,f' 
 
 ^. 
 
 ^iS^
 
 wmmK3 
 
 e.'.^ 
 
 Cpc 
 
 
 L IB R.ARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 or ILLINOIS 
 
 C9/S 
 
 r.l 
 
 »P«
 
 The person charging this material is re- 
 sponsible for its return to the library from 
 which it was withdrawn on or before the 
 Latest Date stamped below. 
 
 Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons 
 for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from 
 the University. 
 To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
 
 L161— O-1096
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 J. B. NICHOLS, 25, Pj^RLIAMENT STREET. 
 
 .vSt-S.Vtw.^Kttfi'fj^-^.. A««e« -- f "•" ' "'j1 1. iwKBiiiiV ."'••' "^'^
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT, 
 
 A ROMANCE, 
 
 BY 
 
 ALLAN CUNNINGHAM. 
 
 Ill these far climes, it was my lot 
 To meet the wondrous Michael Scott ; 
 
 A wizard of such dreaded fame, 
 That when, in Salamanca's cave 
 Him listed his magic wand to wave, 
 
 The bells would ring in Notre Dame ! 
 
 SIR WALTER SCOTT. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUISIES. 
 VOL. L 
 
 LONDON : 
 HENRY COLBURN, NEW BURLINGTON-STREFT. 
 
 1828.
 
 Cf/S 
 
 /7, 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 i 
 
 ^ It is, I confess, with some diffidence and fear 
 that I dismiss this Romance from my hands. To 
 >j» present to my countrymen an image of the poetic 
 fv behefs of their ancestors ; lo gather from history, 
 tale, and tradition, the torn and scattered members 
 of popular superstition, and seek to unite them 
 into one consistent narrative, may be considered by 
 some a presumptuous undertaking or an idle 
 labour ; while others may think that beliefs so 
 strange, and superstitions so wild, were worthy 
 only of the darkness to which growing knowledge 
 was consigning them. I hope to find readers 
 more mild, and critics more indulgent ; who will 
 think that whatever illustrates the character of our 
 ancestors, or seeks to preserve beliefs which were 
 once common, and fears and feelings formerly po- 
 pular, deserves to escape from censure, if not to 
 receive praise. In this spirit Shakspeare conceived
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 two of his Romantic Dramas, and Milton thought 
 when he sung, 
 
 'Tis not vain or fabulous, 
 Though so esteemed by shallow ignorance, 
 What the sage poets taught by the heavenly muse. 
 Storied of old in high romantic verse. 
 Of dire chimeras and enchanted isles, 
 And rifted rocks whose entrance leads to hell. 
 For such there be ; but unbelief is blind. 
 
 To those acquainted with our early romances, 
 our historical legends, and our traditionary stories, 
 I need not explain how I have used my wild and 
 many-coloured materials. They will recognise, I 
 hope, in every chapter, some portion of old beliefs 
 common to our early literature, and some of the 
 poetic superstitions still current, if not accredited, 
 amongst our peasantry. From materials which 
 belong to our native island, I have endeavoured to 
 create my work. 
 
 That evil spirits trouble the earth, that good 
 spirits protect it, and that families and persons are 
 under their influence, is a belief consistent with 
 human nature ; and, what is more to the purpose, 
 current amongst mankind. That Fairies lived
 
 PREFACE. VU 
 
 among our pastoral hills, that Brownies frequented 
 our hearths, that Witches wrought their spells, 
 that the dead came from the grave to admonish 
 or alarm the living, that Mermaids haunted our 
 bays and isles, and that Spirits appeared as Satan 
 did of old among the children of men, are beliefs 
 yet current in our country, and not likely to die 
 with an imaginative people dwelling on wild hills 
 and in lonely vallies. It is true that the commu- 
 nity of a city either feel the influence of such things 
 in a very mild degree, or reject them altogether. 
 A citizen has not been nursed where such beliefs 
 are common, and where tales and songs containing 
 them make part of a fire-side education. As he 
 walks at night he keeps no look out, like Burns 
 the poet, in suspicious places ; there are no haunted 
 glens in his paths, he has no apprehension of a 
 Spirit, and but little of Satan himself. He doubts 
 all, and believes in nothing but rude watchmen and 
 dexterous pickpockets. 
 
 The Michael Scott of our legends was a great 
 Magician, who, like the Faustus of German Ro- 
 mance, was personally acquainted with the Spirit
 
 VIU PREFACE, 
 
 of Evil, bat, unlike him, he had the power or the 
 good fortune to vanquish the adversary, and over- 
 come and reduce to servitude all the lesser powers of 
 darkness. Like Merlin too, of old, his knowledge 
 was employed in humbling the powers of evil and 
 of blood, and in doing deeds of kindness to man- 
 kind. It is a traditionary belief, that James the 
 Fourth escaped from Flodden-field, wandered over 
 the earth, seeking by repentance and acts of 
 gentleness and holiness, to deserve forgiveness of 
 heaven, and that he died after having seen the 
 future importance and glory of our Island re^ 
 vealed in a vision. Were I to quote our histo- 
 rians in support of this belief, I am afraid many 
 would think their evidence added little to the 
 weight of traditionary testimony. With this ex- 
 planation I submit to the Public the following vo- 
 lumes. There is one great Master Spirit in our 
 land, who could have done the Magician, his 
 namesake, justice; but like the Prophet in Egypt, 
 he withheld his inspired rod, and allowed a com- 
 mon wand to attempt the enchantment. 
 
 Allan Cunningham.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 But as they left the dark'ning heath. 
 More desperate grew the strife of deatk. 
 The English shafts in vallies hall'd, 
 In headlong charge their horse assall'd ; 
 Front, flank, and rear, the squadrons sweep. 
 To break the Scottish circle deep. 
 
 Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 The sun was sinking in the west, when a 
 Stranger seated himself on the summit of one of 
 the Cheviot hills, and looked anxiously on the land 
 below. The apple was red and ripening on the 
 tree, the nuts were brown in their husks, the row- 
 ans' bitter bunch hung glossy amidst the green 
 bough; the wild plums grew in black and powder}' 
 clusters; the sweet green junipers were in flill 
 flavour ; the nest of the wild bee was filled with 
 
 VOL. I. B 
 
 -1
 
 2 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 honey; and hill, wood, and dale, showed that sum- 
 mer had fulfilled all the purposes for which nature 
 had given it light and warmth. He saw, too, the 
 sickle in the hands of the reapers moving beneath 
 the ears of yellow corn, the husbandman rubbing 
 the heads in his hand, and looking if the grain was 
 round and ripe ; and he heard a song which gave 
 an image of the season, from the lips of two maid- 
 ens, who bore out food to the harvest field. The 
 green hills presented a similar picture of pastoral 
 abundance. The sunward sides were white over 
 with flocks, shepherds walked among them, think- 
 ing on the romantic rivulet bank where the folds 
 stood, and where they could see the maidens at 
 bughting time ; from the cheese presses was taken 
 the well-formed and well-pressed curd, and the 
 master of the household weighed the fleece which 
 his flock had yielded, and calculated the growing 
 wealth of his possessions. Away on the Stranger's 
 left rolled the wide and restless sea, with all its 
 winding outline of coast ; and on his right many 
 a feudal castle displayed its banner, while the arms 
 of the warders gleamed bright in the descending 
 sun. 
 
 The Stranger gazed awhile on the varied scene, 
 and said, "Alas ! green isle, had a brazen wall be- 
 girt thee, it would not have shut out slaughter. 
 The south oppresses the north, and the north re-
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 3 
 
 sists in bitterness and blood. Never will my native 
 isle have happiness, till one trumpet warns its peo- 
 ple to war, till they sing to the sound of the same 
 pipe, till they bow to the breath of the same law, 
 till they eat at the same table, and drink of the 
 same cup. Then shall her united strength make 
 the nations be just, then shall her ships cover the 
 ocean, and she shall be empress of the deep." He 
 uttered this in the calm and confident tone of one 
 who gives judgment rather than expresses a wish, 
 or hazards an opinion. He still continued to look 
 at the scene before him. 
 
 Upon this quiet and happy land, war, even as 
 he looked, was let loose. The hills above and the 
 dales below were suddenly filled with armed men. 
 The ridges of the uplands were bristled with spears, 
 and gleamed bright with swords; and so close 
 and compactly were they placed, that the feather 
 which dropt from the wood pigeon's wing, as it 
 flew, startled away, could fall nowhere but on a 
 warhorse, a basnet, or a shield. The army which 
 occupied the vale below seemed conducted with 
 great prudence, and led by one wise and skilful in 
 the art of war. Their pointed spears gleamed as 
 they moved onward, their swords, drawn from the 
 sheaths, shone sharp and broad, their quivers of 
 arrows rattled as they came, and their burnished 
 helmets and polished mail, touched by the hori- 
 b2
 
 4 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 zontal light of the sun, made the vale glow like a 
 sea of agitated fire. The armies seemed well 
 matched in numbers, enthusiasm, and discipline. 
 Though they were in truth one people, and though 
 a small stream divided their lands, their hostility 
 was fierce, and they spared neither their noblest 
 nor their bravest, when the trumpet was blown,, 
 and the national banner displayed. They were 
 now about to increase the stream with blood, 
 which ran clear and dimpling in the sun between 
 them. 
 
 The Stranger, who witnessed the marching of 
 the two armies, seemed a man of middle age, well 
 knit, and formed for feats of activity and strength. 
 His hair, long and black, descended in masses upon 
 his shoulders, and his look was so calm, his face 
 so pale, and he sat so still and motionless, that he 
 seemed a statue rather than a man. He wore a 
 close dress of gray woollen cloth ; a mantle of the 
 same colour was fastened with a silver clasp over 
 his bosom, and a bonnet with a feather from the 
 wing of the heron lay on the grass at his side. At 
 a narrow belt hung a small ivory horn, and a short 
 spear with a head of polished steel, and a shaft of 
 root-grown ash was in his right hand. 
 
 A trumpet blew in the vale, it was answered 
 from the hill, and the armies rushed together just 
 as the sun was touching with its edge the summits
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 5 
 
 of the hills. From the low grounds there flew 
 a close and incessant shower of arrows, so sharp 
 and so strongly drawn, that no armour could resist 
 their descent, while a slow and inconstant dis- 
 charge from cannon and culverin showed that the 
 art of destruction by gunpowder was yet in its in- 
 fancy. Against this missile war, swords were drawn 
 and spears were levelled, and the strife for awhile 
 was fierce and desperate. To one acquainted with 
 the warlike nature of the nations of the earth, and 
 their modes of attack and resistance, this contest 
 presented an image of England and Scotland 
 deeply emblazoned with the characters of the two 
 countries. There came Scotland, impatient and 
 ireful, from the declivity of the hill, her thistled 
 banner spread to the wind, her tartans rustling 
 with her rapid steps, her long sharp lance in her 
 hand, and a mingled prayer to God and Saint An- 
 drew on her lips : and there stood England on 
 the vale below, her yew bow in her left hand, with 
 wMch she thrice conquered France and all her chi- 
 valry, the feathered shaft drawn close to her right 
 ear, and her practised and patient eye measuring 
 the distance, and marking the deadly place where 
 her arrow should enter. 
 
 The eye of the Stranger knew every pennon that 
 was spread, and the name of every knight who 
 urged his steed to the contest. "Yonder," he said,
 
 b SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 "glitters the royal banner of Scotland, and be- 
 neath it fights James Stuart, with half the noble 
 youths of his realm. The Douglas, the Lindsay, 
 the Herries, the Home, and the Gordon ; I see 
 them, and I know them all. And there moves the 
 banner of England, with the valour and the wis- 
 dom of the Howards, the fire of the Stanleys, and 
 the daring of the Bulmers and the Beaumonts to 
 guide and guard it. Alas for Scotland ! when 
 England shoots her cloth-yard shafts, and charges 
 with all her chivalry." 
 
 As he uttered this the two banners approached 
 each other, and many a gallant man was stricken to 
 the earth ; many a warrior was unhorsed ; there 
 was many a prisoner taken, and many a rescue 
 made. On one part the arrows descended in a 
 close and glittering shower, and on the other the 
 barbed warhorses and their armed riders poured to 
 the attack like a torrent of gleaming steel. The 
 stranger rose, shaded the sun from his eyes with his 
 hand, and looked intently on the contest. The 
 English pressed eagerly forward; their best and 
 bravest warriors were there, and the hope of taking 
 the King, and conquering the royal standard, ani- 
 mated and urged them to the attack. This, how- 
 ever, seemed no easy task. Against the lines of 
 Scottish spears the southern chivalry spurred their 
 horses, and struck with their bills in vain ; through
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 7 
 
 many a gallant bosom the lance was stricken, and 
 many a saddled and bridled horse ran masteries^ 
 over the liills. 
 
 But from the ranks of Scotland the English ar- 
 rows singled out noble after noble, and leader after 
 leader, and scarce a man of note was left to guard 
 the royal banner, save a single knight whose en- 
 thusiasm and bravery inspired all around him. He 
 was sheathed completely in mail, his helmet was 
 without a plume, his visor down, and without a cog- 
 nizance. But the extraordinary courage and skill 
 with which he fought, and the deeds which he did, 
 drew many a gallant soldier to his side, and actions 
 were performed by common hands which were 
 worthy of heroes. The fortune of the day was too 
 well decided to be thus retrieved. The royal banner 
 was beaten to the ground, and soiled with mire and 
 blood ; and the knight who defended it was borne 
 to the earth sore wounded with an arrow, and 
 many a good soldier beside him. 
 
 The sun had been for some time set, the stars 
 were bright, the harvest moon was nigh the full, 
 and had just shewed her light above the Cheviot 
 hills, when a thick darkness fell at once from the 
 sky, and a man could not see his hand as he held 
 it before him to grope out his way. The English 
 retired from the attack, and left the Scottish stand-
 
 8 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 ard on the ground, and the knight swooned in his 
 blood beside it. 
 
 The Stranger hastened down Cheviot side, passed 
 the English archers as they stood in their ranks 
 with their right hands dropt from the half-drawn 
 strings, and went fearless and unchallenged through 
 the cavalry of Cheshire, as the riders returned, 
 cursing the thick darkness which prevented them 
 from seizing the standard and taking the King. 
 
 " It is ever the way of these wily Scots, " said a 
 veteran from Chester ; " they begin to fight about 
 sunset, that they may run away under the cloud of 
 night when they are sure of being beaten." 
 
 " Aye, " responded a soldier from York, " and 
 they have friends too, man, such as the bowmen 
 of Cheshire, or the billman of the East Riding can- 
 not find when the bugle blows for battle. Did ye 
 ever behold such thick darkness ; ye may grope it, 
 man, ye may cut it with your sword. This is 
 none of nature's deeds, but a magical covering 
 thrown over these crouching Scots by their great 
 magician to secure their retreat. Til wager my 
 steel-pommelled saddle against a Scotchman's straw 
 sonkes, that this infernal cloud would turn a 
 flight of cloth-yard shafts, as effectually as steel 
 mail." " Strike him, strike him with your lance," 
 shouted a soldier, " strike that skulking Scot, on
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 9 
 
 your right hand, else he will steal your gray steed 
 from under you." " Strike whom," replied the 
 soldier, looking eagerly round; " I see only thy 
 foolish self." " Then may the saints soon send me 
 out of this enchanted ground," answered the man 
 of York ; " I saw a man with matted hair, bare- 
 headed and bare-footed, pass between us, even 
 now. There be wizards or fiends on Flodden- 
 edge." 
 
 The Stranger, to whom this speech referred, 
 passed to the gi'ound where the concluding contest 
 had been. He lifted the royal banner and unfurled 
 it to the wind again. He looked on the knight as he 
 lay in his blood, whose prowess for awhile had made 
 the victory doubtful. He stooped silently over 
 him, withdrew the well used sword from his right 
 hand, unbuckled his rich and polished mail, and 
 undid the clasps of his visor. The knight lay 
 motionless; the blood flowed freely from his 
 wounds, and stained anew the grass where he was 
 extended. He took him gently in his arms, prayed 
 over him for a little space, poured a clear liquid 
 from a small phial upon his head, and said, " Arise 
 Sir James, time was, time is, and may soon be no 
 more ; arise, thou hast proved thy fortune." ^Vhen 
 he had done speaking Sir James rose from the 
 ground as freshly and firmly as though he had 
 B 5
 
 10 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 never been wounded. He looked on the dead and 
 dying, and said, " Here warred I to-day amongst 
 the chivahy of Scotland, and warred unhappily. 
 Am I alone left living of all that royal host — ^where 
 is Home, Gordon, Maxwell, and Douglas?'* 
 
 " Fled — captive — slain," was the concise answer 
 of the Stranger, who stood with his arms folded 
 over his bosom, and regarded the living knight 
 and the groups of slaughtered gentlemen and 
 nobles as a husbandman would regard a field of 
 new mown hay. " The Douglas never flies," re- 
 plied Sir James ; " and the Maxwell never yields ; 
 the Gordon is ever victorious ; and who ever saw 
 the sword of Home backwai'd in Scotland's bat- 
 tles ? " " Sir James," said the Stranger, " most 
 truly have you characterised them. The Douglas 
 never flies, and the Maxwell never yields^ — there 
 their bodies lie as they were pierced in defence of 
 their King and the honour of their country. For 
 the Gordon and the Home would you know where 
 they are ? " " Most gladly," answered Sir James, 
 " it must have been a field which valour could not 
 retrieve when those gallant soldiers fled." " Even 
 so," replied the Stranger. 
 
 The thick darkness which till now had covered 
 hill and dale rolled suddenly away in the direction 
 of Scotland, and Sir James looked and saw the 
 unbroken bands of Gordon and Home retir-
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 11 
 
 ina* beneath the liffht of the moon which beamed 
 out on their path without an interposing cloud. 
 " Alas ! " said the knight, " and of all the army are 
 these the sole survivors ! Ah Flodden-field, sor- 
 rowful will thy name be amongst the maidens of 
 the low country — and in many a tale and song will 
 they be honoured who fell here beneath the shafts 
 and swords of the enemies of Scotland." " You 
 mourn not for the King of your country, Sir 
 Knight," said the other ; " know ye not that James 
 Stuart lies trodden as stiff as that bloody turf be- 
 neath the hoofs of Howard's horsemen?" I mourn 
 not for him, peasant," answered Sir James ; " the 
 meanest hind that bled for him was worthier than 
 he. To his base love and his senseless chivalry the 
 blood of his people has been poured idly out ; for 
 had he led his soldiers like a man, and not like a 
 knight-errant, the blood which swells the stream at 
 Twdsel-bridge would have been that of the Howards 
 and their English churls." 
 
 " The blood of the English, Sir Knight," replied 
 the Stranger, " was periled freely, and as freely 
 was it spilt by the lances of the Yarrow, the An- 
 nan, and the Nith. But in Scotland will James 
 Stuart the Fourth never reign more, and were he 
 to be raised from this bloody field, and the breath 
 of heaven poured into his nostrils, how could his 
 proud vain nature meet the looks of his insulted
 
 12 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 nobles ; and how could his tender heart endure to 
 hear mothers weeping, and widows lamenting, and 
 maidens wailing, and asking him for their sons, 
 their husbands, and their lovers?" "You have 
 expressed the monarch's character honestly and 
 truly," said the knight. " You have said that the 
 blood of England was poured freely out. I see 
 none of her sons either living or dead." 
 
 The Stranger turned his face to the south, where 
 the thick cloud of night seemed reaching from 
 heaven to earth, as black as a raven's wing, and as 
 dense as a wall. " Hearest thou nothing. Sir 
 James?" he enquired. The sound of mirth and 
 revelry rose suddenly on all sides. The cloud 
 passed slowly away, the moon sent down her stream 
 of pure and uninterrupted light, and the southward 
 valley was visible for several miles. The knight 
 looked, and there he saw the Chester chivalry 
 heaped horse and man, where they rushed upon 
 the Scottish spears ; their billmen lay like mown 
 grass, and their bowmen rank succeeding rank, 
 where the swords of Gordon and Home had stopt 
 the flight of their shafts for ever. " Well and 
 worthily they bore them," said the knight; "see 
 how soldier-like they lie each with his fatal yew^ 
 tree in his hand, and a shaft half plucked from the 
 quiver." " Look a little farther," said the Stranger. 
 
 Sir James looked, and his colour changed, for
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 13 
 
 he beheld the men of England — their ranks un- 
 broken — their banners floating proudly on the 
 night wind, and their pavilions pitched without 
 either watch or ward. " They are the conquerors," 
 he said, bitterly, " and therefore may dispense with 
 the precautions of men when an enemy is nigh. 
 Oh for one hour of that gallant army on which I 
 looked so proudly at mid-day ! they would lend 
 the vale another sound than that of wassail mirth 
 and victors'-shouts." " Cry your war-cry, and 
 see if it will raise them from their bloody beds," 
 said the Stranger ; " now of a truth may men know 
 you are a Scotchman — thou art Tsdse too late." As 
 he spoke, the shouts of the English increased more 
 and more. 
 
 " Here's to thee. Will Howard," exclaimed a 
 rough, bold voice. " Thou art a puller down of 
 kings." The shout was long in subsiding which 
 followed this toast. " And here's to George Beau- 
 mont," said a Tynedale knight, springing to his 
 feet, " a truer hand ne'er drew a bow, and stouter 
 heart ne'er shot a shaft." The loud welcome with 
 which the toast was received, shewed the love of 
 the soldiers for that gallant name. " And shall 
 we forget Ned Stanley and his Cheshire horse?" 
 shouted a third knight. " The billmen of Howard 
 can give a good stroke, and the archers of Beau- 
 mont can shoot a sharp shaft ; but when the swords
 
 M SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 of Ned Stanley came to the northern bosoms, they 
 fell or fled, and left their noblest behind them." 
 Many a steel helmet was waved in the air, and 
 many a gory sword in honour of the noble name. 
 
 " How like you the sight, Sir James," thus ques- 
 tioned the Stranger, "and how like you the sound?" 
 The knight snatched his sword from the ground, 
 and exclaimed : "I have heard and seen enough. 
 Peasant stand from my path ; for the war-cry of 
 Stanley you shall hear a wail when I enter yon 
 proud tent. My country will never see me more, 
 nor know that I did a knightly deed, and died as 
 a brave man should." The other laid his hand 
 on his arm, and said, mildly, " Death cannot now 
 be found, and thou art not yet worthy to die. A 
 well-fought field for thy country's sake, and the 
 shout of victory in thy ear cannot be thine. Follow 
 me." " And who art thou," demanded Sir James, 
 " that I am thus commanded to do as thou wilt. 
 I follow no churl — who art thou, and what is thy 
 name?" " I am as thou seest, James," was the 
 answer; " let thine eyes judge whether I am a man 
 or no. My name among men is Michael — a wor- 
 thy king added the title of Sir, but I insist not on 
 it, as it has been bestowed often since on the vain 
 and the vile." 
 
 « Sir Michael," said Sir James, " I charge thee 
 by thy knighthood to tell me, am I a prisoner. I
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 15 
 
 fought till I fell through loss of blood, and since 
 then till now I am ignorant of what has hap- 
 pened." " Thou art free from all bonds save those 
 of sm and folly," replied Sir Michael. " In fight 
 I saw thee acquit thyself worthily, and to no man 
 didst thou yield one foot of ground." " Then, " 
 answered Sir James, "My purpose is fixed. I 
 shall go down to these victors, and do one deed of 
 valiantness, and die." 
 
 And he went forward, w^here many a fair face 
 lav cold in the m.oonlight — the sword, the axe, the 
 lance, the bill, and tlie arrow had heaped the field ; 
 and Sir James, who loved a brave man in life, and 
 reverenced him in death, walked slowly along, nor 
 touched a corse with his feet of either friend or 
 enemy. There lay two bodies face to face, their 
 swords had inflicted mutual wounds, and death hail 
 stamped on their looks the fury which in life in- 
 spired them. He glanced at them, and passed on. 
 An ancient warrior sat against a stone, his head 
 had di'opped on his bosom, and his bloody sword 
 was still in his hand. His fiice was rough with the 
 scars of other battles, and though transfixed with 
 a lance, his look was calm and determined. At 
 his feet lay the body of a youth whom he had slain, 
 his golden tresses came curling out from below 
 his helmet, a broken sword lay beside him, and in 
 his bosom was a lock of fair hair, which at sun-rise
 
 16 sift MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 had shone on the neck of his love. Sir James 
 sighed, and passed onward. He came to the place 
 where the barbed war-horses of England had 
 charged the men of Teviot and Yarrow. There 
 lay six hundred young warriors as they dropped in 
 their ranks, and beside them the chivalry of Ches- 
 ter and Durham scattered as thick as forest leaves 
 in November. 
 
 " Ah, my gallant lads of the forest," said Sir 
 James, " had a wise head led your valour, the 
 maidens of Yarrow would have welcomed you back 
 with garlands and songs. There you lie — truer 
 hearts never drew swords, and lonff shall the bor- 
 der bewail the fall of the Flowers of the Forest, 
 and sing how the southern swords have wede 
 them away." He reached now the skirts of the 
 battle field. A wounded soldier had retired from 
 the bloody press to the side of a brooklet, and 
 stooped down to slake his thirst in the stream. But 
 there life failed him — he had dropped forward ; his 
 lips seemed touching the water, and his blood was 
 still mingling with the current. To a far different 
 scene Sir James now directed his looks. Before 
 him was the hasty encampment of the victors, 
 where joy and sorrow were strangely mingled. 
 
 An hundred fires were kindled on the ground, 
 and round each fire sat a group of soldiers, driving 
 on the song and the wine cup, recounting their
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 17 
 
 actions, and praising their own prowess. " Look 
 at this Httle crooked piece of wood," said a Tyne- 
 dale archer, holding up his bow, " thirty-six cloth- 
 yard shafts sang from this loom to day, and Scot- 
 land lost three dozen of her children. Ah, the 
 brown yew-tree and the steel-headed shaft for 
 ever." " A good head-piece and mail-coat regard 
 your arrows no more than the stings of as many 
 wasps," said a billman of Durham ; " such a play- 
 thmg as that may do for quelling the wild Scottish 
 men of the mountains, who have not the sense to 
 wear steel garments. But what would your bird- 
 bolts have done with a head-piece of steel full 
 fifteen pounds weight, which this Httle weapon of 
 mine clove to-day on the head of its owner?" 
 '' And what is either arrow or bill," cried a third, 
 " to be compared to a good sharp lance and a well- 
 bitted horse? Ah, with this little active bit of 
 Ripon steel I have pierced many a shield, and 
 bored many a corslet." And the soldier shook a 
 long gory lance in the moonlight. ** And what is 
 shaft, spear, or bill, compared to a good brown 
 sword, forged in a charcoal fire, and tempered in a 
 wolfs blood," exclaimed a warrior from Westmore- 
 land : "an arrow is a cowardly thing ; a bill is only 
 for the strong and the stupid ; a lance is good, but 
 the horse wins half the honour from the rider. 
 Commend me to a short sharp sword ; it is the thing
 
 XS SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 for a man of soul and science, it is a gentleman's 
 weapon, and only three men in the island know 
 how to handle it. One is Will Howard of Raby ; 
 one is James Stuart of Scotland, and the other, 
 I shall let my friends and my enemies name him, 
 but gaze on that, and guess." And he flourished 
 his sword proudly in the air. 
 
 Apart from these warriors was seated a motley 
 company of soldiers and sutlers, drivers of wag- 
 gons, monks, and women. The wine cup and ale 
 flagon circulated with great celerity, and they 
 talked, sung, prayed, swore, and shouted, forming 
 a kind of compound din, which expressed confu- 
 sion of body and mind, better than any image 
 which invention could supply. " Let the wine cup 
 go round," said a soldier, who balanced himself 
 with difficulty, " it is all the reward a poor fellow 
 gets for knocking the enemies of old England on 
 the head — let it go round, Sir Monk ; stay not the 
 generous liquid with one of your idle prayers." 
 " I was but breathing out the blessing of Saint 
 Wilfred over the good wine," said the monk " in 
 order that it might do its good duty, with a sinful 
 layman, who slays men's bodies and repents not." 
 " A plague on thee, priest," said a soldier, who took 
 his lip from the cup that he might give better vent 
 to his anger, " a plague on thee, priest. Dost thou 
 talk of God to a soldier, whose whole occupation
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 19 
 
 is in cutting throats ? Place me an armed Scot- 
 tishman before your abbey door, and try whether 
 your prayer or my pike will conjure him away 
 soonest." 
 
 " Let the good monk speak, I pray thee, Si- 
 mon," said one of the dames of the camp, " he is 
 a charitable and benevolent man; he feeds the poor 
 at the abbey gate, and cheers the hearts of the 
 soldiers' wives when their husbands are warring on 
 the borders. He is a good man, and loves to see 
 a fair face, and a full cup, and mirth in merry old 
 England." " A fair character, monk," said another 
 of the group ; " hast thou had good luck to day 
 in confessing and forgiving opulent sinners ? Ah ! 
 many a fair piece of gold has the eve of battle cost 
 me ; an acquittance for mortal sin is an expensive 
 item to a scrupulous conscience." The monk was 
 one of those joyous personages who could chaunt 
 profane songs, suig devout hjTuns, tell a wild tale, 
 pray a long prayer, and bandy about the jest 
 and the blow; and this made his company much 
 more welcome than that of a wiser man. 
 
