1

position; more especially in the glaring affectation of anglicising Latin 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 rofis, 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 fore, and somedele broun as bery,
For to alichtin and glad our emispery;
The flambe out brastin at the neis thirlis.-
Quhil schortlie, with the blesando 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 chrisfolite or thopas;
For quhais hew' mycht nane behold his face:
The firie sparkis brasting from his ene,
To purge the air, and gilt the tender

grene.
The auriat phanis of his trone foverane
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 fe
The stabillyt * wyndis, and the calmyt se;
The soft feffoun', the firmament serene;
The loune illuminate are", and forth" amene:
The silver-scalit fyschis on the grete,
Ouer thowrtP clere stremes sprinkilland & for the hete,
With fynnys fchinand broune as synopare',
And chesal talis', stourand here and there':
The new cullour, alichting all the lardis,
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 hewis,
Wod and forest obumbrate with bewis,

1

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, phiollo, 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
Querfrett" with fulzeis', and fyguris ful dyuers,
The pray P 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 fonnys fafgard :
Iue leius ' rank ouerspred the barmkyn 'wall,
The blomit hauthorne cled his pykis all,

&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 here the defcription of corn-fields
ends: and that of paftore-lands begins at,
The pray by/prent, &c. Pray, not as the
printed gloffary says, corruptedly for /pray',
but formed, through the French, from the
Lat. Pratum, and Spryngand Sproutis, rising
springs, from the Ital. spruzzare, spruzzs-
lare, aspergere.

n Leaves.
P Mead.
4 Ivy-leaves.
Ramparts

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 fum blew,
Sum gres, sum gowlis, sum rpure, sum fanguane,
Blanchit or broun, fauch zallow mony ane,
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 brede hir crownel smale,
And

euery flour unlappit in the dale,
In battil gers burgeouns, the banwart wyld,
The clauir, catcluke, 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 grene" 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 fum scheddand baith at attanis,
Kest' fragrant smel amyd fra goldin granis,

u

• Sprigs. + Young

Trellifles. Espaliers for vines, w Locked. Enclosed. Gemmed. * Red. y Watchet. z Blue and wavy. * Unbraid. Grass embattelled.

c Dandelion.
• Young weeds.

e Gillifowers. Gariophilum, Lat. Kao
quoquator. Gr. The Scotch word is nearer
the original. Probably the poet wrote
thare awin. See ver. 72. thare awin um--
brage.
* It is observable, that

our Poet never once mentions the scent of file

till

THE HISTORY OF
Heuinlie lyllyis, with lokkerand toppis quhyte,
Opynnit and schew thare creistis redemyte",
The balmy vapour from thare fylkyn croppis
Distilland halesum sugurat hony droppis,
And fylver schakeris 'gan fra leuis hing,
With chrystal sprayngis on the verdure zing:
The plane pouderit with semelie feitis found,
Bedyit ful of dewy peirlys round;
So that ilk burgeon, fyon, herbe, or floure,
Wox all enbalmit 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,
Quer all the lochis and the fludis

gray,
Sersand by kynd ane place quhare they suld lay ;
Phebus rede foule his curale creist can ftere,
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;

swan, the cock, and peacock, in this order, and with several of the attributes that our author has given them. See PARAD. L. vii. 438. feq.

The Swan with arched neck Between her white wings mantling proudly,

rows

till he comes to the rose, and never at all
the scent of any particular flower, except
the rose, not even of the lily; for I take it,
the words, from thare fylkyn croppis, are
meant to describe the flowers in general ;
and the balmy vapour to be the same with
the fresche liquour, and the dulce bumouris
qubarcof the bris wrocht tbare bony swete, an
exhalation distinct from that which causes
the scent. Afterwards redolent odour, is ge-
neral; for he certainly means to close his
description of the vegetable world, by one
universal cloud of fragrance from all nature. .

& Seeds.

" Redeemed. Released, opened. The glossary says, Decked, Beautiful, from Redimitus, Lat.

i Shakers.

* That Milton had his eye upon this passage is plain, from his describing the