their native forms of speech. In consequence of this practice, the two languages seem to have attained, about the middle of the 14th century, their greatest degree of similarity. But these foreign words, being once naturalized, could not fail of undergoing considerable alterations; because the broader vowel-sounds, the gutturals, and the strongly aspirated accents of the Scots differed equally from the French and English pronunciation; and this difference was preserved and increased, on both sides, by discordant and capricious systems of orthography. At the same time, as the number of readers increased, the writers became desirous of accommodating themselves to the general taste; and consequently began to transplant from colloquial into literary language a variety of popular expressions, which, being peculiar to the one country, were obscure, or even unintelligible, to the natives of the other.

Gawin Douglas, indeed, was so far from seeking popularity from English readers, that, in his excuses for his defects of style, he only laments the impossibility of making it purely and exclusively Scotish.

And yet, forsooth, I set my busy pain

(As that I couth) to make it BRADE' AND PLAIN;

1 Broad.

Keepand NO SODROUN,' but OUR OWN LAN

GUAGE,

And speak as I learn'd when I was ane page.

Na yet so clean all sodroun I refuse,

But SOME WORD I PRONOUNCE as neighbour does. Like as in Latin bene Grewe2 termes some,

So me behovit, whilom (or be dumb),

Some bastard Latin, French, or Ynglis3 ois,+ Where scant was Scottis: I had nane other choice. [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 5 of her saffron bed, and evyr6 house,
In crammesy 7 clad, and grainit violet,
With sanguine cape, the selvage purpurate,
Unshut the windows of her large hall.....
Spread all with roses, and full of balm royall:
And eke the heavenly portis chrystalline
Upwarpis 7 brade the world till íllumine.

Southern, English.

4 Use.
7 Cramoisi, Fr. crimson.

• Greek.

5 Issueth.

8 Draws up.

6

• English. Ivory. :

Eous, the steed, with ruby hammys red,
Above the seais liftis forth his head,

2

Of colour sore, and some-deal brown as berry,

For to alighten and glad our hemispery,

The flame out brastin at the neiss-thirlis.3

*

While shortly, with the blesand+ torch of day,
Abulyeit 5 in his lemand fresh array
Forth of his palace royal ischit Phebus,
With golden crown, and visage glorious;
Crisp hairis, bright as chrysolite, or topàse,
For whais hue might nane behold his face;
The fiery sparkis brasting from his een,
To purge the air, and gild the tender green.

*

The aureate fanis of his throne soveràne

With glitterand glance o'erspread the octiane;▾
The large floodis lemand all of light,
But with ane blenk of his supernal sight.
For to behold it was ane glore9 to see
The stablyt windis, and the calmyt sea,

'Yoke. Vide Rudd. Gloss.-Or qu. amice?

Yellowish-brown. Fr.

4 Nostrils.

3 Blazing.

Habillé, dressed. The final é was in Old Fr. written eit.

• Gleaming, shining.

'Look, glance.

7 Ocean.

9 Glory. Fr.

The soft seasoùn, the firmament serene,
The loun1 illuminate air, and firth amene;
The silver-scalit fishes on the grete,3

O'er-thwart clear streams sprinkilland+ for the heat, With finnis shinand brown as synopare,5

And chisel tailis stirrand here and there.

And lusty Flora did her bloomes sprede
Under the feet of Phebus' sulyeart steed:
The swardit soil enbrode 7 with selcouth 8 hues,
Wood and forèst obumbrate with the bews; 9
Whais blissful branches, portray'd on the ground,
With shadows sheen, shew rochis 1o rubicund,

Towers, turrets, kirnals 1 and pinnacles high,
Of kirkis, castles, and ilk fair city;

Stood paintit every fane, phioll," and stage, Upon the plain ground by their own umbràge.

And blissful blossoms, in the bloomyt yard,13 Submits their heads in the young sun's safe-guard. Ivy leaves rank o'erspread the barmkyn 14 wall ; The bloomit hawthorn clad his pykis 15 all:

'Clean.

• Pleasant water, frith. 3 Gravel. Gliding swiftly with a tremulous motion of their tails. ⚫ Cinnabar. "Sultry. 7 Embroidered. & Uncommon. Sax. • Boughs. 10 Rocks. Crenelles, Fr. battlements.

19

Cupola; fiole, F. 13 Garden. Vide supra, p. 303-4, note.

14 Mound or wall: from barme, Old Fr, the bank of a river.

15 Thorns.

I

Forth of fresh burgeouns the wine-grapis ying
Endlang the trellis did on twistis hing.
The lockit buttons on the gemmyt trees,
O'erspreadand leaves of nature's tapestries,
Soft grassy verdure, after balmy showers,
On curland stalkis smiland to their flowers,
Beholdand them sa many divers hue,

8

Some peirs,3 some pale,+some burnet,5 and some blue,
Some gres, some gules, some purpure, some san-
guàne,
Blanchit, or brown, fauch-yellow many ane;
Some, heavenly-colour'd, in celestial gre,9
Some, watery-hued, as the haw-wally' sea;
And some, departe in freckles, red and white,
Some bright as gold, with aureate leavis lyte.11
The daisy did un-braid her crownel smale,
And every flower un-lappit in the dale.

The flourdelyce forth spread his heavenly hue, Flower damas,12 and columbe13 black and blue. Sere downis small on dentilion sprang,

The young green bloomit strawberry leaves amang;