But thou mayft fayle of thy purpose, quoth John,

If it be Chrift his will.

Lett us leave talking of little John,
And thinke of Robin Hood,

How he is gone to the wight yeoman,

Where under the leaves he stood.

90

Good morrowe, good fellowe, fayd Robin fo fayre, "Good morrowe, good fellow, quo' he:" Methinkes by this bowe thou beares in thy hande 95 A good archere thou sholdst bee.

I am wilfulle of my waye, quo' the yeman,

And of my morning tyde.

Ile lead thee through the wood, fayd Robin;
Good fellow, Ile be thy guide..

I feeke an outlawe, the ftraunger fayd,
Men call him Robin Hood;

Rather Ild meet with that proud outlawe

100

Than fortye pound foe good.

Now come with me, thou wighty yeman,

105

And Robin thou foone fhalt fee: But firft let us fome pastime find

Under the greenwood tree.

Firft

Firft let us fome masterye make

Among the woods fo even,

We may chance to meete with Robin Hood

Here at fome unfett fteven.

They cutt them down two fummer fhroggs,

That grew both under a breere,

110

And fett them threescore rood in twaine

115

To fhoote the prickes y-fere.

Leade on, good fellowe, quoth Robin Hood,
Leade on, I do bidd thee.

Nay by my faith, good fellowe, hee fayd,
My leader thou shalt bee.

The first time Robin fhot at the pricke,

He mift but an inch it fro:

120

Good fellowe, thy fhooting is goode; For an thy hart be as good as thy hand, Thou wert better than Robin Hoode. G 4

130

Now

Now tell me thy name, good fellowe, fayd he,

Under the leaves of lyne.

Nay by my faith, quoth bolde Robin,

Till thou have told me thine.

I dwell by dale and downe, quoth hee,
And Robin to take Ime fworne;

And when I am called by my right name

I am Guy of good Gifbòrne.

My dwelling is in this wood, fayes Robin,

By thee I fet right nought:

I am Robin Hood of Barnèfdale,

Whom thou fo long haft fought.

135

140

He that had neyther beene kithe nor kin,
Might have seen a full fayre fight,

145

To fee how together thefe yeomen went
With blades both browne * and bright.

To

*The common epithet for a fword or other offenfive weapon, in the old metrical romances, is BROWN. As "brown brand," or 6 brown "fword: brown bill," &c. and fometimes even "bright brown fword." Chaucer applies the word RUSTIE in the fame fenfe; thus be defcribes

the REVE:

"And by his fide he bare a ruskie blade.”

And even thus the God MARS:

Prol. ver. 620.

"And in his hand he had a rousty sword.”

Teft. of Creffid. 188.

Spencer has fometimes ufed the fame epithet: See Warton's Obferv. vol. 2. p. 62. It should fem from this particularity that our ancefors aid mot pique themselves upon keeping their weapons bright: perhaps they deemed it more bonourable to carry them fained with the blood of their

@nemies.

To fee how thefe yeomen together they fought

Two howres of a fummers day:

Yett neither Robin Hood nor fir Guy

Them fettled to flye away.

150

Robin was reachles on a roote,

And stumbled at that tyde;

And Guy was quicke and nimble with-all,
And hitt him upon the fyde.

155

Ah deere Ladye, fayd Robin Hood tho,

That art but mother and may',

I think it was never mans destinye

To dye before his day.

Robin thought on our ladye deere,

And foone leapt up againe,

And ftrait he came with a 'backward' ftroke,

And he fir Guy hath slayne.

He took fir Guys head by the hayre,
And ftuck it upon his bowes end :
Thou hast beene a traytor all thy life,
Which thing must have an end.

Robin pulled forth an Irish knife,

And nicked fir Guy in the face, That he was never on woman born, Cold know whose head it was.

160

165

170

Sayes,

Ver. 163. awkwarde. MS.

Sayes, Lye there, lye there, now fir Guye,

And with me be not wrothe;

Iff thou have had the worst strokes at my hand, 175 Thou fhalt have the better clothe.

Robin did off his gowne of greene,
And on fir Guy did throwe,
And hee put on that capull hyde,
That cladd him topp to toe.

Thy bowe, thy arrowes, and litle horne,

Now with me I will beare;

For I will away to Barnèsdale,

180