Our author, lulled by the mufic of the birds, and the murmuring of the water, falls afleep on the flowers, which he calls Flora's mantill. In a vifion, he fees a fhip approach, whofe fails are like the blossom upon the spray, and whose masts are of gold bright as the ftar of day. She glides swiftly through a christal bay; and lands in the blooming meadows, among the green rushes and reeds, an hundred ladies clad in rich but loose attire. They are cloathed in green kirtles, their golden treffes, tied only with glittering threads, flow to the ground; and their snowy bosoms are unveiled.

Als fresche as flours that in the May upfpreids
In kirtills grene, withoutin kell or bands.
Their bricht hair hung glittering on the strand
In trefis cleir, wypit with golden threidis;
With pawpys' whyt, and middills fmall as wands'.

9

In this brilliant affembly, the poet fees NATURE, dame Venus quene, the frefche AURORA, May, lady Flora fchene, Juno, Latona, Proferpine, Diana goddess of the chafe and woodis grene, lady Clio, Minerva, Fortune, and Lucina. These michty quenes are crowned with diadems, glittering like the morning-ftar. They enter a garden. May, the queen of mirthful months, is fupported between her fifters April and

In our old poetry and the romances, we frequently read of fhips fuperbly decorated. This was taken from real life. Froiffart, fpeaking of the French fleet in 1387, prepared for the invafion of England under the reign of Richard the fecond, fays, that the ships were painted with the arms of the commanders and gilt, with banners, pennons, and standards, of filk: and that the mafts were painted from top to bottom, glittering with gold. The hip of lord Guy of Tremoyll was fo fumptuously garnished, that the painting and colours coft 2000 French franks, more than 222 pounds

June as the walks up and down the garden, the birds begin to fing, and NATURE gives her a gorgeous robe adorned with every colour under heaven.

Thair fawe I NATURE prefent till her a gown
Riche to beholde, and noble of renoune,

Of everie hew that undir the hevin has bene
Depaint and braid " by gud proportioun ".

The vegetable tribes then do their obeifance to NATURE,. in these polished and elegant verses.

And every blome on branche, and eik on bank,
Opnit, and spred thair balmy levis dank,
Full law inclyneand to thair queen full cleir,
Whom for their noble nuriffing thay thank *..

Immediately another court, or groupe, appears. Cupid the king prefides:

ay bent,

And dreadfull arrowis groundin fcherp and fquhair.
Thair fawe I Mars the god armipotent

Awefull and ftirnè, ftrong and corpulent.

y

Thair fawe I crabit Saturne, auld and hair,

His look was lyk for to perturb the air.
Thair was Mercurius, wife and eloquent,
Of retorik that fund' the floris fair ".

Here

These are attended with other pagan divinities, Janus, Priapus, Eolus, Bacchus the glader of the table, and Pluto. They are all arrayed in green; and finging amorous ditties to the

To her.. "Broad.

w ST. X.

* ST. xi.

y Crabbed.
z Hoar.

a Found.

ST. xiii.

harp

harp and lute, invite the ladies to dance. The poet quits his ambush under the trees, and preffing forward to gain a more perfect view of this tempting fpectacle, is espied by Venus. She bids her keen archers arrest the intruder. Her attendants, a groupe of fair ladies, instantly drop their green mantles, and each discovers a huge bow. They form themfelves in battle-array, and advance against the poet..

And first of all, with bow in hand ay bent,

Came dame BEAUTY, richt as scho wald me schent;

Syne followit all her damofalls in feir,

With many divers awfull inftrument:

Into the praifs FAIR HAVING with her went;

с

Syne PORTRATOR, PLESANCE, and lusty CHEIR,

Than came RESSOUN, with Schield of gold fo cleir,
In plait of mail, as Mars armipotent,

BEAUTY is affifted by tender YOUTH with her virgins ying
GREEN INNOCENCE, MODESTY, and OBEDIENCE: but their
resistance was but feeble against the golden target of REASON.
WOMANHOOD then leads on PATIENCE, DISCRETION, STED-
FASTNESS, BENIGNE LOOK, MYLDE CHEIR, and HONEST.
BUSINESS..