 " Priest," said a soldier, striking the cup from 
 his lip with the staff of his lance, " lay aside that 
 comrade of thine, he will run away with thy wit 
 and thy mirth, and make thee dull and devout. 
 Wilt thou tell me, for I know thou hast warred 
 with the devil in thy day, what hand he has in the
 
 20 81ft MICHAEL SCOTf. 
 
 thick darkness which came over the battle, and now 
 falls over the camp. I am but a lame guesser, Sir 
 Priest, but I think old Michael Scott himself has 
 taken Scotland's part to day." " The monk shook 
 his head, looked as grave, and sat as steady as he 
 could, and said, <' the devil I defy, and Michael 
 Scott I despise, for I carry that about me which 
 confounds alike fiend and wizard. Behold a paring 
 of the hind hoof of the prophet Balaam's ass, after its 
 mouth was opened ; from this incomparable relic all 
 that is not of God flies as darkness flies before the 
 light of morning." And he unrolled it with much 
 care, and a great show of respect, and held it up 
 in the gleam of the bickering fire. " Sir Priest, 
 it wont pass muster; this relic of thine," said 
 a soldier, ^' is apocryphal ; thou livest too near 
 Gaffer Weldon's forge to go far for the paring 
 of a horse's hoof. No ass had ever so large a foot 
 as this has formed a part of" The monk took the 
 relic, looked at it gravely, and said, " O sinful man, 
 seven score stripes shall my bare body endure to 
 night for this. Soldier, thou say est well, it is the 
 paring of a horse's hoof St. George, forgive me 
 for mistaking a relic from the forefoot of thy 
 blessed steed on which thou slewest the dragon, for 
 that of a meaner creature !" The merry faces of 
 the soldiers persuaded the priest that he was be* 
 fore an audience slow to believe in such mysterious
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 21 
 
 things; and, fertile in expedients, he thus sought to 
 cover the retreat of his rehc, and it is but justice 
 to his invention to say, that he succeeded. 
 
 " What I have to say," said the monk, " will 
 drive the mirth from all faces. Once on a time, 
 some three hundred years ago, when Michael Scott 
 the wizard was a holy monk as I am, he had a 
 journey to go, and he took his scrip and his staff, 
 a cruse of water, and some dried peas, the only 
 food which our order eats, but it is eaten thankfully, 
 and we wax as lusty as though we dined on the fat- 
 ness of the land, and drank the richest of the vin- 
 tage. The devil came to Michael by the way, 
 and tempted him, and taunted him, and there was 
 a sore strife between them. But Michael van- 
 quished the enemy, and drove him away, and went 
 on his journey. Now it chanced that Michael 
 waxed weary, and when his feet became sore, 
 he looked, and there stood a beautiful black palfrey 
 ready saddled on the road before him. Now as it 
 pleaseth the saints often to work wonders in aid of 
 their faithful servants, the palfrey seemed to that 
 holy man as a steed sent to comfort him, and he 
 leapt on its back, and pursued his journey. But 
 Michael soon felt and knew that he rode upon the 
 fiend, and by a power which the pious only possess, 
 he disarmed his infernal steed of all strength to do 
 him harm. When he reached his journey's end,
 
 23^ SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 he led him into Fountain's abbey forge, and had 
 four heavy iron shoes clinked upon his feet ; the 
 devil was lame for a year and a day ; the smith that 
 shod him went raving mad, and bequeathed this 
 paring of his hoof to the abbey as a token that 
 holiness had conquered the fiend." And he held 
 up the relic, and then replaced it in his scrip. 
 
 " Bravo, priest, thou shalt have another cup for 
 that, God ! and thou art a good one ! " exclaimed 
 several soldiers, half choking with laughter, and 
 the cup and the flagon moved rapidly round. 
 
 Sir James and his companion saw another 
 group seated beneath some elm-trees. They were 
 a few of the more active and prudent spirits of the 
 army, whose love of blood was tempered by love 
 of gain, and whose valour never got the better of 
 their presence of mind. They could calculate the 
 value of the gold upon a helmet before they struck 
 it with the sword, and see in imagination the riches 
 of a city, in the moment they were storming the 
 walls. By the light of the moon they arranged 
 and apportioned their spoils. All around them lay 
 rich mantles, costly helmets, fine coats of mail, 
 swords with jewelled hilts, and cups of silver and 
 gold ; nor had those spoils been obtained without 
 resistance ; they were wet with blood, and had been 
 recently torn from the baggage and the bodies of 
 the slain. " See !" said Sir Michael, " there they
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 23- 
 
 sit sordidly dividing the bloody relics of battle, — 
 the hawk and the crow will gorge them and be- 
 gone, but these human vultures blood alone can- 
 not appease." 
 
 " Those Scots," said a soldier, who was dividing 
 the booty, " those Scots, to be a poor people, seem 
 to have a very pretty notion of their own in going 
 to war ; they carry all their riches about them, and 
 when they fall beneath the arrow or the sword, a 
 handy fellow finds some good gleanings. Here are 
 some passable trinkets. This sword with the dia- 
 monds in its golden handle ; this garment embroi- 
 dered with thistles of gold, and this little drinking 
 cup and dagger, have belonged to some leader of 
 note and name. Let us offer them up at the shrine 
 of our Ladye at York, so that we may prosper in 
 our wars, and be blest with the sack of some rich 
 city as a reward of our piety." " Nay, nay, Luke," 
 said a fellow soldier, " we cannot afford so rich a 
 bribe to old mother Merciful at York ; she will take 
 the gift and gape for more, and never heed the 
 prayers of a poor soldier, let him pray ever so stoutly 
 for a short skirmish and much booty. Why honest 
 Gib Middyltone was hanged at Durham, though 
 he laid as much red gold on our Ladye's shrine, as 
 would have purchased remission for stealing a relic 
 of the real cross, or Beckett's bloody stone. Old 
 mother Church has a greedy swallow, and we must
 
 24 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 find a cheaper retailer of forgiveness, — a church 
 that wont herry a man's house to give him hopes 
 of heaven." 
 
 " Coome, coome, Rafe," said one of his comrades 
 in a soothing tone, " a truce with thy jibes ; no one 
 cries so lustily as thyself for the aid of the saints 
 when thou comest to perilous knocks, and truly the 
 saints must be tender-hearted to save such a sub- 
 ject as thee, the last to give battle, and the foremost 
 at the spoil! coome, coome, Rafe, be moderate, and 
 let our Ladye have her share." 
 
 " I grudge not the share of our Ladye," answered 
 Ralph, " if she would be considerate ; but there is 
 ne'er a saint in the calendar who would not give 
 such handy servants his protection for a smaller 
 oiFering. But let her have it ; one word more, com- 
 rades, I shall make the offering myself ! " " Thou 
 make the offering ! " exclaimed Luke, " when 
 didst thou grow so honest as to be trusted with 
 the goods of either saint or sinner ? Well ! I wot 
 our Ladye will get little if we confide her share to 
 thee. Nay, nay, there is a holy hermit hard by, 
 who goes on a weekly pilgrimage to her shrine ; we 
 will let him be the bearer, and then we may look 
 for blessings to follow." 
 
 " Bravo, Luke," cried Ralph ; " this holy hermit 
 of thine, is as stark a knave as lives between Scot- 
 land and Scarborough, and no one knows him bet-
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 25 
 
 ter than thyself, seeing he is thy born brother. If 
 there is a house berried in the hundred, the hermit 
 comes in for his share. But hilloa ! sword, robe, 
 cup, and dagger, where are they ? conjured clearly 
 away by the mass. Ralph, didst thou do it by 
 magic or slight of hand ? '* " By slight of hand," 
 exclaimed Ralph, giving his comrade a blow with 
 his fist, that made him stagger ; " but whither are 
 the gifts for our Ladye gone ? I took them from the 
 hands of a dying soldier, who told me they belong- 
 ed to bold King James himself. I saw no one 
 come — I saw no one go, and yet they are vanished 
 like a devil's gift ; moved off as cleanly as if old 
 Michael the magician had done it." " I saw some- 
 thing," said a soldier, with a shudder, " I saw a dark 
 shadow between me and the moon. I have heard 
 old hermit Selby say, that the arms of the King 
 of Scotland were made in fairy-land, by Michael 
 Scott, and that they never would be won in battle, 
 let England fight ever so stoutly." 
 
 The soldiers huddled closely together, overcome 
 with terror, and he who remembered a prayer 
 thought himself happy. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 26 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 It had much of glamour might. 
 Could make a lady seem a knight ; 
 The cobwebs on a dungeon wall. 
 Seem tapestry in lordly hall ; 
 A nut-shell seem a gilded barge, 
 A sheeling seem a palace large. 
 
 Sir Walter Scott, 
 
 Sir Michael stood by the side of Sir James 
 with the robe, the sword, the cup, and the dagger, 
 of the King of Scotland in his hand. The knight 
 looked anxiously upon them, then glanced his 
 eye on the startled soldiers, and said to his com- 
 panion in a low voice, " Give back these bau- 
 bles to those who took them. Why would ye rob 
 the soldier of the spoil he has honourably won ? " 
 " James," answered the other, " you speak as your 
 gross sight informs you ; I act as the mind directs. 
 He who bore these in battle last, bore them not un- 
 wordiily, for he was a brave prince, but he obeyed 
 the dark glances of fair dames; he was a slave 
 to sight which is sensual ; and a lady's smile won 
 more from his hand than the words of gray-headed
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 2T 
 
 wisdom. This sword and dagger, robe and cup, 
 are too pure to be polluted by vulgar hands. 
 They were made for the great Robert Bruce, when 
 he warred for Scotland's freedom ; with diis good 
 blade he dyed the brook of Bannock, and wearing 
 this robe he dispensed righteous judgment and 
 prudent mercy among his people. Judge ye, there- 
 fore, if it be meet that such things should be 
 profaned by common hands. Even out of this act 
 shall I read you a lesson fit for a prince to hear. 
 These spoils would have proved the ruin of these 
 men. Over them, blades would have been bared, 
 and life's blood spilt. I spared these men, to be a 
 scourge to the rich priests and opulent nobles of 
 Uiis haughty land." 
 
 " I know these spoils right well," said Sir James, 
 « and common legends say that the sword was 
 forged in a fairy fire, and the robe wrought in a 
 fairy loom. Such is the tale of our poetic pea- 
 santry. For me, any blade that can cut through a 
 steel casque, or any robe that keeps a soldier from 
 the night dew, is as good as aught forged in vision- 
 ary fires, or woven in imaginary looms." Sir ISIi- 
 chael smiled, and answered, "James, thou wert 
 ever an unbeliever, and with the Kmg didst scorn 
 the spirit which came to warn him from the war ; 
 like him, too, thou didst slight the terrible voice 
 which summoned all the nobles afterwards slain at 
 c 2
 
 28 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 Flodden-edge, to answer at the judgment-seat. 
 Thou wilt cliange thy creed before the green hills 
 of Scotland feel thy feet again. Thou art doomed 
 to a severe pilgrimage." 
 
 " It will be a strange journey," replied the 
 knight, " which can make me believe that this old 
 war-worn robe is of supernatural weft, and this 
 little sharp broad blade is not a piece of good Da- 
 mascus steel. But I am glad I have the good 
 sword once more in my hand. I wish to die as a 
 soldier should. Here is the tent of Surrey, and 
 thus I confront the nobles of England who mocked 
 and scorned in song and jest the romantic valour 
 of James Stuart." With his robe thrown over 
 his left arm, and his sword held before him, he was 
 about to rush into the tent, when a grasp from 
 which there was no escape suddenly fixed him to 
 the place. 
 
 " James," said Michael, sternly, " know that 
 thou hast no longer thy own wild will on earth. I 
 am commissioned to save thy body from the sword, 
 and thy soul from perdition ; and thou must take 
 Counsel of me, and do even as I bid thee. If I 
 leave thee, a bloody corse or in ignominious cap- 
 tivity wilt thou be, ere three strokes are stricken 
 with thy sword. Enter not the tent." Sir James 
 stqjt back and exclaimed, " By what token am I 
 to credit this wild tale of thine ? Show me some-
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 29 
 
 thing by which I may judge if thou deceivest me 
 or no ; thou hast been much my friend hitherto.'* 
 " Look around thee, James," said the other " and 
 tell me what thou seest." " See," said the knight, 
 gazing hastily around, " I see the dead lying un- 
 der the moon on Flodden-edge. Accursed am I 
 for not dying where the Douglas and the Lindsay 
 died. And I see the unfurled flags and glittering 
 tents of the victors before me. I can hear their ri- 
 bald songs, and their haughty vaunts. What else 
 have I to see ? " 
 
 " Thy sight is true," said Sir Michael ; " such is 
 the scene which to thee this fair vale presents. 
 But what doth the English see ? Their gross sight 
 cannot behold what they would give a rich lordship 
 to perceive. They see the dead on Flodden-side ; 
 they see the captives who sit guarded in their 
 tents ; they see the rich spoils they have taken ; 
 but they see not the bold and gallant knight 
 who guarded the royal standard of Scotland, 
 and made such havoc among their golden spurs.'* 
 " By St. Andrew, I believe thou tellest the truth," 
 said Sir James. " Nay, I am as blind as these 
 southerns are, not to have known this before. 
 No sentinel has challenged me ; and here I stand 
 by Surrey's tent, free and skaithless. This art of 
 thine I would willingly learn. Sir Michael ; to be 
 invisible is worth a royal prerogative. To glide
 
 30 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 into the coiirtier*s privacy, when he is whispering 
 secret treason ; to behold the physician spice the 
 poison-cup ; the assassin prove the point of his 
 midnight dagger ; to enter the forbidden chamber 
 where the couch is soft and the fair one frail; 
 these were blessings worthy of a throne." 
 
 *' A most unworthy use, James," exclaimed Mi- 
 chael, "thou wouldst make of that hidden art. 
 But thou art not invisible ; thou art seen but not 
 known. It is not in the lot of ought corporeal, of 
 ought that has of this earth in it, to dissolve into 
 air, and become as a shadow or breath of wind. 
 Man must become dust before he becomes spi- 
 ritual, for the flesh dissolves in the gi'ave, and the 
 spirit ascends into heaven, descends into hell, or 
 wanders about the green earth, bewailing its de- 
 parted joys, and enduring the sight of the sorrows 
 of man as a punishment for its own sins. Thou 
 art therefore still visible. It might mortify thy 
 pride, and read thee a lesson of humility, couldst 
 thou but know what thou seemest in the sight of 
 men." 
 
 " Nay, Michael," said Sir James, " it would do 
 more than that, it would teach me to believe in the 
 spiritual empire of good and evil beings on earth, 
 in which I have but a slender faith even now." 
 " Come then and believe," said Michael ; " see, 
 there is a fountain as pure as one of the mirrors of
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 31 
 
 Holyrood. The moon just now is looking at her 
 own face in its water ; go and behold thyself, and 
 see that thou scarest not the blessed planet which 
 has hitherto ruled thy lot.'' 
 
 The knight ran to the little pool where it lay quiet, 
 and, surrounded by its margin of bright gi^een 
 grass, he looked at his shadow, and started back 
 with affright. He looked all round ; he looked at 
 himself; he ventured forward again, and the shape 
 which he beheld gave him such mortal offence, 
 that he plunged his sword into the water, even to 
 the hilt. A wild scream arose from the pool; a 
 strange agitation shook the water ; he withdrew his 
 sword, and it was with horror he beheld a drop of 
 dark blood hanging at its point. 
 
 " Well and boldly done, thou faithful weapon,'* 
 said Michael, looking on the sword blade. " I 
 knew when I tempered thee in Arabia that nought 
 evil could abide thy dint. And well and boldly 
 done my servant James ; thou art come of a house 
 that never shook at aught; yet thou mightest have 
 trembled at the sight thou sawest." " And I did 
 tremble," said the knight ; " I looked in, and the 
 expanding door of hell could have shewn nought 
 more terrible. I saw the faces of all those I had 
 unrighteously slain. I started back with afli'ight. 
 I found courage to look again, and I saw some- 
 thing like the shadow of myself, but grim, hideous,
 
 32 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 and horrible. The water-phantom glared on me; 
 hell was in its eyes, and a smile on its skinny lips. 
 I knew the form; it had appeared to me on 
 that night I passed froni Holyrood; it was the evil 
 angel who has had power over me, and in the 
 agony of my heart I plmiged my sword in its bo- 
 som. Didst thou hear a low shriek ? and is that 
 blood on the blade ? " 
 
 " James, thou speakest truly," answered Sir 
 Michael, " and thou hast foiled the evil spirit 
 which has ruled thy lot since the slaughter at 
 Saughie-burn. Such pain as a reprobate spirit 
 can feel, thou hast inflicted; and well and wisely 
 hast thou used the good sword, which can pierce 
 aught but the blessed shapes of heaven. Hang the 
 blade by thy side, for it becomes thee to wear it. Sit 
 down, and 1 shall tell thee the story of that good 
 weapon. Sit down ; thou art as safe within touch 
 of the Howards' right hand, as if thou satest on 
 Arthur's seat, with the summer morn shining on 
 Holyrood." 
 
 Sir James seated himself beside a little springlet, 
 which leapt from a crevice in the rock into a stone 
 basin, and shone cold and pure in the light of the 
 moon. " I have been a wanderer from my 
 youth," said Michael, " and gained knowledge as 
 wise men did of old, by travelling amongst the na- 
 tions of the earth, and looking on the ways of men.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 33 
 
 It happened in the wild desert, that as I sat and 
 refreshed myself at a little well amidst a clump of 
 palm and date trees, a beautiful wild steed ap- 
 proached the spring, and in an agony of thirst 
 plunged his head into the fountain. He seemed a 
 noble anunal, as dark as a raven's back, without 
 one white hair save a spot in his forehead, and 
 when he ran in the desert, his mane and tail 
 streamed like flame wavering in the wind. As he 
 drank, I laid my hand on his mane, sprang upon 
 his back,— he gave one loud snort, and away he 
 started. I think I feel him beneath me now. The 
 rnven of the desert croaked, but pursued us not; 
 the hyena uttered a low growl, and started from 
 our path ; and the hermit, whose cavern was be- 
 tween the wilderness and the field of rice, fell on 
 his face, and prayed for my preservation. We came 
 to a vast valley where a battle had been fought, 
 the bones of twenty thousand men lay bleaching in 
 the burning sun. The skulls crunched beneath 
 the heels of my steed. I looked back, and ima- 
 gined I beheld all the bones rise into skeletons, and 
 glare after me. Two hungry lions had seized a 
 horse and rider; their victims were bleeding be- 
 neath their paws, and they lashed their sides with 
 their tails in token of enjoyment. They sprang 
 from their prey as I came near, and ran howling 
 into the wilderness. A wild Arab had waylaid 
 
 c 5
 
 34 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 a Christian traveller, and had pulled him to the 
 earth ; with his left hand he grasped his hair, and 
 with his right he flourished his scymitar to give the 
 mortal stroke ; he beheld the wild steed come ; his 
 love of blood over-mastered fear, the horse sprung 
 upon him, crushed him to the earth like a worm, 
 and left him dying on the sands. We came to a 
 forsaken city ; its walls were broken down, its ma- 
 jestic temples were mute, its marble tombs were 
 empty, and a hyena stood and looked from a 
 place where oracles had spoken of old. We came 
 nigh to an inland sea ; there was wind but no wave, 
 and the water raised no green grass on its margin, 
 nor lilies along its border ; no waterfowl were swim- 
 ming on its surface, neither were there a living 
 thing to be seen. The wild steed gave a neigh of 
 joy, and rushed towards this fearful sea. I prayed, 
 for I thought death was at hand, and suddenly 
 there fell something from a dark cloud which 
 was sailing over us; it gleamed like fire as it 
 descended, and plunged into the sand betw^een the 
 horse's fore feet. In a moment I was thrown sense- 
 less on the sand, and the creature that bore me ran 
 on, and I saw him no more. When I awoke, I 
 saw something glittering beside me, a substance re- 
 sembling melted steel, and it was hot and burning. 
 I knew it to be what fell from heaven, and I blessed 
 it, and took it up, and bore it with me through the
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 35 
 
 desert. I came to the forsaken city, and there 
 sat an old man with a cross before him eating 
 wild figs. I told him all that had befallen, anel 
 he fell on his face before me, and said, « Michael 
 Scott, thou art a favoured one; the steed which 
 bore thee was the unholy spirit, and the brand that 
 fell from heaven was a token that thou art one 
 of the elect. O for that blessed metal which came 
 from above, and O for a fire of heaven's own kind- 
 ling, that I might make thee a sword which a de- 
 mon could not resist.' And I said, * Father, here 
 it is ; ' and the old man's face kindled with joy, and 
 he took the rough metal and threw over it a nitrous 
 preparation, and the fire sparkled up, and all the 
 ancient temple of Apollyon was filled with a won- 
 derous light. When he had fashioned the sword, he 
 carried it burning to the entrance of the temple, 
 and waved it to and fro, till it seemed to kindle all 
 the air. Then he ground the blade, and wrought 
 many holy symbols and devices on the sides, and 
 he added a hilt of pure gold, and set it round with 
 precious stones. And when he had finished it he 
 put it into my hand, and said, ' Go, thou favoured 
 one ; this blade, wrought in the fii'e kindled in hea- 
 ven, tempered in the pure air of God, with its hilt 
 forged of consecrated gold, and covered with the 
 precious stones which adorned the altar of Jerusa-
 
 Ob SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 lem, will be irresistible in a righteous man's hand, 
 and neither mortal nor demon will endure its dint. 
 I took the sword ; it is now at thy side ! I have 
 struck the foes of Scotland with it ; I have since 
 ridden on that wild steed's back, and I hope to ride 
 again." 
 
 Sir James laid the sword across his knees, looked 
 on it, and said, " of all wild tales thou hast told me 
 the wildest. Why, this sword was given to Robert 
 the Bruce ; it has been watched as a sacred thing 
 by his descendants, and I could know the blade 
 among ten thousand. But if I can believe in the 
 sword, how shall I believe in thee ? The good Ro- 
 bert has been with the just these hundred and 
 eighty years, and thou seemest a man in thy prime, 
 nay, art fresh, and lusty, and young ; a fellow fit to 
 do battle for a crown ; a candidate for a lady's 
 chamber ; such a marvel cannot be." 
 
 " From this vale of death, where the nobles of 
 Scotland lie slaughtered, thou shalt never go," an- 
 swered Michael, " till thou givest credence to me. 
 Dost thou believe that heaven's hollowness above 
 thee, that earth's footstool under thy feet, and the 
 deep dark sea that roars upon the wild coast, are not 
 the works of one far mightier than man ? Will the 
 moon cease shining, the stream cease rushing, and 
 the grass cease growing, if thou commandest them ? 
 Believest thou that fires are below, and blessedness
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 3T 
 
 above, and that a fiend tempts man, that he may 
 gain his soul? or that God takes dehght in the 
 happiness of his creatures ? If thou believest in 
 these things, then mayst thou credit much more ; 
 thou mayest beheve that God, for wise and holy 
 purposes, prolongs man's life on earth ; that he in- 
 terposes, marvellously to save and redeem nations 
 and families, and that he admonishes and warns 
 man a thousand thousand times, with signs in the 
 sky, with visions on earth, and by dreams when 
 sleep comes on. It pleases Him on high to cat 
 off the oppressor and the troubler in his early 
 career, so it is also his pleasure to prolong the life 
 of those he loves, for the purposes of holiness and 
 virtue." 
 
 " I see, I understand," replied the knight, " the 
 object of your argument ; but occurrences against 
 the course of nature startle and alarm me, and 
 though my sceptic creed has been somewhat rudely 
 shaken of late, I must acknowledge that I cannot 
 wholly believe nor altogether deny the miraculous 
 matters of which you have spoken, and of some of 
 which I have been witness." "Be it so," answered 
 the other ; " your unbelief is easily cured, — how 
 happens it that you stand unmolested at the en- 
 trance of your enemy's tent ; yet no one strikes you 
 dead, nor lifts a weapon against you." Sir James 
 stood and looked ! all around him lay the English
 
 89 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 army, and beside him Lord Surrey called his chiefs 
 to council ; he could distinguish each leader, and 
 know what he said. 
 
 " Stanley ! " said Howard, " your sword struck 
 deeply into die Scottish centre, and you were close 
 to the royal standard ; is it true that the King is 
 slain ? '' " Noble Surrey ! " answered Stanley, " I 
 saw the King surrounded by the prime of his no- 
 bility, contending with lance and sword against our 
 chivalry; many an arrow leapt from his Milan 
 mail coat, and many a lance was stricken against 
 him, yet he fell not, he fled not, and whoso he 
 struck once, molested him no more. It was in 
 truth a noble sight, to behold a warrior so excel- 
 lent. So fought he when the sun went down ; 
 amid the darkness which followed I could see 
 him no longer." 
 
 " And it was with no good will of mine," said 
 Lord Dacre, " that he fought so long, and that his 
 fate is uncertain. Against him my followers drew 
 the shaft, levelled the lance, and struck with bill 
 and sword, and the brave circle which hemmed 
 him in diminished during my attack ; escape he 
 cannot; I beheld him faint and wounded to the 
 death ; and had not darkness descended between 
 us, he would now have stood captive within call, 
 even as that strolling minstrel stands at the door of 
 your tent."
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 39 
 
 "A minstrel ! " said Lord Surrey; " shame to the 
 kni2:ht who sits, while a follower of the art divine 
 stands at my tent door. Fitz- Allan and Bulmer, 
 invite him into our tent ; let a seat be set at my right 
 hand ; place wine and food beside it ; for one of 
 the inspired sons of song honours us with his 
 presence. The knights went, and soon returned, 
 ushering in Sir James, accompanied by Sir Mi- 
 chael. 
 
 " Sir Minstrel," said Lord Surrey, rising, and 
 motioning Sir James to a seat, " the Howard wel- 
 comes you to his side ; and never could poet come 
 in a happier hour ; for a glorious victory has been 
 won, and a gallant king slain. Here, Ralph 
 Theakston, bring the minstrel my harp ; a better 
 instrument his hand never swept ; we would gladly 
 hear him sing a song in our honour ; honest praise 
 is no flatter}^" " Noble Howard," answered Sir 
 James, " thy praise in this I may not sing ; thy 
 hands are dyed with the blood of my kinsmen ; the 
 shouts of victory which lately filled the air were 
 from my country's enemies, and the groans which 
 I hear even now of the wounded, come from men 
 who share in my love and my blood." 
 
 "Thou, shuffling Scot, this shall not serve thee," 
 exclaimed Lord Dacre; " sing! else by the moon and 
 all her stars I shall dash out two of thy fi'ont teeth 
 ■with my truncheon : sing ! else I shall cut the
 
 40 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 fingers from thy right hand, and mar thy min- 
 strelsy for ever. Did not thy traitor King Bruce 
 cause the Carmelite bard of Edward to sing of 
 his fight at the brook of Bannock. Sing ! else 
 I shall strip thy minstrel mantle from thy back, and 
 scourge thee over the border." 
 
 " Lord Dacre ! this language is somewhat too 
 rough," thus interposed Lord Surrey; " the spirit 
 of the poet should be soothed by kind \vords, and 
 kindled by commendations. Thinkest thou that a 
 minstrel can be urged into inspiration, as thou 
 urgest on thy fiery warriors? His sensitive spirit 
 must, like a tender wound, be touched softly. Un- 
 der your darkening brow and threatning eye a poet 
 would have a hero's soul, and a hero's hand, if he 
 sung one verse that deserved to live. Can the lark 
 sing under the wing of the raven ? " 
 
 Sir James spoke in a tone modest but unembar- 
 rassed : " The duty of a minstrel, my Lord Surrey, 
 is to sing a strain pleasant to the hstener's ear, and 
 what other song could the poet sing, who spoke 
 U'uth of the noble Howard. But were I to sing 
 how Lord Dacre escaped, and hardly escaped, from 
 the war-axe of the Douglas ; or how he shunned 
 the encounter of the King of Scotland's lance, 
 who would protect me from his wrath ? and yet his 
 wrath should not stay my song, did I not feel that 
 the funeral wail becomes me more than a chaunt
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 41 
 
 such as would please the victor." " By the soul 
 of my ancestors,*' replied Lord Dacre, " thou art 
 a bold bard, and I'll warrant me thy hand is as 
 dextrous with the lance as with the harp. I beg 
 to be counted thy friend ; thou hast a fair advan- 
 tage over me ; to be stricken both with sword and 
 song, is not the wish of Thomas Dacre, so sing or 
 be silent, as thou wilt." " Spoken like thyself, my 
 iron veteran," said Lord Surrey ; " in the Howards* 
 tent the poet is as free as if that seat where he 
 sits were one of his pastoral hills, and the banner 
 above it the eagle of his native rock ! " 
 
 Sir James sat and mused for a minute's space, 
 and then, with a manly voice, sung a song wliich 
 was long remembered about the pastoral vallies of 
 the border. Lord Howard leaned over his sword, 
 and the knights crowded round the tent to listen 
 to the strain. 
 
