cLeft almost defenceless by the loss of his bow, Little John could make\nbut a poor resistance to the crowd of men who instantly surrounded him.\nBy the sheriff\u2019s order he was bound hand and foot, and tied to a young\noak, receiving at the same time a promise that so soon as more of his\ncomrades were taken he should with them be hanged on the highest tree in\nBarnesdale. Just then a loud blast from a bugle rang through the wood.\n\n\u201c\u2018Here comes good Guy of Gisborne,\u2019 quoth the sheriff; \u2018and by his blast\nI know that he hath slain that bold knave, Robin Hood. Come hither, good\nGuy,\u2019 he continued as the outlaw appeared, effectually concealed in the\nyeoman\u2019s clothing. \u2018What reward wilt thou have of me?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I must finish my work first, good master sheriff,\u2019 replied the\ndisguised hero. \u2018I\u2019ve slain the master, and now I must kill the knave;\nbut \u2019twere cruel ere he has confessed his sins.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou\u2019rt a pretty fellow truly to turn father-confessor,\u2019 replied the\nsheriff; \u2018but go, do as thou list, only be quick about it.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe outlaw stepped to the side of Little John,\u2014who had easily recognised\nhis beloved master\u2019s voice,\u2014and pretended to listen attentively to what\nthe poor captive might be saying, but drawing his dagger, he gently cut\nthe cords that bound his comrade, and gave him the bow and arrow that he\nhad taken from Guy of Gisborne.\n\n\u201cRobin Hood then placed his own bugle to his lips and sounded a\npeculiarly shrill blast, that rung in the sheriff\u2019s ears as a death\nknell, so well did he remember the sound. The two outlaws were quickly\nsupported by a band of sixty foresters, who had collected together, and\nall drew their bows at once against the intruders. A dense flight of\narrows fell upon them. Those who were not too badly wounded immediately\nset spurs to their horses, or took to their heels in the most abrupt\nconfusion. One poor forester, Will Stutely, they bore off with them.\nRobin Hood and his men pursued, and it was not till they had got half\nway on their road back to Nottingham that the defeated sheriff and his\nattendants drew rein.\n\n\nTHE CAPTURE OF WILL STUTELY.\n\n\u201cRobin Hood was sorely grieved when he learned that his bold follower had\nbeen carried off. Calling his men together, he made them swear that they\nwould rescue their brave comrade, or die in the attempt. Will Scarlet was\ndespatched at once to learn to what place he was taken; and hastening\nwith all speed to Nottingham, he found that the news of the terrible\naffray, and the sheriff\u2019s precipitate flight, had already caused a great\nsensation among the gossips of the town. From them he easily ascertained\nthat the captive outlaw was imprisoned in the castle, and that he was to\nbe hanged on the following morning at sun-rise. Scarlet flew back with\nthis intelligence to Robin Hood, who communicated it to his men, and all\nagain swore to bring Will Stutely safely back to Barnesdale, or fearfully\navenge his death.\n\n\u201cEarly on the morning after his capture, the unfortunate prisoner,\ntightly bound and guarded on every side, was led from his cell towards\nthe gallows that had been erected on the plain in front of the castle.\nHe cast his eyes anxiously around, in the hope that succour might be at\nhand, but he could perceive no signs of the presence of his comrades.\nTurning to the sheriff, who attended in person at the execution of so\nnotorious an outlaw,\n\n\u201c\u2018Grant me one boon, I pray thee,\u2019 cried he; \u2018never has one of Robin\nHood\u2019s men died like a thief; let me not be the first. Give me my good\nsword in my hand, and do ye all set upon me. I shall then die as a brave\nman should.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019ve sworn to hang thee on the highest gallows in Nottingham,\u2019 replied\nthe sheriff; \u2018and when I catch that still greater villain, Robin Hood, he\nshall dance by thy side.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou\u2019rt a dastard coward!\u2019 cried Stutely in a rage, \u2018a faint-hearted\npeasant slave! By\u2019r lady, if e\u2019er thou meet\u2019st bold Robin Hood, thou\u2019lt\nhave payment for the deed thou\u2019rt doing. He scorns and despises thee,\nand all thy cowardly crew, who will as soon take King Henry prisoner as\nbrave Robin Hood;\u2019 and the forester laughed loudly in defiance.\n\n\u201cAt the sheriff\u2019s command the executioner seized him by the arms, and\nhurried him to the fatal tree; he was just about to affix the rope, when\na tall yeoman leaped out of an adjacent bush, and with a stroke of his\nsword felled the officer to the earth.\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019m come to take leave of thee, Will, before thou diest,\u2019 cried the\nintruder; \u2018and, good master sheriff, thou must spare him to me awhile.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2018As I live,\u2019 cried the sheriff, to his attendants, \u2018yon varlet\u2019s a rebel\ntoo, and one of Robin Hood\u2019s men,\u2014seize him\u2014five pounds for his head,\ndead or alive.\u2019 But, in a moment, Little John, for he it was, cut the\nbonds that secured his comrade, and snatching a sword from one of the\nsoldiers, gave it him, shouting, \u2018Fight, Will, defend thyself, man\u2014Help\nis near.\u2014To the rescue\u2014To the rescue.\u2019\u2014And turning back to back, the two\noutlaws gallantly parried the attacks of their assailants.\n\n\u201c\u2018To the rescue! To the rescue!\u2019 echoed a host of voices from a\nneighbouring wood; and Robin Hood, with seven-score men, bounded across\nthe green plain. A flight of arrows from their bows rattled upon the\narmour of the soldiers, and more than one stuck into the sheriff\u2019s robe.\n\n\u201c\u2018Away, my men, away!\u2019 cried he, flying to the castle for shelter. \u2018\u2019Tis\nRobin Hood himself;\u2019 and the knowledge that the outlaw would especially\nchoose him for a mark added wings to the speed of the valiant sheriff.\nHis men\u2014nothing loth to follow such an example, vied with each other in\nthe race, so greatly to the amusement of the merry outlaws that they\ncould not for laughter discharge an arrow in pursuit of them.\n\n\u201c\u2018I little thought, good master, to have seen thy face again,\u2019 said Will\nStutely; \u2018and to thee, my bold comrade,\u2019 he added, addressing Little\nJohn, \u2018to thee I owe my best thanks. \u2019Twill be a long day ere Will\nStutely forgets thy kindness.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018May we ever thus support each other in danger,\u2019 said Robin Hood, loud\nenough for the whole band to hear him. \u2018But, my brave yeomen, we must\naway, or we shall have the whole nest of hornets about our ears;\u2019 and,\nwith many a laugh at the sudden flight of the sheriff, and the glorious\nrescue of one of their favourite companions, the bold foresters plunged\nagain into the woods and returned to Barnesdale, where they celebrated\nthe joyful occasion with feasting and music, till the stars glittering\nthrough the topmost branches of the trees warned them that the hour of\nrest was at hand.\n\n\nROBIN HOOD AND THE BEGGAR\n\n\u201cFor some long time after this last daring adventure, Robin Hood and his\nmen were so hotly pressed by the sheriff that it was with difficulty that\nthey eluded the pursuit. Now concealing themselves in the recesses of\na cavern, now in the thickest coverts of the forest, they were obliged\nalmost daily to change their abode, until at last, tired of the incessant\nchase, the sheriff disbanded his forces and returned to Nottingham.\n\n\u201cWhen the outlaws were well assured of this, they quickly came back to\ntheir old haunts in Barnesdale and Sherwood, and pursued their usual\ncourse of life. One evening Robin Hood was roving through the woods, when\nhe espied a sturdy-looking beggar, clad in an old patched cloak, come\njogging along. In his hand he carried a thick oaken staff, with which he\nassisted himself in walking, and round his neck a well-filled meal-bag\nwas suspended by a broad leathern belt, while three steeple crowned hats\nplaced within each other, sheltered his bald pate from the rain and snow.\n\n\u201c\u2018Stay, good friend,\u2019 said Robin Hood to him as they met; \u2018thou seem\u2019st\nin haste to-night.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019ve far to go yet,\u2019 answered the beggar, still pushing onwards, \u2018and\nshould look foolish enough to get to my lodging house when all the\nsupper\u2019s done.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Ay! ay!\u2019 returned Robin Hood, walking by his side. \u2018So long as thou\nfillest thine own mouth, thou carest but little about mine. Lend me some\nmoney, my friend, till we meet again. I\u2019ve not dined yet, and my credit\nat the tavern is but indifferent.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018If thou fastest till I give thee money,\u2019 replied the mendicant,\n\u2018thou\u2019lt eat nothing this year. Thou\u2019rt a younger man than I am, and\nought to work:\u2019 and the old fellow pushed on still more briskly.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now, by my troth, thou\u2019rt but a churl,\u2019 cried the outlaw. \u2018If thou hast\nbut one farthing in thy pouch, \u2019tshall part company with thee before I\ngo. Off with thy ragged cloak, and let\u2019s see what treasures it conceals,\nor I\u2019ll make a window in it with my good broad arrows.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Dost think I care for wee bits of sticks like them?\u2019 said the beggar,\nlaughing; \u2018they\u2019re fit for nothing but skewers for a housewife\u2019s\npudding-bag.\u2019 Robin Hood drew back a pace or two, and fitted an arrow\nto his bow-string, but before he could let it fly the beggar swung his\nstaff round his head, and with one stroke splintered bow and arrow into\ntwenty pieces. The outlaw drew his sword, and was about to repay this\nwith interest, when a second blow from the old man\u2019s stick lighted upon\nhis wrist, and so great was the pain it caused that his blade fell\ninvoluntarily from his grasp. Poor Robin Hood was now completely in the\nbeggar\u2019s power;\u2014\n\n    \u201c\u2018He could not fight\u2014he could not flee,\u2014\n      He wist not what to do;\n    The beggar, with his noble tree,\n      Laid lusty slaps him to.\n\n    \u201c\u2018He paid good Robin back and side,\n      And baste him up and down;\n    And with his pike-staff laid on loud,\n      Till he fell in a swoon.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Stand up, man,\u2019 cried the beggar jeeringly, \u2018\u2019tis hardly bed-time yet.\nCount thy money, man\u2014buy ale and wine with it, and give thy friends a\njovial carouse. How they\u2019ll laugh at the poor beggar.\u2019\n\n\u201cRobin Hood answered not a word, but lay still as a stone; his cheeks\npale as ashes, and his eyes closed. The beggar gave him a parting thwack,\nand thinking that he had killed the saucy highwayman, went boldly on his\nway.\n\n\u201cIt fortunately happened that Will Scarlet and two of his comrades\nwere soon after passing by, and seeing a man lying by the road-side,\napparently dead, walked up to him. What was their consternation and grief\nwhen they beheld their loved chief weltering in his blood. Will Scarlet\nbended upon one knee, and raised his master\u2019s head upon the other. One\nforester ran to a brook that flowed close by, and brought back his cap\nfilled with water, which they sprinkled upon his face, and his companion\ndrew from his pouch a little leathern bottle, the contents of which\nspeedily revived the unfortunate outlaw.\n\n\u201c\u2018Tell us, dear master,\u2019 exclaimed Will Scarlet, \u2018who has done this?\u2019\n\n\u201cRobin Hood sighed deeply. \u2018I\u2019ve roved in these woods for many years,\u2019 he\nsaid, \u2018but never have I been so hard beset as on this day. A beggar with\nan old patched cloak, for whom I would not have given a straw, has so\nhasted my back with his pike-staff that it will be many a day ere Robin\nHood will lead his merry men again.\u2014See! see!\u2019 he added as he raised his\nhead;\u2014\u2018there goes the man, on yonder hill, with three hats upon his head.\nMy friends,\u2014if you love your master,\u2014go and revenge this deed;\u2014bring him\nback to me, and let me see with mine own eyes the punishment you\u2019ll give\nhim.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018One of us shall remain with thee,\u2019 replied Will; \u2018thou\u2019rt ill at ease.\nThe other two will quickly bring back yon evil-minded miscreant.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Nay, nay,\u2019 returned the discomfited outlaw; \u2018by my troth ye will have\nenough to do if he once get scope for that villanous staff of his.\u2014Go,\nall of ye,\u2014seize him suddenly\u2014bind him fast, and bring him here, that I\nmay repay him for these hard blows that he has given me.\u2019\n\n\u201cWill Scarlet and his two companions started off as fast as they could\nrun, dashing onward through many a miry pool, and over many a tiring\nhill, until they arrived at a part of the road that wound through the\nforest by a way at least a mile and a half nearer than the beaten path\nthat the beggar had taken. There was a dense copse of trees in the\nbottom of a valley through which a little brook gently streamed, and\nthe road-way ran close to it. The foresters, well acquainted with every\nacre of the ground which they so often traversed, took advantage of this\ngrove, and concealed themselves behind the well covered branches. In\nthe mean while the old beggar rejoicing in the victory he had so lately\nobtained, walked sturdily on, as briskly as age and his weary limbs would\nallow him. He passed by the copse without the least suspicion of lurking\ndanger, but had proceeded only a step or two farther when his staff was\nviolently seized by one of the foresters, and a dagger was pointed to his\nbreast, with threats of vengeance if he resisted.\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh! spare my life,\u2019 cried the beggar, at once relinquishing his hold,\n\u2018and take away that ugly knife. What have I done to deserve this? I am\nbut a poor beggar, who has never wronged thee or thine.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou liest, false carle,\u2019 replied Will, \u2018thou hast well nigh slain\nthe noblest man that e\u2019er trod the forest grass. Back shalt thou go to\nhim, and before yon sun sinks down thy carcase shall be dangling from the\nhighest tree in Barnesdale.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe beggar was sorely frightened at this terrible threat; he had lost\nhis only weapon, and his aged limbs were but a poor match against three\nstout young men. He began to despair and to give himself up as lost, when\na thought struck him. \u2018Brave gentlemen,\u2019 he said, \u2018why take ye a poor\nman\u2019s blood? \u2019Twill make ye none the richer. If ye will give me liberty,\nand promise to do me no more harm, I have a hundred golden pounds in this\nmeal-bag, that shall be yours.\u2019 The foresters whispered together and\ndetermined to get the money first, come afterwards what might.\n\n\u201c\u2018Give us thy money,\u2019 said Will, \u2018and we\u2019ll let thee go thy way.