After the Ship of Fools the Eclogues rank second in importance in a consideration of Barclay's writings. Not only as the first of their kind in English, do they crown their author with the honour of introducing this kind of poetry to English literature, but they are in themselves most interesting and valuable as faithful and graphic pictures of the court, citizen, and country life of the period. Nowhere else in so accessible a form do there exist descriptions at once so full and so accurate of the whole condition of the people. Their daily life and habits, customs, manners, sports, and pastimes, are all placed on the canvas before us with a ready, vigorous, unflinching hand. Witness for instance the following sketch, which might be entitled, "Life, temp. 1514":-- "Some men deliteth beholding men to fight, Or goodly knightes in pleasaunt apparayle, Or sturdie souldiers in bright harnes and male. . . . . . . . . Some glad is to see these Ladies beauteous, Goodly appoynted in clothing sumpteous: A number of people appoynted in like wise: In costly clothing after the newest gise, Sportes, disgising, fayre coursers mount and praunce, Or goodly ladies and knightes sing and daunce: To see fayre houses and curious picture(s), Or pleasaunt hanging, or sumpteous vesture Of silke, of purpure, or golde moste orient, And other clothing diuers and excellent: Hye curious buildinges or palaces royall, Or chapels, temples fayre and substanciall, Images grauen or vaultes curious; Gardeyns and medowes, or place delicious, Forestes and parkes well furnished with dere, Colde pleasaunt streames or welles fayre and clere, Curious cundites or shadowie mountaynes, Swete pleasaunt valleys, laundes or playnes Houndes, and suche other thinges manyfolde Some men take pleasour and solace to beholde." The following selections illustrative of the customs and manners of the times will serve as a sample of the overflowing cask from which they are taken. The condition of the country people is clearly enough indicated in a description of the village Sunday, the manner of its celebration being depicted in language calculated to make a modern sabbatarian's hair stand on end:-- "What man is faultlesse, remember the village, Howe men vplondish on holy dayes rage. Nought can them tame, they be a beastly sort, In sweate and labour hauing most chiefe comfort, On the holy day assoone as morne is past, When all men resteth while all the day doth last, They drinke, they banket, they reuell and they iest They leape, they daunce, despising ease and rest. If they once heare a bagpipe or a drone, Anone to the elme or oke they be gone. There vse they to daunce, to gambolde and to rage Such is the custome and vse of the village. When the ground resteth from rake, plough and wheles, Then moste they it trouble with burthen of their heles: FAUSTUS.