The Garmount Of Gud Ladies
Wald my gud lady lufe me best
And wirk eftir my will,
I suld ane garmond gudliest
Gar mak hir body till.
Of he honour suld be hir hud
Upoun hir heid to weir.
Garneist with govirnance so gud,
Na demyng suld hir deir.
Hir sark suld be hir body nixt
Of chestetie so quhyt
With schame and dreid togidder mixt,
The same suld be perfyt.
Hir kirtill suld be of clene constance
Lasit with lesum lufe,
The mailyeis of continuance
For nevir to remufe.
Hir gown suld be of gudlines
Weill ribband with renowne
Purfillit with plesour in ilk place,
Furrit with fyne fassoun.
Hir belt suld be of benignitie
Abowt hir middill meit,
Hir mantill of humilitie
To tholl bayth wind and weit.
Hir hat suld be of fair having
And hir tepat of trewth,
Hir patelet of gud pansing,
Hir hals ribbane of rewth.
Hir slevis suld be of esperance
To keip hir fra dispair,
Hir gluvis of gud govirnance
To hyd hir fynyearis fair.
Hir schone suld be of sickernes
In syne that scho nocht slyd
Hir hois of honestie, I ges,
I suld for hir provyd.
Wald scho put on this garmond gay,
I durst sweir by my seill
That scho woir nevir grene nor gray
That set hir half so weill.
Robert Henryson
RoBERT HENRYSON, thc charming fabulist, Chaucer's aptest and brightest schoiar, aimost nothing is known. David Laing conjectures him to have been born about 1425, to have been educated at some foreign university, and to have died towards the ciosing years of the fifteenth century. It is certain that in 1462, being then * in Artibus Liceniiatus et in Decretis Bacchaiarius,' he was incorporated of the University of Glasgow; and that he was afterwards schooimaster in Dunferraline, and worked there as a notary-pubiic aiso.