\u2019 The\nbeggar unfastened the clasp of his belt, and taking it from his neck,\nspread the meal-bag upon the grass, while the young men anxious for the\ngold, bent over, eager to seize upon the expected prize. The old fellow\npretended to search very diligently at the bottom of the bag, and pulled\nout a peck or two of meal, which he piled into a heap; then watching his\nopportunity, he filled both hands full, and threw it violently in the\nfaces of the outlaws, who, blinded and astonished, began to rub their\neyes most woefully. The beggar sprung up in a moment, seized his staff,\nand in a twinkling began to belabour their backs and shoulders.\n\n\u201c\u2018I have mealed your coats,\u2019 he cried, \u2018but I\u2019ve a good pike-staff here\nthat will soon beat them clean again;\u2019 and before the youths could\nrecover from their consternation the old man plied his staff so manfully\nthat his arm ached from the exertion, and he was obliged to stay for rest.\n\n\u201cThe young outlaws did not attempt to retaliate; indeed they could not\nsee where to strike; but trusting to their swiftness, scampered away even\nmore briskly than they had come; and the beggar laughing at the success\nof his wile, plunged into the woods, and made the best of his way from\nBarnesdale forest.\n\n\u201cWhen Will Scarlet and his comrades presented themselves before Robin\nHood, the bold outlaw, ill as he was, could not refrain from bursting\ninto laughter at their sheepish appearance. They hung down their heads,\nand still rubbed their eyes, while the meal on their coats made known\nthe trick that had been played upon them.\n\n\u201c\u2018What have ye done with the bold beggar?\u2019 inquired Robin Hood; \u2018surely\nthree of ye were a match for him.\u2019 Will Scarlet replied; told him of\ntheir first success, and the old man\u2019s promise of money; but when he came\nto the meal and the drubbing they had received, Robin Hood laughed till\nhis bruised limbs ached. Although he would fain have revenged himself\nupon his opponent, yet the cleverness of the trick so pleased his fancy\nthat he swore that if ever he met the sturdy beggar again, he would, by\nfair means or foul, make him join his band in merry Barnesdale.\u201d\n\nThis tale was frequently interrupted with the loud laughter of my\nhearers, who all praised the dexterity of the old beggar-man.\n\n\n\n\nTHE THIRD EVENING.\n\n\nTHE OUTLAW\u2019S SPORTS.\n\nUpon the next evening that we met together I found my school-fellows\nwaiting for me under the old tree, and taking my usual seat, I\nimmediately began:\u2014\n\n\u201cMany a gay meadow bedecked with daisies and buttercups stretches its\nverdant surface by the banks of the fair river Trent; and many a wood\nfilled with merry birds lines its brink so closely that the pendent\nbranches of the trees lave themselves in its transparent waters. It was\nupon the evening of a lovely day in spring, when every flower looked\nfresh and beautiful, and the early leaves of the forest shone in their\nbrightest green tint, that a party of young men emerging upon one of\nthese meadows from the surrounding woods, began to amuse themselves in\nthe athletic exercises in which our forefathers so much delighted.\nSome of them struck slight branches into the earth, and placing a pole\ntransversely upon them, leaped over it at nearly their own height from\nthe ground. Presently a signal was given, and four or five youths bounded\nacross the lawn with the speed of young stags, vieing with each other in\nthe first attainment of the solitary elm that graced the centre of the\nmeadow. High swelled the bosom of the victor as, breathless and panting,\nhe received the reward of his achievement, perhaps a new scarlet cap, or\na bright new girdle, and proud was he to know that the chief to whom he\nhad sworn allegiance beheld and smiled approvingly on his success.\n\n\u201cBut now a more important contest began. One of the foresters stood\nforward, and fixed up a target, the face of which was rudely painted in\ncircles of various colours, a small white spot serving as a centre. A\nline was drawn at the distance of five hundred feet from this mark, near\nwhich about twenty bowmen took their station; one after another each\nstept up to it, bent his bow, and let fly an arrow with all the force he\ncould command. Many shafts had flown far wide of the target, and some few\nhad struck it near the side, when the turn arrived for a gaily-dressed\narcher to make his trial. Walking deliberately to the line, he very\ncarefully placed his arrow upon the bow-string, raised it till it was on\na level with his ear, and instantly discharged it. The quivering shaft\nsank deeply within two inches of the white centre.\n\n\u201c\u2018Bravely done, Will Scarlet,\u2019 exclaimed a forester who stood apart from\nthe rest, and who evidently controlled their movements; \u2018thou\u2019lt soon\nbecome as good a bowman as e\u2019er trod the green-wood.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I do my best, good master,\u2019 replied Will to Robin Hood, who had taken\nadvantage of the cool evening, in order to exercise his men; \u2018but here\nis one whom I fear I scarcely equal:\u2019 and a bold forester, who was known\nto his companions by the cognomen of \u2018Much, the Miller\u2019s Son,\u2019 stood\nforward, and drew his bow. The nicely-balanced arrow shot swift as\nlightning through the air, and pierced the very centre of the target.\nA loud huzza followed this achievement, and Robin Hood himself shouted\nlouder than the rest. In a moment after all was hushed, for the tall\nforester, brave Little John, took the last turn, and his comrades,\nknowing well his dexterity, breathlessly awaited the result of the\ncontest. After carefully selecting a well-feathered arrow, he stood\nerect as a young tree, drew back his bow-string with the strength of a\ngiant, and suddenly let it slip. For a minute or two no one could tell\nwhere the arrow had gone; it was just possible to trace its flight as it\nwhizzed through the air, but it was not to be seen on the target. Little\nJohn, smiling as he beheld the looks of surprise, ran swiftly across the\nintervening space, and, to their astonishment, drew forth his shaft from\nout of that of the miller\u2019s, which it had struck, and cloven about half\nway down.\n\n\u201cRobin Hood and his followers shouted with rapture, and the victor\nbending upon one knee, received from his master, as a reward for his\nprowess, a beautiful arrow of silver.\n\n\u201c\u2018By my troth,\u2019 said the outlaw, as he gave it to him, \u2018I would ride a\nhundred miles, any day, to find an archer like thee.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou\u2019st no need to go so far,\u2019 cried Will Scarlet, rather envious of\nthe better success of his companions. \u2018There\u2019s a friar in Fountains\u2019 Dale\nthat will bend a bow against him or thee, ay, or against all thy men.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019ll neither eat nor drink till I find him,\u2019 said the bold outlaw.\n\u2018\u2019Tis too late to seek him this evening, but ere I break my fast\nto-morrow I\u2019ll see this valiant friar.\u2019 And as he spake he drew an arrow\nfrom his quiver, and fixed it upon his bow-string.\n\n\u201cA young hart had innocently trotted forth from the shelter of the woods,\nand was making its way towards the brink of the river, when the noise of\nthe foresters reached its ear. Startled at the sound, the creature turned\nits pretty head, gazed for a moment, and, frightened at the unaccustomed\nscene, bounded at full speed back towards the concealment of the forest.\nThe outlaw\u2019s keen eye had followed its motions, and wishing to display\nthe superiority of his skill, he let fly an arrow at it while in its\nswiftest flight; the poor fawn immediately dropped, although the distance\nbetween it and the archer was, at the least, a quarter of a mile.\n\n\u201c\u2018Dost think the friar of Fountains\u2019 Abbey will beat that?\u2019 asked Robin\nHood as he slackened his bow-string.\n\n\u201c\u2018Ay marry, that will he,\u2019 replied Will Scarlet; \u2018many\u2019s the buck he has\nkilled at half a mile.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019ll never draw bow again,\u2019 returned the chief, \u2018if a lazy friar once\nbeats me in archery. What say ye, my friends, shall we find out this\ngallant priest?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Make him join us,\u2019 cried several voices.\n\n\u201c\u2018To-morrow at earliest dawn be ready to attend me,\u2019 said Robin Hood; and\nwith Little John by his side, he left the meadow.\n\n\u201cThe foresters then parted into groups and strolled away, some to the\nbanks of the stream, others to the darkening woods, while a few, not yet\ncontent as to their inferiority, sought again to try their speed against\nthe victors.\n\n\nROBIN HOOD AND THE FRIAR.\n\n\u201cUpon the next morning, ere the sun had risen above the horizon, Robin\nHood started from his couch, and armed himself. He put on his helmet and\nbreast-plate, he took up his good broadsword, his long tried buckler,\nand his trustiest bow, and then placing his bugle-horn to his lips, he\nplayed so loud a _r\u00e9veille_ that his men, frightened from their slumbers,\nseized their nearest weapons, as if an army had appeared against them.\nA few gentler notes made them remember the appointed time, and soon\nfifty bold youths attended the summons of their master. He bade them\nhasten to Fountains\u2019 Dale by the shortest path, but on no account to show\nthemselves till he had sounded three blasts upon his bugle; and with a\nlight foot and merry heart he sprang into his horse\u2019s saddle, and set out\nto encounter the renowned friar.\n\n\u201cThis friar, whose fame was spread far and wide, had once been an inmate\nand one of the brethren of Fountains\u2019 Abbey, but his irregular course\nof life and lawless pursuits had brought down upon him the wrath of\nthe superior, and he had been expelled. Friar Tuck, so was he called,\nbore his disgrace boldly; he immediately retired to the forests, and\nthere built himself a rude hut of the large stones with which the\ncountry abounded, thatching it with branches of trees. There he lived\nin solitude, gaining from the country people, who frequently came to\nhim for religious consolation, a character of the greatest sanctity.\nThe friar took care to turn this to his advantage, and many were the\npresents of butter, milk, and sometimes of a more enlivening liquid, that\nhe received. But these did not constitute his chief means of livelihood;\nearly in the morning the friar had more than once been seen with a good\nlong bow in his hand, and a quiver of arrows at his side, and a report\nhad gone abroad that few could equal him in the use of this favourite\nweapon.\n\n\u201cThe friar was a tall burly man, at least six feet high, with a broad\nexpanded chest, and a muscular arm that the sturdiest blacksmith might\nhave been proud of. He usually wore a dark mulberry coloured cloak that\nreached nearly to his ancles, and girded it with a black woollen rope,\nthe two ends of which hung down before him, about half a yard in length.\nOn the morning upon which Robin Hood had determined to discover him, from\nsome unaccountable reason friar Tuck had put a steel cap upon his head,\nand a corslet upon his breast, and with his long oaken staff in his hand\nhad rambled to the margin of the fair river Skell, where he stood gazing\nsteadfastly upon the waves, as they rippled by. Presently he heard the\nsound of a horse\u2019s step, and turning, he beheld within a few feet of him\nan armed horseman. The stranger quickly dismounted, and fastening his\nsteed by his bridle, to the branch of a tree, advanced towards him.\n\n\u201c\u2018Art thou the Friar of Fountains\u2019 Abbey?\u2019 he asked, when each had\nregarded the other in silence for a short space.\n\n\u201c\u2018They that speak of me call me so,\u2019 replied the priest; \u2018why dost thou\nseek me?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Carry me over this stream, thou burly friar, and I will tell thee,\u2019\nreplied Robin Hood. The priest, without a word, tucked up his garments to\nthe waist, took the daring outlaw upon his back, and gravely waded across\nthe stream. Robin Hood leaped off lightly upon the opposite bank.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now do thou carry me back, thou gay gallant,\u2019 said the friar. The\noutlaw stooped, took him upon his shoulders, and with great difficulty\nbore his weighty burden across.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now by my faith thou\u2019rt double the weight that I am,\u2019 cried Robin Hood\nas the priest alighted, \u2018and I\u2019ll have two rides to thy one.\u2019 The friar\ndid not answer, but taking up the merry forester again, bore him to the\nmiddle of the stream, and bending down, pitched him headlong into the\nwater.\n\n\u201c\u2018Choose thee, my fine fellow, whether thou\u2019lt sink or swim!\u2019 he said;\n\u2018a morning bath will do thine health good.\u2019 Robin Hood scrambled to the\nbank, fitted an arrow to his bow, and let it fly at the treacherous\nfriar; but the wet had sodden both the bow-string and the feathers of the\nshaft, and it flew far wide. The priest not wishing to stand a second\ntrial, flourished his staff and knocked the bow from the grasp of the\nforester, who quickly drew his sword and retaliated by severely wounding\nhis vigorous opponent upon the shoulder. The friar at this grew wrathful,\nand returned a most terrible thwack upon the outlaw\u2019s head. Blow followed\nupon blow; now the thick oaken staff beat down the less weighty but more\ndeadly weapon, and again the sharp edge of the sword drank blood. They\nfought thus for more than an hour, and each began to weary of such warm\nwork before breakfast.\n\n\u201c\u2018A boon, a boon,\u2019 cried Robin Hood, retiring from the contest. \u2018Give me\nleave to sound three blasts upon my bugle-horn.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: ROBIN HOOD & THE FRIAR\n\nJ. Gilbert]\n\n\u201c\u2018Blow till thy cheeks crack,\u2019 returned the friar. \u2018Think\u2019st thou I fear\na bugle blast?\u2019 The outlaw sounded the horn thrice, so loudly that the\nfriar clapped his hands to his ears, and beat a retreat for several\nyards. The signal was immediately returned, and apparently from close at\nhand. In two minutes more a tall yeoman leaped from the adjacent wood,\nand followed by fifty young foresters, with bows ready in their hands,\nran to the side of their commander.\n\n\u201c\u2018Whose men are these?\u2019 asked the friar, greatly surprised at this sudden\nreinforcement.\n\n\u201c\u2018They\u2019re Robin Hood\u2019s bold foresters,\u2019 said the outlaw; \u2018and I am Robin\nHood. Wilt join our merry troop? Thou\u2019rt the bravest friar that e\u2019er wore\ncowl, and if thou canst let fly an arrow as well as thou canst wield a\nquarter-staff, thou\u2019rt a match for my boldest man.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Let\u2019s have a bout,\u2019 said friar Tuck, unwilling to fight against such\nodds as were opposed to him. \u2018If there\u2019s an archer here that can beat me\nat the long-bow, I\u2019ll be thy man. If I\u2019m the best, swear that thou wilt\nleave me free in mine own woods.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Agreed!\u2019 cried the outlaw. \u2018Stand forth, brave Little John, and for the\ncredit of Robin Hood choose thy truest shaft.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Ne\u2019er fear me,\u2019 replied the tall forester, as he carelessly advanced.\n\u2018Shoot on, my brave fellow, and at what mark you may, only for St.\nHubert\u2019s sake, let it be some five hundred feet or so from us.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Seest thou yon bird?\u2019 said the friar, pointing to a hawk that, with\nfluttering wings, hovered at a considerable height above a neighbouring\nbrake. \u2018I will kill it. If thou canst strike it again ere it reaches the\nearth, I\u2019ll say thou art a better man than friar Tuck.