Page:Buke of the Howlat.djvu/32

diction. The Pope having heard his complaint, and considering it a weighty affair, directs his secretary, the Turtle, to summon a general council; and the Swallow, as both herald and messenger, is dispatched on this errand. The different birds belonging to the Spiritual estate assemble, and the ecclesiastical dignities allotted to each of them are described. The council proceeds to deliberate on the case; but a variety of opinions being expressed, it is thought preferable to defer coming to any decision, until the concurrence of the State Temporal is obtained. The Swallow is again sent off with letters, and finds the Eagle, or Emperor, in the Tower of Babylon, who graciously receives the message, and summoning his train of attendants, immediately sets out with them on their journey. They speedily arrive in Europe, and reach the forest in which the general convocation is held. The Emperor's attendants are then enumerated by the poet, among whom we find the Woodpecker, as pursuivant, bearing his arms, and those of the King of France, and the King of Scotland. Next to the arms of Scotland, are those of the Douglasses, who are designated by our author as the weir-wall, or bulwark of their country; and, it is easy to see by the manner in which he speaks of them, the strength of his attachment to that family. The stanzas descriptive of their noble an-