MEDIEVAL GARDENS 



cold stone wall, by night he gazed at the stars, by 

 day at the garden. And weary and woe-begone 

 as he was, he says, " to look, it did me good." 



Now there was made fast by the tower wall 

 A garden fair, and in the corners set 

 A herbere green, with wands so long and small 

 Railed all about : and so with trees close set 

 Was all the place, and hawthorn hedges knit 

 That no one though he were near walking by 

 Might there within scarce any one espy. 



So thick the branches and the leafage green 

 Beshaded all the alleys that there were, 

 And 'midst of ev'ry herbere might be seen 

 The sharp and green sweet-scented juniper, 

 Growing so fair with branches here and there, 

 That, as it seemed to any one without, 

 The branches spread the herbere all about. 



And on the slender green-leaved branches sat 

 The little joyous nightingales, and sang 

 So loud and clear, the carols consecrat 

 To faithful love. 1 



This " garden fair " was the scene of the romance 

 which solaced this royal prisoner, and helped 

 him to bear his irksome lot, and to be able to 

 exclaim, after nearly eighteen years' captivity 

 a captivity since boyhood : 



Thanks be to the massive castle wall, 



From which I eagerly looked forth and leant. 



Looking from his window he espied, notwith- 

 standing " hawthorne hedges " and " beshaded 

 alleys/' Lady Johanna Beaumont (whom he 

 wedded on his release) walking in the garden. 

 Neither poet nor historian tells how they found 



1 King's Quair, verse 3 I seq. 

 184 



