And therewt upon kneis gan I fall

Full sodaynly m hailsing, abaist for schame; And, smylyng thus, sche said to me in game, Quhat dois thou here? quho has the hider sent? Say on anon, and tell me thyne entent.

XVI.

I se wele, by thy chere and contenance,
There is sum thing yt lyis the on hert,
It stant not wt the as thou wald perchance.
Madame, qd I, for lufe is all the smert
That euer I fele " endlang and ouerthwert;
Help of zour grace me wofull wrechet wight,
Sen me to cure ze powere have and myt.

XVII.

Quhat help, qd sche, wold thou yt I ordeyne,
To bring the vnto thy hertis desire ?

Madame, qd I, bot yt zour grace dedyne,

Of zour grete myt, my wittis to inspire, To win the well, yt slokin may the fyre

m Hailsing.] Saluting, or hailing. From the A. Saxon hail, or hal. G. D. p. 69. 23.

P Endlang and ouerthwert.] Through my whole frame, in length and breadth.

• Bot that your grace.]

Would your grace but deign.

In quhich I birn: Ah, goddess fortunate!
Help now my game yt is in poynt to mate.

XVIII.

Off mate, qd sche, a verray sely wretch
I se wele, by thy dedely coloure pale,
Thou art to feble of thyself to streche
Vpon my quhele, to clymbe or to hale,
Wtoutin help, for thou has fund in stale
This mony day wtoutin werdis wele,
And wantis now thy veray hertis hele.

XIX.

Wéle maistow be a wretchit man callit,

That wantis the confort yt suld thy hert glade,

And has all thing within thy hert stallit,

That may thy zouth oppressen or defade;

P That is in point to mate.] Mate, or mait, to be overcome; defeated. From the old Fr. mat, overcome. G. D. p. 417. 17.— Hence chec mate at chess.

9 Fund in stale.]

Been long in ward, and sequestered from

friends. G. D. 382. 37.

* That has all thing in thy hert stallit.]

Kept all in your own

mind, without the comfort of communication with your friends,

which has depressed and faded your youth.

Though thy begynyng hath bene retrograde, • Be froward opposyt quhare till aspert, Now sall thai turn, and luke on the dert.

XX.

And therewt all vnto the quhele in hye`

Sche hath me led, and bad me lere to clymbe, Vpon the quhich I steppit sudaynly;

Now hald thy grippis, qd sche, for thy tyme,
An houre and more it rynis ouer prime

To count the hole, the half is nere away;
Spend wele, therefore, the remanant of the day.

XXI.

Ensample (qd sche) tak of this tofore,
That fro my quhele be rollit as a ball,

• Take the opposite part, so shall thy misfortunes take a turn. Ane hour ouer prime.] In ancient times, the hours, according to the times of devotion, were divided into two parts. From six in the morning till nine, was called the spatium orationum primarum, or the hour of prime. Thus Milton:

66

-Praise him in thy sphere,

“While day arises, that sweet hour of prime.”

For the nature of it is euermore

After ane hicht to vale, and geve a fall, Thus quhen me likith vp or down to fall. Farewele, qd sche, and by the ere me toke So ernestly, yt therewt all I woke.

Fortune here concludes her advice, by telling the Prince, that his revolution on her wheel is one hour, of which one half is already run; therefore to make good use of his time still to run.

END OF THE VISION.

THE

KING'S QUAIR.

CANTO VI.

I.

O BESY " goste, ay flikering to and fro,

That never art in quiet nor in rest,
Till thou cum to that place yt thou cam fro,
Quhich is thy first and verray proper nest;
From day to day so sore here artow drest,

That wt thy flesche ay walking art in trouble,
And sleping eke of pyne, so has thou double.

"O besy goste.] Busy, fluttering, restless spirit.—It may be conjectured, that the King might have had in his mind the dying address of the Emperor Adrian to his soul.

Animula vagula blandula, &c.

The anxious Quae nunc abibis in loca? so suitable in the mouth of the heathen philosopher, is finely turned by the answer of our enlightened moralist :

"Thou never art in quiet, nor in rest,

"Till thou cum to that place that thou cam fro,
"Which is thy first and very proper nest.”

The whole apostrophe is solemn and striking.