JAMES IV. KING OF SCOT S.
The THISTLE and the ROSE,
O'er flowers and herbage green,
By Lady Nature chofe,
Brave King and lovely Queen.
HEN March with varying winds was overpast, And fweet April had with his filver showers Ta'n leave of Nature, with an orient blast, And lufty May, that mother is of flowers, Had made the birds begin by tymous hours; Among the tender odours red and white, Whose harmony to her was great delight.
In bed at morrow, fleeping as I lay,
Methought Aurora with her ruby ene,
In at my window looked by the day,
And halfit me, with visage pale and green;
Upon her hand a lark fang frae the spleen,
"Lovers, awake out of your flumbering,
"See how the lufty morning does upfpring."
III.
Methought fresh May before my bed upstood,
In weed depainted of ilk diverse hue,
Sober, benign, and full of manfuetude,
In bright attire of flowers, all forged new,
Of heavenly colour, white, red, brown and blue,
Balmit in dew, and gilt with Phebus' beams,
While all the house illumin'd with her leams.
Sluggard, fhe faid, awake anon for fhame,
And in my honour fomething thou go write;
The lark has done, the merry day proclaim,
Lovers to raise with comfort and delight;
Will nought increafe thy courage to indite,
Whose heart fometime has glad and blissful been,
Songs oft to make, under the branches green ?
Whereto, quoth I, fhall I uprife at morrow,
For in thy month few birds have I heard fing,
They have more caufe to weep and plain their
forrow:
Thy air it is not wholsome nor benign,
Lord Eolus does in thy feafon ring,
So boufteous are the blasts of his fhrill horn,
Among thy boughs to walk I have forborn.
VI.
With that the lady foberly did fmile,
And faid, uprife and do thy obfervance :
Thou did promife in May's lufty while,
Then to defcribe the ROSE of most pleasance.
Go fee the birdis how they fing and dance,
And how the skies illumined are bright,
Enamell'd richly with new azure light.
When this was faid, away then went the Queen,
And enter'd in a lufty garden gent;
And then methought, full haftily befeen,
In fark and mantle, after her I went
Into this garth most dulce and redolent,
Of herb and flow'r, and tender plants most sweet,
And the green leaves doing of dew down fleit.
VIII.
The purple fun, with tender rayis red,
In orient bright as Angel did appear,
Thro' golden fkies advancing up his head,
Whofe gilded treffes fhone fo wondrous clear,
That all the world took comfort far and near,
To look upon his fresh and blifsful face,
Doing all fable frae the Heavens chace.
And as the blissful fun drove up the sky,
All nature fang thro' comfort of the light;
The minstrels wing'd, with open voices cry,
"O Lovers now is fled the dully night,
"Come welcome day, that comforts every wight;
"Hail May! hail Flora! hail Aurora sheen,
"Hail Princefs Nature! hail love's hartfome Queen!
X.
Dame Nature gave an inhibition there,
To Neptune fierce, and Eolus the bold,
Not to perturb the water or the air,
That neither blashy shower, nor blasts more cold
Should flow'rs affray nor fowls upon the fold.
She bade eke Juno, Goddess of the sky,
That the the heav'n fhould keep amene and dry.
XI.
Alfo ordain'd that every bird and beast
Before her Highness should anon compear;
And every flow'r of virtue moft and least,
And every herb of fair field far and near,
As they had wont in May from year to year;
To her their Queen to make obedience,
Full low inclining with due reverence.
With that anon fhe fent the fwift foot Roe,
To bring in alkind beast from dale and down ;
The reftlefs swallow order'd fhe to go,
And fetch all fowl of great and small renown,
And to gar flow'rs appear of all faffoun:
Full craftily conjured she the Yarrow,
Which did forth fwirk as swift as any arrow.
XIII.
All brought in were, in twinkling of an eye,
Both beaft and bird and flow'r before the Queen;
And firft the Lion, greatest of degree,
Was fummon'd there; and he, fair to be feen,
With a full hardy countenance and keen,
Before Dame Nature came, and did incline,
With vifage bold, and courage leonine.
XIV.
This awful beaft was terrible of chear,
Piercing of look, and stout of countenance,
Right ftrong of corps, of fashion fair, but fear,
Lufty of fhape, light of deliverance,
Red of his colour, as the ruby glance:
In field of gold he flood full rampantly,
With flow'r-de-lyces circled pleasantly.
XV.
This Lady lifted up his claws fo clear,
And lute him listly lean upon her knee,
And crowned him with diadem ful deer,
Of radious ftones most royal there to fee,
Saying the King of all beafts make I thee;
And the protector chief in woods and shaws,
Go forth, and to thy lieges keep the laws.
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