Me thocht fresche May befoir my bed up stude,
In weid depaynt of mony diverss hew,
Sobir, benyng, and full of mansuetude
In brycht atteir of flouris forgit new
Hevinly of colour, quhyt, reid, broun and blew,
Balmit in dew, and gilt with Phebus bemys;
Quhyll all the house illumynit of her lemys.

Slugird, scho said, awalk annone for schame,
And in my honour sum thing thou go wryt;
The lark hes done the mirry day proclame,
To raise up luvaris with comfort and delyt;
Yit nocht incressis thy curage to indyt,
Quhois hairt sum tyme hes glaid and blisfull bene,
Sangis to mak undir the levis grene.

Then callit scho all flouris that grew on feild
Discirnyng all thair fassionis and effeiris
Upone the awfull Thrissil scho beheld
And saw him kepit with a busche of speiris;
Considering him so able for the weiris
A radius croun of rubeis scho him gaif,
And said, In feild go furth and fend the laif:

And sen thou art a King, thou be discreit;
Herb without vertew thow hald nocht of sic pryce
As herb of vertew and of odour sueit;
And lat no nettill vyle, and full of vyce,
Hir fallow to the gudly flour-de-lyce;
Nor latt no wyld weid, full of churlicheness,
Compair hir to the lilleis nobilness.

Nor hald non udir flour in sic denty
As the fresche Rois, of cullour reid and quhyt:
For gife thow dois, hurt is thyne honesty;
Considring that no flour is so perfyt,
So full of vertew, pleasans, and delyt,
So full of blisful angeilik bewty,
Imperiall birth, honour and dignité.

NOTE.

This is a selection from the long allegorical poem, "The Thistle and the Rose." The thistle represents Scotland, of which country that plant is the national emblem. The fleur-de-lis, or lily, represents France; and the rose, England. The poem was written in celebration of the marriage of James IV. of Scotland to the Princess Margaret of England, and the friendly relations thus established for a time between those two countries.

GLOSSARY.
denty, favor.muddir, mother.
effeiris, affairs.orient, eastern.
ene, eyes.quhen, when.
fallow, betroth.quhois, whose.
forgit, made, created.quhyll, while.
gife, if.rois, rose.
halsit, hailed.sic, such.
houris, morning orisons.speiris, spears.
laif, rest.splene, heart.
lemys, rays.thrissil, thistle.
lukit, looked.udir, other.
mansuetude, gentleness.weid, garments.
morrow, morning.weiris, wars.