is prefixed to some sonnets which form a sort of epilogue to

Skottes out of Berwik and of Abirdene, Fast makes he his mone to men that he
At the Bannokburn war ze to kene;
Thare slogh ze many sakles', als it was

Whare er ze Skottes of saint Johnes The Skot in his wordes has wind for to spill,

The boste of zowre baner es betin all For at the last Edward sall haue al his will:

When ze bosting will bede, sir Edward He had his will at Berwick wele wurth

I white robes.

13 cleanly, a pearl beautifully inclosed or set in gold.

For the purpose of ascertaining or illustrating the age of pieces which have been lately or will be soon produced, I here stop to recall the reader's attention to the poetry and language of the last century, by exhibiting some extracts from the manuscript romance of YWAIN AND GAWAIN, which has some great outlines of Gothic painting, and appears to have been written in the reign of king Henry the Sixth". I premise, that but few circumstances happened, which contributed to the improvement of our language, within that and the present period.

The following is the adventure of the enchanted forest attempted by sir Colgrevance, which he relates to the knights of the round table at Cardiff in Wales*.

Olde Abraham in erde" over he syttes, Even byfor his house doore under an oke grene,

Bryzt blikked the bem 15 of the brod he

ven

In the hyze hete 16 therof Abraham bides. The hand-writing of these two last-mentioned pieces cannot be later than Edward the Third. [See supr. vol. ii. p. 148.]

MSS. Cotton. GALB. E. ix. [Ritson considers this MS. to be at least as old as the time of king Richard II. Obs. p. 34. The language, he adds, of all the poems in the same MS. is a strong northern dialect, from which it may be inferred that they are the composition of persons, most likely monks, resident in that part of England, where in former times were several flourishing monasteries. Notes to Met. Romances, iii. 229. -PARK.]

* [The present text has been corrected by Mr. Ritson's edition of this romance. -EDIT.]

Ilkane with other made grete gamin,
And grete solace, als thai war samin,
Fast thai carped, and curtaysli,
Of dedes of armes, and of veneri,
And of gude knightes, &c.

It is a piece of considerable length, and contains a variety of GESTS. Sir YwAIN is sir EwAINE, or OWEN, in MORTE ARTHUR. None of these adventures belong to that romance. But see B. iv. c. 17. 27. etc. The story of the lion and the dragon in this romance, is told of a Christian champion in the Holy War, by Berchorius, REDUCTOR. p. 661. See supr. vol. i. Diss. on the GEST. ROMANOR. ch. civ. The lion being delivered from the dragon by sir YwAIN, ever afterwards accompanies and defends him in the greatest dangers. Hence Spenser's Una attended by a lion. F. Qu. i. iii. 7. See sir Percival's lion in MORTE ARTHur, B. xiv. c. 6. The dark ages had many stories and traditions of the lion's gratitude and generosity to man. Hence in Shakespeare, Troilus says, TR. AND CRESS. Act V. Sc. iii.

Brother, you have a vice of mercy in you
Which better fits a lion than a man.
[The darker ages had many stories of
the gratitude and generosity of lions
towards man.-ASHBY.]

14 earth.

15 Bright shone the beam.

16

high heat.

17 halls.

y found.

A faire forest sone I fand',

Me thoght mi hap thare fel ful hard
For thar was mani a wilde lebarda,
Lions, beres, bath bul and bare,
That rewfully gan ropeb and rare".
Oway I drogh me, and with that,
I saw sone whar a man sat
On a lawnd, the fowlest wight,
That ever yite man' saw in syght:
He was a lathlyf creatur,
For fowl he was out of mesur;
A wonder maces in hand he hade,
And sone mi way to him I made;
His hevyd", me thoght, was als grete
Als of a rowncy or a netei.
Unto his belt hang his hare';
And efter that byheld I mare",

To his forhede byheld I than
Was bradder than twa large span;
He had eres als P ane olyfant,

1 hair.
n broader.

as.

г

m

more.

nose.

u lack.
I wondrous dress.

z went in.

hung.

y churl.

Nowthera of wol ne of line,
Was the wede that he went yn.
When he me sagh, he stode up right,
I fraynedd him if he wolde fight,
For tharto was I in gude will,

Bot als a beste than stode he still :
I hopid that he no wittes kowth %,
Ne reson for to speke with mowth.
To him I spak ful hardily,
And said, What ertow, belamy i?
He said ogain, I am a man.

I said, Swilk saw I never nane'.
What ertow? al sone" said he.
I said, Swilk als° thou her may se.
I said, What dose thou here allane1?
He said, I kepe thir' bestes ilkanes.
I said, That es mervaile, think me,
For I herd never of man bot the,
In wildernes, ne in forestes,
That kepeing had of wilde bestes,
Bot' thai war bunden fast in halde ".

I e him cri on swilk manere,
ger

That al the bestes when thai him here,

Obout me than cum thai all,

And to mi fete fast thai fall
On thair maner, merci to cry.
Bot understand now redyli,
Olyvef es thar lifand no mai,
Bot I, that durst omang them ga*,
That he ne sold sone be al torent';
Bot thai er at my comandment,
To me thai cum whan I tham call,
And I am maister of tham all.
Than he asked onone right,
What man I was? I said, A knyght,
That soght aventurs in that lande,
My body to asaim and fande";
And I the pray of thi kownsayle
Thou teche me to sum mervayle°.
He said, I can no wonders tell,
Bot her bisyde es a Well;
Wend theder, and do als I say,
Thou passes noght al quite oway,
Folow forth this ilk strete,

And sone sum mervayles sal thou mete:
The well es under the fairest Tre

That ever was in this cuntre;
By that Well hinges a Bacyne
That es of golde gude and fyne,
With a cheyne, trewly to tell,
That wil reche in to the Well.