the young scholar learned
useful habits of self-denial, saw new phases of human character, and
above all enjoyed that close communion with nature which is the need
of the poet. Over and over there is a reflection of this life in that
fanciful verse, which has caught the color of the morning hours when
the hedgerows are wet and the grass dewy, when the wild roses scent
the roadside and the lark is at matins--verse full of the joy of life
and the hope of youth.

After some years of this vagabond life, Dunbar left the Franciscans
and attached himself to the court, where he speedily became a
favorite. His day was one of pageant and show, of masque and
spectacle, and into its gay assemblage of knights and courtiers,
ladies and great nobles, Dunbar fitted perfectly. When an embassy was
sent to England to negotiate the royal marriage with Margaret Tudor,
Dunbar went along, being specially accredited by the king. He became a
favorite with the young Princess, and a poem written in honor of the
city of London, and one descriptive of the Queen's Progress, afford a
faithful and valuable memorial of this mission. History is fortunate
when she secures a poet as her scribe. Dunbar is principally known by
his three poems 'The Thistle and the Rose,' 'The Golden Targe,' and
'The Dance of the Seven Deadly Sins.'

The first of these is an allegory celebrating the nuptials of the
king. It suggests of course the allegories of Chaucer; but Dunbar's
muse is his own, and the poem springs fresh and clear from native
fonts. The poet represents himself as awakened by Aurora on a spring
morning and told to do homage to May. Through the symbolism of the
court of Nature, who crowns the Lion and Eagle, commissions the
Thistle and Rose as her handmaidens, and orders their praises sung by
the assembled birds of earth, the political significance of the
allegory appears. But 'The Thistle and the Rose,' which is thus made
to illustrate the union between the two great houses of Scotland and
England, is far more than the poem of an occasion. It is full of the
melody and fragrance of spring, saturated with that sensuous delight
which at this bountiful season fills the veins of Nature. Here Dunbar
is no longer the court laureate, but the begging friar, wandering
through the green lanes and finding bed and board under the free
skies.

'The Golden Targe' is more artificial in construction. It is another
allegory, descriptive of an encounter between Cupid and