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

44
THE KINGIS QUAIR.
Off quham the chere in hir birdis aport
Gave me In hert[e] kalendis of confort.
178 This1 fair[e] bird rygki In hir bill gah hold
Of red lorofflis with thair stalkis grene
A fair[e] branche, quhare writtin was with gold,
On euery list, with2 branchis bry^t and schene
In compas fair, full plesandly to sene,
A plane sentence, quhich, as I can deuistf
And haue In mynd, said ryght [vp]on this wis£.
179 “Awak! awake! I bring, lufar, I bring
The newis glad, that blisfull ben and sure
Of thy comfort; now lauch, and play, and syng,
That art besid so glad an auenture;
For In the hevyn decretit is the cure; ”
And vnto me the flouris fair present:
With wyn^A spred, hir wayis furth sche went.
180 Quhilk vp a-non I tuke, and as I gess^,
Ane hundreth tymes, or I forthir went,
I haue It red, with hert[e]full glaidnes^;
And, half with hope, and half w/t^ dred, It hent,
And at my beddis bed, with gud entent,
I haue It fair[e] pywnit vp, and this
First takyn was of all my help and bliss^.
181 The quhich[e] treuly efter, day be day,
That all my wittA maistrit had tofore,
From3 hen[ne]sferth the paynis did away.
And schortly, so wele fortune has hir bore,
To quikin treuly day by day my lore,
To my larges that I am cuwin agayh,
To bliss* with hir that is my souirane.
1 Stanzas 178 to 197 are in a different hand.
2 MS. witht. 3 MS. Qubich, wrongly, see st. 69, 144.