To discusse divinity they nought adread;

More meet it were for them to milk kye at a fleyke,' 'Thou lyest,' quoth I, 'thou losel, like a leud lad.' 15 He said, he was little John Nobody, that durst not speake.

'Its meet for every man on this matter to talk, And the glorious gospel ghostly to have in mind; It is sothe said, that sect but much unseemly skalk, As boyes babble in books, that in scripture are blind:

Yet to their fancy soon a cause will find;

As to live in lust, in lechery to leyke:

Such caitives count to be come of Cains kind;
But that I little John Nobody durst not speake.

20

25

For our reverend father hath set forth an order,
Our service to be said in our seignours tongue;
As Solomon the sage set forth the scripture;
Our suffrages, and services, with many a sweet song,
With homilies, and godly books us among,
That no stiff, stubborn stomacks we should freyke: 30
But wretches nere worse to do poor men wrong;

But that I little John Nobody dare not speake.

For bribery was never so great, since born was our Lord,

And whoredom was never les hated, sith Christ harrowed hel,

And

poor men are so sore punished commonly through the world,

35

That it would grieve any one, that good is, to hear tel.

Ver. 23. Cain's kind.] So in Pierce the Plowman's creed, the proud friars are said to be

- Of Capmes kind.' Vid. Sig. C ij. b.

For al the homilies and good books, yet their hearts be so quel,

That if a man do amisse, with mischiefe they wil him wreake;

The fashion of these new fellows it is so vile and fell:

But that I little John Nobody dare not speake. 40

Thus to live after their lust, that life would they have, And in lechery to leyke al their long life;

For al the preaching of Paul, yet many a proud knave Wil move mischiefe in their mind both to maid and

wife

To bring them in advoutry, or else they wil strife, 45 And in brawling about baudery, Gods commandments breake:

But of these frantic il fellowes, few of them do thrife; Though I little John Nobody dare not speake

If thou company with them, they wil currishly carp, and not care

According to their foolish fantacy; but fast wil they

naught:

50

Prayer with them is but prating; therefore they it

forbear:

Both almes deeds, and holiness, they hate it in their thought:

Therefore pray we to that prince, that with his bloud us bought,

That he wil mend that is amiss: for many a manful freyke

Is sorry for these sects, though they say little or

nought;

55

And that I little John Nobody dare not once speake.'

Thus in No place, this NOBODY, in no time I mct, Where No man, [ne1] NOUGHT was, nor NOTHING did

appear;

Through the sound of a synagogue for sorrow I swett, That [Aeolus 2] through the eccho did cause me to hear. Then I drew me down into a dale, whereas the dumb deer

61

Did shiver for a shower; but I shunted from a freyke: For I would no wight in this world wist who I were, But little John Nobody, that dare not once speake.

IV.

Q. ELIZABETH'S VERSES, WHILE PRISONER AT WOODSTOCK,3

WRIT WITH CHARCOAL ON A SHUTTER,

-are preserved by Hentzner, in that part of his Travels, which has been reprinted in so elegant a manner at STRAWBERRY HILL. In Hentzner's book they were wretchedly corrupted, but are here given as amended by his ingenious editor. The old orthography, and one or two ancient readings of Hentzner's copy are here restored.

Он, Fortune! how thy restlesse wavering state
Hath fraught with cares my troubled witt!
Witnes this present prisonn, whither fate

Could beare me, and the joys I quit.
Thou causedest the guiltie to be losed
From bandes, wherein are innocents inclosed:
Causing the guiltles to be straite reserved,
And freeing those that death had well deserved.
But by her envie can be nothing wroughte,

5

So God send to my foes all they have thoughte.
ELIZABETHE, PRISONNER.

A.D. MDLV.

Ver. 4, Could beare, is an ancient idiom, equivalent to Did bear or Hath borne. See below the 'Beggar of Bednal Green,' ver. 57, Could say.

1 then, MSS. and PC.-2 Hercules, MSS. and PC.-3 This happened in the reign of Mary, and three years ere Elizabeth was crowned Queen.—ED.

V.

THE HEIR OF LINNE.

The original of this Ballad is found in the Editor's folio MS. the breaches and defects in which rendered the insertion of supplemental stanzas necessary. These it is hoped the reader will pardon, as indeed the conclusion of the story was suggested by a modern ballad on a similar subject.

From the Scottish phrases here and there disceruable in this poem, it should seem to have been originally composed beyond the Tweed.

The Heir of Linue appears not to have been a Lord of Parliament, but a Laird, whose title went along with his estate.

PART THE FIRST.

LITHE and listen, gentlemen,
To sing a song I will beginne:
It is of a lord of faire Scotland,

Which was the unthrifty heire of Linne.

His father was a right good lord,

His mother a lady of high degree;
But they, alas! were dead, him froe,
And he lov'd keeping companie.

To spend the daye with merry cheare,
To drinke and revell every night,
To card and dice from eve to morne,
It was, I ween, his hearts delighte.

To ride, to runne, to rant, to roare,

To alwaye spend and never spare,
I wott, an' it were the king himselfe,
Of gold and fee he mote be bare.

Soe fares the unthrifty lord of Linne
Till all his gold is gone and spent ;
And he maun sell his landes so broad,
His house, and landes, and all his rent.

His father had a keen stewàrde,

And John o' the Scales was called hee:
But John is become a gentel-man,

And John has gott both gold and fee.

Sayes, Welcome, welcome, lord of Linne,
Let nought disturb thy merry cheere;
Iff thou wilt sell thy landes soe broad,
Good store of gold Ile give thee heere.'

My gold is gone, my money is spent ;
My lande nowe take it unto thee:
Give me the golde, good John o' the Scales,
And thine for aye my lande shall bee.'

Then John he did him to record draw,
And John he cast him a gods-pennie;1
But for every pounde that John agreed,
The lande, I wis, was well worth three.

He told him the gold upon the borde,
He was right glad his land to winne:
'The gold is thine, the land is mine,

And now Ile be the lord of Linne.'

Thus he hath sold his land soe broad,
Both hill and holt, and moore and fenne,

All but a poore and lonesome lodge,
That stood far off in a lonely glenne.

For soe he to his father hight;

'My sonne, when I am gonne,' sayd hee,

1i.e. earnest-money; from the French 'Denier à Dieu.' At this day, when application is made to the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle to accept an exchange of the tenant under one of their leases, a piece of silver is presented by the new tenant, which is still called a 'Gods-penny.'