University of Virginia Library

Search this document 
  
  

collapse section1. 
ACT I
 1. 
 2. 
 3. 
collapse section2. 
 1. 
 2. 
collapse section3. 
 1. 
collapse section4. 
  


257

ACT I

Scene I.

The garden before Sir Richard Lea's castle.
Kate
(gathering flowers).

These roses for my Lady Marian; these lilies to
lighten Sir Richard's black room, where he sits and
eats his heart for want of money to pay the Abbot.

[Sings.
The warrior Earl of Allendale,
He loved the Lady Anne;
The lady loved the master well,
The maid she loved the man.
All in the castle garden,
Or ever the day began,
The lady gave a rose to the Earl,
The maid a rose to the man.

258

‘I go to fight in Scotland
With many a savage clan;’
The lady gave her hand to the Earl,
The maid her hand to the man.
‘Farewell, farewell, my warrior Earl!’
And ever a tear down ran.
She gave a weeping kiss to the Earl,
And the maid a kiss to the man.

Enter four ragged Retainers.
First Retainer.

You do well, Mistress Kate, to sing and to gather
roses. You be fed with tit-bits, you, and we be dogs
that have only the bones, till we be only bones our
own selves.


Kate.

I am fed with tit-bits no more than you are, but
I keep a good heart and make the most of it, and,
truth to say, Sir Richard and my Lady Marian fare
wellnigh as sparely as their people.


Second Retainer.

And look at our suits, out at knee, out at elbow.
We be more like scarecrows in a field than decent
serving men; and then, I pray you, look at Robin
Earl of Huntingdon's men.



259

First Retainer.

She hath looked well at one of 'em, Little John.


Third Retainer.

Ay, how fine they be in their liveries, and each of
'em as full of meat as an egg, and as sleek and as
round-about as a mellow codlin.


Fourth Retainer.

But I be worse off than any of you, for I be lean
by nature, and if you cram me crop-full I be little
better than Famine in the picture, but if you starve
me I be Gaffer Death himself. I would like to show
you, Mistress Kate, how bare and spare I be on the
rib: I be lanker than an old horse turned out to die
on the common:


Kate.

Spare me thy spare ribs, I pray thee; but now I
ask you all, did none of you love young Walter Lea?


First Retainer.

Ay, if he had not gone to fight the king's battles,
we should have better battels at home.


Kate.

Right as an Oxford scholar, but the boy was taken
prisoner by the Moors.



260

First Retainer.

Ay.


Kate.

And Sir Richard was told he might be ransomed
for two thousand marks in gold.


First Retainer.

Ay.


Kate.

Then he borrowed the monies from the Abbot of
York, the Sheriff's brother. And if they be not paid
back at the end of the year, the land goes to the
Abbot.


First Retainer.

No news of young Walter?


Kate.

None, nor of the gold, nor the man who took out
the gold: but now ye know why we live so stintedly,
and why ye have so few grains to peck at. Sir
Richard must scrape and scrape till he get to the
land again. Come, come, why do ye loiter here?
Carry fresh rushes into the dining-hall, for those that
are there, they be so greasy, and smell so vilely that my
Lady Marian holds her nose when she steps across it.



261

Fourth Retainer.

Why there, now! that very word ‘greasy’ hath a
kind of unction in it, a smack of relish about it. The
rats have gnawed 'em already. I pray Heaven we
may not have to take to the rushes.

[Exeunt.

Kate.

Poor fellows!

The lady gave her hand to the Earl,
The maid her hand to the man.

Enter Little John.
Little John.

My master, Robin the Earl, is always a-telling us
that every man, for the sake of the great blessed
Mother in heaven, and for the love of his own little
mother on earth, should handle all womankind gently,
and hold them in all honour, and speak small to 'em,
and not scare 'em, but go about to come at their
love with all manner of homages, and observances,
and circumbendibuses.


Kate.
The lady gave a rose to the Earl,
The maid a rose to the man.


262

Little John
(seeing her).

