“ One is our friend, and the other is not true.
Enter LORD LACY, SIR HUGH, and his Boy.
LACY. Hence, treacher, as thou art! by God's bless'd mother!
I'll lop thy legs off, though thou be my brother,
If with thy flattering tongue thou seek to hide
Thy traitorous purpose. Ah, poor Huntington!
How in one hour have villains thee undone!
HUGH. If you will not believe what I have sworn,
Conceit your worst. My Lord of Ely knows
That what I say is true.
LACY. Still facest thou?
Draw, boy, and quickly see that thou defend thee.
LEI. Patience, Lord Lacy! get you gone, Sir Hugh ”

“ Enter JAILER of Nottingham, leading a dog.
Here comes another; one that yesterday
Was at my service, came when I did call,
And him I made jailer of Nottingham.
Perchance some pity dwells within the man;
Jailer, well met; dost thou not know me, man?
JAI. Yes, thou art Warman; every knave knows thee.
WAR. Thou know'st I was thy master yesterday.
JAI. Ay, but 'tis not as it was: farewell; go by.
WAR. Good George, relieve my bitter misery.
JAI. By this flesh and blood, I will not.
No, if I do, the devil take me quick.
I have no money, beggar: balk the way!
WAR. I do not ask thee money. ”

“ Tut, fear not, maid; if Grim be merry,
I will make up the match between ye.
GRIM. There will be a match in the devil's name!
ROB. Well, now the night is almost spent,
Since your affections all are bent
To marriage and to constant love,
Grim, Robin doth thy choice approve;
And there's the priest shall marry you:
Go to it, and make no more ado:
Sirrah, sir priest, go get you gone,
And join both her and him anon;
But ne'er hereafter let me take you
With wanton love-tricks, lest I make you
Example to all stone-priests ever,
To deal with other men's loves never. ”

“ Is our Earl Robert or your Robin Hood,
That in those days was Earl of Huntington.
The ill-faced miser, bribed in either hand,
Is Warman, once the steward of his house,
Who, Judas-like, betrays his liberal lord
Into the hands of that relentless Prior,
Call'd Gilbert Hood, uncle to Huntington.
Those two, that seek to part these lovely friends,
Are Elinor the queen and John the prince:
She loves Earl Robert, he Maid Marian;
But vainly, for their dear affect is such,
As only death can sunder their true loves. ”

“ Faint'st thou at this? speak to me, Marian:
My old love, newly met, part not so soon;
We have a little time to tarry yet.
MAR. If but a little time, let me not stay
Part we to-day, then will I die to-day!
LIT. JOHN. For shame, my lord! with courage of a man
Bridle this over-grieving passion,
Or else dissemble it to comfort her.
ROB. H. I like thy counsel. Marian, clear these clouds,
And with the sunny beams of thy bright eyes
Drink up these mists of sorrow that arise.
MAR. How can I joy, when thou art banished?
ROB. H. I tell thee, love, my grief is counterfeit ”

“ Yet Grim the collier may, if he be wise,
Live even as merry as the day is long;
For, in my judgment, in his mean estate
Consists as much content as in more wealth.
GRIM. O Master Parson, write down this sweet saying of her in Grim's commendations. She hath made my heart leap like a hobby-horse! O Joan, this speech of thine will I carry with me even to my grave.
SHO. Be silent, then.
CLACK. Well, then, I perceive you mean to lead your life in a coalpit, like one of the devil's drudges, and have your face look like the outward side of an old iron pot or a blacking-box. ”

“ Thou art my own.
CLACK. Well, Grim, since thou art so collier-like choleric—
GRIM. Miller, I will not be mealy-mouth'd.
CLACK. I'll give thee the fewer words now, because the next time we meet, I'll pay thee all in dry blows. Carry coals [447] at a collier's hands! if I do, let my mill be drowned up in water, and I hanged in the roof.
JOAN. And if thou lov'st me, Grim, forbear him now.
GRIM. If I love thee! dost thou doubt of that? nay, rip me up, and look into my heart, and thou shalt see thy own face pictured there as plainly as in the proudest looking-glass in all Croydon. If I love thee! ”

“ JOAN. Sweet Grim, and if thou lovest me, let's away.
GRIM. Nay, now, Joan, I spy a hole in your coat: if you cannot endure the devil, you'll never love the collier. Why, we two are sworn brothers. You shall see me talk with him even as familiarly as if I should parbreak [479] my mind and my whole stomach upon thee.
JOAN. I prythee, do not, Grim.
GRIM. Who? not I? O Lord, Master Robert Goodfellow, I have a poor cottage at home, whither Joan and I will jog us merrily. We will make you no stranger, if you come thither. You shall be used as devilishly as you would wish, i'faith. ”

