Bannatyne Club > Buke of the Howlat

X THE PREFACE.
No other of Holland's UbelUs, or writings, has reach-
ed our times, except the Howlat, which was first print-
ed in the year 1792,^ from the copy preserved in Banna-
tyne's Manuscript, (written in 1568 ;) but the editor ap-
pears to have been singularly vmfortunate in a transcri-
ber ; numerous passages which were of themselves suf-
ficiently obscure, having been rendered absolutely un-
intelligible. The text of the present edition is taken
from a transcript made some years ago, but since, very
carefully collated with the more ancient copy, contained
in a valuable manuscript, in the Aucliinleck Library, which
appears to have been compiled in the earlier part of the
sixteenth centviry, (about the year 1515,) by one John
Asloan, or Sloane ; and which, in every respect, in so far
as the Howlat is concerned, is indisputably superior to
the other. The various readings afforded by a careful
collation of these two manuscripts, (the only copies known
to be extant,) are not of much importance ; but such
of them as seemed worth noticing, will be found in the
Appendix, together with a few Notes, illustrative of the
poem.
As the reader may be gratified to see a facsimile of
the ancient manuscript, which has been followed, a few
7 la tlie Appendix subjoined to Pinkerton's Collection of Scutisk Poems, re-
pr'inled from scarce editions. London, 1792, 3 vols, post 8vo.