O the sacred little thing! What a shape! what
lovely arms! A rose to the man! Ay, the man had
given her a rose and she gave him another.


Kate.

Shall I keep one little rose for Little John? No.


Little John.

There, there! You see I was right. She hath a
tenderness toward me, but is too shy to show it. It
is in her, in the woman, and the man must bring it
out of her.


Kate.
She gave a weeping kiss to the Earl,
The maid a kiss to the man.

Little John.

Did she? But there I am sure the ballad is at
fault. It should have told us how the man first
kissed the maid. She doesn't see me. Shall I be
bold? shall I touch her? shall I give her the first
kiss? O sweet Kate, my first love, the first kiss, the
first kiss!


Kate
(turns and kisses him).

Why lookest thou so amazed?



263

Little John.

I cannot tell; but I came to give thee the first
kiss, and thou hast given it me.


Kate.

But if a man and a maid care for one another,
does it matter so much if the maid give the first
kiss?


Little John.

I cannot tell, but I had sooner have given thee
the first kiss. I was dreaming of it all the way
hither.


Kate.

Dream of it, then, all the way back, for now I will
have none of it.


Little John.

Nay, now thou hast given me the man's kiss, let
me give thee the maid's.


Kate.

If thou draw one inch nearer, I will give thee a
buffet on the face.


Little John.

Wilt thou not give me rather the little rose for
Little John?



264

Kate
(throws it down and tramples on it).

There!


[Kate, seeing Marian, exit hurriedly.
Enter. Marian (singing).
Love flew in at the window
As Wealth walk'd in at the door.
‘You have come for you saw Wealth coming,’ said I.
But he flutter'd his wings with a sweet little cry,
I'll cleave to you rich or poor.
Wealth dropt out of the window,
Poverty crept thro' the door.
‘Well now you would fain follow Wealth,’ said I,
But he flutter'd his wings as he gave me the lie,
I cling to you all the more.

Little John.

Thanks, my lady—inasmuch as I am a true believer
in true love myself, and your Ladyship hath sung the
old proverb out of fashion.


Marian.

Ay but thou hast ruffled my woman, Little John.
She hath the fire in her face and the dew in her eyes.
I believed thee to be too solemn and formal to be a
ruffler. Out upon thee!



265

Little John.

I am no ruffler, my lady; but I pray you, my lady,
if a man and a maid love one another, may the maid
give the first kiss?


Marian.

It will be all the more gracious of her if she do.


Little John.

I cannot tell. Manners be so corrupt, and these
are the days of Prince John.

[Exit.

Enter Sir Richard Lea (reading a bond).
Sir Richard.

Marian!


Marian.

Father!


Sir Richard.

Who parted from thee even now?


Marian.

That strange starched stiff creature, Little John,
the Earl's man. He would grapple with a lion like
the King, and is flustered by a girl's kiss.



266

Sir Richard.

There never was an Earl so true a friend of the
people as Lord Robin of Huntingdon.


Marian.

A gallant Earl. I love him as I hate John.


Sir Richard.

I fear me he hath wasted his revenues in the
service of our good king Richard against the party
of John, as I have done, as I have done: and where
is Richard?


Marian.

Cleave to him, father! he will come home at last.


Sir Richard.

I trust he will, but if he do not I and thou are
but beggars.


Marian.

We will be beggar'd then and be true to the King.


Sir Richard.

Thou speakest like a fool or a woman. Canst
thou endure to be a beggar whose whole life hath


267


been folded like a blossom in the sheath, like a careless
sleeper in the down; who never hast felt a want,
to whom all things, up to this present, have come as
freely as heaven's air and mother's milk?


Marian.

Tut, father! I am none of your delicate Norman
maidens who can only broider and mayhap ride
a-hawking with the help of the men. I can bake and
I can brew, and by all the saints I can shoot almost
as closely with the bow as the great Earl himself.
I have played at the foils too with Kate: but is not
to-day his birthday?


Sir Richard.

