LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. ;30^ Shelf-. Aj...... UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. \ ■^ ^ '^"'"m. fi'i- "Upon a rock with lichens wild, Beside him Ellen sate and smiled." — Page 63. THE LADY OF THE L/^KE ^ Poem in 5ix Cantos BY / SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART. WITH NOTES AND AN APPENDIX FROM THE LATEST EDINBURGH EDITION NEW YORK THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. 13 AsTOR Place >^ Copyright, By T. Y. Crowell & Co. TO THE MOST NOBLE JOHN JAMES MARQUIS OF ABERCORN, ETC. ETC. ETC. THIS POEM IS INSCRIBED THE AUTHOR. ■W-7^- CONTENTS. Introduction 7 The Lady of the Lake : canto i. the chase 2 1 II. — THE ISLAND 6o iii. the gathering 104 iv. the prophecy 146 v. — the combat 188 vi. — the guard-room 235 Appendix 279 i_ t- INTRODUCTION TO THE LADY OF THE LAKE. Edition iS^o. After the success of " Marmion," I felt inclined to exclaim with Ulysses in the "Odyssey" — OvTog /Ltif 8ri ftedlog diaiog ixTSTsi-saTaf JVvf avze anonuf ciXXof. Odys. x 5, 6. " One venturous game my hand has won to-day — Another, gallants, jet remains to play." The ancient manners, the habits and customs of the aboriginal race by whom the Highlands of Scotland were inhabited, had always appeared to me peculiarly adapted to poetry. The change in their manners, too, had taken place almost within my own time, or at least I had learned many particulars concerning the ancient state of the Highlands from the old men of the last generation. I had always thought the old Scottish Gael highly adapted for poetical composition. The feuds and political dissensions, which half a century earlier would have rendered the richer and wealthier part of the kingdom indisposed to countenance a poem, the scene of which was laid in the Highlands, were now sunk in the generous compassion which the English, more than any other nation, feel for the misfortunes of 8 INTRODUCTION. an honorable foe. The Poems of Ossian had, by their popularity, sufficiently shown that if writings on High- land subjects were qualified to interest the reader, mere national prejudices were in the present day very unlikely to interfere with their success. I had also read a great deal, seen much, and heard more of that romantic country, where I was in the habit of spending some time every autumn ; and the scenery of Loch Katrine was connected with the recollection of many a dear friend and merry expedition of former days. This poem, the action of which lay among scenes so beautiful, and so deeply imprinted on my recollection, was a labor of love ; and it was no less so to recall the manners and incidents introduced. The frequent cus- tom of James IV., and particularly of James V., to walk through their kingdom in disguise, afforded me the hint of an incident, which never fails to be interesting if managed with the slightest address or dexterity. I may now confess, however, that the employment, though attended with great pleasure, was not without its doubts and anxieties. A lady, to whom I was nearly related, and with whom I lived, during her whole life, on the most brotherly terms of affection, was residing with me at the time when the work was in progress, and used to ask me what I could possibly do to rise so early in the morning (that happening to be the most conve- nient time to me for composition). At last I told her the subject of my meditations ; and I can never forget the anxiety and affection expressed in her reply. "Do INTRODUCTION. not be so rash," she said, "my dearest cousin.* You are already popular — more so, perhaps, than you yourself will believe, or than even I, or other partial friends, can fairly allow to your merit. You stand high — do not rashly attempt to climb higher, and incur the risk of a fall ; for, depend upon it, a favorite will not be permitted even to stumble with impunity." I replied to this affectionate expostulation in the words of Montrose — " He either fears his fate too much, Or his deserts are small. Who dares not put it to the touch To gain or lose it all." " If I fail," I said, for the dialogue is strong in my recollection, "it is a sign that I ought never to have succeeded, and I will write prose for life : you shall see no change in my temper, nor will I eat a single meal the worse. But if I succeed, — " Up with the bonnie blue bonnet. The dirk, and the feather, and a'!" Afterwards I showed my affectionate and anxious critic the first canto of the poem, which reconciled her to my imprudence. Nevertheless, although I answered thus confidently, with the obstinacy often said to be * The lady with whom Sir Walter Scott held this conversation, was, no doubt, his aunt, Miss Christian Rutherford; there was no other female relation dead when this Introduction was written, whom I can suppose him to have consulted on literary questions. Lady Capulet, on seeing the corpse of Tybalt, exclaims — " Tybalt, my cousin ! oh my brother's child ! " — Ed. I O INTR OD UCTION. proper to those who bear my surname, I acknowledge that my confidence was considerably shaken by the warning of her excellent taste and unbiassed friendship. Nor was I much comforted by her retractation of the unfavorable judgment, when I recollected how likely a natural partiality was to effect that change of opinion. In such cases, affection rises like a light on the canvas, improves any favorable tints which it formerly exhibited, and throws its defects into the shade. I remember that about the same time a friend started in to " heeze up my hope," like the "sportsman with his cutty-gun," in the old song. He was bred a farmer, but a man of powerful understandmg, natural good taste, and warm poetical feeling, perfectly competent to sup- ply the wants of an imperfect or irregular education. He was a passionate admirer of field-sports, which we often pursued together. As this friend happened to dine with me at Ashesteil one day, I took the opportunity of reading to him the first canto of "The Lady of the Lake," in order to ascer- tain the effect the poem was likely to produce upon a person who was but too favorable a representative of readers at large. It is, of course, to be supposed, that I determined rather to guide my opinion by what my friend might appear to feel than by what he might think fit to say. His reception of my recitation, or prelection, was rather singular. He placed his hand across his brow, and listened with great attention through the whole account of the stag-hunt, till the dogs threw them- INTRODUCTION. 1 1 selves into the lake to follow their master, who embarks with Ellen Douglas. He then started up with a sudden exclamation, struck his hand on the table, and declared, in a voice of censure calculated for the occasion, that the dogs must have been totally ruined by being per- mitted to take the water after such a severe chase. I own I was much encouraged by the species of reverie which had possessed so zealous a follower of the sports of the ancient Nimrod, who had been completely sur- prised out of all doubts of the reality of the tale. An- other of his remarks gave me less pleasure. He detected the identity of the King with the wandering knight, Fitz-James, when he winds his bugle to summon his attendants. He was probably thinking of the lively, but somewhat licentious, old ballad, in which the denouement of a royal intrigue takes place as follows : — " He took a bugle frae his side, He blew both loud and shrill, And four-and-twenty belted knights Came skipping ower the hill ; Then he took out a little knife, « Let a' his duddies fa'. And he was the brawest gentleman That was amang them a'. And we'll go no more a-roving," &c. This discovery, as Mr. Pepys says of the rent in his camlet cloak, was but a trifle, yet it troubled me ; and I was at a good deal of pains to efface any marks by which I thought my secret could be traced before the conclu- sion, when I relied on it with the same hope of produc- ■miwnrwMi . 1 2 INTRO D UCTION. ing effect, with which the Irish post-boy is said to reserve a "trot for the avenue." I took uncommon pains to verify the accuracy of the local circumstances of this story. I recollect, in particu- lar, that to ascertain whether I was telling a probable tale, I went into Perthshire, to see whether King James could actually have ridden from the banks of Loch Ven- nachar to Stirling Castle within the time supposed in the Poem, and had the pleasure to satisfy myself that it was quite practicable. After a considerable delay, " The Lady of the Lake " appeared in June, 1810 ; and its success was certainly so extraordinary as to induce me for the moment to con- clude that I had at last fixed a nail in the proverbially inconstant wheel of Fortune, whose stability in behalf of an individual who had so boldly courted her favor for three successive times had not as yet been shaken. I had attained, perhaps, that degree of public reputation at which prudence, or certainly timidity, would have made a halt, and discontinued efforts by which I was fnr more likely to diminish my fame than to increase it. But as the celebrated John Wilkes is said to have ex- plained to his late Majesty, that he himself, amid his full tide of popularity, was never a Wilkite, so I can, with honest truth, exculpate myself from having been at any time a partisan of my own poetry, even when it was in the highest fashion with the million. It must not be supposed, that I was either so ungrateful, or so super- abundantly candid, as to despise or scorn the value of INTROD UCTION. 1 3 those whose voice had elevated me so much higher than my own opinion told me I deserved. I felt, on the con- trary, the more gratefid to the public, as receiving that from partiality to me, which I could not have claimed from merit ; and I endeavored to deserve the partiality, by continuing such exertions as I was capable of for their amusement. It may be that I did not, in this continued course of scribbling, consult either the interest of the public or my own. But the former had effectual means of defending themselves, and could, by their coldness, sufficiently check any approach to intrusion ; and for myself, I had now for several years dedicated my hours so much to literary labor, that I should have felt diffi- culty in employing myself otherwise ; and so, like Dog- berry, I generously bestowed all my tediousness on the public, comforting myself with the reflection, that if posterity should think me undeserving of the favor with which I was regarded by my contemporaries, " they could but say I had the crown," and had enjoyed for a time that popularity which is so much coveted. I conceived, however, that I held the distinguished situation I had obtained, however unworthily, rather like the champion of pugilism,* on the condition of being always ready to show proofs of my skill, than in the * " In twice five years the ' greatest living poet,' Like to the champion in the fisty ring, Is called on to support his claim, or show it, Although 'tis an imaginary thing," etc. Don Juan, canto xi. st. 55. 14 INTRODUCTION. manner of the champion of chivalry, who performs his duties only on rare and solemn occasions. I was in any case conscious that I could not long hold a situation which the caprice, rather than the judgment, of the public, had bestowed upon me, and preferred being deprived of my precedence by some more worthy rival, to sinking into contempt for my indolence, and losing my reputation by what Scottish lawyers call the nega- tive p7'escriptio7i. Accordingly, those who choose to look at the Introduction to Rokeby, in the present edition, will be able to trace the steps by which I decline as a poet to figure as a novelist ; as the ballad says. Queen Eleanor sunk at Charing-Cross to rise again at Oueenhithe. It only remains for me to say, that, during my short pre-eminence of popularity, I faithfully observed the rules of moderation which I had resolved to follow before I began my course as a man of letters. If a man is determined to make a noise in the world, he is as sure to encounter abuse and ridicule, as he who gallops furiously through a village must reckon on being followed by the curs in full cry. Experienced persons know, that in stretching to flog the latter, the rider is very apt to catch a bad fall ; nor is an attempt to chastise a malignant critic attended with less danger to the author. On this principle, I let parody, burlesque, and squibs find their own level ; and while the latter hissed most fiercely, I was cautious never to catch them up, as school-boys do, to throw them back against the naughty boy who fired INTRODUCTION. 1 5 them off, wisely remembering that they are, in such cases, apt to explode in the handling. Let me add, that my reign * (since Byron has so called it) was marked by some instances of good-nature as well as patience. I never refused a literary person of merit such services in smoothing his way to the public as were in my power ; and I had the advantage, rather an uncommon one with our irritable race, to enjoy general favor, without incur- ring permanent ill-will, so far as is known to me, among any of my contemporaries. W. S. Abbotsford, April {1830). * " Sir Walter reign'd before," etc. Don Juan, canto xi. st. 57. THE LADY OF THE LAKE. A POEM IN SIX CANTOS ARGUMENT. The Scene of the following Poem is laid chiefly in the vicinity of Loch Katrine, in the Western Highlands of Perthshire. The time of action includes six days, and the transactions of each day occupy a Canto.* * " Never, we think, has the analogy between poetry and painting been more strikingly exemplified than in the writings of Mr. Scott. He sees everything with a painter's eye. Whatever he represents has a character of individuality, and is drawn with an accuracy and minuteness of discrimination which we are not accustomed to expect from verbal description. Much of this, no doubt, is the result of genius; for there is a quick and comprehensive power of discernment, an intensity and keenness of observation, an almost intuitive glance which nature alone can give, and by means of which her favorites are enabled to discover characteristic diflerences where the eye of dulness sees nothing but uniformity; but something also must be referred to discipline and exercise. The liveliest fancy can only call forth those images which are already stored up in the memory; and all that invention can do is to unite these into new combinati£)ns, which must appear confused and ill-defined, if the impressions originally received by the senses were deficient in strength and distinctness. It is because Mr. Scott usually delineates those objects with which he is perfectly familiar that his touch is so easy, correct, and animated. The rocks, the ravines, and the torrents, which he exhibits, are not tlie imperfect sketches of a hurried traveller, but the finished studies of a resident artist, deliber- ately drawn from different points of view; each has its true shape and position ; it is a portrait; it has its name by which the spectator is invited to examine the exactness of the resemblance. The figures which are combined with the landscape are painted with the same fidelity. Like those of Salvator Rosa, they are perfectly appropriate to the spot on which they stand. The boldness of feature, the lightness and compactness of form, the wildness of air, and the 20 ARGUMENT. careless ease of attitude of these mountaineers, are as congenial to their native Highlands as the birch and the pine which darken their glens, the sedge which fringes their lakes, or the heath which waves over their moors." — Quarterly Revievj, May, iSio. "It is honorable to Mr. Scott's genius that he has been able to interest the public so deeply with this third presentment of the same chivalrous scenes; but we cannot help thinking that both his glory and our gratification would have been greater if he had changed his hand more completely, and actually given us a true Celtic story, with all its drapery and accompaniments in a corresponding style of decoration. Such a subject, we are persuaded, has very great capabilities, and only wants to be introduced to public notice by such a hand as Mr. Scott's to make a still more powerful impression than he has already eflfected by the resurrection of the tales of romance. There are few persons, we believe, of any degree of poetical susceptibility, who have wandered among the secluded valleys of the Highlands, and contemplated the singular people by whom they are still tenanted — with their love of music and of song — their hardy and irregular life, so unlike the unvarying toils of the Saxon mechanic — their devotion to their chiefs — their wild and lofty traditions — their national enthusiasm — the melancholy gran- deur of the scenes they inhabit — and the multiplied superstitions which still linger among them— without feeling that there is no existing people so well adapted for the purposes of poetry, or so capable of furnishing the occasions of new and striking inventions. "We are persuaded that if Mr. Scott's powerful and creative genius were to be turned in good earnest to such a subject, something might be produced still more impressive and original than even this age has yet witnessed." — Jeffrey, Edinburgh Revietv, No. xvi , for 1810. THE LADY OF THE LAKE. CANTO FIRST. THE CHASE. Harp of the North ! that mouldering long hast hung On the witch-elm that shades Saint Fillan's spring, And down the fitful breeze thy numbers flung/ Till envious ivy did around thee cling, Muffling with verdant ringlet every string, — O minstrel Harp, still must thine accents sleep? Mid rustling leaves and fountains murmuring, Still must thy sweeter sounds their silence keep, Nor bid a warrior smile, nor teach a maid to weep ? Not thus, in ancient days of Caledon, Was thy voice mute amid the festal crowd, When lay of hopeless love, or glory won. Aroused the fearful, or subdued the proud. At each according pause, was heard aloud ^ ' MS. : " And on the fitful breeze thy numbers flung, Till envious ivy, with her verdant ring, Mantled and muffled each melodious string, — O Wizard Harp, still must thine accents sleep?" * MS. : " At each according pause thou spokest aloud Thine ardent sympathy." 22 THE LADY OF THE LAKF^. [Canto I. Thine ardent symphony sublime and high ! Fair dames and crested chiefs attention bow'd For still the burden of thy minstrelsy Was Knighthood's dauntless deed, and Beauty's match- less eye. O wake once more ! how rude soe'er the hand That ventures o'er thy magic maze to stray ; O wake once more ! though scarce my skill command Some feeble echoing of thine earlier lay : Though harsh and faint, and soon to die away, And all unworthy of thy nobler strain, Yet if one heart throb higher at its sway, The wizard note has not been touch'd in vain. Then silent be no more ! Enchantress, wake again ! I. The stag at eve had drunk his fill, Where danced the moon on Monan's rill, And deep his midnight lair had made In lone Glenartney's hazel shade ; But, when the sun his beacon red Had kindled on Benvoirlich's head, The deep-moiith'd bloodhound's heavy bay Resounded up the rocky way,' ' MS. : "The bloodhound's notes of heavj'- bass, Resounded hoarsely up the pass." Canto I.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 23 And faint, from farther distance borne, Were heard the clanging hoof and horn. II. As Chief who hears his warder call, " To arms ! the foemen storm the wall," The antler'd monarch of the waste Sprung- from his heathery couch in haste. But, ere his fleet career he took, The dewdrops from his flanks he shook; Like crested leader proud and high, Toss'd his beam'd frontlet to the sky; A moment gazed adown the dale, A moment snuff'd the tainted gale, A moment listen'd to the cry, That thicken'd as the chase drew nigh ; Then, as the headmost foes appear'd. With one brave bound the copse he clear'd, And, stretching forward free and far, Sought the wild heaths of Uam-Var,' ' Ua-var, as the name is pronounced, or more properly Uaigh- mor, is a mountain to the northeast of the village of Callender in Menteith, deriving its name, which signifies the great den or cavern, from a sort of retreat among the rocks on the south side, said, by tradition, to have been the abode of a giant. In latter times it was the refuge of robbers and banditti, who have been only extirpated within these forty or fifty j-ears. Strictly speaking, this stronghold is not a cave, as the name would imply, but a sort of small enclosure, or recess, surrounded with large rocks, and open above head. It may have been originally designed as a toil for deer, who might get in from the outside, but would find it difficult to return. This opinion prevails among the old sportsm.en and deer- stalkers in the neighborhood. 24 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto I. III. Yell'd on the view the opening pack ; Rock, glen, and cavern, paid them back ; To many a mingled sound at once The awaken'd mountain gave response, A hundred dogs bay'd deep and strong, Clatter'd a hundred steeds along. Their peal the merry horns rung out, A hundred voices join'd the shout ; With hark and whoop and wild halloo, No rest Benvoirlich's echoes knew,' Far from the tumult fled the roe, Close in her covert cower'd the doe, The falcon, from her cairn on high. Cast on the rout a wondering eye, Till far beyond her piercing ken The hurricane had swept the glen. Faint, and more faint, its failing din Return'd from cavern, cliff, and linn, And silence settled, wide and still, On the lone wood and mighty hill. IV. Less loud the sounds of sylvan war Disturb'd the heights of Uam-Var, ^ Benvoirlich, a mountain comprehended in the cluster of the Grampians, at the head of the valley of the Garry, a river which springs from its base. It rises to an elevation of three thousand three hundred and thirty feet above the level of the sea. Canto I.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 2$ And roused the cavern, where, 'tis told, A giant made his den of old ; For ere that steep ascent was won, High in his pathway hung the sun, And many a gallant, stayed perforce, Was fain to breathe his faltering horse And of the trackers of the deer. Scarce half the lessening pack was near ; So shrewdly on the mountain side Had the bold burst their mettle tried. V. The noble stag was pausing now, Upon the mountain's southern brow. Where broad extended, far beneath. The varied realms of fair Menteith, With anxious eye he wander'd o'er Mountain and meadow, moss and moor, And ponder'd refuge from his toil. By far Lochard ' or Aberfoyle. ' "About a mile to the westward of the inn of Aberfojle, Lochard opens to the view. A few hundred yards to the east of it, the Avendow, which had just issued from the lake, tumbles its waters over a rugged precipice of more than thirty feet in height, forming, in the rainy season, several very magnificent cataracts. "The first opening of the lower lake, from the east, is uncom- monly picturesque. Directing the eye nearly westward, Benlomond raises its pyramidal mass in the background. In nearer prospect, you have gentle eminences, covered with oak and birch to the very summit; the bare rock sometimes peeping through amongst the clumps. Immediately under the eye, the lower lake, stretching out from narrow beginnings to a breadth of about half a mile, is seen in 26 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto I. But nearer was the copsewood gray, That waved and wept on Loch-Achray, And mingled with the pine-trees blue On the bold cliffs of Benvenue. Fresh vigor with the hope return'd,' With flying foot the heath he spurn'd, full prospect. On the right, the banks are skirted with extensive oak woods, which cover the mountain more than halfway up. "Advancing to the westward, the viewof the lake is lost for about a mile. The upper lake, which is by far the most extensive, is sepa- rated from the lower by a stream of about two hundred yards in length. The most advantageous view of the upper lake presents itself from a rising ground near its lower extremity, where a footpath strikes off to the south, in the wood that overhangs this connecting stream. Looking westward, Benlomond is seen in the background, rising, at the distance of six miles, in the form of a regular cone, its sides presenting a gentle slope to the northwest and southeast. On the right is the lofty mountain of Benoghrie, running west towards the ' deep vale in which Lochcon lies concealed from the eye. In the foreground, Lochard stretches out to the west in fairest prospect ; its length three miles, and its breadth a mile and a half. On the right it is skirted with woods ; the northern and western extremity of the lake is diversified with meadows, and cornfields, and farm-houses. On the left, few marks of cultivation are to be seen. " Farther on, the traveller passes along the verge of the lake under a ledge of rock, from thirty to fifty feet high; and, standing immediatelv under this rock, towards its western extremity, he has a double echo of uncommon distinctness. Upon pronouncing, with a firm voice, a line of ten syllables, it is returned, first from the op- posite side of the lake ; and when that is finished, it is repeated with equal distinctness from the wood on the east. The day must be perfectly calm, and the lake as smooth as glass, for otherwise no human voice can be i-eturned from a distance of at least a quarter of a mile." — Graham's Sketches of Perf/is/tire, 2d edit. p. 182, etc. ' MS. : "Fresh vigor Avith tlie tltought rcturn'd, With flying //^(j/the heath ho spurn'd." Canto I.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 2/ Held westward with unwearied race, And left behind the panting chase. VI. 'Twere long to tell what steeds gave o'er, As swept the hunt through Cambus-more ; ' What reins were tighten'd in despair, When rose Benledi's ridge in air ; ^ Who flagged upon Bochastle's heath. Who shunn'd to stem the flooded Teith — ^ For twice that day, from shore to shore. The gallant stag swam stoutly o'er. Few were the stragglers, following far, That reached the lake of Vennachar ; •* And when the Brigg of Turk was won,5 The headmost horseman rode alone. 1 Cambtts-moye, within about two miles of Callender, on the wooded banks of the Keltic, a tributary of the Teith, is the seat of a family of the name of Buchanan, whom the poet frequently visited in his younger days. 2 Benledi is a magnificent mountain, three thousand and nine feet in height, which bounds the horizon on the northwest from Callen. der. The name, according to Celtic etymologists, signifies i/ie Mountain of God. 3 Two mountain streams — the one flowing from Loch Voil, by the pass of Leny; the other from Loch-Katrine, by Loch Achray and Loch Vennachar, unite at Callender: and the river thus formed thenceforth takes the name of Teith. Hence the designation of the territory of Menteith. * " Loch Vennachar, a beautiful expanse of water, of about five miles in length, by a mile and a half in breadth." — Graham. * "About a mile above Loch Vennachar, the approach (from the east), to the Brigg or Bridge of Turk (the scene of the death of a wild-boar famous in Celtic tradition), leads to the summit of an 28 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto I. VII. Alone, but with unbated zeal, That -horseman pUed the scourge and steel ; For jaded now, and spent with toil, Emboss'd with foam, and dark with soil, While every gasp with sobs he drew. The laboring stag strain'd full in view. Two dogs of black Saint Hubert's breed, Unmatch'd for courage, breath, and speed,' eminence, where there bursts upon the traveller's eye a sudden and wide prospect of the windings of the river that issues from Loch Achray, with that sweet lake itself in front; the gently rolling river pursues its serpentine course through an extensive meadow; at the west end of the lake on the side of Aberfoyle is situated the delight- ful farm of Achray, tke level field, a denomination justly due to it, when considered in contrast with the rugged rocks and mountains which surround it. From this eminence are to be seen also, on the right hand, the entrance to Glenfiulas, and in the distance Ben- venue." — Gr aham. • " The hounds which we call Saint Hubert's hounds are com- monly all blacke, yet, neuertheless, the race is so mingled at these days, that we find them of all colours. These are the hounds which the abbots of St. Hubert haue always kept some of their race or kind in honour or remembrance of the saint, which was a hunter with S. Eustace. Whereupon we may conceiue that (by the grace of God) all good huntsmen shall follow them into paradise. To return vnto my former purpose, this kind of dogges hath bene dispersed through the counties of Henault, Loryne, Flanders, and Burgoyne. They are mighty of body, neuertheless their legges are low and short, likewise tliey are not swift, although they be very good of sent, hunting chaces which are farre straggled, fearing neither water nor cold, and doe more couet the chaces that smell, as foxes, bore, and such like, than other, because they find themselves neither of swift- ness nor courage to hunt and kill the chaces that are lighter and swiftei-. The bloodhounds of this colour proue good, especially Canto I.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 29 Fast on his flying traces came, And all but won that desperate game ; For, scarce a spear's length from his haunch Vindictive toil'd the bloodhounds stanch ; Nor nearer might the dogs attain, Nor farther might the quarry strain, Thus up the margin of the lake. Between the precipice and brake. O'er stock and rock their race they take. VIII. The Hunter mark'd that mountain high, The lone lake's western boundary, And deem'd the stag must turn to bay. Where that huge rampart barr'd the way ; Already glorying in the prize. Measured his antlers with his eyes ; For the death-wound and death-halloo, Muster'd his breath, his whinyard drew; — ' those that are cole blacke, but I made no great account to breed on them, or to keepe the kind, and jet I found a book which a hunter did dedicate to a prince of Lorajne, which seemed to loue hunting much, wherein was a blason which the same hunter gaue to his bloodhound, called Souyllard, which was white: — " My name came first from holy Hubert's race, Soiiyllard my sire, a hound of singular grace." Whereupon we may presume that some of the kind prone white sometimes, but they are not of the kind of the Greffiers or Bouxes, which we haue at these days." — The noble art of Venerie or Hunt- ing-, translated and collected for the Use of all Noblemen and Gentlemen. Lond. 161 1, 4to, p. 15. ' When the stag turned to ba}', the ancient hunter had the perilous task of going in upon and killing or disabling the desperate 30 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto I. But thundering as he came prepared, With ready arm and weapon bared, The wily quarry shunn'd the shock, And turn'd him from the opposing rock ; Then, dashing down a darksome glen, Soon lost to hound and hunter's ken, animal. At certain times of the 3'ear this was held particularly dangerous, a wound received from a stag's horn being then deemed poisonous, and more dangerous than one from the tusk of a boar, as the old rhyme testifies : — " If thou be hurt with hart, it brings thee to thy bier, But barber's hand will boar's hurt heal, therefore thou need's! not fear." At all times, however, the task was dangerous, and to be adventured upon wisely and warily, either by getting behind the stag while he was gazing on the hounds, or by watchmg an opportunity to gallop roundly in upon him, and kill him with the sword. See many direc- tions to this purpose in the Booke of Hunting, chap. 41. Wilson, the historian, has recorded a most providential escape which befell him in this hazardous sport, while a youth and follower of the Earl of Essex. " Sir Peter Lee, of Lime, in Cheshire, invited my lord one sum- mer to hunt the stagg. And having a great stagg in chase, and many gentlemen in the pursuit, the stagg took soyle. And divers, whereof 1 was one, alighted, and stood with swords drawne, to have a cut ut him, at his coming out of the water. The staggs there being wonderfully fierce and dangerous, made us youths more eager to be at him. But he escaped us all. And it was my misfortune to be hindered of my coming nere him, the way being sliperie, by a falle; which gave occasion to some, who did not know mee, to speak as if I had falne for feare. Which being told mee, I left the stagg, and followed the gentleman who [first] spake it. But I found him of that cold temper, that it seems his words made an escape from him; as by his denial and repentance it appeared. But this made mee more violent in the pursuit of the stagg, to recover my reputation. And I happened to be the only horseman in, when the dogs sett him up at bay; and approaching near him on horsebacke. he broke through the dogs, and run at mee, and tore my horse's side with his Canto I.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE, 31 In the deep Trosachs' ' wildest nook His solitary refuge took. There, while close couch'd, the thicket shed Cold dews and wild-flowers on his head, He heard the baffled dogs in vain Rave through the hollow pass amain, Chiding the rocks that yell'd again. IX. Close on the hounds the Hunter came, To cheer them on the vanished game ; But stumbling in the rugged dell, The gallant horse exhausted fell. The impatient rider strove in vain To rouse him with the spur and rein, For the good steed, his labors o'er, Stretch'd his stiff limbs, to rise no more ; Then, touch'd with pity and remorse, He sorrow'd o'er the expiring horse. " I little thought, when first thy rein I slack'd upon the banks of Seine, That Highland eagle e'er should feed On thy fleet limbs, my matchless steed ! homes close bv my thigh. Then I quitted my horse, and grew more cunning (for the dogs had sette him up again), stealing behind him with my sword, and cut his hamstrings ; and then got upon his back, and cut his throate : which, as I was doing, the company came in, and blamed my rashness for running such a hazard." — Peck's Desidera/a Curiosa, ii. 464. ' "The term Trosachs signifies the rough or bristled territory." — Graham. 32 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto I. Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day, That costs thy Ufe, my gallant gray! " X. Then through the dell his horn resounds, From vain pursuit to call the hounds. Back limp'd, with slow and crippled pace, The sulky leaders of the chase ; Close to their master's side they press'd. With drooping tail, and humbled crest ; But still the dingle's hollow throat Prolong'd the swelling bugle-note. The owlets started from their dream, The eagles answer'd with their scream, Round and around the sounds were cast, Till echo seem'd an answering blast ; And on the Hunter hied his way,' To join some comrades of the day ; Yet often paused, so strange the road, So wondrous were the scenes it show'd. XI. The western waves of ebbing day Roll'd o'er the glen their level way ; Each purple peak, each flinty spire, Was bathed in floods of living fire. But not a setting beam could glow Within the dark ravines below, ' MS. : "And on the hunter hied \\\i, face. To tneet some comrades of the chase" Canto I.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 33 Where twined the path in shadow hid, Round many a rocky pyramid. Shooting abruptly from the dell Its thunder-splinter'd pinnacle ; Round many an insulated mass, The native bulwarks of the pass,' Huge as the tower which builders vain Presumptuous piled on Shinar's plain.^ The rocky summits, split and rent, Form'd turret, dome, or battlement, Or seem'd fantastically set With cupola or minaret, Wild crests as pagod ever deck'd, Or mosque of Eastern architect. Nor were these earth-born castles bare,' Nor lack'd they many a banner fair ; For, from their shiver'd brows displayed, Far, o'er the unfathomable glade. All twinkling with the dewdrops sheen,'* The brier-rose fell in streamers green. And creeping shrubs, of thousand dyes, Waved in the west-wind's summer sighs. XII. Boon nature scatter'd free and wild. Each plant or flower, the mountain's child, ' MS. : "The mimic castles of the pass." * The Tower of Babel. — Genesis, xi. 1-9. ^ MS. : " Nor were these mighty bulwarks bare." * MS. : " Bright glistening with the dewdrops sheen." 34 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto I. Here eglantine embalm'd the air, Hawthorn and hazel mingled there ; The primrose pale and violet flower, Found in each cliff a narrow bower ; Fox-glove and night-shade, side by side, Emblems of punishment and pride, Group'd their dark hues with every stain 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 ; And, higher yet, the pine-tree hung His shatter'd trunk, and frequent flung,' Where seem'd the cliffs to meet on high, His boughs athwart the narrow'd sky. Highest of all, where white peaks glanced. Where glist'ning 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. ' MS. : " His scathed trunk, and frequent flung, Where seem'd the cliffs to meet on high, His rugged arms athwart the sltcton(m qui Christi vestigia sunt secuii ; et quia pro eius amore sanguincm suum fuderunt, idea cum Christo gaudent cetcrnum. Whereat all the companie being much astonished, turned their eyes from beholding him working, to look on that strange accident. . . . Not long after, mania of the Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 6/ VIII. " But ah ! dear lady, thus it sigh'd The eve thy sainted mother died ; And such the sounds which, while I strove To wake a lay of war or love. Came marring all the festal mirth. Appalling me who gave them birth, court that hitherunto had borne a kind of fayned friendship towards him, began now greatly to envie at his progresse and rising in goodnes, using manie crooked, backbiting meanes to diftaine his vertues with the black maskes of hjpocrisie. And the better to authorize their calumnie, they brought in this that happened in the violl, affirming it to have been done by art magick. What more.' this wicked rumour increased dayly, till the king and others of the nobilitie taking hould thereof, Dunstan grew odious in their sight. Therefore he resolued to leaue the court, and goe to Elphegus, sur- named the Bauld, then bishop of Winchester, who was his cozen. Which his enemies understanding, they laj'd wayt for him in the way, and hauing throwne him oft' his horse, beate him, and dragged him in the durt in the most miserable manner, meaning to have slaine him, had not a companie of mastiue dogges, that came un- lookt uppon them, defended and redeemed him from their crueltie. When with sorrow he was ashamed to see dogges more humane than they. And giuing thankes to Almightie God, he sensibly again per- ceiued that the tunes of his violl had giuen him a warning of future accidents." — Flower of the Lives of the most renoivned Saiticts of Englafid, Scotland, and Ireland, by the R. Father Hierome Porter. Dowa}-, 1632, 4to, tome i. p. 43S. The same supernatural circumstance is alluded to by the anony- mous author of " Grim, the Collier of Croydon." " (Dunsiaii^s harp sounds on the -wall.") " Forest. Hark, hark, my lords, the holy abbott's harp Sounds by itself so hanging on the wall! " Dunstan. Unhallow'd man, th.at scorn'st the sacred rede, Hark, how the testimony of my truth Sounds heavenly music with an angel's hand, To testify Dunstan's integrity. And prove thy active boast oi no effect." 68 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. And, disobedient to my call, Wail'd loud through Bothwell's banner'd hall, Ere Douglasses, to ruin driven, ' Were exiled from their native heaven. Oh ! if yet worse mishap and woe, My master's house must undergo, 1 The downfall of the Douglasses of the house of Angus, during the reign of James V., is the event alluded to in the text. The Earl of Angus, it will be remembered, had married the queen dowager, and availed hiinself of the right which he thus acquired, as well as of his extensive power, to retain the king in a sort of tutelage, which approached very near to captivity. Several open attempts were made to rescue James from this thraldom, with which he was well known to be deeply disgusted; but the valor of the Douglasses, and their allies, gave them the victory in every conflict. At length the king, while residing at Falkland, contrived to escape by night out of his own court and palace, and rode full speed to Stirling Castle, where the governor, who was of the opposite faction, joyfully received him. Being thus at liberty, James speedily summoned around him such peers as he knew to be most inimical to the domination of Angus, and laid his complaint before them, says Pitscottie, "with great lamentations : showing to them how he was holden in subjection, thir years bygone, by the Earl of Angus, and his kin and friends, who oppressed the whole country, and spoiled it, under the pretence of justice and his authority; and had slain many of his lieges, kins- men, and friends, because they would have had it mended at their hands, and put him at liberty, as he ought to have been at the counsel of his whole lords, and not have been subjected and cor- rected with no particular men, by the rest of his nobles : Therefore, said he, I desire, my lords, that I may be satisfied of the said earl, his kin. and friends; for I avow, that Scotland shall not hold us both, while [/. e. till] I be revenged on him and his. "The Lords hearing the king's complaint and lamentation, and also the great rage, fury, and malice, that he bore toward the Earl of Angus, his kin and friends, they concluded all, and thought it best that he should be summoned to underlay the law: if he found no caution, nor yet compear himself, that he should be put to the horn, with all his kin and friends, so many as were contained in the Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 69 Or aught but weal to Ellen fair, Brood in these accents of despair, No future bard, sad Harp ! shall fling Triumph or rapture from thy string ; One short, one final strain shall flow, Fraught with unutterable woe, Then shiver'd shall thy fragments lie, Thy master cast him down and die!" IX. Soothing she answer'd him, " Assuage, Mine honor'd friend, the fears of age ; All melodies to thee are known, That harp has rung, or pipe has blown. In Lowland vale or Highland glen, From Tweed to Spey — what marvel, then, At times, unbidden notes should rise, Confusedly bound in memory's ties. Entangling as they rush along, The war-march with the funeral song ? — Small ground is now for boding fear ; Obscure, but safe, we rest us here. My sire, in native virtue great. Resigning lordship, lands, and state, letters. And farther, the lords ordained, by advice of his majesty, that his brother and friends should be summoned to find caution to underlay the law within a certain day, or else be put to the horn. But the earl appeared not, nor none for him : and so he was put to the horn, with all his kin and friends: so many as were contained in the summons, that compeared not, were banished, and holden traitors to the king." 70 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. Not then to fortune more resign'd, Than yonder oak might give the wind ; The graceful foliage storms may reave, The noble stem they cannot grieve. For me," — she stoop'd, and, looking round, Pluck'd. a blue hare-bell from the ground, — " For me, whose memory scarce conveys An image of more splendid days, This little flower that loves the lea. May well my simple emblem be ; It drinks heaven's due as blithe as rose ' That in the king's own garden grows ; And when I place it in my hair, Allan, a bard is bound to swear He ne'er saw coronet so fair." Then playfully the chaplet wild She wreath'd in her dark locks, and smiled. X. Her smile, her speech, with winning sway, Wiled the old harper's mood away. With such a look as hermits throw. When angels stoop to soothe their woe, He gazed, till fond regret and pride Thrill'd to a tear, then thus replied : " Loveliest and best ! thou little know'st The rank, the honors, thou hast lost ! 1 MS. : " No blither dew-drop cheers the rose." Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 7 1 O might I live to see thee grace, In Scotland's court, thy birth-right place. To see my favorite's step advance,' The lightest in the courtly dance, The cause of every gallant's sigh, And leading star of every eye, " And theme of every minstrel's art. The Lady of the Bleeding Heart ! " * XI. " Fair dreams are these," the maiden cried, (Light was her accent, yet she sighed ;) " Yet is this mossy rock to me Worth splendid chair and canopy ; ^ Nor would my footsteps spring more gay In courtly dance than blithe strathspey. Nor half so pleased mine ear incline To royal minstrel's lay as thine. And then for suitors proud and high. To bend before my conquering eye, — Thou, flattering bard ! thyself wilt say, That grim Sir Roderick owns its sway. The Saxon scourge, Clan-Alpine's pride. The terror of Loch Lomond's side. Would, at my suit, thou know'st, delay A Lennox foray — for a day." ' This couplet is not in the MS. 2 The well-known cognizance of the Douglas family. ^ MS. : " This mossy rock, mj friend, to me Is worth gay chair and canopy." 72 THE LADY OF THE LAKE [Canto II. XII. The ancient bard his glee repress'd : " 111 hast thou chosen theme for jest ! For who, through all this western wild, Named Black Sir Roderick e'er, and smiled ! In Holy-Rood a knight he slew ; ' I saw, when back the dirk he drew, Courtiers give place before the stride Of the undaunted homicide ; ^ And since, though outlaw'd, hath his hand. Full sternly kept his mountain land. Who else dare give — ah ! woe the day,^ That I such hated truth should say — The Douglas, like a stricken deer, Disown'd by every noble peer,'* Even the rude refuge we have here ? 1 See Appendix, Note C. " MS. : "Courtiers gave place with heartless stride Of the retiring homicide." 3 MS. : " Who else dared own the kindred claim That bound him to thy mother's name.' Who else dared give," etc. * The exiled state of this powerful race is not exaggerated in this and subsequent passages. The hatred of James against the race of Douglas was so inveterate that, numerous as their allies were, and disregarded as the regal 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. James Douglas, son of the banished Earl of Angus, after- wards well known by the title of Earl of Morton, lurked, during the exile of his family, in the north of Scotland, under the assumed name of James Innes, othenvise James the Grieve {i. e., Reve or Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 73 Alas, this wild marauding Chief Alone might hazard our relief, And now thy maiden charms expand, Looks for his guerdon in thy hand ; 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 ; And though to Roderick thou'rt so dear. That thou mightst guide with silken thread, Slave of thy will, this chieftain dread ; Yet, O loved maid, thy mirth refrain! Thy hand is on a lion's mane." — 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, Since first an orphan in the wild She sorrow'd o'er her sister's child ; Bailiff). "And as he bore the name," says Godscroft, " so did he also execute the office of a grieve or overseer of the lands and rents, the corn and cattle of him with whom he lived." From the habits of frugality and observation which he acquired in his humble situa- tion, the historian traces that intimate acquaintance with popular character, which enabled him to rise so high in the state, and that honorable economy by which he repaired and established the shattered e?tates of Angus and Morton. — History of the House of Douglas, Edinburgh, 1743, vol. ii, p. 160. 74 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II- To her brave chieftain son, from ire Of Scotland's king who shrouds my sire. A deeper, hoUer debt is owed ; 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 ; ' 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, Than wed the man she cannot love.* XIV. ** Thou shakest, 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 ;^ 1 The parish of Kilmaronock, at the eastern extremity of Loch- Lomond, derives its name from a cell or chapel, dedicated to Saint Maronoch, or Marnoch, or Maronnan, about whose sanctity very little is now remembered. There is a fountain devoted to him in the same parish; but its virtues, like the merits of its patron, have fallen into oblivion. - " Ellen is most exquisitely drawn, and could not have been improved by contrast. She is beautiful, frank, affectionate, rational, and playful, combining the innocence of a child with the elevated sentiments and courage of a heroine." — Quarterly Review. ^ This is a beautiful cascade made by a mountain stream called the Keltie, at a place called the Bridge of Bracklinn, about a mile Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 75 And generous — save vindictive mood, Or jealous transport, chafe his blood : I grant him true to friendly band, As his claymore is to his hand ; But O ! that very blade of steel 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, 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, From peasants slaughter'd 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. While yet a child, — and children know. Instinctive taught, the friend and foe, — I shudder'd at his brow of gloom, His shadowy plaid, and sable plume! from the village of Callendar in Menteith. Above a chasm, where the brook precipitates itself from a height of at least fifty feet, there is thrown, for the convenience of the neighborhood, a rustic foot- bridge, of about three feet in breadth, and without ledges, which is scarcely to be crossed by a stranger without awe and appre- hension. 76 THE LADV OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. A maiden grown, I ill could bear His haughty mien and lordly air ; But, if thou join'st a suitor's claim, In serious mood, to Roderick's name, I thrill with anguish ! or, if e'er A Douglas knew the word, with fear. 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 ! Thy father's battle-brand, of yore 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.