Scottish Text Society publications > Old series > Historie of Scotland > Volume 1, 1888

36
THE HISTORIE OF SCOTLAND.
Falkland,
the Kings,
palice.
smal grase, quhome al almaist thinkes to be mosse, and
sik kynde of erthe and sik grase, vthiris thinkes it to be
the * herb gude to give the cattel against the rute that
thay cal trifoly, because it beires nathing. Bot this
causes men meruellouslie to wondir, that vndir that 5
earth ar fund gret stokis and blokis of wondirful akes
and vthir tries, sum rottbz throuch aldnes, sum agane
fresche and hail and for biggiwg nocht vnmeit: for that
thir tries sumtyme grew in thir places, is cleirer than the
nune day, and that throuch force, and nocht throuch 10
age thay haue bene brocht out is euident aneuch, quhen
mony of thame, as said is, remanes jit nocht wormetin
and vncorrupte, bot freshe and fyne and meit to be put
in vse: Bot can nocht be tho^t, at leist may skairslie
be thocht, that the ground growing sa thick abone culde 15
haue couiret thik wodis as we sie. Bot how hes sa gret
and wyde wodes evir thair growin, quhair now, be na
arte or craft of maw, will nocht sa mekle as ane small
wande grow (the ground is sa barren) we caw nocht
meruel aneuch. Our Jugemewt thairfor is, that in the 20
tyme of the vniuersal flude, was castne in, that thick
mater quhilke first ouerspred thay gret wodis and large,
and quhilke thaireftir in processe of tyme, turned into
that thicknes, that it grew into fast card: for gif at ony
tyme, be the inhabitouris it be almaist cuttit out to the 25
vsse of the fyre, it is seine, quhen it is fillet vpe, throuch
a certane gift of nature, in a few jeiris to grow agane
with speid. Bot of this aneuch. Gentil menis places
and gret palices ma sal je find in na place, than in Fife.
Is thair, of the kings, ane palice maist magnificent, quhais 30
name is Falkland : Thair twa Lochis, Torre and Leuin :
Thair is a castel weil fortified : farther, jiemew and hous-
bandmew thair sal je sie gang weil arayed wl maiestie
* In place of these two lines, L. has simply “ Cytisus a
sort of clover or trifolium. The next words—“ because it beires
nathing”—are not in L.