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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Scotland: Vols. VI–VIII. 1876–79.

Berwick

Berwick

By Attributed to William Dunbar

AS it befell, and hapinit into deid,

Upon ane rever the quhilk is callit Tweid;

At Tweidis mouth thair stands ane noble toun,

Quhair mony lordis hes bene of grit renoune,

And mony a lady bene fair of face,

And mony ane fresche lusty galand was.

Into this toune, the quhilk is callit Berwik,

Apoun the sey, thair standis nane it lyk,

For it is wallit weill about with stane,

And dowbil stankis castin mony ane.

And syne the castell is so strang and wicht,

With staitelie towrs, and turrats hé on hicht,

With kirnalis wrocht craftelie with all;

The portculis most subtellie to fall,

Quhen that thame list to draw thame upon hicht,

That it may be into na mannis micht,

To win that hous by craft or subtiltie.

Quhairfoir it is maist fair alluterrlie;

Into my tyme, quhairever I have bein,

Most fair, most gudelie, most pleasand to be sene.

The toun, the castel, and the pleasand land;

The sea wallis upon the uther hand;

The grit Croce kirk, and eik the Mason dew;

The Jacobine of the quhyt hew,

The Carmeletis, and the monks eik

Of the four ordours war nocht to seik;

Thay wer all into this toun dwelling.

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