^ ' Archibald, the third Earl of Douglas, was so unfortunate in all his enterprises, that he acquired the epithet of Tine-man, because he titled, or lost, his followers in everj' battle which he fought. He was vanquished, as every reader must remember, in the bloody battle of Homildon-hill, near Wooler, where he himself lost an eye, and was made prisoner by Hotspur. He was no less unfortunate when allied with Percy, being wounded and taken at the battle of Shrewsbury. He was so unsuccessful in an attempt to besiege Roxburgh Castle, that it was called the Foul Raid, or disgraceful expedition. His ill fortune left him indeed at the battle of Beauge, in France ; but it was only to return with double emphasis at the subsequent action of Vernoil, the last and most unlucky of his encounters, in which he fell, with the flower of the Scottish chivahy, then serving as auxiliaries in France, and about two thousand com- mon soldiers, A. D. 1424. 2 See Appendix, Note D. J_ Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 77 If courtly spy hath harbor'd here, What may we for the Douglas fear ? What for this island, dcem'd of old Clan-Alpine's last and surest hold ? If neither spy nor foe, I pray 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 Gramme ; Still, though thy sire the peace renew'd. 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, Nor breath is dimpling in the lake. 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." XVI. Far up the lengthen'd lake were spied Four darkening specks upon the tide, That, slow enlarging on the view. Four mann'd and masted barges grew, ' "The moving picture — the effect of the sounds — and the wild character and strong peculiar nationality of the whole procession, are given with inimitable spirit and power of expression." — Jeffrey. 2 Cotton-grass. 78 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. And, bearing downwards from Glengyle, Steer'd full upon the lonely isle ; The point of Brianchoil they pass d, And, to the windward as they cast, Against the sun they gave to shine The bold Sir Roderick's banner'd Pine. Nearer and nearer as they bear, Spear, 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. As his tough oar the rower plies; See, flashing at each sturdy stroke, The wave ascending into smoke ; See the proud pipers on the bow. And mark the gaudy streamers flow From their loud chanters ' down, and sweep The furrow'd bosom of the deep, As, rushing through the lake amain. They plied the ancient Highland strain. XVII. Ever, as on they bore, more loud And louder rung the pibroch proud. At first the sound, by distance tame, Mellow'd along the waters came. And, lingering long by cape and bay, Wail'd every harsher note away; 1 The/;]^e of the bagpipe. Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 79 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 The mustering hundreds shake the glen, And hurrying at the signal dread. The batter'd earth returns their tread, Then prelude light, of livelier tone, Express'd their merry marching on, Ere peal of closing battle rose. With mingled outcry, shrieks, and blows ; A mimic din of stroke and ward, As broadsword upon target jarr'd ; And groaning pause, ere yet agam. Condensed, the battle yell'd amain ; The rapid charge, the rallying shout. Retreat borne headlong into rout, And bursts of triumph, to declare Clan-Alpine's conquest — all were there. ^ The connoisseurs in pipe-music affect to discover in a well- composed pibroch, the imitative sounds of march, conflict, fight, pursuit and all the " current of a heady fight." To this opinion Dr. Beattie has given his suffrage, in the following elegant passage : '' A. pibroch is a species of tune, peculiar, I think, to the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland. It is performed on a bagpipe, and differs totally from all other music. Its rythm is so irregular, and its notes, especially in the quick movement, so mixed and huddled together that a stranger finds it impossible to reconcile his ear to it, so as to perceive its modulation. Some of these pibrochs, being intended to represent a battle, begin with a grave motion resembling a march; then gradually quicken into the onset; run off with noisy 8o THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. Nor ended thus the strain ; but slow Sunk in a moan prolong'd and low, And changed the conquering clarion swell, For wild lament o'er those that fell. xviir. The war-pipes ceased ; but lake and hill 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. Each boatman, bending to his oar. With measured sweep the burden bore, In such wild cadence, as the breeze Makes through December's leafless trees. The chorus first could Allan know, " Roderick Vich Alpine, ho ! iro ! " And near, and nearer as they row'd, Distinct the martial ditty flow'd. XIX. BOAT SONG. Hail to the Chief who in triumph advances ! Honor'd and bless'd be the ever-green Pine ! 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 low wailings of a funeral procession." — Essay on Laughter and Ludicrous Composition, chap. iii. Note. Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 8 1 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. While every Highland glen Send our shout back agen, "Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho ! ieroe!" ' Ours is no sapling, chance-sown by the fountain, Blooming at Beltane, in winter to fade ; When the whirlwind has stripp'd every leaf on the mountain, The more shall Clan-Alpine exult in her shade. Moor'd in the rifted rock, Proof to the tempest's shock. ' Besides his ordinary name and surname, which were chiefly used in the intercourse with the Lowlands, every Highland chief had an epithet expressive of his patriarchal dignity as head of the clan, and which was common to all his predecessors and successors, as Pharaoh to the kings of Egypt, or Arsaces to those of Parthia. This name was usually a patronymic, expressive of his descent from the founder of the famil3^ Thus the Duke of Argyle is called Mac- Callum More, or the soti of Colin the Great. Sometimes, however, it is derived from armorial distinctions, or the memory of some great feat; thus Lord Seaforth, as chief of the Mackenzies, or Clan- Kennet, bears the epithet of Caber-fae, or Buck's Head, as repre- sentative of Colin Fitzgerald, founder of the, family, who saved the Scottish king when endangered by a stag. But besides this title, which belonged to his office and dignity, the chieftain had usually another peculiar to himself, which distinguished him from the chieftains of the same race. This was sometimes derived from complexion, as d//ti or ray ; sometimes from size, as beg or }?iore ; at 82 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. Firmer he roots him the ruder it blows ; Menteith and Breadalbane, then, Echo his praise again, " Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho! ieroe !" XX. Proudly our pibroch has thrill'd in Glen Fruin, And Bannachar's groans to our slogan replied ; Glen Lus and Ross-dhu, they are smoking in ruin, And the best of Loch-Lomond lie dead on her side.' Widow and Saxon maid Long shall lament our raid, Think of Clan-Alpine with fear and with woe ; 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 ! other times, from some peculiar exploit, or from some peculiarity of habit or appearance. The line of the text therefore signifies, Black Roderick, the descendant of Alpine. The song itself is intended as an imitation oi \.\\tjoyrnms, or boat- songs of the Highlanders, which were usually composed in honor of a favorite chief. They are so adapted as to keep time with the sweep of the oars, and it is easy to distinguish between those intended to be sung to the oars of a galley, where the stroke is lengthened and doubled, as it were, and those which were timed to the rowers of an ordinary boat. 1 See Appendix, Note E. Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 83 O ! that the rose-bud that graces yon islands, Were wreathed in a garland around him to twine. O, that some seedling gem, Worthy such noble stem, Honor'd and blessed in their shadow might grow ! Loud should Clan-Alpine then Ring from her deepest glen, "Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho! ieroe!"^ XXI. With all her joyful female band. Had Lady Margaret sought the strand. Loose on the breeze their tresses flew. And high their snowy arms they threw, As echoing back with shrill acclaim, And chorus wild, the Chieftain's name ;^ While, prompt to please, with mother's art, The darling passion of his heart. The Dame called Ellen to the strand To greet her kinsman ere he land : "Come, loiterer, come! a Douglas thou. And shun to wreathe a victor's brow ? " — 1 " However we may dislike the geographical song and chorus, half English and half Erse, which is sung in praise of the warrior, we must allow that, in other respects, the hero of a poem has seldom, if ever, been introduced with finer effect, or in a manner better calculated to excite the expectations of the reader, than on the present occasion." — Critical Review. * MS. : " The chorus to the chieftain's fame." 84 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. Reluctantly and slow, the maid The unwelcome summoning obey'd, And, when a distant bugle rung, In the mid-path aside she sprung : — " List, Allan-Bane ! From mainland cast, I hear my father's signal blast, Be ours," she cried, "the skiff to guide, And waft him from the mountain-side." Then, like a sunbeam, swift and bright, She darted to her shallop light. And, eagerly while Roderick scann'd. For her dear form, his mother's band, The islet far behind her lay. And she had landed in the bay. XXII. Some feelings are to mortals given, With less of earth in them than heaven : And if there be a human tear From passion's dross refined and clear, A tear so limpid and so meek. It would not stain an angel's cheek, 'Tis that which pious fathers shed Upon a duteous daughter's head ! And as the Douglas to his breast His darling Ellen closely press'd, Such holy drops her tresses steep' d, Though 'twas an hero's eye that weep'd. Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 85 Nor while on Ellen's faltering tongue' Her filial welcomes crowded hung, Mark'd she, that fear (affection's proof) Still held a graceful youth aloof ; No \ not till Douglas named his name. Although the youth was Malcolm Graeme. XXIII. Allan, with wistful look the while, Mark'd Roderick landing on the isle ; His master piteously he eyed. Then gazed upon the Chieftain's pride, Then dash'd, with hasty hand, away From his dimm'd eye the gathering spray ; And Douglas, as his hand he laid On Malcolm's shoulder, kindly said, " Canst thou, young friend, no meaning spy In my poor follower's glistening eye > I'll tell thee : he recalls the day. When in my praise he led the lay O'er the arch'd gate of Bothwell proud, While many a minstrel answer'd loud. 1 MS. : " Nor while on Ellen's faltering tongue Her filial greetings eager hung, Mark'd 7iot that awe (affection's proof) Still held w« gentle youth aloof; No! not till Douglas named his name. Although the youth was Malcolm Graeme. Then -Mith flushed cheek and doivficafit eye. Their greeting was confused and shy." 86 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. When Percy's Norman pennon won In bloody field before me shone,. And twice ten knights, the least a name As mighty as yon Chief may claim, Gracing my pomp, behind me came. Yet trust me, Malcolm, not so proud Was I of all that marshall'd crowd. Though the waned crescent own'd my might, And in my train troop'd lord and knight. Though Blantyre hymn'd her holiest lays And Bothwell's bards flung back my praise As when this old man's silent tear, And this poor maid's affection dear, A welcome give more kind and true. Than aught my better fortunes knew Forgive, my friend, a father's boast, O ! it out-beggars all I lost ! " XXIV. Delightful praise ! — Like summer rose. That brighter in the dew-drop glows. The bashful maiden's cheek appear'd. For Douglas spoke, and Malcolm heard. The flush of shame-faced joy to hide. The hounds, the hawk, her cares divide ; The loved caresses of the maid The dogs with crouch and whimper paid ; ' ' MS. ; " The dogs with -vhimpering uoies repaid." Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 8/ And, at her whistle, on her hand The falcon took his favorite stand, Closed his dark wing, relax'd his eye, Nor, though unhooded, sought to fly. And, trust, while in such guise she stood. Like fabled Goddess of the Wood, ' That if a father's partial thought O'erweigh'd her worth and beauty aught. Well might the lover's judgment fail To balance with a juster scale ; For with each secret glance he stole. The fond enthusiast sent his soul, XXV. Of stature tall, and slender frame. But firmly knit, was Malcolm Graeme, The belted plaid and tartan hose Did ne'er more graceful limbs disclose ; His flaxen hair of sunny hue, Curl'd closely round his bonnet blue. Train'd to the chase, his eagle eye The ptarmigan in snow could spy : Each pass, by mountain, lake, and heath. He knew, through Lennox and Menteith : Vain was the bound of dark-brown doe, When Malcolm bent his sounding bow, And scarce that doe, though wing'd with fear, Outstripp'd in speed the mountaineer : ^ MS. : " Like fabled huntress of tlie wood." 88 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. Right up Ben Lomond could he press, And not a sob his toil confess. His form accorded with a mind Lively and ardent, frank and kind ; A blither heart till Ellen came, Did never love or sorrow tame ; It danced as lightsome in his breast, As play'd the feather on his crest. Yet friends who nearest knew the youth, His scorn of wrong, his zeal for truth. And bards, who saw his features bold When kindled by the tales of old. Said, w.ere that youth to manhood grow Not long should Roderick Dhu's renown Be foremost voiced by mountain fame, But quail to that of Malcolm Graeme. .XXVL Now back they wend their watery way. And, " O my sire ! " did Ellen say, " Why urge thy chase so far astray .-' And why so late return'd .'' And why " — The rest was in her speaking eye, " My child, the chase I follow far, 'Tis mimicry of noble war ; And with that gallant pastime reft Were all of Douglas I have left. I met young Malcolm as I stray'd. Far eastward, in Glenfinlas' shade. Canto IL] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 89 Nor stray'd I safe ; for, all around, Hunters and horsemen scour'd the ground, This youth, though still a royal ward, Risk'd life and land to be my guard, And through the passes of the wood Guided my steps, not unpursued ; And Roderick shall his welcome make, Despite old spleen, for Douglas' sake. Then must he seek Strath-Endrick glen. Nor peril aught for me agen." XXVII. Sir Roderick, who to meet them came, Redden'd at sight of Malcolm Graeme, Yet, not in action, word, or eye, Fail'd aught in hospitality. In talk and sport they whiled away The morning of that summer day ; But at high-noon a courier light Held secret parley with the knight, Whose moody aspect soon declared. That evil were the news he heard. Deep thought seem'd toiling in his head; Yet was the evening banquet made, Ere he assembled round the flame, His mother, Douglas, and the Graeme, And Ellen, too ; then cast around His eyes, then fixed them on the ground, 90 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. As studying phrase that might avail Best to convey unpleasant tale. Long with his dagger's hilt he play'd, Then raised his haughty brow, and said : XXVIII. " Short be my speech ; — nor time affords, Nor my plain temper, glozing words. Kinsman and father, — if such name Douglas vouchsafe to Roderick's claim ; Mine honor'd mother; — Ellen — why. My cousin, turn away thine eye .-' — And Graeme ; in whom I hope to know Full soon a noble friend or foe. When age shall give thee thy command, And leading in thy native land, — List all ! — The King's vindictive pride Boasts to have tamed the border side.' ' In 1529, James V. made a convention at Edinburgh for the purpose of considering the best mode of quelling the Border robbers, who, during the license of his minority, and the troubles which followed, had committed many exorbitances. Accordingly, 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, that the monarch might refresh himself with sport during the intervals of military execution. With this array he swept through Ettrick Forest, where he hanged over the gate of his own castle Piers Cockburn of Henderland, who had prepared, according to tradition, a feast for his reception. He caused Adam Scott of Tushielaw also to be executed, who was distinguished by the title of King of the Border. But the most noted victim of justice during that expedition was John Armstrong Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 9 1 Where chiefs, with hound and hawk who came, To share their monarch's sylvan game. Themselves in bloody toils were snared ; And when the banquet they prepared, 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, 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, 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.^ of Gilnockie,* famous in Scottish song, wlio, confiding in his own supposed innocence, met tlie King, with a retinue of thirtv-six persons, all of whom were hanged at Carlenrig, near the source of the Teviot. The effect of this severity was such, that, as the vulgar expressed it, "the rush-bush kept the cow," and, " thereafter was great peace and rest for a long time, wherethrough the King had great profit; for he had ten thousand sheep going in the Ettrick Forest in keeping by Andrew Bell, who made the King as good count of them as they had gone in the bounds of Fife." — Pits- cottie's Hisfory, p. 153. 1 MS. : "The dales where clans were wont to bide." 2 James was in fact equally attentive to restrain rapine and feudal oppression in every part of his dominions. "The King past to the Isles, and there held justice courts, and punished both thief and * See Border Minstrelsy, vol. i, p. 393. 92 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. Yet more ; amid Glenfinlas green, 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. Then turn'd 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 appear'd, 'Twas but for Ellen that he fear'd ; While, sorrowful, but undismay'd, The Douglas thus his counsel said : "Brave Roderick, though the tempest roar, It may but thunder and pass o'er ; traitor according to their demerit. And also he caused great men to show their holdings, wherethrough he found many of the said lands in non-entry; the which he confiscate and brought home to his own use, and afterward annexed them to the crown, as ye shall hear. Syne brought many of the great men of the Isles captive with him, such as Mudyart, M'Connel, M'Leod of the Lewes, M'Neil, M'Lane, M'Intosh, John Mudj^art, M'Kay, M'Kenzie, with many other that I cannot rehearse at this time. Some of them he put in ward and some in court, and some he took pledges for good rule in time coming. So he brought the Isles, both north and south, in good rule and peace ; wherefore he had great profit, service, and obedience of people a long time thereafter; and as long as he had the heads of the country in subjection, they lived in great peace and rest, and there was great riches and policy by the King's justice." — PiTSCOTTiE, p. 152. --4— Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 93 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, 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, The refuge of some forest cell, There, like the hunted quarry, dwell, Till on the mountain and the moor. The stern pursuit be pass'd and o'er." XXX. "No, by mine honor," Roderick said, " So help me, Heaven, and my good blade ! No, never ! Blasted be yon Pine, My fathers' ancient crest and mine, If from its shade in danger part The lineage of the Bleeding Heart ! 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. Will bind to us each Western Chief. 94 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. 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, 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 ; 1 meant not all my heart might say. Small need of inroad, or of fight. When the sage Douglas may unite Each mountain clan in friendly band, To guard the passes of their land. Till the foil'd king from pathless glen,' Shall bootless turn him home agen." 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, Dream'd calmly out their dangerous dream,^ Till waken'd by the morning beam ; When, dazzled by the eastern glow, Such startler cast his glance below, And saw unmeasured depth around, And heard unintermitted sound, ' MS. : "Till the foil'd king, from hill and glen." 2 MS. : " Dream'd calmly out their desperate dream. Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 95 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, 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 wildly toss'd, Still for the Douglas fearing most. Could scarce the desperate thought withstand, To buy his safety with her hand. XXXII. Such purpose dread could Malcolm spy In Ellen's quivering lip and eye, And eager rose to speak — but ere His tongue could hurry forth his fear. Had Douglas mark'd the hectic strife, Where death seem'd combating with life ; For to her cheek, in feverish flood, One instant rush'd the throbbing blood, Then ebbing back, with sudden sway. Left its domain as wan as clay. " Roderick, enough ! enough ! " he cried, " My daughter cannot be thy bride ; Not that the blush to wooer dear, Nor paleness that of maiden fear, 96 THE LADY OF THE LAKE [Canto II. It may not be — forgive her, Chief, Nor hazard aught for our relief. Against his sovereign, Douglas ne'er 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 ; 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; The waving of his tartans broad, And darken'd brow, where wounded pride With ire and disappointment vied, Seem'd, by the torch's gloomy light. Like the ill demon of the night, Stooping his pinions' shadowy sway Upon the nighted pilgrim's way ; But, unrequited Love ! thy dart Plunged deepest its envenom'd smart. And Roderick, with thine anguish stung, At length the hand of Douglas wrung, While eyes, that mock'd at tears before, With bitter drops were running o'er. Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 97 The death-pangs of long-cherish'd hope Scarce in that ample breast had scope, But, struggUng with his spirit proud. Convulsive heaved its checker'd shroud, While every sob — so mute were all — Was heard distinctly through the hall. The son's despair, the mother's look, 111 might the gentle Ellen brook ; She rose, and to her side there came, To aid her parting steps, the Graeme. XXXIV. Then Roderick from the Douglas broke — As flashes flame through sable smoke. Kindling its wreaths, long, dark, and low To one broad blaze of ruddy glow. So the deep anguish of despair ' Burst, in fierce jealousy, to air. With stalwart grasp his hand he laid On Malcolm's breast and belted plaid ; " Back, beardless boy ! " he sternly said, " Back, minion ! hold'st thou thus at naught The lesson I so lately taught .'' This roof, the Douglas, and that maid, Thank thou for punishment delay 'd." ^ MS. : "The deep-toned anguish of despair Flush'd, in fierce jealousy, to air." 98 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. Eager as greyhound on his game, Fiercely with Roderick grappled Graeme.' "Perish my name, if aught afford Its Chieftain safety save his sword ! " Thus as they strove, their desperate hand ' Griped to the dagger or the brand, And death had been — but Douglas rose, And thrust between the struggling foes His giant strength : — "Chieftains, forego ! I hold the first who strikes, my foe." ^ Madmen, forbear your frantic jar ! What ! is the Douglas fall'n so far. His daughter's hand is doom'd the spoil Of such dishonorable broil ! " Sullen and slowly, they unclasp,"* As struck with shame, their desperate grasp, And each upon his rival glared. With foot advanced and blade half bared. 1 " There is something foppish and out of character in Malcolm's rising to lead out Ellen from her own parlor; and the sort of wrest- ling match that takes place between the rival chieftains on the occasion is humiliating and indecorous." — Jeffrey. 2 MS. : "Thus, as they strove, each better hand Grasfd for the dagger or the brand." 3 The author has to apologize for the inadvertent appropriation of a whole line from the tragedy of Douglas, " 1 hold the first who strikes, my foe." — N'oic to the Second Edition. * MS. : " Sullen and slow the rivals bold Loos'd at his best their desperate hold, But either still on other glar'd," etc. Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. gg XXXV. Ere yet the brands aloft were flung, Margaret on Roderick's mantle hung, And Malcolm heard his Ellen's scream, As falter'd through terrific dream. Then Roderick plunged in sheath his sword, And veil'd his wrath in scornful word. " Rest safe till morning ; pity 'twere Such cheek should feel the midnisfht air ! ' ' Hardihood was in every respect so essential to the character of a Highlander, that the reproach of effeminacy was the most bitter which could be thrown upon him. Yet it was sometimes hazarded on what we might presume to think slight grounds. It is reported of old Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, when upwards of sevenths that he was surprised by night on a hunting or military expedition. He wrapped him in his plaid, and lay contentedly down upon the snow, with which the ground happened to be covered. Among his attendants, who were preparing to take their rest in the same man- ner, he observed tliat one of his grandsons, for his better accommo- dation, had rolled a large snow-ball, and placed it below his head. The wrath of the ancient chief was awakened by a symptom of what he conceived to be degenerate luxury. " Out upon thee," said he, kicking the frozen bolster from the head which it supported; " art thou so effeminate as to need a pillow.'"' The officer of engineers, whose curious letters from the Highlands have been more than once quoted, tells a similar story of Macdonald of Keppoch, and subjoins the following remarks: — "This and many other stories are ro- mantick; but there is one thing, that at first thought might seem very romantick, of which I have been credibly assui-ed, that when the Highlanders are constrained to lie among the hills, in cold, dry, windy weather, they sometimes soak the plaid in some river or burn (/. e. brook), and then holding up a corner of it a little above their heads, they turn themselves round and round, till they are enveloped by the whole mantle. They then lay themselves down on the heath, upon the leeward side of some hill, where the wet and the warmth of lOO THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. Then mayest thou to James Stewart tell Roderick will keep the lake and fell, Nor lackey, with his freeborn clan, The pageant pomp of earthly man. More would he of Clan-Alpine know. Thou canst our strength and passes show. Malise, what ho ! " — his henchman came ; ' "Give our safe-conduct to the Graeme." their bodies make a steam, like that of a boiling kettle. The wet, they say, keeps them warm by thickening the stuft", and keeping the wind from penetrating. I must confess I should have been apt to question this fact, had I not frequently seen them wet from morning to night, and, even at the beginning of the rain, not so much as stir a few yards to shelter, but continue in it without necessity', till they were, as we say, wet through and through. And that is soon effected by the looseness and spunginess of the plaiding; but the bonnet is frequently taken oif and wrung like a dishclout, and then put on again. They have been accustomed from their infancy to be often wet, and to take the water like spaniels, and this is become a second nature, and can scarcely be called a hardship to them, insomuch that I used to say, they seemed to be of the duck kind, and to love water as well. Though I never saw this preparation for sleep in windy weather, yet, setting out early in a morning from one of the huts, I have seen the marks of their lodging, where the ground has been free from rime or snow, which remained all round the spot where they had lain." — Letters from Scotland, Lond., 1754, Svo, i", p. loS. ' "This officer is a sort of secretary, and is to be ready, upon all ©ccasions, to venture his life in defence of his master; and at drinking-bouts he stands behind his seat, at his haunch, from whence his title is derived, and watches the conversation, to see if any one offends his patron. An English officer being in company with a certain chieftain, and several other Highland gentlemen, near Kilichumen, had an argument with the s^reat man : and both being well warmed with usky,* at last the dispute grew very hot. A youth who was henchman, not understanding one word of English, * Whisky. Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. lOI Young Malcolm answer'd, calm and bold, " Fear nothing for thy favorite hold ; The spot an angel deigned to grace Is bless'd, though robbers haunt the place Thy churlish courtesy for those Reserve, who fear to be thy foes. As safe to me the mountain way At midnight as in blaze of day. Though with his boldest at his back Even Roderick Dhu beset the track. Brave Douglas, — lovely Ellen, — nay. Naught here of parting will I say. Earth does not hold a lonesome glen, So secret, but we meet agen. Chieftain ! we too shall find an hour." He said, and left the sylvan bower. xxxvr. Old Allan follow'd to the strand, (Such was the Douglas's command,) And anxious told, how, on the morn. The stern Sir Roderick deep had sworn, imagined his chief was insulted, and thereupon drew his pistol from his side, and snapped it at the officer's head; but the pistol missed fire, otherwise it is more than probable he might have suffered death from the hand of that little vermin. But it is very disagreeable to an Englishman over a bottle with the Highlanders, to see every one of them have his gilly. that is, his servant, standing behind him, all the while, let what will be the subject of conversation." — Letters from Scotland, ii, 159. I02 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto II. The Fiery Cross should circle o'er Dale, glen, and valley, down, and moor. Much were the peril to the Graeme, From those who to the signal came ; Far up the lake 'twere safest land, Himself would row him to the strand, • He gave his counsel to the wind. While Malcolm did, unheeding, bind, Round dirk and pouch and broadsword roll'd, His ample plaid in tighten'd fold. And stripp'd his limbs to such array, As best might suit the watery way, — XXXVII. Then spoke abrupt : " Farewell to thee, Pattern of old fidelity ! " The Minstrel's hand he kindly press'd. — " O ! could I point a place of rest ! My sovereign holds in ward my land. My uncle leads my vassal band ; To tame his foes, his friends to aid, Poor Malcolm has but hoart and blade. Yet, if there be one faithful Graeme, Who loves the Chieftain of his name, Not long shall honored Douglas dwell, Like hunted stag in mountain cell ; Nor, ere yon pride-swoll'n robber dare, — I may not give the rest to air ! Canto II.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. IO3 Tell Roderick Dhu, I owed him naught, Not the poor service of a boat, To waft me to yon mountain-side." Then plunged he in the flashing tide.' Bold o'er the flood his head he bore, And stoutly steer'd him from the shore ; And Allan strain'd his anxious eye. Far 'mid the lake his form to spy. Darkening across each puny wave. To which the moon her silver gave, Fast as the cormorant could skim, The swimmer plied each active limb ; Then landing in the moonlight dell, Loud shouted of his weal to tell. The minstrel heard the far halloo. And joyful from the shore withdrew. 1 MS. : " He spoke, and plunged into the tide." CANTO THIRD. THE GATHERING. I. Time rolls his ceaseless course. The race of yore,' Who danced our infancy upon their knee, And told our marvelling boyhood legends store, Of their strange ventures happ'd by land or sea, How are they blotted from the things that be ! How few, all weak and wither'd of their force. Wait on the verge of dark eternity, Like stranded wrecks, the tide returning hoarse, To sweep them from our sight ! Time rolls his cease- less course. Yet live there still who can remember well, How, when a mountain chief his bugle blew. Both field and forest, dingle, cliff, and dell, And solitary heath, the signal knew ; And fast the faithful clan around him drew. What time the warning note was keenly wound, 1 " There are no separate introductions to the cantos of this poem ; but each of them begins with one or two stanzas in the measure of Spenser, usually containing some reflections connected with the subject about to be entered on ; and written, for the most part, with great tenderness and beauty. The following, we think, is among the most striking." — Jeffrey. 104 Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 105 What time aloft their kindred banner flew, While clamorous war-pipes yell'd the gathering sound, And while the Fiery Cross glanced, like a meteor, round/ II. The summer dawn's reflected hue To purple changed Loch Katrine blue; Mildly and soft the western breeze Just kiss'd the Lake, just stirr'd the trees, And the pleased lake, like maiden coy, Trembled but dimpled not for joy ; The mountain-shadows on her breast Were neither broken nor at rest ; In bright uncertainty they lie. Like future joys to Fancy's eye. The water-lily to the light Her chalice rear'd of silver bright ; The doe awoke, and to the lawn, Begemm'd with dewdrops, led her fawn ; The gray mist left ^ the mountain side. The torrent show'd its glistening pride ; Invisible in flecked sky. The lark sent down her revelry ; 1 See Appendix, Note F. ^ MS. : " The doe awoke, and to the lawn Begemm'd with dewdrops, led her fawn; Invisible in fleecy cloud, The lark sent down her matins loud ; The light mist left," etc. I06 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. The blackbird and the speckled thrush Good-morrow gave from brake and bush ; ' In answer coo'd the cushat dove Her notes of peace, and rest, and love. III. No thought of peace, no thought of rest, Assuaged the storm in Roderick's breast. With sheathed broadsword in his hand, Abrupt he paced the islet strand, And eyed the rising sun, and laid His hand on his impatient blade. Beneath a rock, his vassals' care ^ Was prompt the ritual to prepare, With deep and deathful meaning fraught ; For such Antiquity had taught Was preface meet, ere yet abroad The Cross of Fire should take its road. The shrinking band stood oft aghast At the impatient glance he cast ; — Such glance the mountain eagle threw, As, from the cliffs of Benvenue, She spread her dark sails on the wind, Arid, high in middle heaven, reclined, ' " The green hills Are clothed with early blossoms ; through the grass The quick-eyed lizard rustles, and the bills Of summer birds sing welcome as 3'^e pass." — Childe Harold. 2 MS. : " Hard by, his vassals' early care The mystic ritual prepare." Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 107 With her broad shadow on the lake, Silenced the warblers of the brake. IV. A heap of wither'd boughs was piled Of juniper and rowan wild, Mingled with shivers from the oak. Rent by the lightning's recent stroke. Brian, the Hermit, by it stood. Barefooted, in his frock and hood. His grisled beard and matted hair Obscured a visage of despair ; His naked arms and legs seam'd o'er, The scars of frantic penance bore. That monk, of savage form and face,' The impending danger of his race Had drawn from deepest solitude. Far in Benharrow's bosom rude. Not his the mien of Christian priest. But Druid's, from the grave released. Whose harden'd heart and eye might brook On human sacrifice to look ; And much, 'twas said, of heathen lore Mix'd in the charms he mutter'd o'er. The hallow'd creed gave only worse == And deadlier emphasis of curse ; 1 See Appendix, Note G. 2 MS. : " While the bless'd creed gave only worse." I08 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. No peasant sought that hermit's prayer, His cave the pilgrim shunn'd with care, The eager huntsman knew his bound. And in mid chase call'd off his hound ; Or if, in lonely glen or strath, The desert-dweller met his path, He pray'd and sign'd the cross between. While terror took devotion's mien/ V. Of Brian's birth strange tales were told.^ His mother watch'd a midnight fold, 1 MS. : " He pray'd with many a cross between, And terror took devotion's mien." 2 The legend which follows is not of the author's invention. It is possible he may differ from modern critics, in supposing that the records of human superstition, if peculiar to, and characteristic of, the country in which the scene is laid, are a legitimate subject of poetrj'. He gives, however, a ready assent to the narrower propo- sition which condemns all attempts of an irregular and disordered fancy to excite terror, by accumulating a train of fantastic and in- coherent horrors, whether borrowed from all countries, and patched upon a narrative belonging to one which knew them not, or derived from the author's own imagination. In the present case, therefore, I appeal to the record which I have transcribed, with the variation of a very few words, from the geographical collections made by the Laird of Macfarlane. I know not whether it be necessary to remark, that the miscellaneous concourse of youths and maidens on the night and on the spot where the miracle is said to have taken place, might, even in a credulous age, have somewhat diminished the wonder which accompanied the conception of Gilli-Doir-Magre- vollich. "There is bot two myles from Inverloghie, the church of Kil- malee, in Loghyeld. In ancient tymes there was ane church builded upon ane hill, which was above this church, which doeth now stand in this toune ; and ancient men doeth say, that there was a battel! Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. IO9 Built deep within a dreary glen, Where scatter'd lay the bones of men, In some forgotten battle slain, And bleach'd by drifting wind and rain. It might have tamed a warrior's heart,' To view such mockery of his art ! foughten on ane litle hill not the tenth part of a mile from this church, be certaine men which they did not know what thej were. And long tyme thereafter, certaine herds of that toune, and of the next toune, cMled Unnatt, both wenches and youthes, did on a tyme conveen with others on that Hill ; and the day being somewhat cold, did gather the bones of the dead men that were slayne long time before in that place, and did make a fire to warm them. At last they did all remove from the fire, except one maid or wench, which was verie cold, and she did remain there for a space. She being quyetlie her alone, without anie other companie, took up her cloaths above her knees, or thereby, to warm her; a wind did come and caste the ashes upon her, and she was conceived of ane man-chyld. Severall tymes thereafter she was verie sick, and at last she was knowne to be with chyld. And then her parents did ask at her the matter heiroff, which the wench could not weel answer which way to satisfie them. At last she resolved them with ane answer. As fortune fell upon her concerning this marvellous miracle, the chyld being borne, his name was called Gilli-Doir-AIaghrc-oollich^ that is to say, the Black C/iild, Son to the Bones. So called, his grand- father sent him to school, and so he was a good schollar, and godlie. He did build this church which doeth now stand in Lochyeld, called Kilmalee." — Macfarlane, ut supra, ii. 1S8. 1 " There is something of pride in the perilous; hour, Whate'er be the shape in which death mav lower; For Fame is there to say who bleeds. And Honor's eye on daring deeds! But when all is past, it is humbling to tread O'er the weltering field of the tombless dead. And see worms of the earth, and fowls of the air. Beasts of the forest, all gathering there; All regarding man as their prey. All rejoicing in his decay." — Byron — Siege of Corinth. no THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto in. The knot-grass fetter'd there the hand, Which once could burst an iron band ; Beneath the broad and ample bone, That buckler'd heart to fear unknown, A feeble and a timorous guest. The field-fare framed her lowly nest ; There the slow blind-worm left his slime On the fleet limbs that mock'd at time ; And there, too, lay the leader's skull,' Still wreathed with chaplet, flushed and full. For heath-bell, with her purple bloom, Supplied the bonnet and the plume.^ All night, in this sad glen, the maid Sate, shrouded in her mantle's shade : — She said, no shepherd sought her side. No hunter's hand her snood untied. " Remove yon skull from out the scattered heaps. Is that a temple where a god may dwell? Why, even the worm at last disdains her shattered cell. Look on its broken arch, its ruin'd wall, Its chambers desolate, and portals foul ; Yet this was once Ambition's airy hall. The dome of thought, the palace of the soul : Behold through each lack-lustre, eyeless hole. The gay recess of wisdom and of wit. And passion's host, that never brook'd controul : Can all saint, sage, or sophist ever writ. People this lonely tower, this tenement refit ? " Childe Harold. 2 "These reflections on an ancient field of battle afford the most remarkable instance of false taste in all Mr. Scott's writings. Yet the brevity and variety of the images serve well to shew, that even in his errors there are traces of a powerful genius." — Jeffrey. i- Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. Ill Yet ne'er again to braid her hair The virgin snood did Alice wear ; ' Gone was her maiden glee and sport, Her maiden girdle all too short, Nor sought she, from that fatal night, Or holy church or blessed rite. But lock'd her secret in her breast, And died in travail, unconfess'd. VI. Alone among his young compeers, Was Brian from his infant years ; A moody and heart-broken boy, Estranged from sympathy and joy, Bearing each taunt which careless tongue On his mysterious lineage flung. Whole nights he spent by moonlight pale, To wood and stream his hap to wail, 1 The suood, or riband, with which a Scottish lass braided her hair, had an emblematical signification, and applied to her maiden character. It was exchanged for the ciirck, toy, or coif, when she passed, by marriage, into the matron state. But if the damsel was so unfortunate as to lose pretensions to the name of maiden, without gaining a right to that of matron, she was neither permitted to use tlie snood, nor advanced to the graver dignity of the curch. In old Scottish songs there occur many sly allusions to such misfortune ; as in the old woi'ds to the popular tunc of " Ower the muir amang the heather." " Down amang the broom, the broom, Down amang the broom, my dearie, The lassie lost her silken snood, That gard her greet till she was wearie." 112 THE LADY OF THE LAKE [Canto III. Till, frantic, he as truth received ' What of his birth the crowd believed, And sought, in mist and meteor fire, To meet and know his Phantom Sire ! In vain, to soothe his wayward fate. The cloister oped her pitying gate ; In vain, the learning of the age Unclasp'd the sable-letter'd page : Even in its treasures he could find Food for the fever of his mind. Eager he read whatever tells Of magic, cabala, and spells. And every dark pursuit allied To curious and presumptuous pride ; Till with fired brain and nerves o'erstrung. And heart with mystic horrors rung, Desperate he sought Benharrow's den, And hid him from the haunts of men. VII. The desert gave him visions wild. Such as might suit the spectre's child.^ . ' MS. : "Till driven to frenzy, he believed The legend of his birth received." 2 In adopting the legend concerning the birth of the Founder of the Church of Kilmalee, the author has endeavored to trace the effects which such a belief was likely to produce, in a barbarous age, on the person to whom it related. It seems likely that he must have become a fanatic or an impostor, or that mixture of both which forms a more frequent character than either of them as existing separately In truth, mad persons are frequently more anxious to Canto m.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 13 Where with black cliffs the torrents toil, He watch'd the wheeling eddies boil, Till, from their foam, his dazzled eyes Beheld the River Demon rise ; The mountain mist took form and limb, Of noontide hag, or goblin grim ; The midnight wind came wild and dread, Swell'd with the voices of the dead ; Far on the future battle-heath His eye beheld the ranks of death : impress upon others a faith in their visions, than they are them- selv^es confirmed in their reality; as, on the other hand, it is difficult for the most cool-headed impostor long to personate an enthusiast, without in some degree believing what he is so eager to have believed. It was a natural attribute of such a character as the sup- posed hermit, that he should credit the numerous superstitions with which the minds of ordinary Highlanders are almost always imbued. A few of these are slightly alluded to in this stanza. The River Demon, or River-horse, for it is that form which he commonly assumes, is the Kelpy of the Lowlands, an evil and malicious spirit, delighting to forbode and to witness calamity. He frequents most Highland lakes and rivers; and one of his most memorable exploits was performed upon the banks of Loch Vennachar, in the very dis- trict which forms the scene of our action : it consisted in the destruction of a funeral procession with all its attendants. The " noontide hag," called in Gaelic Glas-Iic/t, a tall, emaciated, gigantic female figure, is supposed in particular to haunt the district of Knoidart. A goblin dressed in antique armor, and having one hand covered with blood, called from that circumstance, Lhamdcarg, or Red-hand, is a tenant of the forests of Glenmore and Rothiemurcus. Other spirits of the desert, all frightful in shape and malignant in disposition, are believed to frequent different mountains and glens of the Highlands, where any unusual appearance, produced by mist, or the strange lights that are sometimes thrown upon particular objects, never fails to present an apparition to the imagination of the solitary and melancholy mountaineer. 114 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto ill. Thus the lone Seer, from mankind hurl'd, Shaped forth a disembodied world. One lingering sympathy of mind Still bound him to the mortal kind ; The only parent he could claim Of ancient Alpine's lineage came. Late had he heard, in prophet's dream, The fatal Ben-Shie's boding scream ; ' Sounds, too, had come in midnight blast. Of charging steeds, careering fast Along Benharrow's shingly side. Where mortal horseman ne'er might ride ;* * MS. : " The fatal Ben-Shie's dismal scream ; And seen her wrinkled form, the sign Of woe and death to Alpine's line." Most great families in the Highlands were supposed to have a tutelar, or rather domestic spirit, attached to them, who took an interest in their prosperity, and intimated by its waitings anj ap- proaching disaster. That of Grant of Grant was called May Mou'i'.ach. and appeared in the form of a girl, who had her arm covered with hair. Grant of Rothiemiircus had an attendant called Bodach-an-diDi^ or the Ghost of the Hill; and many other examples might be mentioned. The Ban-Schie implies a female Fairy, whose lamentations were often supposed to precede the death of a chieftain of particular families. When she is visible, it is in the form of an old woman, with a blue mantle and streaming hair. A superstition of the same kind is, I believe, imiversally received by the inferior ranks of the native Irish. The death of the head of a Highland family is also sometimes supposed to be announced by a chain of lights of different colors, called Dr'ang, or death of the Druid. The direction which it takes, marks the place of the funeral. See the Essay on Fairy Superstitions in the Border Minstrelsy. 2 See Appendix, Note H. Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. II5 The thunderbolt had spUt the pine, — All augur'd ill to Alpine's line. He girt his loins, and came to show The signals of impending woe, And now stood prompt to bless or ban, As bade the Chieftain of his clan. VIII. 'Twas all prepar'd ; — and from the rock, A goat, the patriarch of the flock, Before the kindling pile was laid, And pierced by Roderick's ready blade Patient the sickening victim eyed The life-blood ebb in crimson tide, Down his clogg'd beard and shaggy limb. Till darkness glazed his eyeballs dim. The grisly priest, with murmuring prayer, A slender crosslet form'd with care, A cubit's length in measure due ; The shaft and limbs were rods of yew. Whose parents in Inch-Cailliach wave ' Their shadows o'er Clan-Alpine's grave, ' Inch-Cailliach, the Isle of Nuns, or of Old Women, is a most beautiful island at the lower extremity of Loch Lomond. The church belonging to the former nunnery was long used as the place of worship for the parish of Buchanan, but scarce any vestiges of it now remain. The burial-ground continues to be used, and contains the family places of sepulture of several neighboring clans. The monuments of the lairds of Macgregor, and of other families, claim- ing a descent from the old Scottish King Alpine, are most remark- able. The Highlanders are as zealous of their rights of sepulture Il6 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. And answering Lomond's breezes deep, Soothe many a chieftain's endless sleep. The Cross, thus form'd, he held on high, With wasted hand, and haggard eye, And strange and mingled feelings woke, While his anathema he spoke. IX. " Woe to the clansman, who shall view This symbol of sepulchral yew. Forgetful that its branches grew Where weep the heavens their holiest dew On Alpine's dwelling low ! Deserter of his Chieftain's trust, He ne'er shall mingle with their dust. But, from his sires and kindred thrust, Each clansman's execration just ' Shall doom him wrath and woe." He paused; — the word the vassals took, With forward step and fiery look. On high their naked brands they shook, as may be expected from a people whose whole laws and government, if clanship can be called so, turned upon the single principle of family descent. "May his ashes be scattered on the water," was one of the deepest and most solemn imprecations which they used against an enemy- See a detailed description of the funeral cere- monies of a Highland chieftain in the Fair Maid of Perth, Waverly Novels, vol. 43, chaps, x. aiid xi. Nevj Edit. * MS. : " Our warriors, on his worthless bust, Shall speak disgrace and woe." 'The Cross thus fnrm'd he held on high With wasted hand and haggard eye." — Page ii6. Canto m.