'M' UI^DETT &COMI')^M^ t^'** ' . LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. ? ! \ 6 - - : '■ Shelf ...lili ^ i;»ui* UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I AM drawing near to the close of my career; I am fast sliuffling off the stage. I have been perhaps the most voluminous author of the day ; and it is a comfort to me to think that I have tried to unsettle no man's faith, to corrupt no man's principle. Scott (quoted by Lockhart). SIR WALTER SCOTT. thp: LADY OF THE LAKE BY Sir WALTER SCOTT, Bart. EDITED, WITH NOTES BY HOMER B. SPEAGUE, A.M., Ph.D. FORMERLY PROFESSOR OF RHETORIC IN CORNELL UNIVERSITY, AND AFTERWARDS PRESIDENT OF THE STATE IINITERSITY' OF NORTH DAKOTA ; FOUNDER OF THE MARTHA'S VINEYARD SUMMER INSTITUTE. SUGGESTIONS AND PLANS FOR STUDY TOPICS FOR ESSAYS, I SILVER, BFRDETT AND COMPANY New York BOSTON Chicago 1895 . o o^ , to shine), a candlestick, lamp, lighthouse; turret on a mosque; Span. ?>iinare^e, a high slender turret. Ske((t. — 202. pagod. From Pers. but, an idol, image, God; and kadah, a habitation. Skeat. — 204. MS. " Nor were these mightij bulioarks bare." Bettered in the printing? — 207. glade. Orig. an open space in a wood, letting in the light (icel. gladr, shining). Propriety of the word 'unfathomable'? — 208. sheen. See iv, 286, v, 10. — A.S. scene, Ger. schon, beautiful; showy, fair. Has the word 'shine' imparted the notion of bright, shining? — 208. MS. '^Bright glistening with the dewdrop sheen."" Improved? — 209. green. Ruskin {Modei-n Painters, iii, 278) calls attention to Scott's ' love of color ' as an ingredient in his love of beauty. Is the trait Celtic? — See 184 ; iii, 20. 22 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [cANTO 1. XII. Boon nature scattered, free and wild, Each plant or flower, the mountain's child. Here eglantine embalmed the air, Hawthorn and hazel miugled there; 215 The primrose pale and violet flower Found in each clift a narrow bower ; Foxglove and nightshade, side by side, Emblems of punishment and pride. Grouped their dark hues with every stain 220 The weather-beaten crags retain. With boughs that quaked at every breath, Gray birch and aspen wept beneath ; Aloft, the ash and warrior oak Cast anchor in the rifted rock ; 225 And, higher yet, the pine-tree hung His shattered trunk, and frequent flung, Where seemed the cliffs to meet on high. His boughs athwart the narrowed sky. Highest of all, where white peaks glanced, 230 Where glistening streamers waved and danced, The wanderer's eye could barely view The summer heaven's delicious blue ; So wondrous wild, the whole might seem The scenery of a fairy dream. 235 212. boon = bounteous ? — A 'boon' was originally a favor asked (Icel. hon, a petition) ; but the meaning became modified by the French hon, Lat. bonus, good. In Paj\ Lost, IV, 2i2, 'nature boon' is bountiful nature. — 214. eglantine = sweet-brier? Probably from Late Lat. acu- leiitus, prickly; acus, Fr. aiguilla, a needle. — 217. clift = cleft. 'Cliff was restored by Rolf e from the 1st edition. It would seem to be from Icel. kluft, a cleft, or cleave, to split; whereas 'cliff' is apparently from A.S. cUf, to cleave to, or Icel. klif. to climb. Skeat. — bower. A.S. hur, a chamber; huan, to dwell. — See ii, 112; iv, 413; v, 192; G, 218. Hall and bower are often coupled. — 219. emblems. Ruskin points out " Scott's habit of drawing a slight moral from every scene . . . and that this slight moral is almost always melancholy." See ii, 10-16; iii, 27, 28. — 222,223. Note the imperfect rhyme. Is it "a blemish ? — 224. warrior. Why this epithet? anything to suggest anchor? — 221. MS. has scathed for ' shattered ' ; ' rugged arms athwart the sky ' in 1. 229; twinkling for ' glistening ' in 231. Well? — 231. streamers. What were these? vines? pendent boughs ? CAXTO I.] THE CHASE. 23 XIII. Onward, amid the copse 'gan peep A narrow inlet, still and deep. Affording scarce such breadth of brim As served the wild duck's brood to swim. Lost for a space, through thickets veering, 240 But broader when again appearing. Tall rocks and tufted knolls their face Could on the dark-blue mirror trace ; And farther as the Hunter strayed, Still broader sweep its channels made. 245 The shaggy mounds no longer stood. Emerging from entangled wood, But, wave-encircled, seemed to float. Like castle girdled with its moat ; Yet broader floods extending still 250 Divide them from their parent hill, Till each, retiring, claims to be An islet in an inland sea. XIV. And now, to issue from the glen. No pathway meets the wanderer's ken, 255 Unless he climb with footing nice A far-projecting precipice. The broom's tough roots his ladder made, The hazel saplings lent their aid ; And thus an airy point he won, 260 Where, gleaming with the setting sun, 230. gan. Imperf. of obsolete gii). It was formerly much used with the infinitive, as did is used, to form compound imperfects. — Not = began. 28S. MS. Affording' scarce such breadth of j^ooti As served to float the wild duck's brood. Improved? — 240. veering. Low Lat. virola, a binding ring, ferule; Fr. vivr, to turn about in sailing. — What seems to be veering? — 247. MS. * Emerging dinj-shod from the wood.' Wise fo change it? 256. Unless, etc. — "Until the present road was made tlirough the romantic pass which I have presumptuously attempted to describe . . . there was no mode of issuing out of the defile called the Trosachs, except- ing by a sort of ladder composed of the branches and roots of trees." Scott. — 258. broom. Describe the plant. — 262. living = apparently 24 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [CANTO I. One burnished sheet of living gold, Loch Katrine lay beneath him rolled, In all her length far winding lay, With promontory, creek, and bay, 265 And islands that, empurpled bright. Floated amid the livelier light, And mountains that like giants stand To sentinel enchanted land. High on the south, huge Benvenue 270 Down to the lake in masses threw Crags, knolls, and mounds, confusedly hurled, The fragments of an earlier world ; A wildering forest feathered o'er His ruined sides and summit hoar, 275 While on the north, through middle air, Ben-an heaved high his forehead bare. XV. From the steep promontory gazed The stranger, raptured and amazed, alive? stirring as if alive? — 263. Loch Katrine. This beautiful lake, which the genius of Scott has invested with undying interest, is about five miles east of Loch Lomond, and nearly ten west of Callander. It is about nine miles long and two broad, surrounded by mountains and lofty cliffs, with deep, rocky, well-wooded ravines. It supplies Glasgow with water. Scott derives the name from the ' Catterins or Ketterins, a wild band of robbers.' — 267. livelier, 'because in motion' [Rolfe] ? See 1. 262. — 270. See 1. 97.-272. confusedly. " A trisyllable," says Rolfe. But is it not better to let the sound echo the sense, retaining the four syllables? — 274. wildering = bewildering ? — " The sense of bewilder is to lead into a wilderness." Skeat. See v, 22. — 275. MS. His ruined sides and /ra^'men^s hoar, While on the north to middle air. Better? — 277. Ben-an, 1800 ft. high, between the Trosachs and Glenfin- las. See Map. Of the preceding description, beginning at line 184, the Critical Revieio (Aug. 1820) remarks, " Perhaps the art of landscape-painting in poetry has never been displayed in higher perfection than in these stanzas." — Is the picture too minute?; Does the description detain us too long? " Not so the magnificent scene which bursts upon the bewildered hunter as he emei'ges at length from the dell, and commands, at one view, the beautiful expanse of Loch Katrine." — 278. MS. From the high promontory gazed The stranger, atoe-struck and amazed. CAXTO T.] THE CHAISE. 