Latest / Robin Hood / 24 - Robin Hood by J Walker McSpadden

Transcript

24 - Robin Hood by J Walker McSpadden · Robin Hood

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Recording by Barry Eads how Robin Hood met his death.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Give me my bent bow in my hand, and a
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: broad arrow I'll let flee. And where this arrow is
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: taken up, there shall my grave digged be Now by
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: good rights, this story should end with the wedding of
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Robin Hood and Maid Miriam, For do not many pleasant
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: tales end with a wedding and the saying, and they
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: lived happy ever after. But this is a true account
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: in so far as we can find the quaint old
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: ballads which tell of it. And so we must follow
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: one more of these songs and learn how Robin, after
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: living many years longer, at last came to seek his grave.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: And the story of it runs in this wise. Robin
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: Hood and his men, now the royal archers, went with
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: King Richard of the Lion Heart through England, settling certain
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: private disputes which had arisen among the Norman barons. While
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: the king was gone to the Holy Land. Then the
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: king proceeded amid great pomp and rejoicing, to the Palace
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: at London, and Robin, the new Earl of Huntingdon, brought
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: his countess thither, where she became one of the finest
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: ladies of the court. The royal archers were now divided
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: into two bands, and one half of them were retained
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: in London, while the other half returned to Sherwood and Barnsdale,
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: there to guard the king's preserves. Several months passed by,
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: and Robin began to chafe under their straint of city life.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: He longed for the fresh, pure air of the greenwood
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: and the rollicking society of his yeomen. One day, upon
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: seeing some lads at archery practice upon a green he
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: could not help but lament, saying, woe is me, I
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: fear my hand is fast losing its old time cunning
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: at the bowstring. Finally, he became so distraught that he
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: asked leave to travel in foreign lands, and this was
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: granted him. He took maid Marian with him, and together
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: they went through many strange countries. Finally, in an eastern land,
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: a great grief came upon Robin. Marian sickened of a
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: plague and died. They had been married but years, and
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: Robin felt as though all the light had gone out
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: of his life. He wandered about the world for a
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: few months longer trying to forget his grief, then came
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: back to the court at London, and sought some commission
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: an active service. But unluckily Richard was gone again upon
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: his adventures, and Prince John, who acted as regent, had
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: never been fond of Robin. He received him with a
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: sarcastic smile. Go forth into the Greenwood, he said, coldly,
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: and kill some more of the King's deer. Be like
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: then the King will make you prime minister at the
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: very least upon his return. The taunt fired Robin's blood.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: He had been in a morose mood ever since his
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: dear wife's death. He answered Prince John hotly, and the
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: Prince bade his guard seize him and cast him into
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: the tower. After lying there for a few weeks, he
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: was released by the faithful Stuteley and the remnant of
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: the royal archers, and all together they fled the city
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: and made their way to the Greenwood. There Robin blew
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: the old familiar call which all had known and loved
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: so well. Up came running the remainder of the band
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: who had been Royal foresters, And when they saw their
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: old master, they embraced his knees and kissed his hands,
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: and fairly cried for joy that he had come again
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: to them, and one and all forswore a fealty to
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: Prince John, and lived quietly with Robin in the Greenwood,
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: doing harm to none, and only awaiting the time when
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: King Richard should come again. But King Richard came not again,
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: and would never need his royal guard. More tidings presently
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: reached them of how he had met his death in
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: a foreign land, and how John reigned as king in
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: his stead. The proof of these events followed soon after,
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: when there came striding through the glade the big familiar
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: form of Little John Art come to orest us, called
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: out Robin as he ran forward and embraced his old comrade. Nay,
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: I am not come as the Sheriff of Nottingham, thanks
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: b answered little John. The new King has deposed me,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: and tis greatly to my liking, for I have long
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: desire to join you here again in the Greenwood. Then
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: were the rest of the man right glad at this news,
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: and toasted Little John royally. The new King waged fierce
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: war upon the outlaws soon after this, and sent so
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: many scouting parties into Sherwood and Barnsdale that Robin and
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: his men left these woods for a time and went
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: into Derbyshire. Near Hayden Hall, a curious pile of stone
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: is shown to this day as the ruins of Robin's Castle,
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: where the bold outlaw is believed to have defied his
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: enemies for a year or more. At any rate. King
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: John found so many troubles of his own after a
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: time that he ceased troubling the Outlaws. But in one
