“…The dowie dichis war all donk and wait,
The law vallis floodit all with spait.
The plane stretis and every hie way
Full of fluschis, dubbis, myre and clay,
Laggerit leys wallowit fernis schew,
Broun muris kithit their wissinyt mossy hewe.”
Lines From ‘Eneados: The Prologue of the Sevynt Buik.
Gavin Douglas (c1471-1522)
Approximate English translation runs:
The dismal ditches were all dank and wet,
The low valley flooded all with spate.
The plain streets and very highway,
Full of marshes, boggy pools, mire and clay,
In mired pastures shrivelled ferns show,
Brown moors showed their wizened mossy hue.
Robin A Crawford 