ROBINSON 



5037 



ROBLIN 



never molested or permitted his men to trouble 

 poor travelers, or any company in which a 

 woman was present. On the contrary, he often 

 shared with the needy the spoils which he took 

 from his wealthier victims, for no rich knight, 

 and even more surely no rich clergyman, passed 

 through his forest domains without being 

 robbed. The outlaws lived an out-of-door life, 

 depending for food on the supplies taken from 

 travelers and on the king's deer which they 

 shot. 



Whether or not such a character ever really 

 lived has been a subject for much discussion. 

 Scholars have written books which seemed to 

 prove absolutely that Robin Hood did live, and 

 which even gave the period of history when 

 he flourished, but a rival scholar has also been 

 able to advance very weighty arguments to 

 v that he was not an historical character. 

 Some authorities hold that the stories about 

 him are in reality fairy stories, told about some 

 woodland sprite, and that belief in his human 

 once grew out of this. The literature about 

 him is extensive, for poems, stories, operas and 

 dramas have been built around his exploits. 

 The old ballads which gave the original account 

 of him date back to the beginning of the fif- 

 teenth century, but references in literature show 

 that the tales were current before that time. 

 One ballad series, A Little Geste oj Robin 

 Hood, is among the earliest ballads ever writ- 

 ten, but it is evidently a compilation of earlier 

 short poems. 



The famous outlaw has been much used as a 

 character in modern writings: Scott introduces 

 him as Locksley, in his Ivanhoc; Tennyson 

 made him the central figure of a drama, The 

 <tcrts; Howard Pyle wove the old tales into 

 his very successful Merry Adventures of Robin 

 Hood, and Reginald De Koven used him as 

 hero for the comic opera Robin Hood. 



Probably the best edition of the tales of Robin 

 Hood is Pyle's Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. 

 Other recommended books are Creswell's Robin 



The Story 

 of Robin Hood and His Merry Men. 



ROBINSON, SIR Jonp BEVERLEY (1791-1863), 



a Canadian jun>t and statesman, for many 



; the leader of the Tory party in Upper 



ida, or, perhaps more accurately, the chief 



of Tories which is known in 

 tory as the "Family Compart." Tliounl. hi* 

 tendencies have at times been al- 

 lowed to overshadow his abilities, Sir John 

 mu> I as one of the most brilliant 



men of his day. He was a clever pol; 



leader, a good lawyer, and an eminent judge. 

 During the quarter of a century for which he 

 was chief justice of Upper Canada, not a single 

 one of his decisions was ever reversed on ap- 

 peal. 



Robinson was born at Berthier, Quebec, of 

 United Empire Loyalist stock. He attended 

 Dr. Strachan's school for boys at Kingston, and 

 was much influenced in his ideas on religion 

 and politics by the future bishop. After leav- 

 ing school Robinson studied law, and in 1812 

 was called to the bar. In the same year he 

 served temporarily as attorney-general for Up- 

 per Canada, but at the outbreak of the War 

 of 1812 he volunteered for service. At the 

 close of the war, in 1815, he was appointed 

 solicitor-general, and in 1818, attorney-general. 

 He was attorney-general until 1829, and from 

 1829 to his death was chief justice of Upper 

 Canada. In both these positions he wielded a 

 powerful influence, which was uniformly thrown 

 against the Reformers. Robinson, in fact, was 

 the leading spirit among the Conservatives, or 

 Tories. He opposed the legislative Union of 

 1841 as a temporary makeshift, but he strongly 

 advocated a federal union of British North 

 America. 



ROBINSON CRUSOE, a story by Daniel De- 

 foe, published in 1719. It is usually considered 

 as the first English novel, in the modern sense 

 of the term, and though it is almost two hun- 

 dred years old, it has never lost its popularity. 

 Founded on the adventures of Alexander Sel- 

 kirk, who was shipwrecked and cast away on 

 the island of Juan Fernandez, it gives a care- 

 ful, circumstantial account of Crusoe's ship- 

 wreck and his method of life on an uninhabited 

 island. Defoe was a master of realism, and his 

 telling use of detail makes the story seem a 

 genuine history. In a measure it has served as 

 a model for romances of adventure ever since. 

 and it remains one of the most fascinating boys' 

 books ever written. It has been translated into 

 various languages, and many simplified editions 

 for children have been issued. There is a charm 

 about Defoe's language and manner, however, 

 which no translation in words of one syllabic 

 can attain. 



For illustration of Selkirk monument and In- 

 scription, see JUAN FERNANDEZ, page 3177. 



ROB 'LIN, SIR RODMOND PALEN (1853- ), 

 a Canadian statesman, for fifteen years premier 

 of Manitoba, then, suddenly, in I'.'l.V roinpelle.l 

 to resign by the exposure of fraud and hi :! 

 among members of his government. His politi- 

 pponents charged, with some show of cvi- 



