all the little generation of compound interest in the last de scendant of L.2,000, which would have closed with the draper's shop. The inventive genius of Audley, might have illustrated that popular tract of his own times, Peacham's "Worth of a Penny;" a gentleman who, having scarcely one left, consoled himself by detailing the numerous comforts of life it might procure in the days of Charles II.

Such petty enterprizes at length assumed a deeper cast of interest. He formed temporary partnerships with the Stewards of country gentlemen. They underlet estates which they had to manage; and anticipating the owner's necessities, the estates in due time became cheap purchases for Audley and the Stewards. He usually contrived to make the wood pay for the land, which he called "making the feathers pay for the goose." He had, however, such a tenderness of conscience for his victim, that, having plucked the live feathers before he sent the unfledged goose on the common, he would bestow a gratuitous lecture in his own science-teaching the art of making them grow again, by showing how to raise the remaining rents. Audley thus made the tenant furnish at once the means to satisfy his own rapacity, and his employer's necessities. His avarice was not working by a blind, but on an enlightened principle: for he was only enabling the landlord to obtain what the tenant, with due industry, could afford to give. Adam Smith might have delivered himself in the language of old Audley, so just was his standard of the value of rents. "Under an easy landlord," said Audley, "a tenant seldom thrives; contenting himself to make the just measure of his rents, and not labouring for any surplusage of estate. Under a hard one, the tenant revenges himself upon the land, and runs away with the rent. I would raise my rents to the present price of all commodities: for if we should let our lands, as other men have done before us, now other wares daily go on in price, we should fall backward in our estates.' These axioms of political economy were discoveries in his day.

Audley knew mankind practically, and struck into the humours with the versatility of genius: oracularly deep with the grave, he only stung the lighter mind. When a Lord borrowing money, complained to Audley of his exactions, his Lordship exclaimed, "What, do you not intend to use a conscience?” "Yes, I intend hereafter to use it. We monied people must balance accounts; if you do not pay me, you cheat me; but, if you do, then I cheat your Lordship."

Audley's monied conscience balanced the risk of his Lordship's honour, against the probability of his own rapacious profits. When he resided in the temple among those " "pullets without feathers," as an old writer describes the brood, the goodman would drawl out paternal homilies on improvident youth, grieving that they, under pretence of "learning the law, only learnt to be lawless," and "never knew by their own studies the process of an execution, till it was served on themselves." Nor could he fail in his prophecy; for at the moment the Stoic was enduring their ridicule, his agents were supplying them with the certain means of verifying it; for, as it is quaintly said, he had his decoying as well as his decaying gentlemen.

(To be concluded in our next.)

FOR THE COILA REPOSITORY.

THE BATTLE OF LAARGS.

Transcribed from Bellenden's translation of the Cronicles of

Boece, printed in 1536,

IN BLACK LETTER WITH MANY ABBREVIATIONS.

TO THE EDITOR.

SIR-Some time ago you had in your Magazine the Danish account of the Battle of Largs, so very important in its consequences both to Britain and Denmark.-The Scots account by Hector Boece (in his Cronikilis) is in few hands.-Enclosed you have a transcription of it. It was first published in Latin by Hector Boece himself, in 1526, and afterwards translated by Archdeacon Bellenden, into the vernacular language of Scotland at the time, and published at Edinburgh in 1540. It is a great literary curiosity. In transcribing this account of the Battle of Largs, the original orthography is adhered to verbatim, which it is necessary to mention, for as the words are not always spelt alike, that circumstance might be supposed to have arisen from careless transcription.

THE THRETENE BURE, CA. XVII.

Of gret derthin Albion. How Acho Kyng of Norroway Inuaded Scotland with Gret Cruelteis. Of the orison maid to hym be Ambassatouris of Kyng Alexander.

In the zeir of God M.II.C. Ixiii. was ane gret derth in Albion. For the hervist was sa wak in ye zeir afore that, the cornis for ye maist part war corruppit, and maid ane miserabyll derth throw all boundis of Albion. Acho Kyng of Norroway and Denmark, heirand how Scotland was trublit in this maner, belevit to find sufficient occasion to subdew it to his dominioun ; and arrivit with ane flot of Schyppis in the Ilis on Lammas day, callit Aduincvla Petri. The Islis war continewally haldin under the empire of Danis, fra Kyng Edgaris tyme to thir days. Eft this Kyng Acho come in Arran and Bute; and qwhen King Acho had subdewit. yame to his Empire in esperance of mair felicite, he arrivit in Albion and tuk ye castel of Aire be lang sege, and began to waist al ye bound is liand yair about. King Alexander astonist be yir nouellis (for he was zoung and tender age and not sufficienț to resyst ye cruelte of Danis, efter so frequent victoryis fallyng to thaim) thocht nathing sa gud as to brek his ennimes be lang tary, and to that syne (end) he mycht prolong the battal, he send Ambassatouris to King Acho, of quhilkis, the principall said to hym in this maner: War nocht our King and Nobillis, be ancient consuetude obseruit syn thair first begynnyng, seikis redres of all iniuris done to thaim, afore thay inuaid thair ennymes with battal; thow suld nocht se oratouris send to the, bot erar (rather) ane army cumand in thy contrar with maist awfull and weirly ordinance. We get neuir so huge spulze nor zit sa triumphant victoryis of our ennimes, as qwhen thay inwaid us with maist wrangis and wyll heir na reason nor redres. We thynk na thing sa gud as to eschew battal, and tak restitutioun of our guddis,' qwhilkis ar tane fra us be iniure of battal. Quhow may thair be ony gretar wodnes or fury, than to do the thyng be swerd or fyre, that may be tretit be plesand wordis. Nochtheless qwhen oure honorabyll and just désiris ar refufusit, be ennymes qwhen we find thaim mair desirus of weir than peace, we ryse haistely with maist hatrent to reuenge thair contemptioun. Theirfore, we are send fra our Souerane to inquire qwhat occasioun throw hes to inuaid his realme and subdittis in violatioun of peace, qwhilk has bene obseruad

