Page:Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1918.djvu/79

 ANONYMOUS

He. I counsel you, Remember how

It is no maiden's law Nothing to doubt, but to run out

To wood with an outlaw. For ye must there in your hand bear

A bow ready to draw; And as a thief thus must you live

Ever in dread and awe; Whereby to you great harm might grow:

Yet had I liever than That I had to the green-wood go,

Alone, a banished man.

She. I think not nay, but as ye say;

It is no maiden's lore; But love may make me for your sake,

As I have said before, To come on foot, to hunt and shoot.

To get us meat and store; For so that I your company

May have, I ask no more. From which to part it maketh my heart

As cold as any stone; For, in my mind, of all mankind

I love but you alone.

He. For an outlaw this is the law,

That men him take and bind: Without pitie, hanged to be, And waver with the wind. If I had need (as God forbcde!) What socours could ye find?

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