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. II/ Their clattering targets wildly strook ; ' And first in murmur low, Then, like the billow in his course, That far to seaward finds his source, And flings to shore his muster'd force. Burst, with loud roar, their answer hoarse, " Woe to the traitor, woe ! " Ben-an's gray scalp the accents knew. The joyous wolf from covert drew, The exulting eagle scream'd afar, — They knew the voice of Alpine's war. X. The shout was hush'd on lake and fell. The monk resumed his mutter'd spell : Dismal and low its accents came. The while he scathed the Cross with flame ; And the few words that reach'd the air, Although the holiest name was there,* Had more of blasphemy than prayer. But when he shook above the crowd Its kindled points, he spoke aloud : — " Woe to the wretch who fails to rear At this dread sign the ready spear ! For, as the flames this symbol sear, His home, the refuge of his fear, A kindred fate shall know ; ' MS. : " Their clattering targets hardly strook : And first they mutter'd lorv." * MS. : " Although the holy name was there." Il8 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. Far o'er its roof the volumed flame Clan-Alpine's vengeance shall proclaim, While maids and matrons on his name Shall call down wretchedness and shame, And infamy and woe." Then rose the cry of females, shrill As goss-hawk's whistle on the hill, Denouncing misery and ill, Mingled with childhood's babbling trill Of curses stammer'd slow ; Answering, with imprecation dread, ** Sunk be his home in embers red ! And cursed be the meanest shed That e'er shall hide the houseless head, We doom to want and woe ! " A sharp and shrieking echo gave, Coir-Uriskin, thy goblin cave ! And the gray pass where birches wave, On Beala-nam-bo. XI. Then deeper paused the priest anew, And hard his laboring breath he drew, While, with set teeth and clenched hand. And eyes that glow'd like fiery brand, He meditated curse more dread. And deadlier, on the clansman's head. Who, summon'd to his Chieftain's aid, The signal saw and disobey'd. Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 19 The crosslet's points of sparkling wood, He quench'd among the bubbling blood, And, as again the sign he rear'd, Hollow and hoarse his voice was heard : *' When flits this Cross from man to man, Vich-Alpine's summons to his clan, Burst be the ear that fails to heed! Palsied the foot that shuns to speed ! May ravens tear the careless eyes, Wolves make the coward heart their prize ! As sinks that blood-stream in the earth, So may his heart's-blood drench his hearth! As dies in hissing gore the spark, Quench thou his light. Destruction dark ! And be the grace to him denied. Bought by this sign to all beside!" He ceased ; no echo gave agen The murmur of the deep Amen.* XII. Then Roderick, with impatient look. From Brian's hand the symbol took; " Speed, Malise, speed!" he said, and gave The crosslet to his henchman brave. "The muster-place be Lanrick mead — "^ Instant the time — speed, Malise, speed!" 1 MS. : "The slordy iniitiey'd Aec'p Amen. * MS. : " Murlagan is the spot decreed." I20 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. Like heath-bird, when the hawks pursue, A barge across Loch Katrine flew ; High stood the henchman on the prow ; So rapidly the barge-men row, The bubbles, where they launch'd the boat. Were all unbroken and afloat, Dancing in foam and ripple still, When it had near'd the mainland hill ; And from the silver beach's side Still was the prow three fathom wide, When lightly bounded to the land This messenger of blood and brand/ XIIL Speed, Malise, speed ! the dun deer's hide On fleeter foot was never tied. Speed, Malise, speed ! such cause of haste Thine active sinews never braced. 1 The present brogue of the Highlanders is made of half-dried leather, with holes to admit and let out the water; for walking the moors dry-shod is a niatter altogether out of question. The ancient buskin was still ruder, being made of undressed deer's hide, with the hair outwards : a circumstance which procured the Highlanders the well-known epithet of Redshanks. The process is very accurately described by one Elder (himself a Highlander) in the project for a union between England and Scotland, addressed to Henry VHI. " We go a-hunting, and after that we have slain red-deer, we flay off the skin by-and-by, and settingof our bare-foot on the inside thereof, for want of cunning shoemakers, by your grace's pardon, we play the cobblers, compassing and measuring so much thereof as shall reach up to our ankles, pricking the upper part thereof with holes, that the water may repass where it enters, and stretching it up Avith a strong thong of the same above our said ankles. So, and please Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 121 Bend 'gainst the steepy hill thy breast. Burst down like torrent from its crest ; With short and springing footstep pass The trembling bog and false morass ; Across the brook like roebuck bound, And thread the brake like questing hound ; The crag is high, the scaur is deep, Yet shrink not from the desperate leap : Parch'd are thy burning lips and brow, Yet by the fountain pause not now ; Herald of battle, fate, and fear,' Stretch onward in thy fleet career ! The wounded hind thou track'st not now, Pursuest not maid through greenwood bough. Nor pliest thou now thy flying pace. With rivals in the mountain race ; But danger, death, and warrior deed, Are in thy course — speed, Malise, speed! XIV. Fast as the fatal symbol flies, In arms the huts and hamlets rise ; your noble grace, we make our shoes. Therefore, we using such manner of shoes, the rough hairy side outwards, in your grace's dominions of England, we be called Roughfooted Scots." — Pinker- ton's Histo}y, vol. ii. , p. 397- ^ MS. : " Dread messenger of fate and fear, Herald of danger, fate and fear, Stretch onward in thy fleet career ! Thou track'st not now the stricken doe. Nor maiden coy through greenwood bough." rl 122 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. From winding glen, from upland brown, They pour'd each hardy tenant down. Nor slack'd the messenger his pace ; Hfe show'd the sign, he named the place. And, pressing forward like the wind, Left clamor and surprise behind.' The fisherman forsook the strand. The swarthy smith took dirk and brand ; With changed cheer, the mower blithe Left in the half-cut swathe the scythe ; The herds without a keeper stray'd. The plough was in mid-furrow stayed. The falc'ner toss'd his hawk away. The hunter left the stag at bay ; Prompt at the signal of alarms. Each son of Alpine rush'd to arms ; So swept the tumult and affray Along the margin of Achray. Alas, thou lovely lake ! that e'er Thy banks should echo sounds of fear ! The rocks, the bosky thickets, sleep So stilly on thy bosom deep, .The lark's blithe carol, from the cloud. Seems for the scene too gayly loud-^" ' " The description of the starting of the ' fiery cross ' bears more marks of labor than most of Mr. Scott's poetry, and borders, per- haps, upon straining and exaggeration; yet it shows great power." — Jeffrey. - MS. : " Seems all too lively and too loud." Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 23 XV. Speed, Malise, speed ! the lake is past, Duncraggan's huts appear at last, And peep, like moss-grown rocks, half seen. Half hidden in the^ copse so green ; There mayest thou rest, thy labor done, Their Lord shall speed the signal on. — As stoops the hawk upon his prey. The henchman shot him down the way — What woeful accents load the gale? The funeral yell, the female wail ! ' A gallant hunter's sport is o'er, A valiant warrior fights no more. Who, in the battle or the chase, At Roderick's side shall fill his place! — Within the hall, where torches' ray Supplies the excluded beams of day, Lies Duncan on his lowly bier, And o'er him streams his widow's tear. His stripling son stands mournful by. His youngest weeps, but knows not why ! The village maids and matrons round The dismal coronach resound.^ MS. : " 'Tis woman's scream, 'tis childhood's wail." ' The Coronach of the Highlanders, like the Ulalatus of the Romans and the Ululoo of the Irish, was a wild expression of lamen- tation, poured forth by the mourners over the body of a departed friend. When the words of it were articulate, the\' expressed the praises of the deceased, and the loss the clan would sustain by his death. The following is a lamentation of this kind, literally trans- 124 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III XVI. CORONACH. He is gone on the mountain, He is lost to the forest, Like a summer-dried fountain, When our need was the sorest. The font, reappearing. From the rain-drops shall borrow, lated from the Gaelic, to some of the ideas of which the text stands indebted. The tune is so popular that it has since become the war- march, or Gathering of the clan. Coronach on Sir Lauchlan, Chief of Maclean. " Which of all the Senachies Can trace thy line from the root^up to Paradise, But Macvuirih, the son of Fergus? No sooner had thine ancient stately tree Taken firm root in Albion, Than one of thy forefathers fell at Harlaw. 'Twas then we lost a chief of deathless name. " 'Tis no base weed — no planted tree. Nor a seedling of last Autumn ; Nor a sapling planted at Beltain ; * , Wide, wide around were spread its lofty branches But the topmost hough is lowly laid ! Thou hast forsaken us before Sawaine.f " Thy dwelling is the winter house ; — Loud, sad, sad, and mighty is thy death-song 1 Oh ! courteous champion of Montrose ! Oh! stately warrior of the Celtic Isles! Thou shalt buckle thy harness on no more! " The coronach has for some years past been superseded at funerals by the use of the bagpipe; and that also is, like many other High- land peculiarities, falling into disuse unless in remote districts. * Bell's fire, or Whitsunday. t Hallowe'en. Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 25 But to us comes no cheering, To Duncan no morrow ! The hand of the reaper Takes the ears that are hoary, But the voice of the weeper Wails manhood in glory. The autumn winds rushing Waft the leaves that are searest. But our flower was in flushing, When blighting was nearest. Fleet foot on the correi,' Sage counsel in cumber. Red hand in the foray, How sound is thy slumber ! Like the dew on the mountain. Like the foam on the river, Like the bubble on the fountain, Thou art gone, and for ever ! ^ ' Or com'. The hollow side of the hill, where game usually lies. - " Mr. Scott is such a master of versification that the most com- plicated metre does not for an instant arrest the progress of his imagination ; its difficulties usually operate as a salutary excitement to his attention, and not unfrequently suggest to him new and un- pected graces of expression. If a careless rhyme or an ill-constructed phrase occasionally escape him amidst the irregular torrent of his stanza, the blemish is often imperceptible by the hurried eye of the reader; but when the short lines are yoked in pairs, any dissonance in the jingle, or interruption of the construction, cannot fail to give offence. We learn from Horace, that in the course of a long work, a poet may legitimately indulge in a momentary slumber; but we do not wish to hear him snore." — Quarterly Revievj. 126 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. XVII. See Stumah,' who, the bier beside, His master's corpse with wonder eyed, Poor Stumah ! whom his least halloo Could send like lightning o'er the dew, Bristles his crest, and points his ears, As if some stranger step he hears. *Tis not a mourner's muffled tread, Who comes to sorrow o'er the dead. But headlong haste, or deadly fear, Urge the precipitate career. All stand aghast : — unheeding all. The henchman bursts into the hall ; Before the dead man's bier he stood ; Held forth the Cross besmear'd with blood ; " The muster-place is Lanrick mead ; Speed forth the signal ! clansmen, speed ! " XVIII. Angus, the heir of Duncan's line,^ Sprung forth and seized the fatal sign. ^ Faithful. The name of a dog. 2 MS. : "Angus, \.\-\q. first of Duncan's line, Sprung forth and seized the fatal sign, A7id then upon his kinsman s bier Fell Malise's suspended tear. In haste the stripling to his side His father's targe and falchion tied." Canto III.] 777^ LADY OF THE LAKE. 12/ In haste the stripling to his side His father's dirk and broadsword tied ; But when he saw his mother's eye Watch him in speechless agony, Back to her open'd arms he flew, Press'd on her lips a fond adieu — " Alas ! " she sobb'd, — " and yet, be gone. And speed thee forth, like Duncan's son !" One look he cast upon the bier, Dash'd from his eye the gathering tear. Breathed deep to clear his laboring breast, And toss'd aloft his bonnet crest, Then, like the high-bred colt, when, freed, First he essays his fire and speed. He Ai^nish'd, and o'er moor and moss Sped forward with the Fiery Cross. Suspended was the widow's tear. While yet his footsteps she could hear ; And when she mark'd the henchman's eye Wet with unwonted sympathy, " Kinsman," she said, " his race is run. That should have sped thine errand on ; The oak has fall'n — the sapling bough Is all Duncraggan's shelter now. Yet trust I well, his duty done, The orphan's God will guard my son — And you, in many a danger true. At Duncan's hest your blades that drew. 128 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. To arms, and guard that orphan's head ! Let babes and women wail the dead," Then weapon-clang, and martial call, Resounded through the funeral hall, While from the walls the attendant band Snatch'd sword and targe, with hurried hand ; And short and flitting energy Glanced from the mourner's sunken eye. As if the sounds to warrior dear Might rouse her Duncan from his bier. But faded soon that borrow'd force ; Grief claim'd his right, and tears their course, XIX. Benledi saw the Cross of Fire, It glanced like lightning up Strath-Ire.' O'er dale and hill the summons flew, Nor rest nor pause young Angus knew ; 1 Inspection of the provincial map of Perthshire, or any large map of Scotland, will trace the progress of the signal through the small districts of lakes and mountains, which, in exercise of my poetical privilege, I have subjected to the authority of my imaginary chieftain, and which, at the period of my romance, was really occupied by a clan who claimed a descent from Alpine, a clan the most unfortunate, and most persecuted, but neither the least dis- tinguished, least powerful, nor least brave, of the tribes of the Gael. " Slioch non rtoghridh duchaisach Bha-shios an Dun-Staiobhinish Aig an roubh crun na Halba othus 'Stag a cheii duchas fast ris." The first stage of the Fiery Cross is to Duncraggan, a place near the Brigg of Turk, where a short stream divides Loch Achray from Loch Vennachar. Fz^om thence, it passes towards Callender, and Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 29 The tear that gathered in his eye He left the mountain breeze to dry; Until, where Teith's young waters roll, Betwixt him and a wooded knoll/ That graced the sable strath with green, The chapel of St. Bride was seen. Swoln was the stream, remote the bridge, But Angus paused not on the edge ; Though the dark waves danced dizzily, Though reel'd his sym'pathetic eye. He dash'd amid the torrent's roar : His right hand high the crosslet bore, His left the pole-axe grasp'd, to guide And stay his footing in the tide. He stumbled twice — the foam splash'd high, With hoarser swell the stream raced by; And had he fall'n, — forever there, Farewell Duncraggan's orphan heir! But still, as if in parting life, Firmer he grasp'd the Cross of strife, Until the opposing bank he gain'd, And up the chapel pathway strain' d. then, turning to the left up the pass of Leny, is consigned to Norman at the chapel of Saint Bride, which stood on a small and romantic knoll, in the middle of the valley, called Strath-Ire. Tombea and Arnandave, or Ardmandave, are names of places in the vicinity. The alarm is then supposed to pass along the lake of Lubnaig, and through the various glens in the district of Balquidder, including the neighboring tracts of Glenfinlas and Strathgartney. ^ MS. : ^' And where a steep and wooded knoll Graced the dark strath with emerald green." I30 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. XX. A blithesome rout, that morning tide, Had sought the chapel of St. Bride. Her troth Tombea's Mary gave To Norman, heir of Armandave, And, issuing from the Gothic arch. The bridal now resumed their march. In rude, but glad procession, came Bonneted sire and coif-clad dame ; And plaided youth, with jest and jeer. Which snooded maiden would not hear ; And children, that, unwitting why. Lent the gay shout their shrilly cry ; And minstrels, that in measures vied Before the young and bonny bride, Whose downcast eye and cheek disclose The tear and blush of morning rose. With virgin step, and bashful hand, She held the 'kerchief's snowy band ; The gallant bridegroom by her side, Beheld his prize with victor's pride, And the glad mother in her ear Was closely whispering words of cheer. XXI. Who meets them at the churchyard gate ? The messenger of fear and fate ! Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 131 Haste in his hurried accent lies, And grief is swimming in his eyes. All dripping from the recent flood, Panting and travel-soil'd he stood, The fatal sign of fire and sword Held forth, and spoke the appointed word : "The muster-place is Lanrick mead ; Speed forth the signal ! Norman, speed!" And must he change so soon the hand,' Just link'd to his by holy band. For the fell Cross of blood and brand } And must the day, so blithe that rose, And promised rapture in the close. Before its setting hour, divide The bridegroom from the plighted bride } fatal doom ! — it must ! it must ! Clan-Alpine's cause, her Chieftain's trust, Her summons dread, brook no delay ; Stretch to the race — away! away! xxn. Yet slow he laid his plaid aside, And, lingering, eyed his lovely bride, Until he saw the starting tear Speak woe he might not stop to cheer; Then, trusting not a second look. In haste he sped him up the brook, 1 MS. : '• And must he then e.xchanj'e the hand." 132 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. Nor backward glanced, till on the heath Where Lubnaig's lake supplies the Teith. — What in the racer's bosom stirr'd ? The sickening pang of hope deferr'd, And memory, with a torturing train,' Of all his morning visions vain. Mingled with love's impatience, came The manly thirst for martial fame ; The stormy joy of mountaineers, Ere yet they rush upon the spears ; And zeal for Clan and Chieftain burning. And hope, from well-fought field returning, With war's red honors on his crest, To clasp his Mary to his breast. Stung by such thoughts, o'er bank and brae, Like fire from flint he glanced away. While high resolve, and feeling strong, Burst into voluntary song. XXIII. SONG. The heath this night must be my bed. The bracken ^ curtain for my head, My lullaby the warder's tread, Far, far, from love and thee, Mary : ' MS. : " And memory brought the torturing train Of all his morning visions vain ; But mingled with impatience came The manly love of martial fame." 2 Bracken. — Fern. Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 133 To-morrow eve, more stilly laid, My couch may be my bloody plaid, My vesper song, thy wail, sweet maid ! It will not waken me, Mary ! I may not, dare not, fancy now ' The grief that clouds thy lovely brow, I dare not think upon thy vow. And all it promised me, Mary. No fond regret must Norman know ; When bursts Clan-Alpine on the foe, His heart must be like bended bow, His foot like arrow free, Mary. A time will come with feeling fraught, For, if I fall in battle fought. Thy hapless lover's dying thought Shall be a thought on thee, Mary.^ And if return'd from conquer'd foes. How blithely will the evening close, How sweet the linnet sing repose. To my young bride and me, Mary ! 1 MS. : " I may not, dare not, image now." 2 MS. : " A time will come for love and faith, For should thy bridegroom yield his breath, 'Twill cheer him in the hour of death, The boasted right to thee, Mary." 134 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. XXIV. Not faster o'er thy heathery braes, Balquidder, speeds the midnight blaze,' Rushing, in conflagration strong, Thy deep ravines and dells along. Wrapping thy cliffs in purple glow. And reddening the dark lakes below ; Nor faster speeds it, nor so far, As o'er thy heaths the voice of war.^ The signal roused to martial coil The sullen margin of Loch Voil, Waked still Loch Doine, and to the source Alarm'd, Balvaig, thy swampy course ; Then southward turn'd its rapid road Adown Strath-Gartney's valley broad. Till rose in arms each man might claim A portion in Clan-Alpine's name, From the gray sire, whose trembling hand Could hardly buckle on his brand, To the raw boy, whose shaft and bow Were yet scarce terror to the crow. 1 It may be necessary to inform the southern reader that the heath on the Scottish moorlands is often set fire to, that the sheep may have the advantage of the young herbage produced, in room of the tough old heather plants. This custom (execrated by sportsmen) produces occasionally the most beautiful nocturnal appearances, similar almost to the discharge of a volcano. This simile is not new to poetry. The charge of a warrior, in the fine ballad of Hardyknute, is said to be " like fire to heather set." 2 "The eager fidelity with which this fatal signal is hurried on and obeyed is represented with great spirit and felicity." — Jeffrey. Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. I35 Each valley, each sequester'd glen, Muster'd its little horde of men, That met as torrents from the height In Highland dales their streams unite, Still gathering, as they pour along, A voice more loud, a tide more strong. Till at the rendezvous they stood By hundreds prompt for blows and blood ; Each train'd to arms since life began, Owning no tie but to his clan, No oath, but by his chieftain's hand, No law, but Roderick Dhu's command.' XXV. That summer morn had Roderick Dhu Survey'd the skirts of Benvenue, And sent his scouts o'er hill and heath, To view the frontiers of Menteith. 1 The deep and implicit respect paid by the Highland clansmen to their chief, rendered this both a common and a solemn oath. In other respects they were like most savage nations, capricious in their ideas concerning the obligatory power of oaths. One solemn mode of swearing was by kissing the dirk, imprecating upon themselves death by that, or a similar weapon, if they broke their vow. But for oaths in the usual form they are said to have paid little respect. As for the reverence due to the chief, it may be guessed from the follow- ing odd example of a Highland point of honor : — " The clan whereto the above-mentioned tribe belongs is the only one I have heard of which is without a chief: that is, being divided into families, under several chieftains, without any particular patriarch of the whole name. And this is a great reproach, as may appear from an aifair that fell out at my table, in the Highlands, between one of that name and a Cameron. The provocation given 136 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. And backward came with news of truce ; Still lay each martial Graeme and Bruce, In Rednoch courts no horsemen wait, No banner waved on Cardross gate, On Duchray's towers no beacon shone, Nor scared the herons from Loch Con ; All seem'd at peace. — Now, wot ye why The Chieftain, with such anxious eye. Ere to the muster he repair, This western frontier scann'd with care .-' — In Benvenue's most darksome cleft, A fair, though cruel, pledge was left ; For Douglas, to his promise true. That morning from the isle withdrew. And in deep sequester'd dell Had sought a low and lonely cell. By many a bard, in Celtic tongue, Has Coir-nan-Uriskin been sung : " by the latter was — 'Name jour chief.' — The return of it at once was, — 'You are a fool.' They went out next morning, but having early notice of it, I sent a small party of soldiers after them, which, in all probability, prevented some barbarous mischief that might have ensued; for the chiefless Highlander, wlio is himself a petty chieftain, was going to the place appointed with a small-sword and a pistol, whereas the Cameron (an old man) took with him only his broadsword, according to the agreement. "When all was over, and I had, at least seemingly, reconciled them, I was told the words, of which I seemed to think but slightly, were, to one of the clan, the greatest of all provocations." — Letters from Scotland, vol. ii, p. 221. ' This is a very steep and most romantic hollow in the mountain of Benvenue, overhanging the southeastern extremity of Loch Katrine. It is surrounded with stupendous rocks, and overshadowed Canto III.]- THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 12,7 A softer name the Saxons gave, And call'd the grot the GobHn-cave. XXVI. It was a wild and strange retreat, As e'er was trod by outlaw's feet. The dell upon the mountain crest, Yawn'd like a gash on warrior's breast ; Its trench had stay'd full many a rock, Hurl'd by primeval earthquake shock From Benvenue's gray summit wild; And here, in random ruin piled, with birch-trees, mingled with oaks, the spontaneous production of the mountain, even where its cliffs appear denuded of soil. A dale in so wild a situation, and amid a people whose genius bordered on the romantic, did not remain without appropriate deities. The name literally implies the Corri, or Den, of the Wild or Shaggy Men. Perhaps this, as conjectured by Mr. Alexander Campbell.* may have originally only implied its being the haunt of a ferocious banditti. But tradition has ascribed to the Urisk, who gives name to the cavern, a figure between a goat and a man; in short, however much the classical reader may be startled, precisely that of the Grecian Satyr. The Urisk seems not to have inherited, with the form, the petulance of the sylvan deity of the classics : his occupation, on the contrary, resembled those of Milton's Lubber Fiend, or of the Scot- tish Brownie, though he differed from both in name and appearance. " The Urt'sks" says Dr. Graham, " were a set of lubberly supernatu- rals, who, like the Brownies, could be gained over, by kind attention, to perform the drudgery of the farm, and it was believed that many of the families in the Highlands had one of the order attached to it. They were supposed to be dispersed over the Highlands, each in his own wild recess, but the solemn stated meetings of the order were regularly held in this Cave of Benvenue. This current superstition, no doubt, alludes to some circumstance in the ancient history of this * Journey from Edinburgh, 1S02, p. loS. 138 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. They frown'd incumbent o'er the spot, And form'd the rugged sylvan grot.' The oak and birch, with mingled shade, At noontide there a twilight made, Unless when short and sudden shone Some straggling beam on cliff or stone, With such a glimpse as prophet's eye Gains on thy depth, Futurity. No murmur waked the solemn still. Save tinkling of a fountain rill ; But when the wind chafed with the lake, A sullen sound would upward break, With dashing hollow voice that spoke The incessant war of wave and rock. country." — Scenery 071 the Sout/iern Confines of Perthshire, p. 19, 1S06. It must be owned that the Coir, or Den, does not, in its present state, meet our ideas of a subterraneous grotto, or cave, being only a small and narrow cavity, among huge fragments of rocks rudely piled together. But such a scene is liable to convul- sions of nature which a Lowlander cannot estimate, and which may have choked up what was originally a cavern. At least the name and tradition warrant the author of a fictitious tale, to assert ics having been such at the remote period in which this scene is laid. 1 " After landing on the skirts of Benvenue, we reach the cat>e (or more properly the cove) of the goblins, by a steep and narrow defile of a few hundred 3'ards in length. It is a deep, circular amphi- theatre of at least six hundred yards of extent in its upper diameter, gradually narrowing towards the base, hemmed in all round by steep and towering rocks, and rendered impenetrable to the rays of the sun by a close covert of luxuriant trees. On the south and west it is bounded by the precipitous shoulder of Benvenue, to the height of at least five hundred feet; towards the east, the rock appears at 6ome former period to have tumbled down, strewing the whole course of its fall with immense fragments, which now serve only to give shelter to foxes, wild-cats, and badgers." — Dr. Grah.\m. Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 139 Suspended cliffs, with hideous sway, Seem'd nodding o'er the cavern gray. From such a den the wolf had sprung, In such the wild-cat leaves her young; Yet Douglas and his daughter fair Sought for a space their safety there. Gray Superstition's whisper dread Debarr'd the spot to vulgar tread ; For there, she said, did fays resort, And satyrs ' hold their sylvan court, By moonlight tread their mystic maze, And blast the rash beholder's gaze. XXVII. Now eve with western shadows long. Floated on Katrine bright and strong. When Roderick, with a chosen few, Repass'd the heights of Benvenue. Above the Goblin-cave they go, Through the wild pass of Beal-nam-bo ; * The prompt retainers speed before, To launch the shallop from the shore, For 'cross Lock Katrine lies his way To view the passes of Achray, 1 The Uri$k, or Highland satyr. See a previous Note. "^ Bealach-nam-bo, or the pass of cattle, is a most magnificent glade, overhung with aged birch-trees, a little higher up the moun- tain than the Coir-nan Uriskin, treated of in a former Note. The whole composes the most sublime piece of scenery that imagination can conceive. I40 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. And place his clansmen in array. Yet lags the chief in musing mind, Unwonted sight, his men behind, A single page to bear his sword. Alone attended on his lord ; ' The rest their way through thickets break, And soon await him by the lake. It was a fair and gallant sight, To view them from the neighboring height, 1 A Highland chief, being as absolute in his patriarchal authority as any prince, had a corresponding number of officers attached to his person. He had his bodv-guards, called Luichttacli, picked from his clan for strength, activity, and entire devotion to his person. These, according to their deserts, were sure to share abundantly in the rude profusion of his hospitality. It is recorded, for example, by tradition, that Allan MacLean, chief of that clan, happened upon a time to hear one of these favorite retainers observe to his comrade, that their chief grew old. " Whence do you infer that?" replied the other. " When was it," rejoined the first, " that a soldier of Allan's was obliged, as I am now, not only to eat the flesh from the bone, but even to tear off the inner skin, or filament?" The hint was quite sufficient, and MacLean next morning, to relieve his followers from such dire necessity, undertook an inroad on the mainland, the ravage of which altogether effaced the memory of his former expe- ditions for the like purpose. Our officer of Engineers, so often quoted, has given us a distinct list of the domestic officers who, independent of Luichttach, or gardes de corps, belonged to the establishment of a Highland Chief. These are, i- The Henchman. See these notes, p. lOO. 2. The Bard. See p. 60. 3. Bladicr, or spokesman. 4. Gillie-more, or sword-bearer, alluded to in the text. 5. Gillic-casjlue, who car- ried the chief, if on foot, over the fords. 6. Gillie-comstraine, who leads the chiefs horse. 7. Gillie-Triisha?/ariiish, the baggage-man. 8. The piper. 9. The piper's gillie or attendant, who carries the bagpipe.* Although this appeared, naturally enough, very ridiculous to an English officer, who considered the master of such a retinue ♦ Letters from Scotland, vol. ii, p. 15. Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. I4I By the low-levell'd sunbeam's light ! For strength and stature, from the clan Each warrior was a chosen man, As even afar might well be seen, By their proud step and martial mien. Their feathers dance, their tartans float. Their targets gleam, as by the boat A wild and warlike group they stand. That well became such mountain-strand. XXVIII. Their Chief, with step reluctant, still Was lingering on the craggy hill. Hard by where turn'd apart the road To Douglas's obscure abode. It was but with that dawning morn, That Rhoderick Dhu had proudly sworn To drown his love in war's wild roar,' Nor think of Ellen Douglas more ; But he who stems a stream with sand, And fetters flame with flaxen band, as no more than an English gentleman of £500 a year, yet in the circumstances of the chief, whose strength and importance consisted in the number and attachment of his followers, it was of the last consequence, in point of policy, to have in his gift subordinate offices, which called immediately round his person those who were most devoted to him, and, being of value in their estimation, were also the means of rewarding them. 1 MS. : " To drown his grief'\x\ war's wild roar, Nor think of love and Ellen more." 142 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. Has yet a harder task to prove — By firm resolve to conquer love ! Eve finds the Chief, like restless ghost, Still hovering near his treasure lost ; For though his haughty heart deny A parting meeting to his eye. Still fondly strains his anxious ear, The accents of her voice to hear, And inly did he curse the breeze That waked to sound the rustling trees. But hark ! what mingles in the strain .'' It is the harp of Allan-Bane, That wakes its measures slow and high, Attuned to sacred minstrelsy. What melting voice attends the strings } 'Tis Ellen, or an angel, sings. XXIX. HYMN TO THE VIRGIN. Ave Maria ! maiden mild ! Listen to a maiden's prayer! Thou canst hear though from the wild, Thou canst save amid despair. Safe may we sleep beneath thy care. Though banish'd, outcast, and reviled — Maiden ! hear a maiden's prayer ; Mother, hear a suppliant child ! Ave Maria! Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. I43 Ave Maria ! undefiled ! The flinty couch we now must share' Shall seem with down of eider piled, If thy protection hover there. ^ The murky cavern's heavy air - Shall breathe of balm if thou hast smiled ; Then, Maiden ! hear a maiden's prayer, Mother, list a suppliant child ! Ave Maria ! Ave Maria! stainless styled ! Foul demons of the earth and air, From this their wonted haunt exiled. Shall flee before thy presence fair. We bow us to our lot of care, Beneath thy guidance reconciled ; Hear for a maid a maiden's prayer. And for a father hear a child ! Ave Maria ! XXX. Died on the harp the closing hymn - Unmoved in attitude and limb. As list'ning still, Clan-Alpine's lord Stood leaning on his heavy sword, Until the page, with humble sign, Twice pointed to the sun's decline. 1 MS. : " The flinty couch my sire must share." ^ MS. : ■' The murky gyottds noxious air." 144 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto III. Then while his plaid around him cast, "It is the last time — 'tis the last," He muttered thrice, — "the last time e'er That angel-voice shall Roderick hear ! " It was a goading thought — his stride Hied hastier down the mountain-side; Sullen he flung him in the boat, And instant 'cross the lake it shot. They landed in that silvery bay, And eastward held their hasty way, Till, with the latest beams of light, The band arrived on Lanrick height, Where muster'd, in the vale below,' Clan-Alpine's men in martial show. XXXI. A various scene the clansmen made, Some sate, some stood, some slowly stray'd ; But most with mantles folded round, Were couch'd to rest upon the ground. Scarce to be known by curious eye, From the deep heather where they lie, So well was match'd the tartan screen With heath-bell dark and brackens green ; Unless where, here and there, a blade. Or lance's point, a glimmer made, Like glow-worm twinkling through the shade, ' MS.: " Where broad extending far below, Muster'd Clan-Alpine's martial show." Canto III.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 145 But when, advancing through the gloom, They saw the Chieftain's eagle plume, Their shout of welcome, shrill and wide, Shook the steep mountain's steady side. Thrice it arose, and lake and fell Three times return'd the martial yell ; It died upon Bochastle's plain, And silence claimed her evening reign. CANTO FOURTH. THE PROPHECY. I. " The rose is fairest when 'tis budding new, And hope is brightest when it dawns from fears ; ' The rose is sweetest wash'd with morning dew, And love is lovehest when embalm'd in tears. O wilding rose, whom fancy thus endears, I bid your blossoms in my bonnet wave. Emblem of hope and love through future years ! " Thus spoke young Norman, heir of Armandave, What time the sun arose on Vennachar's broad wave. 11. Such fond conceit, half said, half sung. Love prompted to the bridegroom's tongue. All while he stripp'd the wild-rose spray. His axe and bow beside him lay. For on a pass 'twixt lake and wood, A wakeful sentinel he stood. Hark ! — on the rock a footstep rung. And instant to his arms he sprung. 1 MS. : " And rapture dearest when obscured by fears." 146 Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 47 "Stand, or thou diest! — What, Malise? — soon Art thou return'd from Braes of Doune. By thy keen step and glance I know, Thou bring'st us tidings of the foe." (For while the Fiery Cross hied on, On distant scout had Malise gone.) "Where sleeps the Chief.''" the henchman saiJ. "Apart in yonder misty glade; To his lone couch I'll be your guide." Then call'd a slumberer by his side, And stirr'd him with his slacken'd bow — " Up, up, Glentarkin ! rouse thee, ho ! We seek the Chieftain ; on the track, Keep eagle watch till I come back." III. Together up the pass they sped : "What of the foemen?" Norman said. " Varying reports from near and far ; This certain, — that a band of war Has for two days been ready boune, At prompt command, to march from Doune ; King James, the while, with princely powers, Holds revelry in Stirling towers. 'Soon will this dark and gathering cloud Speak on our glens in thunder loud. Inured to bide such bitter bout. The warrior's plaid may bear it out ; 148 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. But, Norman, how wilt thou provide A shelter for thy bonny bride?" — " What ! know ye not that Roderick's care To the lone isle hath caused repair Each maid and matron of the clan, And every child and aged man, Unfit for arms ; and given his charge, Nor skiff nor shallop, boat nor barge, Upon these lakes shall float at large, But all beside the islet moor, That such dear pledge may rest secure ? IV. " 'Tis well advised — the Chieftain's plan ' Bespeaks the father of his clan. But wherefore sleeps Sir Roderick Dhu Apart from all his followers true } " — " It is, because last evening-tide Brian an augury hath tried. Of that dread kind which must not be Unless in dread extremity, The Taghairm call'd ; by which afar, Our sires foresaw the events of war.^ Duncraggan's milk-white bull they slew." ' MS. : "'Tis well advised — a prudent plan, Worthy the father of his clan." 8 See Appendix, Note I. Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 49 MALISE. " Ah ! well the gallant brute I knew ! The choicest of the prey we had, When swept our merry-men Gallangad.' His hide was snow, his horns were dark, His red eye glow'd like fiery spark; So fierce, so tameless, and so fleet, Sore did he cumber our retreat. And kept our stoutest kernes in awe, Even at the pass of Beal 'maha. But steep and flinty was the road, And sharp the hurrying pikemen's goad, 1 I know not if it be worth observing, that this passage is taken almost literally from the mouth of an old Highland Kern, or Ket- teran, as they were called. He used to narrate the merry doings of the good old time when he was a follower of Rob Roy MacGregor. This leader, on one occasion, thought proper to make a descent upon the lower part of the Loch Lomond district, and summoned all the heritors and farmers to meet at the Kirk of Drymen, to pay him black-mail, /. e. tribute for forbearance and protection. As this invitation was supported by a band of thirty or forty stout fellows, only one gentleman, an ancestor, if I mistake not, of the present Mr. Grahame of Gartmore, ventured to decline compliance. Rob Roy instantly swept his land of all he could drive awaj', and among the spoil was a bull of the old Scottish wild breed, whose ferocity occasioned great plague to the Ketterans. " But ere we had reached the Row of Dennan," said the old man, " a child might have scratched his ears."* The circumstance is a minute one, but it paints the times when the poor beeve was compelled — " To hoof it o'er as many weary miles, With goading pikemen hollowing at his heels, As e'er the bravest antler of the woods." Ethiuald. * This anecdote was, in former editions, inaccurately ascribed to Gregor Macgregor of Glengyle, called Ghlune Dhu, or Black-knee, a relation of Rob Roy, but, as I have been assured, not addicted to his predatory excesses. — Note to Third Edition. ISO THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. And when we came to Dennan's Row, A child might scatheless stroke his brow." V. NORMAN. " That bull was slain : his reeking hide They stretch'd the cataract beside, Whose waters their wild tumult toss Adown the black and craggy boss Of that huge cliff, whose ample verge Tradition calls the Hero's Targe.' Couch'd on a shelve beneath its brink, Close where the thundering torrents sink. Rocking beneath their headlong sway, And drizzled by the ceaseless spray, Midst groan of rock, and roar of stream, The wizard waits prophetic dream. Nor distant rests the Chief; — but hush ! See, gliding slow through mist and bush. The hermit gains yon rock, and stands To gaze upon our slumbering bands. Seems he not, Malise, like a ghost. That hovers o'er a slaughter'd host .-* ' There is a rock so named in the Forest of Glenfinlas, bj which a tumultuary cataract takes its course. This wild place is said in former times to have afforded refuge to an outlaw, who was supplied with provisions by a woman, who lowered them down from the brink of the precipice above. His water he procured for himself, by letting down a flagon tied to a string, into the black pool beneath the fall. Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 151 Or raven on the blasted oak, Tha', watching while the deer is broke/ His iiorsel claims with sullen croak ? " MALISE. — " ^eace ! peace ! to other than to me, Thy -vords were evil augury ; M 1 ^uarterd. — Everything belonging to the chase was matter of \ solemnity am>ng our ancestors ; but nothing was more so than the l! mode of cuttng up, or, as it was technically called, breakings the \ slaughtered sag. The forester had his allotted portion ; the hounds f had a certai allowance ; and, to make the division as general as possible, thevery birds had their share also. "There is a little gristle," saysTuberville, "which is upon the spoone of the brisket, which we ca. the raven's bone ; and I have seen in some places a raven so wat and accustomed to it, that she would never fail to croak and cr for it all the time you were in breaking up of the deer, and would nt depart till she had it." In the very ancient metrical romance of Sr Tristrem, that peerless knight, who is said to have been the verxieviser of all rules of chase, did not omit the ceremony. " The rauen he yaue his yiftes Sat on the fourched tre." The ravn might also challenge his rights by the Book of St. Albans; f^r thus says Dame Juliana Berners : " Slitteth anon The bely to the side, irom the corbyn bone : That is corbyn's fee, at the death he will be." onson, in " The Sad Shepherd," gives a more poetical account of he same ceremony : — '" Marian. He that undoes him Doth cleave the brisket bone, upon the spoon Of which a little gristle grows — you call it — ■^ Robin Hood. The raven's bone. Mariait. Now o'er head sat a raven On a sere bough, a grown, great bird, and hoarse. Who, all the while the deer was breaking up, So croak'd and cried for't, as all the huntsmen, Especially old Scathlock, thought it ominous." 152 THE LADY OF THE LAKE, ;Canto IV. But Still I hold Sir Roderick's blade Clan-Alpine's omen and her aid, Not aught that, glean'd from heaven or hell, Yon fiend-begotten monk can tell. The Chieftain joins him, see — and ndw. Together they descend the brow." VI. And, as they came, with Alpine's Lori The Hermit Monk held solemn word: " Roderick ! it is a fearful strife, i For man endow'd with mortal life, Whose shroud of sentient clay can stil! Feel feverish pang and fainting chill, Whose eye can stare in stony trance. Whose hair can rouse like warrior's larpe, 'Tis hard for such to view, unfurl'd, The curtain of the future world. Yet witness every quaking limb, My sunken pulse, mine eyeballs dim. My soul with harrowing anguish torn, This for my Chieftain have I borne! — The shapes that sought my fearful couch, A human tongue may ne'er avouch ; ' No mortal man, — save he, who, bred \ Between the living and the dead, Is gifted beyond nature's law, — Had e'er surviv'd to say he saw. Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 153 At length the fateful answer came, In characters of living flame ! Not spoke in word, nor blazed in scroll, But borne and branded on my soul ; — Which spills the foremost foeman's life," That party conquers in the strife." — ^ VII. *' Thanks, Brian, for thy zeal and care ! Good is thine augury, and fair. Clan-Alpine ne'er in battle stood, But first our broadswords tasted blood. A surer victim still I know. Self-offer'd to the auspicious blow : A spy has sought my land this morn, — No eve shall witness his return ! My followers guard each pass's mouth, To east, to westward, and to south ; Red Murdoch, bribed to be his guide,^ Has charge to lead his steps aside, ' MS. : "Which foremost spills a foeman's life." 2 Though this be in the text described as a response of the Tag- hairm, or Oracle of the Hide, it was of itself an augury frequently attended to. The fate of the battle was often anticipated in the imagination of the combatants, by observing which party first shed blood. It is said that the Highlanders under Montrose were so deeply imbued with this notion, that on the morning of the battle of Tippermoor, they murdered a defenceless herdsman, whom they found in the fields, merely to secure an advantage of so much con- sequence to their party. •* MS. : "The clansmen vainly deein'd his guide." 154 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. Till, in deep path or dingle brown, He light on those shall bring him down.' — But see, who comes his news to show ! Malise! what tidings of the foe.-"" — VIII. " At Doune, o'er many a spear and glaive Two Barons proud their banners wave. I saw the Moray's silver star, And mark'd the sable pale of Mar." — " By Alpine's soul, high tidings those ! I love to hear of worthy foes. When move they on '^. " — " To-morrow's noon ^ Will see them here for battle boune." — ^ " Then shall it see a meeting stern ! — But for the place — say, couldst thou learn Nought of the friendly clans of Earn .-• Strengthen'd by them, we well might bide The battle on Benledi's side. Thou couldst not t — Well ! Clan-Alpine's men Shall man the Trosach's shaggy glen ; Within Loch Katrine's gorge we'll fight. All in our maids' and matrons' sight, 1 MS. : " He light on those shall stab him down." * MS. : " ' When move they on?' < ^ "^ *" > at noon ■' I ' To-day ) ' 'Tis said will see them march from Doune.' , m ..1 ( makes 1 .• . ," ' To-morrow then I \ meetmg stern. C sees J ^ For battle boune — ready for battle. Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 155 Each for his hearth and household fire. Father for child, and son for sire, — Lover for maid beloved ! — But why — Is it the breeze affects mine eye ? Or dost thou come, ill-omen'd tear ! A messenger of doubt or fear ? No ! sooner may the Saxon lance Unfix B^nledi from his stance, Than doubt or terror can pierce through 'The unyielding heart of Roderick Dhu ! 'Tis stubborn as his trusty targe. — ' Each to his post ! — all know their charge." The pibroch sounds, the bands advance, The broadswords gleam, the banners dance, Obedient to the Chieftain's glance. — I turn me from the martial roar. And see Coir-Uriskin once more. IX. Where is the Douglas ? — he is gone ; And Ellen sits on the gray stone Fast by the cave, and makes her moan ; While vainly Allan's words of cheer Are pour'd on her unheeding ear. — " He will return — Dear lady, trust ! — With joy return ; — he will, he must. Well was it time to seek, afar, Some refuge from impending war, • MS. : " 'Tis stubborn as his Highland targe." 156 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. When e'en Clan-Alpine's rugged swarm Are cow'd by the approaching storm. I saw their boats with many a light, Floating the live-long yesternight, Shifting like flashes darted forth ' By the red streamers of the north ; I mark'd at morn how close they ride, Thick moor'd by the lone islet's side, Like wild-ducks couching in the fen, When stoops the hawk upon the glen. Since this rude race dare not abide The peril on the mainland side. Shall not thy noble father's care Some safe retreat for thee prepare.-'" — X. ELLEN. "No, Allan, no! Pretext so kind"" My wakeful terrors could not blind. 1 MS. : "Thick as the flashes darted forth By morrice-dancers of the north ; And saw at morn their ■! ^ ' I httle fleet, Close moor'd by the lone islet's side. Since this rude race dare not abide Upon their native mountain side, 'Tis fit that Douglas should provide For his dear child some safe abode, And soon he comes to point the road." 2 MS. : " No, Allan, no ! His words so kind Were but pretexts my fears to blind, When in such solemn tone and grave, Douglas a parting blessing gave." Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 57 When in such tender tone, yet grave, Douglas a parting blessing gave, The tear that glisten'd in his eye Drovvn'd not his purpose fix'd on high. My soul, though feminine and weak, Can image his ; e'en as the lake. Itself disturb'd by slightest stroke,' Reflects the invulnerable rock. He hears report of battle rife, • He deems himself the cause of strife. I saw him redden, when the theme . Turn'd, Allan, on thine idle dream. Of Malcolm Graeme, in fetters bound, Which I, thou saidst, about him wound. Think'st thou he trow'd thine omen aught } Oh no ! 