words out of the primitive languages;" and he warns his readers that in some books were already to be found "many inkhorn terms so ill affected, brought in by men of learning, as preachers and schoolmasters, and many strange terms of other languages by secretaries, and merchants, and travellers, and many dark words, and not usual nor well-sounding, though they be daily spoken at court." On the whole, however, Puttenham considers the best standard both for speaking and writing to be "the usual speech of the court, and that of London and the shires lying about London within sixty miles, and not much above." This judgment is probably correct, although the writer was a gentleman pensioner, and perhaps also a cockney by birth.

SCOTTISH PROSE WRITERS.

Before the middle of the sixteenth century a few prose writers had also appeared in the Scottish dialect. A digest of practical theology composed for the use of King James IV. in his native tongue, by a priest called John de Irlandia, in the year 1490, still exists in MS. (apparently an autograph of the author), in the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh. "This work," says Leyden, who has given an account of it, with some extracts, in the Preliminary Dissertation prefixed to his edition of The Complaint of Scotland, "exhibits a curious specimen of the Scottish language at that period; and the style as well as the orthography are more uniform, and approach nearer the modern standard, than those of some writers who lived almost a century later." A moral treatise entitled The Porteous [that is, the vade mecum or manual] of Nobleness, translated from the French by Andrew Cadiou was printed at Edinburgh in 1508. The conclusion of it, the only portion that is known to have been preserved, is reprinted by Leyden in his Dissertation (pp. 203-208); and also by Mr. David Laing, in his collection entitled The Knightly Tale of Golagrus and Gawane, &c. Edin. 1827. The Scottish History of Hector Boethius, or Boecius (Boece or Boyce), translated from the Latin by John Bellenden, was printed at Edinburgh in 1537; and a translation by the same person of the first Five Books of Livy remained in MS. till it was published at Edinburgh, in 4to. in 1829; a second

edition of the translation of Boecius having also been brought out there, in two vols. 4to., the same year. But the most remarkable composition in Scottish prose of this era is The Complaynt of Scotland, printed at St. Andrews in 1548, which has been variously assigned to Sir James Inglis, knight, a country gentleman of Fife, who died in 1554; to Wedderburn, the supposed author of the Compendious Book of Godly and Spiritual Sangs and Ballats (reprinted from the edition of 1621 by Sir John Grahame Dalzell, 8vo. Edinburgh, 1801); and by its modern editor, the late John Leyden, in the elaborate and ingenious Dissertation prefixed to his reprint of the work, 8vo. Edinburgh, 1801, to the famous poet, Sir David Lyndsay. This is a very extraordinary piece of writing, as a short extract or two will show. For the better comparison of the language in all respects with that spoken and written in England at the same date, we shall, in our first specimen, preserve the original spelling. The following is from a long episode which occurs in the middle of the work, entitled Ane Monolog of the Actor:-*

6

7

There eftir i herd the rumour of rammasche1 foulis ande of beystis that maid grite beir,2 quhilk past besyde burnis3 and boggis on grene bankis to seik ther sustentatione. There brutal sound did redond to the hie skyis, quhil the depe hou cauernis of cleuchis, and rotches craggis ansuert vitht ane hie not, of that samyn sound as thay beystis hed blauen. it aperit be presumyng and presuposing that blaberand eccho had beene hid in ane hou hole, cryand hyr half ansueir, quhen narcissus rycht sorye socht for his saruandis, quhen he vas in ane forrest, far fra ony folkis, and there eftir for loue of eccho he drounit in ane drau vel. nou to tel treutht of the beystis that maid sic beir, and of the dyn that the foulis did, ther syndry soundis hed nothir temperance nor tune. for fyrst furtht on the fresche feildis, the nolt' maid noyis vitht mony loud lou. baytht horse and meyris did fast nee, and the folis nechyr.10 the bullis began to buller," quhen the scheip began to blait, because the calfis began tyl mo,12 quhen the doggis berkit. than the suyne began to quhryne13 quhen thai herd

*But this appears to be a misprint (either of the original or of the modern edition, or of both) for Auctor or Author. It is not noticed in the list of Errata; but the editor in his Preliminary Dissertation, p. 101, quotes the title as Monologue of the Author.

10 An imitative word expressing the cry of a foal. 12 Imitative word for cry of a calf.

11 Roar.

13 Imitative word for cry of swine.

6

the asse tair,' quhilk gart the hennis kekkul quhen the cokis creu, the chekyns began to peu quhen the gled3 quhissillit. the fox follouit the fed geise, and gart them cry claik. the gayslingis cryit quhilk quhilk, and the dukis cryit quaik. the ropeen of the rauynes gart the cras crope, the huddit crauis cryit varrok varrok, quhen the suannis murnit, be cause the gray goul 8 mau pronosticat ane storm. the turtil began for to greit, quhen the cuschet zoulit.10 the titlene follout the goilk,12 ande gart hyr sing guk guk. the dou 13 croutit 14 hyr sad sang that soundit lyik sorrou. robeen and the litil vran var hamely in vyntir. the iargolyne 15 of the suallou gart the iay iangil.1 than the maucis " maid myrht, for to mok the merle.18 the lauerok 19 maid melody vp in the skyis. the nychtingal al the nycht sang sueit notis. the tuechitis 20 cryit cheuis nek 21 quhen the piettis 22 clattrit.23 the garruling 24 of the stirlene 2 gart the sparrou chcip.20 the lyntquhit 27 sang cuntirpoint quhen the oszil 23 zelpit. the grene serene sang sueit quhen the gold spynk 30 chantit. the rede schank 3 cryit my fut my fut, and oxee 32 cryit tueit. the herrons gaif ane vyild skrech as the kyl hed bene in fier, quhilk gart the quhapis 3 for fleyitnes 34 fle far fra hame.

