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I let you know my Lord, I am no fool,
For why! I ride upon an ambling mule.
There is no temporal lord in all this land
That makes such cheer, I let you understand.
And also, my lord, I give with good intention
To divers temporal lords a yearly pension
To that intent, that they with all their heart
In right and wrong shall plainly take my part.
Now, have I told you, sir, in my best ways,
How that I have exercised my office.

Scrybe.

Father Abbott, this council bids me ask,
How have you used your Abbey?
Abbott.

Touching my office I say to you plainly,
My monks and I we live right easily:
There are no monks from Carrick to Carrail
That better fares, and drinks more wholesome
ale;

My Prior is a man of great devotion,
Therefore he daily gets a double portion;
My paramour is also fat and fair"

As ony wench within the town of Ayr.

I send my sons to Paris to the schools,*
I trust in God that they shall not be fools!
And all my daughters I have well provided.t
Now judge me if my office be well guided.
Third, as to the oppressiveness of some
clerical customs.

Correctioun.

Johne, have ye any more debates
Against the lords of Spiritual States ?
Johne.

Now, sir, I dare not speak one word :
To complain of priests it is no bourd (jest).
Correctioun.

Flyt (scold) on thy fill till I desire thee;
So that thou show us but the verity.

Johne

First, to complain on the Vicar,

The

poor cottar, liking to die, Having young infants two or three, And if he has two kye (cows) The Vicar must have one of them, With the gray rug that covers the bed However the wife be poorly clad. And if the wife die on the morn, Tho' all the bairns should be forlorn The other cow he takes away With the poor coat of raploch gray. Would God this custom were put down, Which never was founded on reason. Temporalitie.

Are all thy tales true, that thou tellest?

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The same was practised on me :
For our Vicar, God give him pain,
Has yet three tidy kye of mine;
One for my father; for my wife another;
And the third cow he took, for Maud my mother.
Spiritualitie.

False carle, to speak to me, stand'st not in awe?
Pauper.

The Fiend receive them that first devised that law!

Within an hour after my dad was dead,
The Vicar had my cow hard by the head.
When I am Pope that law I shall put down;
It is a sore law for the poor common.

Spiritualitie.

We will want nothing that we have in use, Kirtle nor cow, teind lamb, teind grice, nor goose.

Do "the old times live again," my reader, in these verses? Does that old Scotland which our historians have yet to describe to us- that old Catholic Scotland, I mean, of which the Beatons, uncle and nephew, were the lords and the exemplars, become any more vivid from these brief touches of Lyndsay? Do you see and feel how thorougly depraved the moral condition of the Church must have been: how "rotten ripe for reformation? And do you see, too, that Lyndsay, next to Knox, must have forwarded the mighty change which so soon followed? Anyhow, we shall be agreed that Scott has marked Lyndsay's place and power as a poet with much exactness in his wellknown lines in "Marmion":

In the glances of his eye,
A penetrating, keen and sly
Expression found its home;
The flash of that satiric rage
Which, bursting on the early stage,
Branded the vices of the age

And broke the keys of Rome.

It may have occurred more than once to the reader how Lyndsay was allowed to lash the Church with so free a hand, when he himself says it was no jesting matter to complain of priests. And it is a sort of standing wonder. He twice excuses himself, for the freedom of speech, in the Satire :

Prudent people, I pray you all
Take no mair grief, in special,
For we shall speak in general
For pastime and for play.

But the "pastime" of free speech like
Lyndsay's for his it was however dis-
guised, was not then allowed by either
Church or State. His words are not sly

From The Pall Mall Gazette.

AN EASTERN CONFEDERATION.

"semi

allusions, nor parodies; they are charges | him the name of a great poet; as a satirdefinite and direct, which amount to ac- ist, he far surpasses any one of the early tual accusation. Mr. Burton finds the ex- Scots poets. Enough if my readers have planation in the fact, that Lyndsay "was a clearer conception of the scenes and cirbut repeating what the authorities of the cumstances amidst which John Knox grew realm asserted, and the Church itself to manhood, and which immediately premournfully confessed. Anything might be ceded his dauntlessly patriotic career; and said to this purport if he who said it were if they are thus better able to judge of the so skilful as to avoid points of heresy," men, whoever they were, who brought &c. I wish I could believe it; and that about and wrought out the Reformation in history did not prove that where the Scotland. Church could show her hand and crush the free-spoken man, she did not usually do so; and that in Scotland, in that very age, she did not burn friar Kyller, and tried to do her very worst to George Buchanan, for their satires. Moreover, what was confessed by the Church was confessed in the conclave: it was not openly mourned over before the laity. What mattered that confession when public opinion attacked and ridiculed those same things? Was it likely that men, so proud of the privileges of their order, would humbly cry Peccavimus! There is nothing we all bridle up at quicker, and forgive slower, than an exposure of our known vices and faults: we cannot deny them, and instinctively strike at the exposer; and we may be quite sure, therefore, that the Latimers and the Lyndsays of those days, unless under royal protection or in high position, and whether there was definable heresy in the satire or not, were certainly silenced. Has not our very pleasant censor, Mr. Punch, had experiences, especially across the Channel, which show how far this is true, even in our own day? Some other reason, therefore, than Mr. Burton's inust be found for Lyndsay's immunity from everyone of the forms of persecution. Mr. Laing does not hazard one.

