Page:The dialect of the southern counties of Scotland - Murray - 1873.djvu/52

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Bot with the world comes dam fortone Þat aythir hand may ohaunge[e] sone; For sho turns about ay hir whele, Up and doune, als many may fele; When sho hir whele lates about ga, Sho turnes sum doune fra wele to wa, And, eft, agaynward, fra wa to wele; Þus turnes sho oft obout hir whele, Þe whilk thir clerkes noght elles calles Bot happe or chaunce þat sodanli falles And þat men haldes here noght elles, Bot welthe and angre in whilk men duelles. Þarfor worldly happe es ay in dout Whilles dam fortune turnes hir whele about.

Þis world es pe way and passage Þurgh whilk lyes our pilgrymage By þis way by-hoves us al gang, Bot be we war we ga noght wrang; For in pis world liggis twa ways Als men may fynd þat þam assays Þe tane es way of pe dede calde, Þe tother es way of lyfe to halde Þe way of dede semes large and eesy And þat may lede us ouer-lightly, Un-til þe grysly land of mirknes par sorow and pyn ever-mare es. pe way of lyfe semes narow and harde pat ledes us til our contré-warde pat es pe kyngdom of heven bright Whare we sal won ay in Goddes sight And Goddes awen sons þan be calde If we þe way of lyfe here halde.

Here the orthography of the adjacent Midland English has caused the substitution of wh for quh, in most cases, although instances of the latter also occur, e.g. lines 1165, 1354,

He says þe world es na thyng elles Bot ane hard exil in qwilk men duelles.

Þe quilk als says wyse men and witty Onence God is bot folly.

This MS. also uses the more modern sh for the older sch, which occurs in other MSS. of the same work, and in the following, which is also in other respects more characteristically northern.