How Dunbar Was Desired to Be a Friar

This nycht befoir the dawing cleir

Me thocht Sanct Francis did to me appeir

With ane religious abbeit in his hand

And said, "In this go cleith thee my servand.

Reffus the warld, for thow mon be a freir."

With him and with his abbeit bayth I skarrit

Lyk to ane man that with a gaist wes marrit.

Me thocht on bed he layid it me abone,

Bot on the flure delyverly and sone

I lap thairfra and nevir wald cum nar it.

Quoth he, "Quhy skarris thow with this holy weid?

Cleith thee thairin, for weir it thow most neid.

Thow that hes lang done Venus lawis teiche

Sall now be freir and in this abbeit preiche.

Delay it nocht, it mon be done but dreid."

Quod I, "Sanct Francis, loving be thee till,

And thankit mot thow be of thy gude will

To me, that of thy clathis ar so kynd,

Bot thame to weir it nevir come in my mynd.

Sweit confessour, thow tak it nocht in ill.

"In haly legendis haif I hard allevin

Ma sanctis of bischoppis nor freiris, be sic sevin.

Of full few freiris that hes bene sanctis I reid;

Quhairfoir ga bring to me ane bischopis weid,

Gife evir thow wald my sawle gaid unto Hevin."

"My brethir oft hes maid thee supplicationis

Be epistillis, sermonis, and relationis

To tak the abyte, bot thow did postpone.

But forder proces cum on thairfoir annone,

All sircumstance put by and excusationis."

"Gif evir my fortoun wes to be a freir,

The dait thairof is past full mony a yeir;

For into every lusty toun and place

Of all Yngland, frome Berwick to Kalice,

I haif into thy habeit maid gud cheir.

"In freiris weid full fairly haif I fleichit.

In it I haif in pulpet gon and preichit

In Derntoun kirk and eik in Canterberry;

In it I past at Dover our the ferry

Throw Piccardy, and thair the peple teichit.

"Als lang as I did beir the freiris style,

In me, God wait, wes mony wrink and wyle.

In me wes falset with every wicht to flatter,

Quhilk mycht be flemit with na haly watter.

I wes ay reddy all men to begyle."

This freir that did Sanct Francis thair appeir,

Ane fieind he wes in liknes of ane freir.

He vaneist away with stynk and fyrie smowk.

With him, me thocht, all the hous end he towk,

And I awoik as wy that wes in weir.

William Dunbar

WiUiam Dunbar was born, probably in East Lothian, between 1450 and 1460. He entered the University of St. Andrews in 1475, and took his full degree in 1479. In eariy life, according to his own account, he went about from Berwick to Dover, and passed over to Calais and Picardy, preaching and alms-gathering as a Franciscan noviciate ; but he became dissatisficd with this life and does not seem to have taken the vows of the order. It has been inferred from allusions in his verse that he was for some years empioyed in connection with foreign embassies. Toward tiie close of the century we find him in attendance on the Scotch Court, a poet with an established reputation, and a continual suitor for piace. In 1500 he received from the king (James IV) a pension of ^io , raised by degrees, during the next ten years to ;^8o ? then a respectable annuity; but he never obtained the Church promotion, to which on somewhat irrelevant grounds he constantly laid claim.

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How Dunbar Was Desired to Be a Friar

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