And forward fast his ways he did advance,
With ane richt melancolious countenance,
With scrip on hip, and pike-staff in his hand,
As he had purposit to pass frae hame.
Quoth I, "Gude man, I wald fain understand,
Gif that ye pleasit, to wit what were your name?"
Quoth he, "My son, of that I think great shame ;
But, sin thou wald of my name have ane feel,
Forsooth, they call me John the Commonweal."
"Sir Commonweal, who has you so disguisit?"
Quoth I; "or what makes you so miserable?
I have marvél to see you so supprisit,2
The whilk that I have seen so honourable.
To all the warld ye have been profitable,
And weell honoured in everilk natióun ;
How happens now your tribulatioun ?"
"Alas," quoth he, "thou sees how it does stand
With me ;
and how I am disherisit
Of all my grace, and maun pass of3 Scotland,
And go, afore where I was cherisit.4
Remain I here, I am but perisit ;5
For there is few to me that takes tent ;——
That gars' me go so ragged, riven, and rent!
"My tender friends are all put to the flicht;
For Policy is fled again to France:
My sister, Justice, almaist hath tint her sicht,
That she can nocht hauld evenly the balance:
Plain Wrang9 is clean Captain of ordinance ;10
The whilk debarrès loyalty and reason:
And small remeid is found for open treason.
"Into the south, alas, I was near slain;
Ower all the land I could find no relief;
Almost betwix the Merse and Lochmabane 12
I could nocht knaw ane leal13 man by ane thief.
To shaw their reif,14 theft, murther, and mischief,
1 Knowledge, apprehension (feeling).
10 Cannon, artillery. 11 In.
12 The Merse is a district in Berwickshire, on the north of the Tweed; Lochmaben is a burgh in Dumfriesshire. The meaning is "all along the south of Scotland, where it borders England."
And vicious works, it wald infect the air,
And als langsome1 to me for till 2 declare.
"Into the Hieland3 I could find no remeid;
But suddenly I was put to exile;
They sweir swingeours, they took of me none heed,
Nor amangs them let me remain ane while.
Als, in the Outè Isles, and in Argyle,
Unthrift, Sweirness, Falset, Poortie, and Strife,
Pat Policy in danger of her life.
"In the Lawland, I come to seek refuge,
And purposed there to mak my residence:
But Singular-Profit10 gart me soon disluge,11
And did me great injúries and offence;
And said to me, "Swithe, harlot ;12 hie thee hence,
And in this country see thou tak no cures,1
So lang as my authority indures!"
"And now I may mak no langer debate ;
Nor I wat nocht whom-to I suld me mene ;14
For I have socht through all the Spiritual state,
Whilk took nae count for to hear me complene.
Their officers, they held me at disdene;
For Simony, he rules up all that rout,15
And Covetise, that carle, gart bar me out.16
"Pride hath chased far from them Humility;
Devotioún is fled unto the Freres ;17
Sensual Pleasure hath banished Chastity;
Lords of Religion, they go like Seculeres,18
Taking more count in telling their deneres 19
Nor they do of their constitutioun :,
Thus are they blinded by ambitioun.
Our gentlemen are all degenerate;
Liberality and lawtie 20 baith are lost;
And Cowardice with lords is laureate ;21
And Knightly-Courage turned in 22 brag and boast.
The Civil War misguidès everilk host;
1 Tedious, longsome.
4 Those lazy rascals.
7 Poverty (Poortith in Burns).
10 Individual gain, care of self. 13 Offices.
16 That fellow, had me shut out.
14 Address myself.
17 Friars.
19 Money: denier, an old Anglo-French coin (name from the
15 Company. 18 Lay Lords. Latin denarius).
There is nocht else but ilk1 man for himself;-
That gars me go, thus banished, like ane elf!'
"Therefore, adieu; I may no langer tarry."
"Fareweell," quoth I," and with Saint John to borrow!"2
But, wit ye weell,3 my heart was wonder sarry4
When Commonweal so soppit was in sorrow!
"Yet, after the nicht comès the glad morrow :
Wherefore, I pray you, shaw me, in certain,
When that ye purpose for to come again?”
"That questioun, it sall be soon decidit,”
Quoth he. "There sall nae Scot have comforting
Of me, till that I see the country guidit
By wisdom of ane gude auld prudent king;
Whilk sall delight him maist, aboon all thing,
To put Justice till executioún,
And on strang traitors mak punitioún.8
"Als yet, to thee I say ane other thing:
I see richt weell that proverb is full true,
Woe to the realm that has ower young ane king!" 10
With that he turned his back, and said "Adieu !"
