Page:Life and adventures of Robin Hood.pdf/14

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came in late last night." "The plague you are!" replied the chamberlain; "I am sure the friar went away at three o'clock this morning." With this noise and scuffle, up comes the landlord of the inn, and some of the servants, who presently discovered that this was the person they had mistaken for the shoemaker, and found that he had made an exchange with the friar; upon which the master of the inn furnished him with a suit of his own clothes, and money to bear his charges through his journey.

One morning, as Robin was strolling in the forest, he saw a genteel-looking young man sitting under a tree, who appeared to be very melancholy and dejected. He desired one of his bowmen to bring the young man to him; and when he came, Robin inquired the cause of his sadness. The young man, taking a ring from his pocket said, "I was to have been married yesterday to a young lady whom I have long courted, and I bought this ring for the occasion, but the Bishop of Hereford, her uncle, has rejected me, and means to give her to an old wealthy knight." Robin inquired whether the young lady had consented to her uncle's choice or not, and when and where the ceremony was to take place. Allan-a-dale (for that was the name of the young man,) told him that the lady was forced to comply much against her inclinations, and that the marriage was to take place that day in the parish chapel, about five miles from the forest. When Robin

heard the bishop's name, who was his great enemy, and the time and place, he told Allan-a-dale to put on a cheerful look, and he would ensure him of getting his mistress. "If you incline to join our bowmen," said Robin, "bring your bride to the forest, and let her live with us; but if you do not like our merry life, you are at liberty to carry her wherever you