 THE SONG OF SIR JAMES. 
 I. 
 
 The grass of Flodden's ruby red, 
 
 That late so greenly grew ; 
 The sweet lark's foot is wet with blood 
 
 Instead of silver dew. 
 For Howard's arrow- flight has flown. 
 
 And in their fleet career 
 His steeds have trod o'er Scotland's strength, 
 
 And broke her deadly spear.
 
 42 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 II. 
 
 I sing, and while I sing I sigh ! 
 
 For had these gallant men, 
 Whose life*s-blood staius the river red. 
 
 Whose bodies choke the glen. 
 Been sagely ruled, as bravely led, 
 
 Yon moon above us hung, 
 Another sight had seen, and I 
 
 A happier song had sung. 
 
 III. 
 
 The sword has smote, the shaft is flown. 
 
 The victor s cry is cry'd ; 
 More sad is he who basely lives. 
 
 Than he who bravely died. 
 I'd rather lie like Lindsay sped. 
 
 Have Douglas' bloody brow; 
 Or share stouc Maxwell's grassy bed. 
 
 Than be as I am now. 
 
 IV. 
 
 I fought where Surrey's shafts flew thick. 
 
 Where rose fierce Selby's cry ; 
 Where Dacre rush'd, and Stanley charg'd. 
 
 And yet 1 could not die. 
 Farewell to Scotland's pleasant land, 
 
 And ro its lovely dames ! 
 To lordly lance, and knightly brand, 
 So sings he, sad Sir James. 
 
 Lord Surrey held out his hand; "There minsU'el ! 
 there is the right hand of a Howard, and it is as
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 43 
 
 proud of the poet's clasp as of the touch of a 
 monarch. Thou hast sung wisely and well, and 
 though an enemy, and English blood on thy hands, 
 ask what boon thou wilt, and it is thine. May 
 his reptile memory be embalmed in scornful verse, 
 like a spider in amber, who honours not the un- 
 teachable and untaught art." 
 
 " Thanks, noble Howard," answered Sir James, 
 " but I have no boon to beg. I came to thy tent 
 door to dare thee to mortal strife ; I have seen thee, 
 I have heard thee, and I fear thy nobleness of 
 nature more than I fear thy sword." 
 
 "By Saint Edward !" said Lord Surrey, "thou 
 art a bold bard. I can touch a harp, fashion a verse, 
 and with a sword do my devoir as a knight. Min- 
 strel ! it mio^ht do thee some harm to strike three 
 strokes of a sword with me underneath the moon ; 
 so I do not advise thee. I honour thy skill in the 
 art of heaven too much to lead thee into the mys- 
 tery of an art which men scruple not to say comes 
 from another place." " It is unlike the Howard," 
 answered Sir James, " to bring down the noble 
 profession of arms to the level of an art practised 
 by strolling mendicants. Let the minstrel sing his 
 hireling song, and get his food and his dress, of 
 which he is unworthy; but never compare the chaunt 
 of a metre-ballad maker to the sound of the trum- 
 pet, the rushing to batde, and the splintering of
 
 44 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 the spears, in the presence of lords and beauteous 
 dames." -' 
 
 " By my faith ! and this wandering poet says well,*' 
 said Lord Stanley, " and I shall never hear a song 
 sung but I shall think of its un worthiness. It is an idle 
 trade, a fashion which has sprung up lately at court. 
 In the palace of his defunct Majesty of Scotland 
 were harpers rude, and poets plenty; and the chival- 
 rous monarch himself could touch the harp, and 
 labour out a verse. Nay, even the son of grim old 
 Douglas has thrown helmet and spear aside, and 
 his verses have come further south than ever came 
 his ancestor's sword. But what have we here ? Ned 
 Clifford and my woodsman, John of Bredislee, 
 bearing a slaughtered body ? " Lord Dacre ex- 
 claimed, " By heaven ! the King of Scotland ! " 
 All rose, and a warrior's body bathed in blood and 
 pierced with wounds was laid on the floor of the 
 tent. 
 
 The warrior's form was worthy of a king, and 
 was found in a place that well became a warrior. 
 He was finely formed and firmly knit ; with a nose 
 slightly aquiline, a broad and noble brow shaded 
 with close black curls, and arms long, round, and 
 sinewy, one of which still held a shivered sword, 
 and the other grasped a broken spear, which had 
 pierced the steel mail, flowered in gold, that co- 
 vered his bosom. His helmet was dinted with
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 45 
 
 blows from sword and bill, and the points of ar- 
 rows had etched the glossy polish. He was found 
 amid a crowd of knights and soldiers, where the 
 banner of Scotland was displayed ; but his surcoat 
 was gone, and the flag had been cut from the staff. 
 He was the last that had fallen ; the ground around 
 was slippery with blood, and covered with cloven 
 helmets. 
 
 Lord Surrey looked long and anxiously upon the 
 noble figure before him ; his colour changed ; his 
 eye glistened ; he turned aside and said, " Ah ! gal- 
 lant King of Scotland, little wist I when the chal- 
 lenge to battle passed this morning between us, and 
 thou saidst to my herald, that to no knight in 
 Christendom wouldst thou sooner give a free field 
 and choice of time, than to the Howard ! little did 
 I think that ere the midnight moon shone, thou 
 wouldst lie in my tent pierced through with wounds, 
 and that noble and fiery spirit quenched for ever." 
 And, taking a velvet cloak sparkling with gold and 
 gems, he laid it softly over the body, and said, 
 " let prayers be in our tent, and let my four knights. 
 Gray, Benson, Bulmer, and Selby, sit up with the 
 slaughtered prince." 
 
 Sir James sat silent ; his brow was dark, and in 
 his eye there sparkled a light which seemed to fluc- 
 tuate between gravity and mirth; but when he 
 heard the words of Lord Howard, his face grew
 
 46 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 flushed tears trembled under his long dark eye- 
 lashes, and he exclaimed, in a voice that made the 
 boldest start, " Howard ! Howard ! such honours 
 are misplaced. That is the body of a man 
 of low degree; worthy indeed, for valour is 
 worthiness, of being watched honourably, and in- 
 terred with respect, but unworthy from his rank 
 of such honours as thou art paying." 
 
 " Friend minstrel," said Lord Stanley, " thou 
 art strangely bold, and were it not that the noble 
 Howard esteems an art in which he himself excels, 
 thou mightest feel my rebuke in another way than 
 words. Outwardly, in form and face, that is 
 James Stuart; what mark is wanting to prevent 
 conviction ? " " That mark is wanting, Lord Stan- 
 ley," said Sir James, " which was worn in memory 
 of a more terrible field than that of Flodden. 
 That fatal symbol of filial disobedience, of the re- 
 bellion of son against father, the penance chain of 
 iron which James Stuart has worn next his body 
 since the field of Sauchieburn, is on another body, 
 dead or living." 
 
 All stood anxiously round, as one of the knights 
 unbraced the armour, and displayed the body. No 
 chain was there, and Lord Surrey said, "let my 
 cloak remain as a covering, for he was a worthy 
 knight." " Please you, my Lord Surrey," said his 
 confessor, " this may be the monarch's body yet. I
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 4*7 
 
 know somewhat of penances, and how they are 
 observed ; and I know no gay and gallant knight 
 who would freeze his bare body with a weight of 
 cold iron, who could escape from it by an indulgence 
 from good mother church." " Tliank thee for that, 
 priest," said Lord Dacre, " the indulgence of our 
 mother church gives a seasonable relief to many 
 an opulent transgressor ; and when I believe in her 
 powers of remission of sins, I shall compound, and 
 go to Paradise too." 
 
 The body was then removed into another tent ; 
 four knights in complete armour watched at the 
 head and feet, and seven large torches placed all 
 around threw a gross and wavering gleam of light 
 from side to side of the narrow vale. Sir James 
 saw the body moved away, the knights following, 
 and the torches kindled, and his face glowed with 
 the bitterness of his feelings. He thought on the 
 gallant army, and on the flower of the nobility of 
 Scotland ; there they lay as thick as sheaves in 
 an autumn field : as leaves on a winters' morn ; as 
 grass before the blade of the mower, when he is 
 weary at eve. Life, as he thus meditated, grew 
 a bitter boon, and death seemed sweet and de- 
 sirable, since it promised repose and obHvion. 
 " Sir Michael," he whispered to his companion, 
 " the life which I now cast away was unwillingly 
 preserved on that bloody field. Stay me not with
 
 48 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 thy sorcery or thy love, and I shall die as becomes 
 me, and as I deserve." As he spoke he stood in 
 the middle oLthe tent, drew his sword half way 
 ■from the sheath, and exclaimed : " Look on me, 
 Howard, I am James of Scotland ; behold my sig- 
 net ring ; and look at my sword : hast thou noble 
 or knight who dares measure a weapon with me ? 
 My body thou shalt have, but not till life is gone." 
 And he drew his sword, struck with the hilt on his 
 bosom, and the links of a chain gave a slight rattle. 
 
 The English nobles looked on him, and then 
 broke out into wild laughter. " A poet, a poet,*' 
 cried Lord Stanley ; "he has all the madness ne- 
 cessary for inspiration. Thou, James Stuart, the 
 Poet King? a wandering mendicant— a peasant 
 harper — not one in all our camp would measure 
 swords with such a moon-struck enthusiast as thou." 
 " Here Rawstone, and Hewett," said Lord Dacre, 
 "cool this hot-lieaded harper in the Twisel. A 
 king ! aye, a monarch among mendicants ! " 
 
 " Sir Minstrel," said Lord Surrey, " thou art 
 not mad ; for no madman could have framed the 
 song thou hast lately sung. Nor can I believe thee 
 knavish, since the divine art is never coupled with 
 an unworthy nature. Nor can I believe thee over- 
 come with wine, for a sober spirit has hitherto con- 
 ducted thee. Be silent therefore, or begone : or 
 if thou needs must speak, let thy words be those of
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 49 
 
 my favourite art, even though thou shouldst sing in 
 the homely language of thine own people.'' 
 
 " Lord Surrey," said Sir James, "behold these true 
 tokens — the signet-ring, and the chain." He un- 
 buckled his armour, bared hi^ bosom, and Howard 
 looked to where he motioned him; a slight flush of 
 anger passed over his face as he said, " Sir Min- 
 strel, this is not well : the chain of the King is of 
 iron ; thine is of solid gold. The chain of the mo- 
 narch is heavy, and thine is as light as that which 
 a maiden hangs round her neck when she becomes 
 a bride. Go from me now ; but, as thou seem est 
 of a mirthful mood, come to Raby- tower, and, by 
 the faith of verse and the joy of the harp-string, I 
 shall let thee be as mad and merry as thou wilt ; 
 but there is time and place for all things." 
 
 Sir James knew not what to say : he glanced to 
 his companion, and there sat Sir Michael, as silent 
 and still as a statue. He looked at the nobles and 
 knights, and saw mirth in every face. He snatched 
 up a basnet of steel, and gazing at the form which 
 its polish reflected back, he muttered an impreca- 
 tion, dashed the basnet on the floor, ^nd striking 
 it with his sword as it rolled, clave the sohd steel 
 cleanly asunder, and the fragments flew to the op- 
 posite extremities of the tent. " By St. George, 
 poet," said Lord Stanley, laying the cloven basnet 
 together, " if thy harp-string had the sorcery of 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 50 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 thy sword, thou wouldst soon harp me out of a fair 
 estate. Let me look on the blade — ah ! by Saint 
 Edward, this is a royal sword. I saw it in fair 
 Holyrood, honoured as a relic of that bold rebel 
 King Robert. Minstrel, I must make free to keep 
 this weapon, and arrest thy person." 
 
 Sir James started back from the grasp of Lord 
 Stanley, and presenting the point of his weapon, ex- 
 claimed : " He who wishes to wear it, must win it." 
 The sword of Lord Stanley was bared in a moment, 
 and they advanced on each other. Lord Surrey 
 snatched a mantle from the arm of one of his 
 knights, threw it over the points of the swords, and 
 rushing between them? said, " For shame, Lord 
 Stanley, to draw a sword in my tent on a guest 
 whom I love to honour for his skill in the art which 
 wise men admire." " 'Tis James Stuart himself, 
 by heaven," exclaimed Lord Dacre, " this quarrel 
 has made him into a monarch; or else he has 
 the art of transmigration as well as of minstrelsy." 
 " It is the King of Scotland, and no one else^" 
 shouted a soldier, from the entrance of the tent ; 
 *' slay him where he stands, for he slew my 
 two brethren." Swords were drawn in haste—- a 
 rush of knights filled the tent — the lights were ex- 
 tinguished, blows and thrusts were given, and 
 blood spilt. The tumult subsided — the torches 
 were rekindled, and the voice of Lord Surrey was
 
 Sm MICHAEL SCOTT. 51 
 
 heard, saying, " Where is the King of Scotland ? " 
 ** He has slain Lord Dacre outright," said a knight 
 in a low voice — ^his men are bearing him to his 
 tent. " Peace be with him ; he was a bold and for- 
 ward soldier," answered Lord Surrey; " but who 
 has taken the King of Scots? He has stricken 
 Lord Stanley through the body. He is now bleed- 
 ing to death, his knights kneeling over him, and 
 James Stuart is gone like a passing shadow — 
 Hke a breath of evil wind that goes unseen, and 
 leaves death and destruction behind." 
 
 d2 

 
 52 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT* 
 
 CHAPTER IIL 
 
 She made him of water a noble steed, 
 
 Whose trappings were formed from rush and reed. 
 
 To a young knight changed she then her son. 
 
 To Mary's church at full speed he 's gone, 
 
 H s foaming horse to the gate he bound. 
 
 And paced the church full three times round. 
 
 Danish Ballad, Borrow's translatioiir 
 
 " Put up thy sword, James," said Sir Michael, 
 calmly ; " thy time is not come to die. To thee 
 was given the power to strike Lord Dacre dead ; 
 to wound Lord Stanley ; and there thy power has 
 ceased. Surrey thou couldst not smite, even hadst 
 thou sought it. Nor, unless Heaven looses thy 
 right-hand to fight in a righteous cause, canst thou 
 harm a man whose strength exceeds that of a 
 three years child." " Alas ! Michael," answered 
 Sir James, « what evil deed have I done, that 
 Heaven's anger should rob me of my might even 
 at my utmost need — should strike my strength into 
 childishness, even in the midst of my enemies." 
 " Thy enemies have no power over thee," replied 
 the other : " thou art walking in the midst of them, 
 yet they molest thee not. But come with me, our 
 ways are one, and my master's commands must be
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 53 
 
 fulfilled." " If I cannot follow thee from love,'* 
 answered Sir James, « I shall not stay back through 
 fear;" so saying, they passed the English sentinels, 
 and ascended the hill which overlooks Flodden- 
 
 field. 
 
 Sir Michael led the way to a little spring which 
 leaped from the face of a rock, and glittered like 
 melted silver, as it fell through the beams of the 
 moon. A crucifix was carved deep in the stone, 
 and before it a sculptured warrior laid down his 
 sword and helmet, and bowed his head before the 
 holy symbol. " Behold !"—" said Sir Michael, 
 " for to you, and not to me, this lesson is addressed. 
 I say not to you as Remorse said to that valiant 
 knight— renounce the world, and bow to stocks and 
 stones; to things made by men's hands ; to gods ot 
 human workmanship. But I say to you, humble 
 your pride of heart ; dismiss your evil passions ; have 
 faith in Heaven, and you will continue to be, as 
 you have been to night, marvellously protected. 
 The invisible world of God on earth will be re- 
 vealed to you— your owm eyes shall witness things 
 which inspired men have only had revealed in 
 visions and in dreams. Nor will the sight of 
 Satan's kingdom be withheld. But for all this 
 you must prepare your heart and mind; the 
 daring heart, the strong arm, and the sword that 
 sheers through steel like silk, will avail you no-
 
 64 SIR MICHASL SCOTT. 
 
 thing. But your wearied body needs repose — 
 sleep, and no one shall disturb you." 
 
 A sudden love of sleep came over Sir James ; he 
 wrapt himself closely up in his mantle, laid down on 
 the ground, and the morning stars were glimmer- 
 ing before he awoke. Sir Michael sat beside him 
 on the grass. The challenge of the English senti- 
 nels, and the wild licence of a victorious camp, came 
 at times to his ear : but he sat as still as the rock 
 at his side, looking at the stars as they shone or 
 shot athwart the sky. He arose, stood over Sir 
 James, and with a low and melancholy voice 
 chaunted the following verses: the sound crept 
 along hill and vale, and all the sentinels stood as 
 if rooted to the ground. 
 
 SIR MICHAEL'S SONG. 
 I. 
 
 He laid him down to sleep, Sir James, 
 
 Soon gentle slumber came. 
 The rivulet's voice sang in his ear. 
 
 Mild as a lovely dame ; 
 With the voice of a young and lovely dame. 
 
 Sweet, loving, meek, and low, 
 The streamlet sang, and sound he slept 
 
 Where Flodden's fountains flow. 
 
 n. 
 
 He laid him down to sleep, Sir James, 
 The voice that to him came
 
 Sir MICHAEL SCOTT. 55 
 
 Was deeper and more mournful far, 
 
 Thaa that of a sweet dame. 
 Than the voice of a young and gentle dame. 
 
 And it said, or seemed to say. 
 Where are my brave and stately sons, 
 
 Whom thou ledst yesterday. 
 
 III. 
 
 As I came down through Flodden vale, 
 
 I could no farther pass. 
 For there they lay my stately sons. 
 
 All trodden down like grass ; 
 All trodden like the new mown grass. 
 
 And I heard them make a moan, 
 
 fatherless are our gentle babes. 
 And kingless is our throne. 
 
 IV» 
 
 1 see you all my gallant sons, 
 
 Your sharp swords in your hands, 
 But where 's the star of Chivalry, 
 
 The prince who ruled your bands ? 
 The prince who ruled your martial bands, 
 
 They murmured out a moan, 
 O fatherless are our gentle babes, 
 
 And kingless is our throne. 
 
 Sir James awoke with a start ; grasped his sword, 
 sprung to his feet, and gazed in agitation around 
 him. He saw nothing but the grey day dawning 
 on the mountain-tops; the stars twinkling pale, 
 and he heard only the first note of the lark coming 
 do^n from the cloud, and the murmur of the neigh- 
 bouring stream. He stepped to the brow of the
 
 56 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 hill, and gave a downward look. The English 
 camp lay before him ; the watch-fires burned dimly, 
 and the weary sentinels looked gladly to the hill- 
 tops, cheered with the presence of day. He looked 
 on his hands and dress stained in blood— on the 
 blade of his sword ; and he took off his helmet, and 
 saw blood and dust soiling the snow-white plume. 
 " Army, nobles, and throne," he exclaimed, " are 
 mine no more, and a fugitive am I on the face of 
 the earth. To what land can I fly to escape from 
 myself: in what wilderness shall I be able to for- 
 get my country, and the power which I abused. 
 For me, a devoted, an enthusiastic people have 
 poured out their blood like water, and Scotland 
 shall through many a future age bewail the rash- 
 ness of her King and the slaughter of her children. 
 The burning sands of Asia, or the snows of the 
 Pole, are all too good for one so vain and so 
 culpable. But why imagine an anchorite's life, 
 when present death is before me. There lies Lord 
 Surrey between me and my native land, and cap- 
 tivity or death awaits me." 
 
 " Sir James," replied Sir Michael, " fear nei- 
 ther death nor captivity. You have already been 
 wonderously preserved ; and were all the Howards 
 holding by your mantle, you would foil and despise 
 them all." " In you," said Sir James, " I have 
 found a true counsellor and a stedfast friend, and 
 something of the horror of the closing onset on the
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. '57 
 
 battle-field ; of the midnight scene in the English 
 camp ; of the terrible form which appeared in the 
 haunted fountain ; of the scene of blood in Lord 
 Surrey's tent, and my escape floats before my 
 fancy and mind ; but I cannot distinguish what is 
 real from what is illusory." 
 
 " I shall not read the riddle for you," replied 
 -Sir Michael. " Submit to the fortune which is to 
 befal you ; profit by the lesson which is seldom 
 given to mortal man, and believe that God rules 
 over all, and controuls the conduct of angels and 
 the actions of princes. Come therefore, cast fear 
 of man behind you; how often shall I multiply 
 wonders, and how frequently must I re-assure one 
 whose romantic credence has cost him so dear." 
 " Go on, Sir Michael," he answered : " I hear, 
 believe, and follow." The day was now brighten- 
 ing in the east ; the sun in \ong lines of quick and 
 quivering light announced his coming; the stray 
 deer rose on the Cheviot-side, and uttered a cry of 
 gladness ; and the smoke from the cottage of the 
 early peasant started thin and blue into the colour- 
 ing sky. " Let us go on our way then," said Sir 
 Michael; and he went to a little stream which 
 murmured down the gentle declivity, forming small 
 leaps and pools on its way, and stood by one of 
 the falls which made a singing din, and threw 
 up a thin and vapoury mist into the brightening 
 d5
 
 $8 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 air. It was now the moment of time between light 
 and dark, and objects were growing more visible 
 and bright as moment followed moment. 
 
 Sir Michael put his hand into the fold of his 
 mantle and took out a small bridle, bitted with gold, 
 and ornamented with devices and signs, and words 
 which were in a strange and disused language. 
 He shook it amongst the silvery mist, and look- 
 ed to the eastern sky. Sir James saw the mist 
 becoming more dense and opaque, and rising as 
 high as a man from the ground. He heard the 
 snorting of horses, and in a moment there started 
 through the mist two palfreys, black as coal, with 
 tails uncut, feet unshod, and manes flowing un- 
 trimmed and free. They uttered a loud neigh as 
 they came, and standing still on the bank of the 
 brook, shook the drops of dew or water from their 
 sides and manes, and the moist spray which they 
 threw into the air glittered as it fell like a shower 
 of fire. 
 
 Sir Michael laid his hand on the mane of one 
 of the palfreys, and leaped on its back, nor seemed 
 the creature fond of its burthen, for it snorted, 
 reared, and ran round like a wheel. " Fool," said 
 Sir Michael, addressing it, " be quiet, and indulge 
 thyself in no impish tricks, else I shall charm thee 
 for ever into a shape thou wilt like far worse than 
 that of a noble animal. Go smoothly, and see that
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 5ft 
 
 thou stumblest not." The creature, thus admonish- 
 ed, stood quiet and tractable while its rider said, 
 " Sir James, mount that palfrey ; lay thy hand on 
 the mane thus, and make a vault ; the luxury of a 
 saddle was unknown to the school in which I 
 learned to ride, and thou wilt not need it. What, 
 hast thou survived red Flodden, and yet fearest 
 one of my poor palfreys? mount. Sir Knight; 
 for behold the avengers of blood are nigh thee." 
 
 Sir James turned himself round, and saw a score 
 of mounted warriors coming spurring towards him ; 
 their helmets glittered in the kindling light ; their 
 swords were in their hands, and he heard them 
 shout, " a Howard ! a Howard ! " The smoke 
 streamed from the horses nostrils, and their hoofs 
 beat thickly on the mountain ground. He laid his 
 hand on the mane, sprung upon the palfrey, and 
 away they went with the rapidity of light. They 
 seemed less to run than to fly. Over hills and 
 tlirough dales they continued their fleet career, and 
 the green hill of Flodden and its vale of blood was 
 left many a mile behind. 
 
 " Sir James," said Sir Michael, " have you no 
 praise to bestow on my incomparable steeds: see how 
 they devour the way; feel how pleasantly they ride; 
 are they not worthy of a song in their praise ; nor 
 knight nor monarch ever bestrode worthier." 
 Often did Sir James look on their rapid flight ; on
 
 00. SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 the receding hills, and vanishing streams, and 
 oftener yet he looked on his companion. " Sir 
 Knight," he said, " this art of thine equals the 
 creations of romance. A dragon is a beast of daily 
 burthen to this, and a winged hippogriflP an ass of 
 Mesopotamia. But will this creature of the watery 
 element prove true on sharp trial ? " " We shall 
 speedily prove it," said his companion, and taking 
 out a little ivory horn which hung at his girdle, he 
 made hill and dale re-echo for many a mile." 
 
 Seven foresters with bows in their hands, 
 broad arrows at their belts, and each holding a 
 stag-hound in the leash, stood before them. 
 " WTio art thou," said the first forester, " that 
 darest to wind thy horn so lustily ? to strike the 
 deer art thou come without leave from his Rever- 
 ence of Durham ; from his parks such knaves as 
 thou art have lately picked the fattest of the flocks, 
 and his Reverence is wroth." Loud laughed Sir 
 Michael, and said, " Good fellow, thine eyes do 
 their office untruly : seest thou not that we are men 
 of peace, nor bow nor arrow have we : dost thou 
 think we can slay the fattest of his Reverence's 
 deer without hound or shaft ? " " Thou art a 
 Scotch knave," replied the forester, " and there- 
 fore deservest to be hung upon the forest-tree for 
 a natural enemy as well as a striker of the church 
 deer. We are on our way to the wood to strike
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 61 
 
 seven fat bucks to feast our warriors from Flodden. 
 Thy countrymen are conquered or slain, thanks to 
 the prayers of the chapter, to the lances of Dur- 
 ham, and shafts of Lancashire. And so, as it is 
 rather a busy time with us, and we cannot spare a 
 couple of leashes to knit two knaves up, if you 
 will give us your palfreys you may begone, with 
 the assurance of your being hanged when honest 
 men find leisure." 
 
 " Thou art a very civil fellow, for a Southron," 
 said Sir Michael, " and shalt have my palfrey ; 
 hast thou some skill in adhering to a wdld steed's 
 back ? " "I rode seven years at the head of his Re- 
 verence's hounds — be praised for the pre-emi- 
 nence," said the forester, " and can back a creature 
 as wild as the devil, and as tameless as the sea." 
 
 Sir Michael sprung down and said, " Nay, then, 
 thou art fit for mine, good fellow, and welcome 
 with all my heart; but a child might back it; it 
 goes as smoothly as a bird through the air." 
 
 The forester sprang instantly upon the animal's 
 back, seized what seemed a bridle, and away he 
 went ; no shaft from his own bow, when a fat buck 
 was within reach, ever flew swifter. A deep stream 
 was in the way ; the water flew high over horse 
 and rider, and they seemed sunk in the current. 
 In a moment the steed rushed back, and stood 
 snorting and foaming by the side of Sir Michael,
 
 62 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT* 
 
 while the unhappy forester rose from the stream 
 with crushed ribs, and his pride in horsemanship 
 much abated. " Who wishes for my palfrey," 
 said Sir Michael, " a creature so quiet that he is 
 worthy of being backed by a bishop." " Confound 
 thee and thy palfrey both, thou wandering Scot," 
 said another forester, "thou hadst best begone, 
 else worse may come on't. And ride not too 
 massy, lest I pin thee to thy beast with a cloth- 
 yard shaft." Sir Michael, like one who thought 
 there was no harm in the advice, mounted his pal- 
 frey, and proceeded on his way. 
 
 " Now Sir James," he said, " seest thou not 
 the faithfulness of my good steed; to no other 
 man will it yield its body, and no other voice but 
 mine will it obey." " You find," said the other, 
 " the creation of your own hands wondrously do- 
 cile ; this art of thine I would gladly learn, if it be 
 such as the church approves." " I hold my pow- 
 ers," said Sir Michael, " from a higher authority, 
 and I work what neither the wisdom, the piety, 
 nor the cunning of the church can do. And yet 
 it is no great marvel to find a creature of the ele- 
 ments amid the materials of its formation. Of 
 what art thou formed, man of dust, that thou 
 shouldest boast thyself? Thou creature of perish- 
 able earth, dost thou rank thyself above a creature 
 formed of a pure and eternal element ? Canst thou
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 68 
 
 wing thy way like a thought ? Can thy body re- 
 sist the cloth-yard shaft, mock the descent of the 
 axe, and the thrust of the spear ? Canst thou feel 
 like one who has been translated into the commu- 
 nity of souls of just men made perfect? Canst 
 thou form thy wish into what thou wilt ? Canst 
 thou controul the fierceness of national fury, disap- 
 point thirst of blood, stop the arrow as it flies, 
 the sword as it descends, or the ball from the 
 cannon's mouth? No; thou art a poor worm 
 of the earth, whom God permits to crawl on its 
 surface till the day comes that will wither thee up, 
 and give thy dust to the wind, and thy deeds to 
 obli\'ion." 
 
