Various Readings: LXXV. 1 prince A. sone A. god A. 5 Is A. LXXVI. 1 him written over the line A. with A 6 Quhilk flesch A. LXXVII. 1 threw A. 3 ffra A. greit A om.; space left empty; no erasure in A. pane þai all A. out thrang A. 6 put or pñt A; may in the latter case be read present. LXXVIII. 1 Ire A. 4 It A.

om.

Notes: V. 593, 594. Fais, s. pl. Foes. - Uneaiss adv. Scarcely.

V. 598. Tirve v. a. To strip. cf. Dunbar's poem on the same subject Nr. 86, v. 23.

V. 601. Quhilk, as the MS. reads, does not give a sense. The original reading probably was whill, which we have inserted.

V. 603. There are several corruptions and omissions in this stanza. Thrang (v. 603) and sprang (v. 605) seemed to be required by the rhyme, instead of threw : thrang. V. 604. Harnis, s. pl. Brains; cf. Dunbar's Poems 28, 8.

A om.

Various Readings: 6 pilot A. 7 Innocent A. LXXIX. 3 Septour A. 4 purpour claith cled A. 5 ffra A. tyte 7 But pilot said na can in A. LXXX. 2 ffor A. god A. 5 of A. 6 sone of god A. LXXXI. 1 Pilot A. thow A. 2 I haue me in þi will A. 4 wer naht þat it is gevin A. 5 ffra god A. and A om. Ill A. 7 Is A. LXXXII. 1 ffra pilot A. Innocent A. 2 originally in A: to put him doun, the last three words being crossed through and let him ga being written after them.

Notes: V. 620. Quhilk noyis him fellony, which vexes him [and causes him] cruelty. Or are we

to insert [with] before fellony, which, however, would spoil the metre?

V. 632. There are several proofs again of the great carelesness of the scribe in this stanza, first the nonsensical reading me in pi instead of pe in mi; then the superfluous words it is after pat in v. 634, lastly the omission of and before ill in v. 635.

MS. A. fol. 22 a. Pilat sitand in place of jugement,

His wif till him sone send ane messinger,
Quhilk bad him sone þat he suld nocht consent.
Scho said: pis nycht I haue bene rycht affeir,
Into pis nycht a visioun couth appeir
Into my sleip; thairfor I trow he be
Richt innocent of all iniquite.

655

although the first letter of the second syllable is LXXXV. 2 pilot. This line is crossed out in

the MS., although it is certainly correct. After it the MS. repeats the second line of the preceding stanza, which, of course, had to be omitted. 5 to dreid A. 6 impacience A.

V. 643. To rynd v. a. To pertain.

V. 665. Tollie cf. v. 570.

croce A.

LXXXIX.

His tender bak beris þat hevy [tre],

Frettis be flesche and birssis all his banis.
Thoucht he be faynt, þai haue na gret piete,

Various Readings: LXXXVI. 1 Pilot A. 7 ffor A. LXXXVII. 2 Ene A. 4 innocentis A. LXXXVIII. 4 tender 5 corss A. LXXXIX. 1 hevy croce A.

V. 667. Here we have a strange instance of an unaccentuated syllable rhyming with monosyllabic words: pepill : till : will.

V. 675. To faid v. a. and n. To fade, cause to fade, annihilate, abolish.

V. 679. Quick probably is used here as an adverb: speedily, without delay.

V. 683, 684. The rhyme-words croce and corss, which stand in this order in the MS., had to be transposed.

V. 687. In this verse evidently the word tre, which seems to have been unintelligible or at all events offensive to the scribe, although he retains it in v. 783, had to be restored again for croce, which spoils the rhyme.

MS. A, fol. 23 b. For the day sall cum þat ze sall say:
Wemen ar blist þat na barnis beris.

Ze sall se hillis fall and hid in wa,
Quhill þe Romanis haue cessit fra þair weris.
Thir cruell panis our hertis full fell deris,

Various Readings: 5 neid ane Is A. XC. 5 symeoun A. 7 mont calvary A. XCII. 1 a mane A. 4 Innoirmate A. 5 dochteris A. XCIII. 1 ffor A. 4 romanis A.

710

715

XCI. 5 It A. 7 Innocent A.

V. 691. Instead of neid ane is, as the MS. has, neid nane is had, of course, to be printed.

V. 708. Mane s., moan had to be altered into mene for the sake of the rhyme.

V. 719. Dere v. a. To hurt.