fell far short of those effected in the literature of [Housewifey Physic.]

their southern neighbours. The most eminent of Good huswife provides, ere a sickness do come, these writers was SIR DAVID LYNDSAY, born about Of sundry good things in her house to have some. 1490, who, after serving King James V., when that Good aqua composita, and vinegar tart,

monarch was a boy, as sewer, carver, cup-bearer, Rose-water, and treacle, to comfort thine heart. purse-master, chief cubicular; in short, everything Cold herbs in her garden, for agues that burn, -bearing him as an infant upon his back, and That over-strong heat to good temper may turn. dancing antics for his amusement as a boy-was White endive, and succory, with spinach enow; appointed to the important office of Lord Lyon King All such with good pot-herbs, should follow the at Arms, and died about the year 1555. He chiefly plough.

shone as a satirical and humorous writer, and his great Get water of fumitory, liver to cool,

fault is an entire absence of that spirit of refinement And others the like, or else lie like a fool.

which graced the contemporary literature of EngConserves of barbary, quinces, and such,

land. The principal objects of Lyndsay's vituperaWith sirops, that easeth the sickly so much.

tions were the clergy, whose habits at this period Ask Medicus' counsel, ere medicine ye take,

(just before the Reformation) were such as to afford And honour that man for necessity's sake.

unusually ample scope for the pen of the satirist. Though thousands hate physic, because of the cost, Our poet, also, although a state officer, and long a Yet thousands it helpeth, that else should be lost. servant to the king, uses little delicacy in exposing Good broth, and good keeping, do much now and than: the abuses of the court. His chief poems are placed Good diet, with wisdoin, best comforteth man. in the following succession by his editor, Mr George In health, to be stirring shall profit thee best ; Chalmers :- The Dreme, written about 1528; The In sickness, hate trouble; seek quiet and rest. Complaynt, 1529; The Complaynt of the King's Remember thy soul ; let no fancy prevail ;

Papingo (Peacock), 1530; The Play (or Satire) of Make ready to God-ward ; let faith never quail : the Three Estates, 1535; Kitteis Confession, 1541; The sooner thyself thou submittest to God,

The History of Squire Meldrum, 1550; The MoThe sooner he ceaseth to scourge with his rod. narchie, 1553. The three first of these poems are

moralisings upon the state and government of the [Moral Reflections on the Wind.]

kingdom, during two of its dismal minorities. The

Play is an extraordinary performance, a satire upon Though winds do rage, as winds were wood, the whole of the three political orders—monarch, And cause spring-tides to raise great flood; barons, and clergy-full of humour and grossness, And lofty ships leave anchor in mud,

and curiously illustrative of the taste of the times. Bereaving many of life and of blood;

Notwithstanding its satiric pungency, and, what is Yet, true it is, as cow chews cud,

apt to be now more surprising, notwithstanding the And trees, at spring, doth yield forth bud, introduction of indecencies not fit to be described, Except wind stands as never it stood,

the Satire of the Three Estates was acted in preIt is an ill wind turns none to good.

sence of the court, both at Cupar and Edinburgh,

the stage being in the open air. Kitteis Confession BIR DAVID LYNDSAY.

is a satire on one of the practices of Roman Catho

lics. By his various burlesques of that party, he is While Surrey and Wyatt were imparting fresh said to have largely contributed to the progress of beauties to English poetry, Dunbar and his contem- the Reformation in Scotland. The History of Squire

Meldrum is perhaps the most pleasing of all this author's works. It is considered the last poem that in any degree partakes of the character of the metrical romance.

Of the dexterity with which Lyndsay could point & satirical remark on an error of state policy, we may judge from the following very brief passage of his Complaynt, which relates to the too early committal of the government to James V. It is given in the original spelling.

