“A virtuous well, about whose flow’ry banks
The nimble–footed fairies dance their rounds,
By the pale moonshine, dipping oftentimes
Their stolen children, so to make ’em free
From dying flesh, and dull mortality.”
Puck, _alias_ Robin Goodfellow, is the most active and extraordinary
fellow of a fairy that we anywhere meet with, and it is believed we
find him nowhere but in our own country, and, peradventure also, only
in the South. Spenser, it would seem, is the first that alludes to his
name of Puck:—
“Ne let the _Pouke_, nor other evill spright,
Ne let Hob–goblins, names whose sense we see not,
Fray us with things that be not.”
“In our childhood,” says Reginald Scot, “our mothers’ maids have so
terrified us with an oughe divell having hornes on his head, fier in
his mouth, and a taile, eies like a bason, fanges like a dog, clawes
like a beare, a skin like a niger, and a voice roaring like a lion,
whereby we start and are afraid when we heare one crie Bough! and
they have so fraied us with bull–beggers, spirits, witches, urchens,
elves, hags, fairies, satyrs, pans, sylens, Kit with the cansticke,
tritons, centaurs, dwarfes, giants, imps, calcars, conjurors, nymphes,
changling, Incubus, Robin Goodfellow, the spoorne, the mare, the man
in the oke, the hell wain, the fier drake, the puckle, Tom Thombe, Hob
gobblin, Tom Tumbler, boneles, and such other bugs, that we are afraid
of our owne shadowes.”—(_Discoverie of Witchcraft_, London, 1584, 4to,
p. 153.) “And know you this by the waie,” he says, “that heretofore
Robin Goodfellow and Hob goblin were as terrible, and also as credible,
to the people as hags and witches be now.... And in truth, they that
mainteine walking spirits have no reason to denie Robin Goodfellow,
upon whom there hath gone as manie and as credible tales as upon
witches, saving that it hath not pleased the translators of the Bible
to call spirits by the name of Robin Goodfellow.”—(P. 131.)
“Your grandams’ maides,” says he, “were woont to set a boll of milke
before Incubus and his cousine Robin Goodfellow for grinding of malt
or mustard, and sweeping the house at midnight; and you have also
heard that he would chafe exceedingly if the maid or good–wife of the
house, having compassion of his naked state, laid anie clothes for him,
besides his messe of white bread and milke, which was his standing fee.
For in that case he saith, What have we here?
“Hemton, hamton,
Here will I never more tread nor stampen.”
(_Discoverie of Witchcraft_, p. 85.)
Robin is thus characterised in _The Midsummer Night’s Dream_ by a
female fairy:—
Either I mistake your shape and making quite,
Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite
Call’d Robin Goodfellow: are you not he
That fright the maidens of the villagery;
Skim milk; and sometimes labour in the quern,
And bootless make the breathless housewife churn;
And sometime make the drink to bear no barm;
Mislead night–wanderers, laughing at their harm?
Those that Hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck,
You do their work, and they shall have good luck.”