Dost thou love him indeed, that thou keepest a
record of his birthdays? Thou knowest that the
Sheriff of Nottingham loves thee.


Marian.

The Sheriff dare to love me? me who worship
Robin the great Earl of Huntingdon? I love him
as a damsel of his day might have loved Harold the
Saxon, or Hereward the Wake. They both fought
against the tyranny of the kings, the Normans. But
then your Sheriff, your little man, if he dare to fight


268


at all, would fight for his rents, his leases, his houses,
his monies, his oxen, his dinners, himself. Now your
great man, your Robin, all England's Robin, fights
not for himself but for the people of England. This
John—this Norman tyranny—the stream is bearing
us all down, and our little Sheriff will ever swim with
the stream! but our great man, our Robin, against
it. And how often in old histories have the great
men striven against the stream, and how often in the
long sweep of years to come must the great man strive
against it again to save his country, and the liberties
of his people! God bless our well-beloved Robin,
Earl of Huntingdon.


Sir Richard.

Ay, ay. He wore thy colours once at a tourney.
I am old and forget. Was Prince John there?


Marian.

The Sheriff of Nottingham was there—not John.


Sir Richard.

Beware of John and the Sheriff of Nottingham.
They hunt in couples, and when they look at a maid
they blast her.


Marian.

Then the maid is not high-hearted enough.



269

Sir Richard.

There—there—be not a fool again. Their aim is
ever at that which flies highest—but O girl, girl, I
am almost in despair. Those two thousand marks
lent me by the Abbot for the ransom of my son
Walter—I believed this Abbot of the party of King
Richard, and he hath sold himself to that beast John
—they must be paid in a year and a month, or I
lose the land. There is one that should be grateful
to me overseas, a Count in Brittany—he lives near
Quimper. I saved his life once in battle. He has
monies. I will go to him. I saved him. I will try
him. I am all but sure of him. I will go to him.


Marian.

And I will follow thee, and God help us both.


Sir Richard.

Child, thou shouldst marry one who will pay the
mortgage. This Robin, this Earl of Huntingdon—
he is a friend of Richard—I know not, but he may
save the land, he may save the land.


Marian
(showing a cross hung round her neck).

Father, you see this cross?



270

Sir Richard.

Ay the King, thy godfather, gave it thee when a
baby.


Marian.

And he said that whenever I married he would
give me away, and on this cross I have sworn [kisses

it]
that till I myself pass away, there is no other man
that shall give me away.


Sir Richard.

Lo there—thou art fool again—I am all as loyal
as thyself, but what a vow! what a vow!


Re-enter Little John.
Little John.

My Lady Marian, your woman so flustered me that
I forgot my message from the Earl. To-day he hath
accomplished his thirtieth birthday, and he prays
your ladyship and your ladyship's father to be present
at his banquet to-night.


Marian.

Say, we will come.


Little John.

And I pray you, my lady, to stand between me
and your woman, Kate.



271

Marian

I will speak with her.


Little John.

I thank you, my lady, and I wish you and your
ladyship's father a most exceedingly good morning.

[Exit.

Sir Richard.

Thou hast answered for me, but I know not if I
will let thee go.


Marian.

I mean to go.


Sir Richard.

Not if I barred thee up in thy chamber, like a bird
in a cage.


Marian.

Then I would drop from the casement, like a
spider.


Sir Richard.

But I would hoist the drawbridge, like thy master.


Marian.

And I would swim the moat, like an otter.



272

Sir Richard.

But I would set my men-at-arms to oppose thee,
like the Lord of the Castle.


Marian.

And I would break through them all, like the
King of England.


Sir Richard.

Well, thou shalt go, but O the land! the land!
my great great great grandfather, my great great
grandfather, my great grandfather, my grandfather
and my own father—they were born and bred on it
—it was their mother—they have trodden it for half
a thousand years, and whenever I set my own foot
on it I say to it, Thou art mine, and it answers, I am
thine to the very heart of the earth—but now I have
lost my gold, I have lost my son, and I shall lose my
land also. Down to the devil with this bond that
beggars me!

