The brief account of Macbeth's life raises his character above all the preeeding princes, at least in as far as their actions are known to us. The

gret plente

"Abowndand, bath on land and fe,"

and the riches of the country during his reign, which, together with the firm eftablishment of his government, enabled him to make a journey to Rome, and there to exercise a liberality of charity to the poor, remarkable even in that general refort of wealthy pilgrims, exhibit undeniable proofs of a beneficent government, and a prudent attention to agriculture, and to the fishery, that inexhauftible fund of wealth, wherewith bountiful nature has furrounded Scotland. Macbeth's journey to Rome is not a fable, as fuppofed by the learned and worthy author of The Annals of Scotland, [Vol. I. p. 3, note,] but refts on the evidence of Marianus Scotus, a refpectable contemporary hiftorian, whose words, almoft literally translated by Wyntown, are--“ A. D. ml. Rex Scotie Machetad Rome argentum feminando pauperibus diftribuit.” [See VI. xviii. 48, 53, 303, 408.]

The only blot upon his memory is the murder of his predeceffor, (if it was indeed a murder,) who, to make the crime the blacker, is called his uncle, though that point is extremely doubtful. Among the numerous kings who made their way to the throne by the fame means, is Greg, who is held up as a mirror to princes. To this is added the crime of inceft in taking his uncle's widow to wife; but, admitting her former husband to have been his uncle, we muft remember, that the rules concerning marriage in Scotland appear to have been partly formed upon the Jewish model, before the ecclefiaftical polity was re-formed, or romanized, by the influence of Queen Margaret. [Vita Margareta ap. Bollandi Acta Sanctorum 10mo. Junii, p. 331.]

Thus much was due from juftice to a character calumniated in the beaten track of hiftory. D. MACPHERSON.

Frá þe Thayne Makbeth herd fpeke,
Dat he wald put in yhok hys Neke,
Of all hys thowcht he mád ná Sang;
Bot prewaly owt of be thrang
Wyth flycht he gat; and þe Spensere
A Láfe hym gawe til hys Supere.
And als fwne as he mycht fe
Hys tyme and opportunytè,

Owt of pe Curt he paft, and ran,

F151 a And þat Láyf bare wyth hym þan

To pe Wattyre of Eryne. Dat Brede
He gawe pe Batwartis hym to lede,

And on pe fowth half hym to fete,
But delay, or ony lete.

Dat paffage cald wes eftyre pan
Lang tyme Portnebaryan;

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De Hawyn of Brede pat fuld be

Callyd in-tyl propyrtè.

Owre pe Wattyre pan wes he fete,
Bwt dawngere, or bwt ony lete.

At Dwnfynane Makbeth þat nycht,

As fone as hys Supere wes dycht,
And hys Marchalle hym to pe Halle
Fechyd, pan amang þaim all

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L. 152.] In the infancy of navigation, when its efforts extended no further than croffing a river, ferrying places were the only harbours, and were called port in the Gaelic languages, and apparently in the most ancient Greek. Hence we have fo many places on the banks of rivers and lochs in Scotland, called ports, and hence the Greeks called their ferry-boats porthmia and porthmides. [Dictionaries, and Calcagnini opera, p. 307.] No ferry on the Earn is known by this name; perhaps it was originally the bráde (broad) ferry, which being confounded with bread, has been gaelized port-ne-bara, -the harbour of bread. [v. Davies Dict. Brit. v. BARA.] The transcriber of the Cotton MS. has here interpolated a line with a French explanation of the name. [v. V. R.] D. MACPHERSON.

Diddyr come, and mád bydyng
Dare ony Felny for to do,

He gave hyr byddyng þan, þat scho
Suld hald Makbeth in fayre Trettè,
A Bate quhill fcho fuld fayland fe
Frá north to be fowth paffand;
And frá fcho fawe pat Bate fayland,

Dan tell Makbeth, pe Thayne wes pare
Of Fyfe, and til Dwnfynane fare
To byde Makbeth; for pe Thayne
Of Fyfe thowcht, or he come agayne
Til Kennawchy, pan for til bryng
Háme wyth hym a lawchful Kyng.

Til Kennawchy Makbeth come fone,
And Felny gret pare wald have done:

F 151 b Bot pis Lady wyth fayre Trettè
Hys purpos lettyde done to be.

And fone, frá fcho pe Sayle wp faw,
Dan til Makbeth wyth lytil awe

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L. 179.] This "hows of defens" was perhaps Maiden Caftle, the ruins of which are on the fouth fide of the prefent Kennoway. There are fome remains of Roman antiquity in this neighbourhood, and it is very probable that Macduff's caftle ftood on the fite of a Roman Castellum.

