ROBIN HOOD 
 
 
mutual consent.-P. Hoare, Yo Song no 
Supper (1790). 
 
   Robin, a young gardener, fond of the 
 minor theatres, where he has picked up a 
 taste for sentimental fustian, but all his 
 rhapsodies bear upon his trade. Thus, 
 when Wilhelmina asks why he wishes to 
 dance with her, he replies: 
   Ask the plants why they love a shower; ask 
 the sunflower why it loves the sun; ask the 
 snowdrop why it is white; ask the violet why 
 it is blue; ask the trees why they blossom ; the 
 cabbages why they grow. 'Tis all because they 
 can't help it; no more can I help my love for 
 you.-C. Didbin, The Waterman, i. (1774). 
 
   Robin (Old), butler to old Mr. Ralph 
 Morton, of Milnwood.-Sir W. Scott, Old 
 Mortality (time, Charles II.). 
 
   Robin Bluestring. Sir Robert Wal- 
 pole was so called, in allusion to his blue 
 ribbon as a knight of the garter (1676- 
 1745). 
 
   Robin des Bois. Mysterious rover of 
the woods in Freischiitz, also in Eug6ne 
Sue's novels-" a bug-a-boo !" 
 
  Robin Gray (Auld). The words of this 
song are by Lady Anne Lindsay, daughter 
of the earl of Balcarres; she was after- 
wards Lady Barnard. The song was writ- 
ten, in 1772, to an old Scotch tune called 
The Bridegroom Grat when the Sun gaed 
Down. (See GRAY.) 
 
  Robin Hood was born at Locksley, in 
Notts., in the reign of Henry II. (1160). 
His real name was Fitzooth, and it is 
commonly said that he was the earl of 
Huntingdon. Having outrun his fortune, 
and being outlawed, he lived as a free- 
booter in Barnsdale (Yorkshire), Sherwood 
(Notts.), and Plompton Park (Cumberland). 
 
 
His chief companions were Little John 
(whose name was Nailor), William Scad- 
lock (or Scarlet), George Green, the pinder 
(or pound-keeper) of Wakefield, Much, a 
miller's son, and Tuck, a friar, with one 
woman, Maid Marian. His company at 
one time consisted of a hundred archers. 
He was bled to death in his old age by his 
sister, the Prioress of Kirkley's Nunnery, 
in Yorkshire, November 18, 1247, aged 87 
years. 
   *** An   excellent sketch  of Robin 
 Hood is given by Drayton in his Polyol- 
 bion, xxvi. Sir W. Scott introduces him 
 in two novels-Ivanhoe and The Talisman. 
 In the former he first appears as Locksley, 
 the archer, at the tournament. He is also 
 called "Dickon Bend-the-Bow." 
   The following dramatic pieces have the 
famous outlaw for the hero: Robin Hood, 
i. (1597), Munday; Robin Hood, ii. (1598), 
Chettle; Robin Hood (1741), an opera, by 
Dr. Arne and Burney; Rebin Hood (1787), 
an opera by O'Keefe, music by Shield; 
Robin Hood, by Macnally (before 1820). 
  Major tells us that this famous robber 
took away the goods of rich men only; 
never killed any person except in self- 
defence; never plundered the poor, but 
charitably fed them; and adds, "le was 
the most humane and the prince of all 
robbers."-Britanniae Historia, 128 (1740). 
  The abbot of St. Mary's, in York, and 
the sheriff at Nottingham were his betds 
noires. Munday and Chettle wrote a popu- 
lar play in 1601, entitled The Death of 
Robert, Earl of Huntington. 
  Epitaph of Robin Hood. 
      Hear undernead dis laitl stean 
      Laiz robert earl of Huntingtun. 
      Near areir ver az hie sa geud, 
      An pipl kauld im robin heud. 
      Sick utlawz az hi an iz men 
      Vil england nivr si agen. 
      Obiit 24 (? 14) kal dekembris, 1247. 
                 Dr. Gale (dean of York). 
                                   III 
 
 
ROBIN " 
 
 
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