'twas apprehensive thought For the kind youth, — for Roderick too — (Let me be just) that friend so true ; In danger both, and in'our cause! Minstrel, the Douglas dare not pause. Why else that solemn warning given, * If not on earth, we meet in heaven ! ' Why else, to Cambus-kenneth's fane, If eve return him not again, Am I to hie, and make me known } Alas \ he goes to Scotland's throne. Buys his friend's safety with his own ; — 1 MS.: "Itself disturb'd bj slightest shock, Reflects the adamantine rock." 158 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. He goes to do — what I had done, Had Douglas' daughter been his son ! " — XI. " Nay, lovely Ellen ! — dearest, nay ! If aught should his return delay, He only named yon holy fane As fitting place to meet again. Be sure he's safe ; and for the Graeme, — Heaven's blessing on his gallant name ! — My vision'd sight may yet prove true, Nor bode of ill to him or you, When did my gifted dream beguile } Think of the stranger at the isle, And think upon the harpings slow, That presaged this approaching woe ! Sooth was my prophecy of fear ; Believe it when it augurs cheer. Would we had left this dismal spot ! Ill luck still haunts a fairy grot. Of such a wondrous tale I know — Dear lady, change that look of woe. My harp was wont thy grief to cheer." — ELLEN. " Well, be it as thou wilt ; I hear. But cannot stop the bursting tear." The minstrel tried his simple art, But distant far was Ellen's heart. Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 159 XII. BALLAD ' : ALICE BRAND. Merry it is in the good greenwood, When the mavis ^ and merle ^ are singing, When the deer sweeps by, and the hounds are in cry. And the hunter's horn is ringing. " O Alice Brand, my native land Is lost for love of you ; ^ And we must hold by wood and wold, As outlaws wont to do. " O Alice, 'twas all for thy locks so bright, And 'twas all for thine eyes so blue, That on the night of our luckless flight, Thy brother bold I slew. " Now must I teach to hew the beech The hand that held the glaive, For leaves to spread our lowly bed, And stakes to fence our cave. " And for vest of pall, thy fingers small, That wont on harp to stray, A cloak must shear from the slaughter'd deer, To keep the cold away." — 1 See Appendix, Note K. « Thrush. '^ Blackbird. f l6o THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. " O Richard ! if my brother died, 'Twas but a fatal chance ; For darkHng was the battle tried, And fortune sped the lance/ " If pall and vair no more I wear. Nor thou the crimson sheen. As warm, we'll say, is the russet gray As gay the forest-green. " And, Richard, if our lot be hard, And lost thy native land. Still Alice has her own Richard, And he his Alice Brand." XIII. BALLAD CONTINUED, 'Tis merry, 'tis merry, in good greenwood. So blithe Lady Alice is singing ; On the beech's pride, and oak's brown side, Lord Richard's axe is ringing. Up spoke the moody Elfin King, Who won'd within the hill, — ^ ' MS. : " 'Twas but a midnight chance; For blindfold was tke battle plied, And fortune held the lance." ' In a long dissertation upon the Fairy Superstitions, published in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, the most valuable part of which was supplied by my learned and indefatigable friend. Dr. John Leyden, most of the circumstances are collected which can throw Canto IV.J THE LADY OF THE LAKE. l6l Like wind in the porch of a ruin'd church. His voice was ghostly shrill. light upon the popular belief which even yet prevails respecting them in Scotland. Dr. Graham, author of an entertaining work upon the Scenery of the Perthshire Highlands, already frequently quoted, has recorded, with great accuracy, the peculiar tenets held by the Highlanders on this topic, in the vicinity of Loch Katrine. The learned author is inclined to deduce the whole mythology from the Druidical system, — an opinion to which there are many objections. "The Daoiue ShP or Men of Peace of the Highlanders, though not absolutely malevolent, are believed to be a peevish, repining race of beings, who possessing themselves but a scantj' portion of happiness, are supposed to envy mankind their more complete and substantial enjoyments. They are supposed to enjoy in their sub- terraneous recesses, a sort of shadowy happiness, — a tinsel grandeur ; which, however, they would willingly exchange for the more solid joys of mortality. " They are believed to inhabit certain round grassy eminences, where they celebrate their nocturnal festivities by the light of the moon. About a mile beyond the source of the Forth above Lochcon, there is a place called Coirshi'aii, or the Core of the Men of Peace, which is still supposed to be a favorite place of their residence. In the neighborhood are to be seen many I'ound conical eminences; particularly one, near the head of the lake, by the skirts of which many are still afraid to pass after sunset. It is believed, that if, on Hallow-eve, any person, alone, goes round one of these hills nine times, towards the left hand (siiiis/rorstan) a door shall open, by which he will be admitted into their subterraneous abodes. Many, it is said, of mortal race, have been entertained in their secret recesses. There they have been received into the most splendid apartments, and regaled with the most sumptuous banquets, and delicious wines. Their females surpass the daughters of men in beauty. The seemi}i£;-lv happy inhabitants pass their time in festivity, and in dancing to notes of the softest music. But unhappy is the mortal who joins in their joys, or ventures to partake of their dainties. By this indulgence, he forfeits forever the society of men, and is bound down irrevocably to the condition of S/n''ic/i, or Man of Peace. "A woman, as is reported in the Highland tradition, was con- 1 62 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. '' Why sounds yon stroke on beech and oak, Our moonlight circle's screen ? ' Or who comes here to chase the deer, Beloved of our Elfin Queen ? - Or who may dare on wold to wear The fairies' fatal green ? ^ veyed in days of yore into the secret recesses of the Men of Peace. There she was recognized by one who had formerly been an ordinary mortal, but who had, by some fatality, become associated with the Shi'ichs. This acquaintance, still retaining some portion of human benevolence, warned her of her danger, and counselled her, as she valued her liberty, to abstain from eating and drinking with them for a certain space of time. She complied with the counsel of her friend; and when the period assigned was elapsed, she found herself again upon earth, restored to the society of mortals. It is added, that when she examined the viands which had been presented to her, and which had appeared so tempting to the eye, they were found, now that the enchantment was removed, to consist only of the refuse of the earth." — P. loy-iii. ' ]SJS. : " Our fairy ringlefs screen." 2 See Appendix, Note L. ' As the Daoine Sht\ or Men of Peace, wore green habits, they were supposed to take offence when any mortals ventured to assume their favorite color. Indeed, from some reason, which has been, perhaps, originally a general superstition, green is held in Scotland to be unlucky to particular tribes and counties. The Caithness men, who hold this belief, allege, as a reason, that their bands wore that color when they were cut off at the battle of Flodden ; and for the same reason they avoid crossing the Ord on a Monday, being the day of the week on which their ill-omened array set forth. Green is also disliked by those of the name of Ogilvy; but more especially is it held fatal to the whole clan of Grahame. It is remembered of an aged gentleman of that name, that when his horse fell in a fox- chase, he accounted for it at once, by observing, that the whip-cord attached to his lash was of this unlucky color. Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 63 " Up, Urgan, up ! to yon mortal hie, For thou wcrt christen'd man ; ' For cross or sign thou wilt not fly, For mutter'd word or ban. 1 The Elves were supposed greatlj' to envy the privileges acquired bv Christian initiation, and thej gave to those mortals who had fallen into their power, a certain precedence, founded upon this advantageous distinction. Tamlane, in the old ballad, describes his own rank in the fairy procession : — • " For I ride on a milk-white steed, And aye nearest the town ; i Because I was a christen'd knight, They gave me that renown." I presume, that in the Danish ballad of the Elfin Grey (see Appendix, Note K.) the obstinacy of the " Weist Elf," who would not flee for cross or sign, is to be derived from the circumstance of his having been " christen'd man." How eager the Elves were to obtain for their offspring the pre- rogatives of Christianity, will be proved by the following story : — "In the district called Haga, in Iceland, dwelt a nobleman called Sigward Forster, who had an intrigue with one of the subterranean fetnales. The elf became pregnant and exacted from her lover a firm promise that he would procure the baptism of the infant. At the appointed time, the mother came to the churchyard, on the wall - of which she placed a golden cup. and a stole for the priest, agreeable 5 to the custom of making an offering at baptism. She then stood a J little apart. When the priest left the church, he inquired the mean- i ing of what he saw, and demanded of Sigward if he avowed himself \ the father of the child. But Sigward, ashamed of the connexion^ ^ denied the paternity. He was then interrogated if he desired that the child should be baptized ; but this also he answered in the negative, lest, by such request, he should admit himself to be the father. On which the child was left untouched and unbaptized. \ Whereupon the mother, in extreme wrath, snatched up the infant \ and the cup, and retired, leaving the priestly cope, of which frag- \ ments are still in preservation. But this female denounced and * imposed upon Sigward, and his posterity, to the ninth generation, a singular disease, with which many of his descendants are afflicted at this day." Thus wrote Einar Dudmond, pastor of the parish of 1 64 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. " Lay on him the curse of the wither'd heart, The curse of the sleepless eye ; Till he wish and pray that his life would part. Nor yet find leave to die." XIV. BALLAD CONTINUED. 'Tis merry, 'tis merry, in good greenwood, Though the birds have still'd their singing ; The evening blaze doth Alice raise, And Richard is fagots bringing. Up Urgan starts, that hideous dwarf, Before Lord Richard stands, And as he cross'd and bless'd himself, "I fear not sign," quoth the grisly elf, "That is made with bloody hands." But out then spoke she, Alice Brand, That woman void of fear, — "And if there's blood upon his hand, 'Tis but the blood of deer." — " Now loud thou liest, thou bold of mood ! It cleaves unto his hand. The stain of thine own kindly blood, The blood of Ethert Brand." Garpsdale, in Iceland, a man profoundly versed in learning, from whose manuscript it was extracted bj the learned TorfiEus. — His- toria Hrolfi Krakii, Hafiiur, i']i$, prifa/i'o. Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 65 Then forward stepp'd she, Alice Brand, And made the holy sign, — "And if there's blood on Richard's hand, A spotless hand is mine. "And I conjure thee. Demon elf, By Him whom Demons fear, jl To show us whence thou art thyself, y And what thine errand here?" — I XV. BALLAD CONTINUED. i " 'Tis merry, 'tis merry, in Fairy-land, \ When fairy birds are singing, When the court doth ride by their monarch's side, With bit and bridle ringing: . "And gaily shines the Fairy-land, | But all is glistening show,i \ Like the idle gleam that December's beam ) . i Can dart on ice and snow, i " And fading, like that varied gleam, I Is our inconstant shape, [ Who now like knight and lady seem, j And now like dwarf and ape. I " It was between the night and day, When the Fairy King has power, See Ai^pendix, Note M. 1 66 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV- That I sunk down in a sinful fray, And, 'twixt life and death, was snatch'd away To the joyless Elfin bower.' " But wist I of a woman bold, Who thrice my brow durst sign, I might regain my mortal mold, As fair a form as thine." She cross'd him once — she cross'd him twice — That lady was so brave ; ' The subjects of Fairy-land were recruited from tlie regions of humanitj by a sort o{ crimping system, which extended to adults as well as to infants. Many of those who were in this world supposed to have discharged the debt of nature, had only become denizens of the " Londe of Faery." In the beautiful Fairy Romance of Orfee and Heurodiis (Orpheus and Eurydice) in the Auchinleck MS., is the following striking enumeration of persons thus abstracted from middle earth. Mr. Ritson unfortunately published this romance from a copy in which the following, and many other highly poetical passages do not occur : — " Then he s:an biholde about al, And seighe ful liggeand with in the wal, Of folk that; were thidder y-brought, And thought dede and nere nought; Some stode with outen hadde; And sum none armes nade ; And sum thurch the bodi hadde wounde ; And sum lay wode y-bounde; And sum armed on hors sete; And sum cstrangled as thai ete; And sum war in water adreynt; And sum with fire al forschreynt; Wives ther lav on cliilde beilde; Sum dede, and sum awedde; And wonder fele ther lay besides, Right as thai slepe her undertides; Eche was thus in the warld y-nome, With fairi thider y-come." Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 167 The fouler grew his goblin hue, The darker grew the cave. She cross'd him thrice, that lady bold ; He rose beneath her hand The fairest knight on Scottish mold, Her brother, Ethert Brand ! Merry it is in good greenwood, When the mavis and merle are singing. But merrier were they in Dunfermline gray, When all the bells were rin^ino;. XVI. Just as the minstrel sounds were stay'd, A stranger climb'd the steepy glade : His martial step, his stately mien. His hunting suit of Lincoln green. His eagle glance, remembrance claims — 'Tis Snowdoun's Knight, 'tis James Fitz-James. Ellen beheld as in a dream, Then, starting, scarce suppress'd a scream : " O stranger ! in such hour of fear. What evil hap has brought thee here?" — " An evil hap how can it be, That bids me look again on thee ? By promise bound, my former guide Met me betimes this morning tide. l68 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. And marshall'd, over bank and bourne, The happy path of my return." — "The happy path ! — what! said he nought Of war, of battle to be fought, Of guarded pass } " — " No, by my faith ! Nor saw I aught could augur scathe." — " O haste thee, Allan, to the kern, — Yonder his tartans I discern ; Learn thou his purpose, and conjure That he will guide the stranger sure ! — What prompted thee, unhappy man } The meanest serf in Roderick's clan Had not been bribed by love or fear, Unknown to him to guide thee here." XVII. *• Sweet Ellen, dear my life must be, Since it is worthy care from thee ; Yet life I hold but idle breath, When love or honor's weigh'd with death. Tlien let me profit by my chance. And speak my purpose bold at once. I come to bear thee from a wild. Where ne'er before such blossom smiled: By this soft hand to lead thee far From frantic scenes of feud and war. Near Bochastle my horses wait ' They bear us soon to Stirling gate. ' MS. : " ^j Cainbusmorc my horses wait." Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 69 I'll place thee in a lovely bower, I'll o-uard thee like a tender flower " " O ! hush, Sir Knight ! 'twere female art, To say I do not read thy heart ; Too much, before, my selfish ear Was idly soothed my praise to hear.' That fatal bait hath lured thee back. In deathful hour, o'er dangerous track ; And how, O how, can I atone The wreck my vanity brought on ! — One way remains — I'll tell him all — Yes ! struggling bosom, forth it shall ! Thou, whose light folly bears the blame, Buy thine own pardon with thy shame ! But first — my father is a man Outlaw'd and exiled, under ban ; The price of blood is on his head, With me 'twere infamy to wed. — Still would'st thou speak .? — then hear the truth! Fitz-James, there is a noble youth, — If yet he is ! — exposed for me And mine to dread extremity — Thou hast the secret of my heart ; Forgive, be generous, and depart ! " 1 MS. : " Was '\6\y fond thy praise to hear." 170 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV- XVIII. Fitz-James knew every wily train A lady's fickle heart to gain, But here he knew and felt them vain. There shot no glance from Ellen's eye, To give her steadfast speech the lie ; In maiden confidence she stood, Though mantled in her cheek the blood, And told her love with such a sigh Of deep and hopeless agony, As death had seal'd her Malcolm's doom, And she sat sorrowing on his tomb. Hope vanished from Fitz-James's eye. But not with hope fled sympathy. He proffer'd to attend her side, As brother would a sister guide. — "O ! little know'st thou Roderick's heart! Safer for both we go apart. O haste thee, and from Allan learn. If thou may'st trust yon wily kern." With hand upon his forehead laid. The conflict of his mind to shade A parting step or two he made ; Then, as some thought had cross'd his brain, He paused, and turn'd, and came again. Canto IT.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 171 XIX. " Hear, lady, yet a parting word ! — It chanced in fight that my poor sword Preserved the life of Scotland's lord. This ring the grateful Monarch gave,' And bade, when I had boon to crave, To bring it back and boldly claim The recompense that I would name. Ellen, I am no courtly lord. But one who lives by lance and sword, Whose castle is his helm and shield, His lordship the embattled field. What from a prince can I demand. Who neither reck of state nor land .'' Ellen, thy hand — the ring is thine ;^ Each guard and usher knows the sign. Seek thou the king without delay ;3 This signet shall secure thy way ; And claim thy suit, whate'er it be, As ransom of his pledge to me." He placed the golden circlet on, Paused — kiss'd her hand — and then was gone. 1 MS. 2 MS. 8 MS. " This ring of gold the monarch gave." " Permit this hand — the ring is thine." " ' Seek thou the King, and on thy knee Put forth thy suit, whate'er it be, As ransom of his pledge to me; My name and this shall make thy way.' He put the little signet on." 172 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. The aged Minstrel stood aghast, So hastily Fitz-James shot past. He join'd his guide, and winding down The ridges of the mountain brown. Across the stream they took their way, That joins Loch Katrine to Achray. XX. All in the Trosach's glen was still, Noontide was sleeping on the hill : Sudden his guide whoop'd loud and high — " Murdoch ! was that a signal cry .-' " He stammer'd forth, — "I shout to scare ' Yon raven from his dainty fare." He look'd — he knew the raven's prey, His own brave steed : — " Ah ! gallant gray ! For thee — for me, perchance — 'twere well We ne'er had seen the Trosach's dell. — Murdoch, move first — but silently; Whistle or whoop, and thou shalt die!" Jealous and sullen on they fared, Each silent, each upon his guard, XXI. Now wound the path its dizzy ledge Around a precipice's edge, 1 MS. : " He stammer'd forth confused reply : ' Saxon, ' Sir Knight, Yon raven from his dainty fare.'" \ I shouted but to scare Canto IV.] J^HE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 73 When lo ! a wasted female form, Blighted by wrath of sun and storm, In tatter'd weeds and wild array,' Stood on a cliff beside the way, And glancing round her restless eye. Upon the wood, the rock, the sky, Seem'd nought to mark, yet all to spy. Her brow was wreath'd with gaudy broom ;■ With gesture wild she waved a plume Of feathers which the eagles fling To crag and cliff from dusky wing ; Such spoils her desperate step had sought, Where scarce was footing for the goat. The tartan plaid she first descried. And shriek'd till all the rocks replied ; As loud she laugh'd when near they drew, For then the Lowland garb she knew ; And then her hands she wildly wrung, And then she wept, and then she sung — She sung! — the voice in better time, Perchance to harp or lute might chime ; And now though strain'd and roughen'd, still Rung wildly sweet to dale and hill. XXII. SONG. They bid me sleep, they bid me pray, They say my brain is warp'd and wrung — 1 MS. : " Wrapp'd in a tatter'd mantle gray." ^^iii . ^ ^^ ^«. 174 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. I cannot sleep on Highland brae, I cannot pray in Highland tongue. But were I now where Allan ' glides, Or heard my native Devan's tides, So sweetly would I rest, and pray That heaven would close my wintry day ! 'Twas thus my hair they bade me braid, They bade me to the church repair ; It was my bridal morn they said. And my true love would meet me there. But woe betide the cruel guile. That drown'd in blood the morning smile ! And woe betide the fairy dream ! I only waked to sob and scream. XXHI. " Who is this maid } what means her lay .'' She hovers o'er the hollow way, And flutters wide her mantle gray. As the lone heron spreads his wing. By twilight, o'er a haunted spring." — "'Tis Blanche of Devan," Murdoch said,^ " A erased and captive Lowland maid, Ta'en on the morn she was a bride. When Roderick foray'd Devan-side. ^ The Allan and Devan are two beautiful streams, the latter celebrated in the poetry of Burns, which descend from the hills of Perthshire into the great carse or plain of Stirling. 2 MS. : " ' A Saxon born, a crazy maid — 'Tis Blanche of Devan,' Murdoch said." Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 75 The gay bridegroom resistance made, And felt our Chief's unconquer'd blade. I marvel she is now at large, But oft she 'scapes from Maudlin's charge. — Hence, brain-sick fool!" — He raised his bow: — " Now, if thou strikest her but one blow, I'll pitch thee from the cliff as far As ever peasant pitch'd a bar ! " — " Thanks, champion, thanks ! " the Maniac cried. And press'd her to Fitz-James's side. " See the gray pennons I prepare,' To seek my true-love through the air ! I will not lend that savage groom,^ To break his fall, one downy plume! No ! — deep amid disjointed stones. The wolves shall batten on his bones. And then shall his detested plaid, By brush and brier in mid air staid, Wave forth a banner fair and free. Meet signal for their revelry." — XXIV. " Hush thee, poor maiden, and be still ! " — O! thou look'st kindly, and I will. — ' MS. : "With thee these pennons will I share, Then seek mj true love through the air." 2 MS. : " But I'll not lend that savage groom. To break his Hill one downy plume! Deep, deep 'mid von disjointed stones, The wolf shall batten on his bones." 176 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. Mine eye has dried and wasted been, But still it loves the Lincoln green ; And, though mine ear is all unstrung, Still, still it loves the Lowland tongue. " For O my sweet William was forester true,' He stole poor Blanche's heart away! His coat it was all of the greenwood hue,^ And so blithely he trill'd the Lowland lay ! " It was not that I meant to tell . . . But thou art wise and guessest well." Then, in a low and broken tone, And hurried note, the song went on. Still on the Clansman, fearfully. She fixed her apprehensive eye ; Then turn'd it on the Knight, and then Her look glanced wildly o'er the glen. XXV. "The toils are pitch'd, and the stakes are set, Ever singing merrily, merrily ; The bows they bend, and the knives they whet, Hunters live so cheerily. ' MS. : " Sweet William was a woodsman true. He stole poor Blanche's heart away-" 2 MS. : " His coat was of the forest hue, And sweet he sung the Lowland lay." Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 77 "It was a stag, a stag of ten/ Bearing its branches sturdily; He came stately down the glen, Ever sing hardily, hardily. " It was there he met with a wounded doe, She was bleeding deathfully ; She warn'd him of the toils below, O, so faithfully, faithfully! "He had an eye, and he could heed, Ever sing warily, warily ; He had a foot and he could speed — Hunters watch so narrowly."^ XXVI. Fitz-James's mind was passion-toss'd, When Ellen's hints and fears were lost ; But Murdoch's shout suspicion wrought. And Blanche's song conviction brought. — Not like a stag that spies the snare, But lion of the hunt aware. He waved at once his blade on high. "Disclose thy treachery, or die!" 1 Having ten branches on his antlers. 2 " No machinery can be conceived more clumsy for effecting the deliverance of a distressed hero, than the introduction of a mad woman, who, without knowing or caring about the wanderer, warns him, by a song, to take care of the ambush that was set for him. The 178 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. Forth at full speed the Clansman flew,' But in his race his bow he drew. The shaft just grazed Fitz-James's crest, And thrill'd in Blanche's faded breast. — Murdoch of Alpine ! prove thy speed, For ne'er had Alpine's son such need ! With heart of fire, and foot of wind. The fierce avenger is behind ! Fate judges of the rapid strife — The forfeit death — the prize is life ! Thy kindred ambush lies before, Close couch'd upon the heathery moor ; Them couldst thou reach ! — it may not be — ^ Thine ambush'd kin thou ne'er shall see, The fiery Saxon gains on thee ! Resistless speeds the deadly thrust, As lightning strikes the pine to dust ; With foot and hand Fitz-James must strain. Ere he can win his blade again. maniacs of poetry have indeed had a prescriptive right to be musical, since the davs of Ophelia downwards; but it is rather a rash exten- sion of this privilege to make them sing good sense, and to make sensible people be guided by them." — Jeffrey. ' MS. : " Forth at full speed the Clansman went; But in his race his bow he bent, Halted — and back an arrow sent." 2 MS. " It may not be — The fiery Saxon gains on thee, Thine ambush'd kin thou ne'er shalt see! Resistless as the lightning's flame. The thrust betwixt his shoulder came." CANTO IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 79 Bent o'er the fall'n, with falcon eye,' He grimly smiled to see him die : Then slower wended back his way, Where the poor maiden bleeding lay. XXVII. She sate beneath the birchen-tree, Her elbow resting on her knee ; She had withdrawn the fatal shaft, And gazed on it, and feebly laugh'd ; Her wreath of broom and feathers gray, Daggled with blood beside her lay. The Knight to stanch the life-stream tried, " Stranger, it is in vain ! " she cried. "This hour of death has given me more ^ Of reason's power than years before ; For, as these ebbing veins decay. My frenzied visions fade away. A helpless injured wretch I die,^ And something tells me in thine eye, That thou wert mine avenger born. — Seest thou this tress } — O ! still I've worn This little tress of yellow hair. Through danger, frenzy, and despair ! It once was bright and clear as thine. But blood and tears have dimm'd its shine. ' MS. : " Then o'er him hung, with falcon eye, And grimly smil'd to see him die." 2 MS. : '■ A guiltless injured wretch I die." THE LADY OF THE LAKE, [Canto IV. I will not tell thee when 'twas shred, Nor from what guiltless victim's head — My brain would turn ! — but it shall wave ' Like plumage on thy helmet brave, Till sun and wind shall bleach the stain, And thou wilt bring it me again. — I waver still. — O God ! more bright Let reason beam her parting light ! — O ! by thy knighthood's honor'd sign. And for thy life preserved by mine. When thou shalt see a darksome man, Who boasts him Chief of Alpine's clan. With tartans broad and shadowy plume, And hand of blood, and brow of gloom. Be thy heart bold, thy weapon strong And wreak poor Blanche of Devan's wrong — They watch for thee by pass and fell . . . Avoid the path . , . O God! . . . farewell." XXVIII. A kindly heart had brave Fitz-James ; Fast pour'd his eyes at pity's claims. And now with mingled grief and ire, He saw the murdered maid expire. " God, in my need, be my relief,* As I wreak this on yonder Chief ! " ' MS. : " But now, mj champion, — it shall wave." ' MS. : " God in my need, to me be true, As I wreak this on Roderick Dhu." Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. l8l A lock from Blanche's tresses fair He blended with her bridegroom's hair ; The mingled braid in blood he dyed, And placed it on his bonnet-side: " By Him whose word is truth ! I swear No other favor will I wear, Till this sad token I imbrue In the best blood of Roderick Dhu ! — But hark ! what means yon faint halloo ? The chase is up, — but they shall know. The stag at bay's a dangerous foe." Barr'd from the known but guarded way. Through copse and cliff Fitz-James must stray, And oft must change his desperate track. By stream and precipice turn'd back. Heartless, fatigued, and faint, at length, From lack of food and loss of strength, He couch'd him in a thicket hoar. And thought his toils and perils o'er : — " Of all my rash adventures past, This frantic feat must prove the last ! Who e'er so mad but might have guess'd, That all this Highland hornet's nest Would muster up in swarms so soon As e'er they heard of bands at Doune.' — Like bloodhounds now they search me out, — Hark to the whistle and the shout ! — If farther through the wilds I go, I only fall upon the foe : 1 82 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto rv. I'll couch me here till evening gray, Then darkling try my dangerous way." XXIX. The shades of eve come slowly down, The woods are wrapt in deeper brown. The owl awakens from her dell, The fox is heard upon the fell ; Enough remains of glimmering light To guide the wanderer's steps aright. Yet not enough from far to show His figure to the watchful foe. With cautious step, and ear awake, He climbs the crag and threads the brake ; And not the summer solstice, there, Temper'd the midnight mountain air. But every breeze, that swept the wold, Benumb'd his drenched limbs with cold. In dread, in danger, and alone, Famish'd and chill'd, through ways unknown, Tangled and steep, he journey'd on ; Till, as the rock's huge point he turn'd, A watch-fire close before him burn'd. XXX. Beside its embers red and clear,' Bask'd, in his plaid, a mountaineer ; ' MS: : " By the decaying flame was laid A warrior in his Highland plaid." Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 83 And up he sprung with sword in hand, — " Thy name and purpose ! Saxon, stand ! " — " A stranger." — " What dost thou require } " — " Rest and a guide, and food and fire. My life's beset, my path is lost, The gale has chill'd my limbs with frost." — " Art thou a friend to Roderick ? " — " No." — " Thou darest not call thyself a foe .^" — " I dare ! to him and all his band ' He brings to aid his murderous hand." — "Bold words! — but, though the beast of game The privilege of chase may claim. Though space and law the stag we lend, Ere hound we slip, or bow we bend. Who ever reck'd, where, how, or when, The prowling fox was trapp'd or slain ?- Thus treacherous scouts, — yet sure they lie, Who say thou camest a secret spy ! " " They do, by heaven ! — Come Roderick Dhu, And of his clan the boldest two, 1 MS. : " I dare ! to him and all the swarm He brings to aid his murderous arm." 2 St. John actually used this illustration when engaged in con- futing the plea of law proposed for the unfortunate Earl of Strafford : " It was true we gave laws to hares and deer, because they are beasts of chase; but it was never accounted either cruelty or foul plav to knock foxes or wolves on the head as they can be found, because they are beasts of prey. In a word, the law and humanity were alike ; the one being more fallacious, and the other more barbarous, than in any age had been vented in such an authority." — Clarendon's History of the Rebellion. Oxford, 1702, fol. vol., p. 183. 1 84 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. And let me but till morning rest, I write the falsehood on their crest." — " If by the blaze I mark aright, Thou bear'st the belt and spur of Knight." " Then by these tokens mayest thou know Each proud oppressor's mortal foe." — " Enough, enough ; sit down and share A soldier's couch, a soldier's fare." XXXI. He gave him of his Highland cheer, The harden'd flesh of mountain deer ; ' 1 The Scottish Highlanders, in former times, had a concise mode of cookmg their venison, or rather of dispensing with cooking it, which appears greatlj to have surprised the French whom chance made acquainted with it. The Vidame of Charters, when a hostage in England, during the reign of Edward VI., was permitted to travel into Scotland, and penetrated as far as the remote Highlands {an fin fond des Sauvag-es). After a great hunting party, at which a most wonderful quantity of game was destroyed, he saw these Scoitis/i savages devour a part of their venison raw, without any further preparation than compressing it between two batons of wood, so as to force out the blood, and render it extremely hard. This they reckoned a great delicacy; and when the Vidame partook of it, his compliance with their taste rendered him extremely popular. This curious trait of manners was communicated by Mons. de Mont- morency, a great friend of the Vidame, to Brantome, by whom it is recorded in Vies des Hommes Illustres, Discours, Ixxxix. art. 14. The process by which the raw venison was rendered eatable is described very minutely in the romance of Perceforest, where Estonne, a Scottish knight-errant, having slain a deer, says to his companion Claudius : " Sire, or mangerez vous et moy aussi. Voire si nous anions de feu, dit Claudius. Par I'ame de mon pere, dist Estonne, ie vous atourneray et cuiray a la maniere de nostra pays Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 85 Dry fuel on the fire he laid, And bade the Saxon share his plaid. He tended him like welcome guest, Then thus his further speech address'd. " Stranger, I am to Roderick Dhu A clansman born, a kinsman true ; Each word against his honor spoke. Demands of me avenging stroke ; Yet more, — upon thy fate, 'tis said, A mighty augury is laid. comme pour cheualier errant. Lors tira son espee, et sen vint a la branche dung arbre, et y fait vng grant trou, et puis fend la branche bien dieux piedx, et boute la cuisse du cerf entredeux, et puis prent le licol de son cheval, et en lye la branche, et destraint si fort, que le sang et les humeurs de la chair saillent hors, et demeure lachaire doulce et seiche. Lors prent la chair, et oste ius le cuir, et la chaire demeure aussi blanche comme si ce feust dung chappon. Dont dist a Claudius, Sire, ie la vous ay cuiste a la guise de mon pays, vous ens pouez manger hardyement, car ie mangeray premier. Lors met sa main a sa selle en vng lieu quil y auoit, et tire hors sel et poudre de poiure et gingembre, mesle ensemble, et le iecte dessus, et Ie frote sus bien fort, puis le couppe a moytie et en donne a Claudius I'une des pieces, et puis mort en I'autre aussi sauourese- ment qui! est aduis que il en feist la pouldre voller. Qiiant Claudius veit quil le mangeoit de tel goust, il en print grant faim, et com- mence a manger, tresvoulentiers, et dist a Estonne : Par I'ame de moy, ie ne mangeaj' oncquesmais de chair atournee de tell guise : mafs doresenauant ie ne me retourneroye pas hors de mon chemin par auoir la cuite. Sire, dist Estonne, quant is suis en desers d'Escosse, dont ie suis seigneur, ie cheuaucheray huit iours ou quinze que ie d'entreray en chastel ne en maison, et si ne verray feu ne personne viuant fors que bestes sauuages, et de eel les mangeray atournees en ceste maniere, et mieulx me plaira que la viande de I'empereur. Ainsi sen vont mangeant et cheuauchant iusques adonc quilz arriuerent sur una moult belle fontaine que estoit en vne valee. 1 86 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. It rests with me to wind my horn, — Thou art with numbers overborne ; It rests with me, here, brand to brand, Worn as thou art, to bid thee stand : But, not for clan, nor kindred's cause, Will I depart from honor's laws ; To assail a wearied man were shame, And stranger is a holy name ; Guidance and rest, and food and fire In vain he never must require. Then rest thee here till dawn of day ; Myself will guide thee on the way. O'er stock and stone, through watch and ward, Till past Clan-Alpine's outmost guard, As far as Coilantogle's ford ; From thence thy warrant is thy sword." — " I take thy courtesy, by Heaven, As freely as 'tis nobly given ! " — "Well, rest thee; for the bittern's cry Sings us the lake's wild lullaby." With that he shook the gather'd heath. And spread his plaid upon the wreath ; Qiiant Estonne la vit il dist a Claudius, allons boire a ceste fontaine. Or beuuons,, dist Estonne, du boire que le grant dieu a pourueu a toutes gens, et que me plaist mieulx que les ceruoises d'Angleterre." — La Treselcgantc Hystoire du trestioble Roy Perceforest. Paris, 153 1, fol. tome i. fol. Iv. vers. After all, it may be doubted whether la chatrc nostree, for so the French called the venison thus summarily prepared, was anything more than a mere rude kind of deer-ham. J„ Canto IV.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 8/ And the brave foemen, side by side, Lay peaceful down like brothers tried, And slept until the dawning beam ' Purpled the mountain and the stream. 1 MS. : " And slept until the dawning streak Purpled the mountain and the lake." CANTO FIFTH. THE COMBAT. I. Fair as the earliest beam of eastern light, When first, by the bewilder'd pilgrim spied It smiles upon the dreary brow of night, And silvers o'er the torrent's foaming tide. And lights the fearful path on mountain side ; — ' Fair as that beam, although the fairest far, Giving to horror grace, to danger pride. Shine martial Faith, and Courtesy's bright star. Through all the wreckful storms that cloud the brow of War. II. That early beam, so fair and sheen. Was twinkling through the hazel screen, When, rousing at its glimmer red. The warriors left their lowly bed, Look'd out upon the dappled sky, Mutter'd their soldier matins by, And then awaked their fire, to steal. As short and rude, their soldier meal. 1 MS. : *' And lights the fearful way along its side." i88 Canto V.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 89 That o'er, the Gael ' around him threw His graceful plaid of varied hue, And true to promise, led the way, By thicket green and mountain gr^. A wildering path ! — they winded now Along the precipice's brow, Commanding the rich scenes beneath, The windings of the Forth and Teith, And all the vales between that lie, Till Stirling's turrets melt in sky; Then, sunk in copse, their farthest glance Gain'd not the length of horseman's lance. 'Twas oft so steep, the foot was fain Assistance from the hand to gain ; So tangled oft, that bursting through, Each hawthorn shed her showers of dew, — That diamond dew, so pure and clear, It rivals all but Beauty's tear III. At length they came where stern and steep,* The hill sinks down upon the deep. Here Vennachar in silver flows. There, ridge on ridge, Benledi rose ; Ever the hollow path twined on. Beneath steep bank and threatening stone ; 1 The Scottish Highlander calls himself Gael, or Gaul, and terms the Lowlanders, Sas.senach, or Saxons. * MS. : " At length thej paced the mountain's side, And saw beneath the waters wide." IQO THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. An hundred men might hold the post With hardihood against a host. The rugged mountain's scanty cloak Was dwarfish shrubs of birch and oak,' With shingles bare, and cliffs between, And patches bright of bracken green, And heather black, that waved so high, It held the copse in rivalry. But where the lake slept deep and still, Dank osiers fringed the swamp and hill ; And oft both path and hill were torn, Where wintry torrents down had borne, And heap'd upon the cumber'd land Its wreck of gravel, rocks, and sand. So toilsome was the road to trace, The guide abating of his pace, Led slowly through the pass's jaws, And ask'd Fitz-James by what strange cause He sought these wilds, traversed by few. Without a pass from Roderick Dhu. IV. " Brave Gael, my pass in danger tried, Hangs in my belt, and by my side ; Yet, sooth to tell," the Saxon said, "I dreamt not now to claim its aid.^ ^ MS. : " The rugged mountain's stunted screen Was dwarfish! ^'^'""^^ I with cliffs between." C copse J 2 MS. : " I dreamed not now to draw my blade." Canto V.] THE LADV OF THE LAKE. I91 When here, but three days since, I came, Bewilder'd in pursuit of game, All seem'd as peaceful and as still, As the mist slumbering on yon hill ; Thy dangerous chief was then afar, Nor soon expected back from war. Thus said, at least, my mountain-guide, Though deep perchance the villain lied." " Yet why a second venture try .-' " — "A warrior thou, and ask me why! — Moves our free course by such fix'd cause As gives the poor mechanic laws .-• Enough, I sought to drive away The lazy hours of peaceful day; " Slight cause will then suffice to guide A Knight's free footsteps far and wide, — * A falcon flown, a greyhound stray'd, The merry glance of mountain maid : Or, if a path be dangerous known, The dansrer's self is lure alone." V. "Thy secret keep, I urge thee not; — * Yet, ere again ye sought this spot. Say, heard ye not of Lowland war. Against Clan-Alpine, rais'd by Mar.^*" » MS. : " Mj errant footsteps j j.^^. ^^^ ^.^^^, A knight's bold wanderings J 2 MS. : " Thy secret keep, I ask it not." 1 192 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. — "No, by my word; — of bands prepared To guard King James's sports I heard ; Nor doubt I aught, but, when they hear This muster of the mountaineer, Their pennons will abroad be flung, Which else in Doune had peaceful hung." — ■ "Free be they flung! for we were loth Their silken fold should feast the moth. Free be they flung! — as free shall wave Clan-Alpine's pine in banner brave. But, Stranger, peaceful since you came, Bewilder'd in the mountain game. Whence the bold boast by which you show Vich Alpine's vow'd and mortal foe } " — "Warrior, but yester-morn, I knew Nought of thy Chieftain, Roderick Dhu, Save as an outlaw'd desperate man, The chief of a rebellious clan, Who in the Regent's court and sight, With ruffian dagger stabb'd a knight ; Yet this alone might from his part Sever each true and loyal heart." VI. Wrathful at such arraignment foul, Dark lower'd the clansman's sable scowl. A space he paused, then sternly said, " And heard'st thou why he drew his blade .■* 1 MS. : " Which else in hall had peaceful hung." Canto V.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 93 Heard'st thou that shameful word and blow Brought Roderick's vengeance on his foe ? What reck'd the Chieftain if he stood On Highland heath, or Holy-Rood? He rights such wrong where it is given, If it were in the court of heaven." — " Still was it outrage ; — yet, 'tis true. Not then claim'd sovereignty his due ; While Albany, with feeble hand, Held borrow'd truncheon of command, The young King mew'd in Stirling tower, Was stranger to respect and power." But then, thy Chieftain's robber life ! — Winning mean prey by causeless strife. Wrenching from luin'd Lowland swain His herds and harvest rear'd in vain. — Methinks a soul like thine should scorn The spoils from such foul foray borne." 1 There is scarcely a more disorderly period in Scottish history than that which succeeded the battle of Flodden, and occupied the minority of James V. Feuds of ancient standing broke out like old wounds, and every quarrel among the independent nobility, which occurred daily, and almost hourly, gave rise to fresh bloodshed. "There arose," says Pitscottie, "great trouble and deadly feuds in many parts of Scotland, both in the north and west parts. The Master of Forbes, in the north, slew the Laird of Meldrum, under tryst;" (i. e. at an agreed and secure meeting:^ "Likewise, the Laird of Drummelzier slew the Lord Fleming at the hawking; and, likewise there was slaughter among many other great lords." P. 121. Nor was the matter much mended under the government of the Earl of Angus : for though he caused the King to ride through all Scot- land, "under the pretence and color of justice, to punish thief and traitor, none were found greater than were in their own company ; 194 '^HE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. VII. The Gael beheld him grim the while, And answered with disdainful smile, — " Saxon, from yonder mountain high, I mark'd thee send delighted eye. Far to the south and east, where lay, Extended in succession gay, Deep waving fields and pastures green. With gentle slopes and groves between : — These fertile plains, that soften'd vale. Were once the birthright of the Gael ; The stranger came with iron hand, •And from our fathers reft the land. Where dwell we now ! See rudely swell Crag over crag, and fell o'er fell. Ask we this savage hill we tread, For fatten'd steer or household bread ; Ask we for flocks these shingles dry, And well the mountain might reply, — * To you, as to your sires of yore, Belong the target and claymore ! I give you shelter in my breast, Your own good blades must win the rest.' and none at that time durst strive with a Douglas, nor vet a Douglas's man ; for if they would, thej got the worst. Therefore, none durst plainzie of no extortion, theft, reiff, nor slaughter, done to them by the Douglasses, or their men; in that cause they were not heard so long as the Douglas had the court in guiding." — Ibid. p. 133. Canto V.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 195 Pent in this fortress of the North, Think'st thou we will not sally forth, To spoil the spoiler as we may, And from the robber rend the prey ? Ay, by my soul ! — While on yon plain The Saxon rears one shock of grain ; While, of ten thousand herds, there strays But one along yon river's maze, — The Gael, of plain and river heir. Shall, with strong hand, redeem his share. Where live the mountain Chiefs who hold, That plundering Lowland field and fold Is aught but retribution true ? Seek other cause 'gainst Roderick Dhu." — ' • The ancient Highlanders verified in their practice the lines of Gray : — "An iron race the mountain cliffs maintain, Foes to the gentler genius of the plain; For where unwearied sinews must be found, With side-long plough to quell the flinty ground; To turn tlie torrent's swift descending flood; To tame the savage rushing from the wood; What wonder if, to patient valor train'd, They guard with spirit what by strength they gain'd : And while their rocky ramparts round they see The rough abode of want and liberty, (As lawless force from confidence will grow), Insult tlie plenty of the vales below ? " Fragment on the Alliance of Education and Gox^ernment. So far, indeed, was a Creag-Ji, or foray, from being held disgrace- ful, that a young chief was always expected to show his talents for command sc soon as he assumed it, by leading his clan on a suc- cessful enterprise of this nature, either against a neighboring sept, for which constant feuds usually furnished an apology, or against the Sassenach, Saxons, or Lowlanders, for which no apology was necessar_y. The Gael, great traditional historians, never forgot that the Lowlands had, at some remote period, been the property of 196 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. VIII. Answer'd Fitz-James, — " And, if I sought, Think'st thou no other could be brought ? What deem ye of my path waylaid ? My life given o'er to ambuscade ? " — "As of a meed to rashness due : Hadst thou sent warning fair and true, — I seek my hound, or falcon stray'd, I seek, good faith, a Highland maid, — Free hadst thou been to come and go, But secret path marks secret foe. Nor yet, for this, even as a spy, Hadst thou, unheard, been doom'd to die, Save to fulfil an augury." — " Well, let it pass ; nor will I now Fresh cause of enmity avow, To chafe thy mood and cloud thy brow. Enough, I am by promise tied To match me with this man of pride : Twice have I sought Clan-Alpine's glen In peace ; but when I come agen, /their Celtic forefathers, which furnished an ample vindication of all the ravages that they could make on the unfortunate districts which lay within their reach. Sir James Grant of Grant is in possession of a letter of apology from Cameron of Lochiel, whose men had com- mitted some depredation upon a farm called Moines, occupied by one of the Grants. Lochiel assures Grant, that, however the mis- take had happened, his instructions were precise, that the party should foray the province of Moray (a Lowland district), where, as Ihe coolly observes, " all men take their prey." Canto V.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 1 97 I come with banner, brand, and bow, As leader seeks his mortal foe. For love-lorn swain, in lady's bower, Ne'er panted for the appointed hour. As I, until before me stand This rebel Chieftain and his band ! " ' IX. " Have, then, thy wish ! " — he whistled shrill, And he was answer'd from the hill ; Wild as the scream of the curlew, From crag to crag the signal flew.* Instant, through copse and heath, arose Bonnets and spears and bended bows : On right, on left, above, below. Sprung up at once the lurking foe ; From shingles gray their lances start, The bracken brush sends forth the dart,' The rushes and the willow-wand Are bristling into axe and brand. And every tuft of broom gives life "* To plaided warrior arm'd for strife. 1 MS. : " This dark Sir Roderick ) j ,• u j ' and his band. This savage Chieftain 2 MS. : " From copse to copse the signal flew. Instant, through copse and cra^s arose." ^ MS. : "The bracken bush s/ioois forth the dart." * MS. : " And each lone tuft of broom gives life To plaided warrior arm'd for strife. Tliat whistle matined the lonely glen With full five hundred armed men." 198 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. That whistle garrison'd the glen At once with full five hundred men, As if the yawning hill to heaven A subterranean host had given.' Watching their leader's beck and will,* As silent there they stood, and still. Like the loose crags whose threatening mass Lay tottering o'er the hollow pass. As if an infant's touch could urge Their headlong passage down the verge, With step and weapon forward flung, Upon the mountain-side they hung. The Mountaineer cast glance of pride Along Benledi's living side, ' The Monthly Review says — "We now come to the chef- d'auvre of Walter Scott, — a scene of more vigour, nature, and animation, than any other in all his poetry." Another anony- mous critic of the poem is not afraid to quote, with reference to the effect of this passage, the sublime language of the Prophet Ezekiel : — "Then said he unto me. Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind. Thus saith the Lord God ; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he com- manded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army." — Chap. xxxvii, V. 9, 10. 2 MS. : " All silent, too, they stood, and still. Watching their leader's beck and will, While forward step and weapon show They long to rush upon the foe. Like the loose crag, whose tottering mass Hung threatening o'er the hollow pass." "Come one, come all! this rock shall fly From its firm base as soon as I." — Page igo. TO v.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 199 Then fix'd his eye and sable brow- Full on Fitz-James — How say'st thou now ? These are Clan-Alpine's warriors true ; And, Saxon, — I am Roderick Dhu ! " X. Fitz-James was brave : — Though to his heart The life-blood thrill'd with sudden start, He mann'd himself with dauntless air, Return'd the Chief his haughty stare, His back against a rock he bore. And firmly placed his foot before : — C " Come one, come all ! this rock shall fly From its firni base^s.^soon as I." J Sir Roderick mark'd — and in his eyes Respect was mingled with surprise, And the stern joy which warriors feel In foemen worthy of their steel. Short space he stood — then waved his hand ; Down sunk the disappearing band ; Each warrior vanish'd where he stood, In broom or bracken, heath or wood ; Sunk brand and spear and bended bow. In osiers pale and copses low It seem'd as if their mother Earth Had swallow'd up her warlike birth, The wind's last breath had toss'd in air. Pennon, and plaid, and plumage fair, — 200 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V, The next but swept a lone hill-side, Where heath and fern were waving wide ; The sun's last glance^was glinted back, From spear and glaive, from targe and jack, — The next, all unreflected, shone On bracken green, and cold gray stone. XI. Fitz-James look'd round — yet scarce believed The witness that his sight received ; Such apparition well might seem Delusion of a dreadful dream. Sir Roderick in suspense he eyed. And to his look the Chief replied. " Fear nought — nay, that I need not say — But — doubt not aught from mine array. Thou art my guest ; — I pledged my word As far as Coilantogle ford : Nor would I call a clansman's brand For aid against one valiant hand,' Though on our strife lay every vale Rent by the Saxon from the Gael.^ ' MS. : " For aid against one brave man^s hand." 2 '• This scene is excellently described. The frankness and high- souled courage of the two warriors, — the reliance which the Low- lander places on the word of the Highlander to guide him safely on his way the next morning, although he has spoken threatening and violent words against Roderick, whose kinsman the mountaineer professes himself to be, — these circumstances are all admirably imagined and related." — Monthly Rcx'ie-M. Canto V.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 20I So move we on ; — I only meant To show the reed on which you leant, Deeming this path you might pursue Without a pass from Roderick Dhu."' ' ' This incident, like some other passages in the poem, illustra- tive of the character of the ancient Gael, is not imaginary, but borrowed from fact. The Highlandei-s, with the inconsistency of most nations in the same state, were alternately capable of great exertions of generosity, and of cruel revenge and perfidy. The following story I can only quote from tradition, but with such an assurance from those by whom it was communicated, as per- mits me little doubt of its authenticity. Early in the last cen- tury, John Gunn, a noted Cateran, or Highland robber, infested Inverness-shire, and levied black-mail up to the walls of the pro- vincial capital. A garrison was then maintained in the castle of that town, and their pay (country banks being unknown) was usually transmitted in specie, under the guard of a small escort. It chanced that the officer who commanded this little party was unexpectedly obliged to halt, about thirty miles from Inverness, at a miserable inn. About nightfall, a stranger, in the Highland dress, and of very prepossessing appearance, entered the same house. Separate accommodation being impossible, the English- man offered the newly-arrived guest a part of his supper, which was accepted with reluctance. By the conversation he found his new acquaintance knew well all the passes of the country, which induced him eagerly to request his company on the ensuing morning. He neither disguised his business and charge, nor his apprehensions of that celebrated freebooter John Gunn. — The Highlander hesitated a moment, and then frankly consented to be his guide. Forth they set in the morning; and, in travelling through a solitary and dreary glen, the discourse again turned on John Gunn. " Would you like to see him.-"' said the guide ; and, without waiting an answer to this alarming question, he whistled, and the English officer, with his small party, were surrounded by a body of Highlanders, whose numbers put resistance out of question, and who were all well armed. " Stranger," resumed the guide, " I am that very John Gunn by whom you feared to be intercepted, and not without cause : for I came to the inn last night with the express purpose of learning your route, that I and my followers might ease you of your charge <^// 202 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. They moved : — I said Fitz-James was brave, As ever knight that belted glaive ; Yet dare not say, that now his blood Kept on its wont and temper'd flood, As, following Roderick's stride, he drew That seeming lonesome pathway through, Which yet, by fearful proof, was rife With lances, that, to take his life, Waited but signal from a guide, So late dishonor'd and defied. Ever, by stealth, his eye sought round The vanish'd guardians of the ground. And still, from copse and heather deep, Fancy saw spear and broadsword peep ' And in the plover's shrilly strain, The signal whistle heard again, Nor breathed he free till far behind The pass was left ; for then they wind Along a wide and level green. Where neither tree nor turf was seen, Nor rush nor bush of broom was near, To hide a bonnet, or a spear. by the road. But I am incapable of betraying the trust you reposed in me, and having convinced you that vou were in my power, I can only dismiss you unplundered and uninjured." He then gave the officer directions for his journey, and disappeared with his party as suddenly as they had presented themselves. ' MS. : " And still from copse and heather bush, Fancy saw spear and broadsword rush." 1 Canto v.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE, 203 XII. The Chief in silence strode before, And reach'd that torrent's sounding shore, Which, daughter of three mighty lakes. From Vennachar in silver breaks, Sweeps through the plain, and ceaseless mines On Bochastle the mouldering lines,' Where Rome, the Empress of the world, Of yore her eagle wings unfurl'd.^ And here his course the Chieftain staid. Threw down his target and his plaid. And to the Lowland warrior said: — "Bold Saxon! to his promise just, Vich-Alpine has discharged his trust. 1 MS. : " On Bochastle the martial lines." 2 The torrent which discharges itself from Loch Vennachar, the lowest and eastmost of the three lakes which form the scenery adjoining to the Trosachs, sweeps through a flat and extensive moor, called Bochastle. Upon a small eminence, called the Dun of Bochastle, and indeed on the plain itself, are some intrenchments, which have been thought Roman. There is, adjacent to Callender, a sweet villa, the residence of Captain Fairfoul, entitled the Roman Camp. "One of the most entire and beautiful remains of a Roman encampment now to be found in Scotland, is to be seen at Ardoch, near Greenloaning, about six miles to the eastward of Dunblane. This encampment is supposed, on good grounds, to have been con- structed during the fourth campaign of Agricola in Britain; it is 1060 feet in length, and 900 in breadth ; it could contain 26,000 men, according to the ordinary distribution of the Roman soldiers in their encampments. There appears to have been three or four ditches, strongly fortified, surrounding the camp. The four entries crossing the lines are still to be seen distinctly. Tht general's quarter rises above the level of the camp, but is not exactly in the centre. It is a 204 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V- This murderous Chief, this ruthless man, This head of a rebelHous clan, Hath led thee safe, through watch and ward, Far past Clan-Alpine's outmost guard, Now, man to man, and steel to steel, A Chieftain's vengeance thou shalt feel, See here, all vantageless I stand, Arm'd like thyself, with single brand : ' For this is Coilantogle ford, And thou must keep thee with thy sword." — XIII. The Saxon paused : " I ne'er delay'd, When foeman bade me draw my blade ; Nay, more, brave Chief, I vowed thy death : Yet sure thy fair and generous faith. And my deep debt for life preserved, A better meed have well deserved ; Can nought but blood our feud atone } Are there no means.'" — " No, Stranger, none! And here, — to fire thy flagging zeal, — The Saxon cause rests on thy steel ; regular square of twenty yards, enclosed with a stone wall, and con- taining the foundations of a house, thirty feet by twenty. There is a subterraneous communication with a smaller encampment at a little distance, in which several Roman helmets, spears, etc., have been found. From this camp at Ardoch, the great Roman highway runs east to Bertha, about fourteen miles distant, where the Roman army is believed to have passed over the Tay into Strathmore." — Graham. 1 See Appendix, Note N. Canto V.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 205 For thus spoke Fate, by prophet bred Between the living and the dead ; * Who spills the foremost foeman's life, His party conquers in the strife.' " — "Then, by my word," the Saxon said, *' The riddle is already read. Seek yonder brake beneath the cliff, — There lies Red Murdoch, stark and stiff. Thus Fate has solved her prophecy, Then yield to Fate, and not to me. To James, at Stirling, let us go. When, if thou wilt be still his foe, Or if the King shall not agree To grant thee grace and favor free, I plight mine honor, oath, and word. That to thy native strengths restored, With each advantage shalt thou stand, That aids thee now to guard thy land. XIV. Dark lightning flashed from Roderick's eye — ' " Soars thy presumption, then, so high. Because a wretched kern ye slew, Homage to name of Roderick Dhu } He yields not, he, to man nor Fate ! ^ Thou add'st but fuel to my hate : — ' MS. : " In lijThtning flash'd the Chief's dark eje." 2 MS. : " He stoops not, he, to James nor Fate." 206 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. My clansman's blood demands revenge. Not yet prepared? — By heaven, I change My thought, and hold thy valor light As that of some vain carpet knight, Who ill deserved my courteous care, And whose best boast is but to wear A braid of his fair lady's hair." — — "I thank thee, Roderick, for the word ! It nerves my heart, it steels my sword ; For I have sworn this braid to stain In the best blood that warms thy vein. Now, truce, farewell ! and, ruth, begone ! — Yet think not that by thee alone, Proud Chief ! can courtesy be shown ; Though not from copse, or heath, or cairn, Start at my whistle clansmen stern, Of this small horn one feeble blast Would fearful odds against thee cast. But fear not — doubt not — which thou wilt — We try this quarrel hilt to hilt." Then each at once his falchion drew, Each on the ground his scabbard threw, Each look'd to sun, and stream, and plain, As what they ne'er might see again ; Then foot, and point, and eye opposed, In dubious strife they darkly closed.' ' "The two principal figures are contrasted with uncommon felicity. Fitz-James, who more nearly resembles the French Henry the Fourth than the Scottish James V., is gay, amorous, fickle, intrepid, impetuous, affectionate, courteous, graceful, and dignified. Canto V.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 20/ XV. Ill fared it then with Roderick Dhu, That on the field his targe he threw,' Whose brazen studs and tough bull-hide Had death so often dash'd aside ; For, train'd abroad his arms to wield, Fitz-James's blade was sword and shield.^ Roderick is gloomy, vindictive, arrogant, undaunted, but constant in his affections, and true to his engagements; and the whole pas- sage in which these personages are placed in opposition, from their first meeting to their final conflict, is conceived and written with a sublimity which has been rarely equalled." — Quarterly Review., 1810. ^ A round target of light wood, covered with strong leather and studded with brass or iron, was a necessary part of a Highlander's equipment. In charging regular troops, they received the thrust of the bayonet in this buckler, twisted it aside, and used the broadsword against the encumbered soldier. In the civil war of 1745, most of the front rank of the clans were thus armed : and Captain Grose informs us, that in 1747, the privates of the 42d regiment, then in Flanders, were for the most part permitted to carry targets. — Afili- tary Antiquities, vol. i. p. 164. A person thus armed had a con- siderable advantage in private fray. Among verses between Swift and Sheridan, lately published by Dr. Barret, there is tin account of such an encounter, in which the circumstances, and consequentlv the relative superiority of the combatants, are precisely the reverse of those in the text : — " A Hig-hlander once fought a Frenchman at Margate. The weapons, a rapier, a backsword, and target; Brisk Monsieur advanced as fast as he could, But all his fine pushes were caught in the wood, And Sawney, with backsword, did slash him and nick him, While t'other, enraged that he could not once prick him, Cried, ' Sirrah, you rascal, you son of a whore, Me will fight you, be gar! if you'll come from your door.' " 2 The use of defensive armor, and particularly of the buckler, or target, was general in Queen Elizabeth's time, although that of the 208 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. He practised every pass and ward, To thrust, to strike, to feint, to guard ; While less expert, though stronger far, The Gael maintain'd unequal war.' single rapier seems to have been occasionally practised much earlier.* Rowland Yorke, however, who betrayed the fort of Zutphen to the Spaniards, for which good service he was afterwards poisoned by them, is said to have been the first who brought the rapier-fight into general use. Fuller, speaking of the swash bucklers, or bullies of Queen Elizabeth's time, says — " West Smithfield was formerly called Ruffian's Hall, where such men usually met, casually or otherwise, to try masteries with sword and buckler. More were frightened than hurt, more hurt than killed therewith, it being accounted unmanly to strike beneath the knee. But since that desperate traitor Rowland Yorke first introduced thrusting with rapiers, sword and buckler are disused." In "The Two Angry Women of Abingdon," a comedy, printed in 1599, we have a pathetic complaint : — " Sword and buckler fight begins to grow out of use. I am sorry for it : I shall never see good manhood again. If it be once gone, this poking fight of rapier and dagger will come up; then a tall man, and a good sword-and-buckler man, will be spitted like a cat or rabbit." But the rapier had upon the continent long super- seded, in private duel, the use of sword and shield. The masters of the noble science of defence were chiefly Italians. They made great mystery of their art and mode of instruction, never suffered any person to be present but the scholar who was to be taught, and even examined closets, beds, and other places of possible concealment. Their lessons often gave the most treacherous advantages ; for the challenger, having a right to choose his weapons, frequently selected some strange, unusual, and inconvenient kind of arms, the use of which he practised under these instructors, and thus killed at his ease his antagonist, to whom it was presented for the first time on the field of battle. See Brantome's Discourse 071 Duels, and the work on the same subject, '■'■ si ^entement ecrit" by the venerable Dr. Paris de Puteo. The Highlanders continued to use broad- sword and target until disarmed after the affair of 1745-6. 1 MS. : " Not Roderick thus, though stronger far More tall and more inured to war." * See Doucc's Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 61. Canto v.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 209 Three times in closing strife they stood, And thrice the Saxon blade drank blood ; No stinted draught, no scanty tide, The gushing flood the tartans dyed. Fierce Roderick felt the fatal drain. And shower'd his blows like wintry rain ; And, as firm rock, or castle-roof. Against the winter shower is proof, The foe, invulnerable still, Foil'd his wild rage by steady skill ; Till, at advantage ta'en, his brand Forced Roderick's weapon from his hand, And backward borne upon the lea. Brought the proud Chieftain to his knee.' XVI. " Now, yield thee, or by Him who made The world, thy heart's blood dyes my blade ! " — " Thy threats, thy mercy, I defy ! Let recreant yield, who fears to die,"* ^ This couplet is not in the MS. ^ I have not ventured to render this duel so savagely desperate as that of the celebrated Sir Ewan of Lochiel, chief of the cJan Cameron, called from his sable complexion, Ewan Dhu. He was the last man in Scotland who maintained the royal cause during the great Civil War, and his constant incursions rendered him a very unpleasant neighbor to the republican garrison at Inverlochy, now Fort-Wil- liam. The governor of the fort detached a party of three hundred men to lay waste Lochiel's possessions, and cut down his trees; but, in a sudden and desperate attack made upon them by the chieftain with very inferior numbers, they were almost all cut to pieces. The 2IO THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. — Like adder darting from his coil, Like wolf that dashes through the toil, Like mountain-cat who guards her young, Full at Fitz-James's throat he sprung ; ' Received, but reck'd not of a wound. And lock'd his arms his foeman round. — Now, gallant Saxon, hold thine own ! No maiden*^s hand is round thee thrown ! That desperate grasp thy frame might feel. Through bars of brass and triple steel ! — They tug, they strain ! down, down they go, The Gael above, Fitz-James below. skirmish is detailed in a curious memoir of Sir Ewan's life, printed in the Appendix of Pennant's Scottish Tour. " In this engagement, Lochiel himself had several wonderful escapes. In the retreat of the English, one of the strongest and bravest of the officers retired behind a bush, when he observed Lochiel pursuing, and seemg him unaccompanied with anj', he leapt out, and thought him his prej. They met one another with equal fury. The combat was long and doubtful : the English gentleman had by far the advantage in strength and size; but Lochiel, exceed- ing him in nimbleness and agility, in the end tript the sword out of his hand: they closed and wrestled, till both fell to the ground in each other's arms. The English officer got above Lochiel, and pressed him hard, but stretching forth his neck by attempting to disengage himself, Lochiel, who by this time had his hands at liberty, with his left hand seized him by the collar, and jumping at his extended throat, he bit it with his teeth quite through, and kept such a hold of his grasp, that he brought away his mouthful ; this, he said, xvas the sweetest bit he ever had in his lifetime." — Vol. i. P- 375- ' MS. : " 'Yield they alone who fear to die.' Like mountain-cat who guards her young. Full at Fitz-James's throat he sprung." Canto v.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 211 The Chieftain's gripe his throat compress'd, His knee was planted in his breast ; His clotted locks he backward threw Across his brow his hand he drew, From blood and mist to clear his sight, Then gleam'd aloft his dagger bright ! — — But hate and fury ill supplied The stream of life's exhausted tide, And all too late the advantage came. To turn the odds of deadly game ; For, while the dagger gleam'd on high, Reel'd soul and sense, reel'd brain and eye. Down came the blow ! but in the heath The erring blade found bloodless sheath. The struggling foe may now unclasp The fainting Chief's relaxing grasp ; Unwounded from the dreadful close. But breathless all, Fitz-James arose.' XVH. He falter'd thanks to Heaven for life, Redeem'd, unhoped, from desperate strife ; ^ Next on his foe his look he cast. Whose every gasp appear'd his last ; ' MS. : " Panting and breathless on the sands. But all unwounded, now he stands." 2 MS. : " Redeem'd, unhoped, from deadly strife; Next on his foe his look he ) , ' ( threw, Whose every breath appear'd his last." 212 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. In Roderick's gore he dipt the braid, — " Poor Blanche ! thy wrongs are dearly paid : Yet with thy foe must die, or live. The praise that Faith and Valor give." With that he blew a bugle-note, Undid the collar from his throat, Unbonneted, and by the wave Sate down his brow and hands to lave. Then faint afar are heard the feet ' Of rushing steeds in gallop fleet ; The sounds increase, and now are seen Four mounted squires in Lincoln green ; Two who bear lance, and two who lead, By loosen'd rein, a saddled steed ; Each onward held his headlong course, And by Fitz-James rein'd up his horse, With wonder view'd the bloody spot — — "Exclaim not, gallants ! question not. — You, Herbert and Luffness, alight. And bind the wounds of yonder knight ; Let the gray palfrey bear his weight. We destined for a fairer freight, And bring him on to Stirling straight ; I will before at better speed, To seek fresh horse and fitting weed. The sun rides high ; — I must be boune, To see the archer game at noon ; But lightly Bayard clears the lea. — De Vaux and Herries, follow me. 1 MS. : " Faint and afar are heard the feet." Canto v.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 213 XVIII. •'Stand, Bayard, stand ! - — the steed obey'd. With arching neck and bended head, And glancing eye and quivering ear, As if he loved his lord to hear. No foot Fitz-James in stirrup staid, No grasp upon the saddle laid. But wreath'd his left hand in the mane, And lightly bounded from the plain, Turn'd on the horse his armed heel, And stirr'd his courage with the steel. Bounded the fiery steed in air, The rider sate erect and fair, Then like a bolt from steel crossbow Forth launch'd, along the plain they go. They dash'd that rapid current through, And up Carhonie's hill they flew ; Still at the gallop prick'd the Knight, His merry-men follow'd as they might. Along thy banks, swift Teith ! they ride. And in the race they mock thy tide ; Torry and Lendrick now are past. And Deanstown lies behind them cast ; They rise, the banner'd towers of Doune, ' They sink in distant woodland soon ; ^ The ruins of Doune Castle, formerly the residence of the Earls of Menteith, now the property of the Earl of Moray, are situated at tiie confluence of the Ardoch and the Teith. 214 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. Blair-Drummond sees the hoofs strike fire,' They sweep like breeze through Ochtertyre ; They mark, just glance and disappear The lofty brow of ancient Kier ; They bathe their courser's sweltering sides. Dark Forth ! amid thy sluggish tides. And on the opposing shore take ground. With plash, with scramble, and with bound. Right-hand they leave thy cliffs, Craig-Forth ! ^ And soon the bulwark of the North, Gray Stirling, with her towers and town, Upon their fleet career look'd down. XIX. As up the flinty path they strain'd, ^ Sudden his steed the leader rein'd ; A signal to his squire he flung. Who instant to his stirrup sprung : — Seest thou, De Vaux, yon woodsman gray, Who town-ward holds the rocky way, ' MS. : " Blair-Drummond sa7V their hoofs of fire." 2 It may be worth noting that the poet marks the progress of the King by naming in succession places familiar and dear to his own early recollections — Blair-Drummond, the seat of the Homes of Kaimes ; Kier, that of the principal family of the name of Stirling; Ochtertyre, that of John Ramsay, the well-known antiquary, and correspondent of Burns; and Craigforth, that of the Callenders of Craigforth, almost under the walls of Stirling Castle; — all hospitable roofs, under which he had spent many of his younger days. — Ed. ' MS. : " As up the sleepy path they strain'd." Canto V.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 21 5 Of Stature tall and poor array ? Mark'st thou the firm, yet active stride, With which he scales the mountain-side ? ' Know'st thou from whence he comes, or whom ? " " No, by my word ; — a burly groom He seems, who in the field or chase A baron's train would nobly grace." — " Out, out, De Vaux ! can fear supply, And jealousy, no sharper eye ? Afar, ere to the hill he drew. That stately form and step I knew ; Like form in Scotland is not seen. Treads not such step on Scottish green. 'Tis James of Douglas, by Saint Serle ! ^ The uncle of the banished Earl. Away, away, to court, to show The near approach of dreaded foe : The King must stand upon his guard ; Douglas and he must meet prepared." Then right-hand wheel'd their steeds, and straight They won the castle's postern gate. XX. The Douglas, who had bent his way From Cambus-Kenneth's abbey gray. Now, as he climb'd the rocky shelf, Held sad communion with himself : 1 MS.: " With which he gains the mountain-side." 2 The Edinburgh Reviewer remarks on " that unhappy couplet, where the King himself is in such distress for a rhjme as to be 2l6 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. " Yes ! all is true my fears could frame ; A prisoner lies the noble Graeme, And fiery Roderick soon will feel The vengeance of the royal steel. I, only I, can ward their fate, — God grant the ransom come not late ! The Abbess hath her promise given. My child shall be the bride of Heaven ; — — Be pardon'd one repining tear ? For He, who gave her, knows how dear, How excellent ! but that is by. And now my business is — to die. — Ye towers ! within whose circuit dread A Douglas by his sovereign bled ; And thou, O sad and fatal mound ! ' That oft has heard the death-axe sound. As on the noblest of the land Fell the stern headsman's bloody hand, — obliged to apply to one of the obscurest saints in the calendar." The reading of the MS. is — " 'Tis James of Douglas, by my word, The uncle of the banish'd Lord." • An eminence on the north-east of the Castle, where state criminals were executed. Stirling was often polluted with noble blood. It is thus apostrophized bj J. Johnston : " Discordia tristis Heu quoties procerum sanguine tinxit humum Hoc uno infelix, et felix ce era; nusquam Laetior aut cctli frons geniusve soli." The fate of William, eighth Earl of Douglas, whom James II. stabbed in Stirling Castle with his own hand, and while under his royal safe-conduct, is familiar to all who read Scottish history. Murdack, Duke of Albany, Duncan, Earl of Lenno.x, his father-in- Canto v.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 21/ The dungeon, block, and nameless tomb Prepare — for Douglas seeks his doom ! — But hark ! what blithe and jolly peal Makes the Franciscan steeple reel ? And see ! upon the crowded street, In motley groups what masquers meet ! Banner and pageant, pipe and drum, And merry morrice-dancers come. J guess, by all this quaint array. The burghers hold their sports to-day, ' James will be there ; he loves such show. Where the good yeoman bends his bow, And the tough wrestler foils his foe. As well as where, in proud career. The high-born tilter shivers spear. I'll follow to the Castle-park, And play my prize ; — King James shall mark, If age has tamed these sinews stark. Jaw, and his two sons, Walter and Alexander Stuart, were executed at Stirling, in 1425. They were beheaded upon an eminence without the castle walls, but making part of the same hill, from whence they could behold their strong castle of Doune, and their extensive pos- sessions. This " heading hill," as it was sometimes termed, bears commonly the less terrible name of Hurly-hacket, from its having been the scene of a courtly amusement alluded to by Sir David Lindsay, who says of the pastimes in which the young kmg was engaged, "Some harled him to the Hurly-hncket ; " which consisted ir sliding, in some sort of chair, it maybe supposed, from top to bottom of a smooth bank. The boys of Edinburgh, about twenty years ago, used to play at hurly-hacket, on the Calton- hill, using for their seat a horse's skull. 1 See Appendix, Note O. 21 8 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. Whose force so oft, in happier days, His boyish wonder loved to praise," XXI. The Castle gates were open flung, The quivering drawbridge rock'd and rung. And echo'd loud the flinty street Beneath the coursers' clattering feet, As slowly down the steep descent Fair Scotland's King and nobles went,' While all along the crowded way Was jubilee and loud huzza. And ever James was bending low, To his white jennet's saddle-bow, Doffing his cap to city dame, Who smiled and blush'd for pride and shame, And well the simperer might be vain, — He chose the fairest of the train. Gravely he greets each city sire, Commends each pageant's quaint attire, Gives to the dancers thanks aloud. And smiles and nods upon the crowd. Who rend the heavens with their acclaims, " Long live the Commons' King, King James ! 1 MS. : " King Jamef. ajid all his nobles went Ever the King was bending low To his white jennet's saddle-bow, Doffing his cap to burgher dame. Who smiling blush'd for pride and shame." Canto v.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 219 Behind the King throng'd peer and knight, And noble dame and damsel bright, Whose fiery steeds ill brook'd the stay Of the steep street and crowded way. — But in the train you might discern Dark lowering brow and visage stern ; There nobles mourn'd their pride restrain'd, ' And the mean burgher's joys disdain'd ; And chiefs, who, hostage for their clan, 'Were each from home a banish'd man, There thought upon their own gray tower. Their waving woods, their feudal power, And deem'd themselves a shameful part Of pageant which they cursed in heart. XXII. Now, in the Castle-park drew out Their checker'd bands the joyous rout. There morricers, with bell at heel, And blade in hand, their mazes wheel ; ^ ' MS. : " Nobles -who mourn'd \.\\€ir foiver restrain'd, And the poor burgher's jo^'s disdain'd ; Dark chief, -who, hostage for his clan, Vs^i\.s from //is home a banish'd man, U'7io thought upon /lis own gray tower, . The waving woods, his feudal bower, And deenVd himself a shameful part Of pageant /"//a/ he cursed in heart." 2 MS. adds : " With awkward stride there city groom Would part of fabled knight assume." 220 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. But chief, beside the butts, there stand Bold Robin Hood ' and all his band, — Friar Tuck with quarterstaff and cowl, Old Scathelocke with his surly scowl, Maid Marion, fair as ivory bone, Scarlet, and Mutch, and Little John ; ' The exhibition of this renowned outlaw and his band was a favorite frolic at such festivals as we are describing. This sporting, in which kings did not disdain to be actors, was prohibited in Scot- land upon the Reformation, by a statute of the sixth Parliament of Qiieen Mary, c. 6i, A.D. 1555, which ordered, under heavy penal- ties, that " na manner of person be chosen Robert Hude, nor Little John, Abbot of Unreason, Qiieen of May, nor otherwise." But in 1561, the " rascal multitude," says John Knox, " were stirred up to make a Robin Hude, whilkenormitywasof many years left and damned by statute and act of Parliament; yet would they not be forbidden." Accordingly they raised a very serious tumult, and at length made prisoners the magistrates who endeavored to suppress it, and would not release them till they extorted a formal promise that no one should be punished for his share of the disturbance. It would seem, from the complaints of the General Assembly of the Kirk, that these profane festivities were continued down to 1592.* Bold Robin was, to say the least, equally successful in maintaining his ground against the reformed clergy of England; for the simple and evangelical Latimer complains of coming to a country church, where the people refused to hear him, because it was Robin Hood's day; and his mitre and rochet were fain to give way to the village pastime. Much curious information on this subject may be found in the Preliminary Dissertation to the late Mr. Ritson's edition of the songs respecting this memorable outlaw. The game of Robin Hood was usually acted in Mav ; and he was associated with the morrice-dancers, on whom so much illustration has been bestowed by the commentators on Shakspeare. A very lively picture of these festivities, contaming a great deal of curious information on the subject of the private life and amusements of our ancestors, was thrown by the late ingenious Mr. Strutt. into his romance entitled Qiieen-hoo Hall, published after his death, in iSoS. * Book of the Universal Kirk, p. 414. Canto v.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 221 Their bugles challenge all that will, In archery to prove their skill. The Douglas bent a bow of might, — His first shaft centered in the white, And when in turn he shot again. His second split the first in twain. From the King's hand must Douglas take A silver dart, the archer's stake ; Fondly he watch'd with watery eye, ' Some answering glance of sympathy, — No kind emotion made reply ! Indifferent as to archer wight. The monarch gave the arrow bright. ^ 1 MS. : " Fondly he watch'd with watery eye, For answering glance of sjmpathy, — But no emotion made reply I Indifferent as to u)iknov.'n 1 • , . \ wight. Cold a.s to tinkno-wn yeoman i The King gave forth the arrow bright." ^ The Douglas of the poem is an imaginary person, a supposed uncle of the Earl of Angus. But the king's behavior during an unexpected interview with the Laird of Kilspindie, one of the banished Douglasses, under circumstances similar to those in the text, is imitated from a real story told by Home of Godscroft. I would have availed myself more fully of the simple and affecting circumstances of the old history, had they not been already woven into a pathetic ballad by my friend Mr. Finlay.* " His (the king's) implacability (towards the family of Douglas) did also appear in his carriage towards Archibald of Kilspindie, whom he, when he was a child, loved singularly well for his ability of body, and was wont to call him his Grey-Steill.f Archibald, * See Scottish Historical and Romantic Ballads. Glasgow, iScS, vol. ii. p. 117. t A champion of popular romance. See Ellis's Romances, vol. lii. 222 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. XXIII. Now, clear the ring ! for, hand to hand, The manly wrestlers take their stand. being banished into England, could not well comport with the humor of that nation, which he thought to be too proud, and that thej had too high a conceit of themselves, joined with a contempt and despising of all others. Wherefore being wearied of that life, and remembering the king's favor of old towards him, he determined to try the king's mercifulness and clemency. So he comes into Scotland, and taking occasion of the king's hunting in the Park of Stirling, he casts himself to be in his way, as he was coming home to the castle. So soon as the king saw him afar off, ere he came near, he guessed it was he, and said to one of his courtiers. Yonder is my Grey-Steill, Archibald of Kilspindie, if he be alive. The other answered that it could not be he, and that he durst not come into the king's presence. The king approaching, he fell upon his knees and craved pardon, and promised from thenceforward to abstain from meddling in public affairs, and to lead a quiet and private life. The king went by without giving him any answer, and trotted a good round pace up the hill. Kilspindie followed, and, though he wore on him a secret, or shirt of mail, for his particular enemies, was as soon at the castle gate as the king. There he sat him down upon a stone without, and entreated some of the king's servants for a cup of drink, being weary and thirsty , but they, fear- ing the king's displeasure, durst give him none. When the king was set at his dinner, he asked what he had done, what he had said, and whither he had gone.'' It was told him that he had desired a cup of drink and had gotten none. The king reproved them very sharply for their discourtesy, and told them, that if he had not taken an oath that no Douglas should ever serve him, he would have received him into his service, for he had seen him sometime a man of great ability. Then he sent him word to go to Leith, and expect his further pleasure. Then some kinsman of David Falconer, the cannonier, that was slain at Tantallon, began to quarrel with Archibald about the matter, wherewith the king showed himself not well pleased when he heard of it. Then he commanded him to go to France for a certain space, till he heard from him. And so he did, and died shortly after. This gave occasion to the King of Canto V.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 223 Two o'er the rest superior rose, And proud demanded mightier foes, Nor call'd in vain ; for Douglas came. — For life is Hugh of Larbert lame; Scarce better John of Alloa's fare, Whom senseless home his comrades bear. Prize of the wrestling match, the King To Douglas gave a golden ring, ' While coldly glanced his eye of blue. As frozen drop of wintry dew. Douglas would speak, but in his breast His struggling soul his words suppress'd ; England (Henry VIII.) to blame his nephew, alleging the old sav- ing, That a king's face should give grace. For this Archibald (whatsoever were Angus's or Sir George's fault) had not been prin- cipal actor of anything, nor no counsellor nor stirrer up, but only a follower of his friends, and that noways cruelly disposed." — Hume of Godscroft, ii. 107. 1 The usual prize of a wrestling was a rain and a ring, but the animal would have embarrassed my story. Thus, in the Cokes Tale of Gamely n, ascribed to Chaucer: " There happed to be there beside Tryed a wrestling; And therefore there was y-setten A ram and als a ring." Again the Litil Geste of Robin Hood : _ " By a bridge was a wrestling, And there taryed was he, And there was all the best yemen Of all the west countrey. A full favre game there was set up, A white bull up y-pight, A great courser with saddle and brydle, With gold burnished full bryght; A payre of gloves, a red golde ringe, A pipe of wyne good fay; W'hat man bereth him best, I wis. The prize shall bear away." RiTSON's Robin Hood, vol. i. 224 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. Indignant then he turn'd him where Their arms the brawny yeomen bare, To hurl the massive bar in air. When each his utmost strength had shown, The Douglas rent an earth-fast stone From its deep bed, then heaved it high. And sent the fragment through the sky, A rood beyond the farthest mark; — And still in Stirling's royal park, The gray-hair'd sires, who know the past, To strangers point the Douglas-cast, And moralize on the decay Of Scottish strength in modern day. ' XXIV. The vale with loud applauses rang. The Ladies' Rock sent back the clang. The King, with look unmov'd, bestow'd A purse well fiU'd with pieces broad. * Indignant smiled the Douglas proud. And threw the gold among the crowd, ^ Who now, with anxious wonder scan. And sharper glance the dark gray man ; Till whispers rose among the throng. That heart so free and hand so strong, Must to the Douglas blood belong ; 1 MS. 2 MS. 3 MS. " Oi mortal strength in modern dav." " A purse iveigKd down with pieces broad. " Scattered the gold among the crowd." Canto V.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 225 The old men mark'd, and shook the head, To see his hair with silver spread, And wink'd aside, and told each son, Of feats upon the English done. Ere Douglas of the stalwart hand' Was exiled from his native land. The women prais'd his stately form. Though wreck'd by many a winter's storm ; ^ The youth with awe and wonder saw His strength surpassing Nature's law. Thus judged, as is their wont, the crowd, Till murmur rose to clamors loud. But not a glance from that proud ring Of peers who circled round the King, With Douglas held communion kind, Or call'd the banish'd man to mind ; ' No, not from those who, at the chase. Once held his side the honor'd place. Begirt his board, and in the field. Found safety underneath his shield ; For he, whom royal eyes disown, When was his form to courtiers known! XXV. The monarch saw the gambols flag, And bade let loose a gallant stag. MS. MS. MS. " Ere yames of Douglas' stalwart hand." " Though -worn by many a winter storm. " Or called his stately form to mind." 226 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. Whose pride the holiday to crown, Two favorite greyhounds should pull down, That vension free, and Bourdeaux wine. Might serve the archery to dine! But Lufra, — whom from Douglas' side Nor bribe nor threat, could ere divide The fleetest hound in all the North, — Brave Lufra saw, and darted forth. She left the royal hounds mid-way, And dashing on the antler'd prey, Sunk her sharp muzzle in his flank, And deep the flowing life-blood drank. The King's stout huntsman ^aw the sport, By strange intruder broken short. Came up, and, with his leash unbound. In anger struck the noble hound. •^ — The Douglas had endured, that morn. The King's cold look, the nobles' scorn, And last and worst to spirit proud, Had borne the pity of the crowd ; But Lufra had been fondly bred. To share his board, to watch his bed, And oft would Ellen, Lufra's neck In maiden glee with garlands deck ; They were such playmates, that with name Of Lufra, Ellen's image came. His stifled wrath is brimming high, In darken'd brow and flashing eye ; Canto V.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 22/ As waves before the bark divide, The crowd gave way before his stride ; Needs but a buffet and no more, The groom lies senseless in his gore. Such blow no other hand could deal. Though gauntleted in glove of steel. XXVI. Then clamor'd loud the royal train, ' And brandish'd swords and staves amain. But stern the Baron's warning — "Back! " * Back, on your lives, ye menial pack ! Beware the Douglas. — Yes ! behold. King James ! The Douglas, doom'd of old, And vainly sought for near and far, A victim to atone the war, A willing victim, now attends. Nor craves thy grace but for his friends." — •' Thus in my clemency repaid .-* Presumptuous Lord ! " the Monarch said ; " Of thy mis-proud ambitious clan. Thou, James of Bothwell, wert the man, The only man, in whom a foe My woman-mercy would not know : 1 MS. : " Clamor'd his comrades of the train." 2 MS. : " But stern the warrior's warning — ' Back ! ' " 228 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. But shall a Monarch's presence brook ' Injurious blow, and haughty look? — What ho ! The Captain of our Guard ! Give the offender fitting ward. — Break off the sports ! " — for tumult rose, And yeomen 'gan to bend their bows, — " Break off the sports ! " he said, and frown'd, " And bid our horsemen clear the ground." XXVII. Then uproar wild and misarray Marr'd the fair form of festal day. The horsemen prick'd among the crowd, Repell'd by threats and insult loud ; ^ To earth are borne the old and weak. The timorous fly, the women shriek ; With flint, with shaft, with staff, with bar, The hardier urge tumultuous war. At once round Douglas darkly sweep The royal spears in circle deep. And slowly scale the pathway steep : While on the rear in thunder pour The rabble with disordered roar. With grief the noble Douglas saw The Commons rise against the law, ' MS. : " But in m^- court, injurious blow, And bearded thus, and thus out-dared.-' What ho ! the Captain of our Guard ! " 2 MS.: "Their threats repell'd by insult loud." Canto V.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 229 And to the leading soldier said, — " Sir John of Hyndford ! 'twas my blade That knighthood on thy shoulder laid ; For that good deed, permit me then A word with these misgiuded men. XXVIII. " Hear, gentle friends ! ere yet for me. Ye break the bands of fealty. My life, my honor, and my cause, I tender free to Scotland's laws. Are these so weak as must require The aid of your misguided ire .'' Or, if I suffer causeless wrong, Is then my selfish rage so strong. My sense of public weal so low. That, for mean vengeance on a foe. Those cords of love I should unbind, Which knit my country and my kind Oh no ! Believe in yonder tower It will not soothe my captive hour. To know those spears our foes should dread, For me in kindred gore are red ; To know, in fruitless brawl begun. For me, that mother wails her son ; For me, that widow's mate expires ; For me, that orphans weep their sires ; That patriots mourn insulted laws. And curse the Douglas for the cause. 230 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. O let your patience ward such ill, And keep your right to love me still ! " XXIX. The crowd's wild fury sunk again ' In tears, as tempests melt in rain. With lifted hands and eyes, they pray'd For blessings on his generous head, Who for his country felt alone, And prized her blood beyond his own. Old men, upon the verge of life, Bless'd him who stayed the civil strife ; And mothers held their babes on high, The self-devoted Chief to spy. Triumphant over wrongs and ire. To whom the prattlers owed a sire : Even the rough soldier's heart was moved As if behind some bier beloved. With trailing arms and drooping head, The Douglas up the hill he led, And at the castle's battled verge, With sighs resign'd his honor'd charge. XXX. The offended Monarch rode' apart, With bitter thought and swelling heart, ' MS. : " The crowd's wild fury ebb'd amain In tears, as tempests sink in rain." Canto v.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 231 And would not now vouchsafe again Through Stirling streets to lead his train. " O Lennox, who would wish to rule This changeling crowd, this common fool ? Hear'st thou," he said, "the loud acclaim With which they shout the Douglas name ? With like acclaim, the vulgar throat Strain'd for King James their morning note; With like acclaim they hail'd the day 'When first I broke the Douglas' sway ; And like acclaim would Douglas greet, If he could hurl me from my seat. Who o'er the herd would wish to reign, Fantastic, fickle, fierce, and vain ! Vain as the leaf upon the stream, ' And fickle as a changeful dream ; Fantastic as a woman's mood, And fierce as Frenzy's fever'd blood. Thou many-headed monster thing, ^ O who would wish to be thy king! ' MS. : " Vain as the sick man's idle dream." "^ " Who deserves greatness, Deserves your hate ; and your alTections are A sick man's appetite, who desires most that Which would increase his evil. He that depends Upon jour favors, swims with fins of lead, And hews down oaks with rushes. Hang ye! Trust ye? With every minute you do change a mind ; And call him noble, that was now your hate. Him vile that was your garland." Cofiolanus-, Act I. Scene I, 232 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V- XXXI. " But soft ! what messenger of speed Spurs hitherward his panting steed ? I guess his cognizance afar — What from our cousin, John of Mar?" " He prays, my Hege, your sports keep bound Within the safe and guarded ground : For some foul purpose yet unknown, — Most sure for evil to the throne, — The outlaw'd Chieftain, Roderick Dhu, Has summon'd his rebellious crew ; 'Tis said, in James of Bothwell's aid These loose banditti stand array'd. The Earl of Mar, this morn, from Doune, To break their muster march 'd, and soon Your grace will hear of battle fought ; But earnestly the Earl besought, Till for such danger he provide, With scanty train you will not ride."' XXXH. "Thou warn'st me I have done amiss, — I should have earlier looked to this : I lost it in this bustling day. Retrace with speed thy former way; Spare not for spoiling of thy steed. The best of mine shall be thy meed. ^ MS. : " On distant chase jou will not ride." Canto V.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 233 Say to our faithful Lord of Mar, We do forbid the intended war: Roderick, this morn, in single fight, Was made our prisoner by a knight; And Douglas hath himself and cause Submitted to our kingdom's laws. The tidings of their leaders lost Will soon dissolve the mountain host. Nor would we that the vulgar feel, For their Chief's crimes avenging steel. Bear Mar our message, Braco : fly ! " He turn'd his steed, — "My liege, I hie, — Yet, ere I cross this lily lawn, I fear the broadswords will be drawn." The turf the flying courser spurn'd, And to his towers the King return'd. XXXIII. Ill with King James's mood that day. Suited gay feast and minstrel lay ; Soon were dismiss'd the courtly throng, And soon cut short the festal song. Nor less upon the sadden'd town The evening sunk in sorrow down. The burghers spoke of civil jar, Of rumor'd feuds and mountain war, Of Moray, Mar, and Roderick Dhu, All up in arms : — the Douglas, too, 234 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V. They mourn'd him pent within the hold, " Where stout Earl William was of old."' And there his word the speaker staid, And finger on his lip he laid, Or pointed to his dagger blade. But jaded horsemen, from the west, At evening to the Castle press'd ; And busy talkers said they bore Tidings of fight on Katrine's shore ; At noon the deadly fray begun. And lasted till the set of sun. Thus giddy rumor shook the town, Till closed the Night her pennons brown. 