D. MACPHERSON.

Scho fayd, Makbeth, luke wp, and se
Wndyr yhon Sayle forfuth is he,

De Thayne of Fyfe, pat pow has fowcht.
Trowe powe welle, and dowt rycht nowcht,
Gyve evyr þow fall hym fe agayne,
He fall pe fet in-tyl gret payne;

Syne bow wald hawe put hys Neke
• In-til þi yhoke. Now will I fpeke
Wyth pe ná mare: fare on pi waye,
Owpire welle, or ill, as happyne may.'
Dat paffage fyne wes comownly

In Scotland cald þe Erlys-ferry.

Of pat Ferry for to knaw

Báth pe Statute and pe Lawe,
A Bate fuld be on ilkè fyde
For to wayt, and tak pe Tyde,

Til mak pame frawcht, þat wald be
Frá land to land be-yhond pe Se.
Frá þat pe fowth Bate ware fene
De landis wndyre fayle betwene
Frá þe fowth as pan paffand
Toward pe north pe trad haldand,
De north Bate fuld be redy made
Towart pe fowth to hald þe trade:
And pare fuld náne pay mare
Dan foure pennys for þare fare,
Quha-evyr for his frawcht wald be
For caus frawchtyd owre pat Se.

Dis Makduff pan als faft

In Ingland a-pon Cowndyt past.

Dare Dunkanys Sownnys thre he fand,

Dat ware as banyfyd off Scotland,

Quhen Makbeth-Fynlake pare Fadyr flwe,

And all pe Kynryk til hym drwe.

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L. 228.] Four pennies, in Wyntown's time, weighed about one eightieth part of a pound of filver: how much they were in Macbeth's time, I suppose, cannot be ascertained; but, in the reign of David Ift, they weighed one fixtieth of a pound. If we could truft to Regiam Majestatem, four pennies, in David's time, were the value of one third of a boll of wheat, or two lagenæ of wine, or four lagenæ of ale, or half a sheep. [Tables of Money and Prices in Ruddiman's Introduction to And. Diplo. For the quantity of the lagenæ compare VIII. xvii. 35, with Fordun, p. 990: Sc. Chr. V. II. p. 223, wherein lagena is equivalent to galown in Wyntown.] It is reasonable to fuppofe, that the whole of the boat was hired for this fum.

The landing place on the fouth fide was most probably at North Berwick, which belonged to the family of Fife, who founded the nunnery there. D. MACPHERSON.

Saynt Edward Kyng of Ingland þan,
Dat wes of lyf a haly man,
Dat trettyd þir Barnys honestly,
Reffayvyd Makduff rych curtally,
Quhen he come til hys prefens,
And mád hym honowre and reverens,
As afferyd. Til þe Kyng

He tauld be caus of hys cummyng.
De Kyng pan herd hym movyrly,
And answeryd hym all gudlykly,
And fayd, hys wyll and hys dely te

F 132 a Wes to fe for pe profyte

Of þá Barnys; and hys wille

Wes pare honowre to fullfille.

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He cownfalyd bis Makduffe for-pi

To trete þá Barnys curtaly.

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And quhilk of pame wald wyth hym gá,

He fuld in all pame fykkyre má,

As pai wald þame redy mak

For pare Fadyre dede to take

Revengeans, or wald þare herytage,
Dat to pame felle by rycht lynage,
He wald þame helpe in all pare rycht
With gret fuppowale, fors, and mycht,
Schortly to fay, pe lawchful twa
Brepire forfuke wyth hym to gá
For dowt, he put paim in pat peryle,
Dat pare Fadyre fufferyd qwhyle.
Malcolme pe thyrd, to fay fchortly,
Makduff cownfalyd rycht thraly,
Set he wes noucht of lauchfull bed,
As in pis Buke yhe have herd rede:
Makduff hym trettyd nevyr-pe-les
To be of ftark hart and ftowtnes,
And manlykly to tak on hand
To bere pe Crowne pan of Scotland:

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And bade hym pare-of hawe ná drede:

For kyng he fuld be made in-dede:

And þat Traytoure he fuld fla,

Dat banyfyd hym and hys Bredyr twa.

L. 274.] The ftory of these two brothers of Malcolm, (fee alfo c. xvi. of this book) and their refufal of the kingdom, which he, a baftard, obtained, feems to be a mere fiction. Yet, why it fhould have been invented, I can fee no reason furely not with intent to difgrace Malcolm, whofe pofterity never loft the crown, and were fuch eminent friends to the church. The