25 And, "What a scene were here," he cried, 280 "Tor princely pomp or churchman's pride! On this bold brow, a lordly tower; In that soft vale, a lady's bower; On yonder meadow far away, The turrets of a cloister gray : 285 How blithely might the bugle-horn Chide on the lake the lingering morn! How sweet at eve the lover's lute Chime when the groves were still and mute ! And when the midnight moon should lave 290 Her forehead in the silver wave, How solemn on the ear would come The holy matins' distant hum, While the deep peal's ccmmanding tone Should wake, in yonder islet lone, 295 A sainted hermit from his cell. To drop a bead with every knell ! And bugle, lute, and bell, and all. Should each bewildered stranger call To friendly feast and lighted hall. 300 XVI. " Blithe were it then to wander here ! But now — beshreAv yon nimble deer — Like that same hermit's, thin and spare. The copse must give my evening's fare ; ' Test the propriety of the changes. — 281. churchman — one holding high office in the cluirch [Rolf e] ? clergyman ? member of the Established Church of England? priest? — 285. cloister = monastery? nunnery? convent? covered ambulatory (place to walk in) around the inner court of a college or religious house? — Old Fr. doistre, from Lat. claustrum, enclosure; claudei^e, to close. — 287. chide. Line 151. — 290. The 1st ed. has 'did lave.' Preference? — See line 4. — 293. matins' = morning prayers? morning songs? — Lat. Matuta, Roman goddess of the morning. See" ii, 3; v, 15. — 2SW. Effect of the metrical change? Line 73. — 297. bead. A.S. biddan, to pray. Orig. a bead was a prayer; afterwards a perforated ball used in counting prayers. On a rosary the Ave Marias (Hail Mary!) were marked by small beads; the Paternosters (Our Father) by larger ones. — 300. MS. To hospitable feast and hall. Justify the change? — Taylor says, " The key to the stanza is in the last couplet." Vei'ify or disprove it. 302. beshrew = plague on ? — Line 81. — The imprecation is often play- 20 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [cAXTO I. Some mossy bank my couch must be, 305 Some rustling oak my canopy. Yet pass we that ; the war and chase Give little choice of resting-place ; — A summer night in greenwood spent Were but to-morrow's merriment : 310 But hosts may in these wilds abound, Such as are better missed than found ; To meet with Highland plunderers here Were worse than loss of steed or deer. — I am alone ; — my bugle-strain 315 May call some straggler of the train ; Or, fall the worst that may betide, Ere now this falchion has been tried." XVII. But scarce again his horn he wound. When lo ! forth starting at the sound, 320 From underneath an aged oak That slanted from the islet rock, A damsel guider of its way, A little skiff shot to the bay, That round the promontory steep 325 Led its deep line in graceful sweep. ful or affectionate, as where Portia says to Bassanio, whom she worships, " Beshrew your eyes! " Mer. of Ven., Ill, ii, 14. — 30G. canopy. Orio:. a mosquito-bar, from ku^ivwxIj, konops, a grub or mosquito ; theu a bed with mosquito curtains. 805. MS. And holloiv truvh of siome old tree My chamber for the night must be. Why the cliange ? — 313. Highland plunderers. These in the time of James V were "mucli addicted to predatory incursions upon their Low- land neiglibors." — 31(i. fall the worst that may betide. So Shakes. " An (i.e. if) tlie worst fall, that ever fell." Mer. of Ven., I, ii, 77, 78. — 318. falchion. Properly a broad-bladed sword, slightly curved, used in the Middle Ages. See 4(^(3. — 319. MS. Tlie bugle shrill ajrain he wound, And lo 1 I'ortli starting at the sound. Bettered?— 324. MS. A little skiflf shot to the bay. The Hunter left his airy stand. And when the boat had touched the sand, Concealed he stood amid the brake, To ^^ew this Lady of the Lake. CANTO I.] THE CHASE. 27 Eddying, in almost viewless wave, The w^eeping willow twig to lave, And kiss, wdtli whispering sound and slow, The beach of pebbles bright as snow. 330 The boat had touched this silver strand Just as the Hunter left his stand And stood concealed amid the brake, To view this Lady of the Lake. The maiden paused, as if again 335 She thought to catch the distant strain. With head upraised, and look intent, And QjQ and ear attentive bent, And Jocks flung back, and lips apart. Like monument of Grecian art, 340 In listening mood, she seemed to stand The guardian Naiad of the strand. XVIII. And ne'er did Grecian chisel trace A Nymph, a Naiad, or a Grace, Of finer form or lovelier face ! 345 What though the sun, with ardent frown. Had slightly tinged her cheek Avith brown, — The sportive toil, which, short and light. Had dyed her glowing hue so bright, Served too in hastier swell to show 350 Short glimpses of a breast of snow : How as to these changes? — 331. silver strand. The 'second thought,' which suggested these two words, was particularly happy. The ' silver strand' is an object of interest to every tourist. — 3J0. Grecian; there- fore well-nigh perfect ? — 342. Naiad = a fresh-water nymph ? — The Naiads were inferior deities in the form of beautiful virgins. They presided over lakes, rivers, brooks, and fountains. — 344. Nymph. Originally a veiled one, a bride. The Greek imagina- tion peopled all regions with exquisitely beautiful goddesses called nymphs. There were many orders of these lower deities. — Grace. The Graces were three sisters, attendants of Venus; viz., Agla'ia (brightness), Eu- phrdsyne (gladness), Thali'a (bloom). " An aesthetic conception of all that is beautiful in the physical as well as in the social world." — 345. MS. A finer form, a fairer face Had never marble Nymph or Grace, Tliat boasts the Grecian chisel's trace. 28 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [cANTO I. What though no rule of courtly grace To measured mood had trained her pace, A foot more light, a step more true, Ne'er from the heath-flower dashed the dew ; 355 E'en the slight harebell raised its head, Elastic from her airy tread : What though upon her speech there hung The accents of the mountain tongue, — Those silver sounds, so soft, so dear, 360 The listener held his breath to hear ! XIX. A chieftain's daughter seemed the maid ; Her satin snood, her silken plaid. Her golden brooch, such birth betrayed. And seldom was a snood amid 365 Such wild luxuriant ringlets hid, Whose glossy black to shame might bring The plumage of the raven's wing ; And seldom o'er a breast so fair Mantled a plaid with modest care, 370 And never brooch the folds combined Above a heart more good and kind. Her kindness and her worth to spy, You need but gaze on Ellen's eye ; Not Katrine in her mirror blue 375 Gives back the shaggy banks more true Than every free-born glance confessed The guileless movements of her breast ; Reason for the changes ? — 353. measured mood = studied behavior [Ginn] ? The formal manner required by court etiquette [Rolfe] ? — 356, 357. What truth, if any, underlies this poetic fancy? — 359. The MS. has ' stranger tongue.' Improvement ? — 363. snood. The ribbon or head-band that binds the hair of a Scotch girl. It is emblematic of maidenhood. See iii, 114, 116, 485. ^ It Avas exchanged for the curch, toy, or coif, when she married. — plaid, pro- nounced in Scotland, so as to rhyme as here, was a rectangular piece of woollen cloth; usually checkered with threads of various bright colors, but sometimes plaiu gray, or gray with black stripes. It was wrapped around the body, fastened with a belt, and hung gracefully to the knee. It was worn as an outer garment by both sexes. Each clan had its own peculiarly striped or checkered plaid. — 364. brooch = breastpin? Akin to Gaelic hroy, awl. — such birth betrayed. It was the material, satin, CAXTO T.] THE CHASE. 