One thing is clear, that Lyndsay was no trimmer. He openly acknowledged himself as the author of his Satires; and if anecdote is to be trusted, he was as sharp at times with his tongue as with his pen. He was not a religious reformer, however; although, as Mr. Laing remarks, had he survived for a few years longer, we need scarcely doubt he would have joined himself to the Lords of the Congregation. As to that, we may but guess: as he was, we cannot but admire his boldness, and count him the bravest, clearest-seeing man of his time.

Of his general literary character, it is not proposed to say anything. That, no doubt, has been pretty well gauged from the previous pages. We cannot claim for

* History of Scotland, iv. 53

A NEW pamphlet, said to be official," has just appeared at Belgrade, proposing the formation of a Confederacy of States in Eastern Europe. The author, referring to the tendency to the centralization which has for some time been manifesting itself among the European races, observes that centralization may be beneficial when all the nationalities which belong to any particular race desire it, but that as regards the Slavonic nationalities no union would be possible except on the federal principle. He therefore entirely repudiates the idea of Panslavism, whose effect would only be "to force the Slavonians of the South to become Russians, and to degrade their countries to the position of Russian provinces." Austria and Turkey must, he thinks, soon fall to pieces, and their nationalities (of course excepting the Germans, who would join the German Empire) should then form themselves into an international confederacy, which "would energetically resist the German element, advancing eastward under the pretext of promoting civilization, and also any aggressive tendencies that might be displayed by Russia." This confederacy, which would be called "the Eastern Confederation," would consist of the following States: "1. Servia, as the head of the confederacy, comprising the Turkish provinces of Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Old Servia, and the Austro-Hungarian provinces of Croatia and Dalmatia, all but a strip of land on the coast, which would fall to Montenegro; 2. Bulgaria; 3. Montenegro; 4. Roumania, with the AustroHungarian provinces of Transylvania and Bukovina; 5. Hungary; and 6. Illyria, consisting of Carniola, Istria, and part of "The only neighbour Southern Styria." Servia has to fear," proceeds the author of the pamphlet, "is Hungary. In proportion as natural tendencies, mental and

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material development, and modern pro- | Slavonic districts of Hungary every year. gress shall become predominant at Bel-"Servia," he concludes, will fulfil her grade or Agram, one of these places will mission, and the surest guarantee of her become the inevitable point of attraction doing so lies, on the one hand, in the round which the remaining South Slavon- patriotic and wise conduct of her dynasty ian peoples will group themselves, and her statesmen, and on the other, and fortunately for us the Government at in the errors of her rivals." It is reported Pesth does not seem as yet to understand from Belgrade that a few days after the or appreciate the decisive importance of publication of the above pamphlet, which this irrefutable axiom. It is for the Ser- has been distributed in a limited number vian Government, therefore, to take advan- of copies among the most influential men tage of this favourable moment, and to ob- in the capital, the newly appointed Routain such a start in the race as to make manian agent was received at a Court dinany subsequent efforts of its rival useless." ner by the Prince of Servia, the members The writer next points out that "Servia is of the Regency, aud several of the Minisalready in a position to offer greater ad- ters, and that the Prince, in drinking to vantages to the Southern Slavonian, so far the prosperity of his "dear brother, Prince as legislation and administration are con- Charles, and the Roumanian people," said cerned, than Hungary, with her incessant that Roumania "may be called upon to dissensions;" and that education in Ilun- act, perhaps in a short time, hand in hand gary is so inferior to that afforded at Bel- with Servia for the purpose of carrying grade that the university in that town re- out the regeneration of Eastern Europe." ceives more and more students from the

DISPERSION OF SEEDS BY THE WIND.-A. | Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Coleoptera, which, Kerner, of Innsbruck, reprints a very interesting paper on this subject, from the Zeitschrift des Deutschen Alpenvereins. In order to ascertain the extent to which seeds are carried by currents of air, the author made a careful investigation of the flora of the glacier-moraines, and of the seeds found on the surface of the glaciers themselves, believing that these must indicate accurately the species whose seeds are dispersed by the agency of the wind. Of the former description he was able to identify, on five different moraines, 124 species of plants; and a careful examination of the substances gathered from the surface of the glacier showed seeds belonging to thirty-six species which could be recognized with certainty. The two lists agreed entirely in general character, and to a considerable extent also specifically, belonging, with scarcely an exception, to plants found on the declivities and mountain valleys in the immediate vicinity of the glacier scarcely in a single instance even to the inhabitants of the more southern Alps. M. Kerner's conclusion is that the distance to which seeds can be carried by the wind, even when provided with special apparatus for floating in the air, has generally been greatly over-estimated; and this is very much in accordance with the view advanced by Mr. Bentham, in his anniversary address to the Linnean Society in 1869. Along with the seeds M. Kerner found, on the surface of the glacier, more or less perfect remains of a number of insects belonging to the orders Lepidoptera,