[Flings down the bond.

Marian.

Take it again, dear father, be not wroth at the
dumb parchment. Sufficient for the day, dear father!
let us be merry to-night at the banquet.



273

Scene II.

A hall in the house of Robin Hood the Earl of Huntingdon. Doors open into a banqueting-hall where he is at feast with his friends.

DRINKING SONG.
Long live Richard,
Robin and Richard!
Long live Richard!
Down with John!
Drink to the Lion-heart
Every one!
Pledge the Plantagenet,
Him that is gone.
Who knows whither?
God's good Angel
Help him back hither,
And down with John!
Long live Robin,
Robin and Richard!
Long live Robin,
And down with John!

Enter Prince John disguised as a monk and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Cries of ‘Down with John,’ ‘Long live King Richard,’ ‘Down with John.’

274

Prince John.

Down with John! ha. Shall I be known? is my
disguise perfect?


Sheriff.

Perfect—who should know you for Prince John,
so that you keep the cowl down and speak not?

[Shouts from the banquet-room.

Prince John.

Thou and I will still these revelries presently.

[Shouts, ‘Long live King Richard!’
I come here to see this daughter of Sir Richard of
the Lea and if her beauties answer their report. If
so—


Sheriff.

If so—

[Shouts, ‘Down with John!’

Prince John.

You hear!


Sheriff.

Yes, my lord, fear not. I will answer for you.


Enter Little John, Scarlet, Much, &c., from the banquet singing a snatch of the Drinking Song.

275

Little John.

I am a silent man myself, and all the more wonder
at our Earl. What a wealth of words—O Lord, I
will live and die for King Richard—not so much for
the cause as for the Earl. O Lord, I am easily led
by words, but I think the Earl hath right. Scarlet,
hath not the Earl right? What makes thee so down
in the mouth?


Scarlet.

I doubt not, I doubt not, and though I be down
in the mouth, I will swear by the head of the Earl.


Little John.

Thou Much, miller's son, hath not the Earl right?


Much.

More water goes by the mill than the miller wots
of, and more goes to make right than I know of, but
for all that I will swear the Earl hath right. But they
are coming hither for the dance—
Enter Friar Tuck.

be they not, Friar Tuck? Thou art the Earl's confessor
and shouldst know.



276

Tuck.

Ay, ay, and but that I am a man of weight, and
the weight of the church to boot on my shoulders, I
would dance too. Fa, la, la, fa, la, la.

[Capering.

Much.

But doth not the weight of the flesh at odd times
overbalance the weight of the church, ha friar?


Tuck.

Homo sum. I love my dinner—but I can fast, I
can fast; and as to other frailties of the flesh—out
upon thee! Homo sum, sed virgo sum, I am a virgin,
my masters, I am a virgin.


Much.

And a virgin, my masters, three yards about the
waist is like to remain a virgin, for who could embrace
such an armful of joy?


Tuck.

Knave, there is a lot of wild fellows in Sherwood
Forest who hold by King Richard. If ever I meet
thee there, I will break thy sconce with my quarterstaff.



277

Enter from the banqueting-hall Sir Richard Lea, Robin Hood, &c.
Robin.
My guests and friends, Sir Richard, all of you
Who deign to honour this my thirtieth year,
And some of you were prophets that I might be
Now that the sun our King is gone, the light
Of these dark hours; but this new moon, I fear,
Is darkness. Nay, this may be the last time
When I shall hold my birthday in this hall:
I may be outlaw'd, I have heard a rumour.

All.
God forbid!

Robin.
Nay, but we have no news of Richard yet,
And ye did wrong in crying ‘Down with John;’
For be he dead, then John may be our King.

All.
God forbid!

Robin.
Ay God forbid,
But if it be so we must bear with John.