29 Whether joy danced in her dark eye, Or woe or pity claimed a sigh, 380 Or filial love was glowing there, Or meek devotion poured a prayer. Or tale of injury called forth The indignant spirit of the North. One only passion unrevealed 385 With maiden pride the maid concealed, Yet not less purely felt the flame ; — Oh ! need I tell that passion's name ? XX. Impatient of the silent horn, Now on the gale her voice was borne : — 390 " Father ! " she cried ; the rocks around Loved to prolong the gentle sound. Awhile she paused, no answer came ; — "Malcolm, was thine the blast?" the name Less resolutely uttered fell, 395 The echoes could not catch the swell. " A stranger I," the Huntsman said. Advancing from the hazel shade. The maid, alarmed, with hasty oar Pushed her light shallop from the shore, 400 And when a space was gained between. Closer she drew her bosom's screen ; — So forth the startled swan would swing, . So turn to prune his ruffled wing. silk, or gold. — 385. one only = only one ? So in Shakespeare's Jul. Csefi. I, ii, 153, ' one only man ' ; and in Goldsmith's Deserted Village, 1. 39, * one only master.' — Why not write ' only one passion ' ? — 388. Oil I Too effu- sive? sentimental? — See on v, 35. — 395. less resolutely. Why? — 393. MS. A space she paused, no answer came, — " Alpine, was thine the blast? " the name Less resolutely uttered fell. The echoes could not catch the swell. " Nor foe, nor friend," the stranger said, Advancing- from the hazel shade. The startled maid, with hasty oar, Pushed her light shallop from the shore. 400. shallop. Fr. chaloupe, a launch. A boat of any size? — 403. MS. So o'er the lake the swan would spring. Then turn to prune its ruffled wing. 30 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [CAXTO T. Then safe, though fluttered and amazed, 405 She paused, and on the stranger gazed. Not his the form, nor his the eye, That youthful maidens wont to fly. XXI. On his bold visage middle age Had slightly pressed its signet sage, 4io Yet had not quenched the open truth And fiery vehemence of youth ; Forward and frolic glee was there, The will to do, the soul to dare, The sparkling glance, soon blown to fire, 415 Of hasty love or headlong ire. His limbs were cast in manly mould For hardy sports or contest bold ; And though in peaceful garb arrayed. And weaponless except his blade, 420 His stately mien as well implied A high-born heart, a martial pride, As if a baron's crest he wore. And sheathed in armor trode the shore. Slighting the petty need he showed, 425 He told of his benighted road : His ready speech flowed fair and free. In phrase of gentlest courtesy, Yet seemed that tone and gesture bland Less used to sue than to command. 430. Comment on these changes. — 404. prune = pick out damaged feathers and arrange the plumage with the bill [Rolfe]? — Fr. provif/)ie}% to lay- down vine" shoots for propagation; hence, probably, the meaning, to cut away superfluous shoots. Web. Lit. Diet. — 408. wont (pron. tviint) = are accustomed, or past tense, loere accustomed? — >ro/*^ = will not. Note the different pronunciation. — A.S. lounian ; Old. Eng. ivonen ; Ger. loohnen. to dwell, live; A.S. wiina, custom. — 40!». middle age. He died at thirty, in 1.542. His father, James IV, was killed at Flodden. His daughter was Mary, Queen of Scots. His grandchild became James I of England. — See Scott's Tales of a Grand- fatlipr, in which he relates interesting anecdotes about the King's adven- tures while disguised. He was fond of love-making and gallantries. — 425. slighting, etc., = making light of his paltry need of food and lodging? CANTO I.] THE CHASE. 31 XXII. Awhile the maid the stranger eyed, And, reassured, at length replied. That Highland halls were o^ien still To wildered wanderers of the hill. " Nor think you unexpected come 435 To yon lone isle, our desert home ; Before the heath had lost the dew, This morn, a couch was pulled for you ; On yonder mountain's purple head Have ptarmigan and heath-cock bled, 440 And our broad nets have swept the mere, To furnish forth your evening cheer.'' — "Now, by the rood, my lovely maid. Your courtesy has erred," he said ; "No right have I to claim, misplaced, 445 The welcome of expected guest. A wanderer, here by fortune tost, My way, my friends, my courser, lost, I ne'er before, believe me, fair, Have ever drawn your mountain air, 450 Till on this lake's romantic strand -I found a fay in fairy land ! " — XXIII. "I well believe," the maid replied, As her light skiff approached the side, — "I well believe, that ne'er before 455 Your foot has trod Loch Katrine's shore ; But yet, as far as yesternight, Old Allan-bane foretold your plight, — 43.1. MS. '' Tier fathej^'s hall was open still." Why chanoced? — 434. wildered. Line 274.-438. couch. See lines fi66, ()67.— 440. ptar- migan = reddish brown grouse or moor fowl. In Scott the bird appears to be lohite. See ii, 541. Tlie word is Gaelic. The heath-cock are black. — 441. mere. Akin to Lat. mare, sea; Ir. and Gael. muir. — We have the word in Winder-mere, Gras-mere, etc. — 443. rood = erncifix or cross. Bi/ the rood was a common oath. — A.S. rod, cross. — Holyrood in ii, '221. is oris:, holy cross. — 451. romantic. The MS. has enchanting . Bettered? — 452. fay. French, /e'e, fairy; Lat. /«, dimple, not apple. "The resemblance of dapple grey to ... ' apple-grey,' Fr. gris pommele, is accidental." Wedgwood. — 4(52. birchen. Like cedarn in Milton's Comus, 1. 990. — 464. Lincoln green. Cloth made in Lincoln, and much worn by hunters. See iv, o7(), 575 ; v, 452 : vi, 7;^8. 475. errant-kniglit, usually knight-errant. Lat. errare, to wander. The knight-errant travelled in quest of adventures. See vi, 199. — 476. sooth = true? See iv, 250; v, 64; Milton has soothest, in Comus, 823. We nse forsooth, soothsayer, etc. — A.S. soct, true. — 478. emprise. CANTO I.] THE CHASE. 33 For seldom, sure, if e'er before, His noble hand had grasped an oar: 485 Yet with main strength his strokes he drew, And o'er the lake the shallop flew ; With heads erect and whimpering cry, The hounds behind their passage ply. Nor frequent does the bright oar break 490 The darkening mirror of the lake, Until the rocky isle they reach. And moor their shallop on the beach. XXV. The stranger viewed the shore around; 'Twas all so close with copsewood bound, 495 Nor track nor pathwa}^ might declare That human foot frequented there, Until the mountain maiden showed A clambering unsuspected road, That winded through the tangled screen, 500 And opened on a narrow green, Where, weeping birch and willow round With their long fibres swept the ground. Here, for retreat in dangerous hour, Some chief had framed a rustic bower. 