like the seeds, belonged almost exclusively to species which abound in the immediate neighbourhood of the glaciers. The species of plants which are especially inhabitants of the higher mountain regions may be divided into two classes. In the first the seed or fruit is provided with an appendage of various kinds, to enable it to be carried easily by the wind; the species possess generally a short space of life, are continually shifting their habitat, will grow where there is scarcely any soil, and especially love to establish themselves in the clefts or on the inaccessible sides of rocks; their floating apparatus appears designed rather to enable them to reach these habitats, where no other plants could establish themselves, than to be carried any great distance by the wind. The second kind are much more stationary, have a greater length of life, require a richer soil, are unprovided with any apparatus for flight, and can advance only very gradually; they are consequently much less abundant than the first kind. From the above observations, and the fact of the existence of detached localities for some of the mountain species in the Tyrolese Alps, very remote from their more abundant habitats farther south, M. Kerner draws the conclusion that at a period subsequent to the glacial epoch a warmer climate than the present overspread that part of Europe, when the species referred to extended over a wide area, of which the present isolated localities are the remains.

No. 1447.-March 2, 1872.

CONTENTS.

1. THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF JOHN HOOKHAM FRERE, Quarterly Review, 2. THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF A PHAETON.

William Black. Part II.,

3. LACE-MAKING AS A FINE ART,

4. QUAINT CUSTOMS IN KWEI-CHOW,

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5. THE VENUS OF MILO. Translated for The Living Age from the

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6. IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES DURING THE LATE ECLIPSE, Spectator, 7. A MINING ADVENTURE,

566

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Pall Mall Gazette,

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NUMBERS OF THE LIVING AGE WANTED. The publishers are in want of Nos. 1179 and 1180 (dated respectively Jan. 5th and Jan. 12th, 1867) of THE LIVING AGE. To subscribers, or others, who will do us the favor to send us either or both of those numbers, we will return an equivalent, either in our publications or in cash, until our wants are supplied.

PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY BY

LITTELL & GAY, BOSTON.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

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Price of the First Series, in Cloth, 36 volumes, 90 dollars.

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Any Volume Bound, 3 dollars; Unbound, 2 dollars. The sets, or volumes, will be sent at the expense of the publishers.

PREMIUMS FOR CLUBS.

For 5 new subscribers ($40.), a sixth copy; or a set of HORNE'S INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE, unabridged, in 4 large volumes, cloth, price $10; or any 5 of the back volumes of the LIVING AGE, in numbers, price $10.

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From The Dublin University.
ASLEEP.

BEYOND all discord of this noisy world,
Set free from pain, from sorrow, from alarm;
Caught out of danger of infectious earth,
Gently she sleeps, the daughter of our love:
Our sister grown, redeemed, and older far.
With what profound solemnity she sleeps!
Still as an autumn noon, or like a lake
In the deep night reflecting moon and stars.
Age after age rolls by in ceaseless course:
Yet still she sleeps. That placid brow,
Calm as an angel's now, with mute appeal
Rebukes tenacious grasp of transient things;
Bids us be mindful of the truths that live
Deep in the tranquil Heaven, where she is gone.
December 14, 1871.

Н. Р,

The city, I say, lieth far away

Whereto no change may come;
It has rays manifold of crimson and gold,

But I cannot count their sum.

They sigh no more by its happier shore

Or waning away of a changeful day,
Who wander, foreboding not

Or changing of life and lot.
They dream not there on earth's changing face,

Of mutable wind and sea-
Thou who art changeless, grant me a place
In that far city with Thee!
There record my name,

Father! forget thee never,
For thy thought is still the same,
Yesterday to-day, and forever.

ANTICIPATION.

Good Words.

WHEN failing health, or cross event,
Or dull monotony of days,
Has brought me into discontent,

That darkens round me like a haze,
I find it wholesome to recall

Those chiefest goods my life has known, Those whitest days, that brightened all The checkered seasons that are flown. No year has passed but gave me some; O unborn years, nor one of youSo from the past I learn-shall come Without such precious tribute due. I can be patient, since amid

The days that seem so overcast, Such future golden hours are hid As those I see amid the past.

Chambers's Journal.

A SONG OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.

BY JEAN INGELOW.

THE city, he saith, is fairer far

Than one which stood of old;

It gleams in the light all crimson bright
With shifting glimmers of gold.
Where be the homes my fathers built,
The houses where they prayed?

I see in no sod the paths they trod,
Nor the stones my fathers laid.

On the domes they spread, the roofs they reared,
Has passed the levelling tide;

My fathers lie low, and their sons outgrow
The bounds of their skill and pride.
Shifting, sweeping change,

It plays with man's endeavour,

They carved these names grown strange,
And they said " Abide forever."

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