sity, where he took his degree of M.A. in 1478, and in 1481 was elected one of the four Examiners of that University. He appears to have resided principally in Ayrshire, and is supposed, on probable grounds, to have filled the offices of Bailie-depute of Carrick, and Provost of the Collegiate Church of Maybole, founded by his ancestor Sir John Kennedy, whose heirs held the patronage. He also appears to have resided in Edinburgh, and to have had some knowledge of court life. This is all that is known regarding him, beyond what may be inferred from certain personal allusions in the "Flyting." There are also some references to his history in Dunbar's share of that composition, which, like all caricature, may be supposed to be exaggerations of the truth; yet it is manifest that many circumstances are pure inventions, any modification of which would be dishonourable, if true, of the person to whom they refer. In reference to the sources of his own and Dunbar's poetic inspiration, he not inelegantly says:— I perambulated of Parnassus the mountain, Inspired with Mercury frae his golden sphere; And dulcely drank of eloquence the fountain, When it was purified with frost and flowèd clear ! And thou come fool! in March or Februeir, There till ane pool, and drank the paddock rude," That gars thee rhyme into thy termis glude,3 And blabberis that, noyis men's ears to hear, The last stanza gives a good idea of the Billingsgate of the piece, while it confirms the opinion elsewhere stated, as to the sportive, tournamentile character of the composition. The ascription of Lollardism to Dunbar also shows that the tendency of his writings toward Protestantism was not unmarked by his brother churchmen; yet the fact of his being one of the orthodox and more rigid party does not appear to have acted as a restraint upon Kennedy's freedom of vituperative expression. Duelbeir, thy speir of weir, but feir thou yeild, Hangit, mangit, eddir stangit stryndie stultorum, To me, maist hee Kennydie, and flie the field, Pickit, wickit, stickit, convickit lamp Lollardorum. Diffamit, schamit, blamit Primus Paganorum. Out! out! I schowt, upon that snout that snevillis. Tailltellar, rebellar, indwellar with the divillis, Spink, sink with stink ad Tartara Termagorum. Aithis, writ, wax nor seals are nought set by ;2 Green youth, to age thou mon2 obey and Flattery is fostered both with friends and ANONYMOUS POETRY. THE FRIARS OF BERWICK. that no one would dispute that his genius was equal to its production; yet the more we consider it, the less does it seem to us to be his writing. The fact of its appearing anonymously in both the manuscripts in which most of Dunbar's poems are preserved, is perhaps the strongest external objection to his authorship; yet neither this, nor the alleged modernness of the language, would weigh much against the assumption in our estimation, did the literary structure of the composition exhibit that mastery of the art of poetry, which, without exception, marks all Dunbar's poems. Mr Fraser Tytler remarks that :"There are few of Chaucer's tales which are equal, and certainly none of them [THIS very excellent tale has been preserved, in both the Bannatyne and Maitland MSS., without any author's name in either. It has been printed so early as 1603, by Robert Charteris, Edinburgh; but the earliest edition preserved is that of Raban of Aberdeen, 1622, of which only a single copy is known. In 1723, Allan Ramsay made a transcript of it from the Bannatyne | MS., on which he founded his tale of "The Monk and the Miller's Wife," without however acknowledging his indebtedness. Pinkerton printed the Maitland Ms. version in 1786, attributing the authorship to Dunbar; while Sibbald, in 1802, reprinted Pinker-superior to this excellent piece of satire. ton's edition, collating it with the Bannatyne MS., and ascribing the authorship to the unknown author of the "Priests of Peebles." Dr David Laing printed the Bannatyne MS. version, in his edition of Dunbars Works, 1834, in which, on the authority of Pinkerton, he places it among poems attributed to Dunbar. He remarks:-"That the Friers of Berwick | praise." Without detracting in the is a composition belonging to the commencement of the sixteenth century, and not later than the minority of James Fifth, cannot, I think, be doubted, That it affords such intrinsic evidence as might warrant an unhesitating ascription of it to Dunbar, seems much less certain. Pinkerton's reasons on this head are certainly not very conclusive." We have said, in the life of Dunbar, The whole management of the story, its quiet comic humour, its variety and natural delineation of human character, the freshness and brilliancy of its colouring, the excellence and playfulness of its satire upon the hypocritical and dissolute lives of many of the monastic orders, and the vigorous versification into which it is thrown, are entitled to the highest least from Mr Tytler's estimate of the " piece as a tale, and even admitting it to be superior, in that aspect of it, to anything Dunbar has written, yet we cannot see that in literary finish, and that masterly ironic ease that characterises Dunbar's analysis of character, and that penetrating insight that dissects the motives of human action with a skill that has seldom been equalled, the Where many a lady (als) been, fair of face, With kirnalis wrought craftily with all; That it might be of nae manner of might, The town, the castle, and the pleasant land; The sea wall is upon the other hand; The Jacobine friars of the white hue, Friar Allan said than, "Good brother, dear, Sae winned there ane wonder good hostellar ous. Thir silly friars when they come to the house, With fair hailsing and becking courteously, To them she answered again in hye.5 Friar Robert speirèd after the goodman, And she again answered them than ; The friars were blithe, and merry tales - could tell : And even with that they heard the prayer bell Of their ain Abbey; and then they were aghast, Then auld Friar Allan said, "Nae, fair For Godis love hear me what I shall say; Therefore of very need we maun bide still, But gif ye list to lig3 up in yon loft, Where and ye list, pass on baith in feir;4 Her maiden then she sendis on before, more. They were full blithe to do as she them kend: And up they went, into the hallis end, Because they wist the yetts were locked Intill ane loft was made for corn and hay. fast, That they might not frae then get entery. She made their bed, and syne went, but 5 delay, Closed the trap, and they remained still But she to them gave answer with great Friar Robert said, "The goodman is frae hame, as I you told; night: Wha wait, perchance some sport I may espy?" Thus in the loft I let the friars lie. And of the goodwife now I will speak mair. I Without. 5 Without. 6 Lies. |