Cryand mercy petously;

Than with your left heill it sane,

65

And it will nevir cum agane,

Als mekle as ane mige amaist.

He had ane littill rod leg,

And it wes cant as ony cleg,

It wes wynd in ane wyndinscheit,
Bayth the handis and the feit:
Suppois this gaist wes littill

70

Zit it stall Godis quhittill;

It stall fra peteouss Abrahame,

Ane quhorle and ane quhum quhame;
It stall fra the carle of the mone

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And it wald sing and it wald dance,
Ourefute, and Orliance.

Quha coniurit the littill gaist, sa ze?
Nane bot the littil Spenzie fle,
That with hir wit and ingyne,
Gart the gaist leif agane;

And syne mareid the gaist the fle,
And cround him kyng of Kandelie;
And they gat thame betwene,
Orpheus king and Elpha quene,
To reid quha will this gentill geist,
Je hard it nocht at Cokilbys feist.

EXPLICIT.

Line 68. Apparently one or more lines are here omitted.

SYMMIE AND HIS BRUDER

XIX.

SYMMIE AND HIS BRUTHER.

IN a satirical poem1 included in the present collection, the swyngeour coife,' (a character in which the lewd and inordinate lives of the secular clergy is drawn from existing manners,) at times, is spoken of, as,

'Peipand peurly with peteouss granis,
Like fenzeit Symmie and his bruder."

These persons are no doubt the heroes of the following poem, which, as Lord Hailes has observed, seems to intimate that they were what is termed in the Canons of the Scotish Church, A.D. 1242 and 1296, quæstionarii, or persons sent out by the Church upon a begging mission. Kennedy, in order to throw ridicule upon Dunbar, represents him as one of these quæstionarii, or begging friars, and says to him, with "cloutit cloke, skryp, burdoun, and clam-schellis,'

"Fra Etrike Forest furthward to Dumfrese,
Thow beggit with a pardoun in all kirkis,

Collapis, cruddis, mele, grotis, grisis, and geis,
And ondir nicht quhyle stall thow staggis and stirkis."

The poem itself is certainly obscure, and perhaps not quite entire, but possesses a considerable share of humour in its 2 Flyting, ll. 425-428.

1 'Ane Descriptioun of Peder Coffeis.'

descriptions, even although it falls very far short of Peblis to the Play, or Christis Kirk on the Grene, of one or other of which it may be considered as an imitation. The stanza in which it is written, however, was popular during the 15th and 16th centuries; and, amidst the contrariety of opinions that have been expressed respecting the age of these compositions, it might be difficult to assign the present poem, with any degree of certainty, to a particular age. It has hitherto been inedited, except the first seven stanzas, which appeared in Sibbald's Chronicle of Scotish Poetry.1 1 Vol. i. p. 360.

XIX.

Followis Sym and his Bruder.

THAIR is no story that I of heir,

Of Johine nor Robene Hude,

Nor git of Wallace wicht but weir,
That me thinkis half so gude,
As of thir Palmaris twa but peir,
To heir how thay conclude;

In to begging, I trow, fyve geir

In Sanct Androis thay stude

Togidder,

Bayth Sym and his bruder.

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Thocht thay war wicht, I warrand gow,

Thay had no will to wirk;

Thay maid them burdownis nocht to bow,

Twa bewis of the birk,

Weill stobbit with steill, I trow,

To stik in to the mirk;

Bot sen thair bairdis grew on thair mow,

Thay saw nevir the kirk

Within,

Nowthir Sym nor his bruder.

Syne schupe thame vp to lowp our leiss,

Twa tabartis of the tartane;

Thay comptit nocht quhat thair clowtis weis,
Wes sewit thairon incertane :

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