1 Stabbed by James II. in Stirling Castle. CANTO SIXTH. THE GUARD-ROOM. I. The sun, awakening, through the smoky air Of the dark city casts a sullen glance, Rousing each caitiff to his task of care, Of sinful man the sad inheritance ; Summoning revellers from the lagging dance, Scaring the prowling robber to his den ; Gilding on battled tower the warder's lance. And warning student pale to leave his pen. And yield his drowsy eyes to the kind nurse of men. What various scenes, and, O ! what scenes of woe, Are witness'd by that red and struggling beam ! The fever'd patient, from his pallet low. Through crowded hospital beholds its stream ; The ruin'd maiden trembles at its gleam. The debtor wakes to thought of gyve and jail, The love-lorn wretch starts from tormenting dream ; The wakeful mother, by the glimmering pale, Trims her sick infant's couch, and soothes his feeble wail. 235 a i 236 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto V] II. At dawn the towers of Stirling rang With soldier-step and weapon-clang, While drums, with rolling note, foretell Relief to weary sentinel. Through narrow loop and casement barr'd,' The sunbeams sought the Court of Guard, And, struggling with the smoky air, Deaden'd the torches' yellow glare. In comfortless alliance shone ^ The lights through arch of blacken'd stone, And show'd wild shapes in garb of war. Faces deformed with beard and scar. All haggard from the midnight watch, And fever'd with the stern debauch ; For the oak table's massive board. Flooded with wine, with fragments stored, And beakers drain'd, and cups o'erthrown, Show'd in what sport the night had flown. Some, weary, snored on floor and bench ; Some labor'd still their thirst to quench ; Some, chill'd with watching, spread their hands O'er the huge chimney's dying brands, While round them, or beside them flung. At every step their harness rung. 1 MS. : " Through blacken'd arch and casement barr'd." 2 MS. : "The lights in strange alliance shone Beneath the arch of blacken'd stone." Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 2^7 III. These drew not for their fields the sword, Like tenants of a feudal lord, Nor own'd the patriarchal claim, Of Chieftain in their leader's name ; Adventurers they, from far who roved. To live by battle which they loved.' There the Italian's clouded face. The swarthy Spaniard's there you trace ; The mountain-loving Switzer there More freely breathed in mountain-air ; The Fleming there despised the soil, That paid so ill the laborer's toil; Their rolls show'd French and German name; And merry England's exiles came, To share, with ill-conceal'd disdain. Of Scotland's pay the scanty gain. All brave in arms, well train'd to wield The heavy halberd, brand, and shield ; In camps licentious, wild, and bold ; In pillage fierce and uncontroll'd ; And now, by holytide and feast. From rules of discipline released. IV. They held debate of bloody fray. Fought 'twixt Loch Katrine and Achray. ' See Appendix, Note P. 238 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto Vl Fierce was their speech, and, 'mid their words, Their hands oft grappled to their swords ; Nor sunk their tone to spare the ear Of wounded comrades groaning near, Whose mangled limbs, and bodies gored, Bore token of the mountain sword. Though neighboring to the Court of Guard, Their prayers and feverish wails were heard ; Sad burden to the ruffian joke, And savage oath by fury spoke ! — ' At length up started John of Brent, A yeoman from the banks of Trent ; A stranger to respect or fear, In peace a chaser of the deer. In host a hardy mutineer. But still the boldest of the crew. When deed of danger was to do. He grieved, that day, their games cut short. And marr'd the dicer's brawling sport, And shouted loud, ** Renew the bowl ! And, while a merry catch I trowl. Let each the buxom chorus bear. Like brethren of the brand and spear." V. soldier's song. Our vicar still preaches that Peter and Poule Laid a swinging long curse on the bonny brown bowl, 1 MS. : " Sad burden to the ruffian jest, And rude oaths vented bv the rest." 4- Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 239 That there's wrath and despair in the jolly black-jack, And the seven deadly sins in a flagon of sack ; Yet whoop, Barnaby ! off with thy liquor, Drink upsees ' out, and a fig for the vicar ! Our vicar he calls it damnation to sip The ripe ruddy dew of a woman's dear lip. Says, that Beelzebub lurks in her kerchief so sly, And Apollyon shoots darts from her merry black eye ; Yet whoop. Jack ! kiss Gillian the quicker, Till she bloom like a rose, and a fig for the vicar ! Our vicar thus preaches — and why should he not ? For the dues of his cure are the placket and pot ; And 'tis right of his office poor laymen to lurch. Who infringe the domains of our good Mother Church. Yet whoop, bully-boys ! off with your liquor. Sweet Marjorie's the word, and a fig for the vicar ! ^ VI. The warder's challenge, heard without, Staid in mid-roar the merry shout. A soldier to the portal went, — " Here is old Bertram, sirs, of Ghent ; 1 Bacchanalian interjection, borrowed from the Dutch. 2 "The greatest blemish in the poem is the ribaldry and dull vulgarity which is put into the mouths of the soldiery in the guard- room. Mr. Scott has condescended to write a song for them, which will be read with pain, we are persuaded, even by his warmest 240 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. And, — beat for jubilee the drum ! A maid and minstrel with him come." Bertram, a Fleming, gray and scarr'd, Was entering now the Court of Guard, A harper with him, and, in plaid All muffled close, a mountain maid. Who backward shrank to 'scape the view Of the loose scene and boisterous crew. " What news .■' " they roar'd : " I only know. From noon till eve we fought with foe. As wild and as untameable As the rude mountains where they dwell ; On both sides store of blood is lost, Nor much success can either boast." — "But whence thy captives, friend.'' such spoil As theirs must needs reward thy toil.' Old dost thou wax, and wars grow sharp ; Thou now hast glee-maiden and harp ! Get thee an ape, and trudge the land. The leader of a juggler band." — ^ admirers; and his whole genius, and even his power of versification, seems to desert him when he attempts to repeat their conversation. Here is some of tlie stuff which has dropped, in this inauspicious attempt, from the pen of one of the first poets of his age or country," etc., etc. — Jeffrey. 1 The MS reads after this : " Gtt thee an ape, and then at once Thou mayst renounce the warder's hince, And trudge through borough and tlirough land, The leader of a juggler band." 2 The jongleurs, or jugglers, as we learn from the elaborate work of the late Mr. Strutt, on the sports and pastimes of the people of England, used to call in the aid of various assistants, to render these Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 24 1 VII. "No, comrade; — no such fortune mine. After the fight these sought our line, That aged harper and the girl, And, having audience of the Earl, Mar bade I should purvey them steed. And bring them hitherward with speed. performances as captivating as possible. The glee-maiden was a necessary attendant. Her duty was tumbling and dancing; and therefore the Anglo-Saxon version of St. Mark's Gospel states Herodias to have vaulted or tumbled before King Herod. In Scot- land, these poor creatures seem, even at a late period, to have been bondswomen to their masters, as appears from a case reported by Fountainhall : " Reid the mountebank pursues Scott of Harden and his lady, for steahng away from him a little girl, called the tumbling lassie, that danced upon his stage; and he claimed damages, and produced a contract, whereby he bought her from her mother for £30 Scots. But we have no slaves in Scotland, and mothers cannot sell their bairns; and physicians attested the employment of tumb- ling would kill her; and her joints were now grown stit^', and she declined to return; though she was at least a 'prentice, and so could not run away from her master : yet some cited Moses's law, that if a servant shelter himself with thee, against his master's cruelty, thou shalt surely not deliver him up. The Lords, renitente caiicel- lario, assoilzied Harden, on the 27th of January (16S7)." — FouN- tainhall's Decisions, vol. i. p. 439.* The facetious qualities of the ape soon rendered him an accept- able addition to the strolling band of the jongleur. Ben Jonson, in his splenetic introduction to the comedy of " Bartholomew Fair," is at pains to inform the audience " that he has ne'er a sword-and- * Though less to my purpose, I cannot help noticing- a. circumstance respecting another of this Mr. Raid's attendants, wiiich occurred during James II. 's zeal for Catholic prosehlism, and is told by Fountainhall, with dry Scotch irony : " yanuary 17th, 1687. — Reid the mountebank is received into the Popish church, and one of his blackamores was persuaded to accept of baptism from the Popish priests, and to turn Christian papist; which was a great trophy; he was called James, after the king and chancellor, and the Apostle James." — Ibid. p. 440. 242 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto IV. Forbear your mirth and rude alarm, For none shall do them shame or harm." " Hear ye his boast ? " cried John of Brent, Ever to strife and jangling bent ; " Shall he strike doe beside our lodge, And yet the jealous niggard grudge To pay the forester his fee ? I'll have my share howe'er it be, Despite of Moray, Mar, or thee." Bertram his forward step withstood ; ' And, burning in his vengeful mood, Old Allan, though unfit for strife. Laid hand upon his dagger-knife ; But Ellen boldly stepp'd between. And dropp'd at once the tartan screen : So from his morning cloud appears The sun of May, through summer tears. The savage soldiery, amazed,- As on descended angel gazed ; , Even hardy Brent, abash'd and tamed, Stood half admiring, half ashamed. buckler man in his Fair, nor a juggler with a well-educated ape to come over the chaine for the King of England, and back again for the Prince, and sit still on his haunches for the Pope and the King of Spaine." 1 MS.: "Bertram \ ^' I violence withstood." I such i * MS. : " While the rude soldiery, amazed." Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 243 VIII. Boldly she spoke, — " Soldiers, attend ! My father was the soldier's friend ; Cheer'd him in camps, in marches led, And with him in the battle bled. Not from the valiant, or the strong. Should exile's daughter suffer wrong." — ' Answer'd De Brent, most forward still In every feat of good or ill, — " I shame me of the part I play'd : And thou an outlaw's child, poor maid ! An outlaw I by forest laws. And merry Needwood knows the cause. Poor Rose, — if Rose be living now," — ^ He wiped his iron eye and brow, — " Must bear such age, I think, as thou. — Hear ye, my mates ; — I go to call The Captain of our watch to hall ; There lies my halberd on the floor ; And he that steps my halberd o'er, To do the maid injurious part. My shaft shall quiver in his heart ! — Beware loose speech, or jesting rough : Ye all know John de Brent. Enough." ' MS. : " Should Ellen Douglas suffer wrong." 2 MS. : " ' My Rose,' — he wiped his eye and brow, — ' Poor Rose, — if Rose be living now.' " 24A THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. IX. Their Captain came, a gallant young, — (Of Tullibardine's house he sprung), Nor wore he yet the spurs of knight ; Gay was his mien, his humor light. And, though by courtesy controll'd. Forward his speech, his bearing bold. The high-born maiden ill could brook The scanning of his curious look And dauntless eye; — and yet, in sooth, Young Lewis was a generous youth ; But Ellen's lovely face and mien, 111 suited to the garb and scene. Might lightly bear construction strange, And give loose fancy scope to range. " Welcome to Stirling towers, fair maid ! Come ye to seek a champion's aid. On palfrey white, with harper hoar, Like errant damosel of yore .-' Does thy high quest a knight require. Or may the venture suit a squire .'' " — Her dark eye flash'd ; — she paused and sigh'd,- " O what have I to do with pride ! — — Through scenes of sorrow, shame, and strife, A suppliant for a father's life, I crave an audience of the King. Behold to back my suit, a ring. Canto VL] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 245 The royal pledge of grateful claims, Given by the Monarch to Fitz-James." ' X. The signet-ring young Lewis took, With deep respect and alter'd look ; And said, — " This ring our duties own : And pardon, if to worth unknown, In semblance mean obscurely veil'd, Lady, in aught my folly fail'd. Soon as the day flings wide his gates, The King shall know what suitor waits. Please you, meanwhile, in fitting bower Repose you till his waking hour ; Female attendants shall obey Your best, for service or array. Permit I marshal you the way." But, ere she follow'd, with the grace And open bounty of her race, She bade her slender purse be shared Among the soldiers of the guard. The rest with thanks their guerdon took ; But Brent, with shy and awkward look, On the reluctant maiden's hold Forced bluntly back the proffer'd gold ; — " Forgive a haughty English heart. And O forget its ruder part ! 1 MS. : " The Monarch gave to James Fitz-James." 246 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. The vacant purse shall be my share,' Which in my barret-cap I'll bear/ Perchance, in jeopardy of war, Where gayer crests may keep afar." With thanks, — 'twas all she could, — the maid His rugged courtesy repaid. XI. When Ellen forth with Lewis went, Allan made suit to John of Brent : " My lady safe, O let your grace Give me to see my master's face ! His minstrel I, — to share his doom Bound from the cradle to the tomb. Tenth in descent, since first my sires Waked for his noble house their lyres. Nor one of all the race was known But prized its weal above their own. With the Chief's birth begins our care ; Our harp must soothe the infant heir, Teach the youth tales of fight, and grace His earliest feat of field or chase ; In peace, in war, our rank we keep, We cheer his board, we soothe his sleep. Nor leave him till we pour our verse, — A doleful tribute! — o'er his hearse. ' MS. : "The silken purse shall serve for me, And in m_v barret-cap shall flee." Canto VI.J THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 247 Then let me share his captive lot ; It is my right — deny it not!" — " Little we reck," said John of Brent, "We Southern men, of long descent ; Nor wot we how a name — a word — Makes clansmen vassals to a lord : Yet kind my noble landlord's part, — God bless the house of Beaudesert ! And, but I loved to drive the deer, More than to guide the laboring steer, I had not dwelt an outcast here. Come, good old Minstrel, follow me ; Thy Lord and Chieftain shalt thou see." XIL Then from a rusted iron hook, A bunch of ponderous keys he took, Lighted a torch, and Allan led Through grated arch and passage dread. Portals they pass'd, where, deep within. Spoke prisoner's moan, and fetters' din ; Through rugged vaults,' where, loosely stored, Lay wheel, and axe, and headsman's sword, And many a hideous engine grim. For wrenching joint, and crushing^ limb. By artist formed, who deem'd it shame And sin to give their work a name, ' MS. : " L01V broad vaults." 2 MS. : " Stretching." 248 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. They halted at a low-brow'd porch, And Brent to Allan gave the torch, While bolt and chain he backward roll'd, And made the bar unhasp its hold. They enter'd : 'twas a prison room Of stern security and gloom, Yet not a dungeon ; for the day Through lofty gratings found its way, And rude and antique garniture Deck'd the sad walls and oaken floor ; ' Such as the rugged days of old Deem'd fit for captive noble's hold. - "Here," said De Brent, "thou mayest remain^ Till the Leech visit him again. Strict is his charge the warders tell, To tend the noble prisoner well." Retiring then, the bolt he drew, And the lock's murmurs growl'd anew. Roused at the sound, from lowly bed A captive feebly raised his head ; The wondering Minstrel look'd, and knew — Not his dear lord, but Roderick Dhu ! For, come from where Clan-Alpine fought, They, erring, deem'd the Chief he sought. 1 MS. : "Flinty floor." ^ MS. : " — Thou majst remain, And then, retiring, bolt and chain, And rusty bar, he drew again. Roused at the sound," etc. Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 249 XIII. As the tall ship, whose lofty prore Shall never stem the billows more, Deserted by her gallant band. Amid the breakers lies astrand, — So, on his couch, lay Roderick Dhu ! And oft his fever'd limbs he threw In toss abrupt, as when her sides Lie rocking in the advancing tides, That shake her frame with ceaseless beat, Yet cannot heave her from her seat ; — O ! how unlike her course at sea ! ' Or his free step on hill and lea ! — Soon as the Minstrel he could scan, " What of thy lady ? — of my clan ? — My mother ? — Douglas ? — tell me all ! Have they been ruin'd in my fall ? Ah, yes ! or wherefore art thou here ! Yet speak, — speak boldly, — do not fear." — (For Allan, who his mood well knew, Was choked with grief and terror too.) " Who fought — who fled } — Old man, be brief ; Some might — for they had lost their Chief. Who basely live .-* — who bravely died .'' " — " O, calm thee. Chief ! " — the Minstrel cried, MS. : " O I how unlike her course on main ; Or his free step on hill and plain ! " 250 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. <* Ellen is safe ; " — " For that, thank Heaven ! " — "And hopes are for the Douglas given ; — The Lady Margaret too is well, And, for thy clan, — on field or fell, Has never harp of minstrel told,' Of combat fought so true and bold, Thy stately Pine is yet unbent. Though many a goodly bough is rent." XIV. The Chieftain rear'd his form on high, And fever's fire was in his eye ; But ghastly, pale, and livid streaks Checker'd his swarthy brow and cheeks. — " Hark, Minstrel ! I have heard thee play. With measure bold, on festal day, In yon lone isle, . . . again where ne'er Shall harper play, or warrior hear ! , . . , That stirring air that peals on high, O'er Dermid's race our victory. — Strike it ! "^ — and then, (for well thou canst,) ' MS. : " Shall never harp of minstrel tell, Of combat fought so fierce and well." 2 There are several instances, at least in tradition, of persons so much attached to particular tunes, as to require to hear them on their deathbed. Such an anecdote is mentioned by the late Mr. Riddel of Glenriddel, in his collection of Border tunes, respecting an air called the " Dandling of the Bairns," for which a certain Gallovidian laird is said to have evinced this strong mark of partiality. It is popularly told of a famous freebooter, that he composed the tune Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 25 1 Free from thy minstrel-spirit glanced, Fling me the picture of the fight, When met my clan the Saxon might. I'll listen till my fancy hears The clang of swords, the crash of spears ! These grates, these walls, shall vanish then. For the fair field of fighting men. known bj the name of Macpherson's Rant, while under sentence of death, and played it at the gallou*-tree. Some spirited words have been adapted to it by Burns. A similar story is recounted of a Welsh bard, who composed and played on his deathbed the air called Dafyddy Garregg Wen. But the most curious example is given by Brantome, of a maid of honor at the court of France, entitled, Mademoiselle de Limeuil. " Durant sa maladie, dont elle trespassa, jamais elle ne cessa, ains causa tousjours ; car elle estoit fort grande parleuse, brocardeuse, et tres-bien et fort a propos, et tres-belle avec cela. Quand I'heure de sa fin fut venue, elle fit venir a soy son valet (ainsi que le filles de la cour en ont chacune un), qui s'appelloit Julien, et scavoit tres-bien joiier du violon. 'Julien,' luy dit elle, ' prenez vostre violon, et sonnez moy tousjours jusques a ce que me voyez morte (car je m'y en vais) la defaite des Suisses, et le mieux que vous pourrez, et quand vous serez sur le mot, ' Tout est perdu,' sonnez le par quatre ou cing fois le plus piteusement que vous pourrez, ce qui fit I'autre, et ellemesme luy adoit de la voix, et quand ce vint 'tout est perdu,' elle le reitera par deux fois; et se tournant de I'autre coste du chevet. elle dit a ses compagnes : ' Tout est perdu a ce coup, et a bon escient; et ainsi deceda. Voila une morte joyeuse et plaisante. Je tiens se conte de deux de ses compagnes dignes de foi, qui virent jouer ce myst^re." — Oeuvrcs de Brantome, iii 507. The tune to which this fair lady chose to make her final exit was composed on the defeat of the Swiss at Marignano. The burden is quoted by Panurge, m Rabelais, and consists of these words, imitating the jargon of the Swiss, which is a mixture of French and German — "Tout est verlore La Tintelore, ' Tout est verlore, bi Got ! " 252 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. And my free spirit burst away, As if it soar'd from battle fray." The trembling Bard with awe obey'd, — Slow on the harp his hand he laid ; But soon remembrance of the sight He witness'd from the mountain's height. With what old Bertram told at night/ Awaken'd the full power of song, And bore him in career along ; — As shallop launch'd on river's tide, That slow and fearful leaves the side, But when it feels the middle stream. Drives downward swift as lightning's beam. XV. BATTLE OF BEAl' AN DUINE.^ "The Minstrel came once more to view The eastern ridge of Benvenue, For ere he parted he would say Farewell to lovely Loch Achray — * The MS. has not this line. 2 A skirmish actually took place at a pass thus called in the Trosachs, and closed with the remarkable incident mentioned in the text. It was greatly posterior in date to the reign of James V. "In this roughly-wooded island,* the country people secreted their wives and children, and their most valuable effects from the rapacity of Cromwell's soldiers, during their inroad into this coun- try, in the time of the republic. These invaders not venturing to ascend by the ladders, along the side of the lake, took a more cir- cuitous road through the heart of the Trosachs, the most frequented * That at the eastern extremity of Loch Katrine, so often mentioned in the text. Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 253 Where shall he find irx foreign land, So lone a lake, so sweet a strand ! — There is no breeze upon the fern No ripple on the lake. Upon her eyry nods the erne, The deer has sought the brake ; The small birds will not sing aloud The springing trout lies still, So darkly glooms yon thunder-cloud, That swathes, as with a purple shroud Benledi's distant hill. path at that time, which penetrates the wilderness about halfway between Binean and the lake, by a tract called Yea-chilleach, or the Old Wife's Bog. " In one of the defiles of this by-road, the men of the country at that time hung upon the rear of the invading enemy, and shot one of Cromwell's men, whose grave marks the scene of action, and gives name to that pass.* In revenge of this insult, the soldiers resolved to plunder the island, to violate the women, and put the children to death. With this brutal intention, one of the party, more expert than the rest, swam towards the island, to fetch the boat to his comrades, which had carried the women to their asylum, and lay moored in one of the creeks. His companions stood on the shore of the mainland, in full view of all that was to pass, waiting anxiously for his return with the boat. But just as the swimmer had got to the nearest point of the island, and was laying hold of a black rock, to get on shore, a heroine, who stood on the very point where he meant to land, hastily snatching a dagger from below her apron, with one stroke severed his head from the body. His party seeing this disaster, and relinquishing all future hope of revenge or conquest, made the best of their way out of their perilous situation. This amazon's great grandson lives at the Bridge of Turk, who, besides others, attests the anecdote." — Sketch of ^e Scenery near Callen- der, Stirling, 1806, p. 20. I have only to add to this account, that the heroine's name was Helen Stuart. * Beallach an duine. 254 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. Is it the thunder's solemn sound That mutters deep and dread, Or echoes from the groaning ground The warrior's measured tread ? Is it the lightning's quivering glance That on the thicket streams, Or do they flash on spear and lance The sun's retiring beams? — I see the dagger-crest of Mar, I see the Moray's silver star, Wave o'er the cloud of Saxon war, That up the lake comes winding far ! To hero bound for battle-strife. Or bard of martial lay, 'Twere worth ten years of peaceful life, One glance at their array. XVI. " Their light-arm'd archers far and near Survey'd the tangled ground, Their centre ranks, with pike and spear, A twilight forest frown'd. Their barbed horsemen, in the rear. The stern battalia crown'd. No cymbal clash'd, no clarion rang. Still were fhe pipe and drum ; Save heavy tread, and armor's clang. The sullen march was dumb. Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE-. 255 There breathed no wind their crests to shake, Or wave their flags abroad ; Scarce the frail aspen seem'd to quake, That shadow'd o'er their road. Their vaward scouts no tidings bring, Can rouse no lurking foe. Nor spy a trace of living thing Save when they stirr'd the roe ; The host moves, like a deep-sea wave, Where rise no rocks its pride to brave. High-swelling, dark, and slow. The lake is pass'd, and now they gain A narrow and a broken plain. Before the Trosach's rugged jaws : And here the horse and spearmen pause, While, to explore the dangerous glen. Dive through the pass the archer-men. XVII. " At once there rose so wild a yell Within that dark and narrow dell. As all the fiends, from heaven that fell, Had peal'd the banner-cry of hell ! Forth from the pass in tumult driven, Like chaff before the wind of heaven, The archery appear ; For life! for life! their plight they ply- And shriek, and shout, and battle-cry, 256 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. And plaids and bonnets waving high, And broadswords flashing to the sky, Are maddening in the rear. Onward they drive in dreadful race, Pursuers and pursued ; Before that tide of flight and chase. How shall it keep its rooted place, The spearmen's twilight wood? — 'Down, down,' cried Mar, 'your lances down! Bear back both friend and foe ! ' Like reeds before the tempest's frown, That serried grove of lances brown At once lay levell'd low ; And closely shouldering side to side, The bristling ranks the onset bide. — ' We'll quell the savage mountaineer. As their Tinchel^ cows the game! They come as fleet as forest deer, We'll drive them back as tame XVIII. "Bearing before them, in their course, The relics of the archer force, Like wave with crest of sparkling foam, Right onward did Clan-Alpine come. ' The MS. has not this couplet. 2 A circle of sportsmen, who, by surrounding a great space, and gradually narrowing, brought immense quantities of deer together, ■w'h.ich usually made desperate efforts to break through the Tinchel. Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 257 Above the tide each broadsword bright Was brandishing like beam of light, Each targe was dark below ; And with the ocean's mighty swing. When heaving to the tempest's wing, They hurl'd them on the foe. I heard the lance's shivering crash. As when the whirlwind rends the ash, I heard the broadsword's deadly clang, As if an hundred anvils rang! But Moray wheel'd his rearward rank Of horsemen on Clan-Alpine's flank, — 'My banner-man, advance! I see,' he cried, 'their column shake. Now, gallants ! for your ladies' sake, Upon them with the lance ! ' — The horsemen dashed among the rout. As deer break through the broom ; Their steeds are stout, their swords are out. They soon make lightsome room. Clan-Alpine's best are backward borne — Where, where was Roderick then ! One blast upon his bugle horn Were worth a thousand men. And refluent through the pass of fear ' The battle's tide was pour'd ; ^ MS. : " And refluent down the darksome pass The battle's tide was pour'd; There toil'd the spearman's strugj^Iing spear, There raged the mountain sword." 258 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. Vanish'd the Saxon's struggling spear, Vanish'd the mountain sword. As Bracklinn's chasm, so black and steep, Receives her roaring linn. As the dark caverns of the deep Suck the wild whirlpool in, So did the deep and darksome pass Devour the battle's mingled mass : None linger now upon the plain, Save those who ne'er shall fight again. XIX. " Now westward rolls the battle's din. That deep and doubling pass within, — Minstrel, away ! the work of fate ' Is bearing on : its issue wait. Where the rude Trosach's dread defile Opens on Katrine's lake and isle. — Gray Benvenue I soon repass'd, Loch Katrine lay beneath me cast. The sun is set ; — the clouds are met The lowering scowl of heaven An inky view of vivid blue To the deep lake is given ; Strange gusts of wind from mountain glen Swept o'er the lake, then sunk agen. ' MS. : " Away ! away ! the work of fate '. " Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 2Sg I heeded not the eddying surge, Mine eye but saw the Trosach's gorge, Mine ear but heard the sullen sound, Which like an earthquake shook the ground, And spoke the stern and desperate strife That parts not but with parting life,' ' Seeming, to minstrel ear, to tolP The dirge of many a passing soul. Nearer it comes — the dim-wood glen The martial flood disgorged agen, But not in mingled tide ; The plaided warriors of the North High on the mountain thunder forth And overhang its side ; While by the lake below appears The dark'ning cloud of Saxon spears.^ At weary bay each shatter'd band. Eyeing their foeman, sternly stand ; Their banners stream like tatter'd sail. That flings its fragments to the gale. And broken arms and disarray Mark'd the fell havoc of the day. 1 — " the loveliness in death That parts not quite with parting breath." Byron's Giaour. MS. : "And seem'd to minstrel ear, to toll The parting dirge of many a soul." MS. : " While by the darken'd lake below, File out the spearmen of the foe." 26o THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. XX. "Viewing the mountain's ridge askance, The Saxon stood in sullen trance, Till Moray pointed with his lance, And cried — 'Behold yon isle! — See ! none are left to guard its strand, But women weak, that wring the hand ! 'Tis there of yore the robber band Their booty wont to pile; — My purse, with bonnet-pieces store. To him will swim a bow-shot o'er, And loose a shallop from the shore. Lightly we'll tame the war-wolf then. Lords of his mate and brood, and den.' Forth from the ranks a spearman sprung, On earth his casque and corslet rung, He plunged him in the wave ; — All saw the deed — the purpose knew. And to their clamors Benvenue A mingled echo gave ; The Saxon shout, their mate to cheer. The helpless females scream for fear. And yells for rage the mountaineer. 'Twas then, as by the outcry riven, Pour'd down at once the lowering heaven ; A whirlwind swept Loch Katrine's breast, Her billows rear'd their snowy crest. Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 26 1 Well for the swimmer swell'd they high, To mar the Highland marksman's eye ; For round him shower'd, 'mid rain and hail The vengeful arrows of the Gael. — In vain. — He nears the isle — and lo ! His hand is on a shallop's bow. — Just then a flash of lightning came, It tinged the waves and strand with flame : — ' I mark'd Duncraggan's widow'd dame. Behind an oak I saw her stand, A naked dirk gleam'd in her hand ; — It darken'd, — but amid the moan Of waves I heard a dying groan ; — Another flash ! — the spearman floats A weltering corse beside the boats. And the stern Matron o'er him stood. Her hand and dagger streaming blood. XXI. " * Revenge ! revenge ! ' the Saxons cried. The Gaels' exulting shout replied. Despite the elemental rage. Again they hurried to engage ; But ere they closed in desperate fight. Bloody with spurring came a knight, Sprung from his horse, and, from a crag, Waved, twixt the hosts a milk-white flag, ' MS. reads : " It tinsjed the boats and lake with flame." The eight closing lines of the stanza are interpolated on a slip of paper. 262 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. Clarion and trumpet by his side Rung forth a truce-note high and wide, While, in the Monarch's name, afar A herald's voice forbade the war, For Bothwell's lord, and Roderick bold. Were both, he said, in captive hold." — But here the lay made sudden stand. The harp escaped the Minstrel's hand ! — Oft had he stolen a glance, to spy How Roderick brook'd his minstrelsy : At first, the Chieftain, to the chime. With lifted hand kept feeble time : That motion ceased, — yet feeling strong Varied his look as changed the sound ; ' At length, no more his deafen'd ear The minstrel melody can hear ; His face grows sharp, — his hands are clench'd, As if some pang his heart-strings wrench'd ; Set are his teeth, his fading eye ^ Is sternly fixed on vacancy ; Thus, motionless, and moanless, drew His parting breath, stout Roderick Dhu ! — ^ ' MS. : " Glowed in his look, as swell'd the song." glazins MS. • •"' i fiery h^^" 8 "Rob Roy, while on his deathbed, learned that a person, with whom he was at enmity, proposed to visit him. ' Raise me from my bed,' said the invalid; 'throw my plaid aroimd me, and bring me my claymore, dirk and pistols, — it shall never be said that a foeman saw Rob Roy MacGregor defenceless and unarmed.' His foeman, conjectured to be one of the MacLarens before and after Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 263 Old Allan-Bane look'd on aghast, While grim and still his spirit pass'd ; But when he saw that life was fled, He pour'd his wailing o'er the dead. XXII. LAMENT. " And art thou cold and lowly laid,' Thy foeman's dread, thy people's aid, Breadalbane's boast, Clan-Alpine's shade ! For thee shall none a requiem say } — For thee, — who loved the minstrel's lay. For thee of Bothwell's house the stay, The shelter of her exiled line,^ E'en in this prison-house of thine, I'll wail for Alpine's honor'd Pine. " What groans shall yonder valleys fill ! What shrieks of grief shall rend yon hill ! What tears of burning rage shall thrill. mentioned, entered and paid his compliments, enquiring after the health of his formidable neighbor. Rob Rov maintained a cold, haughty civility during their short conference; and so soon as he had left the house, ' Now,' he said, ' all is over — let the piper play, Ha til mi tulidh' [we return no more], and he is said to have expired before the dirge was finished." — Introduction to Rob Roy, Waverley Novels, vol. vii. p. 85. 1 MS. : " ' And art thou gone,' the Minstrel said." 2 MS. : " The mightiest of a mighty line." r 264 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VL When mourns thy tribe thy battles done, Thy fall before the race was won, Thy sword ungirt ere set of sun ! There breathes not clansman of thy line, But would have given his life for thine. — woe for Alpine's honor'd Pine ! *' Sad was thy lot on mortal stage ! — The captive thrush may brook the cage. The prison'd eagle dies for rage. Brave spirit, do not scorn my strain ! And, when its notes awake again, Even she, so long beloved in vain. Shall with my harp her voice combine, And mix her woe and tears with mine. To wail Clan Alpine's honor'd Pine." XXIII. Ellen, the while, with bursting heart, Remain'd in lordly bower apart, Where play'd, with many-color'd gleams. Through storied pane the rising beams. In vain on gilded roof they fall, And lighten'd up a tapestried wall. And for her use a menial train A rich collation spread in vain. The banquet proud, the chamber gray, ^ Scarce drew one curious glance astray; 1 MS. : " The banquet gay, the chamber's pride. Scarce drew one curious glance aside." Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 265 Or, if she look'd, 'twas but to say, With better omen dawn'd the day In that lone isle, where waved on high The dun-deer's hide for canopy ; Where oft her noble father shared The simple meal her care prepared. While Lufra, crouching by her side. Her station claim'd with jealous pride. And Douglas, bent on woodland game,' Spoke of the chase to Malcolm Graeme, Whose answer oft at random made. The wandering of his thoughts betrayed. — Those who such simple joys have known, Are taught to prize them when they're gone. But sudden, see, she lifts her head ! The window seeks with cautious tread. What distant music has the power To win her in this woful hour ! 'Twas from a turret that o'erhung Her latticed bower, the strain was sung. XXIV. LAY OF THE IMPRISONED HUNTSMAN. " My hawk is tired of perch and hood, My idle greyhound loathes his food, My horse is weary of his stall, And I am sick of captive thrall. 1 MS. : " Earnest on his erame." ■ 266 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. I wish I were as I have been, Hunting the hart in forest green, With bended bow and bloodhound free, For that's the life is meet for me. ' I hate to learn the ebb of time, From yon dull^ steeple's drowsy chime, Or mark it as the sunbeams crawl. Inch after inch, along the wall. The lark was wont my matins ring, ^ The sable rook my vespers sing ; These towers, although* a king's they be, Have not a hall of joy for me.'* No more at dawning morn I rise. And sun myself in Ellen's eyes, Drive the fleet deer the forest through. And homeward wend with evening dew A blithesome welcome blithely meet, And lay my trophies at her feet While fled the eve on wing of glee, — That life is lost to love and me !" XXV. That heart-sick lay was hardly said, The list'ner had not turn'd her head, ' MS. : " was meant for me." 2 MS. : " From darken'd steeple's." 8 MS. : " The lively lark my matins rung, The sable rook my vespers sung." •• MS. : " Have not a hall should harbor me.' Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 267 It trickled still, the starting tear, When light a footstep struck her ear, And Snowdoun's graceful knight was near. She turn'd the hastier, lest again The prisoner should renew his strain. " O welcome, brave Fitz-James ! " she said, " How may an almost orphan maid Pay the deep debt "O say not so ! To me no gratitude you owe. Not mine, alas ! the boon to give, And bid thy noble father live ; I can but be thy guide, sweet maid, With Scotland's King thy suit to aid. No tyrant he, though ire and pride May lay his better mood aside. Come, Ellen, come! — 'tis more than time. He holds his court at morning prime." With beating heart, and bosom wrung, As to a brother's arm she clung, Gently he dried the falling tear, And gently whisper'd hope and cheer; Her faltering steps half led, half stay'd, Through gallery fair and high arcade, Till, at his touch, its wings of pride A portal arch unfolded wide. J. 268 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. XXVI. Within 'twas brilliant all and light," ' A thronging scene of figures bright ; It glow'd on Ellen's dazzled sight. As when the setting sun has given Ten thousand hues to summer even, And from their tissue, fancy frames Aerial knights and fairy dames. Still by Fitz-James her footing stay'd ; A few faint steps she forward made, Then slow her drooping head she raised. And fearful round the presence gazed ; For him she sought, who own'd this state,^ The dreaded prince whose will was fate ! — She gazed on many a princely port. Might well have ruled a royal court ; On many a splendid garb she gazed, — Then turn'd bewilder'd and amazed. For all stood bare ; and, in the room, Fitz-James alone wore cap and plume, To him each lady's look was lent ; On him each courtier's eye was bent ; Midst furs and silks and jewels sheen, He stood in simple Lincoln green, 1 MS. : " Within 'twas brilliant all, and bright The vision glow'd on Ellen's sight." 2 MS. : " For him who own'd this royal state." Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 269 The centre of the glittering ring. — And Snowdoun's Knight is Scotland's King ! ' XXVII. As wreath of snow, on mountain-breast, Slides from the rock that gave it rest, Poor Ellen glided from her stay,^ And at the Monarch's feet she lay ; No word her choking voice commands, — She show'd the ring — she clasp'd her hands. O ! not a moment could he brook. The generous prince, that suppliant look ! Gently he raised her, — and, the while, Check'd with a glance the circle's smile ; Graceful, but grave, her brow he kiss'd, And bade her terrors be dismiss'd : " Yes, Fair ; the wandering poor Fitz-James The fealty of Scotland claims. To him thy woes, thy wishes, bring; He will redeem his signet-ring. Ask nought for Douglas ; — yester even, His prince and he have much forgiven : Wrong hath he had from slanderous tongue, I, from his rebel kinsmen wrong. We would not to the vulgar crowd Yield what they craved with clamor loud ; 1 See Appendix, Note Q^ 2 MS. — " shrinking, quits her stay. 2/0 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. Calmly we heard and judged his cause, Our council aided, and our laws. I stanch'd thy father's death-feud stern, With stout De Vaux and Grey Glencairn ; And Bothwell's Lord henceforth we own The friend and bulwark of our Throne. — But, lovely infidel, how now } What clouds thy misbelieving brow ? Lord James of Douglas, lend thine aid ; Thou must confirm this doubting maid." xxvin. Then forth the noble Douglas sprung. And on his neck his daughter hung. The monarch drank, that happy hour, The sweetest, holiest draught of Power, — When it can say, with godlike voice. Arise, sad virtue, and rejoice ! Yet would not James the general eye On Nature's raptures long should pry ; He stepp'd between — " Nay, Douglas, nay, Steal not my proselyte away ! The riddle 'tis my right to read. That brought this happy chance to speed. — Yes, Ellen, when, disguised, I stray In life's more low but happier way,' 1 MS. : " In lowl}' life's more happy way." Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 2/1 'Tis under name which veils my power, Nor falsely veils — for Stirling's tower Of yore the name of Snowdoun claims/ And Normans call me James Fitz-James. Thus watch I o'er insulted laws, Thus learn to right the injured cause." — Then, in a tone apart and low, — "Ah, little trait'ress ! none must know What idle dream, what lighter thought, What vanity full dearly bought. 1 William of Worcester, who wrote about the middle of the fifteenth century, calls Stirling Castle Snowdoun. Sir David Lindsay bestows the same epithet upon it in his complaint of the Papingo : " Adieu, fair Snawdoun, with thy towers high. Thy chapele-royal, park, and table round ; May, June, and July, would I dwell in thee. Were I a man, to hear the birdis sound Whilk doth againe thy royal rock rebound." Mr. Chalmers, in his late excellent edition of Sir David Lindsay's works, has refuted the chimerical derivation of Snawdoun from snedding-, or cutting. It was probably derived from the romantic legend which connected Stirling with King Arthur, to which the mention of the Round Table gives countenance. The ring within which justs were formerly practised, in the castle park, is still called the Round Table. Snawdoun is the official title of one of the Scottish heralds, whose epithets seem in all countries to have been fantastically adopted from ancient history or romance. It appears (see Appendix, Note Q) that the real name by which James was actually distinguished in his private excursions, was the Goodman of Ballengutch : derived from a steep pass leading up to the Castle of Stirling, so called. But the epithet would not have suited poetry, and would besides at once, and prematurely, have announced the plot to many of my countrymen, among whom the traditional stories above mentioned are still current. 2/2 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. Join'd to thine eye's dark witchcraft, drew My spell-bound steps to Benvenue,' In dangerous hour, and almost gave Thy Monarch's life to mountain glaive ! " — Aloud he spoke — "Thou still dost hold That little talisman of gold, Pledge of my faith, Fitz-James's ring — ^ What seeks fair Ellen of the king ? " XXIX. Full well the conscious maiden guess'd He probed the weakness of her breast ; But, with that consciousness, there came A lightening of her fears for Graeme, And 3 more she deem'd the monarch's ire Kindled 'gainst him, who, for her sire Rebellious broadsword boldly drew ; And, to her generous feeling true. She craved the grace of Roderick Dhu. — " Forbear thy suit : — the King of kings Alone can stay life's parting wings. 1 MS. : " Thy sovereign back ) _ „ „,- ." , ^ J to Benvenue." Ihy sovereign s steps ) 2 MS. : " Pledge of Fitz-James's faith, the ring." ' MS. : " And in her breast strove maiden shame; More deep she deem'd the Monarch's ire Kindled 'gainst him, who, for her sire, Against his sovereign broadsword drew; And, with a pleading, warm and true. She craved the grace of Roderick Dhu." Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 2/3 I know his heart, I know his hand, Have shared his cheer and proved his brand : — My fairest earldom would I give To bid Clan-Alpine's Chieftain live ! — Hast thou no other boon to crave ?. No other captive friend to save?" Blushing, she turn'd her from the King, And to the Douglas gave the ring. As if she wish'd her sire to speak The suit that stain'd her glowing cheek. — " Nay, then, my pledge has lost its force. And stubborn justice holds her course. — Malcolm, come forth ! " — And, at the word, Down kneel'd the Graeme ' to Scotland's Lord. " For thee, rash youth, no suppliant sues, From thee may Vengeance claim her dues. Who, nurtured underneath our smile. Hast paid our care by treacherous wile, And sought, amid thy faithful clan, A refuge for an outlaw'd man. 1 "Malcolm Graeme has too insignificant a part assigned him, considering the favor in which he is held both by Ellen and the author; and in bringing out the shaded and imperfect character of Roderick Dhu, as a contrast to the purer virtue of his rival, Mr. Scott seems to have fallen into the common error of making him more interesting than him whose virtues he was intended to set off, and converted the villain of the piece in some measure into its hero. A modern poet, howe^•er, may perhaps be pardoned for an error, of which Milton himself is thought not to have kept clear, and for which there seems so natural a cause in the difference between poetical and amiable characters." — ^Jeffrey. 274 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. Dishonoring thus thy loyal name. — Fetters and warder for the Graeme ! " His chain of gold the King unstrung, The links o'er Malcolm's neck he flung, Then gently drew the glittering band, And laid the clasp on Ellen's hand.' Harp of the North, farewell ! The hills grow dark, On purple peaks a deeper shade descending ; In twilight copse the glow-worm lights her spark, The deer, half-seen, are to the covert wending. Resume thy wizard elm ! the fountain lending. And the wild breeze, thy wilder minstrelsy ; Thy numbers sweet with nature's vespers blending. With distant echo from the fold and lea, And herd-boy's evening pipe, and hum of housing bee. 1 . . . "And now, waiving myself, let me talk to you of the Prince Regent. He ordered me to be presented to him at a ball ; and after some sayings peculiarly pleasing from royal lips, as to my own attempts, he talked to me of you and your immortalities; he preferred you to every bard past and present, and asked which of your works pleased me most. It was a difficult question. I answered, I thought the ' Lay.' He said his own opinion was nearly similar. In speaking of the others, I told him that I thought you more particu- larly the poet of Pritices, as tJiey never appeared more fascinating than in ' Marmion,' and the ' Lady of the Lake.' He was pleased to coincide, and to dwell on the description of your James's as no less royal than poetical. He spoke alternately of Homer and your- self, and seemed well acquainted with both," &c. — Letter from Lord Byro7i to Sir Walter Scott, July 6, 1812. Byron's Life atid Works, vol. ii., p. 156. ' His chain of gold the King unstrung, The links o'er Malcolm'e neck he flung." — Page 274. Canto VI.] THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 275 Yet, once again, farewell, thou Minstrel Harp! Yet, once again, forgive my feeble sway. And little reck I of the censure sharp May idly cavil at an idle lay. Much have I owed thy strains on life's long way, Through secret woes the world has never known, When on the weary night dawn'd wearier day. And bitterer was the grief devour'd alone. That I o'erlive such woes, Enchantress ! is thine own. Hark ! as my lingering footsteps slow retire. Some Spirit of the Air has waked thy string ! 