Imprudently, like witles fules,
Thay tuke the young prince from the scules,
Quhere he, under obedience,
Was learnand vertew and science,
And hastilie pat in his hand
The governance of all Scotland :
As quha wald, in ane stormie blast,
Quhen marinaris been all agast,
Throw danger of the seis rage,
Wald tak ane child of tender age,
Quhilk never had bin on the sey,
And gar his bidding all obey,
Geving him hail the governall,
To ship, marchand, and marinall,
For dreid of rockis and foir land,
To put the ruthir in his hand.

I give them to
Sir David Lyndsay.

Quhilk first devisit that counsell ;

I will nocht say that it was tressoun, poraries were succeeded in Scotland by several poets

But I dar sweir it was na ressoun. of considerable talent, whose improvements, however,

I pray God lat me never see ring
1 Mad
Into this realme sa young ane king.

Of tails I will no more indite,
[A Carman's Account of a Law-suit.] For dread some duddron' me despite :
Marry, I lent my gossip my mare, to fetch hame coals, Notwithstanding, I will conclude,
And he her drounit into the quarry holes ;

That of side tails can come nae gude,
And I ran to the consistory, for to pleinyie, | Sider nor may their ankles hide,
And there I happenit amang ane greedie meinyie. The remanent proceeds of pride,
They gave me first ane thing they call citandum; | And pride proceeds of the devil,
Within aucht days I gat but libellandum;

Thus alway they proceed of evil.
Within ane month I gat ad opponendum;

Ane other fault, Sir, may be seen, In half ane year I gat inter-loquendum,

They hide their face all bot the een ; And syne I gat-how call ye it kad replicandum;

| When gentlemen bid them gude day, Bot I could never ane word yet understand him :

Without reverence they slide away. * * And then they gart me cast out mony placks,

Without their faults be soon amended, And gart me pay for four-and-twenty acts.

My flyting, Sir, shall never be ended; Bot or they came half gate to concludendum,

But wald your grace iny counsel tak, The fiend ane plack was left for to defend him.

Ane proclamation ye should mak, Thus they postponed me twa year with their train,

Baith through the land and burrowstouns, Syne, hodie ad octo, bade me come again :

To shaw their face and cut their gowns. And then thir rooks they rowpit wonder fast

Women will say, this is nae bourds, 3 For sentence, silver, they cryit at the last.

To write sic vile and filthy words ; Of pronunciandum they made me wonder fain,

But wald they clenge their filthy tails, Bot I gat never my gude grey mare again.

Whilk over the mires and middings trails,

Then should my writing clengit be,
Supplication in Contemption of Side Tails.? None other mends they get of me.
(1538.)

Quoth Lindsay, in contempt of the side tails,
Sovereign, I mean3 of thir side tails,

That duddrons and duntibours through the dubs trails. Whilk through the dust and dubs trails, Three quarters lang behind their heels,

[The Building of the Tower of Babel, and Express again' all commonweals.

Confusion of Tongues.] Though bishops, in their pontificals,

(From the Monarchie.) Have men for to bear up their tails, For dignity of their office;

Their great fortress then did they found, Richt so ane queen or ane emprice ;

And cast till they gat sure ground. Howbeit they use sic gravity,

All fell to work both man and child, Conformand to their majesty,

Some howkit clay, some burnt the tyld. Though their robe-royals be upborne,

Nimron, that curious champion, I think it is ane very scorn,

Deviser was of that dungeon. That every lady of the land

Nathing they spared their labours, Should have her tail so side trailand;

Like busy bees upon the flowers, Howbeit they been of high estate,

Or emmets travelling into June; The queen they should not counterfeit.

Some under wrocht, and some aboon,

With strang ingenious masonry, Wherever they go it may be seen

Upward their wark did fortify; How kirk and causay they soop clean.

The land about was fair and plain, The images into the kirk

And it rase like ane heich montane. May think of their side tails irk ;4

Those fulish people did intend, For when the weather been maist fair,

That till the heaven it should ascend: The dust flies highest into the air,

Sae great ane strength was never seen And all their faces does begary,

Into the warld with men's een. Gif they could speak, they waid them wary. * *

The wallis of that wark they made, But I have maist into despite

Twa and fifty fathom braid: Poor claggocks5 clad in Raploch white,

Ane fathom then, as some men says, Whilk has scant twa merks for their fees,

Micht been twa fathom in our days;
Will have twa ells beneath their knees.

