words. The several books are introduced with metrical prologues, which are often highly poetical; and shew that Douglas's proper walk was original poetry. In the prologue to the sixth book, he wishes for the Sybill's golden bough, to enable him to follow his master Virgil through the dark and dangerous labyrinth of the infernal regions'. But the most conspicuous of these prologues is a description of May. The greater part of which I will insert.

As fresche Aurore, to mychty Tithone spous,
Ischit of her saffron bed, and euyr" hous,
In crammesy" clad and granite violate,
With sanguyne cape, the selvage* purpurate;
Unschet the wyndois of hir large hall,
Spred all with rosis, and full of balme royall.
And eik the hevinly portis cristallyne
Upwarpis brade, the warlde till illumyne.
The twynkling stremouris of the orient

Sched purpour sprayngis with gold and asure ment*.
Eous the stede, with ruby hammys rede,

Abouf the seyis liftis furth his hede

Of culloure sore, and somedele broun as bery,
For to alichtin and glad our emispery ;

The flambe out brastin at the neis thirlis.

Quhil schortlie, with the blesand torche of day,
Abulzeit in his lemand fresche array,
Furth of his palice ryall ischit Phebus,
With golden croun and visage glorious,
Crisp haris, bricht as chrissolite or thopas;
For quhais hewf mycht nane behold his face :
The firie sparkis brasting from his ene,

To purge the air, and gilt the tender grene.

* In the PROLOGUE to the eighth book, the alliterative manner of Pierce Plowman is adopted.

'Pag. 400.

ivory.

x edge.

VOL. III.

t issued.
crimson.

Y unshut, i. c. opened.

a

streamers.

streaks, mingled with, &c. bblazing.

Fr. habille; cloathed.

d luminous.

e curled locks.

f whose excessive brightness.

The auriat phanis of his trone soverane
With glitterand glance overspred the octiane";
The large fludis, lemand all of licht,
Bot with ane blenk of his supernal sicht,
For to behald, it was ane glore to se
The stabillyt wyndis, and the calmyt se;
The soft sessoun', the firmament serene;
The loune illuminate are", and firth" amene:
The silver-scalit fyschis on the grete°,

Ouer thowrt clere stremes sprinkilland for the hete,
With fynnys schinand broune as synopare',

And chesal talis, stourand here and there':

The new cullour, alichting" all the landis,

Forgane the stanryis schene", and beriall strandis:

Quhil the reflex of the diurnal bemes

The bene bonkis * kest ful of variant glemes:

And lustie Flora did her blomes sprede

Under the fete of Phebus fulzeart stede,

The swardit soyll enbrode with selkouth hewis2,
Wod and forest obumbrate with bewis 2,
Quhais blysful branchis, porturate on the ground,
With schaddois schene schew rocchis rubicund:
Towris, turrettis, kirnallis, and pynnakillis hie,
Of kirkis, castellis, and ilk faire citie,

Stude payntit, every fane, phioll, and stage,
Apoun the playn grounde by thaire awn umbrage,

Of Eolus north blastis havand no drede,
The sulze spred hir brad bosum on brede ".—
The cornis croppis, and the bere new-brerde',
With gladsum garment revesting the erde *.-
The variant vesture of the venust vale

Schrowdis the scherand fur', and every falem
Ouerfrett" with fulzeis°, and fyguris ful dyuers,
The pray bysprent with spryngand sproutis dyspers,
For callour humours on the dewy nycht,
Rendryng sum place the gyrs pylis thare licht,
Als fer as catal the lang somerys day

Had in thare pasture ete and gnyp away:

And blyssful blossomys in the blomyt zard
Submittis thare hedys in the zoung sonnys safgard:
Iue leius rank ouerspred the barmkyn' wall,
The blomit hauthorne cled his pykis all,

Furth of fresche burgeouns the wyne grapis' zing
Endlang the trazileys" dyd on twistis hing,
The loukit buttouns on the gemyt treis
Ouerspredand leuis of naturis tapestryis.
Soft gresy verdoure eftir balmy schouris,
On curland stalkis smyland to thare flowris:
Behaldand thame sa mony divers hew

Sum piers*, sum pale, sum burnet, and sum blew,
Sum gres, sum gowlis, sum purpure, sum sanguane,
Blanchit or broun, fauch zallow mony ane,

& having.

here the description of corn-fields ends:

The soil, the country, spread abroad and that of pasture-lands begins at, The her expansive bosom.

i new-sprung barley. * earth.

