and religious Enterludes of the barbarous ages; in which they were exhibited with gestures so furious and frantic, as to Become proverbial. Thus Skelton Speaks of Wolsey, “ Lyke Mahound in a play, Ed. 1736. p. 158. And Bale in his Acts of English Votaries, pt. 2d. Says" Grennyng like Termagauntes in a play." - Hence we may conceive the force of Hamlet's expression in Shakespeare, where condemning a ranting player he says, "I could have such a " fellow whipt for ore-doing TERMAGANT: it out-Herod's "Herod." A. 3. Sc. 3. By degrees the word came to be applied to any outrageous turbulent person †, and at last to a violent brawling woman only; and this the rather as, I fuppofe, the ancient figure of TERMAGANT was represented, after the Eastern mode, with long robes or petticoats. + So Mr. Johnf. in bis Dict. VII. SIR PATRICK SPENCE, - is given from two MS copies transmitted from Scotland. In what age the hero of this ballad lived, or when this fatal expedition happened that proved so destructive to the Scots nobles, I have not been able to discover; yet am of ofinion that their catastrophe is not altogether without foundation in history, though it has escaped my researches. In the infancy of navigation, such as used the northern feas, were very liable to shipwreck in the wintry months: hence a law was enacted in the reign of James the III, (a law which was frequently repeated afterwards) "That there be na "Schip frauchted out of the realm with ony staple gudes, fra "the feast of Simons day and Jude, unto the feast of the " purification our Lady called Candelmess." Jam. III. Parlt 2. Ch. 15. F4 In In some modern copies, instead of Patrick Spence hath been fubftituted the name of Sir Andrew Wood, a famous Scottish admiral who flourished in the time of our Edw. IV. but whose ftory hath nothing in common with this of the ballad. As Wood was the most noted warrior of Scotland, it is probable that like the Theban Hercules, he hath engrofssed the renown of other heroes. T HE king fits in Dumferling toune, O quhar will I get guid failòr, Up and spak an eldern knicht, The king has written a braid lettèr, And fignd it wi' his hand; And sent it to fir Patrick Spence, The first line that Sir Patrick red, The next line that Sir Patrick red, O quha is this has don this deid, This ill deid don to me; To send me out this time o'the zeir, 5 10 15 20 Mak Mak hafte, mak haste, my mirry men all, Late late yestreen I saw the new moone O our Scots nobles wer richt laith Olang, lang, may thair ladies sit O lang, lang, may the ladies stand Waiting for thair ain deir lords, Have owre, have owr to Aberdour, And thair lies guid Sir Patrick Spence, 25 30 35 40 VIII. VIII. ROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNE. The Reader has bere a ballad of Robin Hood (from the Editor's folio MS) which was never before printed, and carries marks of much greater antiquity than any of the common popular songs on this fubject. The severity of those tyrannical forest-laws, that were introduced by our Norman kings, and the great temptation of breaking them by such as lived near the royal forests, at a time when the yeomanry of this kingdom were every where trained up to the long-bow, and excelled all other nations in the art of shooting, must constantly have occafioned great numbers of outlaws, and especially of fuch as were the best marksmen. These naturally fled to the woods for shelter, and forming into troops, endeavoured by their numbers to protect themselves from the dreadful penalties of their delinquency. The ancient punishment for killing the king's deer, was loss of eyes and caftration : a punishment far worse than death. This will easily account for the troops of banditti, which formerly lurked in the royal forests, and from their fuperior skill in archery and knowledge of all the recesses of those unfrequented folitudes, found it no difficult matter to refift or elude the civil power. Among all these, none ever was more famous than the hero of this ballad: the heads of whose ftory, as collected by Stow, are briefly these. " In this time [about the year 1190, in the reign of Ri "chard I.] were many robbers, and outlawes, among the 2 " which "which Robert Hood, and Little John, renowned theeves, " continued in woods, dispoyling and robbing the goods of "the rich. They killed none but fuch as would invade "them, or by resistance for their own defence. "The faide Robert intertained an hundred tall men and "good archers with such spoiles and thefts as he got, upon "whom four hundred (were they never so strong) durft not "give the onset. He suffered no woman to be oppressed, vio"lated, or otherwise molested: poore mens goods be spared, “ aboundantlie relieving them with that, which by theft be "got from abbeys and the houses of rich carles: 'whom "Maior (the historian) blametb for his rapine and theft, " but of all theeves he affirmeth him to be the prince and the "most gentle theefe." Annals, p. 159. The perfonal courage of this celebrated outlaw, his skill in archery, his humanity, and especially his levelling principle of taking from the rich and giving to the poor, have in all ages rendered him the favourite of the common people: who not content to celebrate his memory by innumerable songs and ftories, have erected him into the dignity of an earl. Indeed it is not impoffible, but our hero, to gain the more respect from bis followers, or they to derive the more credit to their profeffion, may have given rise to fuch a report themselves : for we find it recorded in an epitaph, which a late antiquary pretends was formerly legible on his tombstone near the nunnery of Kirk-lees in Yorkshire, where he is faid to have been bled to death by a treacherous nun to whom he applied for pblebotomy. Hear undernead dis laitt stean See Thorefby's Ducat. Leod. p. 576. Biog. Brit. VI. 3933 It |