Bot RESSOUN bare the Terge with fic conftance,,
Thair scharp effay might do me no deirance",
For all thair praifs and awfull'ordinance *..

The attack is renewed by DIGNITY, RENOWN, RICHES, NoBILITY, and HONOUR. Thefe, after displaying their high. banner, and shooting a cloud of arrows, are foon obliged to

Formidable weapons.

d Behaviour.

• Next.

Warrior.

* ST. xvii.
h Injury.
i Weapons..
* ST. xix.

retreat..

retreat. Venus, perceiving the rout, orders DISSEMBLANCE to make an attempt to pierce the Golden Shield. DISSEMBLANCE, or DISSIMULATION, chufes for her archers, PRESENCE, FAIR CALLING, and CHERISHING. Thefe bring back BEAUTY to the charge. A new and obftinate conflict enfues.

Thik was the schott of grindin arrowis kene,

Bot RESSOUN, with the Schield of Gold fo fchene,
Weirly' defendit quhofoeir affayit :

The awfull schour he manly did sustene".

At length PRESENCE, by whom the poet understands that irresistible incentive accruing to the paffion of love by fociety, by being often admitted to the company of the beloved object, throws a magical powder into the eyes of REASON; who is fuddenly deprived of all his powers, and reels like a drunken man. Immediately the poet receives a deadly wound, and is taken prisoner by BEAUTY; who now affumes a more engaging air, as the clear eye of REASON is growing dim by intoxication. DISSIMULATION then tries all her arts on the poet: FAIR CALLING fmiles upon him: CHERISHING fooths him with soft speeches: NEW ACQUAINTANCE embraces him awhile, but foon takes her leave, and is never seen afterwards. At laft DANGER delivers him to the custody of Grief.

By this time, "God Eolus his bugle blew." The leaves are torn with the blaft: in a moment the pageant difappears, and nothing remains but the foreft, the birds, the banks, and the brook". In the twinkling of an eye they return to the ship; and unfurling the fails, and stemming the fea with a rapid course, celebrate their triumph with a discharge of ordinance. This was now a new topic for poetical defcription. The smoke rifes to the firmament, and the roar is re-echoed by the rocks, with a found as if the rain-bow had been broken.

I Warily.

m ST. xxiii.

n ST. xxvi.

And

And as I did awak of this fwowning,
The joyfull fowlis merrily did fing
For mirth of Phebus tendir bemis fchene.
Sweit was the vapours, foft the morrowing,
Hailfum the vaill' depaynt with flours ying,
The air intemperit fober and amene;

In whit and red was al the erd besene,
Throw Naturis nobill frefch ennameling
In mirthfull May of

every moneth quene

9

Our author then breaks out into a laboured encomium on Chaucer, Gower, and Lydgate. This I chufe to recite at large, as it fhews the peculiar distinction antiently paid to those fathers of verfe; and the high ideas which now prevailed, even in Scotland, of the improvements introduced by their writings into the British poetry, language, and literature.

O reverend CHAUSER, rofe of rhetouris all,
As in our tonge ane flour imperial
That raise in Britain ever, quha reidis richt',
Tho beiris of makin" the triumphs royall,
The fresche enamilit termes celestiall:

This mater couth haif illuminit full bricht ";
Was thou nocht of our English all the licht,
Surmounting every toung terrestriall
As far as Mayis morrow dois midnycht.

Dream.

→ Vale.

O moral GoWER, and LYDGATE laureat,
Your fuggarit tonguis, and ' lippis aureat,

9 ST. xxviii.

Other instances occur in the elder Scotch

poets. See fupr. p. 125.

• One flower.