class="v">Did give him great applause;
For none of them neede stand in feare,
But such as broake the lawes.
He wished well unto the king,
And prayed still for his health,
And never practised any thing
Against the common wealth.
Onely, because he was undone
By th’crewell clergie then,
All meanes that he could thinke upon
To vex such kinde of men
He enterprized, with hatefull spleene;
In which he was to blame,
For fault of some, to wreeke his teene
On all that by him came.
With wealth which he by robbery got
Eight almes-houses he built,
Thinking thereby to purge the blot
Of blood which he had spilt.
Such was their blinde devotion then,
Depending on their workes;
Which, if ’twere true, we Christian men
Inferiour were to Turkes.
But, to speake true of Robbin Hood,
And wrong him not a jot,
He never would shed any mans blood
That him invaded not.
Nor would he injure husbandmen,
That toyld at cart and plough;
For well he knew, were’t not for them,
To live no man knew how.
The king in person, with some lords,
To Notingham did ride,
To try what strength and skill affords
To crush these outlawes pride.
And, as he once before had done,
He did againe proclaime,
What whosoere would take upon
To bring to Notingham,
Or any place within the land,
Rebellious Robbin Hood,
Should be prefered in place to stand
With those of noble blood.
When Robbin Hood heard of the same,
Within a little space,
Into the towne of Nottingham
A letter to his Grace
He shot upon an arrow-head,
One evening cunningly;
Which was brought to the king, and read
Before his Majesty.
The tennour of this letter was
That Robbin would submit,
And be true leigeman to his Grace,
In any thing that’s fit,
So that his Highnesse would forgive
Him and his merry men all;
If not, he must i’th’ greene wood live,
And take what chance did fall.
The king would faine have pardoned him,
But that some lords did say,
“This president will much condemne
Your Grace another day”.
While that the king and lords did stay
Debating on this thing,
Some of these outlawes fled away
Unto the Scottish king.
For they suppos’d, if he were tane,
Or to the king did yeeld,
By th’commons all the rest on’s traine
Full quickely would be quell’d.
Of more than full a hundred men
But forty tarryed still,
Who were resolvd to sticke to him,
Let fortune worke her will.
If none had fled, all for his sake
Had got their pardon free;
The king to favour meant to take
His merry men and he.
But ere the pardon to him came,
This famous archer dy’d.
His death, and manner of the same,
I’le presently describe.
For, being vext to thinke upon
His followers revolt,
In melancholly passion
He did recount their fault.
“Perfideous traytors!” sayd he then,
“In all your dangers past
Have I you guarded as my men
To leave me thus at last?”
This sad perplexity did cause
A fever, as some say,
Which him unto confusion drawes,
Though by a stranger way.
This deadly danger to prevent,
He hide him with all speede
Unto a nunnery, with intent
For his healths sake to bleede.
A faithless fryer did pretend
In love to let him blood;
But he by falshood wrought the end
Of famous Robbin Hood.
The fryer, as some say, did this
To vindicate the wrong
Which to the clergie he and his
Had done by power strong.
Thus dyed he by trechery,
Who could not dye by force;
Had he liv’d longer, certainely,
King Richard, in remorse,
Had unto favour him receav’d;
He brave men elevated;
’Tis pitty he was of life bereav’d
By one which he so hated.
A treacherous leech this fryer was,
To let him bleed to death;
And Robbin was, me thinkes, an asse,
To trust him with his breath.
His corpes the priores of the place,
The next day that he dy’d,
Caused to be buried, in mean case,
Close by the high-way side.
And over him she caused a stone
To be fixed on the ground;
An epitaph was set thereon,
Wherein his name was found.
The date o’th’ yeare, and day also,
Shee made to be set there,
That all who by the way did goe
Might see it plaine appeare
That such a man as Robbin Hood
Was buried in that place;
And how he lived in the greene wood,
And rob’d there for a space.
