Scottish Text Society publications > New series > Kingis quair; together with A ballad of good counsel

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THE KINGIS QUAIR.
56 Lift vp thyne hert, and sing w/t£ gude entent,
And in thy notis suete the treson telle,
That to thy sister trewe and Innocent
Was kythit by hir husband false and fell;
For quhois gilt, as It is worthy wel,
Chide thir husbandis that are false, I say,
And bid thame mend, In the twenty 1 deuil way.
5 7 O lytill wrecch, allace! maist thou no^t se
Quho coiwmyth jond ? Is It now tyme to wring ?
Quhat sory tho^t is fallin vpon the ?
Opyn thy throte; hastow no lest to sing ?
Allace ! sen thou of resoh had felyng,
Now, suete bird, say ones to me ‘ pepe
I dee for wo; me think thou gy^nis slepe.
58 Hastow no mynde of lufe? quhare is thy make?
Or artow seke, or smyt with lelousye?
Or Is sche dede, or hath sche the forsake?
Quhat is the cause of thy malancolye,
That thou no more list maken melodye ?
Sluggart, for schame ! lo here thy goldin houre,
That worth were hale all thy lyvis laboure !
5 9 Gyf thou suld sing wele euer in thy ly ve,
Here is, in fay, the tyme, and eke the space:
Quhat wostow than ? sum bird may cum and stryve
In song with the, the maistry to pzerchace.
Suld thou than cesse, It were grete schame, allace
And here, to wyn gree happily for euer,
Here is the tyme to syng, or ellis neum”
60 I tho^t eke thus, gif I my handis clap,
Or gif I cast, than will sche flee away;
And gif I hald my 2 pes, than will sche nap;
1 MS. xxtj.
2 MS. me.