"Alas!" said I, "I have nae force to Gif any there should press to do me wrong. press, My hands did shake, that I Him held withall : At length they loosed, then they begouth to fall, I cried, "O Lord!" and caught them fast again; "Lord Jesus come, and red 3 me out of thrall." For Death nor Hell shall never vanquish "Courage !" said He, "now, thou art past thee." XXXVIII. His words so sweet did cheer my heavy heart; Incontinent I cuist 3 my care aside. the pain." Your honey sweet shall mixèd be with gall, Your short delight shall end with pain and grief; Yet trust in God, for His assistance call, And He shall help and send you some relief XLIX. LII. Gif Christ be gain, although ye seem to flee With golden wings above the firmament; Come down again, ye shall not better be, That pride of yours ye shall right sore repent: Though waters great do compass you Then hold Him fast, with humble heart about, aye bent Though tyrants fret, though lions rage To follow Him, although through Hell Nor sit, nor stand, nor turn (you) back Your pain is short your joy shall never end. again; Gif ye design to have your heart's desire LIV. Press forward still, although it be with Rejoice in God, let not your courage fail, pain : No rest for you so long as ye remain Ane pilgrim poor, into thy loathsome life : Fecht on your faucht,' it shall not be in vain, Your rich reward is worth ane greater strife. LI. Gif after tears ye live ane while in joy, more, Gif ye forget upon your guide to call. I Fight on your fight. Ye chosen saints that are afflicted here; Though Sathan rage, he never shall prevail, Fecht to the end, and stoutly persevere, Your God is true, your blood is to Him dear; Fear not the way, since Christ is your convoy, When clouds are past, the weather will grow clear Ye sow in tears but ye shall reap in joy. LV. Both Death and Hell has lost their cruel sting, Your Captain Christ has made them all to yield; Lift up your hearts and praises to Him sing, ' Cling. Triumph for joy your enemies are killed; The Lord of Hosts, that is your strength and shield, LVIII. The joy of Heaven is worth ane moment's pain; The Serpent's head has stoutly tramped Take courage, then, lift up your hearts on down, Trust in His strength, pass fordwart in the field, high; To judge the earth when Christ shall come again, Overcome in fecht, and ye shall wear the Above the clouds ye shall exalted be: Hold on thy course and shrink not back Christ is your guide, ye shall not go astray; The hosts of heaven are armed at his He sees your tears, and He has laid in command To fight the field, when we appear most wake.2 LVII. Pluck up your heart, ye are not left alone, The Lamb of God shall lead you in the way; store Ane rich reward, whilk in that joyful day LX. Now to the King that create all of nought, And Lord of lords, that rules both land and sea, The Lord of Hosts that rings 3 on royal That saved our souls, and with his blood SIR ROBERT AYTOUN. 1570-1638. SIR ROBERT AYTOUN is reckoned the first Scotchman who, after the divergence of English and Scotch into different dialects, wrote correct English in the style to which the language attained through the powerful transforming genius of the writers of the Elizabethan period. are The Aytouns of Scotland descended from Gilbert De Vescy, who received the lands of Aytoun, in Berwickshire, from King Robert Bruce, and thence they derive their surname. Sir Robert was the second son of Andrew Aytoun, of Kinaldie in Fifeshire, and was born there in 1570. He entered St Andrews University in 1584, where he studied for four years, and took his degree of M.A. He afterwards proceeded to Paris, as is supposed, to study law, and distinguished himself as a Greek and Latin scholar. Returning to Britain in 1603, he wrote a Latin address on the accession of James VI. to the English throne, which attracted the King's notice, and | led to the poet's appointment as a gentleman of the bed-chamber, private | secretary to the Queen, and a privy councillor. James, in 1609, employed him as his ambassador to present copies of his "Apology for the Oath of Allegiance" to the courts of Germany; and in connection with this mission, it is supposed, he received the honour of knighthood. After James' death, he | became private secretary to the queen of Charles I. His eminence as a scholar, and his elegance as a poet, brought him into contact with most of the literary men of his time; while with Ben Jonson, and Hobbes of Malmsbury, he was on terms of intimate friendship. In his conversations with Drummond of Hawthornden, he was almost the only one of his acquaintances of whom Ben spoke in an affectionate manner, for he says, "Aytoun loved him dearly! No further particulars are known of his life, but his monument in Westminster Abbey, erected by his nephew, Sir John Aytoun, knight of the Black Rod, records his having died unmarried, in the palace of Whitehall, in March 1638, in his 68th year. Aytoun's poems are not numerous, nor of sustained effort, but they show much perfection in the art of poetry, and a Horation elegance of style and turn of thought becoming their semilyrical character. He himself possibly placed more value upon his Latin Poems, which appeared in the Delitiae Poetarum Scotorum, than on his English Poems, for they appeared in all sorts of ways, scattered here and there, and were only first collected in 1844, on the occasion of a manuscript copy having come into the hands of Dr Charles Rogers, who had them printed for private circulation. In Aubrey's |