“ In house or field thou didst this day possess.
Mark what I say: advise thee to look to't,
Or else, be sure, thou diest remediless.
Nor from those houses see that thou receive
So much as shall sustain thee for an hour,
But as thou art, go where thou canst; get friends,
And he that feeds thee be mine enemy.
WAR. O my good lord!
JOHN. Thou thy good lord betrayedst,
And all the world for money thou wilt sell.
WAR. What says the queen?
QUEEN. Why, thus I say:
Betray thy master, thou wilt all betray.
WAR. My Lords of Chester and of Salisbury!
BOTH. Speak not to us: all traitors we defy. ”

“ Should like a secular be punished.
Treason we did, for sure we did intend
King Richard's poisoning, sovereign of this land.
Murder we did, in working Warman's end
And my dear nephew's by this fatal hand:
And theft we did, for we have robb'd the king,
The state, the nobles, commons, and his men,
Of a true peer, firm pillar, liberal lord.
Fitzwater we have robbed of a kind son,
And Marian's love-joys we have quite undone.
DON. Whoop! what a coil is here with your confession!
PRIOR. I ask but judgment for my foul transgression.
KING. Thy own mouth hath condemn'd thee. ”

“ LIT. JOHN. Do not forget your honourable state,
Nor the true noblesse of your worthy house.
ROB. H. Do not persuade me; vain as vanity
Are all thy comforts: I am comfortless.
LIT. JOHN. Hear me, my lord.
ROB. H. What shall I hear thee say?
Already hast thou said too much to hear:
Already hast thou stabb'd me with thy tongue,
And the wide wound with words will not be clos'd.
Am I not outlaw'd by the Prior of York?
Proclaim'd in court, in city, and in town
A lawless person? ”

“ ST DUN. Satan, avaunt! thou art man's enemy:
Thou shalt not live amongst us so unseen,
So to betray us to the prince of darkness.
Satan, avaunt! I do conjure thee hence.—
What, dream'st thou, Dunstan? yea, I dream'd indeed.
Must then the devil come into the world?
Such is, belike, the infernal king's decree;
Well, be it so; for Dunstan is content.
Mark well the process of the devil's disguise,
Who happily may learn you to be wise.
Women, beware, and make your bargains well,
The devil, to choose a wife, is come from hell. ”

“ FITZ. Hubert, for this thy honourable deed
I and my house will reverence thy name.
HUB. Yet, I beseech you, hide it from the king;
At least that I convey'd her to the place.
Enter KING, MOWBRAY, CHESTER.
FITZ. Hubert, I will.
KING. What, stand they still on terms?
LEI. On honourable terms, on terms of right.
Our lives without our liberty we scorn.
KING. You shall have life and liberty, I swear.
LEI. Then Leicester bows his knee to his liege lord,
And humbly begs his highness to beware
Of wronging innocence, as he hath done.
RICH. The like Richmond desires, and yields his sword. ”

“ ROB. H. O, go not hence, Prince John! a word or two,
Before I die, I fain would say to you.
KING. Robin, we see what we are sad to see—
Death, like a champion, treading down thy life:
Yet in thy end, somewhat to comfort thee,
We freely give to thy betrothed wife,
Beauteous and chaste Matilda, all those lands,
Fallen by thy folly to the Prior's hands,
And by his fault now forfeited to me.
Earl Huntington, she shall thy countess be:
And thy wight yeomen, they shall wend with me
Against the faithless enemies of Christ.
ROB. H. Bring forth a bier, and cover it with green ”

“ Warman, will you not help to hinder all you may?
WAR. With what I have been, twit me not, my lord:
My old sins at my soul I do detest.
JOHN. Then, that he came this way Prince John was blest.
Forgive me, Ely; pardon me, Fitzwater:
And Robin, to thy hands myself I yield.
ROB. H. And as my heart from hurt I will thee shield.
Enter MUCH, running.
MUCH. Master, fly! hide ye, mistress! we all shall be taken.
ROB. H. Why, what's the matter?
MUCH. The king! the king! and twelve and twenty score of horses.
ROB. H. Peace, fool! we have no cause from him to fly. ”

“ Though it ill-seemeth, Warman, thou should'st be
So bloody to pursue our lives thus cruelly.
SCATH. Our mother sav'd thee fro the gallows, Warman:
His father did prefer thee to thy lord.
One mother had we both, and both our fathers
To thee and to thy father were kind friends.
FRIAR. Good fellows, here you see his kindness ends:
What he was once he doth not now consider.
You must consider of your many sins:
This day in death your happiness begins.
SCAR. If you account it happiness, good Friar,
To bear us company I you desire:
The more the merrier; we are honest men. ”