\u2019 Drawing an arrow\nfrom his quiver, with apparent ease he shot the ill-fated bird, which\ninstantly fell to the earth, but not before a second shaft had transfixed\nits body. A young forester darted away, and quickly returned with the\nprize, when it appeared that the friar\u2019s arrow had pinioned the hawk\u2019s\nwings to its sides, and that Little John\u2019s had pierced through from its\nbreast to its back.\n\n\u201c\u2018Well done, my brave archers,\u2019 cried the outlaws\u2019 chief; \u2018there\u2019s many a\nbowman in merry England would give his best weapon to shoot like ye. What\nsays my gallant friar? will he keep his promise?\u2019\n\n\u2018What I have said, that will I do,\u2019 replied the priest; \u2018but first I must\nreturn to my hut, and possess myself of its valuable contents.\u2019 Robin\nHood offered to accompany him, and dismissing his followers, he and the\nfriar by turns rode upon the horse, first to the hut and then to the\ngreen woods of Sherwood.\n\n\nROBIN HOOD AND THE BISHOP OF HEREFORD.\n\n\u201cRobin Hood used frequently to disguise himself, and pay visits to the\nneighbouring villages, in order to learn if any thing were going on in\nwhich he might take a part. In one of these excursions, he overheard a\nconversation between two priests, by which he learned that the bishop\nof Hereford was expected to pass that way very shortly, upon a visit to\nhis holy brother, the archbishop of York. The outlaw lost no time in\nascertaining the route which the reverend father would travel, and with a\nmerry heart he hurried back to his followers in Sherwood forest. At the\nsound of his well known bugle, two-score yeomen quickly surrounded him,\nLittle John and Will Scarlet among them.\n\n\u201c\u2018We shall have noble company to dine with us,\u2019 said Robin Hood. \u2018Kill\na good fat buck or two, and prepare a feast.\u2019 Three or four foresters\nquickly darted away to execute this commission.\n\n\u201c\u2018Who may it be, master,\u2019 asked Little John, \u2018that loves to be merry\nunder the green-wood tree?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Love or not love,\u2019 cried the captain laughing, \u2018a holy bishop dines\nwith us to-day, though he brings a dozen companions with him. But \u2019tis\ntime to meet his reverence. Do thou and Will Scarlet attend me, and thou\ntoo,\u2014and thou,\u2014and thou,\u2019\u2014he added, tapping with his bow the heads of\nthree of his tallest followers, who most willingly and joyfully complied.\n\n\u201cThe bishop of Hereford, as many bishops were in those days, was very\nrich, very avaricious, and exceedingly tyrannical. By the nobles he\nwas regarded as a powerful prelate, and a support to the dignity of\nthe church; but the people looked upon him with fear, as a proud,\noverbearing priest. Upon the occasion of his visit to his brother of\nYork, the bishop of Hereford rode on horseback, dressed in the white\nrobes of his sacred office; a massive gold chain was suspended round his\nneck, supporting a golden crucifix, and in his right hand he carried his\ncrosier, of the same precious metal. His milk-white steed, also, was\nrichly caparisoned with silken trappings. The dean of Hereford, attired\nin a plain black cassock, rode humbly by the side of his superior, who,\nfrom time to time, deigned to hold converse with him upon the vanities\nof this wicked world. Behind them, twenty horsemen, armed at all points,\nwith broad-swords by their sides and lances in rest, followed slowly\nupon chargers of the jettest black, and three or four servants leading\nsumpter mules closed the rear. Notwithstanding all this pompous array,\nit was with many a misgiving that the bishop ventured to enter upon the\ndangerous road through Sherwood forest.\n\n\u201c\u2018Holy brother,\u2019 said he to the dean, \u2018dost thou think that the man\ncalled Robin Hood will dare to molest the Lord\u2019s anointed, if perchance\nhe should have heard of our journeying?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018They say, reverend father,\u2019 replied the dean, \u2018that he holds the holy\nbrethren of the church but cheaply, and pays but little respect to any of\nour cloth. I would that we had taken a more circuitous route, and avoided\nthe paths of this wicked man.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018It is too late to return now,\u2019 said the bishop; \u2018and have we not\ntwenty armed men to support us in the hour of trial!\u2014Comfort ye, my\nbrother,\u2014with this will I drive off the enemies of holy church;\u2019 and as\nhe spake he flourished his crosier above his head. They had proceeded\nbut a short way farther, when they suddenly came upon six shepherds,\ndancing merrily round a fire, with which they were cooking venison, by\nthe road-side.\n\n\u201c\u2018Ha!\u2019 cried the bishop when he smelt the savoury odour that exhaled from\nthe roasting flesh. \u2018Dare ye, villains as ye are, slay the king\u2019s deer,\nand cook it upon the open road? By St. Paul, ye shall answer for this.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Mercy! mercy! good bishop,\u2019 cried one of the shepherds; \u2018surely it\nbeseemeth not thy holy office to take away the lives of so many innocent\npeasants.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Guards, seize these villains,\u2019 cried the prelate, indignant at the\npresumption of the serf;\u2014\u2018away with them to York,\u2014they shall be strung\non the highest gibbet in the city.\u2019 The armed horsemen turned not\nover-willingly against the offenders, and endeavoured to seize them, but\nwith a loud laugh they darted among the trees, where the steeds could not\npossibly follow. Presently the shepherd who had begged for mercy pulled\nfrom under his frock a little bugle-horn, and blew a short call upon it.\nThe bishop and his retinue started with affright, and had already begun\nto urge on their horses, when they found themselves surrounded on every\nside by archers, dressed in green, with bows drawn in their hands.\n\n\u201c\u2018Mercy! mercy!\u2019 cried the bishop in great trepidation at the sight of\nfifty or more arrows ready to pierce him through. \u2018Have mercy upon an\nunfortunate traveller.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Fear not, good father,\u2019 replied Robin Hood, who was the shepherd that\nhad before spoken; \u2018we do but crave thy worshipful company to dine with\nus under the green-wood tree, and then, when thou hast paid the forest\ntoll, thou shalt depart in safety;\u2019 and, stepping into the road, the bold\noutlaw laid one hand upon the embossed bridle of the bishop\u2019s steed, and\nheld the stirrup with the other.\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh! that we had but gone the outer road,\u2019 groaned the bishop to his\nholy brother; \u2018we should have avoided these limbs of the evil one.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Nay, nay reverend father,\u2019 cried Robin Hood, laughing at the poor\nbishop\u2019s rueful countenance; \u2018call us not by so bad a name. We do but\ntake from the rich to administer to the necessities of the poor and if\nwe do now and then slay a fat buck or two, our good king will never know\nhis loss. But dismount, holy sir; and do ye, my friends, come likewise;\nright merry shall we be with such a jovial company.\u2019 The horsemen quickly\ndid as they were bidden, but the bishop most reluctantly unseated\nhimself, and with many a deep sigh obeyed the injunction of the outlaw.\nSome of the foresters immediately seized the horses, and tied their\nbridles to the lower branches of the trees; but the sumpter mules were\nhurried away through the wood as quickly as the narrow foot-paths would\nallow.\n\n\u201cAt Robin Hood\u2019s command, two young fellows took the unwilling bishop\nbetween them upon their shoulders, and followed by the whole company,\nbore him to their favourite lawn. A solitary beech tree, whose arms,\ncovered with thick foliage, extended far around, stood in the centre,\naffording a delightful shade from the bright summer sun. Robin Hood\nseated himself upon one of the twisted roots that grew above the surface\nof the turf, and commanded that his visitor should be brought before him.\nLittle John, taking off his cap as he approached, gently led him to the\noutlaw, while, to show his spite against him, one of the young foresters\nhad the audacity to tie the prelate\u2019s arms behind his back.\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou art accused of deep crimes,\u2019 exclaimed Robin Hood. \u2018It is said\nthat thou dost gripe the poor man with a hard hand, and showest but\nlittle mercy to the unfortunate. How answerest thou?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018By what right, mean serf,\u2019 replied the bishop, the blood rushing to his\ntemples, \u2018dost thou question an anointed servant of the church?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Pax vobiscum,\u2019 cried friar Tuck, coming forward, and folding his arms\nin an attitude of defiance. \u2018Wherefore not, good father? Answer boldly,\nand swear by St. Paul that thou ne\u2019er robbed the fatherless and the\nwidow.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018What canting priest art thou?\u2019 exclaimed the bishop. \u2018For thine\ninsolence thou shall be expelled the church; thy gown shall be stripped\nfrom thee, and thou shalt be branded as an impostor.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Save thyself the trouble,\u2019 replied the friar, laughing. \u2018The holy abbot\nof Fountains\u2019 Dale has forestalled thee in thy kind intentions.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Hold,\u2019 cried Robin Hood, rising from his seat, \u2018we\u2019ll have no more of\nthese priestly quarrels. Reverend father, accompany us to our trysting\ntree, and we\u2019ll drink to thy speedy amendment.\u2019 Then cutting his bonds\nwith a dagger, he took the hand of his unwilling guest, and led him to\nthe spot where they usually partook of their repasts.\n\n\u201cUpon the grass was spread a large cloth, covered with viands. Smoking\nhaunches of venison perfumed the air, and huge pasties baked in pewter\nvessels, roasted wild swans, peacocks, and a host of minor dishes, filled\nup any vacancies upon the cloth. At Robin Hood\u2019s request, the bishop said\ngrace, and fifty or more foresters quickly seated themselves to partake\nof this gallant feast. The prelate, for one in his situation, ate most\nheartily. His merry host no sooner saw that his platter was empty than he\nagain filled it from the most savoury dishes. Wine flowed in abundance,\nand when, in obedience to Robin Hood, every man filled his goblet to the\nbrim, and quaffed its contents to the health of the bishop of Hereford,\nthe good father for some moments quite forgot his misfortunes, and\nstriking his palm into the sinewy hand of Robin Hood, swore that he was\na jovial fellow.\n\n[Illustration: THE BISHOP OF HEREFORD\n\nJ. Gilbert\n\nDay & Haghe lithographers to the Queen]\n\n\u201cMany a ballad was then trolled forth by the foresters, and in the\nexcitement of the scene even the bishop ventured upon a stave; but, at\nthe moment he had concluded the first verse, his eye caught sight of one\nof his mules, from whose back an outlaw was busily removing the trunk\nthat contained his treasure.\n\n\u201c\u2018Bring me the reckoning, good host,\u2019 said he meekly, stopping short in\nhis song; \u2018I would fain discharge it, and proceed upon my journey.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Lend me thy purse, good bishop,\u2019 cried Little John, \u2018and I will save\nthee the trouble.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Take it,\u2019 replied the prelate, throwing a very light bag of money to\nthe forester, \u2018and give the surplus to the poor.\u2019\n\n\u201cLittle John opened the mouth of the purse, and emptied out ten golden\nnobles upon the grass. \u2018And dost thou think,\u2019 he exclaimed, laughing\nheartily at the owner\u2019s rueful countenance,\u2014\u2018dost thou think that a\nbishop pays no more toll than this? Verily, reverend father, the meanest\nfarmer in Nottinghamshire readily grants us so poor a trifle. Ho there!\u2019\nhe cried to the man who was disburthening the mules, \u2018bring hither yonder\ntrunk.\u2019 It was quickly brought, and with the help of a broadsword soon\nopened. Little John first pulled out a handsome cloak, which he spread\nupon the grass; a gown of the purest white lawn, an ermined robe, and a\ngolden mitre, were each brought forth in succession, and greatly admired\nby the delighted foresters; but presently a clink of metal was heard,\nand the bold robber drew forth a beautiful ivory casket. The point of a\ndagger was in a moment applied to the fastening, and treasures invaluable\nwere revealed. The bishop, who had sat shivering with anxiety during the\nsearch, now suddenly sprang to his feet with wonderful alacrity, and\nwould have seized his precious wealth, had not Robin Hood caught him by\nthe arm.\n\n\u201c\u2018Calm thyself, good father,\u2019 said the outlaw; \u2018do but fancy that\nthou art distributing this gold in alms to the poor, and thou wilt\nne\u2019er repent thee of thy charity.\u2019 The bishop did not reply, but gazed\nsteadfastly on the glittering coin, the sparkling jewels, and the holy\nbeads, that Little John was exhibiting to his companions.\n\n\u201c\u2018Rouse ye, my merry men,\u2019 cried the chief; \u2018see ye not how sad ye have\nmade our reverend guest!\u2019 A young man quickly brought a rude harp, upon\nwhich he struck a lively air, and the gallant outlaw taking the bishop by\nthe hand, led him forth, followed by the foresters in pairs. The dance\ncommenced, and the poor prelate, unwilling to provoke his tormentors to\nextremities, joined in the nimble step, which was prolonged till his\nweary feet could no longer sustain their burden. The reverend father fell\nfairly to the earth from sheer exhaustion.\n\n\u201cAt Robin Hood\u2019s bidding, the two young men again took the bishop upon\ntheir shoulders, and bore him to the spot where his steed and those of\nhis retinue were fastened. They placed him upon his saddle, with his\nface to the animal\u2019s tail, and giving it him instead of the bridle, they\npricked the creature with their daggers, and started it off at full\ngallop, the terrified rider clinging both with hands and knees to its\nback. The dean, the armed horsemen, and the servants were allowed to\nfollow their superior in peace; but the sumpter mules and their burdens\nwere detained as payment for the feast that had been given to their\nowners.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nOUR HALF-HOLIDAY.\n\n\nTHE WOOD.\n\nIt was, I remember, upon a Saturday afternoon that I was again asked\nto tell a tale of Robin Hood. On this, the last day of our week of\nseclusion, how great were the pleasures of our half-holiday! Frequently\nwe had permission granted us to stroll among the fields in the\nneighbourhood; in the spring time, to gather the bright yellow primrose,\nor search for the nests of the poor innocent birds; and, in the autumn\nseason, to pluck the delicious blackberries that, in some places,\u2014and we\nknew them well,\u2014abounded among the thorny hedges.