William Dunbar: Off Februar the fyitene nycht,

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149	1	Off Februar the fyiftene nycht,
	2	Full lang befoir the dayis lycht,
	3	I lay in till a trance,
	4	And than I saw baith hevin and hell;
	5	me thocht amangis the feyndis fell
	6	Mahoun gart cry and dance
	7	Off schrewis that wer nevir schrevin,
	8	Aganis the feist of Fasternis Evin
	9	To mak thair observance.
	10	He bad gallandis ga graith a gyis
	11	And kast vp gamountis in the skyis,
	12	That last came out of France.
	13	‘Lat se’, squod he, ‘Now quha begynnis?’
	14	With that the fowll sevin deidly synnis
	15	begowth to leip at anis.
	16	And first of all in dance wes Pryd,
	17	With bair wyld bakand bonet on syd,
	18	Lyk to mak vaistie wanis.
	19	And round abowt him, as a quheill,
	20	Hang all in rumpillis to the heill
	21	His kethat for the nanis.
	22	Mony prowd trumpour with him trippit,
	23	Throw skaldand fyre ay as thay skippit
	24	Thay gyrnd with hiddous granis.
	25	Heilie harlottis on hawtane wyis
	26	Come in with mony sindrie gyis,
	27	Bot #it luche nevir Mahoun
150	28	Quhill presitis come in with bair schevin nekkis.
	29	Than all the feyndis lewche and maid gekkis,
	30	Blak belly and Bawsy broun.
	31	Than come in with sturt and stryfe,
	32	His hand wes ay vpoun his knyfe,
	33	He brandeist lyk a beir.
	34	Bostaris, braggaris and barganeris
	35	Eftir him passit in to pairis,
	36	All bodin nin feir of weir.
	37	In iakkis and stryppis and bonettis of steill,
	38	Thair leggis wer chen#eit to the heill,
	39	Frawart wes thair affeir.
	40	Sum vopun vder with brandis beft,
	41	Sum iaggit vthiris to the heft,
	42	With knyvis that scherp cowd scheir.
	43	Nixt in the dance followit Invy,
	44	Fild full of feid and fellony,
	45	Hid malyce and dispyte.
	46	For pryvie hatrent that tratour trymlit.
	47	Him gollowit mony freik dissymlit,
	48	With fen#eit wirdis quhyte,
	49	And flatteris in to menis facis,
	50	And bakbyttaris in secreit places,
	51	To ley that had delyte,
	52	And rownaris of fals lesingis - 
	53	Allace, that courtis of noble kingis
	54	Of thame can nevir be quyte. 
	55	Nixt him in dans come Cuvatyce,
	56	Rute of all evill and grund of vyce,
	57	That nevir cowd be content.
	58	Catyvis, wrechis and ockeraris.
	59	Hudpykis, hurdaris and gadderaris
	60	All with that warlo went.
151	61	Out of thair throttis thay schot on vdder
	62	Hett moltin gold, me thocht a fudder,
	63	As fyreflawcht maist fervent.
	64	Ay as thay tomit thame of schot,
	65	Feyndis fild thame new vp to the thrott,
	66	With gold of allkin prent.
	67	Syne Sweirnes at the secound bidding
	68	Come lyk a sow out of a midding.
	69	Full slepy wes his grun#ie.
	70	Mony sweir bumbard belly huddroun,
	71	Mony slute daw and slepy duddroun
	72	Him serwit ay with soun#ie.
	73	He drew thame furth in till a chen#ie,
	74	And Belliall with a brydill ren#ie
	75	Evir lascht thame on the lun#ie.
	76	In dance thay war sa slaw of feit,
	77	Thay gaif thame in the fyre a heit
	78	And maid thame quicker of coun#ie.
	79	Than Lichery, that lathly cors,
	80	Come berand lyk a bagit hors,
	81	And Lythenes did him leid.
	82	Thair wes with him ane vgly sort,
	83	And mony stynkand fowll tramort
	84	That had in syn bene deid.
	85	Quhen thay wer entrit in the dance
	86	Thay wer full strenge of countenance,
	87	Lyk turkas birnand reid.
	88	All led thay vthir by the tersis.
	89	Suppois thay fycket with thair ersis,
	90	It mycht be na remeid.
	91	Than the fowll monstir Glutteny
	92	Off wame vnsasiable and gredy,
152	93	To dance he did him dres.
	94	Him followit mony fowll drunckart,
	95	With can and collep, cop and quart,
	96	In surffet and exces.
	97	Full mony a waistles wallydrag
	98	With wamis vnweildable did furth wag
	99	In creische that did incres.
	100	‘Drynk! ay thay cryit, with mony a gaip.