Ower firth and fell richt fast frae me he flew;
Whose départing to me was displeasánd:
With that, Remembrance took me by the hand.
2 "Farewell, and with Saint John for security" (?)-a curious old proverbial expression, or phrase of leave-taking, found in Chaucer, in the King's Quhair of James I., in Henryson, and in other poets, English and Scottish. 4 Wondrous sorry. well. ye 5 Steeped. 6 Decided, answered. 8 To punish strong traitors.
7 To execute justice. 10 In 1528, when this was written, James V. was sixteen years of age. He had come to the throne as an infant by his father's death at Flodden in 1513. The same proverb (Væ terræ ubi puer rex est!) had been quoted and applied by Langland in the 1377 Text, or Edition, of his Piers Plowman Vision, with reference to Richard II., then just come to the English throne at the age of eleven.
FROM THE HISTORY AND TESTAMENT OF
SQUIRE MELDRUM.1
A DYING SQUIRE'S COMMANDS CONCERNING HIS FUneral.
Dool weeds2 I think hypocrisy and scorn,
With hoodès heckled3 doun owerthort1 their een.
With men of arms my body sall be borne ;
Into that band see that no black be seen.
My livery sall be red, blue, and green;
The red for Mars, the green for fresh Venus,
The blue for love of God Mercurius.
About my bier sall ride ane multitude,
All of ane livery of my colours three ;
Earlès and lordès, knichtès and men of gude;
Ilk5 baron bearand in his hand on hie
Ane laurel branch, ensigne of victorie;
Because I never fled out of the field,
Nor yet as prisoner to my foes me yield."
Again that day, fail not to warn and call
All men of music and of minstrelsy
About my bier, with mirthès musical,
To dance and sing with heavenly harmonie ;
Whase pleasand sound redound sall in the sky.
My spirit I wot sall be with mirth and joy ;
Wherefore with mirth my corpse ye sall convoy. .
After the Evangel and the Offertour,
Through all the temple gar3 proclaim silence :
Then to the pulpit gar ane Oratour
Pass up, and shaw in open audience,
Solempnetlie, with ornate eloquence,
At great leisure, the Legend 10 of my Life;
How I have stant in mony stalwart strife.
1 This poem was written about 1550. The subject is the life and adventures, together with the last will and testament, of a certain William Meldrum, laird of Cleish and Binns, near Loch Leven in Fifeshire. Meldrum was born about 1493; served in the Scottish wars with Ireland and France; obtained a great reputation for his bravery, gallantry, and misfortunes; and died about 1534. Sir David Lyndsay and the Fifeshire squire were neighbours and friends; and in this poem Lyndsay partly commemorates, partly idealises him. 3 Fastened. 4 Athwart. 9 Solemnly. 8 Cause.
When he has read my book frae end till end,
And of my life made true narratioun,
All creature, I wot, will me commend,
And pray to God for my salvatioun.
Then, after this solempnizatioun
Of service true, and all brocht to ane end,
With gravitie then with my body wend:
And close it up into my sepulture,
There to repose till the Great Judgement;
The whilk may not corrupt, I you assure,
By virtue of the precious ointèment
Of balm, and other spices redolent.1
Let not be rung for me, that day, soul-knells,
But great cannonès gar2 them crack for bells. . .
And syne hing up above my sepulture
My bricht harness, my shield, also my spear,
Together with my courtly coat-armour
Whilk I was wont upon my body bear
In France, in England, being at the were,3
My banner, basnet, with my temporal,5
As been the use of feastès funeral.
This beand done, I pray you take the pain
My Epitaph to write upon this wise, 7
Above my grave in golden letters fine ;-
"The maist invincible warrior here lies,
During his time whilk wan sic laud and prize
That through the heavens sprang his noble fame;
Victorious WILLIAM MELDRUM was his name."
SQUIRE MELDRUM'S FAREWELL TO THE LADIES OF SCOTLAND.
Fareweel, ye leaming lamps of lustiness!
Of fair Scotland, adieu, my ladies all !
During my youth with ardent business
Ye knaw how I was in your service thrall.9
Ten thousand times adieu, above them all,
Starn of Stratherne,10 my Lady Soveraine,11
For whom I shed my blood with mickle pain.
1 The squire has already desired that his body should be embalmed before burial. 2 Make. 3 War. 4 Helmet. 5 Armour for the temples (?) 6 Pains. 7 In this manner. 8 Reputation. 9 A slave. 10 Star of Stratherne. 11 Lady Gleneagles. The poem of Squire Meldrum relates the adventurous and unhappy love of the squire and this lady.
|