'Tis now a seraph bold, with touch of fire, 'Tis now the brush of Fairy's frolic wing. Receding now, the dying numbers ring Fainter and fainter down the rugged dell, And now the mountain breezes scarcely bring A wandering witch-note of the distant spell — And now, 'tis silent all ! — Enchantress, fare thee well ! ' ' On a comparison of the merits of this poem with the two former k productions of the same unquestioned genius, we are inclined to bestow on it a verj decided preference over both. It would perhaps be difficult to select any one passage of such genuine inspiration, as one or two that might be pointed out in the Lay of the Last Minstrel, — and, perhaps, in strength and discrimination of character, j it may fall short of Marmion ; although we are loath to resign either ' the rude and savage generosity of Roderick, the romantic chivalry of James, or the playful simplicity, the affectionate tenderness, the modest courage of Helen Douglas, to the claims of any competitors in the last-mentioned poem. But, for interest and artificial manage- ment in the story, for general ease and grace of versification, and correctness of language, the Lady of the Lake must be universally 2/6 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. [Canto VI. allowed, we think, to excel, and very far excel, either of her prede- cessors. — Critical Revievj. "There is nothing in Mr. Scott of the severe and majestic style of Milton — or of the terse and fine composition of Pope — or of the elaborate elegance and melody of Campbell — or even of the flow- ing and redundant diction of Southey, — but there is a medley of bright images and glowing, set carelessly and loosely together — a diction tinged successively with the careless richness of Shakspeare, the harshness and antique simplicity of the old roinances, the home- liness of vulgar ballads and anecdotes, and the sentimental glitter of the most modern poetry — passing from the borders of the ludicrous to those of the sublime —alternately minute and energetic -^sometimes artificial, and frequently negligent, but always full of spirit and vivacity — abounding in images, that are striking at first sight to minds of every contexture — and never expressing a senti- ment which it can cost the most ordinary reader any exertion to comprehend. Upon the whole, we are inclined to think more highly of the Lady of the Lake than of either of its author's former publica- tions. We are more sure, however, that it has fewer faults, than that it has greater beauties ; and as its beauties bear a strong resem- blance to those with which the public has been already made familiar in these celebrated works, we should not be surprised if its popu- larity were less splendid and remarkable. For our own part, how- ever, we are of opinion, that it will be oftener read hereafter than either of them ; and that if it had appeared first in the series, -their reception would have been less favorable than that which it has experienced. It is more polished in its diction, and more regular in its versification; the story is constructed with infinitely more skill and address; there is a greater proportion of j)leasing and tender passages, with much less antiquarian detail ; and, upon the whole, a larger variety of characters, more artfully and judiciously contrasted. There is nothing so fine, perhaps, as the battle in Marmion — or so picturesque as some of the scattered sketches in the Lay ; but there is a richness and a spirit in the whole piece, which does not pervade either of these poems — a profusion of inci- dent, and a shifting brilliancy of coloi-ing, that reminds us of the witchery of Ariosto — and a constant elasticity, and occasional energy, which seems to belong more peculiarly to the author now before us." — Jeffrey. APPENDIX TO THE LADY OF THE LAKE. APPENDIX. Note A. A gray-hair^ d sire, whose eye intent Was on the visioji'd future bettt. — P. 45. If force of evidence could authorize us to believe facts inconsistent with the general laws of nature, enough might be produced in favor of the existence of the Second-sight. It is called in Gaelic Taishitaraugh, from Taish, an unreal or shadowy appearance ; and those possessed of the faculty are called Taishafrin, which may be aptly translated visionaries. Martin, a steady believer in the second sight, gives the fol- lowing account of it : — " The second-sight is a singular faculty, of seeing an other- wise invisible object, without any previous means used by the person that used it for that end ; the vision makes such a lively impression upon the seers, that they neither see, nor think of anything else, except the vision, as long as it con- tinues ; and then they appear pensive or jovial, according to the object that was represented to them. "At the sight of a vision, the eyelids of the person are erected, and the eyes continue staring until the object vanish. This is obvious to others who are by when the persons happen to see a vision, and occurred more than once to my own observation, and to others that were with me. "There is one in Skie, of whom his acquaintance observed, that when he sees a vision, the inner part of his eyelids turns so far upwards, that, after the object disappears, he must draw them down with his fingers, and sometimes employ 279 28o THE LADY OF THE LAKE. others to draw them clown, which he finds to be the much easier way. " This faculty of the second-sight does not lineally descend in a family, as some imagine, for I know several parents who are endowed with it, but their children not, and I'icc versa; neither is it acquired by any previous compact. And, after a strict inquiry, I could never learn that this faculty was com- municable any way whatsoever. " The seer knows neither the object, time, nor place of a vision before it appears ; and the same object is often seen by different persons living at a considerable distance from one another. The true way of judging as to the time and circumstance of an object, is by observation ; for several per- sons of judgment, without this faculty, are more capable to judge of the design of a vision, than a novice that is a seer. If an object appear in the day or night, it will come to pass sooner or later accordingly. "If an object is seen early in the morning (which is not frequent), it will be accomplished in a few hours afterwards. If at noon, it will commonly be accomplished that very day. If in the evening, perhaps that night ; if after candles be lighted, it will be accomplished that night; the latter always in accomplishment, by weeks, months, and sometimes years, according to the time of night the vision is seen. " When a shroud is perceived about one, it is a sure prog- nostic of death : the time is judged according to the height of it about the person : for if it is seen above the middle, death is not to_ be expected for the space of a year, and perhaps some months longer ; and as it is frequently seen to ascend higher towards the head, death is concluded to be atx hand within a few days, if not hours, as daily experience confirms. Examples of this kind were shown me, when the persons of whom the observations were then made enjoyed perfect health. APPENDIX. 281 "One instance was lately foretold by a seer, that was a novice, concerning the death of one of. my acquaintance ; this was communicated to a few only, and with great confidence : I being one of the number, did not in the least regard it, until the death of the person, about the time foretold, did confirm me of the certainty of the prediction. The novice mentioned above, is now a skilful seer, as appears from many late instances ; he lives in the parish of St. Mary's, the most northern in Skie. " If a woman is seen standing at a man's left hand, it is a presage that she will be his wife, whether they be married to others, or unmarried at the time of the apparition. "If two or three women are seen at once near a man's left hand, she that is next him will undoubtedly be his wife first, and so on, whether all three, or the man, be single or married at the time of the vision or not ; of which there are several late instances among those of my acquaintance. It is an ordinary thing for them to see a man that is to coiiie to the house shortly after ; and if he is not of the seer's acquaint- ance, yet he gives such a lively description of his stature, complexion, habit, etc., that upon his arrival he answers the character given him in all respects. " If the person so appearing be one of the seer's acquaint- ance, he will tell his name, as well as other particulars ; and he can tell by his countenance whether he comes in a good or bad humor. " I have been seen thus myself by seers of both sexes, at some hundred miles' distance ; some that saw me in this man- ner had never seen me personally, and it happened according to their vision, without any previous design of mine to go to these places, my coming there being purely accidental. " It is ordinary with them to see houses, gardens, and trees in places void of all three ; and this in progress of time uses to be accomplished : as at Magshot, in the Isle of Skie, where THE LADY OF THE LAKE. there were but a few sorry cowhouses, thatched with straw, yet in a very few years after, the vision, which appeared often, was accompUshed, by the building of several good houses on the very spot represented by the seers, and by the planting of orchards there. " To see a spark of fire fall upon one's arm or breast, is a forerunner of a dead child to be seen in the arms of those persons, of which there are several fresh instances. " To see a seat empty at the time of one's sitting in it, is a presage of that person's death soon after. " When a novice, or one that has lately obtained the second- sight, sees a vision in the night-time without doors, and he be near a fire, he presently falls into a swoon. " Some find themselves as it were in a crowd of people, having a corpse which they carry along with them ; and after such visions the seers come in sweating, and describe the peo- ple that appeared ; if there be any of their acquaintance among 'em, they give an account of their names, as also of the bearers, but they know nothing concerning the corpse. " All those who have the second-sight do not always see these visions at once, though they be together at the time. But if one who has this faculty, designedly touch his fellow- seer at the instant of a vision's appearing, then the second' sees it as well as the first ; and this is sometimes discerned by those that are near them on such occasions." — Martin's Description of the Western Islands, 171 6, 8vo., p. 300, et seq. To these particulars innumerable examples might be added, all attested by grave and credible authors. But, in despite of evidence which neither Bacon, Boyle, nor Johnson were able to resist, the Taisch, with all its visionary properties, seems to be now universally abandoned to the use of poetry. The exquisitely beautiful poem of Lochiel will at once recur to the recollection of every reader. APPENDIX. 283 Note B. My sire's tall form might grace the part Of FcrragHS or Ascabart. — P. 50. These two sons of Anak flourished in romantic fable. The first is well known to the admirers of Ariosto, by the name of Ferrau. He was an antagonist of Orlando, and was at length slain by him in single combat. There is a romance in the Auchinleck MS., in which Ferragus is thus described : — " On a day come tiding Unto Charls the King, Al of a doiighti knight Was comen to Navers. Stout he was and fers, Vernagu he hight Of babiloun the soudan Thider him sende gan, With King Charls to fight So hard he was to-fond ' That no dint of brond No greud him. aplight. He hadde twenti men strengthe And forti fet of lengthe, Thilke painim hede,^ And four feet in the face, Y-meten ' in the place, And fifteen in brede.^ His nose was a fot and more ; His brow, as bristles wore;* He that it seighe it sede. He looked lotheliche, And was swart ^ as any piche. Of him men might adrede." Romance of Charlemagne, I. 461-4S4. Auchinleck MS., fol. 265. Ascapart or Ascabart makes a very material figure in the History of Bevis of Hampton, by whom he was conquered. ' Found, proved. ^ Had. ^ Measured. * Breadth. * Were. " Black. 284 ^^^ LADY OF THE LAKE. His effigies may be seen guarding one side of a gate at South- ampton, while the other is occupied by Sir Bevis himself. The dimensions of Ascabart were little inferior to those of Ferragus, if the following description be correct : — " They metten with a geaunt, With a lothelithe semblaunt. He was wonderliche strong, Rome ' thretti fote long His berd was hot gret and rowe ; ' A space of a fot betweene is ^ browe ; His dob was, to yeue'' a strok, A lite bodi of an oak.* '' Belies hadde of him wonder gret, And askede him what a het,® And yaf ' men of his contre • Were ase meche ase » was he ' Me name,' a sede,^ ' is Ascopard, Graci me sent hiderward. For to bring this quene ayen And the Beues her of-slen."' Icham Graci is" champioun, And was i-driue out of me '^ toun Al for that ich was so lite." Eueri man me wolde smite, Ich was so lite and so merugh, " Eueri man m-i clepede dwerugh,i* And now icham in this londe, I wax mor '^ ich understonde, And stranger than other tene , " And that schel on us be sene.' " Sir Bevis of Hatnpton, i. 2512. Aiichinleck MS., fol. 189. > Fully. « Rough. ^ His. * Give. ^ jhe stem of a little oak-tree. « He hight, was called. 7 if. 8 Great. » He said. )» Slay. "His. 12 My. "Lit- tle. 1* Lean. '* Dwarf. '^ Greater, taller. '^ Ten. APPENDIX. 285 Note C. In Holy-Rood a Kttight he sleiv. — P. 72. This was by no means an uncommon occurrence in the court of Scotland ; nay, the presence of the sovereign himself scarcely restrained the ferocious and inveterate feuds which were the perpetual source of bloodshed among the Scottish nobility. The following instance of the murder of Sir Wil- liam Stuart of Ochiltree, called The Bloody, by the celebrated Francis, Earl of Bothwell, may be produced among many; but, as the offence given in the royal court will hardly bear a vernacular translation, I shall leave the story in Johnstone's Latin, referring for farther particulars to the naked simplicity of Birrell's Diary, 30th July, 1588. " Mors improbi hominis non tam ipsa immerifa, qua?n pes- simo exeinplo in publicum, fxde perpdrata. Guliclmus Stii- artiis Alkiltrius, Araiii f rater, natura ac moribus, cujus soepius memini, viilgo propter sitem sanguinis sanguinarius dictus, a Bothvelio, in Sanctce Crucis Regia exardesccnte ira, mendacii probro lacessitus, obsccenu77i osculum liber ius retorquebat ; Both- velius hanc contutneliain tacitus tulit, sed ingentum irarutn tnolem animo concepit. Utrinque postridie Edinburgi conven- tum, totidetn numero coviitibus armatis prcesidii causa, et acriter pugnatufft est ; coeteris amicis et clientibus metu torpentibus, ant vi absterritis, ipse Stuartus fortissime dimicat ; tandem excusso gladio a Bothvelio, ScythicA feritate transfoditur, sine cujus- quam misericordia ; habuit itaque quem dcbuit exitum. Dignus erat Stuartus qui pateretur ; Bothvelius qui faceret. Vulgus sanguinem sanguine pmdicabit, et horum cruore innocuoruin manibus egregie parentatujn." — Johnstoni Historia Rerum Britannicarum, ab anno 1572 ad annum 1628. Amstelodami, 1655, fol. p. 135. 286 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. Note D. Did-, self-unscabbarded, forcshoxv The footstep of a secret foe. — P. 76. The ancient warriors, whose hope and confidence rested chiefly in their blades, were accustomed to deduce omens from them, especially from such as were supposed to have been fabricated by enchanted skill, of which we have various instances in the romances and legends of the time. The wonderful sword Skofnung, wielded by the celebrated Hrolf Kraka, was of this description. It was deposited in the tomb of the monarch at his death, and taken from thence by Skeggo, a celebrated pirate, who bestowed it upon his son-in- law, Kormak, with the following curious directions : — " ' The manner of using it will appear strange to you. A small bag is attached to it, which take heed not to violate. Let not the rays of the sun touch the upper part of the handle, nor unsheathe it, unless thou art ready for battle. But when thou comest to the place of fight, go aside from the rest, grasp and extend the sword, and breathe upon it. Then a small worm will creep out of the handle ; lower the handle, that he may more easily return into it.' Kormak, after having received the sword, returned home to his mother. He showed the sword, and attempted to draw it, as unnecessarily as ineffec- tually, for he could not pluck it out of the sheath. His mother, Dalla, exclaimed, ' Do not despise the counsel given to thee, my son.' Kormak, however, repeating his efforts, pressed down the handle with his feet, and tore off the bag, when Skofnung emitted a hollow groan; but still he could not unsheathe the sword. Kormak then went out with Bessus, whom he had challenged to fight with him, and drew apart at the place of combat. He sat down upon the ground, and ungirding the sword, which he bore above his vestments, did APPENDIX. 287 not remember to shield the hilt from the rays of the sun. In vain he endeavored to draw it, till he placed his foot against the hilt ; then the worm issued from it. But Kormak did not rightly handle the weapon, in consequence whereof good for- tune deserted it. As he unsheathed Skofnung, it emitted a hollow murmur." — Bartholini de Causis Contcmptiz a Danis ad/iuc Gentilibus Mortis^ Libri Ttrs. Ho/nice, 1689, 4to., p. 574. To the history of this sentient and prescient weapon, I beg leave to add, from memory, the following legend, for which I cannot produce any better authority. A young nobleman, of high hopes and fortune, chanced to lose his way in the town which he inhabited, the capital, if I mistake not, of a German province. He had accidentally involved himself among the narrow and winding streets of a suburb, inhabited by the lowest order of the people, and an approaching thunder- shower determined him to ask a short refuge in the most decent habitation that was near him. He knocked at the door, which was opened by a tall man, of a grisly and fero- cious aspect, and sordid dress. The stranger was readily ushered to a chamber, where swords, scourges, and machines, which seemed to be implements of torture, were suspended on the wall. One of these swords dropped from its scabbard as the nobleman, after a moment's hesitation, crossed the threshold. His host immediately stared at him with such a marked expression, that the young man could not help demanding his name and business, and the meaning of his looking at him so fixedly. " I am," answered the man, " the public executioner of this city ; and the incident you have observed is a sure augury that I shall, in discharge of my duty, one day cut off your head with the weapon which has just now spontaneously unsheathed itself." The nobleman lost no time in leaving his place of refuge ; but, engaging in some of the plots of the period, was shortly after decapitated by that very man and instrument. 288 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. Lord Lovat is said, by the author of the " Letters from Scot- land," to have afifirmed, that a number of swords that hung up in the hall of the mansion-house, leaped of themselves out of the scabbard at the instant he was born. The story passed current among his clan, but, like that of the story I have just quoted, proved an unfortunate omen. — Letters from Scotland, vol. ii., p. 214. Note E. The best of Loch Lomond lie dead on her side. — P. 82. The Lennox, as the district is called, which encircles the lower extremity of Loch Lomond, was peculiarly exposed to the incursions of the mountaineers, who inhabited the inac- cessible fastnesses at the upper end of the lake, and the neighboring district of Loch Katrine. These were often marked by circumstances of great ferocit}^, of which the noted conflict of Glen-fruin is a celebrated instance. This was a clan-battle, in which the Macgregors, headed by Allas- ter Macgregor, chief of the clan, encountered the sept of Col- quhouns, commanded by Sir Humphrey Colquhoun of Luss. It is on all hands allowed that the action was desperately fought, and that the Colquhouns were defeated with great slaughter, leaving two hundred of their name dead upon the field. But popular tradition has added other horrors to the tale. It is said, that Sir Humphrey Colquhoun, who was on horseback, escaped to the castle of Benechra, or Banochar, and was next day dragged out and murdered by the vic- torious Macgregors in cold blood. Buchanan of Auchmar, however, speaks of his slaughter as a subsequent event, and as perpetrated by the Macfarlanes. Again, it is reported that the Macgregors murdered a number of youths, whom report of the intended battle had brought to be spectators, and whom the Colquhouns, anxious for their safety, had shut up APPENDIX. 289 in a barn to be out of danger. One account of -the Mac- gregors denies this circumstance entirely : another ascribes it to the savage and bloodthirsty disposition of a single individ- ual, the bastard brother of the Laird of Macgregor, who amused himself with this second massacre of the innocents, in express disobedience to the chief, by whom he was left their guardian during the pursuit of the Colquhouns. It is added, that Macgregor bitterly lamented this atrocious action, and prophesied the ruin which it must bring upon their ancient clan. The following account of the conflict, which is indeed drawn up by a friend of the Clan-Gregor, is alto- gether silent on the murder of the youths. " In the spring of the year 1602, there happened great dissensions and troubles between the laird of Luss, chief of the Colquhouns, and Alex- ander, laird of Macgregor. The original of these quarrels proceeded from injuries and provocations mutually given and received not long before. Macgregor, however, w^anting to have them ended in friendly conferences, marched at the head of two hundred of his clan to Leven, which borders on Luss, his country, with a view of settling matters by the mediation of friends : but Luss had no such intentions, and projected his measures with a different view ; for he privately drew together a body of three hundred horse and five hun- dred foot, composed partly of his own clan and their follow- ers, and partly of the Buchanans, his neighbors, and resolved to cut off Macgregor and his party to a man, in case the issue of the conference did not answer his inclination. But mat- ters fell otherwise than he expected ; and though Macgregor had previous information of his insidious design, yet dissem- bling his resentment, he kept the appointment, and parted good friends in appearance. "No sooner was he gone, than Luss, thinking to surprise him and his party in full security, and without any dread or apprehension of his treachery, followed with all speed, and 290 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. came up with him at a place called Glenfroon. Macgregor, upon the alarm, divided his men into two parties, the greatest part whereof he commanded himself, and the other he com- mitted to the care of his brother John, who, by his orders, led them about another way, and attacked the Colquhouns in Hank. Here it was fought with great bravery on both sides for a considerable time ; and, notwithstanding the vast dis- proportion of numbers, Macgregor, in the end, obtained an absolute victory. So great was the rout, that two hundred of the Colquhouns were left dead upon the spot, most of the leading men were killed, and a multitude of prisoners taken. But Avhat seemed most surprising and incredible in this defeat, was, that none of the Macgregors were missing, ex- cept John, the laird's brother, and one common fellow, though indeed many of them were wounded." — Professor Ross's History of the Fainily of Sutherland., 1 63 1 . The consequences of the battle of Glen-fruin was very cala- mitous to the family of Macgregor, who had already been considered as an unruly clan. The widows of the slain Col- quhouns, sixty, it is said, in number, appeared in doleful pro- cession before the king at Stirling, each riding upon a white palfrey, and bearing in her hand the bloody shirt of her hus- band displayed upon a pike, James VI, was so much moved by the complaints of this " choir of mourning dames," that he let loose his vengeance against the Macgregors, without either bounds or moderation. The very name of the clan was proscribed, and those by whom it had been borne were given up to sword and fire, and absolutely hunted down by bloodhounds like wild beasts. Argyle and the Campbells on the one hand, Montrose with the Grahames and Buchanans, on the other, are said to have been the chief instruments m suppressing this devoted clan. The Laird of Macgregor sur- rendered to the former, on condition that he would take him out of Scottish ground. But, to use Birrell's expression, he APPENDIX. 291 kept " a Highlandman's loromise ; " and, although he fulfilled his word to the letter, by carrying him as far as Berwick, he afterwards brought him back to Edinburgh, where he was executed with eighteen of his clan (Birrel's Diary, 2d Octo- ber, 1603.) The clan Gregor being thus driven to utter despair, seemed to have renounced the laws from the benefit of which they were excluded, and their depredations pro- duced new acts of council, confirming the severity of their proscription, which had only the effect of rendering them still more united and desperate. It is a most extraordinary proof of the ardent and invincible spirit of clanship, that, notwithstanding the repeated proscriptions providently or- dained by the legislature, " for the timcous preventing the disorders and oppression that may fall out by the said name and clan of Macgregors and their followers," they were in 17 1 5 and 1745, a potent clan, and continue to subsist as a distinct and numerous race. Note F. Avd -mJiHc the Fiery Cross glanced, like a meteor, round. — P. 105. When a chieftain designed to summon his clan, upon any sudden or important emergency, he slew a goat, and making a cross of any light wood, seared its extremities in the fire, and extinguished them in the blood of the animal. This was called the Fiery Cross, also Cixan Tarigh, or the Cross of Shame, because disobedience to what the symbol implied, inferred infamy. It was delivered to a swift and trusty mes- senger, who ran full speed with it to the next hamlet, where he presented it to the principal person, with a single word, implying the place of rendezvous. He who received the symbol was bound to send it forward with equal dispatch to the next village; and thus it passed with incredible celerity through all the district which owed allegiance to the chief, 292 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. and also among his allies and neighbors, if the danger was common to them. At sight of the Fiery Cross, every man, from sixteen years old to sixty, capable of bearing arms, was obliged instantly to repair, in his best arms and accoutre- ments, to the place of rendezvous. He who failed to appear suffered the extremities of fire and sword, which were em- blematically denounced to the disobedient by the bloody and burnt marks upon this warlike signal. During the civil war of 1745-6, the Fiery Cross often made its circuit, and upon one occasion it passed through the whole district of Breadal- bane, a tract of thirty-two miles, in three hours. The late Alexander Stewart, Esq., of Invernahyle, described to me his having sent round the Fiery Cross through the district of Appine, during the same commotion. The coast w^as threat- ened by a descent from two English frigates, and the flower of the young men were with the army of Prince Charles Edward, then in England ; yet the summons was so effectual, that even old age and childhood obeyed it ; and a force was collected in a few hours, so numerous and so enthusiastic, that all attempt at the intended diversion upon the country of the absent warriors was in prudence abandoned, as desperate. This practice, like some others, is common to the High- landers with the ancient Scandinavians, as will appear by the following extract from Olaus Magnus • — " When the enemy is upon the sea-coast, or within the lim- its of northern kingdomes, then presently, by the command of the principal governours, with the counsel and consent of the old soldiers, who are notably skilled in such like business, a staff of three hands length, in the common sight of them all, is carried, by the speedy running of some active young man, unto that village or city, with this command, — that on the 3. 4. or 8. day, one, two, or three, or else every man in par- ticular, from 15 )'ears old, shall come with his arms, and expenses for ten or twenty days, upon pain that his or their APPENDIX. 293 liouses shall be burnt (which is intimated by the burning of the staff), or else the master to be hanged (which is signified by the cord tied to it), to appear speedily on such a bank, or field, or valley, to hear the cause he is called, and to hear orders from the said provincial governours what he shall do. Wherefore that messenger, swifter than any post or waggon, having done his commission, comes slowly back again, bring- ing a token with him that he hath done all legally , and every moment one or another runs to every village, and tells those places what they must do." . . . "The messengers, there- fore, of the footmen, that are to give warning to the people to meet for the battail, run fiercely and swiftly , for no snow, no rain, nor heat can stop them, nor night hold them ; but they will soon run the race they undertake. The first messenger tells it to the next village, and that to the next , and so the hubbub runs all over till they all know it in that stift or ter- ritory, where, when and wherefore they must meet." — Olaus Magnus' History of the Goths, englished by J. S. Lond. 1658, book iv. chap. 3, 4. Note G. T/iat monk, of savage form and face. — P 107. The state of religion in the middle ages afforded consider- able facilities for those whose mode of life excluded them from regular worship, to secure, nevertheless, the ghostly assistance of confessors, perfectly willing to adapt the nature of their doctrine to the necessities and peculiar circumstances of their flock. Robin Hood, it is well known, had his cele- brated domestic chaplain, Friar Tuck. And that same curtal friar was probably matched in manners and appearance by the ghostly fathers of the Tynedale robbers, who are thus described in an excommunication fulminated against their patrons by Richard Fox, Bishop of Durham, tempore Henrici VII. "We have further understood, that there are many 294 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. chaplains in the said territories of Tynedale and Redesdale, who are pubhc and open maintainers of concubinage, irre- gular, suspended, excommunicated, and interdicted persons, and withal so utterly ignorant of letters, that it has been found by those who objected this to them, that there were some who, having celebrated mass for ten years, were still unable to read the sacramental service. We have also under- stood there are persons among them who, although not ordained, do take upon them the offices of priesthood ; and, in contempt of God, celebrate the 'divine and sacred rites, and administer the sacraments, not only in sacred and dedi- cated places, but in those which are prophane and interdicted, and most wretchedly ruinous ; they themselves being attired in ragged, torn, and most filthy vestments, altogether unfit to be used in divine, or even in temporal offices. The which said chaplains do administer sacraments and sacramental rites to the aforesaid manifest and infamous thieves, robbers, depredators, receivers of stolen goods, and plunderers, and that without restitution, or intention to restore, as evinced by the act ; and do also openly admit them to the rites of eccle- siastical sepulchre, without exacting security for restitution, although they are prohibited from doing so by the sacred canons, as well as by the institutes of the saints and fathers. All which infers the heavy peril of their own souls, and is a pernicious example to the other believers in Christ, as well as no slight, but an aggravated injury, to the numbers despoiled and plundered of their goods, gear, herds, and chattels."^ To this lively and picturesque description of the confessors and churchmen of predatory tribes, there may be added some curious particulars resjDccting the priests attached to the 1 The Monition against the Robbers of Tynedale and Redesdale, with which I was favored by my friend, Mr. Surtees of Mainsforth, may be found in the original Latin, in the Appendix to the Introduction to the " Border Minstrelsy," No. VII. vol. i., p. 274 of the Edinburgh edition. 12 vols. APPENDIX. 295 several septs of native Irish' during the reign of Queen Eliza- beth. These friars had indeed to plead, that the incursions, which they not only pardoned, but even encouraged, were made upon those hostile to them, as well in religion as from national antipathy ; but by Protestant writers they are uni- formly alleged to be the chief instruments of Irish insurrec- tion^ the very well-spring of all rebellion towards the English government. Lithgow, the Scottish traveller, declares the Irish wood-kerne, or predatory tribes, to be but the hounds of their hunting-priest, who directed their incursions by their pleasure, partly for sustenance, partly to gratify animosity, partly to foment general division, and always for the better security and easier domination of the friars.^ Derrick, the liveliness and minuteness of whose descriptions may fre- quently apologize for his doggerel verses, after describing an Irish feast, and the encouragement given by the songs of the bards to its termination in an incursion upon the parts of the country more immediately, under the dominion of the English, records the no less powerful arguments used by the friar to excite their animosity : — " And more t'augment the flame, and rancour of their harte, The frier, of his counseils vile, to rebelles doth imparte Affirming that it is an almose deede to God, To make the English subjects taste the Irish rebells' rodde. To spoile, to kill, to burne, this frier's counsell is ; And for the doing of the same, he warrantes heavenlie blisse. He telles a holie tale ; the white he tournes to blacke ; And through the pardons in his male, He workes a knavishe knacke." " Lithgow's Travels," first edition, p. 431. 296 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. The wreckful invasion of a part of the English pale is then described with some spirit ; the burning of houses, driving off cattle, and all pertaining to such predatory inroads, are illus- trated by a rude cut. The defeat of the Irish by a party of English soldiers from the next garrison is then commemo- rated, and in like manner adorned with an engraving, in ■which the friar is exhibited mourning over the slain chieftain ; or, as the rubric expresses it, "The frier then, that treacherous knave; with ough ough-hone lament, To see his cousin Devill's-son to have so foul event." The matter is handled at great length in the text, of which the following verses are more than a sufficient sample : — " Tlie frier seying this, lamentes that lucklesse parte, And curseth to the pitte of hell the death man's sturdie harte Yet for to quight them witli The frier taketh paine, For all the synnes that ere he did remission to obtaine. And therefore serves his booke, the candell and the bell ; But thinke you that such apishe toies bring damned souls from hell ? It 'longs not to my parte infemall things to knovve ; But I beleve till later dale, thei rise not from belowe. Yet hope that friers give to this rebellious rout, If that their souls should chaunce in hell, To bring them quicklie out, Doeth make them lead suclie lives, as neither God nor man, Without revenge for their desartes, permitte or suffer can. Thus friers are the cause, the fountain, and the spring. Of hurleburles in this lande, of eche unhappie thing. APPENDIX. 297 Thei cause them to rebelle against their soveraigne quene, And through rebellion often tymes, their lives doe vanishe clcne. So as by friers meanes, in whom all follie swimnie, The Irishe karne doe often lose the life, with hedde and limme." As the Irish tribes, and those of the Scottish Highlanders, are much more intimately allied by language, manners, dress, and customs than the antiquaries of either country have been willing to admit, I flatter myself I have here produced a strong warrant for the character sketched in the text. The following picture, though of a different kind, serves to estab- lish the existence of ascetic religionists, to a comparatively late period, in the Highlands and Western Isles. There is a great deal of simplicity in the description, for which, as for much similar information, I am obliged to Dr. John Martin, who visited the Hebrides at the suggestion of Sir Robert Sibbald, a Scottish antiquarian of eminence, and early in the eighteenth century published a description of them, which procured him admission into the Royal Society. He died in London about 1719. His work is a strange mixture of learn- ing, observation, and gross credulity. " I remember," says this author, " I have seen an old lay- capuchin here (in the Island of Benbecula), called in their language Brahir-Bocht, that is. Poor Brother ; which is liter- ally true ; for he answers this character, having nothing but what is given him : he holds himself fully satisfied with food and rayment, and lives in as great simplicity as any of his order : his diet is very mean, and he drinks only fair water; ' This curious picture of Ireland was inserted by the author in the republication of Somers' Tracts, vol. i., in which the plates have been also inserted, from the only impressions known to exist, belonging to the copy in the Advocates' Library. See Somers' Tracts, vol. i., pp. 591, 594. 298 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. his habit is no less mortifying than that of his brethren else- where : he wears a short coat, which comes no farther than his middle, with narrow sleeves like a waistcoat : he wears a plad above it, girt about the middle, which reaches to his knee : the plad is fastened on his breast with a wooden pin, his neck bare, and his feet often so too ; he wears a hat for ornament, and the string about it is a bit of a fisher's line, made of horse-hair. This plad he wears instead of a gown worn by those of his order in other countries. I told him he wanted the flaxen girdle that men of his order usually wear : he answered me, that he wore a leathern one, which was the same thing. Upon the matter, if he is spoke to when at meat, he answers again ; which is contrary to the custom of his order. This poor man frequently diverts himself with angling of trouts ; he lies upon straw, and has no bell (as others have) to call him to his devotions, but only his con- science, as he told me." — Martin's Description of the West- ern Highlands, p. 82, Note H. Somids, foo, had come in midnight blast Of charging steeds, careering fast Along BenharroTus shingly side, TVhere mortal horseman ne'er might ride. — P. 114. A PRESAGE of the kind alluded to in the text, is still be- lieved to announce death to the ancient Highland family of M'Lean of Lochbuy. The spirit of an ancestor slain in bat- tle is heard to gallop along a stony bank, and then to ride thrice around the family residence, ringing his fairy bridle, and thus intimating the approaching calamity. How easily the eye as well as the ear may be deceived upon such occa- sions, is evident from the stories of armies in the air, and other spectral phenomena, with which history abounds. Such APPENDIX. 2gg an apparition is said to have been witnessed upon the side of Southfell mountain, between Penrith and Keswick, upon the 23d June, 1744, by two persons, William Lancaster of Blake- hills, and Daniel Stricket his servant, whose attestation to the fact, with a full account of the apparition, dated the 21st July, 1745, is printed in Clarke's "Survey of the Lakes." The apparition consisted of several troops of horse moving in regular order, with a steady rapid motion, making a curved sweep around the fell, and seeming to the spectators to dis- appear over the ridge of the mountain. Many persons wit- nessed this phenomenon, and observed the last, or last but one, of the supposed troop, occasionally leave his rank, and pass at a gallop to the front, when he resumed the same steady pace. This curious appearance, making the necessary allowance for imagination, may be perhaps sufficiently ac- counted for by optical deception. — Survey of the Lakes, p. 25. Supernatural intimations of approaching fate are not, I believe, confined to Highland families. Howel mentions having seen, at a lapidary's, in 1632, a monumental stone, prepared for four persons of the name of Oxenham, before the death of each of whom the inscription stated a white bird to have appeared and fluttered around the bed while the patient was in the last agony {Familiar Letters, edit. 1726, 247.) Glanville mentions one family, the members of which received this solemn sign by music, the sound of which floated from the family residence, and seemed to die in a neighbor- ing wood ; another, that of Captain Wood, of Bampton, to whom the signal was given by knocking. But the most remarkable instance of the kind occurs in the MS. Memoirs of Lady Fanshaw, so exemplary for her conjugal affection. Her husband. Sir Richard, and she, chanced, during their abode in Ireland, to visit a friend, the head of a sept, who resided in his ancient baronial castle, surrounded with a 300 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. moat. At midnight she was awakened by a ghastly and supernatural scream, and, looking out of bed, beheld, by the moonlight, a female face and part of the form, hovering at the window. The distance from the ground, as well as the cir- cumstance of the moat, excluded the possibility that what she beheld was of this world. The face was that of a young and rather handsome woman, but pale ; and the hair, which was reddish, was loose and dishevelled. The dress, which Lady Fanshaw's terror did not prevent her remarking accurately, was that of the ancient Irish. This apparition continued to exhibit itself for some time, and then vanished with two shrieks similar to that which had first excited Lady Fan- shaw's attention. In the morning, with infinite terror, she communicated to her host what she had witnessed, and found him prepared not only to credit but to account for the appari- tion. "A near relation of my famil}'," said he, "expired last night in this castle. We disguised our certain expectation of the event from you, lest it should throw a cloud over the cheerful reception which was due you. Now, before such an event happens in this family and castle, the female spectre whom you have seen always is visible. She is believed to be the spirit of a woman of inferior rank, whom one of my ances- tors degraded himself by marrying and whom afterwards, to expiate the dishonor done his family he caused to be drowned in the castle moat." Note I. The TagJiairm caW d; by which, afar, Our sires forcsa-v the events of zvar. — P. 14S. The Highlanders, like all rude people, had various super- stitious modes of inquiring into futurity. One of the most noted was the Tag/iairm, mentioned in the text. A person was wrapped up in a skin of a newly slain bullock, and APPENDIX. XOl deposited beside a waterfall, or at the bottom of a precipice, or in some other strange, wild, and unusual situation, where the scenery around him suggested nothing but objects of horror. In this situation he revolved in his mind the ques- tion proposed : and whatever was impressed upon him by his exalted imagination, passed for the inspiration of the disem- bodied spirits, who haunt the desolate recesses. In some of these Hebrides, they attribute .the same oracular power to a large black stone by the sea-shore, which they approached with certain solemnities, and considered the iirst fancy which came into their own minds, after they did so, to be the un- doubted dictate of the tutelar deity of the stone, and, as such, to be, if possible, punctually complied with. Martin has recorded the following curious modes of Highland augury, in which the Taghairm, and its effects upon the person who was subjected to it, may serve to illustrate the text. " It was an ordinary thing among the over-curious to con- sult an invisible oracle, concerning the fate of families and battles, etc. This w'as performed three different ways : the first was by a company of men, one of whom, being detached by lot, was afterwards carried to a river, which was the boun- dary between two villages ; four of the company laid hold on him, and, having shut his eyes, they took him by the legs and arms, and then, tossing him to and again, struck his hips with force against the bank. One of them cried out, What is it you have got here ? another answers, A log of birch-wood. The other cries again, Let his invisible friends appear from all quarters, and let them relieve him by giving an answer to our present demands : and in a few minutes after, a number of little creatures came from the sea, who answered the ques- tion, and disappeared suddenly. The man was then set at liberty, and they all returned home, to take their measures according to the prediction of their false prophets ; but the poor deluded fools were abused, for their answer was still 302 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. ambiguous. This was always practised in the night, and may literally be called the works of darkness. " I had an account from the niost intelligent and judicious men in the Isle of Skie, that about sixty-two years ago, the oracle was thus consulted only once, and that was in the parish of Kilmartin, on the east side, by a wicked and mis- chievous race of people, who are now extinguished, both root and branch. " The second way of consulting the oracle was by a party of men, who first retired to solitary places, remote from any house, and there they singled out one of their number, and wrapt him in a big cow's hide, which they folded about him ; his whole body was covered with it, except his head, and so left in this posture all night, until his invisible friends relieved him, by giving a proper answer to the question in hand ; which he received, as he fancied, from several persons that he found about him all that time. His consorts returned to him at the break of day, and then he communicated his news to them ; which often proved fatal to those concerned in such unwarrantable inquiries. "There was a third way of consulting, which was a confir- mation of the second above mentioned. The same company who put the man into the hide, took a live cat, and put him on a spit ; one of the number was employed to turn the spit, and one of his consorts inquired of him, What are you doing ? he answered, I roast this cat, until his friends answer the question ; which must be the same that was proposed by the man shut up in the hide. And afterwards, a very big cat^ comes, attended by a number of lesser cats, desiring to relieve the cat turned upon the spit, and then answers the question. If this answer proved the same that was given to 1 The reader may have met with the story of the " King of the Cats," in Lord Littleton's Letters. It is well known in the Highlands as a nursery tale. APPENDIX. 303 the man in the hide, then it was taken as a confirmation of the other, which, in this case, was beUeved infalhble. *' Mr. Alexander Cooper, present minister of North- Vist, told me that one John Erach, in the Isle of Lewis, assured him it was his fate to have been led by his curiosity with some who consulted this oracle, and that he was a night within the hide, as above mentioned ; during which time he felt and heard such terrible things, that he could not express them ; the impression it made on him was such as could never go off, and he said, for a thousand worlds he would never again be concerned in the like performance, for this had disordered him to a high degree. He confessed it ingen- uously, and with an air of great remorse, and seemed to be penitent under a just sense of so great a crime : he declared this about five years since, and is still living in the Lewis for anything I know." — Description of the Western Isles, p. no. See also Pennant's Scottish Tour, vol. ii., p. 361. Note K. Alice Brand. — P. 159. This little fairy tale is founded upon a very curious Danish ballad, which occurs in the Kcsmpe Viser, a collection of heroic songs, first published in 1591, and reprinted in 1695, in- scribed by Anders Sofrensen, the collector and editor to Sophia, Queen of Denmark. I have been favored with a literal translation of the original, by my learned friend Mr, Robert Jamieson, whose deep knowledge of Scandinavian antiquities will, I hope, one day be displayed in illustration of the history of Scottish Ballad and Song, for which no man possesses more ample materials. The story will remind the readers of the Border Minstrelsy of the tale of Young Tamlane. But this is only a solitary and not very marked instance of coincidence, whereas several of the other ballads 304 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. in the same collection find exact counterparts in the Kcempe Viser. Which may have been the originals, will be a question for future antiquaries. Mr. Jamieson, to secure the power of literal translation, has adopted the old Scottish idiom, which approaches so near to that of the Danish, as almost to give word for word, as well as line for line, and indeed in many verses the orthography alone is altered. As Wester Haf, mentioned in the first stanzas of the ballad, means the West Sea, in opposition to the Baltic, or East Sea, Mr. Jamieson inclines to be of opinion, that the scene of the disenchant- ment is laid in one of the Orkney or Hebride Islands. To each verse in the original is added a burden, having a kind of meaning of its own, but not applicable, at least not uni- formly applicable, to the sense of the stanza to which it is subjoined ; this is very common, both in Danish and Scottish song. THE ELFIN GRAY. TRANSLATED FROM THE DANISH K^MPE VISER, PAGE I43, AND FIRST PUBLISHED IN I59I. Der liggcr en void i Vester Haf, Dcr agtcr en bonde at byggl : Hand f'orer did haadl hog og htind, Og agter der om vinteren at liggi- (De vilde diur og diurene udi skorven.) There liggs a wold in Wester Haf, There a husbande means to bigg, And thitlier he carries baith hawk and hound, There meaning the winter to hgg. ( T/te wild deer and daes i' the shaw out.) He taks wi' him baith hound and cock, Tlie langer he means to stay, The wild deer in the shaws that are, May sairly rue the day. ( The wild deer, etc.) APPENDIX. 305 III. He's hevv'd the beech, and he's fell'd the aik, Sae has he the poplar gray ; And grim in mood was the grewsome elf, That be sae bald he maj'. He hew'd him kipples, he hew'd him bawks, Wi' mickle moil and haste ; Syne speer'd the Elf i' the knock that bade " VVha's hacking here sae fast ? " Syne up and spak the weiest Elf, Crean'd as an immert sma : " It's here is come a Christian man ; — I'll fley him or he ga." It's up syne started the firsten Elf, And glowr'd about sae grim : " It's well awa to the husbande's house, And hald a court on him. " Here hews he down bai h skiigg and shaw, And works us skaith and scorn : His huswife he sail gie to me; — They's rue the day they were born ! The Elfen a' i' the knock that were, Gaed dancing in a string : They nighed near the husband's house; Sae lang their tails did hing. The hound he yowls i' the yard, The herd toots in his horn ; 3o6 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. The earn scraighs, and the cock craws, As tlie husbande has gi'en him his corn.' X. The Elfen were five score and siven, Sai laidly and sae grim ; And they the husband's guests maun be, To eat and drink wi' him. The husbande, out o' Villenshaw At his winnock the Elves can see : " Help me, now, Jesu, Mary's son ; Thir Elves they mint at me! " XII. In every nook a cross he coost, In his chaJmer maist ava ; The Elfai a' were fley'd thereat, And flew to the wild-wood shaw. XIII. And some flew east, and some flew west, And some to the norwart flew ; And some they flew to the deep dale down, There still they are I trow.