505 XXVI. It w^as a lodge of ample size, But strange of structure and device ; Of such materials as around The workman's hand had readiest found. Archaic, iov enterprise . — 485. MS. has 'this gentle hand.' Good change? — 48(J. his strokes. For this tlie MS. has the oars. Why change? — 490. frequent. Such adverbial use is quite common in Shakespeare. — 492. rocky isle. This will always be known as Elleu's Isle. It con- tains two or three acres. The dark gray rocks, mottled with lichens, rise abruptly twenty to fifty feet. Beautiful ferns and honeysuckles, lovely heather, graceful mountain-ash trees, and a few pines — these may be added to the description in the poem. Analyze it. — 500. winded. This, for loound, is very rare. Allowable now? — See v, 22. — 504. re- treat in dangerous hour. "The Celtic chieftains," says Scott, "had usually, in the most retired spot of their domains, some place of retreat . . . which, as circumstances would admit, was a tower, a cavern, or a 34 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [cANTO T. Lopped of their boughs, their hoar trunks bared, 5io And by the hatchet rudely squared, To give the walls their destined height, The sturdy oak and ash unite ; While moss and clay and leaves combined To fence each crevice from the wind. 515 The lighter pine-trees overhead Their slender length for rafters spread, And withered heath and rushes dry Supplied a russet canopy. Due westward, fronting to the green, 520 A rural portico was seen, Aloft on native pillars borne. Of mountain fir with bark unshorn. Where Ellen's hand had taught to twine The ivy and Idsean vine, 525 The clematis, the favored flower Which boasts the name of virgin-bower. And every hardy plant could bear Loch Katrine's keen and searching air. An instant in this porch she stayed, 530 And gayly to the stranger said : "On heaven and on thy lady call, And enter the enchanted hall ! " XXVII. " My hope, my heaven, my trust must be, My gentle guide, in following thee ! " — 535 He crossed the threshold, — and a clang Of angry steel that instant rang. To his bold brow his spirit rushed, But soon for vain alarm he blushed, rustic hut, in a strong and secluded situation." — 525. Idaean vine = red whortleberry [Taylor] ? The common vine [Rolfe] ? The botanical name of the red whortleberry is Vaccinium vitis Idsea, but it is not a climber. Idsean is from Mt. Ida near Troy, famous for vines [Taylor] ? or from Mt. Ida in Crete [Rolfe]? — 526. clematis, a genus of flowering plants of many species, mostly climbers . . . called also v?>f/iH's 6ower. — 528. Note the ellipsis of the relative pronoun. Such omission is very common in Scott and Shakespeare. See iv, 147; vi, 540.— 532. On heaven, etc. She playfully bids him follow the usage of knights-errant. Line 475. — 53G. clang. Strikingly imitative?— 542. careless. See 1. 490.— CANTO I.] THE CHASE. 35 When on the floor he saw displayed, 540 Cause of the din, a naked blade Dropped from the sheath, that careless flung Upon a stag's huge antlers swung ; For all around, the walls to grace. Hung trophies of the fight or chase ; 545 A target there, a bugle here, A battle-axe, a hunting- spear, And broadswords, bows, and arrows store, With the tusked trophies of the boar. Here grins the wolf as when he died, 55U And there the wild-cat's brindled hide The frontlet of the elk adorns, Or mantles o'er the bison's horns ; Pennons and flags defaced and stained, That blackening streaks of blood retained, 555 And deer-skins, dappled, dun, and white, With otter's fur and seal's unite, In rude and uncouth tapestry all. To garnish forth the sylvan hall. XXYIII. The wondering stranger round him gazed, 560 And next the fallen weapon raised : — Few were the arms whose sinewy strength Sufficed to stretch it forth at length. And as the brand he poised and swayed, "I never kneAv but one." he said, 565 546. target. Small shield, buckler. A.S. targe ; Fr. targe, a shield. See iii, 445 ; v, 380. — 548. store = laid up, an obsolete adjective [Rolfe] '? in abundance, plenty? Lat. instam-are, to build, renew; Old Fr. estor, provisions, supplies; estorer, to store. — Milton has, in L' Allegro, — " With store of ladies, whose bright eyes liain inriuence, and adjudge the prize." — Not 'laid up' or 'stored' ladies! See iii, 3; vi, 124; 539.-549. tro- phies. Where the tide of battle was turned (Greek rpen-etv, trepein, to turn), a monument was erected, and hung with captured arms, etc., called trophies. — 551. MS. There 7j?/?j5' the wild-cat's hriiidled hide. Above the elk's branched broio and sJctill, And frontlet of xho forest bull. WelUhan^ed? — 556. See iii, 300. —559. garuish forth. Like fiiniish forth,!. 442. 36 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [CANTO I. " Whose stalwart arm might brook to wield A blade like this in battle-field." She sighed, then smiled and took the word: " You see the guardian champion's sword ; As light it trembles in his hand 570 As in my grasj) a hazel wand : My sire's tall form might grace the part Of Ferragus or Ascabart ; But in the absent giant's hold Are women now, and menials old." 575 XXIX. The mistress of the mansion came, Mature of age, a graceful dame, Whose easy step and stately port Had well become a princely court ; To whom, though more than kindred knew, 580 Young Ellen gave a mother's due. Meet welcome to her guest she made. And every courteous rite was paid That hospitality could claim, Though all unasked his birth and name. 585 566. brook = enclui-e ? A.S. hrucan ; Old E. broken, bniken, to use, enjoy, digest; Lat. frui, to enjoy; ii, 761; iii, 77, 519. —573. Ferragus or Ascabart. — Ferragus alias Ferrate, a Saracen giant slain by Orlando in single combat, as told by Ariosto in Orlando Furioso. Having dropped his helmet in a river, he made a vow never to wear another till he won Orlando's. The Auchinleck MS. makes him forty feet in height, with twenty men's strength. Ascabart was thirty feet high. Under his arm he " carried off Sir Be vis of Hampton, his wife, sword, and steed." His effigy is on one side of the city gate at Southampton, that of Sir Bevis being on the other. Sir Bevis conquered him, and made him his slave. Drayton's Polyolhlon, ii. — " The knight-errant notion is kept up by reference to these heroes of chivalry and in the ' guardian champion.' " Taylor. ^11. dame. Ellen's aunt. By father's or mother's side? ii, 250-2.34. — 578. port. Lat. portare, Fr. porter, to carry; port, carriage, behavior, demeanor. — 580. more than kindred knew = more than (such) kin- dred (usually) kneio (in way of affection) [Rolfe] ? to a greater extent than kindred were accustomed to receive ? — 580. MS. To whom, thoug-h more remote her claim, Young Ellen gave a mother's name. Judicious change? Why? — 585. unasked, etc. "The Highlanders, who carried hospitality to a punctilious excess, are said to have considered it as churlish to ask a stranger his name or lineage before he had taken CANTO I.] THE CHASE. 