 " I love thy speech, jSIichael," said the other, 
 "fearful though it be; but behold how bright 
 the sun dances on the spire of that little village. 
 Hearken, too, to the music of the pipe and the re- 
 beck ; to the sound of the minstrel's song, and the 
 din of the dancer's heel. What has moved the 
 people to mirth ; it is the birth-time of no saint ; 
 the martyrdom of no saucy churchman, nor has a 
 king died to-day that the subjects of Henry should 
 rejoice." " James," said Sir Michael, " this day 
 will there be weeping and sadness in Scotland, and 
 well may England dance and rejoice, her minstrels 
 sing, and her rebecks and citterns sound. But 
 here they come, filhng all the road with tlieir
 
 64 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 numbers, and the air with their minstrelsy and 
 mirth." 
 
 The sun was risen, and with its bright and hori- 
 zontal beam kindled the uplands, and lightened 
 the summits of the groves. Town, village, farm, 
 and solitary cottage, poured out without reserva- 
 tion their happy inhabitants, animated and glad- 
 dened by the sound of victory which had flown 
 over the land. Aged parents were there rejoicing 
 in the valour of their descendants ; the new made 
 wife, and the new made mother, the bride whose 
 bridegroom had left the altar for the defence of 
 his country, and the young maiden whose wishes 
 were not yet shaped, and who had only begun to 
 feel the flutter of heart, which, like the trembling 
 flush that precedes the ascent of the sun, is the 
 forerunner of delicious and enthusiastic joy. Boys 
 too were there with mimic bow and bill, and every 
 step was buoyant, and every face was beaming. 
 An old banner torn from Scotland in some border 
 battle, waved high over head, surmounted by the 
 flao- of England; old men, with staves and spears 
 cut down to a length proper to stay their steps, 
 came foremost ; next followed two harpers, and a 
 player on the rebeck, who aided with their instru- 
 ments the voices of a dozen young maidens, who 
 made the vale re-echo with the following song : —
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 65 
 
 THE MAIDENS' SONG. 
 I. 
 
 Were ye at red Flodden, 
 
 And what saw ye there ? 
 Ten thousand proud Northmen 
 
 Lie bloody and bare. 
 They fell 'neath our war-horse, 
 
 AH foaming and hot ; 
 They dropt 'neath our arrows. 
 
 And sank 'neath our shot. 
 There 's weeping on Teviot, 
 
 On Tweedj and on Annan, 
 And deep Solway quates 
 
 With the sound of our cannon. 
 
 II. 
 
 'Twas a proud sight to look on. 
 
 As light flashed abroad. 
 King James and his nobles ■ 
 
 How gallant they rode. 
 As thick waved their lances. 
 
 As corn when it's ripe ; 
 And gay their plumes nodded 
 
 To bugle and pipe. ■ 
 
 Our war-horse rushed rudely 
 
 With lance and with arrow. 
 And there 's weeping of dames 
 
 On the Nlth and the Yarrow. 
 
 III. 
 
 Spur ye chat are spared, 
 
 Throuj:;h the Till and the Tweed, 
 For Howard's fierce chivalry 
 
 Chase ye at speed j
 
 66 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 And tell how your trumpet 
 
 And war-pipe are mute ; 
 How your prince and your proudest 
 
 Lie trod underfoot. 
 Go mourn by the mountain, 
 
 And wail by the river. 
 The star of your chivalry's 
 
 Darkened for ever. 
 
 " I hear the tread of horses," said one of the 
 old men ; " mine eyes are dim ; Ralph Rugby 
 look and tell me what manner of men the riders 
 be." Ralph looked on the riders, and said, 
 *' Why one rides as if the horse and he had been 
 both made at once ; a strong arm and a merry eye, 
 and a look full of command." " A gallant war- 
 rior, I'll warrant," said the old man ; " and what 
 seems he who rides beside him ? " " Why, Giles 
 Featherston," answered he, "the other rider has 
 a man's shape sure enough, but he resembles more 
 a stone statue taking the air, than a thing of flesh 
 and blood. Mercy on us, but the horse he rides 
 on is stranger still than himself; it wears no iron 
 on its feet, moves without bridle, bears no saddle, 
 a light glances from its mane, and its eyes would 
 kindle wet straw. I wish old Abbot Plumpton 
 were here to try horse and man with a word from 
 Holy Book, for I'm no sinner if this be not a steed 
 from the devil's stables." 
 
 As Ralph spoke, Sir Michael and his compa-
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 67 
 
 nion came close to the head of the procession ; the 
 old man looked up, and said, " Sir Knight, how 
 fares our gallant army, and how many of those 
 proud Scots have they slain? Tell me truly, I 
 charge you. I was a warrior in my youth, and 
 fought against the Northerns, and it joys me to 
 hear of battles won by the valour of England." — 
 <'01d man," said Sir James, " Scotland has lost army, 
 nobles, and king, therefore shout and sing, for a 
 bi'aver army was never conquered." " Ah ! Sir," 
 answered the hoary warrior, " Saint Thomas for* 
 give me for talking of victory before the vanquished. 
 I know the tongue of the North Country, and I 
 know the people. A heavy hand have they in war, 
 and a pleasant tongue in peace ; and a warrior is 
 happy who fights with them, for he can have good 
 blows in battle. Farewell, Sir Knight, and may 
 the sorrow of captivity sit light on thy heart, and 
 mayest thou ^-in a battle some other time, against 
 any other nation but old England." 
 
 " A curse, an old man's curse, a father's curse, 
 and a soldier's curse, fall on them king and 
 churl," exclaimed another old man. " Their swords 
 have slain me five fair sons, and when I followed 
 them with all my kinsmen into their accursed coun- 
 try, we fell into an ambush, and I alone escaped 
 to tell the loss, and avenge it. And how it was 
 avenged, let Roxburgh and Melrose tell ; I count-
 
 op SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 ed the slain by the light of their blazing rafters. I 
 am on my way to Flodden to see the dead; I have 
 ever loved to look upon Northern blood since the 
 fatal fight of Forde; and they tell me the Till 
 runs red at Twisel bridge, and that hill and vale 
 are cumbered with corses. Saint George be praised, 
 'tis pleasant news to Anton Fen wick." 
 
 " Old man," said Sir Michael, " gray hairs, and 
 love of human blood are unnatural, nor is it seem'- 
 ly in youth. Strike, but rejoice not ; shed blood, 
 but deplore it ; for to Him above must a strict ac- 
 count be rendered of our deeds on earth, and we 
 shall be rewarded as they are good or evil." " A 
 priest, a preaching priest ! " exclaimed old Fen- 
 wick; " one whose hands, when he holds them to 
 Heaven, are red with innocent blood to the elbows. 
 A priest, a very priest ! one who preaches peace 
 and good-will, but whose practice is slaughter, 
 plunder, revenge, and gluttony. A priest, a mer- 
 ciful priest ! who consecrates the sword that it may- 
 smite the surer, who blesses the spear that it may 
 pierce the deeper. I hate a warrior much, but a 
 priest more." And, setting his staff on the ground, 
 and leaning forward, he proceeded with his com- 
 panions on their pilgrimage. 
 
 " Sir Michael," said Sir James, as the proces- 
 sion went on its way, and the interrupted music 
 and minstrelsy was resumed, it seems to me that
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 69 
 
 Satan himself might establish an infernal church 
 on earth, and obtain believers and servants ; raise 
 a goodly revenue, exhibit a venerable catalogue 
 of relics, and a long list of martyrs, and have his 
 wild traditions and strange legends recorded on 
 vellum, and illuminated on the margin, for the 
 edification of mankind ! " " And has he not, Sir 
 James," replied the other, with a sarcastic glance ? 
 " has not man laboured at this for ages ? Satan has 
 stood looking on at the silent extension of his em- 
 pire, and the growing triumph of riches, luxury, 
 pride, and lasciviousness, over the shirt of hair cloth, 
 the prayer at midnight, the rigid abstinence, and 
 the life of holiness, simplicity, and charity. In how 
 much thinkest thou does his crowned and mitred 
 holiness the blessed father of the church, with the 
 key of the bottomless pit in one hand, and of 
 Heaven in the other ; with his right foot on the 
 necks of the kings of the earth — in how much 
 thinkest thou does he resemble the meek and humble 
 Saviour of mankind ? Satan has a wide and grow- 
 ing empire ; I will shew thee one of his chief seats 
 on earth ; it is at hand." 
 
 They turned aside into a noble avenue of stately 
 trees of elm, oak, and chesnut, and rode along a way 
 wide and well gravelled, with flowers and shrubs 
 lining the road. A fair sheet of water lay before 
 them, swans were swimming, ducks were diving,
 
 TO SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 and two men were pulling a net to the side, full 
 of the most rare and delicious fish. A herd of 
 fe,t bucks showed their horns through the po- 
 lished shafts of a grove of trees ; keepers, with 
 bended bows and stag-hounds approached them; 
 the arrow was seen starting from the string, and 
 glittering through the air; the next moment it 
 pierced the neck of a buck, which gave one bound, 
 then dropt and died. The low of fattened cattle and 
 of milch cows came from a rich extent of meadow, 
 and the bleat of sheep was heard from the hill ; 
 the grunt of well-fed swine from a long range of 
 pens, and the mingled cry of all manner of poul- 
 try from cavey and stack-yard. An orchard filled 
 with the finest fruit lay to the sun, terrace rising 
 over terrace of well pruned and luxuriant vines 
 hung their thick clusters on all sides, and through 
 the whole was heard the continual hum of bees 
 which swarmed among the flowers, seeking trea- 
 sures for the pleasure of man. In the midst of 
 all this stood a stately abbey ; the tops of its numer- 
 ous pinacles were gilt with gold, while two portly 
 personages sat sleeping at either side of the open 
 gate ; their staves in their hands, and brown ves- 
 sels, which, under the pretence of holding water, 
 contained the richest wine, sitting half drained be- 
 side them, 
 
 « Behold," said Michael, " the place of which
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. ^X 
 
 I spoke ; see the image of its interior in the per- 
 sons of its protectors, and listen to the sound which 
 comes from its aisles and its cells ; it is not that of 
 thanksgiving and praise." As he spoke, the sound 
 of laughter and song came echoing along the aisles, 
 and their palfreys neighed and pranced like crea- 
 tures delighted with the wild and unseemly din. 
 " Dismount, and follow me," said Sir Michael ; " I 
 mean to shew you some of the mysteries of the em- 
 pire of death and the grave." They leaped down, 
 and going up one of the long and gloomy aisles they 
 came to a low iron barred and dusty door; it 
 opened as Michael touched it, and they both en- 
 tered. There they found a lamp glimmering at 
 the foot of a crucifix, where lay the sandal-shoon 
 and mantle of the founder of the abbey, and a long 
 rusty sword and helmet worn by a crusading ba- 
 ron, the endower of this devout establishment. On 
 the floor, within the niche, stood an iron chest 
 bound with strong bands, such as ten men might 
 move, but not carry. The hd was raised, a light 
 sparkled beside it, and there knelt the abbot him- 
 self; not in prayer ; not in the contemplation of 
 holy relics ; not stooping down in awe and hu- 
 mility before what the illuminated histoiy of his 
 establishment called " A relique of the true cross 
 found by an angel on the Mount of Ohves ; " but 
 kneeling, and counting the sordid gains of the ab-
 
 72 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 bey, won from the terrors of the dying, the fears 
 of the timid, and the repentance of the rich. The 
 gold ghttered as he counted it over, and the cruci- 
 fix and lamp shook as he clanked down the heavy 
 lid, and proceeded slowly, and with protracted 
 pleasure, to secure it from the spoiler. 
 
 '' I have shewn you one of the promoters of the 
 empire of the evil one on earth," said Michael, as 
 he returned from the treasure cell. " To many a 
 dying wretch has that gold promised admittance to 
 heaven. The murderer's hand has it washed pure ; 
 the adulterer it has cleansed, the plunderer and 
 the spoiler has it released from the guilt of their 
 pursuits, and sent them with a light conscience to 
 resume their evil practices. Dost thou see that 
 door ? over it is hung the scourge and the 
 shirt of hair, the crown of thorns, the pilgrim's 
 staff, and the anchoret's cup; enter, and behold how 
 the scene within corresponds with the sign with- 
 out." The door opened, and Sir James, though 
 well acquainted with the license of court and camp, 
 started back when he saw the revelry of the chil- 
 dren of devotion and abstinence. Round a large 
 table, loaded with the richest food, and flooded with 
 the purest wine, the plates of silver, and the fla~ 
 gons of gold, sat, or rather reeled, the fathers and 
 professors of penitence, sobriety, meditation, and 
 devout learning. A priest full fed, fat, and of a
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 7-3^ 
 
 ruddy complexion, held a long pure glass of strong 
 drink between him and the window, and eyeing it 
 by a ray of light which shone through a virgin and 
 child on the stained casement, chaunted the well- 
 known Scottish song of " Good Ale," to the cla- 
 mourous accompaniment of clattering flagons and 
 clapping of hands. 
 
 " There," he exclaimed, wiping the subsiding 
 foam from his lip, " there's the praise of English 
 ale from the lips of our enemies ; out of the eater 
 came forth meat; you know the holy romance. 
 jFather Forester, can you vindicate that sour decoc- 
 tion from the black Hamburgh cluster which you 
 hold in your hand with half the animation which 
 the bonny Scot has eulogized our abbey ale ?" " I'll 
 tell thee, brother Ambrose, whom our peasants call 
 Flagon Dick, I hold it unseemly in wise men and 
 devout, to halloo vulgar ballads during a slight in- 
 dulgence like this. My body has suffered from 
 vigil and fast, and my voice is hoarse and impaired 
 by singing holy anthems and protracted hallelu- 
 jahs, and I may not comply with thy wish, even 
 though I have a blank indulgence from his reve- 
 rence of Durham for any breach I may make in 
 the rules of the church." And emptying the wine 
 cup with a devout celerity, he replenished it again, 
 and said, " Ah, brother Ambrosius, the curse of he- 
 resy which begins to appear in this land has fallen 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 74 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 as a canker on our Hamburgh cluster. The saint 
 brought over the blessed vine, thou well knowest, in 
 the form of a pilgrim's staff, he stuck it in the 
 ground at our abbey gate, and prayed ; and while 
 he prayed his staff began to bud and shoot, and put 
 forth the richness of its nature ; and before the 
 sun went down there were seventy clusters, black, 
 heavy, and ripe, hanging on the blessed staff. 
 Much I fear that the doubt and misbelief and he- 
 retical opinions in matters of drink, as well as de- 
 votion, have induced our patron saint to withdraw 
 his protection ; the grape has lost its rich flavour, 
 and our religion will sink along with it. 
 
 This annunciation of Father Forester's called 
 forth many a groan from the assembled brethren. 
 " Let us drink from the well of Saint Wulfstone," 
 said a monk, " there is much mysterious power 
 still residing in the holy well. There came a crip- 
 ple — ^both his legs were smitten off; he drank, and 
 as he drank his limbs sprouted forth like the 
 branches of our blessed patron's vine, and he 
 leaped to his feet, threw away his crutches, and 
 danced." " That is but little, brother," said ano- 
 ther monk, " did the blessed water not raise up 
 seed to the noble house of Wark ? The lady was 
 young and fair, and her lord absent on a pilgrim- 
 age, when she came and prayed in the evening 
 with our good abbot, now a saint above, and took
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 75 
 
 a cup of water from the blessed well next her heart 
 every morning. And so much was her bed blessed, 
 that on her lord's return he found a fair boy sitting 
 smiling on either knee. Thanks to the blessed 
 water, the women around us are devout, and the 
 place populous." And they resumed their inter- 
 course with the wine cup and the ale flagon, the 
 mirth was renewed, and the interrupted song re- 
 sumed. 
 
 " There," said Sir Michael ; " call you these 
 servants of Satan, or of the saints? Behold that 
 other door ; there are sculptured holy nuns, silent, 
 demure, and devout; see how the figures clasp 
 their hands, look modestly down, and seem as 
 pure as new created stars. Open the door, and 
 compare the scene within to the symbols without : 
 the soft and luxurious couches pressed by those de- 
 dicated to devotion, who have nothing pure about 
 them save their garments ; and who brought chas- 
 tity to the convent, and lost it there. Look in, and 
 behold them; are they kneeling; are they chaunt- 
 ing hymns; are they making raiment for the 
 naked; nay, are they making raiment for their 
 own babes ? No. And yet I blame them less than 
 I do the religion which has thus gambled them out 
 of their virtue. She who is frail with hmi who 
 forgives sins and can grant immunities to iniquity ; 
 who can sell a free admission into Paradise, and 
 E 2
 
 ^^ SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 with whom creed and chastity are ahke infalHble^ 
 may be blamed for her conduct less than for her 
 faith." « Open not the door, Sir Michael," said 
 his companion. « I can credit thee in this. Let 
 us leave this place."
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. ^77 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 This world 's a fine believing world. 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher. 
 
 The sun was in its mid-day strength when Sir 
 Michael, conducting his companion from the abbey 
 of Blessinghame, entered a thick wood, and reach- 
 ing a little sunny knoll which rose in its centre, sat 
 down on the grass, for they were wearied with toil at 
 night, and with their flight in the morning. " A 
 stoup of wine, Sir James," said his companion, " and 
 a cake of spiced bread, would not be missed from the 
 table of those revellers in the abbey ; thou art wea- 
 ried and way-worn, and unused to the privations 
 which the children of misfortune endure. A cup 
 of wine therefore, and a morsel of food, will 
 strengihen and conifort thee, so ask and have it." 
 " A cup of water and a crust of bread were wel- 
 come," answered Sir James, " for though my couch 
 has been soft, and my fare dainty, I have sat at the 
 humble hearths of the peasants of the land ; tasted 
 their food, and proved their hospitality ; so coarse 
 fare is as welcome as food from the board of a king, 
 QY more luxurious still, from the table of an abbot."
 
 78 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 Sir Michael blew a low shrill note on the ivory 
 horn which hung at his girdle, and cried, " Bru- 
 nelfin," and Sir James, though somewhat inured 
 to wonders, could not forbear starting, as he saw 
 coming from the green wood bough, a half grown 
 youth, bare armed, bare necked, bare headed, and 
 bare footed ; with black eyes, black locks, and a 
 complexion as brown as a well ripened nut. He 
 stood before Sir Michael, then vanished at the 
 words " wine and food." " By the splendour of 
 heaven ! " exclaimed Sir James, " thou hast good 
 servants at command. To what element does this 
 page of thine belong ? he has an alacrity of look, 
 a consciousness of what is required of him, which 
 gross mortals can never attain." 
 
 "He is neither wholly of heaven, wholly of 
 earth, nor of the kingdom imder the earth," an- 
 swered Sir Michael; "he is of the race of beings 
 called Gods by our heathen ancestors ; but the 
 austerity of the early, and the profligacy of the 
 later Christians, have driven them to the woods and 
 the hills, to the rivers and the forests. To some 
 he seems as an imp sent to tempt and betray ; but 
 to others he comes an obedient and useful friend ; 
 and the name of many a good deed is usurped by 
 the cunning and pride of man, which is wrought 
 by him alone. But see, he returns ! that wine is 
 rich, for it scents the forest as it comes ; and the
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 79 
 
 smell of that food would lure the cormorant fi'om 
 the cloud." A small damask cloth was spread 
 upon the grass ; wine sparklmg in a golden cup, and 
 a fowl dropping from the fire, and bread fragrant 
 with spice, were placed upon it : then the page, re- 
 tiring under the greenwood bough, folded his 
 arms over his breast, and looked dovm in silence. 
 
 Sir James could not resist sitting down to this 
 singular banquet. He stretched out his hands, and 
 caused the food and the drink to disappear with a 
 rapidity which would do honour to a priest in our 
 own happy days of short graces, and long dinners. 
 " This pullet now," said he, " has been fattened by 
 the diligence and skill of the church ; in no unho- 
 lier hands would these small bones have been 
 blessed with such a load of what is tender and sa- 
 voury. And this wine, neither the vaults of Falk- 
 land, nor the crypts of Holyrood, could produce 
 ought so nectareous. Friend Michael, I may cry 
 with Poh-phemus in Homer's song, « More ! bring 
 me more ! this is divine !' " " And thou shalt be 
 indulged James," replied his friend, v/ith a smile, 
 " our friends at the abbey, who press the black Ham- 
 burgh cluster, can spare thee as much as will make 
 thee as merry as themselves. Replenish the cup !" 
 The cup vanished, and was soon returned, brimful 
 of wine, to the right hand of the knight. 
 
 " By the brown locks of Jane Douglas," said
 
 80 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 Sir James, " and by her bright eyes, too, this is won- 
 drous. Thou art a glorious caterer, Sir Michael, 
 and this brown equerry of thine has a nimble 
 foot and a skipping spirit. Sit down by me, my 
 nut-brown friend, and taste of my cup and my 
 food. Hast thou never a harp or a dulcimer 
 Childe, to waken into music? — I see thou hast a 
 singing eye in thy head. Til warrant thou hast 
 sat on a fold dike at milking time, and lilted to 
 the merry maids of cold Caledonia. Gome, a 
 verse, my relique of heathenesse ; I can drink and 
 listen like any divine." The brown page, thus 
 pressed, warbled out several verses, which have 
 been preserved imperfectly among the people of 
 the North country. 
 
 BRUNELFIN'S SONG. 
 
 I love 'mongst groves and glens to range. 
 
 When brown the nuts are hinging ; 
 I love 'mongst pastoral lands to roam, 
 
 What time the shepherd's singing. 
 The shepherd's pipe, the reaper's horn. 
 
 The wild bee hamming clearly; 
 The milking pail, and thrashing flail. 
 
 Are things I love fu' dearly. 
 
 II. 
 
 A pleasant darke for man I work. 
 At midnight when I'm saunterin ;
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 81 
 
 I seize the fox, and to his tail 
 
 I hang a jack-a-lantern. 
 I reaped one night ten acres good, 
 
 To douce John Clarke of Cloonle, 
 He clapt his hands, and shouted loud, 
 
 My blessings on thee, Brownie. 
 
 III. 
 
 I 've safely brought the cannie wife. 
 
 Through Annan chafed and foaming ; 
 I 've shorn ten thousand sheep between, 
 
 The midnight and the gloaming. 
 There 's not a dame 'tween Tweed and Dee, 
 
 From Durisdeer to Downie ; 
 But waves her hand when she sees me, 
 
 And laughs and cries out *' Brownie." 
 
 IV. 
 
 I kindle the meteor in the moss, 
 
 I light the glowworm's candles ; 
 I trim the fairy's cornpipe clear. 
 
 And tie his dancing sandals. 
 The maiden bribes me with her smile. 
 
 The dame with cream and honey ; 
 For Elfin Brownie cannot be bought. 
 
 By kingdoms coined in money. 
 
 *' Cleverly sung, thou good brown page," cried 
 Sir James, setting down the empty cup, "the wine 
 made thy song ghde charmingly away, and as 
 song comes to thee spontaneously, and wine of its 
 own accord, why a little more of both would make 
 this lonely wilderness endurable." The page 
 E 5
 
 82 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 glanced at Sir Michael, and fixing his large dark 
 eye on the knight, stood still. Sir James, whose 
 impetuous temper the wine had somewhat in- 
 flamed, laid his hand on his sword, and said, pre- 
 senting the empty cup, " Come, fly, another cupfull 
 of thy fairy nectar. What, thou sullen imp ! 
 movest thou neither limb nor tongue ? Fill it, lest 
 I give thy disobedience a blow." And he threw 
 the cup to the page, who placed it on the grass 
 before him, and said, 
 
 " I serve the kind, and I scorn the fierce, and 
 neither threats, gold, tears, nor entreaty, have any 
 force with one who is the follower and servant of 
 the good, the virtuous, and the enemy of the over- 
 bearing, the lascivious, and the vain. I know thee> 
 James, of old, and poor and feeble as I seem, I 
 have punished thee for being false to thy vows, and 
 for seeking to stain the pure and the beautiful." 
 " Thou brown bantling," exclaimed the knight, 
 " how darest thou presume to say, that thou hast 
 punished me, and that I ever sought to injure what 
 is lovely and pure ? " The page uttered a wild 
 discordant laugh, which made the bird start from 
 the bough, and the deer from its den. " Aha ! Sir 
 Knight, " he said, " wot ye not, that like an angel 
 clad i^ glory, I stood before you at Falkland, 
 and warned you against this war! Wot ye not 
 what I cried at midnight, in the middle of Edin-
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. S3 
 
 burgh, which startled so many of Scotland's no- 
 bles, and well nigh brought the king from the side 
 of Marjorey Sandilands ? Wot ye not when ye 
 went as a wandering hai-per to the chaml^er win- 
 dow of Bessie Carmichael, who appeared before 
 you first as a light running along the ground ; then 
 as a spectre with glomvorm's eyes, and fingers like 
 a wolf's fangs; next in the shape of the young 
 maiden herself, and finally in the form of a plump 
 and pious priest, who admonished ye of your in- 
 tended sin, with a scourge which was any thing 
 but visionary? And wot ye who it was, Sh Knight, 
 that came to you at the ford of Pittendoune, and 
 saved ye from the iron hammer and glowing tongs 
 of John Waldenheat, whose daughter your wis- 
 dom wished to woo? The long hairy arm, which 
 raised a storm of blows on die blacksmith's head, 
 was the self same arm which has handed you the 
 wine cup, and spread the feast for you in the 
 English desert." 
 
 Sir James laughed loud when the page concluded 
 his speech, and said, " Fair fall thee, my litde brown 
 maker of merry mischief, let us be friends. Ah, I 
 remember thy ministration in those matters well, 
 and worthily didst thou acquit thyself in thy un- 
 dertakings. So even in the words of thine own 
 song I say, " My blessings on thee BrowTiie." Give 
 me°a shake of thy hand ? " The Elfin drew back
 
 84 SIR MICHAEL SCOrt. 
 
 from the proffered hand, the knight persisted in 
 this Northern mode of ratifying friendly compact ; 
 the eyes of the former glanced with anger; the 
 latter, unused to contradiction, started to his feet, 
 urged, threatened, and drew his sword, and was 
 about to use it, when Sir Michael blew his horn, 
 and the thick and eager trampling of innumerable 
 horses was heard, and the English war cry, which 
 made the woods echo. 
 
 Sir Michael rose, and on looking down one of 
 the wide green glades of the forest, saw the ap- 
 proach of the English chivalry ; their helmets glit- 
 tered in the sun ; their drawn swords glanced as 
 they moved, and they advanced like men eager to 
 do some deed of arms, for there was a sore strife 
 which should be foremost. " Sir James," said Sir 
 Michael, "molest not my page, his wiles and 
 strength would foil five hundred such as you; 
 here is danger of another kind, foes of flesh and 
 blood." Sir James looked, and his colour changed ; 
 his sword was in his hand, and placing his back 
 to a spreading elm, he said, calmly, " Alive shall I 
 never be taken, and here shall I die." 
 
 " All this is supreme knight errrantry," said 
 Sir Michael, " and worthy of James Stuart, who 
 for the flattering letter of a wily queen promised 
 to step three steps, and strike three strokes with a 
 sword in England. Here you are not ordained to
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 85 
 
 fight, and here you are not doomed either to capti- 
 vity or death. Brunelfin our horses quick." Ere 
 he had well done speaking, the palfreys stood beside 
 them ; in a moment their hands were on their 
 manes, and their thighs were over their backs, and 
 away the palfreys started with a snort; the trees 
 looked reeling and dizzy, the ground seemed run- 
 ning backward, the trampling of the English ca- 
 valry grew fainter and fainter, and the call of the 
 trumpet more remote. They slackened their speed, 
 and entered into conversation. 
 
 " Sir Michael," said Sir James, " your monkish 
 wine made me chafe at our good page ; who, witli 
 a spice of wickedness in his nature, has some 
 kindly feelings about him, and seems adroit, ima- 
 ginative, wilful, and roguish." " Of the wine," an- 
 swered Michael, " one cupful makes men gladsome, 
 cheerful, open, and affectionate; two cups make 
 him fierce, froward, quarrelsome, and intractable ; 
 three cups give him a thirst for blood, and a fero- 
 city which makes no distinction; and a fourth 
 levels him with the beasts of the field, and renders 
 him an object of scorn and abhorrence. My page 
 is ever ready, active, and obedient : treat him with 
 tenderness, and forgive his wild whims and strange 
 sallies, as matters which belong to the grosser side 
 of his nature." " I think I shall love him too," 
 answered Sir James ; " but, Michael, you are sin-
 
 86 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 gularly economical in your establishment — steeds 
 without saddles or bridles, and a well-beloved page 
 without shoes and silver tags, or a bonnet with 
 gold tassels, or a mantle of Lincoln green, richly 
 embroidered." 
 
