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Файл:The Merry Adventures Of Robin Hood Of Great Renown, In Nottinghamshire
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come.’
Said the Bishop to himself, while he looked grimly at
Robin, ‘When this wedding is gone by I will have this fellow
well whipped for his saucy tongue and bold speech.’
And now fair Ellen and Sir Stephen stood before the altar,
and the Bishop
himself came in his robes and opened his
book, whereat fair Ellen looked up and about her in bitter
despair, like the fawn that nds the hounds on her haunch.
en, in all his uttering tags and ribbons of red and yellow,
Robin Hood stro
de forward. ree steps he took from the
pillar whereby he leaned, and stood between the bride and
bridegroom.
‘Let me look upon this lass,’ he said in a loud voice. ‘Why,
how now! What have we here? Here be lilies in the cheeks,
and not roses such as bet a bonny bride. is is no t wedding. ou, Sir Knight, so old, and she so young, and thou
thinkest to make her thy wife? I tell thee it may not be, for
thou art not her own true love.’
At this
all stood amazed, and knew not where to look nor
what to think or say, for they were all bewildered with the
happening; so, while everyone looked at Robin as though
they had been changed to stone, he clapped his bugle horn
to his l
ips and blew three blasts so loud and clear, they
echoed from oor to raer as though they were sounded by
the trump of doom. en straightway Little John and Will
Stutely came leaping and stood upon either side of Robin
, and quickly drew their broadswords, the while a
Hood
mighty voice rolled over the heads of all, ‘Here be I, good
master, when thou wantest me”; for it was Friar Tuck that so
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T M A R H
201
called from the organ lo.
And now all was hubbub and noise. Stout Edward strode
forward raging, and would have seized his daughter to drag
her away, but Little John stepped between and thrust him
back. ‘Stand back, old man,’ said he, ‘thou art a
hobbled
horse this day.’
‘Down with the villains!’ cried Sir Stephen, and felt for
his sword, but it hung not beside him on his wedding day.
en the men-at-arms drew their swords, and it seemed
like that blood would wet the
stones; but suddenly came a
bustle at the door and loud voices, steel ashed in the light,
and the crash of blows sounded. e men-at-arms fell back,
and up the aisle came leaping eighteen stout yeomen all
clad in Lincol
n green, with Allan a Dale at their head. In his
hand he bore Robin Hood’s good stout trusty bow of yew,
and this he gave to him, kneeling the while upon one knee.
en up spake Edward of Deirwold in a deep voice
of
anger, ‘Is it thou, Allan a Dale, that hath bred all this coil
in a church?’
‘Nay,’ quoth merry Robin, ‘that have I done, and I care
not who knoweth it, for my name is Robin Hood.’
At this name a sudden silence fell. e Prior
of Emmet
and those that belonged to him gathered together like a
ock of frightened sheep when the scent of the wolf is nigh,
while the Bishop of Hereford, laying aside his book, crossed
himself devoutly. ‘Now Heaven keep us this day,’ said
he,
‘from that evil man!’
‘Nay,’ quoth Robin, ‘I mean you no harm; but here is fair
Ellen’s betrothed husband, and she shall marry him or pain
THE MERRY ADVENTURES OF R OBIN H OOD202
202
will be bred to some of you.’
en up spake stout Edward in a loud and angry voice,
‘Now I say nay! I am her father, and she shall marry Sir Ste-
phen and none other.’
Now all this time, while everything was in turmoil about
him, Sir Stephen had been
standing in proud and scorn-
ful silence. ‘Nay, fellow,’ said he coldly, ‘thou mayst take thy
daughter back again; I would not marry her aer this day’s
doings could I gain all merry England thereby. I tell thee
plainly, I loved thy daughter, old as I am,
and would have
taken her up like a jewel from the sty, yet, truly, I knew not
that she did love this fellow, and was beloved by him. Maiden, if thou dost rather choose a beggarly minstrel than a
high-born knight, take thy choice. I do
feel it shame that I
should thus stand talking amid this herd, and so I will leave
you.’ us saying, he turned and, gathering his men about
him, walked proudly down the aisle. en all the yeomen
were silenced by the scorn of his words.
