Chronicles of the Canongate, 1st SeriesScott, Walter
General
Chronicles of the Canongate, 1st Series
Scott, Walter
Scotland -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Scots -- Foreign countries -- Fiction
“Eftir death of Alexander the first, his brothir David come out of
Ingland, and wes crownit at Scone, the yeir of God MCXXIV yeiris, and
did gret justice, eftir his coronation, in all partis of his realme. He
had na weris during the time of King Hary; and wes so pietuous, that he
sat daylie in judgement, to caus his pure commonis to have justice; and
causit the actionis of his noblis to be decidit be his othir jugis. He
gart ilk juge redres the skaithis that come to the party be his wrang
sentence; throw quhilk, he decorit his realm with mony nobil actis, and
ejeckit the vennomus custome of riotus cheir, quhilk wes inducit afore
be Inglismen, quhen thay com with Quene Margaret; for the samin wes
noisum to al gud maneris, makand his pepil tender and effeminat.
“In the fourt yeir of his regne, this nobill prince come to visie the
madin Castell of Edinburgh. At this time, all the boundis of Scotland
were ful of woddis, lesouris, and medois; for the countre wes more gevin
to store of bestiall, than ony productioun of cornis; and about this
castell was ane gret forest, full of haris, hindis, toddis, and siclike
maner of beistis. Now was the Rude Day cumin, called the Exaltation of
the Croce; and, becaus the samin wes ane hie solempne day, the king past
to his contemplation. Eftir the messis wer done with maist solempnitie
and reverence, comperit afore him mony young and insolent baronis of
Scotland, richt desirus to haif sum plesur and solace, be chace of
hundis in the said forest. At this time wes with the king ane man of
singulare and devoit life, namit Alkwine, channon eftir the ordour of
Sanct Augustine, quhilk well lang time confessoure, afore, to King David
in Ingland, the time that he wes Erle of Huntingtoun and Northumbirland.
This religious man dissuadit the king, be mony reasonis, to pas to this
huntis; and allegit the day wes so solempne, be reverence of the haly
croce, that he suld gif him erar, for that day, to contemplation, than
ony othir exersition. Nochtheles, his dissuasion is litill avalit; for
the king wes finallie so provokit, be inoportune solicitatioun of his
baronis, that he past, nochtwithstanding the solempnite of this day, to
his hountis. At last, quhen he wes cumin throw the vail that lyis to the
gret eist fra the said castell, quhare now lyis the Canongait, the staik
past throw the wod with sic noyis and din of rachis and bugillis, that
all the bestis were rasit fra thair dennis. Now wes the king cumin to
the fute of the crag, and all his nobilis severit, heir and thair, fra
him, at thair game and solace; quhen suddenlie apperit to his sicht the
fairist hart that evir wes sene afore with levand creature. The noyis
and din of this hart rinnand, as apperit, with awful and braid tindis,
maid the kingis hors so effrayit, that na renzeis micht hald him, bot
ran, perforce, ouir mire and mossis, away with the king. Nochtheles, the
hart followit so fast, that he dang baith the king and his hors to the
ground.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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