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THE LAMB OF ST SERF.

This holy man had a ram,
That he had fed up of a lamb;
And used him till1 follow ay,
Wherever he passed on his way.
A thief this sheep in Athren stall,2
And eat him up in pieces small.
When Saint Serf his ram had mist,
Wha that it stall, was few that wist :
On presumption, nevertheless,
He that it stall, arrested was.

And till Saint Serf syne3 was he brought;
That sheep, he said, that stall he not;
And there-till for to swear ane athe.4
He said that he would not be lathe,5
But soon he worthyd red for shame
The sheep there bleated in his waime.7
Sae was he tainted shamefully,
And at Saint Serf asked mercy.

SAINT SERF AND THE DEVIL.

While Saint Serf intill a stede,9
Lay after matins in his bed;
The devil came in foul intent,
For till fand 10 him with argument.
And said: "Saint Serf by thy werk"
I ken thou art a connand 12 clerk."
Saint Serf said, "If I sae be,
Foul wretch, what is that for thee?"
The devil said, "This question
I ask in our collation. 13

Say where was God, wit thou aught,
Before that heaven and erde 14 was

For God wist and understood
That thereof should come meikle good.
For Christ (took) flesh, mankind to win,
That was to pain put for their sin.'
The devil asked, "Why might not be
All mankind delivered free

Be themself, set God had not

"

Them with his precious passion bought?" Saint Serf said "They fell not in

By their self into their sin.

But by the false suggestion

Of the devil, their fae felloun.3

For that, he choosed to be born

To save mankind, that was forlorn."
The devil asked at him than
"Why not make a new man,
Mankind for to deliver free?"

Saint Serf said, " That should not be :

It sufficed well that mankind

Once should come of Adam's strynde?" The devil asked, "Why that ye

Men, are quite delivered free

I

At a seat in hunting: so
Intil his leash had grey-hounds two.
He thought, while he was so sittànd,
He saw three women by gangand; I
And they 2 women, then, thought he,
Three weird sisters most like to be.
The first he heard say, gangand by,
"Lo! yonder the thane of Crumbauchty!'
The 'tother woman said again,

"Of Moray yonder I see the thane.”

And we devils, sae, are not?"

Saint Serf said, "For that ye

Fell through your own iniquity;
And through ourself we never fell
But through your fellon false counsel.
And for 2 the devils were nought wrought
Of bruky13 kind, ye would not
With ruthe4 of heart forthink 5 your sin
That through yourself ye were fallen in ;
Therefore Christ's passion

Should not be your redemption."
Then saw the devil that he could not,
With all the wiles that he sought,
O'ercome Saint Serf: he said than
He kened him for a wise man.
Forthi7 there he gave him quit
For he wan at him na profit.
Saint Serf said, "Thou wretch gae!
Frae this stede;8 and noy9 na mae
Into this stede, I bid ye."
Suddenly then passed he;
Frae that stede he held his way,
And never was seen there to this day.

All this he heard in his dreaming.
Soon after that, in his youth-head,
Of thyr 3 thanedoms, he thane was made
Syne next he thought to be king,
Fra 4 Duncan's days had ta'en ending.
The fantasy thus of his dream
Moved him most to slay his eme,5
As he did all forth indeed,
As before he heard me rede,
And dame Gruok his eme's wife

Took, and led with her his life,

And held her both his wife and queen, As before then she had been

Till his eme, queen living,

When he was king with crown reigning; For little in honour, then, had he

The grace of affinity.

All thus when his eme was dead,
He succeeded in his stead;

And seventeen winters full, reignand
As king, he was then intill Scotland.
All his time was great plenty
Abounding, both in land and sea;
He was in justice right lawful,
And till his lieges all awful,

MACBETH AND THE WITCHES.

A night To he thought in his dreaming That sittand I he was beside the king

THE FLIGHT OF MACDUFF.

And in Scotland then, as king,
This Macbeth made great stirring;

I Going.

2 Because,

3 Fallible.

10 One night.

II Sitting and is the old Saxon termination of the participle.

