622

No II.

JAN. 14, 1509.

ANENT the complaint maid be Walter Chepman, that quhar he, at the desyre of our soverane lord, furnist and brocht hame ane prent and prentaris, for prenting of croniclis, missalis, portuuss, and utheris buikis within this realme, and to seclude salisberyis use; And to that effect thair wes lettres under our said soverane lordis priue sele direct, till command and charge oure soverane lordis liegis, that nain of thaim suld Inbring or sell ony bukis of the said use of salusbery, under the pane of escheting of the samyn; Neuirtheless, Wilyam Frost, Francis Frost, William Sym, Andro Ross, and diuers utheris, merchandis within the burgh of Edinburgh, hes brocht haim, and sellis daly, diuers bukis of the said use, sik as mess bukis, mannualis, portuiss, matinbukis, and diuers uther bukis, in the dissobeing of the said command and lettres, lik as at mar lentht Is contenit in the said com

plaint: The saidis Walter, William, Francis, William, and Andro, being personaly present, And thair Richtis ressons and allegacions herd sene and understand, and thairwith being Riply avisit, The Lordis of Counsale forsaidis commandit and chargit the saidis William Frost, Francis Frost, William Sym, and Andro Ros, personaly, that nain of them, in tyme to cum, bring hame, nor sell within this Realme, ony ny missale bukis, mannualis, por tuiss, or matinbukis, of the said use of salusbery, under the payn of escheting of the samyn; And that lettres be writtin in dew forme to the provest and balyies of Ed. and to officeris of the kingis Sheriffes in that pairt, to command and charge be oppin proclamation, all utheris merchandis and persons, that nain of thaim bring haim,

nor sell within this Realme, ony of the bukis abonewrittin of the said use of salusbery, in tyme to cum, under the said pain, according to the said lettres under our souerane lordis priue sele direct thairuppon; And as to the bukis that ar ellis brocht hame be the saidis merchandis and uther persons, that thai bring nain to the merket, nor sell nain within this Realme, bot that thai have the samyn furth of this Realme, and sell thaim; And that the saidist provest baillies, and officiaris forsaidis, serche and seik quhar ony of the saidis manuale, bukis, mesbukis, matinbukis, and portuiss, of the said use beis brocht haim in tyme tocum, or sauld of thaim that ar ellis brocht hame, and eschete the samyn to our soveraine lordis use: And als, that na persons tak copijs of the buikis abonwrittin and donatis, and . uther buikis that the said Walter hes prentit ellis for till haf thaim to uther Realmes to ger thaim be prentit, brocht haim, or sauld, within this Realme In tyme tocum, under the pain of escheting of the samin; And quha dois in the contrair, that the said pain be put to executioun on thaim, And that lettres be direct her apon, in dew forme, as said Is.

or

(Acta Dom. Conc. xxi. 70.)

[The following is the Copy of an Author's Privilege, granted by the Lords of Council, which seems worthy of preservation on account of the very curious work to which it relates.]

Apud Edinburgum, vigessimo sexto die februarij 1685.

THE lords of his Majestie's privy councill, Haveing considered ane address made to them by Master George Sinclar, late professor of philosophie at the Colledge of Glasgow, And Author of the book Intitulled Satan's Invisible Works Discovered, &c. Doe heirby prohibit and discharge all persons whatsomever from printing, reprinting, or importing into this kingdome, any copy or copies of the said book, dureing the space of eleven yearis after the date heirof, without licence of the Author or his Order, Under the pain of confiscation thereof to the said author, Besydes what furder punishment we shall think fitt to inflict upon the contraveeners.

(Regist. Sec. Sig.)

springs,

Fervent and firm in faith, to Him whose love,

Brightest when clouds and darkness gather

round,

Was then in every heart, and what a cry Of joy, as from its parent source, clothed round

.

In lovely green, the clear, cold rivulet Gushed sparkling in the sun!-An Angel's voice

Could not have sweeter been. Then down they sat

And doft their helms, and bathed their burning brows;

And from their heavy armour cleared away The sharp, dry desert sand; then pitched the tents

And spread their frugal fare-No sounds were heard

But those of mirth; here on the grassy turf The careless warriors lay, and oft between Rose the sweet song of their own native land

Even sweeter because heard in foreign clime; For nought like music has the magic power To bring the shades of long forgotten joys Back to the weeping memory; softer grew The soldier's heart, and Piety and Love Led all their thoughts to home; then silence sunk

Upon the camp, and every warrior breath'd His evening orisons, and slept in peace.

Ere yet the sun had with his earliest beam Purpled the east, the Christian army rose, Renewed in strength and hope; deep gratitude

Beamed in each countenance as the leaders

I LAID my head on the Fairy-hill,
With watching my eyes were weary.c
When I was aware of two maidens fair,
Came tripping with smiles right cheery.

tone

Shall their loveliest ditties sing."

And then began her song to sing

The loveliest of all the train

And the streamlet's roar was heard no more,
It own'd the magic strain.

The noisy stream it flowed no more,

But stands with feeling listening;
The sporting fishes lave in the silvery wave,
And friend by foe is glistening.

