ly plese
aider &c.... e sur ceo transmettr', sa lettre al vesconte de
Lanark. E une autre, si ly plest, a ses Forresters de Geddeworth
de autant de Merin [meremium, meheremium, wood for building]
pour fere une receite a Allyncrom (Ancrum) desur la marche, ou
il poet aver recett e entendre a ses ministres qut il le
voudrent aver."

To which the King's answer is,--

"Heat Bre Ten' locu R. in Scoc. qd fae'. ei hre meheremiu in
Foresta de Selkirk et de Maddesleye usq ad numum quinquaginta
quercu."

Thus, no doubt is left that oak woods abounded in the district; and it
was under the influence of these beliefs that the sonnets were
composed:--

I.

"'Twas on this spot some thousand years ago,
Amid the silence of its hoary wood
By sound unbroken, save the Teviot's flow,
The lonely Temple of the Druids stood! {450}
The conquering Roman when he urged his way,
That led to triumph, through the neighbouring plain,
And oped the gloomy grove to glare of day,
Awe-stricken gazed, and spared the sacred fane!
One stone of all its circle now remains,
Saved from the modern Goth's destructive hand;
And by its side I muse: and Fancy reigns;
And giant oaks on Pennial waving stand;
With snowy robe and flowing bears sweep bye
The aged Druid-train beneath the star-lit sky.

II.

"The Druid-train has moved into the wood,
Oh! draw a veil before the hideous scene!
For theirs were offerings of human blood,
With sound of trump and shriek of fear between:
Their sacred grove is fallen, their creed is gone;
And record none remains save this gray stone!
Then come the warlike Saxons; and the years
Roll on in conflict: and the pirate Dane
Uprears his Bloody raven; and his spears
Bristling upon the Broadlaw summit's plain
Spread terror o'er the vale: and still rude times
Succeed; and Border feuds with conflagration light
Nightly, the Teviot's wave, and ceaseless crimes
Chase from the holy towers their inmates in affright.

III.

"Land of the South! Oh, lovely land of song!
And is my dwelling by thy classic streams;
And is the fate so fondly wished and long,
Mine in the fullest measure of my dreams,--
By thy green hills and sunny glades to roam,
To live among thy happy shepherd swains
Where now the peaceful virtues have their home;
A blissful lot! nor aught of grief remains
Save for that friend, beloved, bewailed, rever