278

The man is able enough—no lack of wit,
And apt at arms and shrewd in policy.
Courteous enough too when he wills; and yet
I hate him for his want of chivalry.
He that can pluck the flower of maidenhood
From off the stalk and trample it in the mire,
And boast that he hath trampled it. I hate him,
I hate the man. I may not hate the King
For aught I know,
So that our Barons bring his baseness under.
I think they will be mightier than the king.

[Dance music.
(Marian enters with other damsels.)
Robin.
The high Heaven guard thee from his wantonness,
Who art the fairest flower of maidenhood
That ever blossom'd on this English isle.

Marian.
Cloud not thy birthday with one fear for me.
My lord, myself and my good father pray
Thy thirtieth summer may be thirty-fold
As happy as any of those that went before.


279

Robin.
My Lady Marian you can make it so
If you will deign to tread a measure with me.

Marian.
Full willingly, my lord.

[They dance.
Robin
(after dance).
My Lady, will you answer me a question?

Marian.
Any that you may ask.

Robin.

A question that every true man asks of a woman
once in his life.


Marian.

I will not answer it, my lord, till King Richard
come home again.


Prince John
(to Sheriff).
How she looks up at him, how she holds her face!
Now if she kiss him, I will have his head.


280

Sheriff.

Peace, my lord; the Earl and Sir Richard come
this way.


Robin.

Must you have these monies before the year and
the month end?


Sir Richard.

Or I forfeit my land to the Abbot. I must pass
overseas to one that I trust will help me.


Robin.

Leaving your fair Marian alone here.


Sir Richard.

Ay, for she hath somewhat of the lioness in her,
and there be men-at-arms to guard her.


[Robin, Sir Richard, and Marian pass on.
Prince John
(to Sheriff).
Why that will be our opportunity
When I and thou will rob the nest of her.

Sheriff.
Good Prince, art thou in need of any gold?


281

Prince John.
Gold? why? not now.

Sheriff.
I would give thee any gold
So that myself alone might rob the nest.

Prince John.
Well, well then, thou shalt rob the nest alone.

Sheriff.
Swear to me by that relic on thy neck.

Prince John.
I swear then by this relic on my neck—
No, no, I will not swear by this; I keep it
For holy vows made to the blessed Saints
Not pleasures, women's matters.
Dost thou mistrust me? Am I not thy friend?
Beware, man, lest thou lose thy faith in me.
I love thee much; and as I am thy friend,
I promise thee to make this Marian thine.
Go now and ask the maid to dance with thee,
And learn from her if she do love this Earl.

Sheriff
(advancing toward Marian and Robin).
Pretty mistress!


282

Robin.

What art thou, man? Sheriff of Nottingham?


Sheriff.

Ay, my lord. I and my friend, this monk, were
here belated, and seeing the hospitable lights in your
castle, and knowing the fame of your hospitality, we
ventured in uninvited.


Robin.

You are welcome, though I fear you be of those
who hold more by John than Richard.


Sheriff.

True, for through John I had my sheriffship. I
am John's till Richard come back again, and then I
am Richard's. Pretty mistress, will you dance?

[They dance.

Robin
(talking to Prince John).

What monk of what convent art thou? Why
wearest thou thy cowl to hide thy face?

[Prince John shakes his head.
Is he deaf, or dumb, or daft, or drunk belike?

[Prince John shakes his head.


283

Why comest thou like a death's head at my feast?
[Prince John points to the Sheriff,

who is dancing with Marian.

Is he thy mouthpiece, thine interpreter?

[Prince John nods.

Sheriff
(to Marian as they pass).
Beware of John!

Marian.
I hate him.

Sheriff.
Would you cast
An eye of favour on me, I would pay
My brother all his debt and save the land.

Marian.
I cannot answer thee till Richard come.

Sheriff.
And when he comes?

Marian.
Well, you must wait till then.

Little John
(dancing with Kate).
Is it made up? Will you kiss me?


284

Kate.
You shall give me the first kiss.

Little John.
There (kisses her).
Now thine.


Kate.