29

A still more ostentatious display of the wealth of the writer's native dialogue follows, in a description of a sea scene, ending in a fight. Into this he has poured a complete dictionary of naval terms, some of which set translation or explanation at defiance, but many of which are still in familiar use among the fishing population of the sea-coast of Fife, from whom either Lyndsay or Inglis would be likely enough to learn them. Leyden describes them generally as in part of Norman, in part of Flemish origin. We will pass on, and select for our next extract a portion of the author's natural philosophy; and here we shall strip his clear and expressive style of the cumbrous and capri

Imitative word for cry of ass.

2 Caused.

4 Imitative word for cry of young birds.
6 Goslings.

10 Rather youlit, that is howled.

12 The cuckoo.

13 Dove.

15 Jargoning.

18 Blackbird.

7 Hoarse cry.

9 Cushat-dove.
"The hedge-sparrow.

14 Imitative word for cry of the dove.

16 Imitative word for cry of the jay.

19 Lark.

17 Thrush.

20 Lapwings.

29 The ouzle, which means sometimes the thrush, sometimes the blackbird, sometimes, as here, apparently a different bird from either.

29 Green Siren, or Green-finch.

31 Fieldfare.

33 Curlews.

30 Goldfinch.

32 Small hedge-sparrow.

34 Fear.

cious old spelling, which makes it look as if it were all over bespattered with mud to the eye of a modern reader:

Now, to speak of the generation of the dew, it is ane humid vapour, generit in the second region of the air in ane fair calm night, and sine1 descends in ane temperate caldness on the green erbs in small drops. The hair rime is ane cald dew, the whilk falls in misty vapours, and sine it freezes on the eird.3 The mist, it is the excrement or the superfluity of the cluds, the whilk falls fra the air in ane sweet rain, whilk rain can nought be persavit be the sight of men. Hail stones is ane congealit rain, whilk falls on the eird be grit vehemence, and it falls rather on the day light nor on the night. The snaw is ane congealit rain, frozen and congealit in the second region of the air, and congeals in divers massive cluds, whilk stops and empeshes the operation of the planets to exerce their natural course; than the vehemence of the planets braks thay 7 cluds, fra the force of the whilk there comes fire, and ane grit sound, whilk is terrible to be hard, and that terrible sound is the thing that we call the thunder; but or we hear the thunder, we see first the fire, how beit that they proceed at ane instant time. The cause that we see the fire or we hear the thunder is be reason that the sight and clearness of ony thing is mair swift towart us nor is the sound. The evil that the thunder does on the eird, it is done or we hear the crack of it. Oft times we will see fireslaught,10 how be it there be na thunder hard. The thunder slays mony beasts on the fields; and when it slays ane man that is sleepand, he sall be funden dead and his een" apen.12 The thunder is maist dangerous for man and beast when there comes na rain with it. The fire-slaught will consume the wine within ane pipe in ane deep cave, and the pipe will resave na skaith. The fire-slaught slew ane man on the fields, and it meltit the gold that was in his bag, and it meltit nought the wax of ane seal that was in that samen bag. In Rome there was ane noble princess callit Martia grit with child; she was on the fields for her recreation, where that the fireslaught straik her, and slew her nought, but yet it slew the child in her woime. There is three things that are never in danger of thunder nor fire-slaught; that is to say, the laury tree; the second is the selch, 13 whilk some men calls the sea wolf; the third thing is the eyrn, that flees sa high. The historiographers rehearses that Tiberius Caesar, empiror of Rome, had ever ane hat of laure tree on his head, and als he gart mak his pailyons, 15 and tents on the fields of selch skins, to that effect that he might be furth of the danger of the thunder and fire-slaught. The best remede contrar thunder and fire-slaught is to men and women to pass in hou 16 caverns under the eird, or in deep caves, be cause the thunder does maist damage till high places.

14

It is worthy of remark, that, although we have here unquestionably the Scottish dialect, distinctly marked by various peculiarities (indeed the author, in his prologue or preface expressly and repeatedly states that he has written in Scotch, "in our Scottis langage," as he calls it), yet one chief characteristic of the modern Scotch is still wanting-the suppression of the final after a vowel or diphthong-just as it is in Barbour and Blind Harry. This change, as we before remarked, is probably very modern. It has taken place in all likelihood since Scotch ceased to be generally used in writing; the principle of growth, which, after a language passes under the government of the pen, is to a great extent suspended, having recovered its activity on the dialect being abandoned again to the comparatively lawless liberty, or at least looser guardianship, of the lips.

ENGLISH POETS:-HAWES; BARKLAY.

The English poetical literature of the first half of the sixteenth century may be fairly described as the dawn of a new day. Two poetic names of some note belong to the reign of Henry VII.-Stephen Hawes and Alexander Barklay. Hawes is the author of many pieces, but is chiefly remembered for his Pastime of Pleasure, or History of Grand Amour and La Belle Pucelle, first printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1517, but written about two years earlier. Warton holds this performance to be almost the only effort of imagination and invention which had appeared in our poetry since Chaucer, and eulogizes it as containing no common touches of romantic and allegoric fiction. Hawes was both a scholar and a traveller, and was perfectly familiar with the French and Italian poetry as well as with that of his own country. It speaks very little, however, for his taste, that, among the preceding English poets, he has evidently made Lydgate his model, even if it should be admitted that, as Warton affirms, he has added some new graces to the manner of that cold and wordy versifier. Lydgate and Hawes may stand together as perhaps the two writers who, in the century and a half that followed the death of Chaucer, contributed most to carry forward the regulation and modernisation of the language which he began. Barklay, who did not die till 1552,