24. ‘Now give me leave, give me leave, master,’ he said, ‘For Christ’s love give leave to me To set a fire within this hall, And to burn up all Churchlee.’ 25. ‘That I rede not,’ said Robin Hood then, ‘Little John, for it may not be; If I should do any widow hurt, at my latter end, God,’ he said, ‘would blame me; 26. ‘But take me upon thy back, Little John, And bear me to yonder street, And there make me a full fair grave Of gravel and of greet. 27. And set my bright sword at my head, Mine arrows at my feet, And lay my yew-bow by my side, My met-yard wi . . .’ [Annotations: 2.1: ‘rede,’ advise. 4.1,3: ‘And,’ if. 4.4: ‘A stanza or more seems to be lost here.’ --Child. There is, however, no break in the MS. 6.1: ‘You’st’ = you shall. 8.2: ‘banning,’ cursing. 11.2: ‘lin,’ stop. 14.2: ‘in that ilk’ [time], at that same moment. 14.3: ‘blood-irons,’ lancets for bleeding. 20.3: ‘glaive,’ a sword or knife tied to the end of a pole. 22.3: ‘housel,’ communion, sacrament. 23.1: ‘give me mood’: Child suggests ‘give me my God,’ _i.e._ the consecrated Host. He admits it is a bold emendation, but cites some striking parallels in support of it. 23.4: ‘bestand,’ help. 26.4: ‘greet,’ grit, sand. 27.4: ‘met-yard,’ measuring-rod.] ADAM BELL, CLYM OF THE CLOUGH AND WILLIAM OF CLOUDESLY +The Text.+--The earliest complete text, here given, was printed by William Copland between 1548 and 1568: there are extant two printed fragments, one printed by John Byddell in 1536, and the other in a type older than Copland’s. Later, there are two editions printed by James Roberts in 1605; and finally a MS. text in the Percy Folio (c. 1650). Copland’s text is obviously full of faults, and in emendations I have mostly followed Child. +The Story+, lively and admirably told, contains little extrinsic interest, except in William’s feat of shooting the apple from his son’s head. This is inevitably associated with the legend of William Tell, which is told in the White Book of Obwalden, written about 1470; but similar stories can be found in the Icelandic Saga of Dietrich of Bern (about 1250) and in Saxo Grammaticus, who wrote his Danish History about the year 1200. Three or four other versions of the story are to be found in German and Scandinavian literature before the date of our ballad; but they all agree in two points which are missing in the English ballad--the shot is compulsory, and the archer reserves another arrow for purposes of revenge in case he misses his mark. William of Cloudesly volunteers a difficult and risky feat out of bravado. The rescue of Cloudesly by Adam Bell and Clym of the Clough may be compared with the rescue of Robin Hood by Little John and Much in _Robin Hood and the Monk_, stt. 61-81 (see pp. 107-110). ADAM BELL, CLYM OF THE CLOUGH AND WILLIAM OF CLOUDESLY