The fishes all in the silvery wave,

Now up, now down, are springing;
The small birds are seen in the coppice green
To sport their songs while singing.
"Listen, O listen, thou Younker brave!
If with us thou wilt gladly be,
We'll teach thee to chime the Runic rhyme,
And write the Gramarye.

"We'll teach thee how the savage bear

With words and spells we charm;
And the dragons that hold the ruddy gold
Shall fly thy conquering arm.

And here they danced, and there they danced,

And all love's lures are trying;
But the Younker brave, as still as the grave,
Grasped his sword beside him lying.

"Listen, O listen, thou Younker proud!
If still thy speech denying,

Our vengeance shall wake, and nought shall
it slake

But thy blood this green turf dyeing!"
And then-O happy, happy charice !

His song Chanticleer begun,-
Else left were I still on the Fairy-hill
With the Fairy Fair to won.

And hence I warn each goodly youth,
Who strolls by yon streamlet fair,

That he lay him not down on the Elf-hill's
crown,

Nor seek to slumber there.*

625

I.

!

IV.

V.

VII.

That heart is still-no more to move:
That cheek is wan-no more to bloom,
Or dimple in the smile of love,

That speaks a parent's welcome home.
VIII.
And thou, with years and sufferings bowed,
Say, dost thou least this loss deplore?
Ah! though thy wailings are not loud,
I fear thy secret grief is more.
IX.
Youth's griefs are loud, but are not long,
But thine with life itself will last,
And Age will feel each sorrow strong
When all its morning joys are past.""

X.

'Twas thine her infant mind to mould,
And leave the copy all thou art;
And sure the wide world does not hold
A warmer or a purer heart.
XI.

I cannot weep, yet I can feel

The pangs that rend a Parent's breast; But ah! what sorrowing can unseal Those eyes, and wake the Slumberer's J. M'DIARMID. rest?*

Poetical Epistles and Specimens of Translation. 12mo, Edinburgh, Constable & Co., 1813.

THIS elegant little volume is manifestly the production of a man of erudition, taste, sensibility, and genius. It abounds with imagery;-it is every where animated with easy, natural, and lively feeling; and it exhibits numerous examples of extreme felicity in language and versification, perfectly decisive of the accomplished scholar. Its very faults and defects (and they are both multifarious and glaring), instead of offending, really impart to our minds a kind of confused pleasure, arising, we conceive, from that kindliness and good-will towards the anonymous Poet, which his happy, careless, and indolent nature, irresistibly excites so that we come at last to look on his occasional weaknesses and vagaries as characteristic traits peculiar to himself, and which endear him to us almost as much as his many high and valuable qualities.

We never read poems which so clearly bear the marks of having been written purely for the gratification of the author, without any intention, or even prospect, of publication. They contain just such thoughts, feelings, and remembrances, as are likely to arise in the heart and mind of an amiable and enlightened man, when indulging poetical reveries in his solitary study or evening-walk; and thus, though they are often vaguely, obscurely, and indefinitely, conceived and expressed, there is always about them a warmth, a sincerity, and earnestness, which force us to overlook every fault in composition, -while the happier passages are distinguished by an ease, freedom, elegance and grace, truly delightful, and not to be surpassed in the very best specimens of our opuscular poetry.

Yet with all this merit, we believe the volume has attracted little attention In the present day, unless a poet stand in the first class, he has but little chance of being read at all; and the ignorant are now as fastidious as the learned. But this is certain, that every true lover of poetry will be happy to listen to the sacred song, from

whatever source it flows,-whether from the bright and conspicuous shrine to which all eyes are turned, or from the obscure and shaded fountain which flows but to cheer its own solitude. In an age when great poets exist, there must likewise exist many minds of the true poetical character, but with humbler faculties and lower aspirations. From their writings, much, perhaps, may be learned, which is not to be found in strains of higher mood, and which bears more directly on the business and duties of life. They stand more nearly on a level with their readers; their thoughts and sympathies are more kindred and congenial with the ordinary thoughts and sympathies of man; their souls more closely inhabit, and more carefully traverse, this our every-day world; and the sphere of their power is in the hallowed circle of domestic happiness. Let no one, therefore, deceive himself into a belief, that he does in his heart rationally love poetry, unless he is above being chained by the fascination of great names, and delighted to meet with imagery, sentiment, and pathos, even in a small, obscure, and anonymous volume like this, which, evidently written by a man of genius and virtue, is given to the public from no desire of fame, but from the wish to impart to others the calm, unostentatious, and enlightened happiness which, during the composition of it, he himself must have enjoyed, in thoughtful and philosophical retirement.

The volume consists partly of original compositions, and partly of translations from Euripides, Anacreon, and Tyrtæus ;-from Horace, from Dante, from Petrarch, and from Klopstock. The original compositions are in the form of Poetical Epistles.

The first of these Epistles seems to have been written as far back as the year 1799, when it appears, from several passages, the author was a member of the University of Oxford. The first part of it contains a description of a pedestrian tour through the Highlands of Scotland, performed by the author, in company with the friend to whom the Epistle is addressed ; a