Keepand NO SOUTHERN,' but OUR OWN LAN
And speak as I learnt when I was a page.
Na yet so clean all southern I refuse,
But SOME WORD I PRONOUNCE as neighbours does.
Like as in Latin be Grew wordis some,
So me behoved, whilom (or be dumb)
Some bastard Latin, French, or English use,
Where scant was Scotish: I had none other chuse, &c.. [Preface.]
The most beautiful of all Gawin Douglas's prologues, is that of the twelfth book; it is hoped, therefore, that the reader will pardon the length of the following extract, in favour of the splendid imagery which it exhibits. It is a description of May.
As fresh Aurora, to mighty Tithone spouse,
Ischit 3 of her saffron bed, and ivory house
In crammesy clad, and grained violet,
With sanguine cape, the selvage purpurate,
Unshut the windows of her largé hall
Spread all with roses, and full of balm royáll:
4 Cramoisi, Fr.; crimson.
And eke the heavenly postis chrystalline
Upwarpis broad the world til illumine—
Eous, the steed, with ruby amice red,
Above the seais liftis forth his head;
Of colour sore,2 and some-deal brown as berry,
For to alighten and glad our hemispery.
The flames out birsten at his neiss-thirlis 3.
While shortly, with the blasand torch of day,
Abulyeit in his lemand 5 'fresh array
Forth of his palace royal ischit Phœbus,
With golden crown, and visage glorious:
Crisp hairis, bright as chrysolite, or topase,
For whois hue might none behold his face;
The fiery sparkis bursting from his een,
To purge the air, and gild the tender green.—
The aureat fanes of his throne soverain
With glitterand glance o'erspread the ocean;
The large floodis lemand all of light,
But with one blenk of his supernal sight.
For to behold it was a gloire 7 to see
The stabled windis, and the calmed sea,
• Yellowish brown. Fr. 3 Nostrils.
4 Habille, dressed. The final é was, in Old Fr. written eit.
Gleaming, shining.
7 Glory. Fr.
The soft seasón, the firmament serene,
The loun' illumin'd air, and firth amene 2
The silver-scaled fishes on the grit,3
O'er-thwart clear streams sprinkilland+ for the heat;
With finnis shinand brown as cinnabar,
And chizzle tailis stirrand here and there.-
And lusty Flora did her bloomis spread
Under the feet of Phoebus' sulyearts steed:
The swarded soil embrode with selcouth' hues,
Wood and forest obumbrate with the bews;8
Whose blissful branches, portray'd on the ground,
With shadows sheen, show roches 9 rubicund,
Tow'rs, turrets, kernells 10 and pinnacles high,
Of kirkis, castles, and ilk fair city;
Stood painted every fane, phióll," and stage,
Upon the plain ground by their own umbrage.-
And blissful blossoms, in the bloomed sward, Submits their heads in the young sun's safe-guard:
Ivy leaves rank o'erspread the barmkyn 1 wall;
The bloomed hawthorn clad his pykis 13 all:
Forth of fresh burgeons,' the wine-grapis ying
Endlong the trestles did on twistis hing."
The locked buttons on the gemmed trees,
O'erspreadand leaves of nature's tapestries
Soft grassy verdure, after balmy showers,
On curland stalkis smiland to their flowers,
Beholdand them so many divers hue,
Some pers,3 some pale,+ some burnet,5 and some blue,
Some grey, some gules, some purpure, some san-
guene,
Blanchet, or brown, fauch-yellow many ane;
Some, heavenly-colour'd, in celestial gre,9
Some, watery-hued, as the haw-waly 1o sea;
And some, depaint in freckles, red and white,
Some bright as gold, with aureate leavis lite: "
The daisy did un-braid her crownel smale,
And every flow'r un-lapped in the dale
The flower-de-luce forth spread his heavenly hué,
Flow'r damas,12 and columbo black and blue.
Sere downis small on dandelion sprung,
The young green bloomed strawberry leaves among:
Buds. Fr.
Light blue. Fr.
Brunet, Fr.; brownish.
7 Whitish. Fr.
• Gris, Fr.; sky-blue.
1 Little.
• Fawn-coloured yellow.
10 Dark-waved.
11 The damask rose.
Gimp gilliflowers their own leaves un-shet 31
Fresh primrose, and the purpure violet.
The rose-knobbis tetand2 forth their head,
Gan chip,3 and kyth 4 their vernal lippis red;
Crisp scarlet leaves sheddand, baith at anes,5
Cast fragrant smell amid from golden grains.
Heavenly lilies, with locker and toppis white,
Opened, and shew their crestis redemite.7
The balmy vapour from their silver croppis 8
Distilland wholesome sugar'd honey-droppis-
So that ilk burgeon, scion, herb, or flow'r,
Wor9 all embalmed of the fresh liquoúr,
And bathed hot did in dulce humours flete,"
Whereof the beeis wrought their honey sweet.—
On salt streams wolk 11 Dorida and Thetis;
By running strandis, nymphs, and naiades,
Sic as we clepe wenches and damisells,
In grassy grovis wandering by spring-wells;
Both at once, i. e. while some buds were expanding,
other roses were shedding their leaves.
6 Curling like locks or ringlets of hair.
7 Crowned.
9 Grew.
31 Walked?
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