\n\nAt about the distance of a quarter of a mile from our old school-house\nthere was an extensive park. Many hundred acres of land were covered with\nfine trees\u2014oaks, elms, and firs, variously intermixed\u2014while here and\nthere were open lawns, clothed only with grass and the beautiful wild\nflowers, that spring up, unnurtured, in their native soil. An ancient\nmansion stood in the midst, upon the summit of a hill, whence, looking\nover the woods, the face of the country for miles around could be traced\nas upon a map. The house was deserted\u2014the owner resided in a foreign\nland, and his noble English park was neglected: it had once been paled\nround, but in many places the wooden staves were broken, and a gap made,\nthrough which every passenger might enter. We often did, and chased each\nother among the crowded thickets; and now, glad of the opportunity of\nescaping from our confined play-ground, we repaired to this delightful\npark, where, seated upon the grass, with my companions lying around me, I\ntold them the tale of\n\n\nROBIN HOOD IN FINSBURY FIELD.\n\n\u201cIn the time of Henry the Second, and for many years afterwards, until\nthe use of gunpowder was known, the science of archery was greatly\nencouraged in England among all ranks and classes; and even the good\ncitizens of London constantly exercised their bows in \u2018Finsburie fielde.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe feast of St. Bartholomew was particularly celebrated by games of\nthis kind: a finely wrought bow or a golden arrow was given as a prize to\nthe best marksman, and the presence of the king and his court contributed\nnot a little to add interest to the long looked-for contests.\n\n\u201cOne year, towards the close of King Henry\u2019s reign, proclamation was as\nusual made, that the \u2018royal games of archery\u2019 would be held in Finsbury\nfield, upon St. Bartholomew\u2019s day. Queen Eleanor was passionately fond of\nthe sport, and rarely missed an opportunity of witnessing the superior\nskill displayed by the royal archers. She had heard much of Robin Hood,\nbut had never seen that gallant outlaw; and as the fame of his rencontre\nwith the bishop of Hereford had spread far and wide, she felt a secret\ndesire to behold so daring and so celebrated a man. Summoning a young\npage who waited her commands, she gave him a beautiful golden ring, and\nbade him hasten with all speed to Sherwood forest, and deliver it to\nthe forester, with her request that he would come to London and take a\npart in the approaching games. The youth lost no time in executing his\nmistress\u2019 command, and in two days arrived at Nottingham, where, from a\ngood yeoman, he learned the dwelling-place of Robin Hood, and on the next\nmorning he appeared before the bold outlaw. Falling gracefully upon one\nknee, he doffed his cap, and presented the ring to him, saying,\u2014\u2018My royal\nand most gracious mistress, Eleanor, queen of England, greets thee well.\nShe bids thee haste with all speed to fair London court, that thou may\u2019st\nbe her champion in the sports upon the feast of St. Bartholomew, in token\nwhereof accept this ring.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe outlaw took the royal present, and placed it upon his finger. \u2018Rise,\nmy pretty page,\u2019 he said; \u2018wend thou back upon the fleetest steed that\nthou canst find. Deliver this arrow to Queen Eleanor, and say that Robin\nHood will claim it ere three suns have set.\u2019 The young page rose, placed\nthe arrow in his belt, and with much courtesy bade the outlaw adieu; then\nhastening to his inn at Nottingham, he chose the swiftest horse in the\nstables, and flew back again to his royal mistress.\n\n\u201cEarly in the morning of St. Bartholomew\u2019s day, Finsbury field presented\na gay and most enlivening scene. The large open space, which then\nexisted where streets and squares are now crowded together, was covered\nwith the good citizens of London and their wives and daughters, bedecked\nin their newest holiday costume. Lists, three hundred yards in length,\nwere marked out in the centre of the field, and railed round, to prevent\nthe entrance of the spectators. At one end a scaffold was erected for the\naccommodation of the king and queen and their attendants; it was hung\nwith green silk, emblazoned with the royal arms in gold, and covered\nover with a beautiful bright blue cloth, spangled with silver stars.\nNear it were tents pitched for the use of the contending bowmen, and\nimmediately opposite, at the far end of the lists, a broad target was\nplaced, with a large wooden screen behind it, to stop the flight of any\nstray arrows that did not hit the mark. All were in busy expectation,\u2014for\nthe royal party had not yet arrived,\u2014and many were the wagers laid upon\nthe favourite archers of Finsbury. At length a blast of trumpets was\nheard, and two heralds, dressed in glittering coats of golden tissue,\nwith emblazoned banners hanging from their spirit-stirring instruments,\nentered the ground. The king, mounted on a barbed charger, and the queen\nupon a milk-white palfrey, both magnificently caparisoned, then appeared,\namid the waving of caps, and the deafening acclamations of the assembled\nthousands. Next followed, upon steeds of the purest white, a bevy of fair\nladies in attendance upon their royal mistress; and a band of knights and\ngentlemen, well mounted and richly dressed, closed the procession.\n\n\u201cAs soon as the royal party had alighted, and had taken their seats upon\nthe gallery, proclamation was made by sound of trumpet, that a tun of\nthe best Rhenish wine, and a hundred of the fattest harts that ran in\n\u2018Dallom Chase,\u2019 would be given to the truest marksman. The archers were\nthen ordered to advance to their posts, and a line was drawn upon which\nthey were to step when they discharged their arrows. Six bowmen appeared,\nwearing the king\u2019s livery, and marching to the gallery, they doffed their\ncaps to their royal master, and took their appointed station.\n\n\u201c\u2018Is there no one,\u2019 asked King Henry aloud,\u2014\u2018is there no bold forester to\noppose my gallant archers?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018A boon, my liege,\u2014a boon,\u2019\u2014cried Queen Eleanor. \u2018Promise me by the\nsaint whose feast we celebrate, that whoever draws bow on my side shall\ndepart uninjured and free for forty days.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I grant thy boon, fair Eleanor,\u2019 replied the king; \u2018but who are these\ngallant bowmen that require thine intercession?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Bid the heralds sound again,\u2019 said Eleanor, \u2018and thou shalt see them.\u2019\nThe trumpets again played, and the challenge from the king\u2019s archers was\nrepeated.\n\n\u201c\u2018The queen waved a light green scarf, and six tall yeomen entered\nthe lists, and advancing to the gallery, bowed lowly to their royal\npatroness. One of them, evidently the commander of the little band, was\nclothed in a rich scarlet doublet and trunk hose of the same bright\ncolour; a baldric of light blue silk, interwoven with threads of gold,\ncrossed his shoulder, supporting his quiver and a small golden bugle, and\nin his hand he carried a most beautifully wrought bow. His companions\nwere dressed in the favourite Lincoln green, and like their commander,\neach wore a black bonnet with a white streaming feather.\n\n\u201c\u2018Welcome, good Locksley,\u2019 said the queen, addressing the yeoman in\nscarlet. \u2018Thou must draw thy best bow for Queen Eleanor;\u2019 then turning\nto the noblemen around her, \u2018Who will support our brave party?\u2019 she\nasked. \u2018My good lord bishop of Hereford, wilt thou not in gallantry be on\nour side?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou hast six of the best archers of Finsbury to contend against,\ngracious madam,\u2019 replied the prelate, \u2018and thy men are all strangers; we\nknow not if they can draw a bow-string.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Will your grace wager against us?\u2019 asked Locksley of the bishop.\n\n\u201c\u2018Aye! by my mitre, willingly,\u2019 returned the bishop rather warmly; \u2018I\u2019ll\nwager a purse of gold against thee and thy whole band;\u2019 and he drew forth\nabout fifty golden nobles. Locksley replied by throwing upon the turf\nbefore the gallery a little bag containing at least an equal quantity of\nthe precious metal, and both stakes were given to the king as umpire of\nthe sport.\n\n\u201cThe royal archers now took their station upon the line, and one after\nanother let fly an arrow at the broad target. \u2018Why give us such a mark as\nthat?\u2019 cried one of them, named Clifton, as his arrow pierced the centre.\n\u2018We\u2019ll shoot at the sun and moon. \u2018Boldly said, my fine fellow,\u2019 replied\nLocksley as he drew his bow-string; \u2018you and I will have a bout together\npresently:\u2019 and carelessly discharging his arrow, it quivered within a\nhair\u2019s breadth of his opponent\u2019s. The spectators pleased at such fine\narchery, shouted at the sight, but the king and the bishop of Hereford\ncould ill conceal their surprise and disappointment. Locksley\u2019s men\nfollowed, and each one\u2019s arrow alighted within a few inches of the centre\nof the target, but so had those of the royal archers.\n\n\u201c\u2018The game is equal,\u2019 said the king, when he had mounted his horse and\ngalloped across the field; \u2018ye must shoot again, my brave men. Finsbury\nhas ne\u2019er before seen such archery as this.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018If my gallant friend here,\u2019 cried Locksley, \u2018who aims at nothing less\nthan bringing down yon glorious sun, will but agree to the trial, he and\nI might decide this contest between ourselves. That is,\u2019 he continued,\n\u2018with your majesty\u2019s royal leave.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018What say\u2019st thou, Clifton? art thou content to stake thy reputation\nagainst this braggart\u2019s?\u2019 asked King Henry.\n\n\u201c\u2018Right willingly, my liege,\u2019 replied the archer; \u2018I\u2019ll lay my own\ntrusty bow against his, that he hits not the mark that I do.\u2019\n\n\u2018A fair wager,\u2019 cried Locksley, \u2018which I readily accept.\u2019\n\n\u201cAt the instigation of the champions the broad target was removed, and\nin its place, a slight willow wand, not above an inch and a half in\ncircumference, was planted firmly in the earth. The spectators gazed with\nincreased wonder. \u2018They surely will not aim at such a mark as that,\u2019 said\nthey one to another. But the royal bowman stepped to the line, and after\ncarefully adjusting his arrow, let it fly: it peeled off the bark of\nthe wand as it passed by, and alighted in the earth a few yards farther\non. A loud huzza rent the air, and \u2018Clifton! a Clifton!\u2019 was shouted\nfrom one end of the lists to the other. The gay yeoman did not wait till\nthese cries had subsided. \u2018I will notch his shaft,\u2019 he said aloud as\nhe advanced composedly to his post; and fitting his arrow, he drew the\nbow-string to his ear, and after one moment\u2019s deliberation discharged the\nweapon with his utmost force. The shaft flew true, and to the amazement\nof the beholders, rived asunder that of his opponent. At first a deep\nsilence prevailed, many could not see where the arrow had struck, and\nsome were dumb with astonishment; but when one of the attendants pulled\nit forth, a shout of applause was raised, so loud, so long, and so\nvehement, that those of the good citizens of London who had remained at\nhome rushed forth from the gates in hundreds to inquire the cause of so\nviolent an outbreak.\n\n\u201cThe king\u2019s vexation at this defeat of his party quickly changed into\nadmiration of Locksley\u2019s superior skill. He rode up to his side: \u2018Wilt\nthou be one of my archers?\u2019 he asked; \u2018a hundred pounds a year, the free\nuse of my pantry, and a new suit of livery each three months, shall be\nthy reward.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018It grieves me, my liege,\u2019 replied the yeoman, \u2018that I cannot comply\nwith thy request; but grant me one boon, and I and my gallant men will\nsupport thee to our deaths.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Name it, good Locksley; \u2019tis already granted;\u2019 said the king.\n\n\u201c\u2018Pardon, most gracious liege, pardon for the outlawed Robin Hood and his\nbrave followers.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018And art thou Robin Hood?\u2019 asked Henry, his countenance flushed with\nanger, \u2018whose defiance of the law has filled the whole north country with\nalarm. By St. George, but thou art the boldest villain that e\u2019er shot\nbow. Ho! guards there, take charge of this over-valiant knave.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Remember thy promise,\u2019 cried a gentle voice from the gallery. \u2018Remember\nthou hast pledged thine honour.\n\n\u201cKing Henry turned as he recognised the sweet tones of his lovely\nconsort, and a smile played upon his lips as he replied, \u2018\u2019Twas but\nin jest, fair Eleanor, \u2019twas but in jest.\u2019 \u2018We will willingly grant\npardon to thee and thy followers,\u2019 he continued to the outlaw, \u2018if ye\nwill forsake your unlawful pursuits, and lead the sober lives of honest\nyeomen.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018We cannot quit the green woods of Sherwood,\u2019 said Robin Hood; \u2018but if\nyour majesty will grant us leave to range the forest, and now and then\nexercise our archery upon one of the thousands of fat deer that bound\nso gaily o\u2019er the lawns, we will promise that no traveller shall again\ncomplain of the outlaws of Nottinghamshire.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe king bit his lips in silence, but at that moment the defeated\narcher advanced and tendered his bow to the victor.\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou\u2019rt a good marksman, Clifton,\u2019 said he; \u2018if thou hadst made a\nlittle more allowance for the distance, thine arrow would not have passed\nthe wand; keep thy bow, man; though I tell it thee, there\u2019s but one\nbetter archer in merry England.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018If I had known that thou wert Robin Hood,\u2019 cried the bishop of\nHereford, as the king delivered the well-filled purses to the outlaw, \u2018I\nwould not have wagered against thee. Thou hast already had more gold of\nmine than I e\u2019er intended.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Surely thou dost not forget the jovial dinner we gave thee under our\ntrysting tree,\u2019 replied Robin Hood; \u2018yet if thou dost begrudge the\npayment, I will return it even now.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Nay, nay, master,\u2019 cried Little John, who had accompanied his captain,\n\u2018that were unwise; since thou hast promised not to relieve travellers\nof their superfluous wealth, \u2019twere folly not to keep all the gold thou\ncomest honestly by.\u2019 Robin Hood with a smile threw the purses to his more\nconsiderate follower, bowed low to the king, and still lower to his fair\npatroness, and accompanied by his five gay yeomen, departed from the\nfield.\n\n\u201cSherwood forest soon rung again with the sound of his bugle-horn,\nbut the promise given on Finsbury field was kept during King Henry\u2019s\nlife-time; no traveller had reason to complain of the bold outlaws.\n\n\nTHE KNIGHT OF WIERYSDALE.\n\n\u201cWe must suppose that several years had elapsed since Robin Hood\u2019s\nvictory in Finsbury field, when the following tale commences. Richard\nthe Lion-hearted had succeeded to his father\u2019s throne, and with many\nof his nobles had joined the memorable crusades. During his absence in\nPalestine, the internal state of England had become far worse than it was\nat the time of his accession. Baron rose up against baron, and princes\nmade war upon each other, till discord, tumult, and fierce rapine,\nreigned throughout the land. It was not, therefore, to be wondered at,\nwhen the laws were for a time suspended and force of arms alone decided\nthe contest, that the bold foresters had again recourse to their superior\nstrength.