betwix hym and Danis thir hundred zeiris bygane, and cumand nocht onely to reif fra hym Bute and Arrane, with other landis qwhilkis he hes joisit in peace, bot als ceissing fra na maner of cruelte yat may be deuysit on his pepyl. Quhat offence, quhat cruelteis hes his pepyl done aganis the, to in. uaid hes realme with sic awful ordinance; Slaing wiffis, children, and febyl personis, without ony mercy or ransom, howbeit, maist cruell tyrannis hes miseratioun of sic personis Quhat furius Ire hes mouit the to birne ye kirkis of God, and his Sanctis, to ye gret murder of his pepyl. Quhy puttis thow all placis (quhare thow comis) to heirschippis and rewin. Allour gyf thow dredis not God qwhilk governis all thing, yet we se be his providence, gif thow dredis not Sanctise nor vengeance to cum on the be punytioun of God-Zit thow suld dreid the two maist pissant Kingis of Albion, alliat togidder with maist tender blud, qwhilkis sal cum on the with sic pissance, yt thow may nocht resist. Theirfore sen thow may depart with honoure, best is to ye redres all skaithis in tyme, in aventure thow be brocht to sic extreme disperation, thy army discomfit, yt thow sall be utterly destroyt and find pocht but repuls yocht (though) thow wald implore mercy. Their wordis war said be the Ambassatouris to put sum terrour to this hardy Kyng Acho.

Nochtheless, he answerit to yame in this maner: Ze beleif (wise Ambassatouris) to astonis ws be zour fers and awful wourdis, traisting ws sa full of dreadour, yt we wyl desist fra our purpos by zour onely minassing. Ze ar void of all reason and prudence, gif ze sa ymagyn, and quhare ze aggrege (aggravate) our iniuris be reiffyng of certain Ilis fra our dominioun, we understand ze ar na lauchful Iugeis to geif decission of ony iniuris or richtis to ws or our leigis. For thir, gif ze desire ye caus quhy we haif inuadid Arrane and Bute. We say, not only thir Ilis of Arrane and Bute, bot al the Ilis of Albion perteinis to us, and our pepyl be auld heritage and we ar cuman to tak as mekyl proffet of our landis presently, as ze haif tane of thaym in tymes bygone. Thairfore schaw zour Kying, we feir nocht his minassing, nor na violence that he may do agains us. Nochwithstandying, gyf he be mair desyrus of peace than battal and couatis to eschew the direptioun and birnyng of his townes and slauchter of his pepyl, or gif he desyrit not to se uter extermination of his realme afore his ene, comand hym to send to ws X. M. markis Striveling, for the fruitis of our land is tane up be him and his eldaris in tymes bygone. Dischargeand hym thairof

in tymes cumyng, that the said Iles may pass under our perpetual dominioun. Gif he refuse the charge, force is to hym to abide the chance of battal against us, quhilk is ar preparit with maist weirly ordenance to inuade his realm and pepyl.

How Kyng Alexander come with an army againis Kyng Acho, of the Orisonis maid be the two Kyngis to their Armyis, and how Kyng Acho was discomfist at Largis. Ca. xviii.

Alexander Commovil with this answer, and seing na waye to eschewe battal, thocht thing na sa gud as to assail ze the chance of fortoun, and gather xl. M. men to meit his ennimes quhilks wer diuided in thre battals. In ye first wyng wes ene valzeant knycht, Alexander Stewart nepot to yt. Alexander that dotat (endowed) ye Abbay of Paisley. He had with him all the men of Argyle, Levenax, Athole, and Galloway. In the left wying wes Patrick Dunbar, havand with hym the men of Louthiane, Fiffe, Mers, Berwick, and Striveling. In the myddilward wes King Alexander, with the remanent pepil of Scotland, to support the wingis quhen danger occureit. Thir battalis were arrayit in sic maner, that every clan had ane Capitane assignet to thaym, of thair awin langage, to exhort thaym to wyn land and honoure be yair manheid. Kyng Alexander seyng his ennymes in sycht, causit mess to be done to his army, and sayd to yaim in yis manner: "We haif maid now (beleffit freinds) our orisoun to God (be quhais providence and wisdom, everything is governit in erd) to send victory to thaym quhilk hes maist rycht and justest caus of battall. Now wald I exhort zow to haif sic faith and confidence in hym that is ennemy to theuis and reuaris that ze may with invincible curage distroy zour enniBelief weil, ze ar nocht to fecht now agains yaim that inuadis zour landis be just clame, but onely aganis theym that traisting be penurite of vittallis now regnand amang zow to fynd sufficient oppertunite to conquis zour landis. Thir lymaris reiosis sa mekil in thift and reif, that they are nocht content onelie of ye landis reft fra ws thir mony zieris bygone, bot ar cumyn with new tyranny to dwel in zour maist inward landis. Remembir, thairfore, nocht onlie the heuy and importable iniuris be yame done, bot als how necessar it is now to fecht aganis yaym for defence of our wyffis, barnis, liberteis and landis, havand no securite of lyff bot in zour

mes.