You shall wait for mine till Sir Richard has paid
the Abbot.

[They pass on.

[The Sheriff leaves Marian with her father and comes toward Robin.
Robin
(to Sheriff, Prince John standing by).

Sheriff, thy friend, this monk, is but a statue.


Sheriff.

Pardon him, my lord: he is a holy Palmer, bounden
by a vow not to show his face, nor to speak word to
anyone, till he join King Richard in the Holy Land.


Robin.

Going to the Holy Land to Richard! Give me
thy hand and tell him— Why, what a cold grasp
is thine—as if thou didst repent thy courtesy even in
the doing it. That is no true man's hand. I hate
hidden faces.



285

Sheriff.

Pardon him again, I pray you; but the twilight
of the coming day already glimmers in the east. We
thank you, and farewell.


Robin.
Farewell, farewell. I hate hidden faces.

[Exeunt Prince John and Sheriff.
Sir Richard
(coming forward with Maid Marian).
How close the Sheriff peer'd into thine eyes!
What did he say to thee?

Marian.
Bade me beward
Of John: what maid but would beware of John?

Sir Richard.
What else?

Marian.
I care not what he said.

Sir Richard.
What else?

Marian.
That if I cast an eye of favour on him,
Himself would pay this mortgage to his brother,
And save the land.


286

Sir Richard.
Did he say so, the Sheriff?

Robin.
I fear this Abbot is a heart of flint,
Hard as the stones of his abbey.
O good Sir Richard,
I am sorry my exchequer runs so low
I cannot help you in this exigency;
For though my men and I flash out at times
Of festival like burnish'd summer-flies,
We make but one hour's buzz, are only like
The rainbow of a momentary sun.
I am mortgaged as thyself.

Sir Richard.
Ay! I warrant thee—thou canst not be sorrier than
I am. Come away, daughter.

Robin.
Farewell, Sir Richard; farewell, sweet Marian.

Marian.
Till better times.

Robin.
But if the better times should never come?


287

Marian.
Then I shall be no worse.

Robin.
And if the worst time come?

Marian.
Why then I will be better than the time.

Robin.
This ring my mother gave me: it was her own
Betrothal ring. She pray'd me when I loved
A maid with all my heart to pass it down
A finger of that hand which should be mine
Thereafter. Will you have it? Will you wear it?

Marian.
Ay, noble Earl, and never part with it.

Sir Richard Lea
(coming up).
Not till she clean forget thee, noble Earl.

Marian.
Forget him—never—by this Holy Cross
Which good King Richard gave me when a child—
Never!

288

Not while the swallow skims along the ground,
And while the lark flies up and touches heaven!
Not while the smoke floats from the cottage roof,
And the white cloud is roll'd along the sky!
Not while the rivulet babbles by the door,
And the great breaker beats upon the beach!
Never—
Till Nature, high and low, and great and small
Forgets herself, and all her loves and hates
Sink again into chaos.

Sir Richard Lea.
Away! away!

[Exeunt to music.

Scene III.

Same as Scene II.
Robin and his men.
Robin.
All gone!—my ring—I am happy—should be happy.
She took my ring. I trust she loves me—yet
I heard this Sheriff tell her he would pay
The mortgage if she favour'd him. I fear
Not her, the father's power upon her.
Friends, (to his men)

I am only merry for an hour or two

289

Upon a birthday: if this life of ours
Be a good glad thing, why should we make us merry
Because a year of it is gone? but Hope
Smiles from the threshold of the year to come
Whispering ‘it will be happier,’ and old faces
Press round us, and warm hands close with warm hands,
And thro' the blood the wine leaps to the brain
Like April sap to the topmost tree, that shoots
New buds to heaven, whereon the throstle rock'd
Sings a new song to the new year—and you
Strike up a song, my friends, and then to bed.

Little John.
What will you have, my lord?

Robin.
‘To sleep! to sleep!’

Little John.
There is a touch of sadness in it, my lord.
But ill befitting such a festal day.

