At the beginning of the contest a stranger appears to take part in the
shooting. He tells Prince John that his name is Locksley.
A target was placed at the upper end of the southern avenue which led to
the lists. [Footnote: Lists: fields of combat.] The contending archers
took their station in turn, at the bottom of the southern access, the
distance between that station and the mark allowing full distance for
what was called a shot at rovers. The archers, having previously
determined by lot their order of precedence, were to shoot each three
shafts in succession. The sports were regulated by an officer of
inferior rank, termed the Provost of the Games; for the high rank of the
marshals of the lists would have been held degraded, had they
condescended to superintend the sports of the yeomanry. [Footnote:
Yeomanry: the yeomen in England were the freeholders, the class next in
order to the gentry.]
One by one the archers, stepping forward, delivered their shafts
yeomanlike and bravely. Of twenty-four arrows, shot in succession, ten
were fixed in the target, and the others ranged so near it, that,
considering the distance of the mark, it was accounted good archery. Of
the ten shafts which hit the target, two within the inner ring were shot
by Hubert, a forester in the service of Malvoisin, who was accordingly
pronounced victorious.
"Now, Locksley," [Footnote: Locksley: a name for Robin Hood who was
supposed to have been born in Locksley, Nottinghamshire, about 1160.]
said Prince John [Footnote: Prince John was the brother of King Richard,
and ruled in England during the time that Richard was absent on the
Crusades.] to the bold yeoman with a bitter smile, "wilt thou try
conclusions with Hubert, or wilt thou yield up bow, baldric, [Footnote:
Baldric: a broad belt worn over one shoulder and under the opposite arm.
Drew a long bow at Hastings. The archers of that time used what were
called "long bows." The battle of Hastings was fought in 1066, when
William of Normandy defeated the English.] and quiver, to the Provost of
the sports?"
"Sith it be no better," said Locksley, "I am content to try my fortune;
on condition that when I have shot two shafts at yonder mark of Hubert's
he shall be bound to shoot at that which I shall propose."
"That is but fair," answered Prince John, "and it shall not be refused
thee. If thou dost beat this braggart, Hubert, I will fill the bugle
with silver-pennies for thee."
"A man can do but his best," answered Hubert; "but my grandsire drew a
good long bow at Hastings, and I trust not to dishonor his memory."
The former target was now removed, and a fresh one of the same size
placed in its room. Hubert, who, as victor in the first trial of skill,
had the right to shoot first, took his aim with great deliberation, long
measuring the distance with his eye, while he held in his hand his
bended bow, with the arrow placed on the string. At length he made a
step forward, and raising the bow at the full stretch of his left arm,
till the centre or grasping-place was nigh level with his face, he drew
his bowstring to his ear. The arrow whistled through the air, and
lighted within the inner ring of the target, but not exactly in the
centre.
"You have not allowed for the wind, Hubert," said his antagonist,
bending his bow, "or that had been a better shot."
So saying, and without showing the least anxiety to pause upon his aim,
Locksley stept to the appointed station, and shot his arrow as
carelessly in appearance as if he had not even looked at the mark. He
was speaking almost at the instant that the shaft left the bowstring,
yet it alighted in the target two inches nearer to the white spot which
marked the centre than that of Hubert.
"By the light of heaven!" said Prince John to Hubert, "an' thou suffer
that runagate knave to overcome thee, thou art worthy of the gallows!"
Hubert had but one set speech for all occasions.
"An' your highness were to hang me," he said, "a man can do but his
best. Nevertheless, my grandsire drew a good bow"--
"The foul fiend on thy grandsire and all his generation!" interrupted
John, "shoot, knave, and shoot thy best, or it shall be the worse for
thee!"
Thus exhorted, Hubert resumed his place, and not neglecting, he made the
necessary allowance for a very light air of wind, which had just arisen,
and shot so successfully that his arrow alighted in the very centre of
the target.
"A Hubert!" shouted the populace, more interested in a known person than
in a stranger. "In the clout!--in the clout!--a Hubert for ever!"
"Thou canst not mend that shot, Locksley," said the Prince, with an
insulting smile.
"I will notch his shaft for him, however," replied Locksley.
And letting fly his arrow with a little more precaution than before, it
lighted right upon that of his competitor, which it split to shivers.