Ane man was then of mair stature
Kittock that cleckit 6 was yestreen,
The morn, will counterfeit the queen.

Nor twa be now, of this be sure.
In barn nor byre she will not bide,

The translator of Orosius Without her kirtle tail be side.

Intil his chronicle writes thus ; In burghs, wanton burgess wives

That when the sun is at the hicht, Wha may have sidest tails strives,

At noon, when it doth shine maist bricht, Weel bordered with velvet fine,

The shadow of that hideous strength But followand them it is ane pyne :

Sax mile and mair it is of length: In summer, when the streets dries,

Thus may ye judge into your thocht, They raise the dust aboon the skies ;

Gif Babylon be heich, or nocht. Nane may gae near them at their ease,

Then the great God omnipotent, Without they cover mouth and neese.

To whom all things been present, I think maist pane after ane rain,

He seeand the ambition,
To see them tuckit up again;

And the prideful presumption,
Then when they step furth through the street,
Their fauldings flaps about their feet ;

How thir proud people did pretend,

Up through the heavens till ascend, *
They waste mair claith, within few years,
Nor wald cleid fifty score of freirs.

Sic languages on them he laid,
That nane wist what ane other said ;

Where was but ane language afore,
9 The over-long skirts of the ladies' dresses God send them languages three score ;
of those days.

Complain.

May feel annoyed. & Druggle tails. Born.

1 Bent
Scolding.

• Jest

1 Company.

Afore that time all spak Hebrew,

How might I do to get a graff Then some began for to speak Grew,

Of this unspotted trec? Some Dutch, some language Saracen,

For all the rest are plain but chaff And some began to speak Latin.

Which seem good corn to be. The maister men gan to ga wild,

This gift alone I shall her give: Cryand for trees, they brocht them tylu.

When Death doth what he can, Some said, Bring mortar here at ance,

Her honest fame shall ever live
Then brocht they to them stocks and stanes;

Within the mouth of man.
And Nimrod, their great champion,
Ran ragand like ane wild lion,
Menacing them with words rude,

Amantium Iræ amoris redintegratio est.
But nerer ane word they understood. *

(By Richard Edwards, a court musician and poet, 1523-1566.] for final conclusion, Constrained were they for till depart,

In going to my naked bed, as one that would have Ilk company in ane sundry airt.

slept, I heard a wife sing to her child, that long before had

wept. MISCELLANEOUS PIECES OF THE PERIOD 1400-1558. She sighed sore, and sang full sweet, to bring the

babe to rest. A few pieces of the reigns of Henry VIII. and That would not cease, but cried still, in sucking at Edward VI., some of which are by uncertain authors,

her breast. may be added, as further illustrative of the literary She was full weary of her watch, and grieved with history of that period. The first two are amongst the earliest verses in which the metaphysical re- She rocked it, and rated it, until on her it smild;

her child, finements, so notable in the subsequent period, are Then did she say, "Now have I found the proverb true observable.

to prove,

The falling out of faithful friends renewing is of A Praise of his (the Poet's) Lady.

love.' Give place, you ladies, and be gone.

Then took I paper, pen, and ink, this proverb for to Boast not yourselves at all!

write, For here at hand approacheth one,

In register for to remain of such a worthy wight. Whose face will stain you all!

As she proceeded thus in song unto her little brat, The virtue of her lively looks

Much matter utter'd she of weight in place whereas Excels the precious stone:

she sat; I wish to have none other books

And proved plain, there was no beast, nor creature To read or look upon.

bearing life,

Could well be known to live in love without discord In each of her two crystal eyes

and strife : Smileth a naked boy:

Then kissed she her little babe, and sware by God It would you all in heart suffice

above, To see that lamp of joy.

“The falling out of faithful friends renewing is of I think Nature hath lost the mould,

love.'
Where she her shape did take;
Or else I doubt if Nature could

*