POEMS OF ADVENTURE AND RURAL SPORTS. CHEVY-CHASE. ADVENTURE. [Percy, Earl of Northumberland, had vowed to hunt for three days in the Scottish border, without condescending to ask leave from Earl Douglas, who was either lord of the soil or lord warden of the Marches. This provoked the conflict which was celebrated in the old ballad of the "Hunting of the Cheviot." The circumstances of the battle of Otterbourne (A. D 1388) are woven into the ballad, and the affairs of the two events are confounded. The ballad preserved in the Percy Reliques is probably as old as 1574. The one following is a modernized form, of the time of James I.] His host he parted had in three, As leader ware and tried ; Throughout the English archery And throwing straight their bows away, They closed full fast on every side, In truth, it was a grief to see How each one chose his spear, At last these two stout earls did meet ; They fought until they both did sweat, "Yield thee, Lord Percy," Douglas said, By James, our Scottish king. Then leaving life, Earl Percy took The dead man by the hand; "In truth, my very heart doth bleed A knight amongst the Scots there was Sir Hugh Mountgomery was he called, And past the English archers all, With such vehement force and might The staff ran through the other side So thus did both these nobles die, Whose courage none could stain. An English archer then perceived The noble earl was slain. He had a bow bent in his hand, Made of a trusty tree; An arrow of a cloth-yard long To the hard head haled he. Against Sir Hugh Mountgomery This fight did last from break of day Till setting of the sun; For when they rung the evening-bell The battle scarce was done. With stout Earl Percy there were slain Sir Robert Rateliff, and Sir John, And with Sir George and stout Sir James, For Witherington my heart is woe And with Earl Douglas there were slain Sir Hugh Mountgomery, Sir Charles Murray, that from the field One foot would never flee; Sir Charles Murray of Ratcliff, too, And the Lord Maxwell in like case Of fifteen hundred Englishmen, Next day did many widows come, Their bodies, bathed in purple blood, The news was brought to Edinburgh, "O heavy news," King James did say ; "Scotland can witness be I have not any captain more Like tidings to King Henry came "Now God be with him," said our King, "Since 't will no better be; I trust I have within my realm "Yet shall not Scots or Scotland say But I will vengeance take; I'll be revenged on them all For brave Earl Percy's sake." This vow full well the king performed After at Humbledown; In one day fifty knights were slain And of the rest, of small account, Thus endeth the hunting of Chevy-Chase, God save the king, and bless this land, RICHARD SHEALE. LAMENT OF THE BORDER WIDOW. ROBIN HOOD AND ALLEN-A-DALE. [Of Robin Hood, the famous outlaw of Sherwood Forest, and his merry men, there are many ballads; but the limits of this volume forbid our giving more than a single selection. Various periods, ranging from the time of Richard I. to the end of the reign of Edward II., have been assigned as the age in which Robin Hood lived. He is usually described as a yeoman, abiding in Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire. His most noted followers, generally mentioned in the ballads, are Little John, Friar Tuck, lus chaplain, and his maid Marian. Nearly all the legends extol his courage, his generosity, his humanity, and his skill as an archer. He robbed the rich only, who could afford to lose, and gave freely to the poor. He protected the needy, was a champion of the fair sex, and took great delight in plundering prelates. The following ballad exhibits the outlaw in one of his most attractive aspects, — affording assistance to a distressed lover.] COME, listen to me, you gallants so free, [Sir Walter Scott says: "This ballad relates to the execution of As Robin Hood in the forest stood, Cockburne of Henderland, a border freebooter, hanged over the gate of his own tower by James V. in his famous expedition, in 1529, against the marauders of the border. In a deserted burial-place near the ruins of the castle, the monument of Cockburne and his lady is still shown. The following inscription is still legible, though defaced: "HERE LYES PERYS OF COKBURNE AND HIS WYFE My love he built me a bonnie bower, There came a man, by middle day, He slew my knight, to me sae dear; I sewed his sheet, making my mane; I took his body on my back, But think nae ye my heart was sair, Nae living man I'll love again, ANONYMOUS. All under the greenwood tree, There he was aware of a brave young man, The youngster was clad in scarlet red, And he did frisk it over the plain, As Robin Hood next morning stood The scarlet he wore the day before Then stepped forth brave Little John, "Stand off! stand off!" the young man said, "What is your will with me?" "You must come before our master straight, Under yon greenwood tree." And when he came bold Robin before, "I have no money," the young man said, And that I have kept these seven long years, "Yesterday I should have married a maid, But she was from me ta'en, And chosen to be an old knight's delight, Whereby my poor heart is slain." "What is thy name?" then said Robin Hood, "Come tell me without any fail." And when they came into the churchyard, The very first man was Allen-a-Dale, "This is thy true-love," Robin he said, Young Allen, as I hear say; "By the faith of my body," then said the young And you shall be married at this same time, Before we depart away." |