\n\n\u201cIt was a bright morning in early summer, when a solitary horseman was\nproceeding upon his journey through one of the narrow roads that crossed\nBarnesdale forest;\n\n    \u201c\u2018All dreary was his semblance,\n      And little was his pride,\n    His one foot in the stirrup stood,\n      The other waved beside;\n\n    \u201c\u2018His hood was hanging o\u2019er his eyes,\n      He rode in simple array,\n    A sorrier man than he was one\n      Rode never on summer\u2019s day.\u2019\n\n\u201cA deep sigh escaped from the melancholy horseman, and big tears coursed\neach other down his cheeks, at every step of his poor lean beast; and\nwhen three men suddenly emerged from the wood, and stood before his path,\nhe seemed scarcely conscious of their presence.\n\n\u201c\u2018God save thee, sir knight,\u2019 cried one of them, a tall forester, nearly\nseven feet high, moved with compassion at his forlorn appearance.\n\u2018Welcome to our merry green-wood. Thou must be our guest to-day.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Leave me, good sirs, I pray ye,\u2019 said the knight mournfully, \u2018my\nsorrows are already too heavy for me to bear; add not to my distress.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Nay, be not so downcast,\u2019 returned the former speaker. \u2018Thou art in\ngood hands, and may\u2019st trust us. Our master waits dinner for a guest, and\nthou art the first man who has passed through Barnesdale this day.\u2019 Then\ntaking the knight\u2019s rein in his hand, the forester led the jaded steed\nthrough the intricate paths of the wood, until he arrived at an open\nlawn, where a band of yeomen were reclining under the shade of a huge elm.\n\n\u201c\u2018Welcome, sir knight,\u2019 said one of them rising and doffing his cap at\nthe appearance of a stranger. \u2018Welcome to merry Barnesdale.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Who art thou,\u2019 inquired the horseman, \u2018that causest travellers to be\nconstrained from their way? I am but a poor knight, without so much as a\npiece of gold, wherewith to buy me food.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018More welcome still,\u2019 exclaimed the forester, assisting him from his\nhorse. \u2018We shall have the blessings of charity upon our deeds. Thou\nhast heard of Robin Hood,\u2014I am that outlaw, and these are my gallant\nfollowers.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Unless report belie thee,\u2019 replied the knight, \u2018thou art a friend to\nthe unfortunate. Dismiss me at once, and let me speed on.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Dine with us first,\u2019 said the forester, \u2018and freely shalt thou\ndepart.\u2019 A cloth was spread beneath the shady branches, and covered with\na profusion of the most delicious viands. Rhenish wine also, and ale\nplentifully abounded, and with cheerful hearts about twenty yeomen seated\nthemselves around. \u2018Eat gladly, sir knight,\u2019 said Robin Hood; \u2018here\u2019s to\nthy health, and a more merry countenance;\u2019 and as he spake he tossed off\nthe contents of a goblet.\n\n\u201c\u2018Thanks, thanks, my noble host,\u2019 replied the stranger; \u2018it grieves me\nthat I shall ne\u2019er be able to return thy goodness.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Truly, good sir, thou look\u2019st but grievous,\u2019 answered the outlaw. \u2018Tell\nme, is there aught in which my services can avail thee; what is the cause\nof thy deep sorrow?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I have lost land and gold,\u2019 returned the knight, \u2018and I fear that my\ngood name must follow them.\u2019 His tears burst out afresh. \u2018They call me,\u2019\nhe continued, \u2018Sir Rychard o\u2019 the Lee. I am sprung of noble blood, and\nfor these last three hundred years have mine ancestors wore spurs. Twelve\nshort months ago I had a noble house and fine estate, with four hundred\npounds a year; but now, except my lovely wife and my sweet children, I\nhave nothing in the world.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018How hast thou lost thy riches?\u201d inquired Robin Hood anxiously.\n\n\u201c\u2018\u2019Tis a short story,\u2019 replied the knight; \u2018I fought in a fair field with\na knight of Lancashire, and slew him. To save my liberty, I mortgaged\nthe broad lands of Wierysdale to St. Mary\u2019s Abbey, and if I pay not the\namount to-morrow, my castle will be forfeited.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018What is the sum thou owest, and what wilt thou do if thou losest thy\nland?\u2019 asked the outlaw.\n\n\u201c\u2018Four hundred golden pounds must I pay, if I would keep fair\nWierysdale,\u2019 he replied. \u2018I go to beg grace for another year; if the holy\nabbot will not grant it, I must flee away across the broad seas to a\ncountry where they know me not.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Where are thy friends?\u2019 asked Little John; \u2018will they not be security\nfor thee?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Alas,\u2019 replied Sir Rychard, \u2018when I had money and house, and lands, I\nlacked not friends, but now my oldest companions turn from me as a herd\nof deer would from a poor wounded hart. My only trust is in God and the\nblessed saints.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Will Peter, or Paul, or John, be surety for thee?\u2019 asked the outlaw.\n\u2018By my troth, good sir, thou must find wealthier friends than they.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I have none other,\u2019 replied the knight mournfully, \u2018except it be the\nBlessed Mary, who in all my trials has never failed me.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou hast indeed a good friend,\u2019 said Robin Hood; \u2018and if thou wilt\nswear by our dear Lady that in twelve months from this day it shalt be\nrestored to me, I will lend thee what thou wantest.\u2019 The knight fell upon\nhis knees, gave the required promise, and drawing forth a silver image of\nthe Virgin, he devoutly kissed it.\n\n\u201cIn the meanwhile Little John had gone to the outlaws\u2019 treasury, and now\nreturned with a heavy bag. He quickly counted out four hundred pieces of\ngold and offered them to the knight, with a beautiful doublet of scarlet\ncloth. These he readily accepted. At Robin Hood\u2019s bidding, a gallant\ngrey steed with rich housings was next brought forth, and after having\nreceived a pair of golden spurs from the hands of the noble outlaw, the\nknight vaulted into the saddle.\n\n\u201c\u2018\u2019Twould be a shame,\u2019 said Robin Hood, \u2018that so well equipped a knight\nshould ride without esquire; \u2018I will lend thee my brave man, Little John,\nuntil thou gettest a yeoman for thy service.\u2019 The forester willingly\nagreed, and mounting a stout palfrey, he was soon ready to accompany his\nnew master. With tears of joy instead of sorrow, the knight bade farewell\nto his kind and generous host, struck his spurs into his new charger, and\nfollowed by Little John, galloped swiftly over the plain.\n\n\u201cOn the morning after this adventure, the holy superior of St. Mary\u2019s\nAbbey, in the old city of York, was seated in his hall, attended by\nseveral of the monks.\n\n\u201c\u2018Upon this day twelve months ago,\u2019 said he to his attentive listeners,\n\u2018there came a knight who borrowed four hundred pounds, upon the security\nof his lands and castle. The hour is near at hand; unless he appear and\npay the money before yon glass has run, the fair lands of Wierysdale will\nbelong to this sanctuary.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018It is early yet, holy father,\u2019 replied the prior; \u2018the poor man may be\nin a far country, and it would be hard to use him thus harshly. Methinks\nthy conscience, my lord abbot, would but ill bear so rude a treatment to\nan unfortunate knight.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou art ever in my beard,\u2019 exclaimed the superior angrily. \u2018By all the\nsaints I swear that, unless the knight of Wierysdale appear ere the sun\nhas set, he shall be disinherited.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018He is either dead or he cannot pay,\u2019 said a fat monk, who was high\ncellarer, \u2018and St. Mary\u2019s Abbey will be enriched with a goodly sum. Shall\nI not seek the lord justice, holy father, and bid him attend to prepare\ndeeds for the transfer of the land.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Yea, brother,\u2019 replied the abbot; \u2018\u2019tis but lost time to wait for our\ndebtor, therefore use despatch, good brother\u2014use despatch.\u2019 The cellarer\nleft the room as quickly as his fat limbs would carry him, and in less\nthan an hour returned with the lord chief justice.\n\n\u201cIn the mean time Sir Rychard o\u2019 the Lee and his esquire had arrived\nin York, and taken up their abode at an inn. After they had rested for\nawhile from the fatigue of their journey, they dressed themselves in\ntheir sorriest habiliments, and set out to the abbey. Upon knocking at\nthe great gates, they were immediately admitted, and conducted into\na lofty and spacious room, whose high pointed roof ornamented with\ngrotesque images, narrow Gothic windows, and beautifully tesselated\npavement, combined to strike the beholder with admiration, and increase\nhis reverence for the inmates of such a noble dwelling.\n\n\u201cThe knight and his attendant doffed their caps and bowed low as they\nentered the hall, and advanced to the upper end, where, upon a carved\noaken throne, sat the abbot of St. Mary\u2019s, with the lord chief justice of\nYork by his side.\n\n\u201c\u2018God save thee, holy father,\u2019 said the knight, as he kneeled before him;\n\u2018I have attended thee this day as thou didst bid me.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Hast thou brought any money, sir knight?\u2019 asked the priest in a harsh\ntone.\n\n\u201c\u2018Not one penny,\u2019 replied the suppliant. \u2018I am come to beg that thou\nwilt extend the time of payment for one more year.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018That is unfortunate,\u2019 rejoined the abbot, with difficulty repressing\nhis delight at the intelligence. \u2018The day is nearly gone, and unless\nthou canst pay down four hundred pounds ere the setting of the sun, thy\nlands must pass to the accruement of St. Mary\u2019s Abbey. Sir justice,\u2019 he\ncontinued, looking askance, \u2018here\u2019s to thee;\u2019 and in the height of his\nsatisfaction he emptied a goblet of wine at a single draught.\n\n\u201c\u2018Good sir justice,\u2019 said the knight imploringly, \u2018wilt thou not assist\nme in my distress. Day by day will I serve thee until I have repaid thy\ngoodness.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Nay, sir,\u2019 returned the justice, \u2018I cannot do it if I had the will.\u2019\n\u2018Give him two hundred pounds more, holy father, and the good knight will\nsign thee a release of the lands that he can no longer claim.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Never,\u2019 replied the knight fiercely, as he started to his feet.\n\u2018Merciless tyrants as ye are, ye get not my lands thus. Never shall monk\nor friar be heir to Wierysdale.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018What,\u2019 cried the priest, rising from his seat; \u2018darest thou beard the\nabbot of St. Mary\u2019s; out upon thee for a false knight, thy castle is no\nlonger thine.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thou liest,\u2019 returned the knight, stamping his heel upon the pavement\nuntil it rung again: \u2018never was I false. I\u2019ve stood in tournaments\nagainst noble earls and greater men than thou, and have oft proved myself\na true knight and good. Take back thy gold,\u2019 he continued, as he poured\nout the contents of his purse at the abbot\u2019s feet; \u2018and think not that\nthou canst so easily get the fair lands of Wierysdale. Hadst thou shown\ncourtesy to a suppliant knight, thou should\u2019st have had recompense.\u2019 Then\nsnatching away the papers which the justice had before him, Sir Rychard\ndarted a look of defiance at the abbot, and with a firm step departed\nfrom the hall, leaving the holy father overwhelmed with astonishment,\ndisappointment, and regret.\n\n[Illustration: THE KNIGHT OF WIERYSDALE\n\nJ. Gilbert]\n\n\u201cSir Rychard returned to his inn, gave away his old garments to the first\nbeggar that passed by, and after dismissing his gallant esquire with the\nwarmest thanks for his assistance, again started off with an attendant\nwhom Little John had procured for him. He rode on, singing merrily, until\nhe drew rein at his own gate in Wierysdale. His lady, with tears in\nher eyes, had been watching his approach, but when she saw the joyful\ncountenance and proud bearing of her husband, she ran forth to clasp him\nin her arms, and learn the cause of such unexpected joy. The story was\nbriefly told, and from that day to the end of their lives the good knight\nand his lady did not fail to remember in their prayers the name of Robin\nHood.\u201d\n\nI had just finished this tale, when the chimes from the distant steeple\nfaintly reached our ears. The hour at which we were expected back had\narrived, and we were at least a quarter of an hour\u2019s walk away. We\nstarted to our feet, bounded through the wood, and over the low palings,\nand made many a passenger laugh heartily as we chased past him to our\nhome.\n\n\n\n\nOUR FIFTH MEETING.\n\n\nREYNOLDE GRENELEFE.\n\nThis evening we resumed our old seats under the sycamore tree in the\nshrubbery, when I thus continued my tales:\u2014\n\n\u201cAfter the departure of the knight of Wierysdale, Little John determined\nupon seeking an adventure, that he might have something to boast of\namong his companions, when he returned to Barnesdale woods. By chance he\nlearned that there was to be a grand archery meeting near Nottingham,\nand that the high sheriff was to award a prize to the best marksman.\nWithout delay, he rode across the country bypaths which no one but a\ndaring forester would have chosen, and upon the next morning reached the\nappointed ground, just as the sports were about to commence.\n\n\u201cThe best bowmen of the county had entered the lists, and as a silver\nbugle-horn was to be awarded to the victor, each man had resolved to do\nhis best to gain it. Upon the appearance of the new competitor, they\nlooked at each other, and after whispering together, laughed at the\npresumption of the stranger, who had dared to offer himself as their\nrival. One by one the well-known and oft victorious archers advanced, and\nshot their arrows so near the centre of the target that it was next to\nimpossible to say whose aim had been the truest; Little John shot last,\nand with such success that his arrow knocked out one of the very nearest\nof his opponents\u2019. The sheriff, surprised at his dexterity, rode up,\nexamined the target and declared that he could not pronounce a decision.\nAt the suggestion of the forester, to whom the others now paid greater\nrespect, a thick white wand, which a ranger had been using to keep back\nthe spectators, was placed upright in the ground at twenty paces farther\ndistance. Again the sports began.\u2014The Nottingham men supported their\nreputation, and no less than three arrows stuck in the mark; the outlaw\nfired last, and also hit the wand. These four again shot, when two of\nthe bowmen missed, and the contest remained to be decided between the\nfirst marksman of Nottingham, and the bold stranger.