37 Such then the reverence to a guest That fellest foe might join the feast, And from his deadliest foeman's door Unquestioned turn, the banquet o'er. At length his rank the stranger names, 590 '' The Knight of Snowdoiin, James Fitz-James ; Lord of a barren heritage, Which his brave sires, from age to age. By their good swords had held with toil His sire had fallen in such turmoil, 595 And he, God wot, was forced to stand Oft for his right with blade in hand. This morning with Lord Moray's train He chased a stalwart stag in vain, Outstripped his comrades, missed the deer, (joo Lost his good steed, and wandered here." XXX. Fain would the Knight in turn require The name and state of Ellen's sire. Well showed the elder lady's mien That courts and cities she had seen ; 605 Ellen, though more her looks displayed The simple grace of sylvan maid, refreshment." Scott. See the same considerate delicacy exquisitely illustrated in the treatment of Ulysses hy King AlcinouS in the eighth book of the Odyssey. — 587. fellest. X.^.fel = fierce, cruel. — 591. Snow- douii. See vi, 785-790. Stirling Castle was the favorite residence of James Y. — Fitz-James. Fltz is Lat. ///u^'e, straw, fodder ; /ot^-ra^/e, to for- age ; Eng. fo?'age, to wander in search of forage ; to plunder. The Lennox family lands bordered on the southern end of Loch Lomond. The Earls of Lennox had one of their castles, now in ruins, on the island of Inch-Murrin, in the S.W. part of the lake ; another on the shore near Balloch, where the modern castle stands. 220. Black. Dhu is 'black' in the Gaelic — 221. Holy- Rood. This CANTO II.] THE ISLAND. 53 In Holy-Roocl a knight lie slew ; I saw, when back the dirk he drew, Courtiers give place before the stride Of the undaunted homicide; And since, though outlawed, hath his hand 225 Full sternly kept his mountain land. Who else dared give — ah ! woe the day, That I such hated truth should say ! — The Douglas, like a stricken deer. Disowned by every noble peer, 230 Even the rude refuge we have here? Alas ! this wild marauding Chief Alone might hazard our relief, And now thy maiden charms expand, Looks for his guerdon in thy hand ; 235 Full soon may dispensation sought. To back his suit, from Rome be brought! Then, though an exile on the hill. Thy father, as the Douglas, still Be held in reverence and fear; 240 And though to Roderick thou^rt so dear That thou mightst guide with silken thread, Slave of thy will, this chieftain dread, Yet, loved maid, thy mirth refrain! Thy hand is on a lion's mane! " — 245 is the famous historic Holyrood Palace, long the royal residence in Edin- burgh. — slew. Says Scott, " This was a by no means uncommon occur- rence in the Court of Scotland." See v, 107-127. — 223. MS. Courtiers erive i)laoc with heartless stride Of the retiring homicide. Description improved? — 225. outlawed. A.S. litlaga, one not under the protection of law. — 226. The MS. has after this line the following couplet : — Who else dared own the kindred claim That bound him to thy mother's name ? Probable reason for its omission? — 230. disowned, etc. — Says Scott, " The hatred of James against the race of Douglas was so inveterate that, numerous as their allies were, and disregarded as the royal authority had usually been in similar cases, their nearest friends, even in the most remote parts of Scotland, durst not entertain them, unless under the strictest and closest disguise." See line 142 of this Canto. — 232. ma- rauding. Fr. maraud, a rascal. — The original sense of this word seems to be ' wandering,' ' vagabondizing.' Akin to Spanish nuwrar, to deviate. — 2-35. guerdon. Ger. ivieder, back again; Lat. donum, a gift; Fr. guei'don. Rare, except in poetry. — 23(>. dispensation. Cousins, in the Roman Catholic Church, could not marry Avithout license from the Pope? 54 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [CANTO II. XIII. "Minstrel," the maid replied, and high Her father's soul glanced from her eye, "My debts to Roderick's house I know: All that a mother could bestow To Lady Margaret's care I owe, 250 Since first an orphan in the wild She sorrowed o'er her sister's child; To her brave chieftain son, from ire Of Scotland's king who shrouds my sire, A deeper, holier debt is owed; 255 And, could I pay it with my blood, Allan! Sir Roderick should command My blood, my life, — but not my hand. Rather will Ellen Douglas dwell A votaress in Maronnan's cell; 260 Rather through realms beyond the sea, Seeking the world's cold charity. Where ne'er was spoke a Scottish word. And ne'er the name of Douglas heard. An outcast pilgrim will she rove, 265 Than wed the man she cannot love. XIV. "Thou shak'st, good friend, thy tresses gray, — That pleading look, what can it say But what I own? — I grant him brave. But wild as Bracklinn's thundering wave; 270 And generous, — save vindictive mood Or jealous transport chafe his blood : 251. orphan. Which? — Has Scott carried the inversion too far? — 254. shrouds. In Spenser, to s7irou(? = to protect ; in Shakes, shroud = protection; in Milton's Comus, shrouds = shelters. A.S. scriid = ga,r- ment, dress. — 2(50. Maronnan's cell. St. Maronnan's cell or chapel or church, Kilmaronock, was at the eastern extremity of Loch Lomond. Little is known of the saint. Kil, as a prefix or suffix, meant cell or chapel ; as in JK'i/patrick, Icolmkill, etc. 270. Bracklinn's. The word is said to mean 'white foaming pool.' A beautiful cascade, some 50 ft. high, a mile N.E. of Callander, made by the mountain stream Keltic, at the bridge of Bracklinn. See vi, 487. — 271. save = unless [Rolfe] ? except when ? — 274, claymore. Two- CANTO II.] THE ISLAND. ^^ I grant him true to friendly band, As his claymore is to his hand; But ! that very blade of steel 275 More mercy for a foe would feel : I grant him liberal, to fling Among his clan the wealth they bring. When back by lake and glen they wind, And in the Lowland leave behind, 28l Where once some pleasant hamlet stood, A mass of ashes slaked with blood. The hand that for my father fought I honor, as his daughter ought; But can I clasp it reeking red 285 From peasants slaughtered in their shed? No! wildly while his virtues gleam, They make his passions darker seem, And flash along his spirit high Like lightning o'er the midnight sky. 290 AVhile yet a child — and children know. Instinctive taught, the friend and foe — I shuddered at his brow of gloom. His shadowy plaid and sable plume; A maiden grown, I ill could bear 295 His haughty mien and lordly air : But, if thou join'st a suitor's claim, In serious mood, to Koderick's name, I thrill with anguish! or, if e'er A Douglas knew the word, with fear.. 300 To change such odious theme were best, — What think'st thou of our stranger guest?" — XV. "What think I of him? — woe the while That brought such wanderer to our isle! handed? — Lat. gladius ? — Gael, claidheamh (pronounced kli-ev) ; Welsh cleddyf, a, sword; Gael, mor, Welsh ma wr, great. — 294. shadowy . . . sable. Appropriate ? — Line 220. — 303. woe the while. While (A.S. Jiwil) of course is a noun. After a preposition understood? See i, 166. — 305. yore. A.S. gear, year; 56 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [cANTO II. Thy father's battle -brand, of yore 305 For Tine-man forged by fairy lore, What time he leagued, no longer foes, His Border spears with Hotspur's bows, Did, self-unscabbarded, foreshow The footstep of a secret foe. 3io If courtly spy hath harbored here. What may we for the Douglas fear? What for this island, deemed of old Clan-Alpine's last and surest