4 From; from the time when; as soon as.

5 Uncle. Anglo-Sax.

And set him then in his power
A great house for to make of were
Upon the hill of Dunsinane.
Timber theretill to draw, and stane,
Of Fife and of Angus, he
Gert1 many oxen gathered be.
So on a day in their travail,

A yoke of oxen Macbeth saw fail;
Then speired2 who that aught

The yoke, that failed in their draught.
They answered till Macbeth again
And said "
Macduff, of Fife the thane,
That ilk yoke of oxen aught,
That he saw fail into the draught."
Then spake Macbeth dispiteously,
And to the thane said angrily,
Like all writhen in his skin,3
His own neck he should put in
The yoke, and ger him draughts draw.
Not doubting all his kynny's awe.
Frae the thane Macbeth heard speak,
That he would put in yoke his neck,
Of all his thought he made no song;
But privily out of the throng

With slight he got; and the spensere 4
A loaf him gave till his suppere.
And, as soon as he might see
His time and opportunity,

Out of the court he past, and ran,
And that loaf bare with him than
To the water of Erne. That bread
He gave the boat-wards, him to lead,
And on the south half him to set
But 5 delay or any let.

That passage call'd was after than
Long time Port Naharyan;

The Haven6 of Bread that should be

Called in-tyl property.

Ower the water then was he set,

But danger, or but ony let.

POPE JOHN, THAT WAS A WOMAN.

When this Leo the third was dead,
A woman occupied that stead,1
Twa year as pape full, and mare.
She was too wantown of her ware,
She was English of nation,
Right wylie of condition,

A burgess' daughter, and his heir;
Pryve pleasant and right fair:
They called her father Hob of Lyne.
Frae father and mother and all her

kin,

With her love she past off land,2
A woman young till eild growand ;3
And at Athens in study

She bade, and leryd ythandly :4
And nane perceived her woman,
But all time kythyd 5 her as man,
And called herself John Magwytyne,
Yea, wit ye well, a shrew fine.
Syne again frae Greece to Rome,
As a solemn clerk she come,
And had of clergy sic renown,
That by concord election
Pape she was chosen there,
Yet feel (it) that her cubiculare
By her lay and gat a bairn :

That all her clergy could not warne.
Intill procession on a day,

As she passed intill the way,
Her child-ill all suddenly,
Travailed her sae angrily,

That suddenly there was she dead,
And erdyd in that ilk stede
Without prayer or orrison,
Or ony kind devotion,
And but all other honesty,
Solempne or in privity.7

As it was said on this manner :-
Ye ween to lak, but ye commend
That nation, as ye mak it kend:
Was never realm, nor region
Worth mare commendation,
Than are the few folk of Scotland,
As that ye gar2 us understand.
Ye say their gaddering into weiris,
May not exceed five hundred spears;
And ye are ane mighty nation,
Excelling in presumption,
For all lands lying you by,

Ye
suppress with your seniory,
Either ye win them to your crown,
Or haldis3 them in subjection.
But the few folk of Scotland,
Whilk by dry marches are lyand
Near on to you, they hold their own

and ane,

I

Frae Jesus Christ had manhood tane,
The bishop of Saint Andrews see,
Master Walter Trail called was he,-
By counsel and by ordinance
Of Scottismen, he passed in France :
For, into Scotland men heard tell,
That the Duke John of Longcastell,
By ane ordinate deliverance

Of Englishmen, he passed in France.—
And whatsover they treited,2 had
Our bishop there twelve monthes bade
And there sorely the Englishmen
The Scottismen defamèd then ;-
They said their gaddering into weiris,3
Might not exceed five hundred spears;
The king of France, they said forthy,4
Should lat 5 of Scottismen but lightly.
Thir' wordis were said in the presence
Of the doughty Duke of Orleans,
Whilk had ane special affection
Till Scottismen, and their nation;
And then in haste he made answer,

And will come with their power,

Playn ye,4 or your land, of war,
And day and night will lie therein,
Anu in your sight your lands bryne ; 5
Your cattle, and your goods they ta; 6
And spares nothing yourselves to slay;
Thus suffer they on no kind wise,
You of such might to do suppryse ; 7
But even they quit you lill for lall,8
Or that ye skail9 the market all:
That nation may ye not defame
But gif 10 ye smight your own with shame!
The King of France, therefore, think me,
Should hold them into mair daintie II
That so few folk of so little might
Against you can maintain their fight,
Upon the dry marches lyand,
As it is gart 12 us understand.—
When this was said the Englishmen
Were shamed of their wordis then,
And hold them still, and spoke no mare
Intil dispite, as they did ere.