[218] The pauper comes on the stage with the words—
"Of your almis, gude folks, for God's luife of heavin,
For I have motherles bairns either sax or seavin;"
and proceeds in piteous strain—
"Gude man, will ye gif me of your charitie,
And I sall declair yow the black veritie.
My father was ane auld man, and a hoir,
And was of age four scoir of yeirs and moir.
And Mald, my mother, was four scoir and fyfteine,
And with my labour I did thame baith susteine.
Wee had are meir, that caryit salt and coill,
And everie ilk yeir scho brocht us hame ane foill.
Wee had thrie ky, that was baith fat and fair,
Nane tydier into the toun of Air.
My father was sa waik of blude, and bane,
That he deit, quhairfoir my mother maid gret maine:
Then scho deit, within ane day or two;
And thair began my povertie and wo.
Our gude gray meir was baittand on the feild,
And our Land's laird tuik hir for his hyreild,
The vickar tuik the best cow be the heid,
Incontinent, quhen my father was deid.
And quhen the vickar hard tel how that my mother
Was deid, fra hand he tuke to him ane uther:
Then Meg, my wife, did murne baith evin and morow,
Till at the last scho deit for verie sorow:
And quhen the vickar hard tell my wyfe was dead,
The thrid cow he cleikit be the heid.
Thair umest clayis, that was of rapploch gray,
The vickar gart his clark bear them away.
Quhen all was gane, I micht mak na debeat,
Bot with my bairns past for till beg my meat.
Now, haif I tald yow the blak veritie,
How I am brocht into this miserie."
—Laing's Lindsay's Poetical Works, 1879, ii. 99, 102, 103.
[219] [In the Articles addressed by some of the temporal lords and barons to the queen regent, and sent by her to the Provincial Council convened in Edinburgh a few weeks before the Reformation burst like a tempest upon the country, it was requested that "the corps presentes, kow, and [um]est claith, and the silvir commonlie callit the kirk richts, and Pasch offrands quhilk is takin at Pasch fra men and women for distribution of the sacrament of the blessit body and blood of Jesus Christ," should no longer be extorted under pain of excommunication or debarring from the sacraments, but left to the free will of the givers (Concilia Scotiæ, ii. 148, 149). The Council met this demand for reformation by enacting that in future the poor should be freed from mortuary dues, while those not quite so poor were only to pay them in a modified form; and the small tithes and oblations were to be taken up before Lent so as to avoid the appearance of selling the sacrament (Ibid., ii. 167, 168, 174). When, on the 27th of May 1560, the reforming vicar of Lintrathin raised a summons against his parishioners for payment of his teinds, "the cors present and umest clayth of all yeris and termes bigane restand unpayit" were specially excepted from his claim (Spalding Miscellany, iv. 121).
[220] Dr Lorimer in British and Foreign Evangelical Review for 1872, p. 758.
[221] [The Good Regent was assassinated on the 23rd of January 1569-70.]
[222] [1570.]
[223] Bannatyne's Memoriales, Ban. Club, p. 118.