hold? If neither spy nor foe, I pray 315 What yet may jealous Roderick say? — Nay, wave not thy disdainful head! Bethink thee of the discord dread That kindled when at Beltane game Thou ledst the dance with Malcolm Graeme ; 320 Still, though thy sire the peace renewed, Smoulders in Roderick's breast the feud: Beware! — But hark! what sounds are these? My dull ears catch no faltering breeze, No weeping birch nor aspens wake, 325 Nor breath is dimpling in the lake; (jeara, of years; formerly. — 3015. Tine-man. "Archibald, the third Earl of Douglas, was so vinfortuuate in all his enterprises that he acquired the epithet of tine-man, because be fined, or lost, his followers in every battle which he fought." Scott. Slain in battle in 1424. — 307. what time. \^2it. quo tempore. Seeiii, 15; iv, 9. — no longer foes. He had' lost an eye in battle and been captured by Henry Percy of Northumber- land, Hotspur, in the battle of Hamildou Hill. Afterwards, leagued with Percy, he fought beside him at Shrewsbury in 1403, and was then wounded again and captured. — See Shakespeare's 1 Henry IV, and Holinshed's History of England. — "Thrice hatli tliis Hotspur. Mars in swathing- clothes, Discomfited great Douglas, ta'en him once, Enlarged hiin and made a friend of him.'' 1 Henry IV, HI, ii, 112-115. — 30;). self-unscabbarded. Scott, in his notes, gives other instances of like ominous behavior on the part of ' this sentient and prescient weapon.' — 311. See line 15. — 319. Beltane=Beirs Fire, or Whitsunday? — Ga,e\. Beal = snu, or sun-god; tainn—&ve. On May 1 (Old Style), occurred a yearly festival in honor of the sun and of the returning spring. As a part of the ceremonies, fires were kindled on the hilltops at night. Dancing and merriment followed. — See 410 ; Unab. Bict. — '32o. hark! — Of the description following, Jeffrey says, "The moving picture — the effect of the sounds — and the wild character and CANTO 11.] THE ISLAND. 57 Still is the canna's hoary beard; Yet, by my minstrel faith, I heard — And hark again ! some pipe of war Sends the bold pibroch from afar." 330 XVI. Far up the lengthened lake were spied Four darkening specks upon the tide, That, slow enlarging on the view. Four manned and masted barges grew, And, bearing downwards from Glengyle, ;>35 Steered full upon the lonely isle; The point of Brianchoil they passed, And, to the windward as they cast, Against the sun they gave to shine The bold Sir Roderick's bannered Pine. 340 Nearer and nearer as they bear. Spears, pikes, and axes flash in air. Now might you see the tartans brave, And plaids and plumage dance and wave ; Now see the bonnets sink and rise, 345 As his tough oar the rower plies; See, flashing at each sturdy stroke. The wave ascending into smoke; strong peculiar nationality of the whole procession, are given with inimi- table'spirit and power." — 327. canna's hoary beard. Gael, cannach, ' the canna-down.' Cotton-grass, here called canna, is of the sedge family. (See i, 043.) Around the seed or fruit at maturity are delicate hair-like bristles which resemble tufts of cotton. 335. Glengyle. " A valley at the northern end of Loch Katrine." See map. — 337. Brianchoil. A j)romontory on the north shore of the lake, and due north of Benvenue. — 340. Pine. Reminding us of " the stately emblem on the Bay-state's rusted shield " in colonial days ! — 343. tartans. Woolen cloths, niai'ked into small squares by being chequered or cross- barred with narrow bands of various colors ; much worn in the Highlands of Scotland. — " MacCullummore's heart will be as cold as death can make it, when it does not warm to the tartan." Scott. — French, tartan; tire- taine, linsey-woolsey. See vi, 152. — brave. Fr. brave, gay, fine, hraciuer, to display;" Armoric hrav, fine; Scot, braw, handsome, well-dressed; AVelsh brae, boastful. Akin to brag. — Shakes, repeatedly uses it in the sense of ' showy ' ; as in Hamlet, II, ii, ' this brave o'erhanging firmament.' — 345. bonnets. French bonnet, the name of a stuff or material, very durable, made of thick seamless woolen. Scotch caps, soft, elastic. — 58 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [cANTO II. See the proud pipers on the bow, And mark the gaudy streamers flow 350 From their loud chanters down, and sweep The furrowed bosom of the deep. As, rushing through the lake amain, They plied the ancient Highland strain. XVII. Ever, as on they bore, more loud 355 And louder rung the pibroch proud. At first the sounds, by distance tame, Mellowed along the waters came, And, lingering long by cape and bay, Wailed every harsher note away; 360 Then, bursting bolder on the ear, The clan's shrill Gathering they could hear, Those thrilling sounds that call the might Of old Clan- Alpine to the fight. Thick beat the rapid notes, as when 365 The mustering hundreds shake the glen, And hurrying at the signal dread. The battered earth returns their tread. Then prelude light, of livelier tone, Expressed their merry marching on, 370 Ere peal of closing battle rose, With mingled outcry, shrieks, and blows ; 350. streamers. Why called streamers? — 251. chanters = ia bagpipes the tubes, tlutes, or finger pipes? — 357. sounds. Most editions have sound. Preferable? Line 363. — 363. thrilling, etc. Scott says, "the connoisseurs in pipe music aifect to discover, in a well-composed pibroch, the imitative sounds of march, contlict, fight, pursuit, and all ' the current of a heady fight.' " He quotes from Dr. IJeattie the following: " Some of the pibrochs, being intended to represent a battle, begin with a grave motion representing a march ; then gradually quicken into the onset ; run off with a noisy confusion, and turbulent rapidity, to imitate the conflict and pursuit ; then swell into a few flourishes of triumphant joy, and perhaps close with the wild and slow wailings of a funeral procession." — Trace these successive steps in the description, 365-384. — See line 638, Canto i. — 367. hurrying. _' An- other instance of clumsy inversion,' says Taylor. See on line 251. — " Referring to their, or rather to the the))i implied in that word " [Rolfe] ? referring to hundreds, or they implied in hundreds? — 369. prelude. CANTO II.] THE ISLAND. 59 And mimic din of stroke and ward, As broadsword upon target jarred; And groaning pause, ere yet again, 375 Condensed, the battle yelled amain; The rapid charge, the rallying shout, Ketreat borne headlong into rout. And bursts of triumph, to declare Clan-Alpine's conquest — all were there. 380 Nor ended thus the strain, but slow Sunk in a moan prolonged and low. And changed the conquering clarion swell For wild lament o'er those that fell. XVIII. - The war-pipes ceased, but lake and hill 385 Were busy with their echoes still ; And, when they slept, a vocal strain Bade their hoarse chorus wake again. While loud a hundred clansmen raise Their voices in their Chieftain's praise. 390 Each boatman, bending to his oar. With measured sweep the burden bore, In such wild cadence aa the breeze Makes through December's leafless trees. The chorus first could Allan know, 395 " Koderick Vich Alpine, ho ! iro ! " And near, and nearer as they rowed. Distinct the martial ditty flowed. Lat. 25^cte, before ; ludere, to play. — 373. ward = sjuard against blow, parrying or averting ? See i, 38. — 370. amain. See i, 150. — o8.'5. swell. Subject, or object, of changed? — clarion. Lat. clarus originally meant clear-toned f 392. the burden bore = sustained the burden [Rolfe] ? What is the burden here? — See Canto i, 17; vi, 75. — "The melancholy burden bore, of 'Never — nevermore'!" Foe's liacen. — 391). Vicli = descendant ? — 60 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [cANTO II. XIX. BOAT SOXG. "Hail to the Chief who in triumph advances! Honored and blessed be the ever-green Pine ! 