Yonder is the way to heuyn for ay, Whan synful sawles haf derayed their payne. Sees thou, Thomas, yone thyrd way, What so any man to you say, I toke thy speche beyonde the le. And beheld that ladye gaye; Than was sche fayr and ryche anone, And also ryal on hir palfreye. The grewhoundes had fylde them on the dere, The ratches coupled, by my fay, She blewe her horn Thomas to chere, To the castle she went her way. The lady into the hall went, And kokes standing with dressyng knife, All that leue long day. Ladyes that were gret of gre, Sat and sang of rych aray. Thomas sawe much more in that place, Than I can descryve, Til on a day alas, alas, My lovelye ladye sayd to me, Busk ye, Thomas, you must agayn, Here you may no longer be: Hy then zerne that you were at hame, And sayd, lowely ladye, lat ma be, For I say ye certainly here Haf I be bot the space of dayes three. You hath been here thre yeres, To-morowe of helle ye foule fende Fare wele, Thomas, I wende my way. [The elfin queen, after restoring Thomas to earth, pours forth a string of prophecies, in which we distinguish references to the events and personages of the Scottish wars of Edward III. The battles of Duplin and Halidon are mentioned, and also Black Agnes, Countess of Dunbar. There is a copy of this poem in the Museum in the Cathedral of Lincoln, another in the collection of Peterborough, but unfortunately they are all in an imperfect state. Mr Jamieson, in his curious collection of Scottish Ballads and Songs, has an entire copy of this ancient poem, with all the collations. The lacunæ of the fermer edition have been supplied from his copy.] 212 THOMAS THE RHYMER. PART SECOND. ALTERED FROM ANCIENT PROPHECIES. THE prophecies, ascribed to Thomas of Erceldoune, have been the principal means of securing to him remembrance 66 amongst the sons of his people." The author of Sir Tristrem would long ago have joined, in the vale of oblivion, "Clerk of Tranent, who wrote the adventures of Schir Gawain," if, by good hap, the same current of ideas respecting antiquity, which causes Virgil to be regarded as a magician by the Lazaroni of Naples, had not exalted the bard of Ercildoune to the prophetic character. Perhaps, indeed, he himself affected it during his life. |