1 furrow.

m turf. "It is evident our author intends to describe two distinct things, viz. cornfields and meadows or pasture-lands: the former in the three first lines; the varyant vesture, &c. is plainly arable, and the fulzeis and fyguris full dyuers, are the various leaves and flowers of the weeds growing among the corn, and making a piece of embroidery. And

pray bysprent, &c. Pray, not as the
printed glossary says, corruptedly for
spray, but formed, through the French,
from the Lat. Pratum, and Spryngand
Sproutis, rising springs, from the Ital.
spruzzare, spruzzolare, aspergere.
leaves.
P mead..
rampart.
sprigs.

¶ ivy-leaves.

t young.
"trellisses; espaliers for vines.
locked, enclosed, gemmed.
x red..

W

Sum heuinly colourit in celestial gre,

Sum watty hewit as the haw wally se,
And sum departe in freklis rede and quhyte,
Sum bricht as gold with aureate leuis lyte.
The dasy did on bredea hir crownel smale,
And euery flour unlappit in the dale,
In battil gers burgeouns, the banwart wyld,
The clauir, cateluke, and the cammomylde;
The flourdelyce furth sprede his heuynly hew,
Floure damas, and columbe blak and blew,
Sere downis smal on dentilioun sprang,
The zoung grened blomit strabery leus amang,
Gimp jereflouris thareon leuis unschet,
Fresche prymrois, and the pourpour violet,
The rois knoppis, tetand furth thare hede,
Gan chyp, and kyth thare vernale lippis rede,
Crysp skarlet leuis sum scheddand baith at attanis,
Kest fragrant smel amyd fra goldin granis,
Heuinlie lyllyis, with lokkerand toppis quhyte,
Opynnit and schew thare creistis redemyte",
The balmy vapour from thare sylkyn croppis
Distilland halesum sugurat hony droppis,
And sylver schakeris gan fra leuis hing,
With chrystal sprayngis on the verdure zing:
The plane pouderit with semelie seitis sound,
Bedyit ful of dewy peirlys round;

So that ilk burgeon, syon, herbe, or floure,
Wox all embalmit of the fresche liquour,
And baithit hait did in dulce humouris flete,
Quhareof the beis wrocht thare hony swete.-
Swannis souchis throw out the respand' redis,
Ouer all the lochism and the fludis gray,
Sersand by kynd ane place quhare they suld lay;
Phebus rede foule his curale creist can stere,
Oft strekand furth his hekkil crawand clere
Amyd the wortis, and the rutis gent,
Pickland hys mete in alayis quhare he went,
His wyffis Toppa and Partolet hym by,
As bird al tyme that hantis bygamy;

The payntit powne" paysand with plumys gym,
Kest up his tale ane proud plesand quhile rymo,
Ischrowdit in his fedderane bricht and schene,
Schapand the prent of Argois hundreth ene;
Amang the bronys" of the olyue twistis,
Sere smale foulis, wirkand crafty nestis,
Endlang the hedgeis thik, and on rank akis¶
Ilk bird reiosand with thare mirthful makis:
In corneris and clere fenesteris of glas
Full besely Arachne weuand was,
To knyt hyr nettis and hyr wobbis sle,
Tharewith to cauch the litil mige' or fle:
Under the bewis bene in lufely valis,
Within fermance and parkis clois of palis,

That Milton had his eye upon this passage is plain, from his describing the swan, the cock, and peacock, in this order, and with several of the attributes that our author has given them. See PARAD. L. vii. 458. seq.

The SWAN with arched neck Between her white wings mantling proudly, rows

Her state with oary feet; yet oft they quit

The dank, and rising on stiff' pennons,

tower

The mid aereal sky: Others on ground Walk'd firm: the crested Cock, whose clarion sounds

The silent hours, and th' OTHER, whose
gay train

Adorns him, color'd with the florid hue
Of rainbows and starry eyes.-

1

I rustling.

in lakes.

peacock.

。 wheel-rim.

n

P branches.

4 oaks.

gnat.