Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 6.djvu/191

Rh the purest principles. The subjects, too, correspond with the age at which they were written,—most of them being of a moral or historical description. By far the most frequent subjects of his poems are lamentations for the distracted state of his native country,—the feuds of the nobles,—the discontents of the common people,—complaints "Aganis the lang proces in the courts of justice,"—"The evillis of new found law is," and the depredations "Of the border robbers." Not the least interesting of his productions—are those which he entitles Satyres: one of these, on "The Town Ladyes," in particular presents us with a most curious picture of the habits and dispositions of the fair sex in his day, and amply demonstrates that the desire of aping the appearance and manners of the higher ranks is by no means the peculiar offspring of our degenerate age. Sir Richard's poetical writings were for the first time printed in an entire and distinct form, in 1830, (in one 4to volume) by the Maitland Club, a society of literary antiquaries, taking its name from this distinguished collector of early Scottish poetry.

It may probably be unknown to most of our readers, that a poet from whose mortal sight the book of knowledge was no less shut out than from the eye of the poet of Paradise Lost, has also written a poem on the subject of—

Except in the subject, however, there is no resemblance between the Paradise Lost of Milton and Sir Richard Maitland's "Ballat of the Creatioun of the World, Man his Fall and Redemptioun." From the latter poem, the following passages are selected:—

God be his Word his wark began, To forme the erth and hevin for man,
 * The sie and waiter deip;

The sone, the mune, the starris bricht, The day divydit frame the nicht,
 * Thair coursis for to keip;

The beistis that on the grund do mufe,
 * And fische in to the sie,

Fowlis in the air to fle abufe,
 * Off ilk kind creat hee;
 * Sum creeping, sum fleiting
 * Sum fleing in the air,
 * So heichtly, so lichtly,
 * In moving heir and thair.

The workis of grit magnificence, Perfytet be his providence,
 * According to his will;

Nixt maid he man; to gif him gloit. Did with his ymage him decoir,
 * Gaif paradice him till;

Into that garding hevinly wrocht,
 * With plesouris mony one;

The beistis of every kynd war brocht,
 * Thair names he sowld expone;