* XIV. If was then the weist Elf, In at tlie door braids he ; Agast was the husbande, for that Elf For cross nor sign wad flee. Tliis singular quatrain stands thus in the original : — " Hunden hand gior i gaarden ; Hiorden tude i sit horn ; CErnen skriger, og hanen galer, Som bonden hafde gifvet sit kom. In the Danish : — " Somme floye oster, og somme floye vester, Noglfe floye nor paa , Noglfe floyfe ned i dybenfe dale, J eg trouer de ere der endnu." APPENDIX. 307 XV. The huswife she was a canny wife, She set the Elf at the board ; She set before him baith ale and meat Wi' mony a weel-waled word. XVI. " Hear thou, Gudeman o' Villenshaw, What now I say to thee ; Wha bade thee bigg within our bounds, Without the leave o' me .■' " But, an thou in our bounds will bigg. And bide as well as may be. Then thou thy dearest huswife maun To me for a lemman gie." XVIII. Up spak the luckless husbande tlien, As God the grace him gae . "Eline she is to me sae dear. Her thou may nae-gate hae." XIX. Till the Elf he answered as he couth : " Lat but my huswife be, And take whate'er, o' gude or gear Is mine, awa wi' thee." XX. " Thine I'll thy Eline tak and thee, Aneath my feet to tread ; And hide thy goud and white monie Aneath my dwelling stead." XXI. The husbande and his househald a' In sary rede they join : " Far better that she be now forfaim, Nor that we a' should tyne." 308 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. Up, will of rede, the husbande stood, Wi' heart fu' sad and sair ; And he has gien his huswife Eline Wi' the young Elfe to fai'e. Then blyth grew he, and sprang about He took her in his arm ; The rud it left her comely cheek ; Her heart was clem'd wi' harm. XXIV. A waefu' woman then she was ane, And the moody tears loot fa' ; God rew on me, unseely wife, How hard a weird I fa ! XXV. " My fay I plight to the fairest wight That man on mold mat see ; — Maun I now mall wi' a laidly El, His light lemman to be ! " XXVI. He minted ance — he minted twice, Wae wax'd her heart that syth : Syne the laidliest fiend he grew that e'er To mortal ee did kyth. XXVII. When he the thirden time can mint To Mary's son she pray'd, And the laidly Elf was clean awa, And a fair knight in his stead. XXVIII. This fell under a linden green, That again his shape he found; O wae and care was the word nae mair, A' were sae glad that stound. XXIX. " O dearest Eline, hear thou this, And thou my wife sail be, APPENDIX. 309 And a' the goud in merry England Sae freely I'll gi'e thee I XXX. " Whan I was but a little wee bairn, My niither died me fra ; My stepmither sent me awa fra her ; I turn'd till an Elfin Gray. XXXI. " To thy husbande I a gift will gie, \Vi' mickle state and gear, As mends for Eline his huswife; — Thou's be my heartis dear." — " Thou nobil knyght, we thank now God That has freed us frae skaith ; Sae wed thou thee a maiden free, And joy attend ye baith ! XXXIII. " Sin I to thee nae maik can be My dochter may be thine ; And thy gud will right to fulfill, Lat this be our propine." — XXXIV. " I thank thee, Eline, thou wise woman ; My praise thy worth sail ha'e ; And thy love gin I fail to win, Thou here at hame sail stay." XXXV. The husbande biggit now on his 6e, And nane ane wrought him wrang; His dochter wore crown in Engeland, And happy lived and lang. XXXVI. Now Eline, the husbande's huswife has Cour'd a' her grief and harms She's mither to a noble queen That sleeps in a kingis arms. 310 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. GLOSSARY TO "THE ELFIN GRAY." STANZA I. Wold, a wood ; woody fastness. Husbande, from the Danish hos, with, and boiide, a villain, or bondsman, who was a cultivator of the ground, and could not quit the estate to which he was attached, without the permis- sion of his lord. This is the sense of the word in the old Scottish records. In the Scottish " Burghe Laws," translated from the Reg. Majest. (Auchinleck MS. in the Adv. Lib.), it is used indiscriminately with the Danish and Swedish boiide. Bigg, build. Ligg, lie. Daes, does. STANZA II. Shaw, wood. Sairly., sorely. STANZA in. Aik, oak. Greu'some, terrible. Bald, bold. STANZA IV. Kipples (couples), beams joined at the top, for supporting a roof, in building. Bawks, balks ; cross beams. Moil, laborious industry. Speer'd, asked. Knock, hillock. STANZA V. Weicst, smallest. Crean'd, shrunk, diminished ; from the Gaelic, crian, very small. Iminert, emmet ; ant. Christian, used in the Danish ballads, etc., in contradistinction to demoniac, as it is in England in contradistinc- tion to bruio; in which sense, a per- son of the lower class in England, would call a Jew or a Turk, a Chris- tian. Fley, frighten. STANZA VI. Glotvr'd, stared. Hald, hold. STANZ.*. VII. Skttgg, shade. Skaith, harm. STANZA VIII. Nighed, approached. STANZA IX. Yowls, howls. Toots. — In the Danish ttide is applied both to the howlmg of a dog, and the sound of a horn. Scraiche, screams. STANZA X. Laidly, loathly ; disgustingly ugly. Grim, fierce. STANZA XI. Winnock, window. Mint, aim at. STANZA XII. Coost, cast. Chahner, chamber. Maist, most. Ava, of all. STANZA XIII. Norwart, northward. Trow, believe. STANZA XIV. Braids, strides quickly forward. Wad, would. STANZA XV. Canny, adroit. Many, many. Wcel-waled, well chosen. APPENDIX. 311 STANZA XVII. An, if. Bide, abide. Lemman, mistress. STANZA XVIII. Nac-gatc, nowise, STANZA XIX. Couth, could, knew how to. Lat be, let alone. glides, goods ; property. STANZA XX. Aneath, beneath. Dwalling-stead, dwelling-place. STANZA XXI. Sary, sorrowful. Rede, counsel ; consultation. Forfairn, forlorn ; lost, gone. Tyne (verb neuter), be lost ; perish. STANZA XXII. Will of rede, bewildered in thought ; in the Danish original, " vildraadage ; " Lat •' iuo/s cojtsilii ; " Gr. airopov. This expression is left among the desiderata in the Glossary to Rit- son's Romances, and has never -been explained. It is obsolete in the Dan- ish as well as in English. Fare, go. STANZA XXIII. Rud, red of the cheek. ClejiCd, in the Danish, klemt (which, in the north of England, is still in use, as the word starved is with us); brought to a dj-ing state. It is used by our old comedians. Harm, grief; as in the original, and in the old Teutonic, English, and Scot- tish poetry. STANZA XXIV. Waefu, woful. Moody, strongly and wilfully passionate. Rew, tak2 ruth ; pity. Unseely, unhappy ; unblest. Weird, fate. Fai\s,\. Dan. and Swed.) take; get; acquire; procure; have for my lot. This Gothic verb answers, in its direct and secondary significations, exactly to the Latin capio ; and Allan Ramsay was right in his definition of it. It is quite a different word from fa\ an abbreviation of fall, or befall ; and is the principal root in fengan, to fang, take, or lay hold of- STANZA XXV- Fay, faith- Mold, mould ; eartlu Mat, mote ; might. Mauu, must Meli, mix. El, an elf. This term in the Welsh, signifies what has i>t itself the fower of motion ; a moving principle ; an iJitelligence ; a spirit ; an angel. In the Hebrew it bears the same import STANZA XXVI. Minted, attempted ; meant ; showed a mind, or intention to. The origiiial is : — " Hande mindte hende forst — eg an- den gang ; — Hun giordis i hiortet sa vee: End blef liand den lediste deifvel Mand kuude med oyen see. Der hand vilde minde den tredie gang," etc. Syth, tide; time. Kyth, appear. STANZA XXVIII. Stoiind, hour ; time ; moment STANZA XXIX. Merry (old Teutonic mere), famous ; renowned; answering in its etymo- logical meaning, exactly to the Latin Mactus. Hence merry-men, as the 312 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. address of a chief to his followers ; meaning, not men of mirth, but of renown. The term is found in its original sense in the Gaelic 7>iara, and the Welsh mawr, great ; and in the oldest Teutonic Romances, iiiar, mer, and mere, have sometimes the same signification. STANZA XXXI. Mends, amends ; recompense. STANZA XXXIII. Maik, match ; peer ; equal. Prophie, pledge ; gift. STANZA XXXV. Oe, an island of the second magnitude ; an island of the first magnitude being called a land, and one of the third magnitude a holm. STANZA XXXVI. Cour'd, recovered. « THE GHAIST'S WARNING. TRANSLATED FROM THE DANISH K^EMPE VISE!?, PAGE 721. [By the permission of Mr. Jamieson, this ballad is added from the same curious collection. It contains some passages of great pathos.] Svend Dyring hand rider sig op under oe, ( Vare jeg selver ting) Der fcesth hand sig saa ven en inoi. (Mig lyster udi liinden at ridi,) etc. Child Dyring has ridden him up under oe,' (And O gin I ivere young .') There wedded he him sae fair - a may. (/' the greenwood it lists me to ride.) Thegither they lived for seven lang year, i^And O, etc.) And they seven bairns hae gotten in fere. {I' the greenwood, etc.) ' " Under oe. — The original expression has been preserved here and elsewhere, because no other could be found to supply its place. There is just as much mean- ing in it in the translation as in the original ; but it is a standard Danish ballad phrase ; and as such, it is hoped, will be allowed to pass. - " Fair." — The Danish and Swedish ven, van, or vennc, and the Gaelic idn, in the oblique cases ihdn (^vdn), is the origin of the Scottish bonny, which has so much puzzled all the etymologists. APPENDIX. 313 Sae Death's come there intill that stead, And that winsome lily flower is dead. That swain he has ridden him up under oe, And syne he has married anither may. He's married a may, and he's fessen her hame ; But she was a grim and laidly dame. When into the castell court drave she, The seven bairns stood wi' the tear in their ee. The bairns they stood wi' dule and doubt ; — She up wi' her foot, and she kicked them out. Nor ale nor meed to the bairnies she gave : " But hunger and hate frae me ye's have." She took frae them the bowster blae, And said, " Ye sail ligg i' the bare strae! " She took frae them the groff wax-light : Says, " Now ye sail ligg i' the mirk a' night ! " 'Twas lang i' the night, and the bairnies grat ; Their mither she under the mools heard that ; That heard the wife under the eard that lay ; " For sooth maun I to my bairnies gae ! " That wife can stand up*at our Lord's knee, And " May I gang and my bairnies see ! '' She prigged sae sair, and she prigged sae lang That he at the last ga'e her leave to gang. " And thou sail come back when the cock does craw : For thou nae langer sail bide awa." 314 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. Wi' her banes sae stark a bowt she gae : She's riven baith wa' and marble gray." ' When near to the dwalling she can gang, The dogs they wow'd till the lift it rang. When she came till the castell yett, Her eldest dochter stood thereat. " Why stand ye here, dear dochter mine ? How are sma brithers and sisters thine? " — " For sooth ye're a woman baith fair and fine But ye are na dear mither of mine." — " Och ! how should I be fine or fair ? My cheek it is pale, and the ground's my lair. • " My mither was white, wi' cheek sae red ; But thou art wan, and liker ane dead." — " Och ! how should I be white and red, Sae lang as I've been cauld and dead ? " When she cam till the chalmer in. Down the bairns' cheeks the tears did rin. She buskit the tane, and she briish'd it there She kem'd and plaited the tither's hair. The thirden she doodl'd upon her knee, And the fourthen she dichted sae cannilie. ' The original of this and the following stanza is very fine: — " Hun skod op sine modigfe been, Der revenede muur og graa marniorsteen. Der hun gik igenmem den by, Dc hiindi de tttdh saa hojt i sky." APPENDIX. 315 She's ta'en the fifthen upon her lap, And sweetly suckled it at her pap. Till her eldest dochter syne said she, « Ye bid Child Dyring come here to me." When he cam till the chalmer in, Wi' angry mood she said to him : « I left you routh o' ale and bread ; My bairnies quail for hunger and need. " I left ahmd me braw bowsters blae ; My bairnies are liggmg i' the bare strae. " I left ye sae mony a groff wax-light ; My bairnies ligg i' the mirk a' nicht. " Gin aft I come back to visit thee, Wae, dowy, and weary thy luck shall be." Up spak little Kirstin in bed that lay : " To thy bairnies I'll do the best I may." Aye when they heard the dog nirr and bell, Sae ga'e they the bairnies bread and ale. Aye when the dog did wow, in haste They cross'd and sain'd themselves frae the ghaist. Aye whan the little dog yowl'd, with fear {And O gin I were young') They shook at the thought that the dead was near. /' the greenwood it lists me to ride.) or, {Fair words sae rnony a heart they cheer.) 3i6 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. GLOSSARY TO "THE GHAIST'S WARNING." May, maid. Lists, pleases. Stead, place. Bairns, children. In fere, together. Winsome, engaging; giving joy (old Teutonic.) Syne, then. Fessen, fetched, brought. Drave, drove. Ditle, sorrow. Dout, fear. Bowster, bolster ; cushion ; bed. Blae, blue. Strae, straw. Groff, great : large in girt. Mark, mirk ; dark. Lang V the night, late. Grat, wept. Mools, mould ; eartn. Eard, earth. Gae, go. Prigged, entreated earnestly and per- severingly. Gattg, go. Crarv, crow. Banes, bones. Stark, strong. Bowt, bolt ; elastic spring, like that of a l>olt, or arrow from a bow. Riven, split asunder Wa\ wall. IVow'd, howled. Lift, sky ; firmament ; air. Vett, gate. Sina, small. Lire, complexion. Cald, cold. Ti//, to. Hin, run. Buskit, dressed. Kon'd, combed. Tither, the other. Routh, plenty. Quail, are quelled ; die. Need, want. Ahind, behind. Braw, brave ; fine. Dowy, sorrowful. Nirr, snarl. Bell, bark. Sained, blessed: literally, signed with the sign of the cross. Before the introduction of Christianity, Runes were used in saining, as a spell against the power of enchantment and evil genii. Ghaist, ghost. APPENDIX. 317 Note L. Why sounds yon stroke on beech and oak. Our moonlight circle's screen / Or -who comes here to chase the deer. Beloved of our Elfin ^ueen ? — P. 162. It has been already observed, that fairies, if not positively malevolent, are capricious, and easily offended. They are, like other proprietors of forests, peculiarly jealous of their rights of veri and venison, as appears from the cause of of- fence taken, in the original Danish ballad. This jealousy was also an attribute of the northern Duergar, or dwarfs ; to many of whose distinctions the fairies seem to have succeeded, if, indeed, they are qot the same class of beings. In the huge metrical record of German Chivalry, entitled the Helden- Buch, Sir Hildebrand, and the other heroes of whom it treats, are engaged in one of their most desperate adventures, from a rash violation of the rose-garden of an Elfin, or Dwarf King. There are yet traces of a belief in this worst and most mali- cious order of Fairies among the border wilds. Dr. Leyden has introduced such a dwarf into his ballad entitled the Cout of Keeldar, and has not forgotten his characteristic detesta- tion of the chase. " The third blast that young Keeldar blew, Still stood the limber fern, And a wee man, of swarthy hue, Upstarted by a cairn. His russet weeds were brown as heath That clothes the upland fell ; And the hair of his head was frizzly red As the purple heather-bell. \~ 318 T//E LADY OF THE LAKE. "An urchin, dad in prickles red, Clung cow'ring to his arm ; The hounds they howl'd, and backward fled, As struck by fairy charm. « < Why rises high the stag-hound's cry, Where stag-hound ne'er should be ? "Why wakes that horn the silent morn Without tlie leave of me ? ' — ' Brown dwarf, that o'er the moorland strays. Thy name to Keeldar tell ! ' — * The Brown Man of the Muirs, who stays Beneath the heather-bell. " ' 'Tis sweet beneath the heather-bell To live in autumn brown ; And sweet to hear the lav'rock's swell, Far, far from tower and town. " ' But woe betide the shrilling horn. The chase's surly cheer ! And ever that hunter is forlorn. Whom first at morn I hear.' " The poetical picture here given of the Duergar corresponds exactly with the following Northumbrian legend, with which I was lately favored by my learned and kind friend, Mr. Surtees of Mainsforth, who has bestowed indefatigable labor upon the antiquities of the English Border counties. The subject is in itself so curious, that the length of the note will, I hope, be pardoned. " I have only one record to offer of the appearance of our Northumbrian Duergar. My narratrix is Elizabeth Cock- burn, an old wife of Offerton, in this county, whose credit, in a case of this kind, will not, I hope, be much impeached, when I add, that she is, by her dull neighbors, supposed to be occasionally insane, but, by herself, to be at those times en- dowed with a faculty of seeing visions, and spectral appear- ances, which shun the common ken. APPENDIX. 319 " In the year before the great rebellion, two young men from Newcastle were sporting on the high moors above Elsdon, and after pursuing their game several hours, sat down to dine in a green glen near one of the mountain streams. After their repast, the younger lad ran to the brook for wa- ter, and after stooping to drink, was surprised, on lifting his head again, by the appearance of a brown dwarf, who stood on a crag covered with brackens, across the burn. This ex- traordinary personage did not appear to be above half the stature of a common man, but was uncommonly stout and broad-built, having the appearance of vast strength. His dress was entirely brown, the color of the brackens, and his head covered with frizzled red hair. His countenance was expressive of the most savage ferocity, and his eyes glared like a bull. It seems he addressed the young man first, threatening him with his vengeance for having trespassed on his demesnes, and asking him if he knew in whose presence he stood .'' The youth replied, that he now supposed him to be the lord of the moors ; that he offended through igno- rance ; and offered to bring him the game he had killed. The dwarf was a little mollified by this submission, but remarked, that nothing could be more offensive to him than such an offer, as he considered the wild animals as his subjects, and never failed to avenge their destruction. He condescended further to inform him, that he was, like himself, mortal, though of years far exceeding the lot of common humanity ; and (what I should not have had an idea of) that he hoped for salvation. He never, he added, fed on anything that had life, but lived in the summer on whortleberries, and in winter on nuts and apples, of which he had great store in the woods. Finally, he invited his new acquaintance to accompany him home, and partake his hospitality ; an offer which the youth was on the point of accepting, and was just going to spring across the brook (which if he had done, says Elizabeth, the 320 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. dwarf would certainly have torn him in pieces), when his foot was arrested by the voice of his companion, who thought he had tarried long ; and on looking round again, ' the wee brown man was fled.' The story adds, that he was impru- dent enough to slight the admonition, and to sport over the moors on his way homewards : but soon after his return he fell into a lingering disorder, and died within the year." Note M, And gaily shines the Fairy-land — But all is glistoiiiig show. — P. 165. No fact respecting Fairy-land seems to be better ascer- tained than the fantastic and illusory nature of its apparent pleasure and splendor. It has been already noticed in the former quotations from Dr. Grahame's entertaining volume, and may be confirmed by the following Highland tradition : " A woman, whose new-born child had been convej^ed by them into their secret abodes, was also carried thither herself, to remain, however, only until she could suckle her infant. She, one day, during this period, observed the Shi'ichs busily employed in mixing various ingredients in a boiling caldron ; and, as soon the composition was prepared, she remarked that they all carefully anointed their eyes with it, laying the remainder aside for future use. In a moinent when they were all absent, she also attempted to anoint her eyes with the precious drug, but had time to apply it to one eye only, when the Daoiiie Shi' returned. But with that eye she was henceforth enabled to see everything as it really passed in their secret abodes : she saw every object, not as she hitherto had done, in deceptive splendor and elegance, but in its gen- uine colors and form. The gaudy ornaments of the apart- ment were reduced to the walls of a gloomy cavern. Soon APPENDIX. 321 after, having discharged her ofifice, she was dismissed to her own home. Still, however, she retained the faculty of seeing, with her medicated eye, everything that was done, anywhere in her presence, by the deceptive art of the order. One day, amidst a throng of people, she chanced to observe the Shi'ich, or man of peace, in whose possession she had left her child ; though to every other eye invisible. Prompted by maternal affection, she inadvertently accosted him, and began to inquire after the welfare of her child. The man of peace, astonished at being thus recognised by one of mortal race, demanded how she had been enabled to discover him. Awed by the terrible frown of his countenance she acknowl- edged what she had done. He spat in her eye, and extin- guished it forever." — Graham's Sketches., p. 116-118. It is very remarkable, that this story, translated by Dr. Grahame from popular Gaelic tradition, is to be found in the "Otia Imperialia " of Gervase of Tilbury.^ A work of great inter- ' This story is still current in the moors of Staffordshii e, and adapted by the peasantry to their own meridian. I have repeatedly heard it told, exactly as here, by rustics who could not read. My last authority was a nailer near Cheadle. — R. Jamieson. One other legend, in a similar strain, lately communicated by a very intelligent young lady, is given, principally because it furnishes an opportunity of pursuing an ingenious idea suggested by Mr. Scott, in one of his learned notes to the Lady of the Lake : — " A young man roaming one day through the forest, observed a number of per- sons all dressed in green, issuing from one of those round eminences which are commonly accounted fairy hills. Each of them in succession called upon a person by name, to fetch his horse. A caparisoned steed instantly appeared ; they all mounted, and sallied forth into the regions of air. The young man, like Ali Baba in the Arabian Nights, ventured to pronounce the same name, and called for his horse. The steed immediately appeared; he mounted, and was soon joined to the fairy choir. He remained with them for a year, going about with them to fairs and weddings, and feasting, though unseen by mortal eyes, on the victuals that were exhibited on those occasions. They had one day, gone to a wedding, where the cheer was abundant. During the feast, the bridegroom sneezed. The young man, according to the usual custom, said, ' God bless you ! " The fairies were offended at the pronunciation of the sacred name, and assured him, that if he dared to re- 322 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. est might be compiled upon the origin of popular fiction, and the transmission of similar tales from age to age, and from country to country. The mythology of one period would then appear to pass into the romance of the next centurj', and that into the nursery-tale of the subsequent ages. Such an investigation, while it went greatly to diminish our ideas of the richness of human invention, would also show, that these fictions, however wild and childish, possess such charms for the populace, as enable them to penetrate into countries unconnected by manners and language, and having no appa- rent intercourse, to afford the means of transmission. It would carry me far beyond my bounds, to produce instances of this community of fable, among nations who never bor- rowed from each other anything intrinsically worth learning. Indeed, the wide diffusion of popular fictions may be com- pared to the facility with which straws and feathers are dispersed abroad by the wind, while valuable metals cannot be transported without trouble and labor. There lives, I be- lieve, only one gentleman, whose unlimited acquaintance with this subject might enable him to do it justice ; I mean my friend Mr. Francis Douce, of the British Museum, whose usual kindness will, I hope, pardon my mentioning his name, while on a subject so closely connected with his extensive and curious researches. peat it, they would punish him. The bridegroom sneezed a second time. He repeated his blessing; they threatened more tremendous vengeance. He sneezed a third time ; he blessed hmi as before. The fairies were enraged ; they tumbled him from a precipice ; but he found himself unhurt, and was restored to the society of mortals. — Dr. Grahame's Sketches, second edition, pp. 255-7. See Note, " Fairy Superstitions," Rob Roy, N. Edit. APPENDIX. 323 Note N, Sce^ here, all vantagclcss I stand, Arm'd, like thyself, -mitk s///nlc brand, — P. 204. The duellists of former times did not always stand upon those punctilios respecting equality of arms, which are now judged essential to fair combat. It is true that, in formal combat in the lists, the parties were, by the judges of the field, put as nearly as possible in the same circumstances. But in private duel it was often otherwise. In that desperate combat which was fought between Quelus, a minion of Henry III. of France, and Antraguet, with two seconds on each side, from which only two persons escaped alive, Quelus com- plained that his antagonist had over him the advantage of a poniard which he used in parrying, while his left hand, which he was forced to employ for the same purpose, was cruelly mangled. When he charged Antraguet with this odds, "Thou hast done wrong," answered he, " to forget thy dagger at home. We are here to fight, and not to settle punctilios of arms." In a similar duel, however, a younger brother of the house of Aubanye, in Angoulesme, behaved more generously on the like occasion, and at once threw away his dagger when his enemy challenged it as an undue advantage. But at this time hardly anything can be conceived more horribly brutal and savage than the mode in which private quarrels were conducted in France. Those who were most jealous of the point of honor, and acquired the title of Ruffines, did not scruple to take every advantage of strength, numbers, sur- prise, and arms, to accomplish their revenge. The Sieur de Brantome, to whose discourse on duels I am obliged for these particulars, gives the following account of the death and principles of his friend, the Baron de Vitaux : — 324 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. " J'ay oui center a un Tireur d'armes, qui apprit a Millaud a en tirer, lequel s'apelloit Seigneur le Jacques Ferron, de la ville d'x\st, qui avoit este a moy, il fut despuis tue' a Saincte- Basille en Gascogne, lors que Monsieur du Mayne I'assiegea, lui servant d'Ingenieur ; et de malheur, je I'avois addresse audit Baron quelques trois mois auparavant, pour I'exercer a tirer, bien qu'il en s9eust prou ; mais il ne'en fit compte ; et le laissant Millaud s'en servit, et le rendit fort adroit. Ce Seigneur Jacques done me raconta, qu'il s'estoit monte sur un noyer, assez loing, pour en voir le combat, et qu'il ne vist ja- mais homme y aller plus bravement, ny plus resolument, ny de grace plus asseuree ny de'terminee. 11 commenga de marcher de cinquante pas vers son enemy, relevant souvent ses mous- taches en haut d'une main ; et estant a vingt pas de son ennemy, (non plustost,) il mit la main a I'espe'e quil tenoit en la main, non qu'il I'eust tiree encore ; mais en marchant, il fit voller le fourreau en I'air, en le secouant, ce qui est le beau de cela, et qui monstroit bien un grace de combat bien asseuree et froide, et nullement temeraire, comme il y en a qui tirent leurs espees de cinq cents pas de I'ennemy, voire de mille, comme j'en ay veu aucuns. Ainsi mourut ce brave Baron, le parogon de France, qu' on nommoit tel, k bien venger, ses querelles, par grandes et de'termine'es resolutions. II n'estoit pas seulement estimd en France, mais en Italic, Espaigne, Allemaigne, en Boulogne et Angleterre ; et desiro- ient fort les Estrangers, venant en France, le voir ; car je I'ay veu, tant sa renommee voUoit. II estoit fort petit de corps, mais fort grand de courage. Ses ennemis disoient qu'il ne tuoit pas bien ses gens, que par advantages et supercheries. Certes, je tiens de grands capitaines, et mesme d'ltaliens, qui ont estez d'autres fois les premiers vengeurs du mond, in ogni modo, disoient-ils, qui ont tenu cette maxime, qu'une super- cherie ne se devoit payer que par semblable monnoye, et n'y alloit point Ik de deshonneur." — Oeuvrcs de Brantome, Paris, APPENDIX. 325 1787-8. Tome viii. p. 90-92. It may be necessary to inform the reader, that this jDaragon of France was the most foul assassin of his time, and had committed many desperate murders, chiefly by the assistance of his hired banditti ; from which it may be conceived how Httle the point of honor of. the period deserved its name. I have chosen to give my heroes, who are indeed of an earlier period, a stronger tinc- ture of the spirit of chivalry. Note O. The burghers hold their sports to-day. — P. 217. Every burgh of Scotland of the least note, but more espec- ially the considerable towns, had their solemn //czy, or festival, when feats of archery were exhibited, and prizes distributed to those who excelled in wrestling, hurling the bar, and the other gymnastic exercises of the period. Stirling, a usual place of royal residence, was not likely to be deficient in pomp upon such occasions, especially since James V. was very partial to them. His ready participation in these popu- lar amusements was one cause of his acquiring the title of King of the Commons, or Rex Plebeiorum, as Lesley has latinized it. The usual prize to the best shooter was a silver arrow. Such a one is preserved at Selkirk and at Peebles. At Dumfries, a silver gun was substituted, and the contention transferred to fire-arms. The ceremony, as there per- formed, is the subject of an excellent Scottish poem, by Mr. John Mayne, entitled the Silver Gun, 1808, which sur- passes the efforts of Fergusson, and comes near to those of Burns. Of James's attachment to archery, Pitscottie, the faithful, though rude recorder of the manners of that period, has given us evidence : — 326 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. " In this year there came an embassador out of England, named Lord William Howard, with a bishop with him, with many other gentlemen, to the number of threescore horse, which were all able men and waled [picked] men for all kinds of games and pastimes, shooting, louping, running, wrestlin-g, and casting of the stone, but they were well 'sayed [essayed or tried) ere they passed out of Scotland, and that by their own provocation ; but ever they tint : till at last, the Queen of Scotland, the king's mother, 'favoured the English-men, be- cause she was the King of England's sister ; and therefore she took an enterprise of archery upon the English-men's hands, contrary her son the Hng, and any six in Scotland that he would wale, either gentlemen or yeomen, that the English- men should shoot against them, either at pricks, revers, or buts, as the Scots pleased. " The king, hearing this of his mother, was content, and gart her pawn a hundred crowns, and a tun of wine, upon the English-men's hands ; and he incontinent laid down as much for the Scottish-men. The field and ground was chosen in St. Andrews, and three landed men and three yeomen chosen to shoot against the English-men, — to wit, David Wemys of that ilk, David Arnot of that ilk, and Mr. John Wedderburn, vicar of Dundee ; the yeomen, John Thomson, in Leith, Steven Taburner, with a piper, called Alexander Bailie ; they shot very near, and warred [worsted] the English-men of the er>- terprise, and wan the hundred crowns and the tun of wine, which made the king very merry that his men wan the vic- tory." APPENDIX. 327 Note P. These dretv not for their fields the sivord, Like tenants of a feudal lord. Nor oivnd the patriarchal claim. Of Chieftain in their leader s name : Adz'enturers they P. 237. The Scottish armies consisted chiefly of the nobility and barons, with their vassals, who held lands under them, for military service by themselves and their tenants. The patri- archal influence exercised by the heads of clans in the High- lands and Borders was of a different nature, and sometimes at variance with feudal principles. It flowed from the Patria fotestas, exercised by the chieftain as representing the origi- nal father of the whole name, and was often obeyed in con- tradiction to the feudal superior. James V. seerhs to have first introduced, in addition to the militia furnished from these sources, the service of a small number of mercenaries, who formed a body-guard, called the Foot-Band. The sati- rical poet. Sir David Lindsay (or the person whe wrote the prologue to his play of the " Three Estaites,") has introduced Finlay of the Foot-Band, who, after much swaggering upon the stage, is at length put to flight by the Fool, who terri- fies him by means of a sheep's scull upon a pole. I have rather chosen to give them the harsh features of the merce- nary soldiers of the period, than of this Scottish Thraso. These partook of the character of the Adventurous Compan- ions of Froissart or the Condottieri of Italy. 0-ne of the best and liveliest traits of such manners is the last will of a leader, called Geffroy Tete Noir, who having been slightly wounded in a skirmish, his intemperance brought on a mortal disease. When he found himself dying, he sum- . 328 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. moned to his bedside the adventurers whom he commanded, and thus addressed them : — " Fayre sirs, quod Geffray, I knowe well ye have alwayes served and honoured me as men ought to serve their sove- raygne and capitayne, and I shall be the gladder if ye wyll to have to your capitayne one that is descended of my agre blode. Beholde here Aleyne Roux, my cosyn, and Peter his brother, who are men of amies and of my blode. I require you to make Aleyne your capitayne, and to swere to hym faythe, obeysaunce, love, and loyalte, here in my presence, and also to his brother : howe be it, I wyll that Aleyne have the soverayne charge. Sir, quod they, we are well content, for ye hauve ryght well chosen. There all the companyons made them breke no poynt of that ye have ordayned and commaunded." — Lord Berners' Froissart. Note Q. And Sttotvdouti's Knight is Scotland's King. — P. 269. This discovery will probably remind the reader of the beautiful Arabian tale of // Bondocani. Yet the incident is not borrowed from that elegant story, but from Scottish tra- dition. James V. of whom we are treating, was a monarch whose good and benevolent intentions often rendered his romantic freaks venial, if not respectable, since, from his anxious attention to the interests of the lower and most op- pressed class of his subjects, he was, as we have seen, popu- larly termed the King of the Commons. For the purpose of seeing that justice was regularly administered, and frequently from the less justifiable motive of gallantry, he used to trav- erse the vicinage of his several palaces in various disguises. The two excellent comic songs, entitled "The Gaberlunzie Man," and "We'll gae nae mair a roving," are said to have APPENDIX. 329 been founded upon the success of his amorous adventures when travelUng in the disguise of a beggar. The Latter is perhaps the best comic ballad in any language. Another adventure, which had nearly cost James his life, is said to have taken place at the village of Cramond, near Ed- inburgh, where he had rendered his addresses acceptable to a pretty girl of the lower rank. Four or five persons, whether relations or lovers of his mistress is uncertain, beset the dis- tinguished monarch as he returned from his rendezvous. Naturally gallant, and an admirable master of his weapon, the king took post on the high and narrow bridge over the Almond river, and defended himself bravely with his sword. A peasant, who was threshing in a neighboring barn, came out upon the noise, and whether moved by compassion or by nat- ural gallantry, took the weaker side, and laid about with flail so effectually, as to disperse the assailants, well threshed, even according to the letter. He then conducted the king into his barn, where his guest requested a basin and a towel, to remove the stains of the broil. This being procured with difificulty James employed himself in learning what was the summit of his deliverer's earthly wishes, and found that they were bounded by the desire of possessing, in property, the farm of Braehead, upon which he labored as a bondsman. The lands chanced to belong to the crown ; and James directed him to come to the palace of Holyrood, and enquire for the Guidman (/. e. farmer) of Ballengiech, a name by which he was known in his excursions, and which answered to the II Bondocani of Haroun Alraschid. He presented himself accordingly, and found, with due astonishment, that he had saved his monarch's life, and that he was to be gratified w'ith a crown-charter of the lands of Braehead, under the service of presenting a ewer, basin, and towel, for the king to wash his hands, when he shall happen to pass the bridge of Cramond. This person was ancestor of the Howiesons of Braehead in Mid-Lothian, 330 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. a respectable family, who continue to hold the lands (now passed into the female line) under the same tenure.^ Another of James's frolics is thus narrated by Mr. Camp- bell from the Statistical Account : " Being once benighted when out a-hunting, and separated from his attendants, he happened to enter a cottage in the midst of a moor, at the foot of the Ochil hills, near Alloa, where, unknown, he was kindly received. In order to regale their unexpected guest, the gudcman (/. c. landlord, farmer) desired the gudcwife to fetch the hen that roosted nearest the cock, which is always the plumpest, for the stranger's supper. The king, highly pleased with his night's lodging and hospitable entertainment, told mine host, at parting, that he should be glad to return his civility, and requested that the first time he came to Stir- ling he would call at the castle, and enquire for the Gudeman of Balknguich. Donaldson, the landlord, did not fail to call on the Gudeman of Balknguich, when his astonishment at finding that the king had been his guest afforded no small amusement to the merry monarch and his courtiers ; and, to carry on the pleasantry, he was thenceforth designated by James with the title of King of the Moors, which name and designation have descended from father to son ever since, and they have continued in possession of the identical spot, the property of Mr. Erskine of Mar, till very lately, when this gentleman, with reluctance, turned out the descendant and representative of the King of the Moors, on account of his majesty's invincible indolence, and great dislike to reform or innovation of any kind, although, from the spirited example ^ [The reader will find this story told at greater length, and with the addition in particular of the king being recognized, like the Fitz-James of the Lady of the Lake, by being the only person covered, in the First Series of Tales of a Grand- father, vol. iii., p. 37. The heir of Braehead discharged his duty at the ban- quet given to King George IV. in the Parliament House at Edinburgh, in 1822. —Ed.] APPENDIX. of his neighbor tenants on the same estate, he is convinced similar exertion would promote his advantage." The author requests permission yet farther to verify the subject of his poem, by an extract from the genealogical work of Buchanan of Auchmar, upon Scottish surnames : — " This John Buchanan of Auchmar and Arnpryor was afterwards termed King of Kippen,^ upon the following account : King James V., a very sociable, debonair prince, residing at Stirling, in Buchanan of Arnpryor's time, carriers were very frequently passing along the common road, being near Arnpryor's house, with necessaries for the use of the king's family ; and he, having some extraordinary occasion, ordered one of these carriers to leave his load at his house, and he would pay him for it ; which the carrier refused to do, telling him he was the king's carrier, and his load for his ma- jesty's use ; to which Arnpryor seemed to have small regard, compelling the carrier, in the end, to leave his load ; telling him, if King James was King of Scotland, he was King of Kippen, so that it was reasonable he should share with his neighbor king in some of these loads, so frequently carried that road. The carrier representing this usage, and telling the story, as Arnpryor spoke it, to some of the king's servants, it came at length to his majesty's ears, who, shortly there- after, with a few attendants, came to visit his neighbor king, who was in the mean time at dinner. King James having sent a servant to demand access, was denied the same by a tall fellow with a battleaxe, who stood porter at the gate, telling, there could be no access till dinner was over. This answer not satisfying the king, he sent to demand access a second time ; upon which he was desired by the porter to de- sist, otherwise he would find cause to repent his rudeness. His majesty finding this method would not do, desired the ' A small district of Perthshire. 332 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. porter to tell his master that the Goodman of Ballageigh de- sired to speak with the King of Kippen. The porter telling Arnpryor so much, he, in all humble manner, came and re- ceived the king, and having entertained him with much sumptousness and jollity, became so agreeable to King James that he allowed him to take so much of any provision he found carrying that road as he had occasion for; and seeing he made the first visit, desired Arnpryor in a few days to return him a second to Stirling, which he performed, and continued in very much favour with the king, always thereafter being termed King of Kippen while he lived." — Buchanaxn's Essay upon the Family of Buchanan. Edin. 1775, 8vo, p. 74. The readers of Ariosto must give credit for the amiable features with which he is represented, since he is generally considered as the prototype of Zerbino, the most interesting hero of the Orlando Furioso. \ THE ONLY COMPLETE LINE OF POETS PUBLISHED IN THIS COUNTRY: CROWELL'S RED LINE POETS. 50 Volumes. 12mo. Per Volume, $1.25. Gilt Edges, Red Line Bordeks, Illustrated, and Elegantly Bound ill new and beautil'ul designs. We add tliis year to tlie series the following volumes, viz.: — Aurora Leigh, George Eliot, Lady of the Lake, Virgil, KoBEBT Browning, Otber volumes in preparation. The New Designs for the covers are especially attractive, and in keeping with the superior quality of paper, pressivork, and binding, which combine to make this series so justly popular with the trade and the general public, whose demands during the past year have severely taxed our ability to supply promptly. We would call special attention to our new AMEJIICAJ^ THEE CALF BINDINGS, which will prove an attractive feature, and are offered at very low rates. The following now comprise the list: — ♦GOLDSMfTH. *Hemans. Herbert, Hood. *Iliad. *Jean Ingelow. Keats. *Lady of the Lake. *Lucile. Macaulay. »Owen Meredith. *]MlLTON. *MOORE. ♦Odyssey. OSSIAN. Pilgrim's Progress. *PoETRY OF Flowers. ♦Aurora Leigh. *J\lRS. Browning. *Kobert Browning. ♦Burns. ♦BVRON. Campbell. Chaucer. ♦Coleridge. ♦Eliza Cook. Cowper. Crabbe. ♦Dante. Drvden'. ♦George Eliot. ♦Favorite Poems. ♦Goethe's Faust. ♦Goethe's Poems. ♦Edgar A. Poe. ♦Pope. ♦Procter. Sacred Poems. ♦Schiller. ♦Scott. ♦Shakespeare. ♦Shelley. Spenser. ♦Tennyson. Thomson. TuppER's Philosophy. ♦Virgil. KiRKE White. ♦Wordsworth, The above are also furnished with Plain Edges, not Illustrated, at $1.00 per volume. Those marked with an asterisk (♦) furnished in American Tree Calf, at 84.00 per volume. For Sale by all Booksellers. Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., 13 Astor Place, N. Y. STANDARD AND MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS. The Cambridge Book of Poetry and Song. Selected from En.£rlish and American Authors, by Charlotte F. Bates, compiler of " The Lonirfellow Birthday Book," " Seven Voices of Sympathy," etc. Illiisti-ated by tlie best artists. Coutainintj many selections found in no other compilation. Carefully indexed and a most at- tractive and valuable Book of Reference. Royal 8vo. Cloth, frilt .... $7^.00 I Full morocco . . $10.00 Half morocco . . . 7.50 [ Tree calf •. . . . 12.00 Surf and Wave. A Collection of Poems and Ballads of the Sea. Compiled by Anna L. Ward. Finely Illustrated. 12mo. . . 2.00 Gilt edge " 2.50 A Dictionary of Poetical Quotations, Based upon that of Henry G. Bohn. Revised, Corrected, and Enlarged by the aildition of over 1200 Quotations. Crown 8vo. Bevelled boards . . . 2.50 Interleaved edition . . 3.50 Foster's Cyclopaedias of Illustrations. Containing,' over 16,000 Quotations from Prose and Poetic Literature, on all Subjects which come within the ranj^^e of Christian Teaching. Prose Illustrations, Vols. I. and II.; Poetical Illustrations, Vols. I. and II. Price in Cloth, $.5.00; in Sheep, $6.00 per volume. Conybeare & Howson's Life of St. Paul. 12mo. Illustrated edition .... $1.50 | Popular edition . . . 1.00 Muller's Life of Trust. 12mo 1.50 Fleetwood's Life of Christ. 12mo 1.50 Smith's Bible Dictionary. 8vo 2.00 Anna Sliipton's Works. Ten vols. 16mo. Cloth . . . 7.50 Paper 2.50 Charles Lamb's Works. Three vols. 12rao. .... 3.75 Disraeli's Works. Six vols. 12mo 7.50 Hallam's Works. Six vols. 12mo 7.50 Milman's Works. Eight vols. 12mo 12.00 Dickens' Works. Fifteen vols. 12mo 18.75 Thackeray's Works. Eleven vols. 12mo 13.75 Waverly Novels. Twelve vols. 12mo ...... 15.00 Hume's England. Three vols. 12mo . . . . . 4.50 Shakespeare. 8vo. 73 Illustrations. Plain edge .... 3.00 Gilt edge .... 3.50 | Sheep 3.50 Goethe's Works. People's edition. Five vols. 12mo. . . . 7.50 Cambridge edition. Ten vols. 8vo. Gilt top 15.00 Flowers of the Field and Forest. With Fourteen Colored Plates of Wild Flowers, from Originals, by Isaac Sprague. Quarto. Elegantly bound 6.00 Beautiful Wild Flo^vers of America. Fourteen Superbly Col- ored Plates, from original Water-Color Drawings after Nature, by Isaac Sprague. Quarto. Gilt ". 6.00 Beautiful Ferns. Containing Fourteen Superbly Colored Plates of our American Ferns. Quarto. Gilt 6.00 History of Architecture in all Countries. By James Fer- GUSSON. lloyal 8vo. Two vols. Per vol 14.00 JUVENILE PUBLICATIONS. By Jacob Abbott, "The Prixce of Writers for the Youxg." American Histories for Youth. Eight volumes. 12mo. . .$10.00 The Kollo Books. Fourteen volumes. 16mo 14.00 The Jonas Books. Six volumes. 16mo 6.00 The Ijuey Books. Six volumes. 16mo G.OO The author of the Kollo Books is well known wherever the Eng- lish language is spoken, and his books have become standard classics in the domain of children's literature. It is a part of every child's education to become familiar with them. BY D. C. Eddy, D.D. Walter's Tour in the East. Six volumes. 12mo .... 7.50 Kip Van Winkle in Asia and Africa. Full}' Illustrated. Quarto. Boards 1.75 " Cloth 2.25 Rip Van Winkle in Europe. Fully Illustrated. Quarto. Boards 1.75 Cloth 2.25 By Mary Abbott Rand. Homespun Yarns for Christmas Stockings. Illustrated. Quarto. Boards 1.25 Holly and Mistletoe. Illustiatcd. Quarto. Boards . . . 1.25 By Laurie Loring. Snowflakes from Santa's Land. lUusti-atcd. Quarto. Boards . 1.25 Sparkles for Bright-Eyes. Illustrated. Quarto. Boards . . 1.25 By Miss Parthene B. Chamberlain. What About Fred. 12mo 1.25 Chosen Vessels. 12mo 1.25 A Rare Piece of Work. 16mo 1.00 Mistress of the House. 16mo 1.00 Miss Chamberlain is one of the best authoi-s of juvenile litera- • txire of the present day. She has one motive in all her works, which is steadily kept ia view, viz. , to benejt as well as please her readers. By William M. Thayer. The Poor Boy and the 3Ierchant Prince; or, The Life of Amos Lawrence. 16mo $L00 The Good Girl and the True Woman ; or, Tue Life of JNIary Lyon. 16mo 1.00 Nelson ; or, How a Country Boy Made his Way in the City. Being Incidents in the Life of a Successful Merchant of Boston. lOnio 1.25 Mr. Thayer has written many books for juvenile readers, and all his works are stimulating and helpful to young people who desire to succeed in life. Christmas Plum-Pudding Stories. A charming collection of stories by popular writers. Illustrated. Qua: to . . . . L50 Off to the Wilds. By Geo. Manville Fenn. A Story of Hunt- ing Adventures in South Africa. A favorite book with" the bovs. Sq. 8vo. Fully Illustrated ' . I.75 The 3Iutiny on Board the Leander. By Bernard TIeldmann. A Story of Strange Adventures in the Southern Pacific. Sq. Svo. 2-1: Illustrations 1.75 Martin the Skipper. By James F. Cobb, author of" The Watch- ers on the Longships," etc. A Tale for Boys and Seafaring Folk. r2mo 1.50 The Watchers on the Ijongships. By James F. Cobb. A Story of Thrilling Interest, -founded on fact, illustrating JNIoral Heroism and i-aithfulness to Duty. 12mo 1.50 A Home in the Hol.v Land. By Mrs. Finn. An excellent and faithful Description of Home Life in the Holy Land at the Present Day. 12mo 1.50 Dora's Boy. By Mrs. Ellen Ross. A well-written and entertain- ing Story for Boys, illustrating the Practical Beauty of True Chris- tianity. r2mo 1.2.5 The Farmer Boy; or, How he Became Commander-in-Chief. The Life of George Washington. By Uncle Juvenal. 16mo . 1.00 A Year at Poplar Row. By March Ellinwood. A noble ideal of Christian Girlhood and Young Womanhood. 16mo . . . 1.00 Almost too Late. By Mrs. H. B. Paul. 16rao .... 1.00 Knowing and Doing. By Mrs. H. B. Paul. lOmo . . . 1.00 Two companion books illustrating the graces of overcoming evil with good, industry, patience in trials, etc. Three Judges. By Israel P. Warren. l6mo .... 1.25 A capitallv told true storv of the three judges of the court which beheaded Charles I. in the times of thc'Euirlish Revolution, 1040- 1659. Introduction by Rev. Leonard Bacon, D.D. Chauncey Judd. By Israel P. Warren. 16rao 1.25 .\ story of the .\merican Revolution. Though a true story it is told in such a way as to have more than the interest of fiction. Patriotism and religion are inculcated.