	101	The feyndis gaif thame hait leid to laip,
	102	Thair lovery wes na les.
	103	Na menstrallis playit to thame, but dowt,
	104	For glemen thair wer haldin owt,
	105	Be day and eik by nycht;
	106	Except a menstrall that slew a man,
	107	Swa till his heretage he wan,
	108	And entirt be breif of richt.
	109	Than ryd Mahoun for a heleand pad#ane.
	110	Syne ran a feynd to feche Makfad#ane,
	111	Far northwart in a nuke.
	112	Be he the correnoch had done schout
	113	Erschemen so gadderit him abowt,
	114	In hell grit rowme thay tuke.
	115	Thae tarmegantis with tag and tatter
	116	Full lowd in Ersche begowth to clatter
	117	And rowp lyk revin and ruke.
	118	The devill sa devit wes with thair #ell
	119	That in the depest pot of hell
	120	He smorit thame with smvke.
	121	Nixt that a turnament wes tryid,
	122	That lang befoir in hell wes cryid
153	123	In presens of Mahoun;
	124	Betuix a tel#our and ane sowtar,
	125	A pricklous and ane hobbell clowttar,
	126	The barres wes maid boun.
	127	The tail#eour baith with speir and scheild
	128	Convoyit wes vnto the feild,
	129	With mony lymmar loun:
	130	Off seme byttaris and beist knapparis,
	131	Off stomok steillaris and clayth takkaris,
	132	A graceles garisoun.
	133	His baner born wes him befoir,
	134	Quhairin wes clowttis ane hundreth scoir,
	135	Ilkane of diuers hew;
	136	And all stowin out of sindry webbis,
	137	For quhill the Greik sie fillis and ebbis,
	138	Tel#ouris will nevir be trew.
	139	The buthman on the barrowis blent.
	140	Allais, he tynt all hardyment,
	141	For feir he chaingit hew.
	142	Mahoun him comfort and maid him knycht,
	143	Na ferly thocht his hart wes licht
	144	That to sic honor grew.
	145	He hecht hely befoir Mahoun
	146	That he suld ding the sowtar doun,
	147	Thocht he wer wicht as mast.
	148	Bot quhen he on the barrowis blenkit
	149	The tel#ouris curage a littill schrenkit,
	150	His hairt did all ourcast.
	151	And quhen he saw the sowtar cum
	152	Off all sic wirdis he wes full dum,
	153	So soir he wes agast.
154	154	For he in hart tuke sic a scunner
	155	Ane rak of fartis lyk ony thunner
	156	Went fra him, blast for blast.
	157	The sowtar to the feild him drest,
	158	He wes convoyid out of the west,
	159	As ane defender stout.
	160	Suppois he had na lusty varlot,
	161	He had full mony lowsy harlott
	162	Round rynnand him aboute.
	163	His baner wes a barkit hyd,
	164	Quhairin Sanct Girnega did glyd,
	165	Befoir that rebald rowt.
	166	Full sowttarlyk he wes of laitis,
	167	For ay betuix the harnes plaitis
	168	The vly birstit out.
	169	Apon the tal#eour quhen he did luke,
	170	His hairt a littill dwamyng tuke.
	171	Wneis he mycht vpsitt.
	172	In to his stommok wes sic ane steir,
	173	Off all his dennar, that cost him deir,
	174	His breist held neuer a bitt.
	175	To comfort him or he raid forder,
	176	The devill off knychtheid gaif him order,
	177	For stynk than he did spitt.
	178	And he about the devillis nek
	179	Did spew agane ane quart of blek,
	180	Thus knychtly he him quitt.
	181	Than fourty tymis the feynd cryd, ‘Fy!’
	182	The sowtar rycht effeiritly
155	183	Vnto the feild he socht.
	184	Quhen thay wer serwit of thair speiris,
	185	Folk had ane feill be thair effeiris,
	186	Thair hairtis wer baith on flocht.
	187	Thai spurrit apon athir syd,
	188	The hors attour the grene did glyd,
	189	And tham togidder brocht.
	190	The tail#eour was no thing weill sittin,
	191	he left his sadill all beschittin,
	192	And to the grund he socht.
	193	His birnes brak and maid ane brattill,
	194	The sowtaris hors start with the rattill
	195	And round about cowd reill.
	196	The beist, that frayit wes rycht evill,
	197	Ran with the sowtar to the devill,
	198	And he rewardit him weill.
	199	Sum thing frome him the feynd eschewit,
	200	He trowit agane to be bespewit,
	201	So strenyt he wes in steill.
	202	He thocht he wald agane debait him.
	203	He turnd his ers and all bedret him,
	204	Quyte our from nek till heill.
	205	He lowsit it with sic a reird,
	206	Baith hors and man flawe to the eird,
	207	He fart with sic ane feir.
	208	‘Now haif I quitt the’, quod Mahoun.
	209	The new maid knycht lay in to swoun,
	210	And did all armes forswer.
156	211	The devill gart thame to dungeoun dryve
	212	And thame of knychtheid cold depryve,
	213	Dischargeing thame of weir;
	214	And maid thame harlottis agane for evir,
	215	Quhilk still to keip thay had fer levir,
	216	Nor ony armes beir.
	217	I had mair of thair werkis writtin,
	218	Had nocht the sowtar bene beschittin,
	219	With Bellialis ers vnblist.
	220	Bot that sa gud ane bourd me thocht,
	221	Sic solace to my hairt thar socht,
	222	For lawchtir neir I brist.
	223	Quhairthrow I walknit of my trance.
	224	To put this in rememberance,
	225	Mycht no man me resist,
	226	To dyte how all this thing befell,
	227	Befoir Mahoun, the heir of hell.
	228	Schirris, trow it gif #e list!