400 Long may the tree, in his banner that glances, Flourish, the shelter and grace of our line ! Heaven send it happy dew, Earth lend it sap anew, Gayly to bourgeon and broadly to grow, 405 While every Highland glen Sends our shout back again, ' Roderigh Vich Alpine dlui, ho! ieroe! ' " Ours is no sapling, chance-sown by the fountain. Blooming at Beltane, in winter to fade; 410 When the whirlwind has stripped every leaf on the. mountain. The more shall Clan-Alpine exult in her shade. Moored in the rifted rock. Proof to the tempest's shock, Firmer he roots him the ruder it blow; 415 Menteith and Breadalbane, then. Echo his praise again, ' Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho ! ieroe ! ' 399. Hail to the Chief. Note how spirited the dactylic metre, one long followed by two short, as in Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade, " Half a league, half a league, half a league, onward! " and many lines in Longfellow's Skeleton in Armor. — [Dactylic = finger-like, one long bone and two short!] from Gr. B6.Krv\o<;, daktillos, finger. — 405. bourgeon. Gaelic 6o?t, to swell; liorra, a knob; Fr. bourgeon, a young bud. Ten- nyson, in 1)1 Memoriam, uses the word in the sense of bud or sprout. — 408. The line means nearly, ' Hurrah for black Roderick, descendant of Alpine.' — " Besides his ordinary name and surname, every Highland chief had an epithet expressive of his patriarchal dignity as head of the clan. . . . The chieftain had usually another . . . which distinguished him from the chieftains of the same race. This was sometimes derived from com- plexion, as dhu [black] or roy [red] ; sometimes from size, as beg or more [great]. . . . The song itself is intended as an imitation of the . . . boat songs of the Highlanders. . . . They are so adapted as to keep time with the sweep of the oars." Scott. 410. Beltane. Lineoli).— 41.3. Image here? — 415. roots him. i, 142; ii, 84. — 41(). 3Ienteith, i, 89. — Breadalbane. The western part of Perthshire, " the district north of Loch Lomond and around Loch Tay. The Earl of Breadalbane 's seat is Tay mouth Castle oh Loch Tay." CANTO II.] THE ISLAND. 61 XX. " Proudly our pibroch has thrilled in Glen Fruin, And Bannochar's groans to our slogan replied; 420 Glen-Luss and Ross-dhu, they are smoking in ruin, And the best of Loch Lomond lie dead on lier side. Widow and Saxon maid Long shall lament our raid, Think of Clan-Alpine with fear and with woe; 425 Lennox and Leven-glen Shake when they hear again, ' Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho ! ieroe ! ' " Row, vassals, row, for the pride of the Highlands ! Stretch to your oars for the ever-green Pine ! 430 that the rosebud that graces 3^011 islands Were wreathed in a garland around him to twine ! that some seedling gem, Worthy such noble stem, Honored and blessed in their shadow might grow! 435 Loud should Clan-Alpine then Ring from her deepmost glen, * Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho ! ieroe ! ' " 419. Glen Fruin. A valley S.W. of Loch Lomond.— 420. Banno- char (Bennchara, or Benachra) Castle's ruins still overhang the entrance to Glen Fruin. — 420. slogan. Gael, slnagh, an army; gairm,^ call. — 421. Glen Lviss is a valley draining into the lake near Glen Fruin. Ross-dhu is between Glen Luss and Glen Fruin. At Glen Luss is a ruined tower, the remnant of an ancient castle of the Luss family. — 422. the best of Loch Lomond lie dead. "The Lennox, as tlic district is called, which encircles the lower extremity of Loch Lomond, was peculiarly exposed to the incursions of the mountaineers, who inhal)ite. glozing = that glosses over the truth, not plain and outspoken [Rolfe], fair, smooth, si^ecious, or flattering [Taylor, Ginn]? — Gr. yX^aaa, Lat. ffli>sr,a, a tongue ; a diflicult word needing explanation ; Fr. ffloser, to comniont, explain. — In Chaucer, Spenser, and Milton, glose = flatter, wheedle, deceive with smooth woods. In Shakespeare, it means misin- 68 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [cANTO II. List all! — The King's vindictive pride G15 Boasts to have tamed the Border-side, Where chiefs, with honnd and hawk who came To share their monarch's sylvan game, Themselves in bloody toils were snared, And when the banquet they prepared, 620 And wide their loyal portals flung. O'er their own gateway struggling hung. Loud cries their blood from Meggat's mead, . From Yarrow braes and banks of Tweed, Where the lone streams of Ettrick glide, 025 And from the silver Teviot's side: The dales, where martial clans did ride, Are now one sheep-walk, waste and wide. This tyrant of the Scottish throne. So faithless and so ruthless known, 630 Now hither comes ; his end the same. The same pretext of sylvan game. What grace for Highland Chiefs, judge ye By fate of Border chivalry ! terpret, give a specious or false meaning. — 616. tamed tlie Border- side. " He assembled a flying army of ten thousand men, consisting of his principal nobility and their followers, who were directed to bring their hawks and dogs with them. . . . With this array he swept through Ettrick Forest [part of the old Great Caledonian Forest, and nearly coin- ciding ^\^t\x the county of Selkirk, S.S.E. of Edinburgh], where he hanged over the gate of his own castle Piers Cockburn of Henderlaud, who had prepared, according to tradition, a feast for King James's reception. He caused Adam Scott of Tushielaw also to be executed, who was distin- guished by the title of King of the Border. But the most noted victim . . . was John Armstrong of Gilnockie, famous in Scottish song, who, confiding in his own supposed innocence, met the King, with a retinue of thirty-six persons, all of whom were hanged at Carlenrig. ... ' There- after was great -peace and rest a long time, wherethrough the King had great profit.'" Scott.— &io. The Meggat flows into the Yarrow, which flows into the Ettrick. The Ettrick and the Teviot flow into the Tweed, which, forming part of the boundary between England and Scotland, enters the North Sea at Berwick. — See line 159.— 624. braes = shelving or hilly ground [Ginn]? brows or sides of hills [Rolfe] ? declivities? — iii, 541 ; iv, 529. — Celtic bre, a peak ; bruach, a hillside ; Old Eng. braij, bank, brow, slope of a hill, declivity. Brae is used in the north of Eng. and in Scot. — 627. MS. has " The dales where clans loere ivont to bide." How is this inferior? — 632. sylvan. See i, 74. — 634. chivalry = knighthood ? the body of knights? their high character ?—Fr. chevalerie, chivalry; chev- alier, cavalier, a knight; cheval, Lat. caballus, a horse. See on Knight- hood, i, 18. — fate. Is there any doubt that the severity, amounting to cruelty, with which James restrained and punished rapine and feudal oppression, conduced to the prosperity of Scotland? Did that justify CANTO II.] THE ISLAND. 