\n\n\u201cThe populace had often given vent to their admiration of such gallant\narchery, by loud huzzas, but now a breathless silence prevailed. The\nsheriff, anxious for the honour of his county, rode up and down in\na perfect fever of excitement, and spoke encouraging words to the\nNottingham champion. The man coolly took up his position and drew his bow\nwith the greatest care, but the shaft unfortunately flew half an inch\nabove the mark. Little John smiled, advanced and shot his arrow a third\ntime into the middle of the wand. A feeling of disappointment seemed to\nspread over the spectators, and the defeated archer could ill conceal his\nchagrin.\n\n\u201c\u2018Tell me, my good friend,\u2019 said the sheriff as he rode up to the victor,\nand presented him with the prize, \u2018what name bearest thou? and what\ncountry dost thou dwell in?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018My name is Reynolde Grenelefe,\u2019 replied the forester; \u2018I was born and\nbred in merry Holdernesse, and am now roving from town to town to seek a\nbetter fortune.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018By St. Hubert,\u2019 rejoined the sheriff, \u2018thou art the best archer that\ne\u2019er drew bow in Nottingham. Wilt dwell with me, and protect the king\u2019s\ndeer from the cursed outlaws?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Willingly, an thou\u2019lt pay me well,\u2019 answered the forester boldly.\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou shalt have forty pounds a year, and three new suits of clothes,\nand shalt dine every day off the king\u2019s venison,\u2019 said the sheriff.\n\n\u201cThe artful forester readily agreed, and on the same day took up his\nabode in his new master\u2019s mansion, where he soon became on good terms\nwith all the household, except the steward, who took a mortal aversion to\nhim on account of his favour with their master. One day the sheriff went\nout hunting early in the morning, leaving Reynolde Grenelefe asleep in\nbed, where he lay until it was nearly noon; he then rose, and going to\nthe kitchen, asked the steward for his dinner.\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou lazy villain,\u2019 he replied, \u2018dost think thou hast earned it. By\nmy troth thou shalt have neither to eat nor drink till my lord hears of\nthine idleness.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe forester laughed, and gave a stride towards the pantry door, but\nthe steward was too quick for him: he turned the key in the lock, pulled\nit out, and placed it in his pocket. Without a word the outlaw stepped\nup and struck him with his open palm upon the ear, and the poor steward,\nstunned with the shock, fell heavily down. Reynolde then spurned the door\nwith his foot, bursting lock and bar asunder, and entering the pantry,\nhe found a goodly venison pasty and a bottle of strong ale, upon which,\nwithout either grace or ceremony, he began a most furious attack. While\nhe was thus busy the cook came in, and seeing the steward lying on the\nfloor, and the new servant devouring the contents of the pantry, he soon\nguessed the true state of the matter. Arming himself with a huge rolling\npin, he crept quietly towards the offender, and before he could protect\nhimself, struck him upon the back of his head; the outlaw well nigh\nfell, but catching at a board, he sustained himself, and then drawing\nhis sword, rushed at his cowardly antagonist. For full an hour did they\nthump and belabour each other till they could scarcely stand. \u2018Give\nme thy hand,\u2019 cried Reynolde, dropping his sword. \u2018Thou art a valiant\nfellow, and \u2019twere pity to break thy bones. Come with me to the woods; I\nam one of Robin Hood\u2019s men, and if thou\u2019lt join us we\u2019ll give thee a suit\nof Lincoln green, and teach thee the merry life of a forester.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe cook consented; and after breaking open their master\u2019s treasury\nand seizing upon all the silver plate and money that it contained, the\ntreacherous servants left the house, and mounting two of the finest\nhorses in the sheriff\u2019s stable, galloped off with their booty to\nBarnesdale forest.\n\n\u201cWelcome, my brave yeoman. Where hast thou tarried?\u2019 exclaimed Robin\nHood, as Little John presented himself and his companion before the\ngallant captain. \u2018And who bringest thou to the green-wood?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou shalt hear all, good master,\u2019 replied the tall forester. \u2018Thy\nworthy friend, the sheriff of Nottingham, hath sent thee his cook, his\nsilver chalices, and three hundred golden pounds:\u2019 and he related the\nstory of his adventures with the greatest glee, while Robin Hood, who\nowed the poor sheriff many a grudge, laughed till the tears ran down his\ncheeks, and he was obliged to throw himself upon the grass from sheer\nexhaustion.\n\n\u201cJust as Little John was concluding his narration, a huntsman\u2019s bugle\nsounded in the distance. He stopped and listened for a moment. \u2019Tis my\ndear master\u2019s horn,\u2019 he exclaimed; \u2018I must away to him;\u2019 and darting\nthrough the woods, he ran over hill and dale until he reached the spot\nwhere the sheriff of Nottingham and his attendants were beating among the\nthickets in search of game.\n\n\u201c\u2018Ha! Reynolde Grenelefe,\u2019 he exclaimed, as his servant stood before him,\n\u2018where hast thou been?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Roving through the forest, good master,\u2019 replied Reynolde; \u2018and by my\ntroth I have beheld the strangest sight that mortal eyes e\u2019er saw. In\nyon dense wood is a fine stag, whose hide is of a bright green colour,\nand a herd of seven-score more lie scattered around him. His horns are\nso large and sharp that I dare not shoot for fear that he might rush at\nme and tear me, and hearing thy bugle-horn, I have hastened to tell\nthee of so strange a creature.\u2019 The sheriff, filled with wonder, desired\nto be immediately conducted to the animal, and the outlaw started off\nagain at his full speed, followed by his master until they arrived at the\nspot where Robin Hood was still lying upon the turf. \u2018This is the hart,\ngood master,\u2019 said Little John, pointing to his captain; \u2018and there is\nthe gallant herd;\u2019 and he directed the sheriff\u2019s attention to a band of\nyeomen who were reclining under the shade of some neighbouring trees.\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou hast betrayed me,\u2019 he cried, drawing his sword, and biting his\nlips with rage. \u2018Thus shalt thou suffer for thy treachery;\u2019 and he struck\na fierce blow at his conductor.\n\n\u201c\u2018Calm thee, good master,\u2019 exclaimed Little John, nimbly avoiding the\nweapon. \u2018Thou hast given me many a good dinner, and now thou shalt have\na jovial supper in return.\u2019 Two foresters advanced, and gently disarmed\nthe still threatening prisoner, who very quietly suffered himself to\nbe seated at a well spread cloth. At the entreaty of the outlaws he\nbegan to eat; but when Little John brought him wine in his own cup, his\nmortification was so great that he could not swallow another morsel. The\nforesters pressed him so much the more, and laughed loud and long at his\nrueful countenance, while two or three sang ballads celebrating their own\nvictory over the sheriff of Nottingham.\n\n\u201cThe poor man could endure the scene no longer. He started to his feet,\nand would gladly have made his escape, but his flight was arrested.\n\u2018For one night, sir sheriff, thou shalt be an outlaw like us,\u2019 said\nRobin Hood to him. \u2018Thou shalt have thy couch under the green trees of\nBarnesdale, and if on the morrow thou likest thy fare, we will give\nthee a green mantle, and teach thee to shoot the grey goose-wing.\u2019\nNight drew on; the foresters, wrapping themselves in their cloaks, laid\nthemselves down under the most shady trees, and binding their prisoner,\nthat he might not escape during the darkness, compelled him to share\ntheir broad couch. All night long he tossed about and groaned, and when,\noppressed with weariness, he at length fell asleep, dreams of the most\nhideous nature wakened him to fresh torment. The darkness seemed to him\ninterminable; but at length the sun rose, and the foresters one and all\nroused themselves from their slumbers. \u2018Hast thou passed a good night,\nsir sheriff?\u2019 asked Robin Hood. \u2018How likest thou our downy beds?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018The beasts of the field lie more softly,\u2019 replied the sheriff. \u2018Rather\nthan make me pass another night like this, I pray thee send an arrow\nthrough my heart, and I\u2019ll forgive thee. But wherefore dost thou detain\nme? I have no gold, and that traitor Reynolde Grenelefe has robbed me of\nwhat I possessed at home. Suffer me to go and I will be thy best friend\nto my dying day.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Swear that thou wilt never harm the foresters of Barnesdale,\u2019 replied\nRobin Hood, \u2018and thou shalt depart;\u2019 and he presented the cross of his\nsword to the sheriff\u2019s lips.\n\n\u201cHe took the oath, and the outlaw immediately cut his bonds; then\nordering his horse to be brought, he helped the anxious sheriff to his\nsaddle, and bade him a merry ride. The goaded steed flew along the narrow\npathway, and quickly emerging from the woods, bore his glad rider home to\nNottingham.\n\n\u201cA twelvemonth was nearly elapsed since Robin Hood had lent the four\nhundred pounds to the knight of Wierysdale, and but two days yet remained\nto Lammas-tide, when the money would become due.\n\n\u201cBy economy and service in arms the worthy knight had been enabled to\nsave much more than the required sum. He purchased a hundred tough yew\nbows, with strings of twisted silk, a hundred beautiful quivers, well\nstored with arrows, each of which was notched with silver, feathered with\nthe plume of a peacock, and tipped with a head of burnished gold; and\nmounted on the outlaw\u2019s steed, he set out to Barnesdale wood, followed by\na troop of his attendants, bearing the weapons of the chase before them.\n\n\u201cOn his way the knight passed through a little town, where the\ninhabitants were celebrating a rural fair. The banks of a stream, over\nwhich he crossed by a rustic wooden bridge, were crowded with gaily\ndressed peasants, anxious to purchase the rare commodities which they\nwere able only once a year to procure at this long-expected mart. There\nwere tents of blue, and white, and crimson cloths, and long streaming\nbanners floated proudly above them. There were open stalls too, and rich\ndisplays of costly goods, and the busy throngs, as they incessantly\npoured on and on, seemed full of merriment and gladness. It was a joyous\nscene, and the knight gazed upon it with heart-felt pleasure. He wished\nto join in it, but he remembered that the day was close at hand when he\nhad promised repayment to the generous outlaw, and he struck his spurs\ninto his charger\u2019s sides. He had proceeded but a short way, when a loud\nnoise broke upon the distant murmur that had hitherto reached him from\nthe meadows, and caused him again to draw his rein. It seemed like the\nquarrelling of men in angry strife, and every moment it grew louder and\nlouder. \u2018There may be need of our assistance,\u2019 said the knight to his\nfollowers; and he instantly galloped to the spot whence the confusion\narose. At the sight of a band of armed horsemen the crowd became calm,\nand opened a passage-way.\n\n\u201c\u2018What means this uproar?\u2019 asked the leader. \u2018Are ye not celebrating\ngames of joy and peace?\u2019 A dead silence prevailed. \u2018Tell me, my friend,\u2019\nhe continued, addressing one who stood nearest him, \u2018why are ye thus at\nvariance?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Yon stranger,\u2019 replied the man, pointing to a gallant looking yeoman\nwho rested upon his bow, apart from the rest;\u2014\u2018Yon stranger has borne off\nevery prize this day. We know him not; and think \u2019tis unfair that the\nbest men in our county should get no victory.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Come hither, sirrah,\u2019 cried the knight to the offender. \u2018Who art thou\nthat darest to shoot and wrestle better than any man in Nottinghamshire?\u2019\n\n\u201cThe yeoman stepped forward boldly:\u2014\u2018What can it matter, sir knight, who\nI am?\u2019 he replied. \u2018I\u2019ve won the prizes, and have a right to them, but\nthese poor clowns cannot stomach a heavy fall, or my arrow in the centre\nof their bull\u2019s eye.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Shame on ye, my friends; would ye wrong a victor of his lawful reward?\u2019\nexclaimed the knight, turning to the multitude. \u2018Where are the prizes?\u2019\nAn old man advanced, and taking the horseman\u2019s bridle, led him to a tent,\nwhere were spread upon the grass a handsome saddle and bridle, ornamented\nwith gold, the prize of the swiftest runner; a finely carved bow, and\nan arrow, three feet long, of the purest white silver, to be given to\nthe truest marksman; and a pipe of the best Rhenish wine to be awarded\nto him who should gain the day at wrestling. All these had the stranger\nindubitably won; but when he demanded them, the disappointment of the\nnative peasants broke out into loud murmurings, and as few espoused the\ncause of the victor, it had well nigh gone hard with him. Staves had\nbeen brought into play, and more than one sword had been drawn, when the\narrival of the knight and his attendants quieted the tumult.\n\n\u201c\u2018Hast thou a steed to bear this goodly saddle?\u2019 said the knight to the\nstranger; \u2018and how wilt thou carry off this pipe of wine?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I came a-foot,\u2019 replied the man; \u2018but rather than leave so brave a\nprize, I will bear the saddle on my own back; as for the cask, these good\npeasants are welcome to it.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou\u2019rt a noble fellow,\u2019 returned the knight of Wierysdale, throwing\nhim a purse of gold. \u2018There\u2019s for thy wine, and if thou wilt follow me,\nthou shalt have a charger for thy saddle.\u2019 The yeoman readily complied.\nOne of the knight\u2019s men dismounted, and gave up his horse to him; he\nquickly clapped on his elegant furniture, and with the how at his back,\nand quiver by his side, he sprung into the seat, and ranged himself with\nthe rest of the attendants. The noble intercessor next ordered that the\nwine should be broached, and distributed to all who would partake of it.\nThe command was quickly obeyed, amidst the cheers of the peasants, who\nsoon forgot their previous quarrels and disappointments in the pleasures\nof the jovial cup. The knight waved his hand to them and rode on, but he\nhad lost so much time at the fair, that the sun sank down long before he\nreached the woods of Barnesdale, and he was obliged to halt at a little\ncottage by the way-side.\n\n\u201cThe morrow was Lammas-day; Robin Hood ordered a fat buck to be dressed,\nand preparations made for his expected guest; but noon passed without any\nappearance of him.\n\n\u201c\u2018Go thou,\u2019 said the outlaw to his favourite attendant, \u2018and see if thou\ncanst espy this slothful knight. Take Will Scarlet and the Miller\u2019s Son\nwith thee, and if his faithful surety send any over-burdened travellers\nto pay my debt, bring them hither. But, I charge ye, if a poor man, or a\nmerry jester, or a damsel in distress pass by, help them to your utmost,\ngive them gold and assist them on their way.