racter of the Howlat. On the whole, judging from the tenor of the poem and all that we know of the history of the period, we can only sum up with the remark, that if Holland be actually a satirist, he has been one of the most cautious that ever wrote verse, since it is so hard to discover in what his satire consists; or, in other words, he has hidden his meaning so completely, that it is impossible for a modern author distinctly to apprehend it."
The following passage from Henry the old Scotish Minstrel,—the most romantick of all our ancient writers, had escaped my recollection when I was engaged in drawing up the foregoing preface; but it is not too late to be brought forward as a corroborative proof of what is so clearly and satisfactorily stated in the above communication. There is to be found in it a most distinct reference to the poem of the Howlat, which is regarded as nothing more than a moral fable. This is the more curious, as it is contained in a work supposed to have been written about the year 1470, by one, who, if not personally acquainted with our author, was at least his contemporary. The lines occur in that part of the