69 Yet more; amid Glenfinlas' green, 635 Douglas, thy stately form was seen. This by espial sure I know: Your counsel in the streight I show." XXIX. Ellen and Margaret fearfully Sought comfort in each other's eye, 640 Then turned their ghastly look, each one, This to her sire, that to her son. The hasty color went and came In the bold cheek of Malcolm Graeme, But from his glance it well appeared 645 ^Twas but for Ellen that he feared; While, sorrowful, but undismayed. The Douglas thus his counsel said : " Brave Eoderick, though the tempest roar. It may but thunder and pass o'er; 650 Nor will I here remain an hour, To draw the lightning on thy bower; For well thou know'st, at this gray head The royal bolt were fiercest sped. For thee, who at thy King's command, 655 Canst aid him with a gallant band, Submission, homage, humbled pride, Shall turn the Monarch's wrath aside. Poor remnants of the Bleeding Heart, Ellen and I will seek apart 660 The refuge of some forest cell, There, like the hunted quarry, dwell, him? — 636. thy stately form. See i, 572; ii, 784, 785; v, 676. — Why is the presence of Douglas iu Glenliulas mentioued ? — 637. espial = act of espying? discovery? one who espies? a spj^? scout ? — " Acquaint you with the perfect spy o' tlie time." Macbeth, III, i, 120.— -638. your counsel give me [Rolfe]? I sliow you your counsel? — streight. Lat. stringeye, to draw tight; st?'ictus, drawn close, stretched tight; Old Fr. estreit, a narrowness, stringency; Fr. efroit, narrow; Eng. strait, emer- gency, perplexity, cramped condition. — Ellipsis here ? See i, 528; ii, 80. 657. homage. Fr. hommac/e, a man's service; homme, Lat. homo, a man; humus, earth ('dust of the earth'!). The feudal tenant on his knees declared himself the man, horiio, (houdsman,) of his lord. — See v, 350.-659. the Bleeding Heart. Line 200.— 662. quarry, i, 127. 70 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [cANTO II. Till on the mountain and the moor The stern pursuit be passed and o'er." — XXX. " No, by mine honor, " Eoderick said, 665 " So help me Heaven, and my good blade ! No, never! Blasted be yon Pine, My father's ancient crest and mine, If from its shade in danger part The lineage of the Bleeding Heart! 670 Hear my blunt speech : grant me this maid To wife, thy counsel to mine aid; To Douglas, leagued with Roderick Dhu, Will friends and allies flock enow; Like cause of doubt, distrust, and grief, 675 Will bind to us each Western Chief. When the loud pipes my bridal tell, The Links of Forth shall hear the knell, The guards shall start in Stirling's porch; And when I light the nuptial torch, 680 A thousand villages in flames Shall scare the slumbers of King James ! — Nay, Ellen, blench not thus away. And, mother, cease these signs, I pray; I meant not all my heat might say. — 685 Small need of inroad or of light, When the sage Douglas may unite 668. crest. See i, 16, 44; iv, 754. — 670. lineage. Lat. linum, flax; Lat. linea, A.S. line, Fr. ligne, line; line of descent; Fr. Ugnage, de- scent in a line ; family line. — 672. to wife = as or for wife ? To in the Bible and Shakes, often has this meaning. " The seven had her to wife," Luke, XX, 33. — 674. enow {ow as in noiv). The old iDlural of enoufih. — allies. Accent? — Lat. «d, to; lif/dre, to bind. — 678. Links of Forth. Winding of the river Forth from Stirling to Alloa (at the head of the Firth).— 679. Stirling's porch. Stirling is 30 miles W.N. AV. of Edin- burgh. " Its castle was long the favorite residence of James V, and contains the palace and the parliament house, built by him but now used as bai'racks." — porcli. Lat. porticus, from porta, a gate. — 680. nup- tial torch. Among the Komaus, five torches were carried to light the bride to the bridegroom's house. — Matt., xxv, 1-9. — 683. blench = shrink baclc? start away? grow pale? — "He blenches not " = he flinches not, does not shrink in fear. Ivanhoe. — Hamlet, II, ii, 584. — A.S. blencan, to blink, cheat ; influenced in forin and meaning by flinch. Worcester. — 685. heat. " Misprinted heart in many editions." Rolfe. Would heart give a reasonable meaning ? Exi^lain ! — CANTO II.] THE ISLAND. 71 Each mountain clan in friemlly band, To guard the passes of their land, Till the foiled King from pathless glen 690 Shall bootless turn him home again." XXXI. There are who have at midnight hour In slumber scaled a dizzy tower, And, on the verge that beetled o'er The ocean tide's incessant roar, cm Dreamed calmly out their dangerous dream, Till wakened by the morning beam ; When, dazzled by the eastern glow. Such startler cast his glance below, And saw unmeasured depth around, 700 And heard unintermitted sound, And thought the battled fence so frail It waved like cobweb in the gale; — Amid his senses' giddy wheel, Did he not desperate impulse feel 705 Headlong to plunge himself below And meet the worst his fears foreshow? — Thus Ellen, dizzy and astound. As sudden ruin yawned around, By crossing terrors Avildly tossed, 710 Still for the Douglas fearing most. Could scarce the desperate thought withstand, To buy his safety with her hand. 690. MS. Till the foiled Kir.?, from MU and g-lon. Clearly improved? — 691. bootless. A.S. hot, advantage, profit. — In Shakes. "Doth not Brutns bootless kneel?" I.e. kneel in vain. Cleo- patra says, " I will hoot thee " ; i.e. give thee * to boot.' (592. Ellipsis ? So in iii, 10 ? — Frequently so in Shakes. —094. beetled. " Middle Eng. hitelhroived = having projecting broAvs. . . . The sense is ' with biting brows,' i.e. with brows projecting like an nppor jaw." Skeat. — Worcester thinks beetle " alludes to the prominent eyes of some beetles " ! — In Hamlet, heetles = ]nts, projects. — ()!)6. MS. has desperate instead of dangerous. As good? — 102. battled = battlemented [Rolfe]? i.e. in- dented, or made \\ith open square or oblong spaces at regular intervals ? See vi, 7. — fence = parapet ? wall? — 703, it waved. Ellipsis still fre- quent? See 788, 789. — 708. astound. Shakes, almost always avoids adding cZ or 6r7 to a verb ending with tliesoundof cZor t? — 710. crossings conflicting [Rolfe], rushing athwart her mind? — 72 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [cANTO II. XXXII. Such purpose dread could jMalcolm spy In Ellen's quivering lip and eye, 715 And eager rose to speak, — but ere His tongue could hurry forth his fear. Had Douglas marked the hectic strife, Where death seemed combating with life; For to her cheek, in feverish flood, 720 One instant rushed the throbbing blood, Then ebbing back, with sudden sway. Left its domain as wan as clay. " Eoderick, enough ! enough ! " he cried, "My daughter cannot be thy bride; 725 Not that the blush to wooer dear, Nor paleness that of maiden fear. It may not be, — forgive her, Chief, Nor hazard aught for our relief. Against his sovereign, Douglas ne'er 730 Will level a rebellious spear. 'Twas I that taught his youthful hand To rein a steed and wield a brand ; I see him yet, the princely boy ! Not Ellen more my pride and joy ; 735 I love him still, despite my wrongs By hasty wrath and slanderous tongues. O, seek the grace you well may find Without a cause to mine combined ! " XXXIII. Twice through the hall the Chieftain strode; 740 The waving of his tartans broad, And darkened brow, where wounded pride With ire and disappointment vied, 716. ere. The 1st ed. has e'er. Difference in meaning? What is the proper pronunciation of each? — 718. hectic. Gr. 6