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe three foresters gladly obeyed, and soon reached the high road that\nran through the wood. Many a stout yeoman and honest peasant did they\nencounter, and pass with a fair salutation, and one poor beggar, half\nclothed in rags, they sent on his path rejoicing. As they reached the\nsummit of a hill, two monks riding upon palfreys, attended by about a\nscore armed men on foot, and six sumpter mules heavily laden, appeared\njust ascending upon the opposite side.\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019ll wager my best bow-string,\u2019 exclaimed Little John, \u2018that these\nholy fathers have brought our captain\u2019s money. Bend your bows, my lads,\nand scatter the herd that follows them.\u2019 The foresters let fly arrow\nafter arrow in such quick succession that the frightened travellers\nturned and fled precipitately; the archers pursued, and soon gained upon\nthe fugitives, who one and all rushed into the woods, and endeavoured\nto escape amid the concealment of the foliage. Those on foot soon\ndisappeared, but the two monks on their palfreys and the sumpter mules\nwere easily captured by the outlaws. They immediately tied the hands of\ntheir prisoners behind them, and fastening the reins of their steeds\ntogether, they drove them to the presence of the chief, who doffed his\ncap, and advanced with great courtesy to meet his guests.\n\n\u201c\u2018I pray ye, holy fathers,\u2019 he said to them, \u2018take not offence at the\nrough usage of my followers. I care not to dine unless in goodly company,\nand therefore did they bring ye from your straight journeying.\u2019 The monks\npreserved a sullen silence, and suffered their bonds to be cut, and\nthemselves dismounted without speaking a word.\n\n\u201c\u2018Gramercy, good sirs,\u2019 cried Robin Hood, \u2018methinks ye have but a small\nshare of courtesy. What holy house do ye inhabit?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018We are but poor brethren of St. Mary\u2019s Abbey,\u2019 replied one of the\nmonks, who was the high cellarer, \u2018and were on our way to London to do\nreverence to the pope\u2019s legate, who has required our presence.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018May his blessing attend ye,\u2019 said the outlaw, in a mock solemn tone.\n\u2018Come now, my good friends, the feast is spread, sit ye and make\nmerry.\u2019 It is probable that in their present condition the monks would\nhave declined this request, had not the savoury odour that arose from\na smoking haunch of venison and a roasted wild swan smoothed down\ntheir angry feelings. They were soon seated by the side of the gallant\nforester; sparkling wine was brought, and the health of the pope\u2019s legate\nwas drunk with great glee. The monks ate heartily, and quaffed many a cup\nto their host and his merry men; forgetting, in their enjoyment, that\nthey would pay dearly for the treat. Robin Hood laughed and sang, and his\nmen trolled out their legendary ballads, till the sun had nearly reached\nthe horizon.\n\n\u201c\u2018I fear me,\u2019 said the outlaw to Little John, \u2018that our dear Lady is\nwroth with us. The day is well nigh spent, and our four hundred pounds\nare yet to come.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Ne\u2019er fear,\u2019 replied the tall forester. \u2018These kind monks have brought\nit, I dare swear\u2014for they come from her holy abbey. Tell us, good\nfathers, have ye not repayment for us from your sainted patroness?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018We have heard naught of this before,\u2019 replied the high cellarer.\n\u2018We possess but twenty marks wherewith to defray the expenses of our\ntravelling. Let us away, kind sirs, or we shall ne\u2019er reach Nottingham\nthis night.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018If ye have but twenty marks,\u2019 returned Robin Hood, \u2018ye will have to beg\nfor charity ere ye reach your journey\u2019s end. See, my bold Little John,\nhow much thou canst find in yonder heavy looking trunks. If \u2019tis as ye\nsay I will charge ye nothing for your feast; but if ye have a prize, ye\nmust e\u2019en be content to part company with it.\u2019\n\n\u201cLittle John soon returned with the trunk upon his shoulders, and\nspreading his mantle upon the grass, he poured out a heap of gold upon it.\n\n\u201c\u2018Good master, here are eight hundred pounds or more,\u2019 he said, when\nhe had counted out some few pieces and divided the rest into similar\nquantities. \u2018By my troth thou could\u2019st not have wished for better\npayment.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe monks\u2019 vexation was now at its height; they bit their lips and cast\nanxious glances towards their palfreys.\n\n\u201c\u2018Ye will need some few of these,\u2019 said Robin Hood, as he gave a handful\nof golden pieces to each of them; \u2018the patron saint of St. Mary\u2019s has\nsent us the rest as repayment for the money we lent to the knight\nof Wierysdale.\u2019 They eagerly clutched the offered gold, and without\nopposition from the outlaws mounted their steeds with most surprising\ncelerity, and, leaving the sumpter mules behind them, rode off amid loud\nshouts of laughter.\n\n\u201cThe topmost branches of the trees alone were gilded with the rays of\nthe setting sun, and the foliage had begun to cast a deeper shade, when\na party of horsemen emerged from the woods upon the lawn where the bold\nforesters were merrily regaling themselves at the expense of the poor\nmonks whom they had plundered.\n\n\u201cIn an instant they started to their feet, and fifty shafts were levelled\nat the intruders, but when the foremost rider leaped from his horse and\nthrew himself into the arms of Robin Hood, they easily recognised him as\nSir Rychard o\u2019 the Lee.\n\n\u201c\u2018Welcome, sir knight, thrice welcome,\u2019 exclaimed the outlaw. \u2018Truly thou\nlook\u2019st more merry than when last I saw thee in these woods? Hast thou\nrecovered thy fair domains?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Ten thousand thanks to thee, my noble, my generous friend,\u2019 cried the\nknight. \u2018I still hold my fathers\u2019 lands, and with the blessing of our\nLady, I am come to return the sum I borrowed of thee.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018\u2019Tis already paid, my gallant sir,\u2019 returned Robin Hood. \u2018Two monks\nfrom the Abbey of the Holy Virgin have this day brought me back my gold\nwith interest; so keep thy money, and when thou seest a man in need,\nremember Robin Hood.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Nay, thou wilt overwhelm me with thy kindness,\u2019 replied the knight.\n\u2018I would have been with thee ere the noon-tide, but yonder knave had\nthe audacity to win every prize at a village festival, and, had I not\ninterceded, he would have received but a sorry recompense for his\nachievements.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Ha! hast thou one of my truest men among thy followers?\u2019 exclaimed the\noutlaw, as he recognised the victor. \u2018George o\u2019 the Green would have\nstood toughly against a score of lazy peasants, methinks.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Yes, good master,\u2019 joined in the forester; \u2018but what can one arm do\nagainst three-score? Of a truth I should have had a morning bath, an it\nhad not been for this gallant knight.\u2019\n\n\u201cRobin Hood whispered a few words to Little John, who left them and\nalmost instantly returned with a bag of gold.\n\n\u201c\u2018Take this, good sir,\u2019 said the chief outlaw, as he handed it to the\nknight. \u2018The monks of St. Mary\u2019s paid me too much by four hundred\npounds. Thou canst not yet be rich; take it as a reward for thy generous\nintercession.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe knight would have refused, but he knew that by so doing he should\ndisplease his generous friend. \u2018I accept thy gift,\u2019 he replied. \u2018One day\nI may be able to repay thy goodness; till then I shall remain a heavy\ndebtor. But I entreat thee, receive this poor present as a humble tribute\nof my gratitude;\u2019 and at his command, his followers alighted from their\nsteeds, and laid the bows and quivers at the outlaw\u2019s feet.\n\n\u201cThe foresters all shouted for joy, as their chief distributed the\nhandsome gifts among them. Many started off at once to try their new\nweapons; while the others resuming their seats upon the grass, helped the\nknight and his followers with unbounded liberality, and passed the rest\nof the evening in drinking and singing, till darkness closed upon their\ngaiety. Couches of fern and dried rushes were prepared for the guests,\nwho slept soundly in the foresters\u2019 rude bowers, until the bugle-horn\nwakened them from their dreams, at the dawn of morning. The knight,\nanxious to return to his lady, stayed not to break his fast: bidding\nfarewell to the kind outlaws, he sprung into his horse\u2019s saddle, and with\nhis attendants rode off to his beloved home in Wierysdale.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nOUR LAST EVENING.\n\n\nTHE GOLDEN ARROW.\n\nMy legends of Robin Hood were well nigh exhausted: the Midsummer holidays\nwere drawing near, and we should soon be busily engaged in striving for\nthe prizes that were awarded to the most proficient scholars.\n\n\u201cThis is the last time I shall tell you of bold Robin Hood,\u201d said I, when\nmy school-fellows had gathered round me; \u201cbut if, after the holidays are\npassed, we all meet again, I will endeavour to find some other by-gone\nstories to relate to you, that I hope will be equally interesting.\u201d They\nthanked me warmly, and I thus continued:\u2014\n\n\u201cWhen the monks of St. Mary\u2019s Abbey had escaped from the hands of the\noutlaws, they urged on their steeds to the utmost, nor did they draw rein\nuntil they reached the good town of Nottingham. Without delay, they\nsought the sheriff of the county, and made known to him the treatment\nthey had received in the woods of Barnesdale.\n\n\u201cThat worthy functionary listened with great attention to their\ncomplaint, and still burning with revenge for the many insults that he\nhad received from the outlaws, he promised that he would rest neither\nnight nor day till Robin Hood and his men were taken. Not knowing exactly\nhow to accomplish this, to him, desirable object, he determined upon\nlaying the matter before the king, and mounting his fleetest steed, he\nrode with great haste to London, where he demanded an audience of the\nvaliant monarch, who had just returned from his long captivity in Austria.\n\n\u201c\u2018What!\u2019 cried Richard, when the sheriff had finished his complaint.\n\u2018Canst thou not take a sorry rebel who owns not a single castle? Get thee\ngone for a coward. An thou dost not bring me that outlaw\u2019s head within\nhalf-a-year, thy shrievalty shall be given to a better man.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe poor sheriff felt his disgrace, and returned slowly home to\nNottingham, pondering on the king\u2019s words, and devising plans by which\nhe might retrieve his lost character. He thought of a notable scheme.\nHe caused it to be proclaimed that an archery meeting would be held at\nNottingham, and that a golden arrow would be given to the victor of the\ngames. The day arrived, but he in vain looked for the coats of Lincoln\ngreen, that he had hoped would be among the crowd, and he rode about\nanxiously endeavouring to discover the outlaws of Sherwood. There were\ngallant yeomen in mantles of blue, and buff, and scarlet, and some there\nwere in green, but they were good bowmen of Nottingham, and the sheriff\nwas almost in despair. He ordered the sports to commence, and never was\nbetter archery shown before. A tall stranger, with a light blue jacket,\nexcited the admiration of every one, and the arrow would have been his\nprize, but a rival yeoman followed and shot with such dexterity that\nhe fairly eclipsed all those who had preceded him. He was dressed in a\nbright scarlet coat, crossed by a silken belt, from which was suspended a\nlittle bugle-horn of silver and gold; his lower limbs were clothed in the\nskin of a deer, bleached as white as snow; and upon his head he wore a\nlong black hood, which fell gracefully down his back.\n\n\u201cWhen the sports were concluded, this gay forester was unanimously\ndeclared the winner of the day, and amid the shouts of the spectators,\nhe was led to the tent, beneath which the sheriff of Nottingham stood\nto award the golden arrow. The stranger fell upon one knee, and, with\nmuch praise of his gallant archery, the prize was delivered to him. He\nrose, placed the arrow in his belt, and a triumphant smile lighted up\nhis features as, for one moment, he looked at the donor\u2019s face. It was\nenough, the sheriff caught the glance, and it acted like magic upon him.\n\n\u201c\u2018Ho! guards, seize him!\u2019 he shouted with his utmost strength. \u2018\u2019Tis\nRobin Hood, the outlawed rebel! Five hundred pounds for his head!\u2019 In a\nsecond, the forester had gained the middle of the field, and had blown\na long shrill blast upon his horn. At the signal, yeomen flew from\nevery part of the field and ranged themselves around him. The sheriff\nwas astounded, he cried to his men to follow; and, mounting his horse,\ngalloped towards the daring rebels. A flight of arrows met him half way,\nand his steed fell tumbling to the earth; the rider arose unhurt, but his\nmen had fled on all sides, and he was obliged to follow them.\n\n[Illustration: THE GOLDEN ARROW.\n\nJ. Gilbert]\n\n\u201c\u2018Base cowards,\u2019 he cried, \u2018ye shall be hung on the highest gibbets in\nNottingham;\u2019 and snatching a huge cross-bow from the hands of one of\nthe fugitives, he levelled it at the retreating band and fired. One man\ndropped; it was the tall forester in the light blue coat.\n\n\u201cAt this, the sheriff\u2019s followers took courage, and with a loud shout,\ndashed onwards in pursuit of the outlaws, who had taken up their wounded\ncompanion, and were now full half a mile in advance. Arrows innumerable\nfell like hailstones on each party, and many of the Nottingham men fell,\nsorely hurt; but the chase continued, and the sheriff seemed still\ndetermined to pursue. For hours did the foresters use their fleetest\nspeed, turning ever and again to discharge their bows, until they\nwere well nigh exhausted. They would have stopped and fought, but the\noverwhelming numbers that pursued gave them but a poor chance of victory.\nIn this extremity, a young knight, riding upon a grey charger, and\nattended by several armed horsemen, met them upon the road. Surprised\nat so unusual a sight, the knight reined up his steed and disposed his\nmen around him, as if to dispute the road. This bold step had well nigh\nproved his ruin. A hundred arrows were pointed at him, and, at a word,\nwould have pierced through his breast-plate to his heart.\n\n\u201c\u2018Hold,\u2019 shouted Robin Hood, dropping his bow, \u2018\u2019tis Sir Rychard o\u2019 the\nLee! \u2019Tis the good knight of Wierysdale.\u2019 The knight recognised the\nvoice, leaped from his horse, and threw himself into the outlaw\u2019s arms. A\nfew words briefly explained to him the reason of their flight.\n\n\u201c\u2018To my castle, to my castle,\u2019 he cried; \u2018\u2019tis close at hand, and will\ndefy the sheriff of Nottingham, with ten thousand of his men.\u2019 Then\nvaulting into his saddle, he took the wounded forester, Little John,\nbefore him upon his steed, pointed out his fortress to Robin Hood and\ngalloped away.\n\n\u201cThe castle of Wierysdale, surrounded on every side by noble trees,\nstood upon a slight eminence in the middle of an extensive valley. The\nbuilding itself was of immense strength; it was girded by a lofty stone\nwall, six feet in thickness, and two ditches of considerable breadth and\ndepth encompassed it. Over these were bridges that could be raised or\nlowered at pleasure; and a strong iron door was the only way of entrance\nto the castle.