A woman, who seemed just old enough to be the boy's mother,
had thrown down her spinning wheel in her joy at the sound
of Robin's horn, and was bustling with singular alacrity
to set forth her festal ware and prepare an abundant supper.
Her features, though not beautiful, were agreeable and expressive,
and were now lighted up with such manifest joy at the sight of Robin,
that Marian could not help feeling a momentary touch of jealousy,
and a half-formed suspicion that Robin had broken his forest law,
and had occasionally gone out of bounds, as other great men have
done upon occasion, in order to reconcile the breach of the spirit,
with the preservation of the letter, of their own legislation.
However, this suspicion, if it could be said to exist in a mind
so generous as Marian's, was very soon dissipated by the entrance
of the woman's husband, who testified as much joy as his wife
had done at the sight of Robin; and in a short time the whole of
the party were amicably seated round a smoking supper of river-fish
and wild wood fowl, on which the baron fell with as much alacrity
as if he had been a true pilgrim from Palestine.
The husband produced some recondite flasks of wine, which were laid
by in a binn consecrated to Robin, whose occasional visits to them
in his wanderings were the festal days of these warm-hearted cottagers,
whose manners showed that they had not been born to this low estate.
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