The people who stood around were so astonished at his wonderful
dexterity, that they could not even give vent to their surprise in their
usual clamor. "This must be the devil, and no man of flesh and blood,"
whispered the yeomen to each other; "such archery was never seen since a
bow was first bent in Britain."
"And now," said Locksley, "I will crave your Grace's permission to plant
such a mark as is used in the North Country; and welcome every brave
yeoman who shall try a shot at it to win a smile from the bonny lass he
loves best."
He then turned to leave the lists. "Let your guards attend me," he said,
"if you please--I go but to cut a rod from the next willow-bush."
Prince John made a signal that some attendants should follow him in case
of his escape: but the cry of "Shame! shame!" which burst from the
multitude, induced him to alter his ungenerous purpose.
Locksley returned almost instantly with a willow wand about six feet in
length, perfectly straight, and rather thicker than a man's thumb. He
began to peel this with great composure, observing at the same time,
that to ask a good woodsman to shoot at a target so broad as had
hitherto been used, was to put shame upon his skill. "For his own part,"
he said, "and in the land where he was bred, men would as soon take for
their mark King Arthur's round-table, [Footnote: King Arthur's round
table. This was the famous table, made by the magician Merlin, which was
given to King Arthur as a wedding gift by the father of Guinevere. It
could seat 150 knights.] which held sixty knights around it. A child of
seven years old," he said, "might hit yonder target with a headless
shaft; but," added he, walking deliberately to the other end of the
lists, and sticking the willow wand upright in the ground, "he that hits
that rod at five-score yards, I call him an archer fit to bear both bow
and quiver before a king, an it were the stout King Richard himself."
"My grandsire," said Hubert, "drew a good bow at the battle of Hastings,
and never shot at such a mark in his life,--and neither will I. If this
yeoman can cleave that rod, I give him the bucklers--or rather I yield
to the devil that is in his jerkin, and not to any human skill; a man
can but do his best, and I will not shoot where I am sure to miss. I
might as well shoot at the edge of our parson's whittle, or at a wheat
straw, or at a sunbeam, as at a twinkling white streak which I can
hardly see."
"Cowardly dog!" said Prince John.--"Sirrah Locksley, do thou shoot, but,
if thou hittest such a mark, I will say thou art the first man ever did
so. Howe'er it be, thou shalt not crow over us with a mere show of
superior skill."
"I will do my best, as Hubert says," answered Locksley, "No man can do
more."
So saying, he again bent his bow, but on the present occasion looked
with attention to his weapon, and changed the string, which he thought
was no longer truly round, having been a little frayed by the two former
shots. He then took his aim with some deliberation, and the multitude
awaited the event in breathless silence. The archer vindicated their
opinion of his skill: his arrow split the willow rod against which it
was aimed. A jubilee of acclamations followed; and even Prince John, in
admiration of Locksley's skill, lost for an instant his dislike to his
person. "These twenty nobles," [Footnote: Twenty nobles. A noble was an
old coin worth about one dollar and sixty cents.] he said, "which, with
the bugle, thou hast fairly won, are thine own; we will make them fifty,
if thou wilt take livery and service with us as a yeoman of our
bodyguard, and be near to our person. For never did so strong a hand
bend a bow, or so true an eye direct a shaft."
"Pardon me, noble Prince," said Locksley; "but I have vowed, that if
ever I take service, it should be with your royal brother King Richard.
[Footnote: King Richard: Richard Coeur de Lion. He was born about 1157
and became king of England in 1189. He reigned until his death in 1199.
whittle: a pocket or sheath knife.] These twenty nobles I leave to
Hubert, who has this day drawn as brave a bow as his grandsire did at
Hastings. Had his modesty not refused the trial, he would have hit the
wand as well as I."
Hubert shook his head as he received with reluctance the bounty of the
stranger, and Locksley, anxious to escape further observation, mixed
with the crowd, and was seen no more.
--WALTER SCOTT.
[Footnote: State some qualities of Locksley and Prince John that are
brought out in the narrative. What is the effect of Hubert's repetition
of the words "my grandsire drew a long bow," etc.? Can you get any hint
of the social conditions at the time of the story? Is there anything in
the narrative to suggest the identity of Locksley? Did Robin Hood ever
take service with King Richard? Why did Locksley refuse the money?]