And als the vicar, as I trow, He will nocht faill to tak ane kow And upmaist claith, thocht babis thame ban, From ane pure selie husbandman; Quhen that he lyis for til de, Having small bairnis twa or thre, And hes thre ky withoutin mo, The vicar must have ane of tho, With the gray cloke that happis the bed, Howbeit that he be purelye cled; And gif the wyfe de on the morne, Thocht all the babis suld be forlorne, The uther kow he cliekis away, With hir pure cote of roplock gray; And gif, within twa days or thre, The eldest chyld hapinis to de, Of the third kow he will be sure. Quhen he hes all then under his cure, {352} And father and mother baith ar deid, Beg mon the babis, without remeid. Chalmers’s Lindsay, ii. 7, 8, iii. 105. When the alarming progress of the new opinions threatened the overthrow of the whole establishment, the clergy professed their willingness to remit, or at least to moderate, this shameful tribute. But they did not make this concession until a remonstrance on the subject was presented by a number of persons who were attached to the Roman catholic faith. This remonstrance was laid before the Provincial Council in 1558‒9, and contains the following article, which serves to corroborate the strong statement which the poet has given of the rigour of the clergy in extorting these benevolences. “Item, Because yat ye corps presentes, kow, and finest claith, and the silver commonlie callit the kirk richts, and Pasch offrands, quhilk is taken at Pasch fra men and women for distribution of ye sacraments of ye blessit body and blud of Jesus Christ, were at ye beginning but as offrands and gifts, at the discretion and benevolence of the givar only; and now be distance of tym, ye kirkmen usis to compell men to ye paying yarof be authority and jurisdiction, sua that yai will not only fulminat yar sentence of cursing, but als stop and debar men and women to cum to ye reddy using of ye sacraments of haly kirk, quhile yai be sattisfiet yarof with all rigor: quhilk thing has na ground of ye law of God, nor halie kirk, and als is veray sclandrous, and gives occasion to the puir to murmur gretymly againes ye state ecclesiastick for the doing of ye premissis; and therefore it is thocht expedient yat ane reformation be maid of ye premissis, and that sic things be na mair usit in tymes to cum within this realm, at ye least yat na man be compellit be authority of haly kirk to pay ye premissis; but yat it shall onlie remane in the free will of the giver to gif and offir sic things be way of almous, and for uphalding of ye priests and ministers of the halie kirk, as his conscience and charitie moves him to: and quhair ye curatis and ministers forsaids, has not eneuch of yar