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: of the last sorties Robin was wounded. The cut did
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: not seem serious and healed over the top, but it
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: left a lurking fever. Daily his strength ebbed away from
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: him until he was in sore distress. One day, as
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: he rode along on horseback near Kirkleys Abbey, he was
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: seized with so violent a rush of blood to the
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: head that he reeled and came near falling from his saddle.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: He dismounted weakly and knocked at the abbey gate. A
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: woman shrouded in black peered forth, who are you that
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: knock here? For we allow no man within these walls,
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: she said, open for the love of Heaven, he begged,
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: I am Robin Hood, ill of a fever, and in
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: sore straits. At the name of Robin Hood, the woman
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: stared back, and then, as though bethinking herself, unbarred the
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: door and admitted him. Assisting his fainting frame up a
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: flight of stairs and into a front room, she loosed
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: his collar and bathed his face until he was revived.
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: Then she spoke hurriedly in a low voice, your fever
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: will sink if you are bled. See I have provided
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: a lancet and will open your veins while you lie quiet.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: So she bled him, and he fell into a stupor
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: which lasted nearly all that day, so that he awoke
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: weak and exhausted from loss of blood. Now there is
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: a dispute as to this abbess who bled him. Some
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: say that she did it in all kindness of heart,
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: while others averir that she was none other than the
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: former sheriff's daughter, and found her revenge at last in
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: this cruel deed. Be that as it may. Robin's eyes
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: swam from very weakness. When he awoke. He called wearily
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: for help, but there was no response. He looked longingly
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: through the window at the green of the forest, but
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: he was too weak to make the leap that would
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: be needed to reach the ground. He then bethought him
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: of his horn, which hung down at his knee. He
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: set his horn unto his mouth and blew out weak blasts.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: Three Little John was out in the forest near by,
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: or the blast would never have been heard. At their sound,
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: he sprang to his feet. Woe, woe, he cried, I
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: fear my master is near dead. He blows so wearily.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: So he made haste and came running up to the
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: door of the abbey and knocked loudly for admittance. Failing
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: to get reply, he burst in the door with frenzied
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: blows of his mighty fist, and soon came running up
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: to the room, where Robin lay white and faint alas
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: dear Master cried little John in great distress. I fear
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: you have met with treachery. If that be so, grant
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: me one last boon, I pray, What is it? Asked Robin.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: Let me burn Kirkley's hall with fire and all its nunnery. Nay,
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: good comrade, answered Robin Hood gently, I cannot grant such
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: a boon. The dear Christ bade us forgive all our enemies. Moreover,
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: you know I never hurt woman in all my life,
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: nor man. When in woman's company. He closed his eyes
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: and fell back, so that his friend thought him dying.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: The great tears fell from the giant's eyes and wet
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: his master's hand. Robin slowly rallied and seized his comrade's
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: outstretched arm. Lift me up, good, little John, he said, brokenly,
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: I want to smell the air from the good greenwood
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: once again. Give me my good you beau here hear
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: and fix a broad arrow upon the string out yonder
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: among the oaks, where this arrow shall fall, let them
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: dig my grave. And with one last mighty effort, he
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: sped his shaft out of the open window, straight and true,
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: as in the days of old, till it struck the
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: largest oak of them all, and dropped in the shadow
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: of the trees. Then he fell back upon the sobbing
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: breast of his devoted friend. Tis the last, he murmured.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: Tell the brave hearts to lay me there with the
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: green sod under my head and feet, and let them
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: lay my bent bow at my side, for it has
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: made sweet music in mine ears. He rested a moment,
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: and little John Scarce knew that he was alive. But
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: on a sudden Robin's eye brightened, and he seemed to
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: think himself back once more with the band in the
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: open forest glade, he struggled to rise. Ha tis a
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: fine stag will and Alan thou Neverest didst rum the
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: harp so sweetly, how the light blazes, And Marian tis
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: my Marian come at last, so dyed the body of
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: robin Hood. But his spirit lives on through the centuries,
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: in the deathless ballads which are sung of him, and
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: in the hearts of men who love freedom and chivalry.
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: They buried him where his last arrow had fallen, and
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: they set a stone to mark the spot, and on
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: the stone were graven these words. Here underneath his little
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: stone lies Robert Earl of Huntingdon, never archer, as he
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: so good, And people called him robin Hood. Such outlaws
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: as he and his men will England never see again.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: So ends Chapter twenty four. So ends robin Hood. By J.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: Walker mc spaden.