His brother; but all those that held with him,

Except I plead for them, will hang as high
As Haman.
Sheriff. She is mine. I have thy
promise.

Prince John. O ay, she shall be thine -first mine, then thine,

For she shall spend her honeymoon with

me.

Sheriff. Woe to that land shall own thee for her king!

Prince John. Advance, advance!

[They advance shouting. The King in armour reappears from the wood.

King Richard. What shouts are these
that ring along the wood?
Friar Tuck (coming forward). Hail,
knight, and help us. Here is one
would clutch

Our pretty Marian for his paramour,
This other, willy-nilly, for his bride.
King Richard. Damsel, is this the
truth?

Marian.

Ay, noble knight. Friar Tuck. Ay, and she will not marry till Richard come. King Richard (raising his vizor). I am here, and I am he. Prince John (lowering his, and whispering to his men). It is not hehis face-tho' very likeNo, no! we have certain news he died in prison.

Make at him, all of you, a traitor coming
In Richard's name-it is not he-not he.
[The men stand amazed.
Friar Tuck (going back to the bush).
Robin, shall we not move?
Robin.
It is the King
Who bears all down. Let him alone

Robin. Look o'er these bonds, my liege.

[Shows the King the bonds. They talk together.

King Richard. You, my lord Abbot, you Justiciary,

[The Abbot and Justiciary kneel. I made you Abbot, you Justiciary: You both are utter traitors to your king. Justiciary. O my good liege, we did believe you dead.

Robin. Was justice dead because the
King was dead?

Sir Richard paid his monies to the Abbot.
You crost him with a quibble of your law.
King Richard. But on the faith and
honour of a king

The land is his again.

Sir Richard. The land! the land! I am crazed no longer, so I have the land. [Comes out of the litter and kneels.

God save the King!
King Richard (raising Sir Richard).
I thank thee, good Sir Richard.
Maid Marian.

That thou wilt break our forest laws again

When we are here. Thou art overbold.
Robin.
My king,
I am but the echo of the lips of love.
King Richard. Thou hast risk'd thy
life for mine: bind these two men.

[They take the bags from the Abbot
and Justiciary, and proceed to
fetter them.

Justiciary. But will the King, then, judge us all unheard?

I can defend my cause against the traitors Who fain would make me traitor. If the King

Condemn us without trial, men will call him

An Eastern tyrant, not an English king. Abbot. Besides, my liege, these men are outlaws, thieves,

They break thy forest laws-nay, by the rood

They have done far worse-they plunder -yea, ev'n bishops,

Yea, ev'n archbishops-if thou side with these,

Beware, King, the vengeance of the Church.

Friar Tuck (brandishing his staff). I pray you, my liege, let me execute the vengeance of the Church upon them. I have a stout crabstick here, which longs to break itself across their backs.

Robin. Keep silence, bully friar, before the King.

Friar Tuck. If a cat may look at a king, may not a friar speak to one?

King Richard. I have had a year of prison-silence, Robin,

And heed him not-the vengeance of the Church!

Thou shalt pronounce the blessing of the Church

On those two here, Robin and Marian. Marian. He is but hedge-priest, Sir King.

King Richard. And thou their Queen. Our rebel Abbot then shall join your

hands,

Or lose all hopes of pardon from us—yet Not now, not now-with after-dinner

grace.

I pray thee for the moment, strike the bonds

From these three men, and let them dine with us,

And lie with us among the flowers, and drink

Ay, whether it be gall or honey to 'em-The king's good health in ale and Malvoisie.

King Richard. By Mahound I could strive with Beelzebub! So now which way to the dinner? Marian. Past the bank Of foxglove, then to left by that one yew. You see the darkness thro' the lighter leaf.

But look! who comes?

Sir Richard. I had despair'd of thee -that sent me crazed. Thou art worth thy weight in all those marks of gold,

Yea, and the weight of the very land itself,

Down to the inmost centre.

Robin. Walter Lea, Give me that hand which fought for Richard there.

Embrace me, Marian, and thou, good Kate, [To Kate entering. Kiss and congratulate me, my good Kate. [She kisses him.

Little John. Lo now! lo now! I have seen thee clasp and kiss a man indeed,

For our brave Robin is a man indeed. Then by thine own account thou shouldst be mine.

Kate. Well then, who kisses first?
Little John.
Kiss both together.
[They kiss each other.

Robin. Then all is well. In this full
tide of love,

Wave heralds wave: thy match shall follow mine (to Little John). Would there were more-a hundred lovers more

To celebrate this advent of our King! Our forest games are ended, our free life, And we must hence to the King's court. I trust

We shall return to the wood. Meanwhile, farewell

Old friends, old patriarch oaks. A thousand winters

Will strip you bare as death, a thousand

Will heat our pulses quicker! How few frosts

Will chill the hearts that beat for Robin Hood!

Marian. And yet I think these oaks at dawn and even,

Or in the balmy breathings of the night, Will whisper evermore of Robin Hood. We leave but happy memories to the forest.

We dealt in the wild justice of the woods. All those poor serfs whom we have served will bless us,

All those pale mouths which we have fed will praise us

All widows we have holpen pray for us, Our Lady's blessed shrines throughout the land

Be all the richer for us. You, good

friar,

You Much, you Scarlet, you dear Little John,

Your names will cling like ivy to the wood.

And here perhaps a hundred years away

Some hunter in day-dreams or half asleep Will hear our arrows whizzing overhead, And catch the winding of a phantom horn.

Robin. And surely these old oaks will murmur thee

Marian along with Robin. I am most happy

Art thou not mine?—and happy that our
King

Is here again, never I trust to roam
So far again, but dwell among his own.
Strike up a stave, my masters, all is well.

Song while they dance a Country Dance. Now the king is home again, and nevermore to roam again,

Now the king is home again, the king will have his own again,

Home again, home again, and each will have his own again,

All the birds in merry Sherwood sing and sing him home again.