 " My steeds," answered Sir Michael, " know 
 neither stall nor manger; and my page despises 
 the costly vanities of the earth as much as 
 I do. You should try to love these simple ser- 
 vants of mine, who can serve us better than the 
 fleetest or the wisest of earth-born creatures.'* 
 " By the souls of my ancestors !" exclaimed Sir 
 James, " I admire them entirely; and, as a proof 
 of my regard, I would shoe these palfreys in solid 
 silver, and bit their bridles with gold." " That 
 smith is not yet born,'' said Sir Michael, " who 
 dares to touch their fetlocks; thev are the living 
 spirits of the brooks, and only heard of in the 
 gross and imperfect traditions of our country. 
 For many a century they bore on their unwilling 
 backs the evil spirits of darkness, and their name 
 is associated with deeds of mischief and blood. 
 Once — it matters not when or where — I was roam- 
 ing at midnight by the bonnie green banks of a 
 running stream, when I beheld an evil shape 
 ascend from the earth; in one hand he held a 
 whip, in the other a bridle, and standing over the 
 rivulet, he threw a handful of the water into the
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 87 
 
 air, and lo ! there came from the stream a beau- 
 tiful palfrey. The evil shape leaped on its 
 back, and away it darted, with a shudder and a 
 neigh of pain. I followed, and came to a little 
 lonely mound, on which the midnight moonbeams 
 lay. Amid the sweet light of the planet I beheld 
 many a fearful shape. The evil spirit sprung 
 down, and seated itself beside them. 1 caught the 
 river-steed by the bridle, and said, ' Return to 
 thine own element, and never more shalt thou bear 
 an unblessed load.' It sank at my feet, the shapes 
 of darkness rose all and yelled, and sought to re- 
 gain the bridle. It is now in my bosom. Satan's 
 power on earth is lessened, and the good spirits of 
 the brooks are all my servants." As he spoke, the 
 horses tossed high their manes and snorted, as if 
 aware of his kindness. 
 
 " All this poets never dreamed of before," said 
 Sir James, and the world, though prone to indulge 
 in many a vain belief, will hardly give it credence. 
 I love, however, the good spirits of our native 
 streams; and while I lived in rule, I unwittingly 
 paid them respect, by keeping my chrj-stal rivulets 
 free from the pollution of the poisonous dyes and 
 impurities of manufactures. The shepherdess, who 
 binds up her locks by the shining and watery 
 mirror ; and the reaper, who laves his hot brow in 
 the stream, and eyes the mottled trouts darting
 
 88 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT, 
 
 from side to side; the deer, which stands arid 
 gazes at its small fleet limbs; and the thrifty 
 maiden, who bleaches her bridal-webs on its marr 
 gin daisies, are the natural accompaniments of our 
 Scottish streams. Is my pleasant nutbrown friend 
 of watery descent also ? " 
 
 " He is fit for any element," answered Siif ..^ 
 Michael ; " and though of a mixed nature, is 
 more for good than for evil. He was once in the 
 slavery of the fallen spirits, and I had the good 
 fortune to redeem him from the control of one 
 who had chained him with a power mightier than 
 he possessed to unbind. Listen, for it is also 
 a wonderous tale. There lived a lord in this 
 land, of mighty knowledge and great power, and 
 his name was Lord Soulis; but he applied his 
 knowledge to evil, and his power to oppress man- 
 kind. All that he undertook prospered ; he built 
 a castle, which defied alike the skill of his enemies 
 to scale, or their cunning to undermine ; he plun- 
 dered the English, and they could neither redeem 
 the spoil nor vanquish him ; he harried the Scotch, 
 and defeated their ablest captains, and he gathered 
 great wealth ; but with his wealth mistrust of man- 
 kind came, and he locked himself up at night in 
 a strong and lonely chamber, and slept amidst his 
 treasure. Now it happened that my page had for 
 centuries dwelt in this lord's family, and to his
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 89 
 
 foreknowledge and art men imputed his master's 
 success and good fortune. When he saw his lord 
 troubled about his treasure he dug a pit, and 
 aided him in removing his gold thither; and 
 when his lord saw his treasure in safety, he said, 
 < Now for a faithful servant to watch over it, who 
 shall hinder alike the power of the prince of dark- 
 ness and the might of men to remove it;' and 
 by a strong enchantment he fixed Brunelfin to 
 watch beside it, and returned to upper air. 
 And the lord died suddenly, and his castle was 
 thrown down, and no one knew where to find his 
 gold, or how to seize it from the elf, for a spell 
 compelled him to defend it. Now it happened 
 when Robert the Good came to Lochmaben, and 
 gathered his vassals for the redemption of Scot- 
 land, he knew not where to find treasures to 
 enable him to war successfully with the strength 
 and riches of Edward. ' So please you, sire,' said 
 Sir Roger Kirkpatrick, ' in the old castle of Liddel 
 there is an enchanted vault filled with treasure, 
 over which an elf or demon watches ; if the trea- 
 sure is ever to be used, it cannot be employed in 
 a better cause than for Scottish freedom, and if 
 my liege likes, I shall try to make the goblin give 
 up its trust.' The king smiled, consented, and 
 Sir Roger rode onwards to Liddel; pondering how 
 this redemption could be wrought. ' If it can be
 
 90 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 done by sharp steel/ muttered the hardy knight, 
 * the gobUn shall yield its gold ; if it can only be 
 accomplished by prayer and spell, the saints must 
 aid me, else I shall return empty handed;' and he 
 dismounted from his horse, removed several frag- 
 ments of the fallen tower, wrenched an iron door 
 from its hinges, beat open a second with a single 
 stroke of his axe, and burst into the treasure 
 vault. The light of his armour made the elfin 
 start. ' Brown elf,' said Sir Roger, ' yield thy 
 gold, else take the dint of my axe, which has 
 severed the iron staples of thy massy doors 
 like reeds.' The elf laughed till the vault re- 
 echoed and said, ' Thy axe, Roger Kirkpa- 
 trick, is not made of metal that can do me 
 harm, and my gold thou canst not have.' The 
 knight brandished his war-axe, but it stuck in the 
 air ; he drew his sword — it twisted like a serpent 
 in his hand ; he sprung on his adversary, and was 
 thrown on the floor with such force, that all the 
 cavern re-echoed to his armour, and the sound 
 reached me as I sat in the moonlight, meditating 
 how the adventure of the treasure might be 
 achieved. I came and touched the elfin with my 
 rod, and the knight with my hand ; the gramery 
 which bound them was dissolved ; the elf bounded 
 into the open air, shouted wild from dale, hill, 
 and turret-top, ' Blessings on the hand which
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 91 
 
 saved me from slaveiy : I shall be its servant.' 
 Sir Roger took the treasure, Bruce fought, and 
 Scotland was freed; but Brunelfin is still my 
 servant, and well I love him for his faithfulness ; 
 he is with me wheresoever I go, and I dread nei- 
 ther man nor e\dl spirit when he is by me." 
 
 " By my faith, Sir Michael," said the knight, 
 " he is a worthy page, and I honour him for his 
 fidelity. But tell me, is that the elfin brown, in the 
 shape of a speckled thrush, which has flown from 
 tree to tree, singing all the way; or, rather, has 
 he transformed himself into that nimble squirrel, 
 which runs side by side with us, and still looks on 
 us from every shrub and tree ? " "I know not," 
 said Sir Michael, " in what form he may chuse to 
 follow, but well I know that he is nigh at hand." 
 A loud startling laugh from the wood gave audible 
 assurance of his presence, and a white horned owl 
 fluttered away among the shafts of the trees, utter- 
 ing a loud cry. 
 
 " Sir Michael," said the knight, " what is be- 
 come of those enemies whom we so lately saw, 
 and from whose hands we so opportunely escaped?" 
 " Look behind thee. Sir Knight," said Sir Michael, 
 " and tell me what thou seest." Sir James looked 
 behind him, and he saw, not without fear, a com- 
 pany of armed knights in close pursuit, accompa- 
 nied by archers and musqueteers on horseback,
 
 92 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 from whose bows and harquebusses, arrows and 
 balls began to come in a mingled flight. " Fear 
 them not," said Sir Michael, " their shots cannot 
 harm you, their arrows cannot pierce you, nor 
 can their swords or spears work you the smallest 
 annoy. It is Lord Surrey and his chivalry, and he 
 hopes to take thee dead or alive to the footstool of 
 King Henry." ^ 
 
 Sir James looked behind him, his blood rushed 
 fiercely to his brow, a wild light streamed from his 
 eyes, and wheeling round his horse, and drawing 
 his sword, he urged him back on his pursuers. 
 He closed with them in a moment; and so rapid 
 was the motion of his horse, that he had not time 
 to use his sword till the foremost kniffht was 
 thrown to the ground, horse and man; and the 
 one who succeeded shared the same fate. The 
 bearer of the royal banner rode in the middle of 
 the party, a knight renowned for his strength and 
 courage ; the steed of Sir James sprung with his 
 forefeet against his side, and banner and bearer 
 rolled on the grass. The palfrey then started 
 away, as a falcon from a flock of doves which he 
 has chased and torn. 
 
 " I would fain try a gray-goose shaft on that 
 coal-black steed," said a Tynedale archer, drawing 
 his bowstring to his right ear as he spoke, and 
 sending an arrow after Sir James. " Hurrah for
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 93 
 
 Giles's arrow !" shouted a brother archer, fitting, 
 as he spoke, a shaft to his ovm. bowstring, " for it 
 flies over the forest trees as high as the goose that 
 fledged it. I shall try the rider's Kendal mantle 
 with mine." Though drawn by a strong and ex- 
 perienced hand, and directed by a practised eye, 
 the shaft struck the ground a quoit's cast and no 
 more before the archer, and all his comrades 
 laughed. " I shall try him with lead," said a 
 musqueteer, presenting his harquebuss as he spoke. 
 The ball, instead of following the aim of the sol- 
 dier, went whistling amongst the forest boughs. 
 A shower of leaves, and loud laughter, succeeded 
 the shot. " Nay, then," said one, who carried a 
 long lance dyed three feet and more up the shaft 
 with blood at Flodden, " since neither shaft nor 
 ball can touch him, it is plain that steel must do 
 it ; but what steed, unless it had wings, could come 
 up with yon fiery palfrey ! " 
 
 " These southern churls drew sharper shafts 
 against James Stuart and his chivalry yesterday 
 than they draw against thee to-day," said Sir 
 Michael, " for on Flodden-edge they flew like the 
 geese that fledged them, in flocks of hundreds at 
 once ; but these encounters and pursuits sen'e to 
 cheer the way, and enliven the lisdessness of a 
 long journey, and I am desirous of amusing thee 
 as much as I can in our lonely road." " I thank
 
 d4 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 thee, Michael, for thy attention," answered Sir 
 James, but these shafts and balls might mar thy 
 good wishes, since my garments are not of proof." 
 " Art thou an unbeliever still ? " replied Michael ; 
 " did I not save thee, when all our nobles were 
 destroyed ; have I not conducted thee safely from 
 dangers thick and certain; from the spears, and 
 shafts, and bullets, of thy sworn enemies ? Thou 
 art as obstinate as King James was : he was warned 
 by a vision, admonished by cries from the grave, 
 yet he believed not, and allowed the sweet words 
 of a woman of France, and the white arms of a 
 Northumbrian dame, to guide him more than 
 words from heaven, and warning from the tomb." 
 
 " Sir Michael," exclaimed Sir James, " thou 
 art as much of a churl as a knight, else thou 
 wouldst not insult me by naming misfortunes such 
 as those which have been so dearly atoned ' I 
 seek not thy counsel, neither covet I thy com- 
 pany." " Thou must have them both neverthe- 
 less. Sir Knight," answered the other ; " the bark 
 can no more be separated from the branch, yet the 
 branch live, than I can be separated from thee, 
 unless for thy certain downfall and destruction. 
 Wouldst thou know how weak and miserable 
 thou of thyself art? Return then, and face the 
 lances of thy pursuers ; try on them thy whole 
 strength, and feel how feeble and ineffectual it is
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 95 
 
 without other aid. Nay, go and tiy, for I read 
 distrust and suspicion in thy looks. I shall not 
 interfere : thou shalt know how much thou canst 
 do of thine own strength — go, go." 
 
 Sir James, whose fiery impatience of nature was 
 not yet sufficiently humbled by misfortune to allow 
 him to judge with prudence and sagacity, felt all 
 the knight-errantry of his character start into 
 action with the taunts of Sir Michael, and wheel- 
 ing his horse round, and confronting his pursuers, 
 darted upon them at once. But ere he reached 
 them, by a full lance's length, blood streamed 
 from all the wounds he received at Flodden, he 
 swooned in his seat, dropped lifeless to all appear- 
 ance on the sward, while an hundred men in mail 
 leaped from their horses to seize the wounded 
 knight. They stood and looked on the ground, 
 and on one another, in silence and wonder : a 
 moment before they beheld a knight sheathed in 
 mail, his sword in his hand, and his war-horse 
 urged to full speed, come rushing upon them ; 
 they saw him reel in his seat, fall to the ground, 
 and now they beheld nothing but the forest tree 
 and the trampled sod. 
 
 " Saint George and honest England," exclaimed 
 a Yorkshire knight, " against Scotland and all its 
 gramery ; were any priest by to confess me, now 
 my words would be, " James King of Scots sat this
 
 90 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 moment on horseback before me, his helmet on his 
 head, his crown above his helmet, his banner 
 spread, and his sword drawn." " Then wouldst 
 thou confess an untruth, Sir Edmund Robinson," 
 said one of his companions, " for the Scottish 
 knight who came forward to charge us even now, 
 had neither crown on his helmet, nor banner dis- 
 played before him, though he seemed a stalwart 
 warrior, ^t to do battle for his ladye love, or his 
 country." " You are both wrong," exclaimed Sir 
 Harry Harcla, " for the warrior who advanced 
 upon us even now, resembled one of those wild 
 Saracens with whom our ancestors contended for 
 Jerusalem of old. His head, his feet, his breast, 
 and arms were bare; he carried a javelin in his 
 hand, and his horse, unbroke to saddle or bridle, 
 came onward like an eagle in flight, and with its 
 teeth and forefeet was a match for a stout warrior." 
 " But whether king, knight, or Saracen," said Sir 
 Thomas Percy, " it matters little, since he is no 
 where to be seen. I saw him fall from his horse to 
 the ground, and from that moment I beheld him 
 no more. He could not dissolve himself into water, 
 and mingle with that stream ; he could not melt 
 himself into air, and vanish with the viewless wind ; 
 where can the warrior be?" 
 
 " Lord enlighten thee, Sir Thomas Percy," said 
 a veteran archer of his own band, " these border
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 97 
 
 Scots can make themselves into any thing. I'll 
 warrant that the wild fox which I just now saw with 
 a weasel on its back, was the Scottish knight and 
 his steed. Bless thee ! Hugh Hepburn of Mew- 
 ross, could have made a haystack into a horse, and 
 a bundle of spears into a band of armed men. 
 I once heard him whistle fifty stark warriors out of 
 Tarras moss: thou wouldst have thought armed 
 men grew in the flow, and that they only waited for 
 the word of the magician to start into existence 
 and action. And by my faith they were as stout 
 soldiers as ever drew sword or levelled lance." 
 «* Lord love thee ! Ned Doughton, how thou 
 talkest," said a Kendal archer, drawing his bow, 
 and fixing his eye upon a large gray stone in the 
 middle of a little rivulet which meandered through 
 the wood. " I saw the knight and his horse ride 
 into that stream, and sink away like a silver mist. 
 Never trust me, Ned, but yonder gray stone knows 
 something of the matter. I saw it rise from the 
 water as the horse and rider sank, I shall try 
 what one of my sharpest shafts tliinks on't." 
 
 As he spoke he discharged his arrow, it struck 
 the stone, sunk deeper than the barb, and stood 
 and quivered as if the object which it penetrated 
 were endowed with life. " Kendal for ever," ex- 
 claimed several voices, " our shafts can pierce 
 steel plate or sohd stone like satin or hke silk." 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 99 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 Many knights left their horses, and ran to look §t 
 the wondrous shot. " It is as hard as the nether 
 millstone," said a soldier, striking the stone with his 
 war-axe, " and turns the hard edge of my hatchet, 
 which has a temper that can chop flints." " It is 
 as hard as the anvil my sword was hammered on," 
 said another soldier, striking the gray rock with his 
 blade, " and yet Kendal Dick's arrow has sunk 
 into it like a knife into Christmas pudding. Dick, 
 thou art a warlock, and thy shafts and thyself 
 should be burnt together." The archer sought 
 to regain his arrow ; but it seemed grown into the 
 stone. " It is all magic together," said a soldier^ 
 whose head was gray, and who was conversant with 
 all the strange beliefs of the border ; "it is all 
 magic ; this is enchanted ground, and if we speed 
 not the faster away, we shall be turned into deer, and 
 our horses into hounds, and shall be chased through 
 the fairy wood till the resurrection." Some shook 
 their heads and moved on, while others, though 
 they talked of idle superstitions, beliefs, and the 
 protection of the saints, were not slow in following, 
 and the whole party soon emerged from the close 
 forest to the open plain, and pursued their way 
 without interruption. 
 
 Meanwhile, Sir Michael sat alone beneath a 
 huge and spreading oak which grew on the sum^ 
 mit of a little mound in the forest. A small pool
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 99 
 
 of water glittered in the sun before him ; a pair of 
 wild swans enjoyed the secure fountain, and threw 
 up the water in streams with their wings, stretched 
 then' necks and grazed on the grassy margin, ap- 
 parently unconscious of any one's presence. In a 
 moment, however, they stood upright in the water, 
 raised their heads high over the banks, and looked 
 round; then extended their wings, rose abreast 
 into the air, and disappeared over the summits of 
 the trees. The approach of something human had 
 startled them, and Sir Michael soon saw Brunei- 
 fin and Sir James riding together up a winding 
 glade; and no wonder that he smiled, for they 
 rode strangely. 
 
 One moment Sir James sat fairly and gracefully 
 on his horse; another, he was laid across like a 
 sack of corn, then he rode with his face to the 
 horse's tail, and soon that position was resigned for 
 a seat on the ground. He was remounted, un- 
 seated, and upset so often that his patience was 
 exhausted ; he strove to draw his sword, he could 
 not find the handle, he sought to strike the form 
 which annoyed him, and he struck the trees ; while 
 at every strange involuntary gambol which he 
 made there was a wild shout raised, and the whole 
 forest for a full mile round seemed to join in a 
 chorus of laughter at his distress. Of the form 
 which wrought him all this annoyance he formed 
 F 2
 
 100 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 many strange opinions. Sometimes it seemed a 
 hedgehog which rolled before him; sometimes a 
 bat which hovered round his head, brushing his 
 face with its leathern wings ; then an adder dart- 
 ing from its coil, or a little blue flame which 
 danced in the air before him, blinding his sight 
 and bewildering his judgment. Once he felt some- 
 thing breathing over his shoulder ; he looked round 
 and shrieked in dismay at the infernal visage which 
 presented itself, and a hundred tongues laughed 
 around till the whole forest rang. 
 
 Brunelfin reassumed his usual form, and walk- 
 ed slowly by the side of the knight, combed his 
 long elf locks with his long lean fingers, laughed 
 at the looks of curiosity or suspicion with which 
 Sir James regarded him, and burst at times into 
 wild and irrepressible fits of singing. The songs 
 which he sung were all concerning himself. The 
 following verses remained long on the memory of 
 Sir James : 
 
 I. 
 
 Oft with the mirthsome fairy 
 
 I dance beneath the moon ; 
 Or, with the crooked lightning, 
 
 I run the waves aboon. 
 I run around the mountain top. 
 
 Till stars with fear grow blind. 
 Then off I go careering 
 
 Before the viewless wind.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 101 
 
 II. 
 
 Yestreen the moon shone dimly, 
 
 As I went gaily by 
 The dame with rod of rowan tree, 
 
 Drove home her frighted kye, 
 The owl was silent, and the fox 
 
 Howled, and ran round about; 
 And all the candles in the sky 
 
 Went dancing in and out. 
 
 III. 
 
 As I sailed down Dalgoner glen 
 
 An hour before the dawn. 
 Three witches round a will-o'-wisp. 
 
 Were dancing on the lawn ; 
 And all the dead men rose and danced, 
 
 And all the women too ; 
 And clatter clatter went their feet. 
 
 Among the dropping dew. 
 
 IV. 
 
 And all the dead men shouted. 
 
 And all the witches sang, 
 O welcome merry Elfin, 
 
 And down to earth I sprang. 
 Then round and round we merrily went. 
 
 Nor spared we shanks or shoon. 
 And well I mind the tune they played, 
 
 ** 'Tis merry 'neath the moon." 
 
 V. 
 
 John Thomson's ship on Solway sailed. 
 And merrily o'er the foam
 
 1^ SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 I heard the gladsome mariners 
 Shout at the sight of home. 
 
 An old dame off her slipper flung, 
 I wot she flung it high ; 
 
 The ship went down head foremost, 
 I heard the drowning cry.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 103 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The queen of the fairies keepit me, 
 
 In yon green hill to dwell ; 
 And I 'm a fairy lith and limb, 
 
 Young lady view me well. 
 We sleep in rose buds soft and sweet, 
 
 We revel in the stream, 
 We wanton lightly on the wind. 
 
 Or glide on a sunbeam. 
 
 Tale of Tamlane. 
 
 When Sir James approached Sir Michael, he 
 was regarded with an austere look. " Creature of 
 earth," he said, " how long wilt thou follow the folly 
 of thine own heart ; how long wilt thou run thine 
 own wilful and headlong career ; and wh^n will the 
 terrible lessons of humilit^^, which heaven has been 
 teaching thee, become visible in thy thoughts and 
 deeds? Man of mitameable and unteachable 
 heart, when shall I find in thee a mild and meek 
 companion j who will fulfil heaven's behest with wil- 
 lingness and thankfulness ? who will journey with 
 me where man's foot has seldom been, and pre- 
 pare his spirit for the change from earthly sorrow 
 to immortal joy." "Go on. Sir Michael," said the 
 knight, "and I will follow thee, nor for once
 
 104 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 question thy right to guide and direct me : I feel 
 that without thee my own might is as a cobweb 
 against, a steel lance." "It is well, Sir James," 
 he replied, "dismount, and let us refresh our- 
 selves." He dismounted, seated himself on the 
 ground, and enjoyed the sunny warmth of the air, 
 and the autumnal beauty of the woods. 
 
 " Sir Knight," thus begun Sir Michael, " we 
 have a laborious and wonderful adventure to un- 
 dertake ; lackest thou drink and food ? Speak ! 
 here is my page, and any rich man's table from 
 Pentland to Penzance, shall yield us a morsel, else 
 he has lost all his skill. On the dinner table of 
 King Henry there smokes a peacock, stuffed with 
 spiCe, wilt thou have a wing ?" " Let Kings who 
 reign enjoy royal food," replied Sir James, " alas ! 
 their life is one of anxiety and apprehension. 
 They are too high to be happy, and have too much 
 power not to make mortal enemies by their use or 
 abuse of it. Let Henry have his peacock stuffed 
 with spice, and may his sleep be sound, and his 
 dreams pleasant." " I see a man, a holy man," 
 said Sir Michael, " one whose looks are meek and 
 austere, and whose dress is coarse and mean ; he has 
 some crumbs before him, which may suffice a man 
 so meek as thou. The holy man's table is of solid 
 silver ; the vessels which are on it are of pure gold ; 
 and as much marrowy food, and as much delicious
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 105 
 
 wine are there as would gladden three such knights 
 as thou. Wilt thou share with this humble fol- 
 lower of the meekest spirit that ever lived on earth? '* 
 " Let him wallow amid his luxuries," answered 
 Sir James ; "let him quaff wine, and slumber on 
 velvet couches; he will waken yet on a bed of 
 reeds, and sit down and be thankful to a cup of 
 cold water and a crust. Change is at hand." 
 
 Sir Michael smiled, and proceeded. " There is a 
 man, great in the market place, whose wisdom is a 
 gospel on 'Change ; to whose warehouses every wind 
 of heaven wafts the abundance of the mainlands, 
 and the sweetness of the isles ; whose scripture is his 
 ledger, and whose ten commandments are the com- 
 mercial laws which regulate the pecuniary inter- 
 course of nations. His table smokes with costly 
 dishes, is loaded with rare wines, and the merchant 
 kings of the island are listening to a brief grace 
 from the lips of their entertainers. Wilt thou have 
 a dish and a cup from his table ?" " Truly no," 
 answered Sir James ; "a cluster of nuts and a 
 mouthful of water will suffice, and here they are ;" 
 and rising as he spoke, he plucked some nuts, and 
 ate them, and lying down to the fountain before 
 him, he drank long and gladly, and was refreshed. 
 " I see now. Sir James," said Sir Michael, " that 
 you are taming down the gross and sensual spirit 
 within you, and that you will soon be pure and fit 
 F 5
 
 106 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 for beginning the glorious and wondrous journies 
 which heaven has ordained for you. Betake your- 
 self to slumber." 
 
 Sir James threw himself hastily down, folded 
 his arms and body closely in his mantle, and he 
 awakened when the morn shone brightly over the 
 forest of oak, and threw her image on the lit- 
 tle clear pool of quiet water before hun. Two 
 dark horses stood beside the pool, looking down 
 into the pure undimpling mirror. Sir Michael 
 and his companion mounted, and rode down a 
 grassy and expanding glade, where the moonbeams 
 made every dew-drop into a diamond, and showed 
 the doves and wild birds roosting quietly on the tree 
 tops. So smoothly they moved, and so rapid was 
 their motion, that they seemed rather to fly than 
 to run; the trees vanished, the stars ran back- 
 ward, and the grass seemed growing under their 
 feet in long undeviating lines. 
 
 " And what is become of my nut-brown friend ? " 
 said Sir James, "he who flashed in my sight like 
 a wild fire ; hooted in my ear like an owl ; crawled 
 in my path like a serpent ; gazed over my shoulder 
 like an imp of darkness, and then, assuming his own 
 modest look, and customary shape, came and took 
 the whole merit to himself of having rescued me 
 from those pestilent accompaniments." A wild 
 laugh, which made all the forest ring, and the
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. lOT 
 
 birds flutter, announced the presence of Brunei- 
 fin. " Ah," said Sir James, with a smile, " art 
 thou there, my merry comrade. I cannot see the 
 colour of the wings which carry thee, but thou 
 hast an art which I would willingly learn : thou 
 canst compel a cloud to bear thee, or thou canst 
 ride between the wings of the grey bat, or the 
 horns of the owl, and cause a will-o'-wisp to light 
 thee o'er mire and mountain." 
 
 A wild laughing voice, which seemed to come 
 do\Mi from the tree tops, said, " Thy body and 
 thy spirit are too gross to ride with me. The steed 
 which carries thee is a more meet companion, and 
 it can bear thee farther than thou hast courage to 
 venture. Ask Garpal, thy horse, and he will tell 
 thee if it be true ? " Sir James replied, " Thou 
 merry trickster, I know what thou wouldst do; 
 but come, let me hear thee speak instead : there 
 the wish is wished, come, what says Gai-pal ? " 
 Garpal tossed his dark mane high in the air, a 
 light seemed to quiver from his eyes, and a song 
 wild and unearthly came to the ear of the knight, 
 which though melodious and pleasant, seemed to 
 have as much of a neigh mingled with it, as a 
 highlander's song has of the drone of his bagpipes. 
 It was musical after its kind.
 
 ^^108 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 GARPAL'S SONG. 
 
 I. 
 
 Come mount me, and fly 
 
 As man ne'er flew on steed, 
 I can bear ye through Thames • 
 
 As I 've borne ye through Tweed. 
 No darkness can daunt me. 
 
 No tempest can stay me. 
 No charm can Impede me. 
 
 Or terror dismay me. 
 The shaft flies in vain 
 
 After me from the quiver. 
 For I float o'er the earth 
 
 Like the foam on the river. 
 
 II. 
 
 The daisy ne'er droops. 
 
 Where I set down my foot. 
 My shape shows no shade 
 
 Through the light as I shoot. 
 My dark meteor mane. 
 
 As I fly flashes wider ; 
 And the gleam of my eye. 
 
 Is the lamp to my rider. 
 My stamp stays the tide. 
 
 My neigh sinks the shallop ; 
 Towers rock, and walls quake. 
 
 Through the earth as I gtiUop. 
 
 III. 
 
 And yet do I go not 
 la anger and wrath. 
 
 To sweep all that's lovely 
 And sweet from my path.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 109 
 
 I 've stayed when the minstrel 
 
 Waxed warm with his story, 
 Of the young hero fallen 
 
 On the field of his glory ; 
 I^'ve looked and been sad 
 
 O'er the sweet baby sleeping j 
 O'er childless old age, 
 
 And the young widow weeping. 
 
 A wild laugh succeeded the wild song, and Bru- 
 nelfin exclaimed, " My blessings on thee, Garpal, 
 were I thy master now, I would serve thy corn in 
 a silver manger, and thy drink should be honey- 
 suckle dew." " Peace, thou noisy thing," said Sir 
 Michael, " we are now on the limits of fairy 
 ground, and thou must neigh no more songs for the 
 amusement of this bold knight, who has a deed to 
 do before the moon is in the ocean." They stood 
 on the margin of a small stream, which trick- 
 led beneath the projecting blades of grass on its 
 banks like liquid silver. The ground rising be- 
 yond it, sloped gradually into a hill, clothed on the 
 sides with thick woods, over which its grassy sum- 
 mit looked green and beautiful, steeped in the dewy 
 light of the moon. 
 