Robin.
I have a touch of sadness in myself
Sing.


290

SONG.

To sleep! to sleep! The long bright day is done,
And darkness rises from the fallen sun.
To sleep! to sleep!
Whate'er thy joys, they vanish with the day;
Whate'er thy griefs, in sleep they fade away.
To sleep! to sleep!
Sleep, mournful heart, and let the past be past!
Sleep, happy soul! all life will sleep at last.
To sleep! to sleep!

[A trumpet blown at the gates.
Robin.
Who breaks the stillness of the morning thus?

Little John
(going out and returning).
It is a royal messenger, my lord:
I trust he brings us news of the King's coming.

Enter a Pursuivant who reads.

O yes, O yes, O yes! In the name of the Regent.
Thou, Robin Hood Earl of Huntingdon, art attainted
and hast lost thine earldom of Huntingdon. Moreover
thou art dispossessed of all thy lands, goods,
and chattels; and by virtue of this writ, whereas


291


Robin Hood Earl of Huntingdon by force and arms
hath trespassed against the king in divers manners,
therefore by the judgment of the officers of the said
lord king, according to the law and custom of the
kingdom of England Robin Hood Earl of Huntingdon
is outlawed and banished.


Robin.
I have shelter'd some that broke the forest laws.
This is irregular and the work of John.

[‘Irregular, irregular! (tumult) Down with him, tear his coat from his back!’
Messenger.
Ho there! ho there, the Sheriff's men without!

Robin.
Nay, let them be, man, let them be. We yield.
How should we cope with John? The London folkmote
Has made him all but king, and he hath seized
On half the royal castles. Let him alone! (to his men)

A worthy messenger! how should he help it?
Shall we too work injustice? what, thou shakest!
Here, here—a cup of wine—drin and begone!
[Exit Messenger.

292

We will away in four-and-twenty hours,
But shall we leave our England?

Tuck.
Robin, Earl—

Robin.
Let be the Earl. Henceforth I am no more
Than plain man to plain man.

Tuck.
Well, then, plain man
There be good fellows there in merry Sherwood
That hold by Richard, tho' they kill his deer.

Robin.
In Sherwood Forest. I have heard of them.
Have they no leader?

Tuck.
Each man for his own
Be thou their leader and they will all of them
Swarm to thy voice like bees to the brass pan.

Robin.
They hold by Richard—the wild wood! to cast
All threadbare household habit, mix with all

293

The lusty life of wood and underwood,
Hawk, buzzard, jay, the mavis and the merle,
The tawny squirrel vaulting thro' the boughs,
The deer, the highback'd polecat, the wild boar,
The burrowing badger—By St. Nicholas
I have a sudden passion for the wild wood—
We should be free as air in the wild wood—
What say you? shall we go? Your hands, your hands!
[Gives his hand to each.
You, Scarlet, you are always moody here.

Scarlet.
'Tis for no lack of love to you, my lord,
But lack of happiness in a blatant wife.
She broke my head on Tuesday with a dish.
I would have thwack'd the woman, but I did not,
Because thou sayest such fine things of women
But I shall have to thwack her if I stay.

Robin.
Would it be better for thee in the wood?

Scarlet.
Ay, so she did not follow me to the wood.

Robin.
Then, Scarlet, thou at least wilt go with me.
Thou, Much, the miller's son, I knew thy father:

294

He was a manly man, as thou art, Much,
And gray before his time as thou art, Much.

Much.
It is the trick of the family, my lord.
There was a song he made to the turning wheel—

Robin.
‘Turn! turn!’ but I forget it.

Much.
I cansing it.

Robin.
Not now, good Much! And thou, dear Little John,
Who hast that worship for me which Heaven knows
I ill deserve—you love me, all of you,
But I am outlaw'd, and if caught, I die.
Your hands again. All thanks for all your service;
But if you follow me, you may die with me.

All.

We will live and die with thee, we will live and die
with thee.


END OF ACT I.