“ QUEEN. Is this the villain, Chester, that defil'd
Sir Eustace Stutville's chaste and beauteous child?
DON. Ay, madam, this is he
That made a wench dance naked in a wood;
And, for she did deny what I desired,
I scourg'd her for her pride, till her fair skin
With stripes was checquer'd like a vintner's grate. [284]
And what was this? A mighty matter, sure!
I have a thousand more than she defil'd,
And cut the squeaking throats of some of them—
I grieve I did not hers.
QUEEN. Punish him, Richard.
A fairer virgin never saw the sun;
A chaster maid was never sworn a nun. ”

“ SHO. No, Grim, I here forswear to touch
Thy Joan, or any other such:
Love hath been so cudgell'd out of me,
I'll go no more to wood with thee.
ROB. 'Twas Robin beat this holy mind into him.
I think more cudgelling would make him more honest. [Aside.]
GRIM. You speak like an honest man and a good parson, and that is more.
Here's Joan's benevolation for us, a mess of cream and so forth. Here is
your place, Master Parson. Stand on the t'other side of the table, Joan.
Eat hard to-night, that thou may marry us the better to-morrow.
ROB. What, is my brother Grim so good a fellow. ”

“ ROB. H. Very well, fair queen.
KING. Dost thou feel any ease?
ROB. H. I shall, I trust, anon:
Sleep falls upon mine eyes. O, I must sleep,
And they that love me, do not waken me.
MAR. Sleep in my lap, and I will sing to thee.
JOHN. He should not sleep.
ROB. H. I must, for I must die;
While I live, therefore, let me have some rest.
FITZ. Ay, let him rest: the poison urges sleep.
When he awakes, there is no hope of life.
DON. Of life! Now, by the little time I have to live,
He cannot live one hour for your lives.
KING. Villain! what art thou?
DON. Why, I am a knight. ”

“ ROB. H. Love is a flame, a fire, that being moved,
Still brighter grows. But say, are you beloved?
JOHN. I would be, if I be not: but pass that.
Are ye a dweller in this city, pray?
ROB. H. I am; and for a gentlewoman stay,
That rides some four or five mile in great haste.
Enter QUEEN and MARIAN. [179]
JOHN. I see your labour, sir, is not in waste,
For here come two; are either of these yours?
ROB. H. Both are—one most. [180]
JOHN. Which do you most respect?
ROB. H. The youngest and the fairest I reject.
JOHN. Robin, I'll try you, whether ye say true. ”

“ Say, John, where must they die?
LIT. JOHN. Yonder's their mother's house, and here the tree
Whereon, poor men, they must forego their lives:
And yonder comes a lazy losel friar,
That is appointed for their confessor;
Who, when we brought your money to their mothers,
Was wishing her to patience for their deaths.
Enter FRIAR TUCK and RALPH, Warman's man.
RAL. I am timorous, sir, that the prigioners are passed from the jail.
FRIAR. Soft, sirrah! by my order I protest
Ye are too forward: 'tis no game, no jest,
We go about.
ROB. H. Matilda, walk afore
To Widow Scarlet's house ”

“ MAR. What aged man art thou? or by what chance
Cam'st thou thus far into the wayless wood?
FITZ. Widow or wife, or maiden if thou be,
Lend me thy hand; thou seest I cannot see:
Blessing betide thee, little feel'st thou want;
With me, good child, food is both hard and scant.
These smooth even veins assure me he is kind,
Whate'er he be, my girl, that thee doth find.
I, poor and old, am reft of all earth's good,
And desperately am crept into this wood
To seek the poor man's patron, Robin Hood.
MAR. And thou art welcome: welcome, aged man,
Ay, ten times welcome to Maid Marian. ”

“ FITZ. My Marian wanteth words, such is her woe;
But old Fitzwater, for his girl and him,
Begs nothing but world's plague for such a foe,
Which causeless harm'd a virtuous nobleman,
A pitier of his griefs, when he felt grief.
Therefore, bethink thee of thy hateful deed,
Thou faithless Prior, and thou this ruthless thief.
PRIOR. Will no man curse me, giving so much cause?
Then, Doncaster, ourselves ourselves accurse,
And let no good betide to thee or me! ”