Only Friar Tu ck
leaned over the edge of the choir lo and called out to him
ere he had gone, ‘Good den, Sir Knight. ou wottest old
bones must alway make room for young blood.’ Sir Stephen
neither answered nor looked up, but passe
d out from the
church as though he had heard nought, his men following
him.
en the Bishop of Hereford spoke hastily, ‘I, too, have no
business here, and so will depart.’ And he made as though
he would go. But Robin Hood laid hold of his clothes
and
held him. ‘Stay, my Lord Bishop,’ said he, ‘I have yet some-
what to say to thee.’ e Bishop’s face fell, but he stayed as
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T M A R H
203
Robin bade him, for he saw he could not go.
en Robin Hood turned to stout Edward of Deirwold,
and said he, ‘Give thy blessing on thy daughter’s marriage
to this yeoman, and all will be well. Little John, give me the
bags of gold
. Look, farmer. Here are two hundred bright
golden angels; give thy blessing, as I say, and I will count
them out to thee as thy daughter’s dower. Give not thy blessing, and she shall be married all the same, but not so much
as a cracke
d farthing shall cross thy palm. Choose.’
en Edward looked upon the ground with bent brows,
turning the matter over and over in his mind; but he was
a shrewd man and one, withal, that made the best use of a
cracked pipkin; so at last he looke
d up and said, but in no
joyous tone, ‘If the wench will go her own gait, let her go. I
had thought to make a lady of her; yet if she chooses to be
what she is like to be, I have nought to do with her henceforth. Ne’erthe
less I will give her my blessing when she is
duly wedded.’
‘It may not be,’ spake up one of those of Emmet. ‘e
banns have not been duly published, neither is there any
priest here to marry them.’
‘How sayst thou?’ roared Tuck
from the choir lo. ‘No
priest? Marry, here stands as holy a man as thou art, any day
of the week, a clerk in orders, I would have thee know. As for
the question of banns, stumble not over that straw, brother,
for I will publ
ish them.’ So saying, he called the banns; and,
says the old ballad, lest three times should not be enough, he
published them nine times o’er. en straightway he came
down from the lo and forthwith performed the marriage
THE MERRY ADVENTURES OF R OBIN H OOD204
204
service; and so Allan and Ellen were duly wedded.
And now Robin counted out two hundred golden angels to Edward of Deirwold, and he, upon his part, gave his
blessing, yet not, I wot, as though he meant it with
overmuch good will. en the stout yeomen crowded around
and grasped Allan’s palm, and he, holding Ellen’s hand
within his own, looked about him all dizzy with his hap-
piness.
en at last jolly Robin turned to the Bishop of Hereford,
who had been looking on at all that passed with a grim look.
‘My Lord Bishop,’ quoth he, ‘thou mayst bring to thy mind
that thou didst promise me that did I play in such wise as to
cause this fair lass to love her husband, thou would
st give
me whatsoever I asked in reason. I have played my play, and
she loveth her husband, which she would not have done
but for me; so now fulll thy promise. ou hast upon thee
that which, methinks, thou wouldst be the better without;
therefore, I prythee, give me
that golden chain that hangeth
about thy neck as a wedding present for this fair bride.’
en the Bishop’s cheeks grew red with rage and his eyes
ashed. He looked at Robin with a fell look, but saw that in
the yeoman’s face which bade
him pause. en slowly he
took the chain from about his neck and handed it to Robin,
who ung it over Ellen’s head so that it hung glittering about
her shoulders. en said merry Robin, ‘I thank thee, on the
bride’s part, for thy han
dsome gi, and truly thou thyself
art more seemly without it. Now, shouldst thou ever come
nigh to Sherwood I much hope that I shall give thee there
such a feast as thou hast ne’er had in all thy life before.’
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T M A R H
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‘May Heaven forfend!’ cried the Bishop earnestly; for
he knew right well what manner of feast it was that Robin
Hood gave his guests in Sherwood Forest.
But now Robin Hood gathered his men together, and,
with Allan and his young bride in their mid
st, they all
turned their footsteps toward the woodlands. On the way
thither Friar Tuc k came close to Robin and plucked him by
the sleeve. ‘ou dost lead a merry life, good master,’ quoth
he, ‘but dost thou not think that it would be for the
welfare
of all your souls to have a good stout chaplain, such as I, to
oversee holy matters? Tr uly, I do love this life mightily.’ At
this merry Robin Hood laughed amain, and bade him stay
and become one of their band if he
wished.
at night there was such a feast held in the greenwood
as Nottinghamshire never saw before. To that feast you and
I were not bidden, and pity it is that we were not; so, lest we
should both feel the matter the more keenly, I will say no
about it.
more
THE MERRY ADVENTURES OF R OBIN H OOD206
206
Robin Hood Aids a
Sorrowful Knight
O PAS SE D the gentle springtime away in budding beau-
S
ty; its silver showers and sunshine, its green meadows
and its owers. So, likewise, passed the summer with its
yellow sunlight, its quivering heat and deep, bosky foli-
age, its long twilights and its
the frogs croaked and fairy folk were said to be out on the
hillsides. All this had passed and the time of fall had come,
bringing with it its own pleasures and joyousness; for now,
when the harvest was gathered home,
ers roamed the country about, singing along the roads in
the daytime, and sleeping beneath the hedgerows and the
hay-ricks at night. Now the hips burned red in the tangled
thickets and the hews waxed black in
stubble lay all crisp and naked to the sky, and the green
leaves were fast turning russet and brown. Also, at this merry season, good things of the year are gathered in in great
store. Brown ale lies ripening in the ce
hang in the smoke-shed, and crabs are stowed away in the
straw for roasting in the wintertime, when the north wind
piles the snow in dris around the gables and the re crackles warm upon the hearth.
