200
PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS.
of poetry, except religious, were proscribed; popular songs were parodied, to inculcate religious doctrines; and of all the early Scotish poets of the 16th century, Lindsay was the only one who retained his popularity. A similar process seems to have been observed by the Catholics in England; for L. Ramsey mentions that it was their custom to
Exclude the scriptures, and bid them read the story
Of Robinhood and Guy, which was both tall and stout,
And Bevis of Southampton, to seek the matter out.
Of Robinhood and Guy, which was both tall and stout,
And Bevis of Southampton, to seek the matter out.
Suffer all slander against God and his truth,
And praise the old fashion in King Arthur's days,
Of abbays and monasteries how it is great ruth
To have them plucked down, and so the eldest says;
And how it was merry when Robinhood's plays
Was in every town, the morrice, and the fool,
The maypole and the drum, to bring the calf from school,
And praise the old fashion in King Arthur's days,
Of abbays and monasteries how it is great ruth
To have them plucked down, and so the eldest says;
And how it was merry when Robinhood's plays
Was in every town, the morrice, and the fool,
The maypole and the drum, to bring the calf from school,
With Midge, Madge, and Marion, about the pole to dance,
And Stephen, that tall stripling, to lead Volans dale,
With roguing Gangweeke, a goodly remembrance,
With banners all aflaunt, with cakes, cheese and ale,
With beads in every hand, our prayers stood by tale:
This was a merry world, talk among our meany,
And then of good eggs ye might have twenty for a penny[1].
And Stephen, that tall stripling, to lead Volans dale,
With roguing Gangweeke, a goodly remembrance,
With banners all aflaunt, with cakes, cheese and ale,
With beads in every hand, our prayers stood by tale:
This was a merry world, talk among our meany,
And then of good eggs ye might have twenty for a penny[1].
The presbyterians interdicted the perusal of romances and love poems, with almost as great anxiety as the Catholics prohibited the use of the Scriptures. "Would thou intreat," says Hume to the Scotish
- ↑ L. Ramsey's Practice of the Divell, London.