 Sir Michael held his hand towards the top of 
 the hill, and said, " Sir Knight, this is an adventure 
 which can be achieved by a mortal arm ; by a crea- 
 ture not yet exempt from sin, but it is only for the 
 tameless heart, and the fearless hand, and thou
 
 110 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 hast both ; follow me." As Sir James crossed the 
 stream, his horse sank from beneath him, and 
 he looked and imagined that he beheld it rmming 
 wild along the opposite bank, snuffing the sweet 
 night air, and tossing its mane in all the joy of 
 freedom. Sir Michael stood beside him, for his 
 palfrey had vanished at the same time, and touch- 
 ing his arm said, " No creature made by spell can 
 climb the consecrated hill of the Good Folk ; we 
 shall speedily repair the loss, for in every living 
 thing, the stream, the tree, the shrub, the flower, 
 there is a spirit infused by the Creator for the use 
 of man, if he had the ingenuity to evoke it. What 
 thinkest thou now ? Would two steeds, fashioned 
 from these two ragworts, suffice us for this adven- 
 ture; or stay, I see something better; thanks to 
 thee, my merry Elfin. See those two foxes : their 
 brown mouths are wet with the blood of the fold, 
 and they have left an ewe new killed to follow the 
 glamour light of my brown servant. Take them, 
 my faithful Elfin, to the fairy- well ; sprinkle them 
 with the water, then bring them to me, I have use 
 for them. Blessed is the art which takes the kid 
 from the lion's mouth ; the singing bird from the 
 eagle's claw, and the ewe lamb from the tooth of 
 the fox." 
 
 Brunelfin took aWay two foxes, and came back 
 with two steeds. " There, mount, and spare not,"
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. Ill 
 
 said Sir Michael ; " tame its vicious nature, for it 
 is thus the fairies ride. On Hallowmas eve tliere 
 lurks not a fox on CrifFel-fell or Cheviot side, they 
 are hunted from their dens and lairs by fairy imp 
 and elf, and spurred over hill and holm till they 
 are gasping and foaming. The very sheep in the 
 folds bleat with joy as they pass, and the black 
 cock crows with gladness." Sir James leaped on 
 his new palfrey, and he soon found that it retained 
 all the cunning of the stock whence it sprung. It 
 exhausted all its wiles in attempts to throw him; 
 he maintained his seat as if he had grown to it, 
 and when the creature found that it had not art 
 enough to unseat him, it went quietly and swiftly 
 along in the way he directed it. 
 
 They had now left the path which went round 
 the hill, and the ground over which they rode was 
 covered with a short sward of grass, as soft as 
 velvet, and sprinkled here and there with knots of 
 old trees, whose hoary and hollow trunks seemed 
 to have stood the storms of a thousand winters. 
 
 The moon glowed down from mid Heaven ; the 
 streams returned her form as brightly as she 
 beamed above ; the whole earth was flooded with 
 light so strong that nuts might have been gathered 
 from the boughs, and wild plums from the trees. 
 The owl sat mute on an old castle-wall; farm, 
 town, cottage, church, and church-vard, with all
 
 112 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 its flat tomb-stones shone in silence, and the broad 
 shadows of the groves of oak lay painted on the 
 lighter and livelier green of vale and hill. Sir 
 James and his companion moved forward ; the for- 
 mer admiring the splendour of the scene, and the 
 latter. like a man accustomed to the sight, and 
 whose emotions had long since subsided into tran- 
 quil love. 
 
 They came to a grassy hollow which ran round 
 the hill, dividing it about midway ; the experi- 
 enced and martial eye of the knight perceived in 
 this the relics of an ancient entrenchment, and 
 through a sally port, or opening, which time, and 
 the continual movement of sheep at pasture, had 
 nearly obliterated, they continued their ascent. 
 As they proceeded they heard a sound of instru- 
 ments of music, mingled with the melody of the 
 human voice ; the sound seemed every where, and 
 the ground on which they rode trembled, and the 
 groves around them shook. Sir Michael motioned 
 his companion to silence, and riding into the sha- 
 dow of a cluster of oaks, they sat still for a little 
 time. The sound increased more and more, chiefly 
 along the way they had come. A quivering, and 
 a vivid light ran along the ground ; the light was 
 followed by a pennon which danced in the air like 
 a beam of the sun, now high now low, but ever 
 rustling and glittering as it moved.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. US 
 
 "It is the Fairy procession," said Sir Michael, 
 " and yon is the meteor pennon which flies before 
 them, showing the way. Once every year, as this 
 night retm-ns, they ride thrice round this hill, re- 
 joicing in minstrelsy and song for the destruction of 
 the army which cut that entrenchment along their 
 immemorial inheritance, and soaked it with human 
 blood. There they come ; see how fair and how 
 beautiful they are, and how lovely they look, com- 
 pared to the miserable children of men." Sir James 
 could scarcely credit his eyes when he saw squadron 
 succeeding squadron of the Fairy Folk coming 
 riding along the grassy hollow of the old entrench- 
 ment; their horses were all as white as snow; 
 their bridles glittered like gold ; were very small 
 and nimble, and leaped rather than ran. The 
 riders might not exceed the height of standing corn, 
 their heads, hands, and feet were bare, and their 
 hair, a glistening golden brown, descended upon 
 their short green mantles, and danced in the wind 
 as they went. Some carried citterns and dul- 
 cimers, and shepherds pipes, in their hands, and 
 short golden bows, and their quivers hung at their 
 backs; others bore vessels of gold, from which 
 they pom'ed wine and incense upon the ground, and 
 several had wings expanding from their shoulders, 
 which they shook as they went, and a dewy per- 
 fume filled all the air. In the middle company
 
 114. SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 rode a virgin of incomparable beauty ; a long silver 
 veil fell over her person, and floated on her palfrey, 
 which concealed her loveliness but little ; through 
 it her pure person shone as if her body had been 
 of sunshine ; she wore neither gold nor gems ; a 
 fillet, like a silver thread, enclosed her head, re- 
 straining the luxuriance of her hair, and a small 
 hazel rod was in her hand. 
 
 When the two knights reached the passage over 
 the old entrenchment, the pennon hung motionless 
 in the air; the Fairy Folk sat motionless on their pal-^ 
 freys, those who bore instruments of music breath- 
 ed out a sweet low air, and those who had cups 
 Spilled wine and incense on the ground. The vir- 
 gin threw back the veil from her face, a radiance 
 streamed from her tresses, and five hundred voices, 
 exquisitely sweet, united with her in chaunting 
 the following song of rejoicing : 
 
 THE FAIRY-FOLKS SONG. 
 
 I. 
 
 Come sing, dance and sing, 
 
 See how green grows the sod. 
 Where the battle sho\it rose^ 
 
 And the war-horses rode. 
 See the turf all with flowers 
 
 Is enamelled and gilt, 
 Where the death-strokes were struck. 
 
 And the life's blood was spilt.
 
 SJR MICHAEL SCOTT. 134 
 
 11. 
 
 We beheld the fierce foes 
 
 On their errand of ill. 
 Like a dark stream of lightning 
 
 Descend from the hill. 
 Their onset was furious. 
 
 Their war-cry was loud, 
 And the blood-crow above them 
 
 Called down from the cloud. 
 
 IIL 
 
 We saw them at sun-rise 
 
 Pour down to the strife. 
 All strong men rejoicing 
 
 In mid-day of life ; 
 We saw them at suu-set 
 
 Lie gory and heapt 
 As grass when it's mown, 
 
 Or as corn when it's reapt. 
 
 w. 
 
 Then sing, dance and sing 
 
 On our green hill aboon ; 
 In pureuess and glory 
 
 We go 'neath the moon. 
 The bright stars above us. 
 
 The clear streams below. 
 Shine and sparkle — they seem 
 
 Of oar gladness to know, 
 
 V. 
 
 Come sing ye — for war 
 
 On our land never more 
 Shall stamp down the heel 
 
 Of his iron boot in gore.
 
 H6 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 No sound shall be ruder 
 
 Than songs of the lark. 
 Or maids whispering love 
 
 'Tween the light and the dark. 
 
 The song ceased, the virgin veiled her face, and 
 the Fairy procession swept onwards round the 
 hill, and soon nought was seen save the radiance 
 above their meteor pennon, and nought heard save 
 the sound of their pleasant minstrelsy. " All that 
 God has created," said Sir Michael, "is useful 
 after its kind ; to those beautiful and happy crea- 
 tures tradition has ascribed malignant qualities, 
 and if you credit the minstrel's song, and the 
 maiden's tale, you will fear them more than ad- 
 mire them. You have seen their persons, how fair 
 they are, and you have heard their love of peace 
 expressed in one of their inspired lyrics. You 
 shall yet have a better opportunity of judging how 
 acceptable their deeds must be with God, and how 
 useful they are to thankless man." 
 
 When they reached the last line of trees which 
 encircled, as with a garland, the top of the hill. Sir 
 James beheld a circle of large grey stones enclosing 
 the summit ; from the top of each stone streamed 
 a light ; over the centre hovered the fairy pennon, 
 and underneath were seated in line surrounding 
 line the Fairy Folk, their mantles unclasped from 
 their bosoms, their citterns, and pipes, and cups,
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. llT 
 
 and bows in their hands ; their virgin leader in the 
 middle, and all the green-sward between their 
 ranks covered with fruits of all kinds, congealed 
 dews, frozen essences, and combs of wild honey. 
 On the wondrous light above, and the marvellous 
 meeting below, Sir James gazed long, and a strong 
 desire came upon him to join in the banquet, and 
 mingle with the Good Folk. 
 
 Sir Michael, who seemed to read his wishes in 
 his looks, said, in a low tone of voice, " These 
 lovely creatures, made for happiness and peace, 
 allow none to come among them uncalled, and 
 those who have rashly ventured into their presence 
 have rued it deeply. Yet to speak to them, to 
 win their love by prudent boldness, or by mildness 
 and courtesy, thou art come here ; see that there- 
 fore thou bearest thee as a bold and gentle knight ; 
 for rudeness they will resent, and cowardice they 
 will punish." " Tell me," said Sir James, " what 
 is to be gained of either glory or good by this ad- 
 venture, and what influence it will have over my 
 future fortunes ? " " Thou speakest wisely. Sir 
 Knight," replied the other ; " thy gain will be 
 great, and the influence which thy success will 
 have on thy future fortunes will be more than even 
 tliou canst now understand. What thou hast to 
 achieve is this. Look on yon fairy festival ; see a 
 golden goblet is going from hand to hand, and
 
 lit SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 from lip to lip ; it is brimful of the most delicious 
 iiectar, and whatever man wishes to drink, as he 
 sets the blessed cup to his lips, the fairy cup con- 
 tains. A thousand knights and nobles have longed 
 for that blessed cup, and have sought by valour, 
 and by wisdom, to win it, yet they have all failed ; 
 to no mortal lips was it ever held, but to those of 
 our glorious William Wallace, when he was thrown 
 for dead from the prison of Ayr, and to the fever- 
 ish lips of the good King Bruce, when borne on a 
 litter he was carried before his men to do battle 
 with the Lord of the Isles. His ranks were broken, 
 when a hand visible to the monarch alone, held 
 the drink of life to his lip ; he tasted it ; he sprang 
 from his litter, and wan the day. To win the bless- 
 ed cup which contains the drink of life art thou 
 come ; hast thou courage for the adventure ? " 
 
 The looks of Sir James brightened up as a 
 summer morning. " I thank thee. Sir Michael," 
 he exclaimed; " this adventure is according to my 
 own spirit. To achieve the blessed cup I shall do 
 all that a good knight can; and having my own 
 :firmness to trust in, I can better promise success 
 than when I have to go to work with the strength 
 and the dispositions of others. Of this cup I 
 have heard. Romance and tradition unite in sayT 
 ing that the fairies have the power of fashioning 
 such a cup once every year, on the blessed eve
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. ll9 
 
 which gave the new spirit of salvation to earth. It 
 is also said that souls of evil men seek to seize it, 
 that they may drink and be happy ; and that evil 
 spirits long for it, that they may drink and sooth 
 their torments." " Thou hast heard truly," an^ 
 swered Sir Michael, " so go forth and win it by 
 thy courage and by thy wit : now is the time that 
 the treasure is to be obtained. Thou seest not yet 
 all thou hast to contend with; I shall go with thee, 
 and make all thine enemies visible. I say to thee, 
 fear nothing from shapes of earth, or air, or sky, 
 but seize the blessed cup, and let it not go." 
 
 They dismounted from their palfreys, and ad- 
 vanced to the druid circle of stones, and stood and 
 looked on the meeting. The virgin queen sat in 
 the middle ; she had thrown back her transparent 
 veil from her face, and held the blessed cup, over- 
 brimming with divine liquor, in her hand. " See," 
 she said, in a voice so melodious that its words 
 seemed uttered in music, " see the blessed cup ; a 
 touch of its brim, and a taste of its immortal 
 liquid, gives strength to the weak, youth to the 
 aged, beauty to the unlovesome, and life to him 
 gasping at his last gasp. With this cup I have 
 wandered invisibly amongst the homes of men. 
 To the sick and faded child have I restored health 
 and beauty ; to the good youth struck down on 
 the battle-field have I given strength to rise again
 
 120 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 and conquer; and to the maiden crazed and 
 crossed with love have I given strength of heart 
 and understanding. Tlirice blessed is this cup 
 therefore ; and no wonder that the sons of men 
 and the seed of darkness covet it, and wish to win 
 it from my hand." All the fairies shouted, and 
 sung a song in praise of the wondrous cup, till 
 all the hill re-echoed. 
 
 THE BLESSED CUP. 
 I. 
 
 O wondrous cup ! O wondrous cup I 
 
 Made on that glorious night 
 When rose the bright star in the east, 
 
 And blest us with its light. 
 O brighter than stars newly made. 
 
 Or stream when morn is sunny j ' 
 
 O sweeter than the smell of flowers. 
 
 Or taste of dropping honey. 
 The trees shall cease to shoot in spring. 
 
 The summer sun cease glowing, 
 And birds to sing, ere thou, blest cup, 
 
 Shalt stay thy wondrous flowing. 
 
 II. 
 
 O wondrous cup ! O wondrous cup ! 
 
 No marvel that we smile. 
 And sing in joy of heart, and dance 
 
 About this happy isle. 
 The wounded hero feels thy might. 
 
 And rises in his glory ;
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 121 
 
 The fainting poet feels thy power 
 
 Inspire his lovelorn story. 
 The new-made mother tastes of thee, 
 
 And smiles in matron gladness ; 
 And woe and sorrow wets his lip, 
 
 And charms his soul from sadness. 
 
 III. 
 
 O blessed cup ! more wondrous far 
 
 Than ought beneath the sun, 
 Thou often hast by man been sought, 
 
 Eut never yet been won. 
 For he who seeks thee must be brave 
 
 And wise in knightly duty : 
 Can rule the court, and rule the fight. 
 
 And do devoir to beauty ; 
 Must gentle be with gentleness, 
 
 And with the bold be bolder. 
 Else he may perish ere yon moon 
 
 Has grown three moments older. 
 
 When the song ceased, the virgin leader of the 
 fairies held up the cup in her hand, and said, " It 
 is, indeed, a marvellous vessel ; and well has the 
 song said, that he must be wise and knightly who 
 wins it. But I feel the presence of baptized feet. 
 Ho ! look round, ye watchers, and tell me what 
 manner of men they are who have the boldness to 
 approach the fairy festival." A score of feet, as 
 light as the lark's wing, put a girdle round the 
 hill, looked on the shady side of every stone, 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 122 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 glanced into the boughs of every tree, turned 
 every branch, and returning to the meeting, said, 
 that nought of human flesh and blood was present, 
 unless it were concealed under a blade of grass, 
 or hidden in a hollow nut. " Yet something 
 human approaches," said the queen ; " but let it 
 come. We have braved the Douglas, the Percy, 
 the Gordon, the Beaumont, and other knights of 
 name, and we break not up our festival for aught 
 born of woman." 
 
 " I marvel," said Sir James, in a whisper, " that 
 these dark-eyed elves did not see us. Shall I go 
 and win the blessed cup? And yet, where so 
 many noble knights have failed, can I hope to 
 prosper?" " The elves saw us," said Sir Mi- 
 chael ; " didst thou not hear one of them say, as 
 he stood looking upon us, ' The ten stones of 
 Elfin hill ! There are ten stones no longer — I 
 count twelve.* The time is nigh, advance when 
 I hold out my hand." Sir Michael stood, and 
 looked steadfastly on the moon; she grew paler 
 and paler ; the stars began to be blotted from the 
 sky, and a dark misty cloud descended on the 
 summit of the hill. " James," he said, " be 
 nothing daunted, though one whom thou wottest 
 not of opposes thee; let the shape which assails 
 thee be what it will, rush on it with thy sword, and 
 fear nothing." Sir James trembled with anxiety
 
 SIR 3IICHAEL SCOTT. 123 
 
 and ardour, and on seeinor Sir Michaers rising: 
 hand he sprang forward, snatching out his sword 
 as he flew. 
 
 Five hundred startled forms sprang to tlieir 
 feet as Sir James rushed through their ranks, and 
 a cry arose, which roused the deer sleeping at 
 a mile distant. He passed the inner circle, 
 stood within arm's-length of the queen, held out 
 his hand, and said, " Fair creature, whom man 
 cannot see and not love, T come for the blessed 
 cup. Give it of thy own free will ; constrain me 
 not to use force with a thing so sweet and so fair ; 
 with the gentle shall I be gentle ; with the rude 
 alone am I rude; and with the bold, bolder." 
 " Mortal," replied the queen, " it is to be taken, 
 not given : put forth thy hand, and see whether it 
 be thy fortune to have it or no." Sir James held 
 out his hand, but in a moment a Shape glided in 
 between them, dark, threatening, and large, co- 
 vered with sable steel from head to foot, and a 
 blade in its hand, which appeared burning, as if 
 with fire. Sir James gazed for a moment upon 
 the phantom, and a chill came over his frame, for 
 he beheld the form of the third James, such as he 
 was when, overcome in battle by his son and his 
 nobles, he retired, wounded and covered with dust 
 from the field, to die by the swords of traitors. 
 
 The phantom shook his sword over the knight's 
 g2
 
 134 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 head with one hand, and motioned him away with 
 the other. Sir James remembered the words of 
 Sir Michael, and saying, " False shape begone," 
 plunged liis charmed sword through the shadowy 
 form, rushed on, without encountering any ob- 
 struction, and seizing the blessed cup with his left 
 hand, turned round to maintain his prize with his 
 right. No phantom or shape was there ; he looked 
 at the blade — it was stained from hilt to point, as 
 if he had passed it through the steaming exhala- 
 tion of a cauldron of pitch. He looked round : 
 five hundred forms were on their feet, five hun- 
 dred bridles were shining in their hands, while a 
 dark cloud rolled away from the hill, and in the 
 cloud he saw the rudiments of the form which 
 had opposed him. 
 
 The virgin queen stood before him ; the sweet- 
 ness of her tongue, the loveliness of her face, and 
 the graceful proportions of her person, took away 
 all those notions of want of dignity, which we are 
 apt to associate with those cast in the smaller 
 mould of nature. The veil which before covered 
 her person, and floated on the grass beside her, 
 was removed, and from her eyes there came such 
 light, and from her lips such music, that Sir James 
 stood like one entranced, the cup sparkling in one 
 hand, and his sword bared in the other. 
 
 " Mortal, thou art welcome," she said, " to our
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 125 
 
 immemorial hill ; thy boldness we forgive, thy dis- 
 cretion we praise, and thy valour we admire. 
 Thou hast come in the good hour, done the good 
 deed, and thou hast our praise and our thanks. 
 The shape which thou hast vanquished is one with 
 which we hold frequent war, an evil shape, which 
 hath long sought to turn the good we do mankind 
 into ill, and who lives where we wish not to enter, 
 in a place dark, frightful, and accursed. To thee, 
 therefore, the blessed cup we gladly surrender; 
 go — use it for the good and the happiness of man- 
 kind. From thee it will keep off old age and 
 feebleness ; and through the virtuous use thou 
 makest of it, thou mayest hope for bliss hereafter. 
 Fairies, let us depart." At once the sound, as of 
 the rising of a thousand wild swans on the wing, 
 was heard; then the rushing, as of a flock of 
 lambs, when the sward is green, the sun is hot, 
 and they are full of milk and mirth ; and then a 
 wild strain of music was breathed over the hill, 
 the meteor pennon became agitated, and the 
 whole meeting vanished. 
 
 " Sir James," said Sir Michael, " thou hast be- 
 haved thyself well and worthily in this adventure 
 of the blessed cup; hold fast the immortal trea- 
 sure, trust it not in mean and undeserving hands, 
 but keep it ever about thee, so that misfortune 
 may not befal thee, nor thine enemies succeed to
 
 126 .SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 thy harm. Through its aid shall we pass into a 
 sacred and happy land, where woe is unknown, where 
 sadness never comes, and where mortal men are never 
 seen, save those who are favoured by the beautiful 
 and happy people. Follow me, and see that fear 
 comes not upon you : I have been the way before, 
 and every path is familiar ; many have tried, but 
 few succeeded." They went to the centre of the 
 druid circle, where the grass was of a livelier 
 green, and a tenderer verdure, marked the spot so 
 truly round as if it had been struck by an instru- 
 ment. "Behold," said Sir Michael, " the door 
 of the way to the land of which I spake ; knock, 
 and see if it will be opened." So saying, with the 
 shaft of his short lance he struck the ground 
 thrice, then spilt wine from the fairy cup upon 
 the spot ; the flowers sprung richer, and the grass 
 greener; then looking on the moon, he said, 
 " Blessed planet, when thy brightness passes be- 
 hind the cloud, this way shall be opened ; for sun, 
 nor moon, nor star, must never behold it."
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 127 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Scho ledde hym in at Eldene hill, 
 
 Vnder nethe a derne lee ; 
 Whare it was derk as mydnyght myrke, 
 
 And euer the water till his knee. 
 
 Thomas of Ersseldoune. 
 
 A CLOUD, in colour a silver gray, rose suddenly 
 in the east, and, climbing the sky with the rapidity 
 of an ascending dove, darkened the moon for a 
 minute's space or more, and threw a shadow upon 
 the hill, while all the valley below glowed in un- 
 chequered light. " Gather your mantle close, 
 James," said Sir Michael, " clasp your hands o^er 
 your bosom, utter not one word, and follow me." 
 Sir James did as he was desired ; and as he stood, 
 prepared, a wild light glimmered around him, and 
 a star shooting athwart the clouded moon de- 
 scended and seemed to fall on the sod at his feet. 
 Blinded by this sudden effulgence, and shaking for 
 a moment in every limb, he felt his companion 
 pluck him by the sleeve, heard him say, " Time 
 is ; " and he had followed him several paces before 
 light was restored to his eyes ; he looked, and the
 
 128 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 whole scene was changed. He saw neither moon, 
 nor stars, nor hill, nor green valley ; but a dark 
 and narrow way which resembled a twilight grove 
 when the wood is in thick leaf, the dews begin to 
 drop, and the stars to twinkle. His companion 
 walked silently before him with a slow, rather than 
 a careful step, nor looked to the right nor to the 
 left. The way became narrower ; the hard ribbed 
 rocks hung down on each side like the boughs of a 
 forest frozen into stone, and the sound of water 
 scarcely rose on his ear, till he found himself mid- 
 leg deep in a running stream. 
 
 " Put down your hand," said Sir Michael, " and 
 with your palm taste of this delicious water.** 
 The knight did so, and said, "This is divine ; what 
 blessed region does it flow from ? How exquisite 
 must all its productions be, if they correspond with 
 this." "You shall soon prove them," replied, 
 Sir Michael ; " the region to which this stream be- 
 longs is now at hand, and your courage on the 
 fairy hill to night has entitled you to behold it, 
 and to speak with its people." All at once the 
 narrow and gloomy path terminated ; darkness was 
 chased from the air ; the stream expanding into a 
 deep and beautiful river flowed away to their right 
 hand, while along its bank a path, spangled with 
 flowers and moist with dew, led to lofty groves and 
 verdant fields; to a land of towers, palaces, and
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 129 
 
 gardens. Over head there hung what seemed a 
 firmament of polished glass, in which stream, and 
 tower, and tree, lay distinctly pictured, and the 
 light which played along its surface was the off^ 
 spring of a little river, which, glowing between its 
 banks like a torrent of quicksilver, illuminated all 
 the space from earth to sky. 
 
 As Sir James stood with his right hand above his 
 eyes, contemplating this splendid region, where 
 he sav/ neither bird, nor beast, nor creeping thing, 
 there came a man to his side, who laid his hand on 
 his, and said, " Welcome, welcome to this happy 
 land; here no stern king, no haughty counsellor, 
 nor savage noble, can oppress, insult, and con- 
 demn. Here the ambitious cannot come with his 
 ambition ; the haughty with his haughtiness, nor 
 the blood-thirsty with his desire of blood. Wel- 
 come to a land which deserves my love more than 
 my native Scotland, but cannot be my native land 
 to me." Sir James turned round, and gazed in the 
 speaker's face ; a face in the bloom of youth, with 
 tresses of a raven hue, curling closely on the tem- 
 ples and neck, and a mild but martial fire spark- 
 ling in his eyes. " Knight of Hoddam," ex- 
 claimed Sir James, " did I not behold, on the field 
 of Flodden, thy banner trodden beneath the feet of 
 Lord Dacre's chivalry, and thyAnnandale warriors 
 bearing thy dead body away on their bloody 
 G 5
 
 130 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 shields. But it cannot be Sir Patrick Johnstone ; 
 a phantom like my friend has arisen to deceive me, 
 though aught is welcome that comes in a brave 
 man's shape. 
 
 " Thy praise," answered the other, " makes the 
 memory of that bloody contest dear to my heart. 
 I was indeed stricken sorely ; but I was not then 
 doomed to die. How fared it with our gallant 
 host ? I saw not the close, but I can guess it to 
 have been disastrous; few of my gallant spears 
 would return to the bonnie banks of Annan, and to 
 the pasture hills of Corrie and Hoddam." " Few, 
 few of thy gallant men will ever drink of the pure 
 Annan again. They crowded around the place 
 where their unworthy monarch fought ; and freely 
 gave their bodies to protect him from destruction," 
 The Knight of Hoddam wrung his hands and ex- 
 claimed " They laid me down at the foot of Lady 
 Eleanor's cross, in the sleep, as they thought, of 
 death, and returned to avenge me and die. When 
 shall I lead such a lusty plump of spears again ; 
 and when shall the hills of Dumfrieshire ring to 
 the sound of my war cry ? " 
 
 Sir James would have replied, but there came to 
 him a man advanced in years with a stately form and 
 a noble mien ; his long gray hair fell on his should- 
 ers, and grave deliberation, and sedate thought, 
 were written on his broad brow. Sir James hid
 
 SIR MICHAEL SGOTT. ISl 
 
 his face with his hands when he beheld him, and 
 turned his head away. " Turn not from me," 
 said the stranger, " but let me cheer myself with a 
 sight of thy face ; to thee I ascribe not the woes 
 which overwhelmed me ; to thee I impute not the 
 sentence which gave my gray hairs to the heads- 
 man's axe ; it was the will of God that my pride 
 in mine own wisdom and power should be humbled 
 to the dust. Look on me therefore ; I know not 
 when mine aged eyes will be cheered again with the 
 sight of him whom I was born to love and obey." 
 " Lord of Douglas," said Sir James, " thou hast 
 a noble spirit, and I may well exclaim with our 
 favourite minstrel, * O Douglas, Douglas, tender 
 and true !' " He held out his hand, and found it 
 wet with tears, and strained in the friendly clasp 
 of one who had been condemned unjustly. 
 
 " O that Sir Adam Herries but saw thee," said 
 the Douglas; "he was with me in the grove but 
 now, and our talk was of thee and of Scotland." 
 Sir Adam appeared as he spoke, and advancing 
 to Sir James said, " a faithful servant to a faithless 
 land is before thee ; one who thought and toiled 
 and endured much by sea and shore for his king 
 and his country. But the nobles were too proud, 
 and their king too unyielding for the poor man to 
 have peace; civil wars, and desire of shedding 
 blood chased him from the shore, and when he
 
 132 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 sailed the sea, the royal navy of England came 
 to sink him in the firth. Alas ! alas ! for Scot- 
 land; its king seldom lives to man's estate; the 
 English sword and the assassin's dagger lie in 
 wait for him, and a brief reign and a bloody grave 
 seem ordained to our monarchs." He turned aside, 
 and walked mournfully away. As Sir James gazed 
 after him, he heard the soft music of a cittern, 
 which played one of his native airs, sweet, wild, 
 and tender ; he started, for he knew the hand that 
 touched the instrument, and turning about, the 
 minstrel of Glenroole stood before him, his cittern 
 in his hand, and a mantle of the richest green 
 velvet fastened on his bosom with hooks of gold. 
 
