lent thou me thy mantil ioy, The Persee and the Mongumrye met, that day, that gentil day, My luf is laid upon ane Knycht, Allace that samyn sueit face, In ane myrthful morou, My hart is 'leinit' on the land. Thir scheiphirdis ande there vyuis sang mony vther melodius Sangis, the quilkis i hef nocht in memorie: than efter this sueit celest armonye tha began to dance,' &c. Ritson and Leyden, with great industry searched for these songs, and the result of their gleanings is very little; to copy their extracts, snatches of lines, and half chorusses, would be next to useless: they have no beauty to recommend them, and throw little light on the subject of song. The song commencing 'O lusty Maye vitht Flora quene,' has been published entire; I would assign it to Alexander Scott. O, lustie Maye, with Flora quene, The balmy drops from Phœbus sheene Prelucent beam before the day; By thee, Diana, groweth green, Through gladness of this lusty May. Then Aurora, that is so bright, Birds on their boughs, of every sort And lovers all that are in care In fresh morning before the day; Through gladness of this lusty May. Of everie moneth in the year Her glistering garments are so gay; Through gladness of this lusty May.* The Ballads of Chevy Chace and Otterbourne, were among the SWEIT SANGIS sung by the Scheip hirdis'! Mr. David Laing has preserved the following Lament made by some young lady about this period for the loss of what King James calls "her yellow lokkis;" as it stands it is but a fragment, having some lines eked out by the hand of Mr. Kirkpatrick Sharpe, but it is a pathetic fragment. 'Fareweill, fare' weill, my yellow hair, 'That curlit cleir' into my neck! Allace!' that ever it grew sae fair, 'Or yet in' to ane snood was knet. 'Qu' har I was wont to dance and sing; 'A' mang my marrows mak repair Now am I put furth of the ring, For fadit is my yellow hair. My kirtill was of lincu'm green,' Weill lacit with silk'en passments rair;' God gif I had never pridefull' been,' For fadit is my yellow hair. *It must be remembered that the above is printed from a modernized copy in the Aberdeen Cantus, 1666. The second verse appears thus in the Bannatyne MS. Than Esperus, that is so bricht Till wofull hairtis, castis his lyt Wt bankis that blumes (on euery bray)-bis And schuris are sched furt of that sicht Thruch glaidnes of this lusty May. Scott's Poems by Laing, p. 99. God gif my hair had been als b'lak' For fadit is my yellow hair. Quhen I was young I had great st'ait,' I wes our wanton of intent "Of wardlie joys I tuke my share; God gif the dait of luf wer gane, And fadit is my yellow hair. Sen all this folly is by went, Out of this warld 1 maun repair; I pray to God Omnipotent, To tak me, sinner, full of cair! FINIS. AMEN. Laing's Early Met. Tales, p. xlviii. Alexander Scott, called by Pinkerton, the Anacreon of old Scottish Poetry,' flourished during the sixteenth century (born 1520). The following stanzas are considered by David Laing to be in his best manScott has certainly sacrificed thought for the sake of rhyme. ner. 'HENCE HAIRT.' Hence hairt wt hir that mvst departe And hald the wt thy souerane; For I had lever want ane harte, Nor haif the hairt that dois me pane Bot byd wt hir thow luvis best. Sen scho that I haif seruit lang ffor quhy? thow art wt hir possest; Scott's Poems by Laing, p. 29. It is right to notice here that the ballads' of 'Allane-a'-Maut,' and 'the Wyf of Auchtermuchty,' were both sung in the middle of the sixteenth century, and are preserved in the Bannatyne MS. 1568 from whence I extract as a good specimen of old song, the popular story of THE WOWING OF JOK AND JYNNY. Robeyns Jok come to wow our Jynny, Than spak hir deme, and said, I trow, Ye come to wow our Jynny, Jok. Jok said, forsuth I yern full fane, My berne, scho sayis, hes of hir awin, Ane pig, ane pot, ane raip thair ben, Ane blanket, and ane wecht also, Ane schule, ane scheit, and ane lang flail, Ane furme, ane furlet, ane pott, ane pek, And cryd, Ane feist; and slew ane cok, Now haif I gottin your Jynny, quoth Jok. Now, demė, I haif your bairne mareit; Ane crukit gleyd fell our ane huch, To gang to gidder Jynny and Jok. I haif ane helter, ane eik, ane hek, Ane coird, ane creill, and als ane cradill, Fyve fidder of raggis to stuff ane jak, Ane auld pannell of ane laid sadill, Ane pepper-polk maid of a padill, Ane spounge, ane spindill wantand ane nok, Twa lusty lippis to lik ane laiddill, To gang to gidder Jynny and Jok. Ane brechame, and twa brochis fyne |