That all that saw her they loved her as their life;

And specially this Cockelbie's wife;
A worshipful woman unto her house,
They called her to name, Bellamerouse.
Betwixt her and her husband, Cockelbie,
They had a son, called Flammeslie :
Gallant he was, and good in all his feir;1
And of all others, oddly, the best archer
In any land, right worshipful and wise,
Big of bones, a strong man of devise.
And, as his father and mother did oft espy,
He coppeit this young wench attentively;
In his consait with sad digestion 3
Her most pleasant perfect person.
Her fresh figure formed of form and face;
Given to all good, fulfilled of God's grace.
That all bounty and beauty that might be
Worthy comprise, thereof enough had she.
He loved so well, there was none other,
But with consent of friends, father and
mother,

He wedded her to wife, wit ye for aye.
This amiable innocent, Adria,
Was called, to name, and this in France fell,
Into the first o rising4 of it to tell,
Or5 it prevelit planeist and popelus
Where now Paris city is situate thus.
This Cockelbie wonèd there, where the case
Of the pig, fools, and all that foresaid was,
Till on a time that, he [of] France the
king,

Rode to visit the bounds there as reign ;7
And in the place there, as Cockelbie dwelt
A man of scoir,8 with such thing he dealt;
For then none could have craft cornis to
win,

That king of might lodgèd into his inn; 9 And on the morn a great shooting did they try,

Where Flammeslie o'er all wan victory.
The king saw him so big a man, and strong,
And goodly als, to tarry you not long,
For his body, a squire he him made;
And in his wars so well he him behaid,
He was made knight in court to continue;
And then he send for his fair lady, true,
Dame Adria, whom the king did com-
mend,

In his chalmer, upon the queen to attend.
Best beloved and most perfect was she,
For his gestis and beauty and bontie,
O'er all the lave of the ladies that there

were.

And Flammeslie so well in waris him bare,
That the king, after, made him earl royal,
And a corner of a country several,
Not then invent, inhabit as it lay,
Gave him by seal heritable for aye;
Which he plenished with people and policy,
And named it after him and his lady:
This is to say, Flammeslie and Adria,
His whole earldom called Flandria;
Flan frae the first silab of Flammeslie;
And Dria driven frae Adria the free:
The which famous earldom of Flanders aye
Holds of Frankland and Duchpeir to this

day.

Of the SECOND PENNY, thus, come great grace With correction, and this I call a case.

Before proceeding with the history of the third penny, the humorous bard informs his audience that his story is not derived from the authentic sources; but from

Ane full auld wife,

My great grandame, men called her Gurgunnald;

She knew the life of many faderis auld ;2 Notable gestis 3 of peace and war in story Fresh in her mind, and recent of memory.

8 Eminence.

9 Castle, mansion.

Notwithstanding she was well set in eild ; Her age I hold of seven score of winters held;

She said, my son, by this said tale thou shall Learn five wits.

Or, as we would say, lessons, which she illustrates by the incidents of the foregoing stories. The first of them is to avoid the company of fools and knaves, who lose what they get dishonestly, by a silly cry.

The second lesson is, never to presume that poverty may not attain to wealth and power, as this poor pig, which is held up as an example of courage overcoming difficulties, and, by monks' logic, its career is made to engender the expectation that God will assist the man who maintains a just quarrel.

The third lesson, drawn from the fortunes of Adria, is to respect wit and virtue, whether in old or young, rich or poor.

The fourth is, never to let money nor goods be master of thee:

Therefore hold not pennies over precious, But suffer them pass prospering commodious,

For sooth, a time, a penny thou may spend, That may avail thee to thy life's end; Therefore, my son, gif thou think to en

dure,

Spend with measure, for luck, wit, and

measure.

The fifth lesson is, never to make a hoard of your money, for

At least in the hoard while it lies

It serves neither the world nor multiplies.

plain;

For why, folk lived by natural laws then.

man.

He took to wife his fair true sister Toppok. Coktrawdoun was the third, and his wife, Coppok.

And to compt just, the fourt Coklykouris, And little Henpen, his pretty paramouris. The fifth lord was Lyricok in hall,

And Kekilcrouss they did his lady call. Bride to Kittilcok that sat on red kail stock,

And Feklefaw, fairest of all the flock, Was the sext; and Cokrusty the seven, Dame Strange his wife whilk had a stout stevin.a

Cokky the aucht, his lady clepit Lerock. Coknolus the nynt, spoused his sister Erok. 3

Cokoby the tent, and Sprutok his special.

Cokobenar the levint, his maik' they call
Dame Juliane; the twelt was Cokjawbert:
And lady Wagtail his joy, and all his heart:
So stout a store come of their brethren
twelf,

And their fair sisters, I cannot say myself.
The fift pair they were so fructuous,
And at schreftis-evinsome was so battalous
That he would win to his master, in field,
Forty florans with bill and spuris beild. 3
Some of this store this Cockelbie did sell,
Some auld, some young, some eggs in the
shell;

And coft 4 therewith other ware, and so, it turned,

This penny, that fifteen year it not fowrnit, He multiplied more than a thousand pound. Then his godson he called to him a stound,5 Before his father, mother, and friends all;

And said: "Cockalb, my son, receive thou shall

All thir goods, for justly they are thine. Of thy child gift stored, through grace

divine,

Fro twenty-four hen eggs which I thee

gave;

I allege none other authority.
In this sentence made on revill rail1
Which seems most to be a wise tale.
With correction, while now, I this con-
clude,

God that us bought with his own blessed blood,

Both you and me to conserve, he diden, Through meek meritis of his only son, Amen.

THE MURNING MAIDEN.

PINKERTON, who first drew attention to the beauties of this very fine love ballad, in terms if somewhat characteristic of the fervour of a discoverer, yet hardly an exaggeration of the truth, says:-"This capital piece, narrated with exquisite simplicity and beauty, is a kind of rival of the Ephesian Matron; and, for the age in which it was written, is almost miraculous.

The tender pathos is finely recommended by an

duced this might produce almost any perfection in poetry."

It is referred to in The Complaynt of Scotland, 1548, by its first line " Still under the levis grene; and has been preserved in the Maitland MS., 1586. It was first printed by Pinkerton, and afterwards by Sibbald and by Dr Laing; but by none of these editors is there any author assigned to it.

Sibbald ventures a conjecture in reference to its authorship, to the effect "that no poet of that age was equal to the task, but one who could produce such a poem as 'Robene and Makyne'

Revelling, raillery.