 " Alas ! " said Sir James, « and am I doomed 
 to-day to meet only with those whom I have wrong- 
 ed and injured ; banished, and driven to exile and 
 death. To thee, sweet minstrel, I owe a deep 
 atonement ; I branded thy lofty art with an unwor- 
 thy name ; I ranked its professors with the mean 
 and the sordid; I punished them with fine, im- 
 prisonment, banishment, and death; and when 
 thou hadst the courage to resent the wrong in 
 verses doomed to live, recording my shame and 
 thine own glory, I crowned thee with laurel as a 
 good poet, and scourged thee with rods as an evil 
 subject. Yet I have heard that thou didst forgive 
 me, and sung one of thine own romantic songs in
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 133 
 
 my praise." The minstrel made no reply, but 
 playing an air melting and mournful, he added his 
 own sweet and impassioned voice to the music, 
 and sang a song of which tradition has supplied 
 but the following imperfect and corrupted copy : 
 
 THE SONG OF GLENROOLE. 
 I. 
 
 The winter wind sang in the tree. 
 
 Like iron the frozen ground 
 Rang to my step, the snow flake fell. 
 
 And grim night wrapt me round. 
 And grim night wrapt me round about. 
 
 The wild beast had his lair j 
 The fowl its perch — no home had I 
 
 To hap my hoary hair. 
 
 11. 
 
 1 've harped to nobles high and haught. 
 
 To warriors fierce and rude. 
 To shepherds on the mountain brown. 
 
 And queens in Holyrood. 
 To kings too in high Holyrood, 
 
 The melting strings 1 've swept, 
 Till earls and monarchs eyes grew moist. 
 
 And ladies more than wept. 
 
 111. 
 
 The hour of sorrow came, and now. 
 
 Far, far from Scottish ground, 
 I touch the thrilling string, and lend 
 
 Inspired speech to sound.
 
 134 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 With Nith's green holms, and Yarrow vales, 
 
 Full loth was I to part — 
 In this sweet land my body lives. 
 
 But Scotland holds my heart. 
 
 The minstrel ceased, but the air seemed still 
 filled with the music and the poetry of his song, 
 and Sir James imagined that invisible hands and 
 tongues were eking out the strain of his once 
 favoured bard. " Minstrel," said Sir James, " I 
 love thee for the mildness of thy nature, and for 
 the gentleness of thy song. Few have suffered so 
 much as thou, yet with what meekness thy sorrow 
 has been borne. To thee was given a power far 
 sharper than the sharpest sword, yet thou hast not 
 used the all-mighty weapon against those who did 
 thee wrong. The sword smites, the clay falls, and 
 all is silence for ever, but he whose crimes stand 
 recorded in imperishable poetry, for his name there 
 is no oblivion. I thank thee. Minstrel, for thy 
 mildness and thy mercy." The poet strove to 
 speak, but the rapture of his heart choked his 
 utterance, and he was glad when a strain of music 
 of a lighter and milder nature than his own at- 
 tracted all ears, and made Sir James turn towards 
 the east, whence the sound came. 
 
 Sir Michael stood l^eside his companion and 
 said, " Mark what I do, here comes the ruler of 
 this country in the midst of all her chivalry. This
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 135 
 
 is the land where the distaff and the spindle are 
 sceptres ; here the harp does the deeds of the trum- 
 pet, and the light of a lady's looks the actions of 
 wisdom and valour. The sword has no edge, the 
 spear is shivered, and the flight of the arrows is as 
 hannless as the fall of thistle-down." Sir James 
 looked, but though the minstrelsy approached, 
 and increased in sweetness, he saw nothing but the 
 beautiful land, and the forms of those to whom he 
 had just spoken. 
 
 The ground appeared to be cleft asunder, and 
 out of the chasm there gushed light, and following 
 the light came a lady on a white palfrey, clad in a 
 robe of sea-green silk, jewelled from knee to hem, 
 while the dark and weaving abundance of her tresses 
 was confined so slightly by a snood of pearls, that 
 they gushed in an armful over her ivory shoulder, 
 and danced to the motion of her palfrey. The heart 
 of Sir James leaped to his lips, his frame shook, 
 and he said, while his tongue quivered with emo- 
 tion, " I have seen that lovely face before, and to 
 those dark eyes my heart did homage when it was 
 guiltless and free." " Be silent," said Sir Michael ; 
 " the loves of earth come not into this land any 
 more than its sorrows, and that beauteous form 
 which inspired poet's verses, and won the heart of 
 monarchs, must be looked upon here with meek- 
 ness and awe."
 
 136 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 Ere he had done speaking, the lady, followed by 
 a long line of youths and maidens, swept suddenly 
 by, but not without casting on Sir James one of 
 those sweet and subduing glances which he had 
 never before experienced, and only imagined them 
 confined to the reveries of romancers. "It is Grace 
 Gordon, whose eyes are so bright, and whose smile 
 is so sweet, and whose form is so faultless. "I shall 
 speak to her," said Sir James, " though all created 
 forms had vowed the contrary." " O, go, cast thy- 
 self at her feet," said Sir Michael ; " shed tears of 
 delight; utter vows while language can express 
 them; she will receive thee mildly and tenderly; 
 lo, and behold, she invites thee to the interview — 
 look there." Sir James looked, and the blood 
 rushed to his brow, for where his companion point- 
 ed, he saw what seemed a well-known vale, a rivu- 
 let murmured between its banks of broom; wild 
 swans swam in a pool breast deep, and grazed on 
 the margin; wild bees swarmed on the full blos- 
 somed flowers; the lark called from above, the 
 thrush answered from below, and the form of Grace 
 Gordon was seen gliding among the broom, glanc- 
 ing at every third step over her white shoulder, to 
 see if her lover followed. 
 
 Sir Michael stayed Sir James with his hand, and 
 said, " Fool, fool, fool, that land seems the native 
 land of all who look upon it, and that form glid-
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 137 
 
 ing there seems the first love of every beholder. 
 To thee she comes clothed in youth, and grace, 
 and beauty, stamped with the image of her who 
 won thy youthful heart, and to me she appears 
 full of staid, austere matron dignity, the image of 
 the blessed wife of my bosom. It is this delusion 
 which renders this region so enchanting ; but thou 
 art come here to see with undeluded eyes ; thou 
 wilt behold matters worthy of thy wonder, and 
 learn that God, through all his vast creation, has 
 made nothini^ wliich forms not a scale to measure 
 his might and his glory by. Thou wilt see that 
 forms which the wise call creations of the fancy, 
 and shapes of superstition, are living things work- 
 ing out his wondrous designs, and forming part of 
 that vast chain of being, intellect, and spirit, 
 of which one end is in heaven, the other in hell, 
 and to which man is the centre. Let us go ; seest 
 thou these towers glittering before us ; there we 
 shall find the heroine of this happy land seated 
 amid her chivalry." 
 
 They went, and entered a palace with a hun- 
 dred pillars, which reached from the earth to the 
 glowing sky above ; Sir James wondered at their 
 loftiness and beauty. They seemed of hollow crys- 
 tal, and each in its centre contained wondrous 
 things without end. In one a large serpent, cover- 
 ed with dark golden spots, and whose colour
 
 f^S SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 changed as he moved, twined round and round in 
 continual motion, while a fire imprisoned along 
 with it showed its changing hues. In another co- 
 lumn streamed a light, and in the light rose flights 
 of fowl, and hawks pursuing them; still the one 
 flew and the other followed, and their flight seem- 
 ed without end. In a third a stream of pure 
 water flowed upward, and in the water sported all 
 kinds of fish, darting here and there, shewing at 
 every turn their silvery scales,and their sides spotted 
 with crimson drops. In a fourth a dark form 
 seemed imprisoned, Sir James turned away in fear 
 from its writhing body and flashing eyes. In a 
 fifth he beheld, like a spider preserved in amber, 
 one of those half human half brute forms, which 
 the heathens of old worshipped under the name of 
 Pan ; he strove to break through his prison wall, 
 and several sylph-like forms, as they glided rapidly 
 past, smiled in turn at the imprisoned monster. 
 Sir Michael led him away saying, " The human 
 form thou seest in the sixth column is one who was 
 a prince on earth, and who came into this land as 
 thou comest now ; for he was brave and forward, 
 and his form was little less than divine. But he 
 brought the evil passions of earth with him, and 
 the pure resented his impure words, and took 
 him and confined him in that hollow prison
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 139 
 
 as a warning to all who come in an unsubdued 
 spirit. 
 
 They had now reached the centre of the palace, 
 and found it crowded with young and beautiful 
 forms. The queen sat upon a throne of green 
 jasper ; she wore a chaplet of dewy flowers ; held 
 a small rod of silver in her hand, her form was 
 noble, and her look majestic and serene. Sir 
 James knelt before her; she motioned him to rise, 
 and said, " Mortal, I bid thee welcome to Fairy- 
 land. Since the first daisy blossomed to the sun, 
 and since the first blade of grass bore dew, have 
 we sojourned on earth, or found an abode within 
 its wondrous bosom. To us the Creator gave the 
 power of making earth render up her beauty and 
 strength ; we wooed flowers from the ground ; gave 
 tlieir delicious loads to the fruit-tree ; the bud to 
 the bee, and the berry to the bush ; filled the 
 brown nut with its kernel, and in the horn of 
 the honey-suckle we poured nectar and dew. We 
 found the cow wild in the wood, and the 
 sheep on the hill, and the horse running in useless 
 and untamed strength. We led them to green pas- 
 tures, made the ground yield for their sustenance 
 the richest herbs, and we watched them and pre- 
 sei'ved them from the ravening beasts of prey, 
 and from disease and the plague of the cattle. We 
 found man a wild savage in the wood, with his club
 
 14.0 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 and his dog, and his naked progeny. We taught 
 him how to bend the bow on the fallow deer ; how to 
 make a prey of the fowls of the air and the fish of the 
 sea. From us he learned the art of clothing his 
 body, and of nourishing it with corn, ground, 
 kneaded, and baked ; we reared a house to shield 
 him from summer*s warmth and winter's cold ; we 
 taught him how to preserve food; the virtue of 
 herbs ; the signs of heaven, and the names of the 
 stars. From us he learned the little wisdom of 
 which he boasts; and to his fair companion we 
 taught mildness, meekness, domestic duty, and obe- 
 dience. 
 
 " I tell thee all this mortal creature, because 
 there are men on earth who teach you to despise 
 us ; to think of us only as the idle progeny of a 
 superstitious imagination, or the allies of the spirit 
 too evil to be named. Alas ! and have we imr- 
 proved thtt earth and man's condition for this? 
 But man has insulted us no more than he has in- 
 jured himself; when earth was ours, and the full- 
 ness thereof, how different was it from what it is 
 now. The streams were full of fish ; the air filled 
 with the fowls of heaven ; the earth swarming with 
 the tame beasts of the field ; the woods were full of 
 fruit, and green earth shot up in strength and 
 abundance, all that was necessary for man's 
 comfort and joy. Then were our voices heard,
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 14l 
 
 and our faces seen among the sons of men; the 
 sound of our sweet instruments, and the song 
 of our divine poets gladdened their fire-sides; we 
 assuaged the rigour of the mother's birth pang; 
 brought har blooming again to the fields, and 
 made her beauty grow up in her daughters, and 
 the looks of him whom she loved in her sons. But 
 soon, alas ! a disastrous change was wTought. 
 Men grew weary of health and happiness, and 
 thirsted after strange knowledge, strange dresses, 
 strange drink, and strange food. The pastural 
 abundance of the land was not enough ; the hills 
 and dales were shorn of their woods, and the flow- 
 ers have severed the green bosom of the ground, 
 and man ate his bread with the sweat on his brow. 
 A poisonous mixture was laid on the earth to 
 warm it into unnatural life, and the pampered 
 ear of barley and wheat sprung up in place of 
 the sweet herb and the apple ; the clustering nut, 
 and the powdery plum. Enclosures followed; 
 one man said, lo ! this land is mine ; one seized 
 the vale, another seized the hill; they raised land- 
 marks, and what God had given to all was taken 
 by a few. Then towns and castles were built; 
 kingdoms were made, princes reigned, oppression 
 grew strong, slavery followed, and one half of man- 
 kind became beasts, bridled and saddled, and the 
 other half, booted and spurred to ride them. Our
 
 hi 
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 ministration was mocked; for we loved not tlie tow- 
 ered city and the long array of princes and proud 
 ones. We tore no trees from the fair river bank, 
 and hewed them, and fashioned them into ships, ta 
 sail the ocean-stream, and do deeds of evil. For us, 
 no oxen dragged the galling plough ; for us no man 
 was doomed to slavery in the centre of the earth, 
 searching out seams of gold or silver. For us no 
 landmark was reared ; nor were the feet of men 
 fettered from nature's balmy range. Man did all 
 these evil deeds for himself, and soon he ate of the 
 bitter fruit. Mortal, thou knowest what a bloody 
 field is, where thy kindred and thy people lie cut 
 down like grass; thou knowest what it is to spur 
 thy war-horse over the bodies of the dead and 
 dying, and thou knowest how sad defeat and cap- 
 tivity is, so of war shall I not speak, for blood dis- 
 pleaseth me deeply, and over a battle field our pure 
 feet cannot go till it is cleansed by the rains of 
 heaven, and sweetened by the balmy wind." 
 
 The queen rose, and as she rose the richest 
 odours were diffused over the palace; the pillars 
 which supported the lofty roof glowed like melted 
 gold, and from the walls an increase of splendour 
 came, which made the light from above too brilliant 
 for mortal eyes. All around sat rank succeeding 
 rank; young and beautiful forms, with long 
 hair, and green mantles, and looks staid and meek.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 143 
 
 Ten thousand harps, citterns, dulcimers, and lutes, 
 hung round the walls; and the night wind, which 
 touched the strings, raised a low and scarcely 
 audible music, extremely sweet and touching. 
 
 " Mortal," said the queen to Sir James, " I have 
 told thee how we wTought for man, and how he 
 has rewarded us; listen, for the tale is still worthy 
 of thy ear. We retired from the presence of man, 
 and frail are abodes in the darksome wood and 
 lonesome hill; but man, and his inventions, and 
 his crimes, and his woes, followed us. The plough 
 disturbed our pastoral abodes ; the feller's axe fre- 
 quented our silent woods, and cut down the oaks 
 under which we had danced for a thousand years, 
 and war, and spilt blood, and the groan of oppres- 
 sion, came and disturbed our daily joy. Then we 
 sought our homes in the bosom of the earth, and 
 only returned to its sorrowful surface at times to 
 wander on the mountain heads, on lonesome burn 
 banks, and in secluded glens, looking on the land 
 we loved, and where we had dwelt in happiness and 
 joy. On our favourite haunt didst thou approach 
 us last night, and thy courage won the blessed cup 
 which gives strength to the frame, and wisdom to 
 the heart. Come hither, and I shall show thee the 
 wonders of this place, for thine eyes are too dim 
 and gross to see with clearness and truth."
 
 144 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 Sir James stood beside her, and she took a 
 green leaf from a small box of ivory and gold, and 
 touched his eyelids, and said, " Now look and see 
 what thou canst see." Sir James looked, and- 
 the forms of the mighty, the wise, the brave, and 
 the good stood before him; men who kept our 
 counselled thrones; priests simple hearted and 
 pious; counsellors without arrogance; generals 
 without cruelty ; poets without vanity; and women 
 who were lovely, and yet knew it not. Men who 
 had fallen in a bloody field, or perished for faith or 
 freedom's sake, were there ; and their numbers he 
 could not count. 
 
 « Listen," said the queen, " and learn how we 
 work for the good of men. From the battle field 
 we hear of the youth wounded to death, and by 
 our skill we stay the spirit from passing; we 
 restore him in strength; and bear him to our 
 blessed abodes. We hearken the shepherd's 
 perishing cry amid the snow, and he that is pure 
 and innocent we snatch from death, and breathe 
 the breath of life again through his nostrils, and 
 cheer him among our vales and woods. We have 
 unbound the martyr from the stake when the flames 
 rose high, and removed the patriot fi-om the 
 scaffold, even as the bloody axe fell through the 
 air : but we love little children most. We com- 
 passionate the weak and sickly infant, and we bear
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 145 
 
 it from the mother^s bosom to be nourished upon 
 milk which can waken a staff into vegetation, and 
 create a man out of a child between sunset and 
 sunrise. Therefore let not the mothers weep for 
 the loss of their sweet children; why should the 
 innocent and beautiful go to the green churchyard, 
 when we have a place where they are renovated in 
 life and loveliness, and where they will remain till 
 the earth dissolves away, and the kingdom of glory 
 is opened." 
 
 Sir James gazed around him, and he beheld 
 many whom he knew, and there came one from his 
 seat and gazed upon him ; an ancient man with 
 gray locks, his face glowed, his eye sparkled, 
 and he said, "I preached the truth to benighted 
 Scotland; I revealed God's word to the unen- 
 lightened people; I held out his blessed volume, 
 wherein it is written, he that runs may read; and 
 I said, sons of men, ye shall know the words of the 
 most High from his own lips, and I read, and all 
 the people marvelled exceedingly, and cried out 
 with a loud voice, man hath found out many in- 
 ventions. But the worshippers of wood and stone; 
 tlie sellers of salvation for money; the men who 
 believe that the bread they bake, and the wine 
 they press from the grape, are flesh and blood, 
 even when between their lips ; lo ! they gathered 
 around me, and cried, * heresy,* and I was taken 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 146 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 and tied to the stake; the faggots were heaped; 
 the torch was applied; the red flame rushed round 
 me; but the servant of the truth was saved: woe, 
 woe, to Scotland, and to England, if they shut 
 their ears, harden their hearts, and refuse what 
 God^s holy law reveals. I am the first who suf- 
 fered for the truth in Scotland."^ 
 
 And there stood a man with his hand upon the 
 frame of his harp; his grave and venerable brow 
 was turned upwards, and the strings, along which 
 his fingers wandered, emitted music; for what other 
 response could they make to the torch of Thomas 
 Ercledoune. "Behold," said the queen, " one of the 
 inspired spirits of old; who passed not through the 
 grave to our land; who sunk not in the sea; fell in 
 no battle; and was not doomed to the stake, nor 
 sentenced to the scaffold; but from our love for his 
 divine minstrelsy was he carried hither. Frag- 
 ments of his noble verses are still remembered 
 among the sons of men. But believe not in that 
 audacious legend which levels us to his love, 
 and gives to Huntly-bank the glory of being 
 the scene where our affection was lavished on 
 a mortal creature. Our love for True Thomas is 
 of an holier kind, and seeks not the green bough 
 gnd the cloud of night." The Bard of Ercledoune, 
 as she spoke, touched his harp, and the words 
 flowed from his lips, and the music from the
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 147 
 
 Strings, with the same natural freedom that the sun 
 shines and that water runs. 
 
 THOMAS OF ERCLEDOUNE'S SONG. 
 
 I. 
 
 The sun sank down as I went forth 
 
 By Huntly-bank alone, 
 There was no sound in the wide earth, 
 
 I mused, and made my moan. 
 The grass whs sown with glittering dew, 
 
 . The moon rose from the sea, 
 And with her light a lady bright 
 
 Came through the flowers to me. 
 
 II. 
 
 O'er her white neck her clustering locks 
 
 Fell down in golden showers ; 
 Her foot sent music from the ground, 
 
 And fragrance from the flowers. 
 Her kirtle, all of sea-green silk, 
 
 Shone jewelled to the knee ; 
 And, shedding back each golden lock, 
 
 She stood, and looked on me. 
 
 III. 
 
 She looked on me, for she was far 
 
 Too fair to look upon ; 
 A radiance such as morniog sheds 
 
 Streamed from her locks alone. 
 Streamed from her locks alone, her speech. 
 
 Like music, flowed out free ; 
 But moital words can ne'er express 
 
 The words she spoke to me. 
 
 h2
 
 148 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Farewell, she said, sweet Huntly-bank, 
 
 Beneath thy fair festoons, 
 By flowing stream and greenwood tree, 
 
 I've smiled ten thousand moons. 
 Farewell, ye nooks, where foxgloves bloomed. 
 
 And spring's first gowans grew. 
 No more o'er you my dancing feet 
 
 Shall shake the scented dew. 
 
 V. 
 
 Farewell, wild hill and mountain green. 
 
 The glen where waters meet. 
 Your sward no more shall show the marks 
 
 Of unpolluted feet. 
 Your trees may bud to shade the bird. 
 
 Your blooms to feed the bee. 
 Your streams may flow to quench men's thirst. 
 
 But not to gladden me. 
 
 VI. 
 
 True Thomas rise, and take thy harp. 
 
 And touch its tenderest string. 
 And make a song on Huntly-bank 
 
 Which maid's shall weep to sing : 
 For here no more I'll charm thy heart. 
 
 Or wake thy soul in flame. 
 She gazed, she sighed, she turned away. 
 
 And vanished as she came. 
 
 " Mortal," said the queen, " the songs which we 
 hispire are of the purest kind, and to our green 
 and happy land spirits warmed with poesie are 
 allowed to retire : for here they have the peace
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 149 
 
 which they found not on earth ; nor are their ears 
 shut to the pi-aise of the world ; the admiration of 
 the good and the wise is the highest meed they 
 can receive. Seest thou yon dark-eyed youth, 
 leaning over a dulcimer? from his lips have flowed 
 many a sweet and moving ditty ; the songs which 
 gladden the good man's heart, which make the 
 maiden smile in joy, as she combs the wool, or 
 presses the curd, are his. Of domestic joy, of 
 household rule, of wedded love, and devout feel- 
 ings, have his songs been ; nor did he forget so- 
 cial pleasure, the warrior's daring, nor the patriot's 
 toil : listen, for he is about to sing ; hearken, it is 
 no strain of joy." 
 
 He chaunted, rather than sung, the following 
 verses, but the richness of his voice, and the na- 
 tural art of his manner, made his chaunting equal 
 to the finest singing : 
 
 SHE'S GONE TO DWELL IN HEAVEN. 
 
 I. 
 
 She 's gone to dwell in heaven, my lassie, 
 
 She 's gone to dwell in heaven ; 
 Ve 're o'er pure quoth the voice of God, 
 
 For dwelling out of heaven. 
 
 II. 
 
 What will she do in heaven, my lassie. 
 What will she do in heaven ;
 
 150 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 With angels songs she 'II mix her thoughts, 
 And make them meet for heaven. 
 
 III. 
 
 She was beloved by a*, my las ie. 
 
 She was belov'tl by a' ; 
 But an angel fell in love with her. 
 
 And took her from us a'. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Fu' lowly now she lies, my lassie, 
 
 Fu' lowly now she lies ; 
 A lovelier form ne'er went to the earth, 
 
 Nor from it will arise. 
 
 Fu' soon I '11 follow thee, my lassie, 
 
 Fu' soon I '11 follow thee ; 
 There *s nought on earth for me to love. 
 
 And nought to glad mine ee. 
 
 VI. 
 
 I looked in thy lovely face, my lassie, 
 
 I looked in thy lovely face ; 
 Thou seem'dst a lily new cut i' the bud. 
 
 And fading in its place. 
 
 VII. 
 
 I looked in thy death-closed eye, my lassie, 
 I looked in thy death-closed eye ; 
 
 A lovelier light in the brow of heaven. 
 Time never will destroy.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 151 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Thy lips were rosie and calm, tny lassie. 
 
 Thy lips were rosie and calm. 
 But gone was the holy breath to heaven, 
 
 That sang the evening psalm. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Where'er thou art I 'm thine, my lassie. 
 
 Where'er thou art I 'm thine ; 
 My heart is with thee where thou dwell'st, 
 
 There 's no place so divine. 
 
 The poet ceased, and the queen said, " I love 
 the song which fills my soul with sadness. Mortal 
 man, farewell ! there is much ordained for thee to 
 do, before thou art fit to be admitted into the 
 company of the unpolluted. Go and fulfil thy 
 destiny. What thou hast witnessed here will 
 preach to thy soul the necessity of truth, pmity, 
 singleness of heart, and generosity of nature." She 
 went away when she had done speaking, and Sir 
 Michael and Sir James returned by the way whici) 
 they came.
 
 153 Sl^ MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 All shall be thine, yon moon shines on 
 
 And all that sea encloses ; 
 From wild Siberia's sunless snows. 
 
 To Syria with her roses. 
 
 " I know not," said Sir James, " where the re* 
 gion of Fairyland ends, and where earth begins. 
 To me the hill on which we now stand, the wild 
 wood waving before us, the slender stream trickling 
 below us, yon silent and glittering city ; these en- 
 closed gardens and cultivated fields; all cry "earth, 
 earth," to my heart, and tell me that I am among 
 the sons of men, and in a world which men can 
 enjoy." "Aye," answered Sir Michael, "so in- 
 deed it seems : see the flocks of the shepherd sleep- 
 ing on the hills, their fleeces wet with dew, and 
 the brown fox looking down from the rock singling 
 out his victim. See yon aged and feeble woman ; 
 she kneels and prays that her youngest son may 
 return from the Scottish wars, and comfort her 
 dechning years. And behold the moon, she sets 
 one bright horn over the hill top ; her increasing 
 splendour streams down the greenwood, and now 
 she is fairly risen into the blue sky, and the com-
 
 sift MICHAEL SCOTT. 153 
 
 pany of all her stars. It seems the earth indeed, 
 and fresh and lovely it looks." 
 
 " To me," said Sir James, " earth is a sweet 
 place, and this body is made for its enjoyment ; 
 this gross and mortal frame which faints in the 
 heat, pines in the cold, and is sensible of pain 
 from disease or the sword, is unfit for a happier 
 region. Of earth itself, its enjoyments are of 
 earth, and I would rather be lord of a little tower, 
 a solitary field, a good sword, and a sweet wife, 
 than king over an hundred palaces filled with the 
 damsels and bards, and harpers of fairy land." 
 " Thy feelings are of the world, where thy body is 
 made," replied Sir Michael, " and man is created 
 as much for the enjoyment of earth and all it con- 
 tains, as a dial is made for its latitude, which will tell 
 the hour in no other place. The pure air of heaven 
 breathes for more ethereal creations than man. 
 Before we part, another heart will be given unto 
 you, and you will perceive that all is worthless be- 
 low but virtue. Come, let us go on our way along 
 this pleasant ground, whether it be the green earth 
 or not." 
 
 The land in which they walked was indeed green 
 and lovely. The ploughshare and the shepherd's 
 staff seemed to share the hill and vale between 
 them, and green natural woods of ancient gromh 
 claimed their part of the soil, while a slender 
 H 5
 
 16i SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 Stream, half seen, half hid, among the drooping 
 boughs, glided away, and gleamed in the new risen 
 moon. The gray summit of some war-worn tower, 
 was visible over the groves as they went ; tlie stray 
 deer looked at them for a moment, and started 
 down tlie glade, and hares and rabbits swarmed 
 among the evening herbs and flowers, as thickly as 
 bees in the mid-day sun. " Earth, earth," said Sir 
 James, plucking an apple and tasting it; "all this 
 is of earth, and neither fairy charms nor the ima* 
 gination of man have any share in the sweet fruits 
 of the tree." 
 
 They had now entered a little narrow valley, 
 the sides clothed with trees, the gi'ound painted 
 with flowers, nor had the hand and foot of man 
 touched a shrub, nor trodden on a flower. They 
 heard the soft dropping of water amid the stillness 
 of the night, and from a rock hung with flowers 
 they saw a springlet throwing a line of liquid sil*!- 
 ver, the thickness of a straw, into a little carved 
 font, while beside it sat an aged warrior, his helmet 
 placed on the ground, his gray head glittering in 
 the moon, and a small ivory goblet in his hand, 
 slaking his thirst from the spring. He looked up, 
 shed back his hair from his brow, and admitted the 
 dewy refreshment of the evening air, to temples 
 long pressed by a steel helmet, and a face which 
 was scarred with the strokes of battle. An old and
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 155 
 
 wasted oak, stricken by lightning, grew, or rather 
 stood behind him, and on its naked summit a raven 
 sat, looking eagerly down, turning first one eye 
 and then another upon the warrior below, and ut- 
 tering a suspicious croak, like crows when they 
 smell gunpowder. 
 
 The old man smoothed down his gray hair with 
 his hand, took a crust of coarse bread, and eat and 
 drank with all the quiet enjoyment of a veteran. He 
 looked neither to the right nor left, but fixed hiy 
 eye upon a mouse in the grass, which, allured from 
 its hole by the smell of bread, appeared uncertain 
 whether to venture closer to the warrior or no. 
 He smiled with eye, and he smiled with lip, ut- 
 tered a low chirruping cry of invitation, strew^ed 
 bread on the grass, and on the side of the little 
 spring, where, amid the pure margin sand, the 
 light foot of many a bird was marked. He lifted up 
 his eyes, and their sparkle when he beheld Sir 
 James and his companion, scared away the little 
 timid tenant of the flower knot and the stubble 
 field. 
 