So passed the
seasons then, so they pass now, and so they
mellow nights, through which
merry bands of glean-
the hedgerows, the
llar, hams and bacon
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T M A R H
207
will pass in time to come, while we come and go like leaves
of the tree that fall and are soon forgotten.
Quoth Robin Hood, snung the air, ‘Here is a fair day,
Little John, and one that we can ill waste in idleness. Choose
men as thou dost need, and go thou east while I will
such
wend to the west, and see that each of us bringeth back some
goodly guest to dine this day beneath the greenwood tree.’
‘Marry,’ cried Little John, clapping his palms together for
thy bidding tteth my liking like he to blade. I’ll bring
joy, ‘
thee back a guest this day, or come not back mine own self.’
en they each chose such of the band as they wished,
and so went forth by dierent paths from the forest.
Now, you
and I cannot go two ways at the same time
while we join in these merry doings; so we will e’en let Little
John follow his own path while we tuck up our skirts and
trudge aer Robin Hood. And here is good company,
too;
Robin Hood, Will Scarlet, Allan a Dale, Will Scathelock,
Midge, the Miller’s son, and others. A score or more of stout
fellows had abided in the forest, with Friar Tuc k , to make
ready for the homecoming, but all the rest
were gone either
with Robin Hood or Little John.
ey traveled onward, Robin following his fancy and
the others following Robin. Now they wended their way
through an open dale with cottage and farm lying therein,
and now again they entered woodlands
once more. Pass-
ing by fair Manseld Town , with its towers and battlements
and spires all smiling in the sun, they came at last out of the
forest lands. Onward they journeyed, through highway and
byway, through villages where goodwives and merry lasses
THE MERRY ADVENTURES OF R OBIN H OOD208
208
peeped through the casements at the ne show of young
men, until at last they came over beyond Alverton in Derbyshire. By this time high noontide had come, yet they had
met no guest such as was worth their while to take back to
Sherwood; so, coming
at last to a certain spot where a shrine
stood at the crossing of two roads, Robin called upon them
to stop, for here on either side was shelter of high hedgerows, behind which was good hiding, whence they could
watch the road
s at their ease, while they ate their midday
meal. Quoth merry Robin, ‘Here, methinks, is good lodging, where peaceful folk, such as we be, can eat in quietness;
therefore we will rest here, and see what may, perchance,
fall into our luck-pot.’ So
they crossed a stile and came be-
hind a hedgerow where the mellow sunlight was bright and
warm, and where the grass was so, and there sat them
down. en each man drew from the pouch that hung beside him that which he
had brought to eat, for a merry walk
such as this had been sharpens the appetite till it is as keen
as a March wind. So no more words were spoken, but each
man saved his teeth for better use— munching at brown
crust and cold meat
right lustily.
In front of them, one of the highroads crawled up the
steep hill and then dipped suddenly over its crest, sharpcut with hedgerow and shaggy grass against the sky. Over
the top of the windy hill peeped the eaves of a
few houses of the village that fell back into the valley behind; there,
also, showed the top of a windmill, the sails slowly rising
and dipping from behind the hill against the clear blue sky,
as the light wind
moved them with creaking and labored
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T M A R H
209
swing.
So the yeomen lay behind the hedge and nished their
midday meal; but still the time slipped along and no one
came. At last, a man came slowly riding over the hill and
down the stony road toward the spot where Robin an
d his
band lay hidden. He was a good stout knight, but sorrowful
of face and downcast of mien. His clothes were plain and
rich, but no chain of gold, such as folk of his stand in life
wore at most times, hung around his neck,
and no jewel was
about him; yet no one could mistake him for aught but one
of proud and noble blood. His head was bowed upon his
breast and his hands drooped limp on either side; and so he
came slowly riding, as
though sunk in sad thoughts, while
even his good horse, the reins loose upon his neck, walked
with hanging head, as though he shared his master’s grief.
Quoth Robin Hood, ‘Yon is verily a sorry-looking gal-
lant, and doth seem to have donned ill-
content with his
jerkin this morning; nevertheless, I will out and talk with
him, for there may be some pickings here for a hungry daw.
Methinks his dress is rich, though he himself is so downcast. Bide ye here till I look into this matter.’ So saying,
he
arose and le them, crossed the road to the shrine, and
there stood, waiting for the sorrowful knight to come near
him. So, presently, when the knight came riding slowly
along, jolly Robin stepped forward and laid his hand upon
the bridle
rein. ‘Hold, Sir Knight,’ quoth he. ‘I prythee tarry
for a short time, for I have a few words to say to thee.’
‘What art thou, friend, who dost stop a traveler in this
manner upon his most gracious Majesty’s highway?’ said
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210
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