“Ye, be mey trowthe, Leytyll[251] John, Loke thow take no car ; Y haffe browt the screffe of Notynggam, For all howr chaffar.” He ys foll wellcom, seyde Lytyll John, Thes tydyng ys foll godde. The screffe had lever nar a hundred ponde [He had never sene Roben Hode]. “Had I west[252] that beforen, At Notynggam when we wer, Thow scholde not com yn feyr forest Of all thes thowsande eyr.” {94} That wot y well, seyde Roben, Y thanke god that y be[253] her ; Therfor schall ye leffe yowr horse with hos, And all your hother ger. That fend I godys forbode, kod the screffe, So to lese mey godde. “Hether ye[254] cam on horse foll hey, And hom schall ye go on fote ; And gret well they weyffe at home, The woman ys foll godde. Y schall her sende a wheyt palffrey,[255] Het hambellet as the weynde ; Ner for the loffe of yowr weyffe, Off mor sorow scholde yow seyng.” Thes parted Robyn Hode and the screffe, To Notynggam he toke the waye ; Hes weyffe feyr welcomed hem hom, And to hem gan sche saye : Seyr, how haffe yow fared yn grene foreyst ? Haffe ye browt Roben hom ? “Dam, the deyell spede hem, bothe bodey and bon, Y haffe hade a foll grete skorne. {95} Of all the god that y haffe lade to grene wod, He hayt take het fro me, All bot this feyr palffrey, That he hayt sende to the.” With that sche toke op a lowde lawhyng, And swhar be hem that deyed on tre : “Now haffe you payed for all the pottys That Roben gaffe to me. Now ye be com hom to Notynggam, Ye schall haffe god ynowe.” Now speke we of Roben Hode, And of the pottyr onder the grene bowhe.[256] “Potter, what was they pottys worthe To Notynggam that y ledde with me ?” They wer worth two nobellys, seyd he, So mot y treyffe or the ; So cowde y had for tham, And y had ther be.[257] Thow schalt hafe ten ponde, seyde Roben, Of money feyr and fre : And yever whan thow comest to grene wod, Wellcom, potter, to me. {96} Thes partyd Robyn, the screffe, and the potter, Ondernethe the grene wod tre. God haffe mersey on Roben Hodys solle, And saffe all god yemanrey ! {97} [Illustration] [Illustration] III. ROBIN HOOD AND THE BEGGAR. This poem, a North-country (or perhaps Scotish) composition of some antiquity, is given from a modern copy printed at Newcastle, where it was accidentally picked up: no other edition having been ever seen or heard of. The corruptions of the press being equally numerous and minute, some of the most trifling have been corrected without notice. But it may be proper to mention that each line of the printed copy is here thrown into two: a step which, though absolutely necessary from the narrowness of the page, is sufficiently justified by the frequent recurrence of the double rime. The division of stanzas was conceived to be a still further improvement.—The original title is, “A Pretty Dialogue betwixt Robin Hood and a Beggar.”