\n\n\u201cThe outlaws increased their speed, and soon reached this promised\nrefuge. The gates were wide open; they rushed in, and at a word the\ndraw-bridges were raised, and the portcullis dropped. In a few more\nminutes the sheriff, with his followers at his heels, loudly demanded\nadmittance. \u2018Sir knight,\u2019 he cried, \u2018if thou dost not deliver up the\noutlaws of Sherwood thou shalt be branded as a traitor.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Away, proud braggart,\u2019 retorted the knight. \u2018Dost thou threaten me? By\nmy good sword thou shalt one day rue thine insolence.\u2019 A flight of arrows\nstopped farther parley, and the sheriff was in despair. It was useless,\neven with the multitude that he had at his command, to attempt forcing\nthe castle, and the knight had set his authority at defiance. Burning\nwith disappointment and rage, he denounced him as a traitor to his king,\nand rushing through the mass who crowded behind him, he returned to\nNottingham.\n\n\u201cFor twelve days did Robin Hood and his foresters dwell with the good\nknight of Wierysdale, feasting upon the most delicate food, such as they\nseldom met with in their forest retreats. Little John\u2019s wound quickly\nhealed, and ere long he winded his bugle-horn as merry as the rest, among\nthe echoing woods of Barnesdale.\n\n\u201cThe defeated sheriff neither forgot nor forgave the treatment that he\nhad received. He was determined upon being revenged on the rebellious\nknight, and set spies round his castle to give him intelligence when he\nstirred from it. For a long time they watched in vain; but one summer\u2019s\nmorning the knight and his lady rode out to amuse themselves in the\ndelightful sport of falconry. Their steeds bounded gaily along the\nmeadows, by the banks of a river, and they rode far away from home. A\nsolitary heron that had been patiently watching for fish in a shallow\npart of the stream, frightened at their approach, rose with a shrill\nscream, and soared high up in air. The lady checked her palfrey, untied\nthe jesses that confined a falcon to her wrist, and threw it off. The\nbird flew upwards as if shot from a bow, and rapidly ascended higher than\nthe quarry: fluttering its wing, it hovered for an instant above, and\nthen shooting downwards, struck the heron with its sharp beak and bore\nit to the earth. The lady was delighted, and applying a silver whistle\nto her mouth, recalled the well-trained hawk, which flew back again to\nher hand, and seemed proud of her caresses. Pleased with the sport, they\ngalloped over many a verdant plain and flowery mead, and noon was long\npast ere they bethought themselves of returning. They were conversing\nabout Robin Hood and his bold foresters, and wondering that they had\nheard nothing more of the sheriff of Nottingham, when they became aware\nof six armed horsemen galloping towards them at their utmost speed.\nLittle imagining their intentions, the knight quietly pursued his course,\nwhen, to his surprise, the men checked their steeds as they approached,\nand with drawn swords in their hands surrounded him. In the leader the\nunfortunate knight easily recognised the sheriff of Nottingham, and he\nguessed his fate. He was fastened with thongs to his saddle, his arms\nwere tied behind his back, and he was led away captive.\n\n\u201cHis lady, aware that resistance was fruitless, turned her horse\u2019s head,\nand galloped swiftly from the spot. Full of courage and love for her\ngallant husband, she rode on without drawing rein until she reached the\nforest of Sherwood, into which she fearlessly entered. A youth was lying\nupon the grass under a broad tree. \u2018My friend,\u2019 she cried to him, \u2018canst\ntell me where to find bold Robin Hood?\u2019\n\n\u201cThe young man started to his feet, and doffing his cap, replied, \u2018I am\none of Robin Hood\u2019s foresters, gracious lady, and will conduct thee to\nhim;\u2019 and taking the palfrey\u2019s rein in his hand, he led it through the\nnarrow paths to the spot where the bold outlaw was shading himself from\nthe summer\u2019s heat beneath a rustic bower.\n\n\u201c\u2018God save thee, good Robin Hood,\u2019 said the lady as the forester\nadvanced; \u2018grant me thine aid, and that quickly. Thine enemy, the\nsheriff, hath bound my dear husband, and led him captive to Nottingham.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe outlaw replied by setting his bugle-horn to his lips, and sounding\na shrill blast, it was answered from every side, and seven-score men soon\ngathered round him.\n\n\u201c\u2018Busk ye, my merry men,\u2019 he cried to them. \u2018To the rescue of the knight\nof Wierysdale. That double villain, the sheriff of Nottingham, hath bound\nhim. He that will not fight for our good friend is no longer follower of\nmine.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe men gave a loud shout to prove their readiness, and their captain,\nbidding the lady be of good cheer, and await the issue in her castle,\ndarted through the woods. The foresters followed him in a crowd close\nupon his heels; neither hedge nor stream stopped their progress; they\nleaped over every obstacle, and in two hours reached the town of\nNottingham. They were just in time. The gaoler was even at the moment\nunbarring the gates of the castle to admit the prisoner, and the sheriff\nwas unfastening the bonds by which he was held to his horse. At the\nappearance of the outlaws a loud cry was raised by the astonished\ninhabitants, and the sheriff leaped into his saddle. He had but a small\nforce at hand, quite insufficient to oppose the assailants, and seizing\nhis prisoner\u2019s bridle rein, he attempted to fly;\u2014\u2019twas too late. An\narrow from the bow of the foremost outlaw pierced his brain, and he fell\nheadlong from his steed. His attendants were routed, and the knight\nof Wierysdale was recaptured. Robin Hood himself cut his bonds with a\ndagger, and after raising a loud shout of victory, he and his gallant\nforesters retired to Wierysdale, where they received the warm thanks of\nthe lady of the castle, and after partaking of a glorious feast, they\nreturned to their wonted abodes in merry Sherwood.\n\n\nROBIN HOOD\u2019S PARDON, REBELLION, AND DEATH.\n\n\u201cThe excitement caused by the death of the sheriff of Nottingham was\nnot easily appeased. Intelligence of the outrage was carried to King\nRichard, who summoned a council to devise the best means of putting down\nthe fearless rebels. They declared the knight of Wierysdale an outlaw;\nand his lands, which were forfeited to the crown, were offered as a\nreward to whomsoever should take the traitor, Robin Hood, dead or alive.\nFifty knights volunteered their services, and Sherwood forest became\ntoo hot for the brave outlaws, who retired by stealth to Plompton park,\nin Cumberland, where they concealed themselves for many weeks. At last,\nreceiving intelligence that the search was abandoned, they ventured to\nreturn to Sherwood; but, to their great surprise, they were one morning\ninterrupted by the approach of six priests, who advanced towards them,\nriding upon steeds richly caparisoned. The foremost was a man of most\ncommanding presence. He was of noble countenance, tall stature, well\nproportioned, and apparently of Herculean strength; and, as he sat\nupright upon his saddle and glanced around him, his stately mien but ill\naccorded with the peaceful character of the white robe that covered him.\n\n\u201cRobin Hood knew him not, and wondered what bold bishop it could be, who\nhad ventured to enter upon the proscribed domains.\n\n\u201c\u2018By thy leave, holy father,\u2019 he cried, as he stepped from a thicket, and\nlaid his hand upon the horse\u2019s bridle, \u2018thou must abide awhile. If thou\nhast gold in thy purse, by the laws of Sherwood forest it is forfeited.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Good sir,\u2019 replied the bishop, \u2018I have but forty pounds. King Richard\nhas been at Nottingham, and the gay follies of the court have swallowed\nup the rest;\u2019 and drawing a purse from his girdle, he gave it to the\noutlaw, who counted out the bright gold pieces into his hand. \u2018Thou wilt\nneed these, perchance,\u2019 he said, as he gave back half the money. \u2018We may\nmeet again and thou canst then repay me.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Gramercy, but thou art a gentle thief,\u2019 exclaimed the bishop. \u2018If, as\nI strongly suspect, thou art bold Robin Hood, Richard, king of England,\nsends thee his seal by me, and bids thee attend him in the good town of\nNottingham.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe outlaw bent his knee as he beheld the royal signet. \u2018I will obey,\u2019\nhe cried, \u2018I can trust to the honour of King Richard, and for love of\nhim, sir bishop, thou shalt dine with me under our trysting tree.\u2019 He\nwinded his bugle-horn merrily, and seven-score men obeyed the summons.\n\n\u201cA cloth was spread upon the grass, and plentifully supplied with\nvenison, fowls, and fish; cans of fine brown ale, and bowls of ruby wine.\nThe bishop and his companions seated themselves, and a jovial feast\nensued. \u2018Let us drink to the health of King Richard,\u2019 cried the outlaw,\nfilling his goblet to the brim. \u2018He who fails me in this pledge is no\nfriend of Robin Hood\u2019s.\u2019 Loud cries of \u2018Long live the King,\u2019 rose from\nall sides; and in imitation of their host, each man emptied his cup, and\nreversed it upon the cloth before him.\n\n\u201c\u2018Bend your bows, my gallant followers,\u2019 said the outlaw, \u2018and show our\nguests the archery of Sherwood.\u2019 A willow wand was fixed in the earth,\nat a long distance off, and a garland of wild roses was suspended upon\nits top. The laws of the game were, that whoever missed the garland\nshould lose his bow and arrows, and receive a buffet upon his bare head.\nOne by one the foresters advanced, and all shot true, until Little John\ncarelessly missed the wand by three good inches. Robin Hood gave him a\nblow upon his ear that made it ring for many an after hour, and then took\nhis own turn. To his great dismay his shaft flew on the outer side of the\ngarland.\n\n\u201cHis men shouted with laughter. \u2018Thou hast lost thy bow, good master!\u2019\nthey cried in the greatest glee. \u2018The bishop shall give thee thy pay.\u2019\nThe priest laughed too, and turning up the sleeves of his gown stepped\ntoward the outlaw.\n\n\u201cRobin Hood stood firm, and folded his arms upon his breast, but the\nstalwart bishop bestowed such a buffet upon his head that he rolled over\nand over upon the grass.\n\n\u201c\u2018By my troth,\u2019 cried he, when he had recovered his feet, there is pith\nin that arm of thine. I\u2019ll warrant me thou canst shoot a bow as well\nas us.\u2019 The bishop laughed again, and taking up Robin Hood\u2019s forfeited\nweapon, let fly at the garland. The arrow, too strongly shot, flew above\nthe wand, and struck into a tree on the further side of the lawn.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now thou must take _thy_ pay,\u2019 exclaimed the outlaw; and striding\ntowards him, he gave him a vigorous blow, but the priest did not waver\nan inch. At that instant a horseman galloped swiftly across the plain,\nand leaping from his steed, ran to them: it was the knight of Wierysdale.\n\u2018Away, my brave men,\u2014away,\u2019 he shouted; \u2018King Richard is seeking for ye.\nThe forest is beset with men, and ye will\u2014\u2014\u2019 He suddenly paused; his\neye had caught the keen glance with which the bishop was regarding him.\nHe threw himself at his feet:\u2014\u2018Pardon, gracious sire,\u2019 he exclaimed,\n\u2018one who has served thee long and faithfully.\u2019 Robin Hood was struck\ndumb\u2014the truth flashed across his mind:\u2014it was King Richard whom he had\nso unceremoniously buffeted. He fell upon his knees by the knight\u2019s side,\nand sued for mercy.\n\n[Illustration: THE OUTLAW\u2019S ALLEGIANCE.\n\nJ. Gilbert]\n\n\u201c\u2018Sir knight,\u2019 exclaimed the noble king, \u2018thou hast done wrong, but I\nforgive thee; rise,\u2014thy lands are restored to thee. As for thee, thou\nvaliant traitor, he continued, placing his hand on Robin Hood\u2019s head, \u2018on\none condition only can I grant thy pardon. Thou and thy men must follow\nme to London, and be my royal archers.\u2019 The outlaws shouted with rapture;\ncries of \u2018Long live King Richard\u2019 rent the air, and every man bent his\nknee to their royal master.\n\n\u201cThe king then mounted his palfrey and retired, accompanied by Robin\nHood, Little John, and Will Scarlet, each of whom he soon afterwards\nappointed to some place of dignity. Many of the foresters dispersed to\nvarious parts, but fifty of the most faithful followed their beloved\nmaster to London.\n\n\u201cHere, it is said, our brave hero assumed his title of earl of\nHuntingdon, and lived in most noble style; but soon growing tired of\nthe confinement of the court, he asked permission to revisit the merry\nwoods. The king granted him seven days, but when Robin Hood breathed the\ndelightful air of Sherwood, and heard the songs of the sweet birds, he\ncould not tear himself away. He ranged through many a well-known thicket\nand oft-frequented lawn, and in the ecstacy of his delight he set his\nbugle horn to his mouth, and made the old trees re-echo with the blast.\nTo his great astonishment it was replied to, and four-score youths\nbounded towards him. Several had deserted him in London, and many who\nwere at first disbanded had returned to their favourite haunts, and Robin\nHood was again acknowledged as the leader of a forest band. Little John\nand Will Scarlet soon learned the intelligence, and with all speed joined\nhim with the rest.\n\n\u201cKing Richard was enraged; he sent a renowned knight with two hundred\nsoldiers to capture the rebellious outlaw, and a desperate fight took\nplace upon a plain in Sherwood forest. It lasted from sun-rise to\nsun-set, but neither party could boast of victory, and the knight lost\nmany of his men. Robin Hood himself was wounded by an arrow, and was\nobliged to be taken to Kirkleys Nunnery, where he was treacherously\nsuffered to bleed to death by the prioress. As he found his end\napproaching he called Little John to him. \u2018Carry me into the woods, I\nentreat thee,\u2019 he said to him;\n\n    \u201c\u2018And give me my bent bow in my hand,\n      And a broad arrow I\u2019ll let flee;\n    And where this arrow is taken up\n      There shall my grave digged be.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe outlaw shot his last bow. His shaft flew feebly to a short distance,\nand fell beneath an oak. He leaned back into the arms of his faithful\nattendant\u2014and died. His wish was complied with; and a stone was placed\nupon the green sod to mark the last resting-place of the brave Robin\nHood; it bore this inscription:\u2014\n\n    \u201cHere, underneath this little stone,\n    Lies Robert, Earl of Huntingdon.\n    Ne\u2019er archer was as he so good;\n    And people called him \u2018Robin Hood.\u2019\n    Such outlaws as he and his men\n    Will England never see again.\u201d\n\nI was obliged to hurry the latter part of my stories more than I could\nhave wished, but I had scarcely finished, before our faithful monitor,\nthe sonorous school bell, called us to our less pleasing, but more\nimportant pursuits.\n\nThe holidays soon after commenced, and we all returned HOME.\n\n\nTHE END.\n\nCLARKE, PRINTERS, SILVER STREET, FALCON SQUARE, LONDON.","title":"Robin Hood and His Merry Foresters","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":29232}