“ Only the poor and vile respect the same;
But if the mighty fall, fear then besets
The proud heart of the mighty ones, his mates:
They think the world is garnished with nets,
And traps ordained to entrap their states;
Which fear in them begets a fear of ill,
And makes them good, contrary to their will.
JOHN. Your lordship hath said right. Lord Salisbury,
Is not your mind as ours concerning Ely?
SAL. I judge him worthy of reproof and shame.
JOHN. Warman, bring forth your prisoner, Ely, the chancellor;
And with him bring the seal that he detains.
Warman, why goest thou not? ”

“ O Master Parson Shorthose, Grim is but a man as another man is: colliers have but lives, as other men have. All is gone if she go from me: Grim is nobody without her. My heart is in my mouth; my mouth is in my hand; my hand threatens vengeance against the miller, as it were a beadle with a whip in his hand, triumphing o'er a beggar's back!
SHO. Be silent, Grim; stand close, and see;
So shall we know how all things be.
GRIM. In wisdom I am appeased; but in anger I broil, as it were a rasher upon the coals.
JOAN. I'll not despise the trades ye either have ”

“ Exeunt FRIAR, RALPH.
ROB. H. Heard'st thou not, Little John, the friar's speech,
Wishing for rescue or a quick reprieve?
LIT. JOHN. He seems like a good fellow, my good lord.
ROB. H. He's a good fellow, John, upon my word.
Lend me thy horn, and get thee in to Much,
And when I blow this horn, come both, and help me.
LIT. JOHN. Take heed, my lord: that villain Warman knows you,
And ten to one he hath a writ against you.
ROB. H. Fear not.
Below the bridge a poor blind man doth dwell,
With him I will change my habit, and disguise:
Only be ready when I call for ye ”

“ Nay. France is not so kind; I would it were.
Advise yourselves. Hark, dost thou hear me, Bruce?
BRUCE. Oxford, I do.
OX. Can noble English hearts bear the French yoke?
No, Leicester: Richmond, think on Louis' sire,
That left you and your king in Palestine.
QUEEN. And think, beside, you know not Louis's nature,
Who may be as bad as John, or, rather, worse
Than he.
HUB. And look, my lords, upon his silent woe;
His soul is at the door of death, I know.
See how he seeks to suck, if he could draw
Poison from dead Matilda's ashy lips. ”

“ How thou hast been the Shrieve of Nottingham.
PRIOR. Cry to thy thoughts, let this thought never cease—
"I have been justice of my sovereign's peace,
Lord of fair livings; men with cap and knee
In liveries waited hourly on me."
DON. And when thou think'st thou hast been such and such,
Think then what 'tis to be a mate to Much?
To run when Robin bids, come at his call,
Be Mistress Marian's man.
PRIOR. Nay, think withal—
WAR. What shall I think, but think upon my need,
When men fed dogs, and me they would not feed? ”

“ QUEEN. Jesus have mercy! Oxford, come not nigh him.
OX. Not nigh him, madam? yes: keep you away.
ABB. Come in, good queen; I do not mean to stay. [Exit ABBESS.
QUEEN. Nor I to stir before I see the end. [359]
OX. Why star'st thou thus? speak, fellow: answer me.
Who art thou?
BRAND. A bloody villain and a murderer!
A hundred have I slain with mine own hands.
'Twas I that starv'd the Lady Bruce to death
And her young son at Windsor Castle late:
'Tis I have slain Matilda, blessed maid,
And now will hurry to damnation's mouth,
Forc'd by the gnawing worm of conscience. ”

“ ROB. H. Disconsolate and poor dejected man,
Cast from thy neck that shameful sign of death,
And live for me, if thou amend thy life,
As much in favour as thou ever didst.
WAR. O, worse than any death,
When a man wrong'd his wronger pitieth!
ELY. Warman, be comforted, rise and amend:
On my word, Robin Hood will be thy friend.
ROB. H. I will indeed: go in, heart-broken man.
Father Fitzwater, pray lead him in.
Kind Marian, with sweet comforts comfort him,
And my tall yeomen, as you me affect,
Upbraid him not with his forepassed life.
Warman, go in; go in and comfort thee. ”

“ FRIAR. It is a leasing, credit me.
How chance, sir, then you were not sworn?
JOHN. What mean this groom and lozel friar,
So strictly matters to inquire?
Had I a sword and buckler here,
You should aby these questions dear.
FRIAR. Say'st thou me so, lad? lend him thine,
For in this bush here lieth mine.
Now will I try this new-come guest.
SCATH. I am his first man, Friar Tuck,
And if I fail, and have no luck,
Then thou with him shalt have a pluck.
FRIAR. Be it so, Scathlock. Hold thee, lad,
No better weapons can be had:
The dew doth them a little rust ”