 Sir James was struck with the noble air of the 
 warrior, and looked on his stately form and 
 swarthy face with an eye which read the story of 
 many a deadly breach and bloody field. " Sir War- 
 rior," he said, " it is late, the place is lonely, you 
 are old, you seem weary, and may have far to go ;
 
 156 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 what can I do for you, in honour of these ancient 
 hairs, and these scars of battle." " Alas ! young 
 warrior," answered the veteran gravely, " unless 
 you can give me my youth and my strength again, 
 you can serve me but little ; the gray hairs which 
 you reverence grew not so in our island wars, and 
 the marks of battle which you see were inflicted 
 by a hand more terrible than that of living man. 
 A little way I can wend now without resting; yet 
 in battle, when my blood is chafed, and my adver- 
 sary before me, I can do deeds worthy of a younger 
 warrior." 
 
 " I believe thee, with all my heart," replied Sir 
 James ; " thy strong frame, and thy war-worn hel- 
 met, heavier than ever pressed my brow, proclaim 
 thee unsubdued in fight; and thy good sword 
 there, where it lies, has doubtless witnessed many a 
 martial deed, and unhorsed many a gallant soldier. 
 How short, how thin, and how sharp it is; and 
 what characters are these imprinted on the blade?" 
 " Sir Knight," said the old man, " I would not 
 have you to measure my actions by the length of 
 my sword. The blade in an ordinary hand would 
 work no heroic work; but, in other days, when 
 this arm wielded it of my own deeds it be- 
 comes me not to speak, and when the grave gapes 
 flesh and blood should silence its boasting." 
 
 Sir Michael stood a little apait, downlooking
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT^ 157 
 
 and silent, with his mantle folded about him, and 
 held up to his mouth, like one fearful of the night 
 air ; at a little distance stood his page Brunelfin, 
 and so still did he stand, that he might have been 
 numbered among the inanimate stones of the val- 
 ley by any eye less discerning than his master's; 
 the look which they interchanged was that of mu- 
 tual intelligence; and the page, with his hands 
 folded over his breast, stood and looked on the old 
 man with a glance more of loathing than of love. 
 Sir James regarded only the figure before him, 
 and regarded him too with an interest wliich ap- 
 peared every moment to augment. 
 
 " Sir Warrior," said he, " you have fought in 
 foreign lands, and doubtless you have seen much 
 of the various modes by which expert soldiers lead 
 on the strength of their country to battle. One 
 wild nation banded as^ainst another : Turk against 
 Christian, and Arab against all. A man who 
 has seen so much ought not to be silent, when 
 his words are at once history and instruction." 
 ** Such knowledge would avail thee little, my son," 
 said the old warrior ; " the foe with whom I fought 
 I can never meet again ; and our mode of warfare, 
 fierce and terrible as it was, will never more be 
 waged; yet something would I willingly teach 
 thee. Thou didst even now smile at my little 
 sword. Now, if thou wouldst wish to see the
 
 15S SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 Saracen mode of warring with swords of Damascus 
 steel, pull out thy blade, it is longer and broader 
 than mine, and exchange with me three strokes, 
 and do thy best." 
 
 Secretly did Sir Michael smile to himself, as he 
 beheld Sir James bare his charmed sword, and 
 confront the ancient warrior, who, starting from- 
 the ground with all the alacrity of youth, dealt his 
 opponent a blow on the helmet, with such right 
 good will that the solid steel was cleft asunder, 
 and a drop of blood followed, trickling down his 
 brow. A thrill ran through the frame of Sir 
 James ; he had given and received many a sharp 
 stroke, and his own body had bled as well as those 
 of his enemies, but never till now had he expe- 
 rienced the unnerving thrill, which made him for 
 a moment weaker than an unweaned child. But 
 his strength came back ere it was well taken away, 
 and he returned the blow with such rapidity 
 and earnestness, that the old warrior's sword was 
 shorn asunder like a hazel-twig, and the severed 
 blade flew into the water, and hissed like red-hot 
 iron when quenched at the forge. " Mahoun ! " 
 exclaimed he, " who art thou ? No blade formed 
 by mortal hand could do such a deed ; and look at 
 my sword, many a good blow it has stricken, and 
 cloven many a casque, but stroke will it strike never 
 JDaore." And he threw the hilt, with the fragment
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 159 
 
 of the blade, into the air, and it vanished, leaving 
 a ray of light behind it like the train of a night 
 meteor. 
 
 " Sir Warrior," said Sir James, pleased with 
 the superior merit of his own weapon, and scorn- 
 ing to resent a blow, though it had nearly cost 
 him his life, " if that be all thou hast learned 
 from the heathen, thy travels have been poorly 
 repaid. Even JMahoun, in whose name thou didst 
 revile thy little weapon, never forged a blade, 
 amid the penal fires of the pit, which could sheer 
 my Scottish blade in two." " Scottish blade ! " 
 said the warrior, with a flushed brow, " such a 
 sword was never made in Scottish land. There is 
 a tradition in Syria, that the magician, Michael 
 Scott, whom Mahoun confound, by the force of 
 his spells, turned the second power on the infernal 
 throne into a coal-black steed, and rode him over 
 the desert till a thunderbolt struck him by the side 
 of the Dead Sea. The magician took the molten 
 bolt, still glowing with the heat of heaven, kindled 
 a fire of spice with it in the desert, and from it 
 fashioned a blade, which won for Sir William 
 Wallace the fight of Stirling-bridge, and for Robert 
 Bruce the field of Bannockburn ; but it was lost 
 on Flodden field ; and an English hand will wield 
 it now, and never more shall it gleam on a Stuart's 
 thigh. Sit down by me, and I will sing thee a
 
 $60 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 martial song, which I learned from a warrior in 
 Palestine; it was made by an Arab bard of the 
 desert, in honour of Michael's magic sword : 
 
 THE CHARMED SWORD. 
 I. 
 
 charmed sword ! thy steel was formed 
 When thunderbolts flew fast ; 
 
 Thy blade was born mid fire from heaven, 
 
 And tempered in its blast. 
 Nought mortal may withstand thy stroke 
 
 Beneath the sun or moon ; 
 No spell shall stay thy sheer descent. 
 
 Nor might of black Mahoun. 
 
 1 see thee gleaming in the air. 
 Like God's avenging fire j 
 
 The fiercest hearts are struck with awe, 
 And tremble and retire. 
 
 n. 
 
 O charmed aword '. O charmed sword ! 
 
 Soon thy consuming gleam 
 Shall leave Assyria's scorching sands. 
 
 For Tweed or Teviot's stream : 
 To strike the tyrant in his strength. 
 
 And, with his chosen band, 
 Heap Stirling-field, and Rosliu-ridge, 
 
 Aud Bannock's silver sand. 
 Then pause, and let thy bloody blade 
 
 Wave o'er the freeborn brow. 
 Till comes the hour of Trafalgar, 
 
 And day of Waterloo.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 161 
 
 III. 
 
 O charmed sword ! O charmed sword ! 
 
 I name thy name with awe, 
 Thy blade nought that Is base may touch. 
 
 Nought tl.at 's unholy draw. 
 The tyrant ne'er shall have thy ad. 
 
 Thy blade no gold shall hire ; 
 Who hopes to bribe the thunderbolt. 
 
 Or wield eternal fire ? 
 Shine with the weak, and strike the strong. 
 
 And George, the ocean-lord. 
 Shall free with thee the world from chains^ 
 
 Farewell, thou charmed sword ! 
 
 " It is a rough bold song," said Sir James, 
 " but how came you by all this knowledge ? It 
 was not born with you, I imagine." " Sir Knight," 
 answered the old warrior, " your surprise is na- 
 tural, and 1 answer it thus. My time has not all 
 been spent in unhorsing heroes, storming cities, 
 and spilling blood. In the countries where I 
 warred I made myself acquainted with the history 
 of the people, with their wild beliefs, with their 
 wisdom, their knowledge, whether of evil or of 
 ^ood. All this was to me a pleasure, and now I 
 find it valuable. I have seen the Saracen min- 
 strel charm a fish out of the stream with his harp- 
 string and his rhyme. I have seen a matron in 
 the north imprison a tempest in a vessel of stone, 
 And dispose of it in the market to those she hated
 
 161 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 for a fair and moderate breeze. I have seen an 
 archer shoot a shaft in Syria, which slew an enemy 
 in the Saracen camp in Spain. I have seen a 
 warrior with his war-axe divide earth-fast flints, 
 and bars of case-hardened steel. 1 have seen a 
 charmed cup, which the thirst of a whole camp 
 could never drain dry, and I have seen a sea- 
 shell transformed into a gallant war-ship ; and a 
 clear stream turned into a steed." 
 
 " Friend warrior," replied Sir James, " a mar- 
 tial wanderer has the privilege of seeing and de- 
 scribing wondrous things, and truly you have 
 seen some marvellous matters," " Which means," 
 said the old man, with a grave smile, " that you 
 imagine I wish to impose a traveller's romancings 
 upon an inexperienced person, who has never 
 been in far lands, and whose knowledge is confined 
 to a little incredulous island. Those things which 
 I describe as having witnessed I am able to per- 
 form. I have learned the secret things of many 
 lands, and I care not to show you with what ease 
 I can fulfil your wishes. What would you like t6 
 see, what would you wish to learn, and what de- 
 sire you to possess ? " Sir James smiled, and re-f 
 plied, " I wish to see the wide world, and to pos* 
 sess it all; there is a wish that goes to the very 
 limit of your art, and probably somewhat beyond 
 it." " To show you the whole earth," answered
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 168 
 
 the old man, is as easy as to show you yon moon- 
 You can first take a look at it, and then decide 
 about possessing it." 
 
 The warrior, as he spoke, took his little polished 
 di'inking cup to the spring, filled it thrice with 
 pure water, and as often emptied it ; he then held 
 it out to Sir James, saying, " Taste of my cup, 
 and then tell me what you see." " To drink from 
 an empty vessel," said the other, seems something 
 miraculous : I saw you scatter the water on the 
 ground, and you have not since filled it." " O ! " 
 said the old man, with a laugh, " you have not 
 travelled, therefore you are slow in belief. Be 
 assured, when you have witnessed but half of what 
 I have seen, you will be ready to believe the 
 wildest marvel which poets ascribe to the wands 
 of magicians ; but set the cup to your lips, never- 
 theless, and drink." Sir James set the cup to his 
 Hps, and found it filled with a liquid the most de- 
 licious he had ever tasted ; he drank, still the cup 
 continued full; and when he returned it to the 
 owner he was so overcome, that he knew not 
 whether he stood on earth or air. 
 
 " Behold now, Sir Knight," said the warrior, 
 " the world lies far below thee ; thou art midway 
 in air like an eagle on the wing, and the green 
 globe of the universe turns round to thy wish, that 
 thou mayst behold how fair, how pleasant, and 
 how delightful it is." Sir James gazed downwards,
 
 164 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 and saw the world spread out at his feet with its 
 oceans, its lakes, its mountains, its mainlands, and 
 its isles. Ten thousand cities, and towers, and pa- 
 laces, glittered on all sides ; war seemed banished 
 from the earth; labour appeared to have ceased, 
 and joy, mirth, and gladness abounded. On the 
 green fields youths and maidens danced; in the 
 green woods they wooed, and came singing through 
 the city gates with garlands in their hands. The 
 ground yielded of its own accord, the sweetest of 
 fruits and the fairest of flowers, and the warmth 
 which the sun shot from the sky, made dress an en- 
 cumbrance. Sir James gazed anxiously on the 
 gay and splendid scene before him. The old man 
 watched his looks, and saw them gradually flush and 
 redden, and he restrained his joy with difficulty. 
 
 " Sir Wanderer," said Sir James, "thou hast 
 shown me only the pleasant side of the great 
 molehill, earth. All is green, blooming, fruitful, 
 and joyous. But earth, believe me, has barren 
 spots, burning wastes, and savage people," " Sir 
 Knight," replied the other, " thou art not to 
 judge the wide universe by the barren grounds 
 and tameless people of thy native isle. In other 
 parts, the earth and the fullness thereof, man 
 ^consecrates to his enjoyment. But what thou 
 seest now, is a vast land yet undiscovered by the 
 dauntless voyagers of Europe. The people are so 
 ignorant, that they are perfectly happy ; are so un-
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 165 
 
 acquainted with mildness, mercy, and charity, that 
 they join in the dance, instead of the bloody fight; 
 and they have so little of the lordly spirit of civil- 
 ized man about them, that they seek out no 
 other people for the sake of enchaining them. To 
 be a monarch among these simple-minded peo- 
 ple, would be degrading one who has had the ho- 
 nour of leading thirty thousand cut throats to the 
 slaughter ; and whose wit is an over-match for the 
 wisdom of the craftiest monarch of the age." " I 
 confess," said the knight, " the scene is too soft 
 and luxurious for me. The world you show me is 
 dissolved in luxury and sunk in softness ; and of 
 all these dancing and singing youths there seems not 
 Ofne lusty enough to do a daring deed. For me, 
 that scene is without temptation. Has the world 
 nought better than this ? " 
 
 The old man smiled, and made reply, " Ah, a 
 knightly mind will still be knightly ; a heart bent 
 on heroic deeds despises the shepherd's pipe ; and 
 one who rejoices in the neighing of the warhorses 
 as tliey are spurred on the spears, is too fiery for 
 enjovin'T peace and pleasure. Behold a sweeter 
 scepc than poet ever dreamed of; than saint ever 
 sav/ in a vision ; and yet one real, substantial, and 
 sure." Sir James looked, and saw beneath him 
 an immense expanse of ocean, on which a bright 
 and dazzling sun was setting; it gleamed like
 
 166 SrR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 melted gold for many a hundred leagues, while 
 upon its bosom a thousand green isles appeared 
 floating with all their groves, spicy hills, honey 
 vales, and headlands and heights. He heard the 
 songs of innumerable birds, and saw their varie- 
 gated plumage glancing to the sun, as they flitted 
 from tree to tree ; he smelt the most dehcious fruits 
 and aromatic gums and spices; and he saw that 
 boon nature called, without stint or limit, the rich- 
 est productions from the ground. 
 
 " Behold, " said the wanderer, " the happy 
 and undiscovered isles. Man's foot has never pro- 
 faned the flowery sod ; there is no bird of prey, 
 no beast of rapine, no reptile gliding under the 
 sunny grass to invade sleep. How dehghtfully 
 could a man, with the woman of his love, live on 
 these green and gladsome isles. There the sound 
 of sorrow could never reach him ; men with their 
 gross passions and mean pursuits could not find 
 him ; he would live like a god of old, and his 
 name and his looks would be transmitted in his 
 descendants." 
 
 " These are indeed lovely isles," said Sir James; 
 " I wish they had appeared in the days of my 
 youth. I was then a sigher for scenes of retired 
 sweetness, and I dreamed of a lodge in a wilder- 
 ness with the woman whom I loved. But when I 
 became a man, I thought as a man. To mingle
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. \&T 
 
 with kings, counsellors, warriors, poets, and 
 sages, becomes me more than the hermitage. 
 Fruits from the tree, flowers from the field, 
 nature in all her bounty, and woman in all her 
 beauty, can only please for a time. Man seeks 
 intercourse with man, loves to be expatiating on 
 his species, on the universe, and on God. He 
 loves what is solemn, what is deep, what is lofty ; 
 he follows the meteor on its path, the storm in its 
 course, the lightning as it flashes, and the thun- 
 der as it rolls." The green lovely islands slowly 
 vanished as he spoke, and a scene of a ruder cha- 
 racter was presented. 
 
 '• See," said the old warrior, " beneath you lies 
 a ruder scene, and a stirring people." Sir James 
 looked, and saw, as far as the eye could reach, a 
 wild and uncultivated country covered with green 
 woods, interspersed with vales, waving with luxuri- 
 ant grass, while a noble river rolled through the 
 wilderness with innumerable flocks of wild fowl 
 swimming on its bosom. The hills were studded 
 with herds of wild cows, the woods were filled with 
 troops of wild horses, while on the plains ten thou- 
 sand tents were pitched, and the hum of their mar- 
 tial inhabitants was heard far and wide. A trum- 
 pet sounded, and forth a myriad of soldiers rushed; 
 stretching their lances before them, and leaning 
 towards their horse's necks, they advanced towards
 
 168 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 the south, a mighty and resistless army. They at- 
 tacked a people who marched against them, and 
 left the wolves and the cormorants a plentiful feast. 
 They laid siege to a lofty city ; the towers fell, the 
 people sent up a piteous cry, its men, its women, 
 and its little ones were slain, and a heap of burning 
 dust was all that remained of the lordly place. 
 They rode on, brandishing their spears, and when 
 they reached the uttermost ends of the earth, they 
 spurred their foaming horses into the sea, and 
 sighed that God had made no more lands to con- 
 quer. 
 
 " Cursed be these furious warriors," exclaimed 
 Sir James ; " they come to destroy as well as to 
 conquer, they are akin to the wild beast of the field, 
 and to spill blood and deface the noble monuments 
 of the earth, are they come. Happy are we in this 
 little sea-girt isle ; for we are remote from the dan- 
 ger of that barbarous deluge which seems likely 
 to overflow the earth." 
 
 " Be not too sure of your safety. Sir Knight," 
 said the veteran, " those barbarians swarm in the 
 northern forests like leaves on a birch at Beltane. 
 They have frames of iron, fierce natures, and hav- 
 ing once tasted of the luxuries of a civilized land, 
 they vrill hurry on in their career of conquest, and 
 spare neither mainland nor isle- But there are 
 other scenes worthier of your contemplation, such
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 169 
 
 as may please the most fastidious nature, and 
 allure the most stirring and enterprising.'* 
 
 The swarms of barbarous warriors passed away, 
 and a wild and strange scene presented itself. The 
 country seemed a sea of sand, moved by every sweep 
 of the wind, like the waters of the ocean, while 
 amidst the whole, clumps of green trees, little 
 patches of grass and grain, which nature produced 
 to save the land from the reproach of utter sterility, 
 and the remains of noble temples and walled cities 
 appeared to float in this ocean of the desert. Sir 
 James almost started when he saw a troop of 
 mounted warriors cominoj rushinoj alonor in a 
 whirlwind of dust; the wind was not swifter than 
 their steeds, and while they rode they carolled 
 aloud, in the fullness of their joy, songs of love 
 and military deeds. 
 
 " See," said the old man, " how perishable and 
 vain all the labours of mankind are. The people 
 who first possessed that desert made it a garden, 
 called on the streams and the brooks to refresh it ; 
 built cities, and towers, and temples, and imagined 
 they were laying an empire that would last whilst 
 the sun gave Hght. Behold everywhere the foot- 
 marks of a mighty people, who did all they could 
 to impress their character on their works ; but who 
 shall say, go to, we shall build a tower which the 
 spoiler cannot take, fortify a country so that it 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 no SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 cannot be conquered, and lay the foundation of a 
 city which shall endure while trees grow and rivers 
 run ? Savage valour was followed by politic wis- 
 dom, wisdom was succeeded by luxury, luxury by 
 weakness, and weakness yielded to the first swarm 
 of martial barbarians. These wild warriors as they 
 spur their steeds over the desert, feel the thrill of 
 unbounded liberty, and with their dinner of dried 
 dates, their cup of cold water, their bed beside 
 their steeds, and their habitation shifting with the 
 wind, are happier than he who is surrounded 
 by the splendour of a court, attended by duck- 
 ing and smiling courtiers, is clothed in purple 
 and in pall, dines on plate; drinks out of gold, 
 sleeps on down, and awakes to a new round of 
 pleasures." 
 
 " Sir Warrior," said Sir James, " I thank thee 
 for this patient display which thon hast made of all 
 that the world contains, and truly I must needs 
 say, that the world is much poorer in pleasure, in 
 happiness, and in rational joy, than I had ima- 
 gined." " O ! " exclaimed the other, " be patient, 
 you have seen but a moiety of what the earth has to 
 show ; behold the land of poets, historians, artists, 
 and philosophers." Sir James looked, and he saw 
 a land which seemed an isle ; it was covered with 
 towns, cities, towers, cathedrals, and palaces; its 
 harbours were filled with ships, audits people were
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. l7l 
 
 numerous and industrious. " Hearken, the songs of 
 the poets,'* said the aged warrior, " they are in- 
 spired by domestic virtue, patriotism, love of coun- 
 try, and the glory of the nation is reflected in their 
 verse, as the stars are in yon lucid lake. The his- 
 torians, calm, dispassionate, clear, philosophical, 
 and true, have revived the grave vigour of the an- 
 cient muse of heroic acts and lofty thoughts, and her 
 artists have impressed on all their productions the 
 look and thoughts of those who fought, meditated, 
 sung, and rendered the nation glorious at home, 
 and admired abroad." " I can feel all that," re- 
 plied Sir James, " for who has not had his happi- 
 ness increased, and his heart expanded by the 
 poet's verse, his knowledge extended by the histo- 
 rian's page, and felt the nature and happy truth of 
 the artist's pencil and chisel. But I see other la- 
 bourers at work on the earth ; men who neither 
 plough nor sow, nor paint, nor sing, nor think, and 
 yet they work away, and seem to imagine that all 
 the world is indebted to them for boring into the 
 ground, and pronouncing some strange name over 
 the clay and stones which they bmTow up." 
 
 " Ah," answered the old man, " scorn them not, 
 though they are a useless and unprofitable race, 
 who deform and misrepresent nature, under pre- 
 tence of displaying her beauties. But behold yon 
 meeting of grave, considerate, and learned men ; 
 I 2
 
 172 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 their table is groaning with costly dishes and rare 
 wines, and around them are piled the accumulated 
 riches of human intellect; all that is divine of 
 Greece and Rome is there : the gaiety of France, 
 the imagination of Scotland, and the thought of 
 England. Amidst all this, what can these mag- 
 nates of learning be doing ; to describe all the 
 mole-hills in the parish, to discuss the merits of a 
 coin from which time has effaced the stamp, to 
 seek a character and find a name for a bust with- 
 out a head, to determine whether a peck of the 
 charcoal of Herculaneum contained poetry, or 
 law, or religion ; these and other matters of equal 
 importance, have gathered those wisemen together, 
 and the result is, a pile of writing which can never 
 be read. Wouldst thou love to become one of 
 them?" 
 
 He waited not to be answered, but he waved his 
 hand, the scene gradually disappeared, and to the 
 eye of Sir James a vast continent arose. On an 
 immense plain, two armed nations were banded ; 
 banner was displayed against banner, the war- 
 horses neighed, and the shining helmets were so 
 closely wedged, that a man might have walked on 
 warriors heads for a measured mile and more. 
 Crowds of young soldiers pressed eagerly into the 
 front to win their spurs, and two stern and experi- 
 enced leaders set the nations in array, and looked
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 178 
 
 on each other with that austere delight which sol- 
 diers feel when the trumpet is about to be set to 
 the lip. The face of Sir James kindled up, and 
 when he saw the breathing masses impelled on each 
 other, as if one heart moved all, he smote his 
 thighs with both palms, and exclaimed, " O 
 for a horse and a spear, there is a field worthy 
 of a soldier ! " Their war-cries rose in the air, 
 the shocking of the mail-clad warriors was heard, 
 crests fell, and banners waved, then the whole 
 moved rapidly away, and thick darkness hung like 
 a funeral pall between him and the earth. 
 
 The old man turned round and said, " What 
 thinkest thou of the wide world? Has it a 
 place worthy of thy regard ; dost thou desire to 
 rule and reign among the quarrelsome barba- 
 rians of this sterile globe, when creation has amid 
 her vast dominions so many places, and so many 
 nations of whom thou art w^orthy. To see this 
 world for so many dreary years as I have beheld it, 
 filled with violence and wrong, folly and injustice, 
 may well make us weary and inclined to seek for 
 pleasure and repose in other climes, under a hap- 
 pier dispensation of nature. Look with me, Sir 
 Knight, and I shall show thee a scene worthy of thy 
 ambition." Sir James turned, and as he turned a 
 hand came before him, and from it something was 
 thrown, which sparkled in his eyes like descending 
 dew.
 
 174 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 " Behold now," said the stranger, " my master's 
 kingdom, there it rises before you, covered with fruits 
 of a sweeter flavour than aught earthly, shaded by 
 trees of loftier stature and more odorous shade than 
 the brushwood of this world, and watered by nobler 
 rivers, and adorned with more magnificent palaces 
 than the eastern monarchs ever built. Look upon 
 it, and behold the happy creatures who possess it ; 
 see what noble steeds yon god-like warriors be- 
 stride, the lances which gleam in their hands are 
 no imaginary weapons, and yon fair forms which 
 wave them to the encounter, are breathing dames 
 who reward with their loves the happy conquerors 
 in the splendid tourney. To them wilt thou be wel- 
 comed with the right hand and the left, and fair 
 queens and princesses vdll contend for a glance 
 of thine eye." He smiled, and looked on Sir 
 James, who stood with horror painted on his brow. 
 
 " I see not the scene which is visible to you,'* 
 said Sir James, " for I behold a region which 
 makes my blood curdle. I behold a valley of fire, 
 filled with palaces, and towers ; a river of flame 
 rushes through the whole, and crowds of men and 
 women are driven to bathe in the liquid element, 
 by shapes which nature has trembled to create, 
 and left undefined. It is awful to look upon. I 
 hear a deep and melancholy cry ascending from 
 that terrible place, and on it the gloomy heaven is
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 175 
 
 casting down its linked thunderbolts." The old 
 man uttered a loud imprecation, and muttered, 
 " Some subtle spirit of heaven has dispelled the 
 charm that I hung up in the air, which turned the 
 vale of Tophet into Paradise." Sir James looked 
 on the stranger as he uttered this, and started 
 on beholding, instead of a gray warrior, a grim, 
 fierce, and fearful shape : he uttered an exclama- 
 tion of horror, called on the aid of heaven, his 
 eyes grew dim, his knees shook and doubled under 
 him, and he fell on his face as he named the name 
 of God.
 
 1T6 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Proud, glittering in the moonliglit air. 
 Rose walled town and palace fair ; 
 A river flowed — from many a tower 
 Came light, and song from lady's bower ; 
 And there I saw a new slain knight, 
 Blood-stained was all his armour bright. 
 
 When Sir James arose, the moon and stars had 
 ceased to shine, and a bright sun was descending 
 fast upon a hne of low and distant hills crowned 
 with towers and woods. For the lonesome valley, 
 and the little spring he had a round green hill, 
 with a lofty cross of stone on its summit, at the 
 foot of which he was seated, while Sir Michael 
 stood beside him, looking at the sculptured virgin 
 and child on the cross, round which some devout 
 hands had hung garlands of flowers. On the project- 
 ing base it seemed as if knees in multitudes hourly 
 had been kneeling, for the severities of the exercise 
 had worn into the solid substance. A little well held 
 up its mirror of pure water to the sun, within a lance's 
 length of the cross, and an iron ladle, the gift of 
 some pilgrim, was chained to the stone basin, lest it 
 should be carried away as a relic by some enthu-
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 177 
 
 siastic visitor; or stolen for the value of its material 
 by some unscrupulous person from the huge city 
 which covered the plain and river-bank below. 
 
 Sir Michael looked on his companion, and said, 
 ^*What has become of the military sage in whose 
 words thou takest such delight? It was unkind to 
 leave a knight so venerable and so wise, and in 
 whose good counsel there was so much safety, to 
 come with his hoary head through the night dew, 
 and with his feeble limbs to plod such a weary way 
 as thou hast travelled." In the look of Sir Michael 
 there was something sarcastic. Sir James replied, 
 " There are forms in this world which are not 
 what they seem, evil assumes the hue of good, 
 a spirit of reprobation puts on the port of virtue ; 
 and, under pretence of showing the vanities of the 
 world, seeks to give the vale of perdition the splen- 
 dour of paradise." " Thank thy guardian angel. 
 Sir James,'*' interrupted Sir Michael, " for dispel- 
 ling the delusion which a reprobate spirit spread 
 before thee ; a ray of divine light revealed the fiery 
 vale of punishment, and saved thee from descending 
 lower than Gomorrah. Be not vain nor lifted up 
 therefore, thou art saved, but not by thine own 
 strength; to his guile was celestial art opposed, 
 and the tempter went foiled and furious away. 
 Cast thyself on thy knees, there is a God above to 
 whom thanks for thy preservation are due." Sir 
 I 5
 
 l7d SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 James bowed his head to the earth; uttered a brief 
 thanksgiving, and arose reHeved in mind, and with 
 a cheerful look. 
 
 " Knowest thou the hill on which thou standest?" 
 said Sir Michael; "that river which moves along 
 so deep and broad, and the noble city which 
 adorns its bank? Look stedfastly, and answer me 
 yea or nay." Sir James looked down, first on the 
 wide river, which shone in the sinking sun like a 
 sea of gold; then on the noble city, which, enclosed 
 with a massy wall, and defended by lofty towers, 
 stretched along the northern bank of the stream^ 
 with all its splendid churches, palaces, and man- 
 sions of its merchants, nobility, and princes. He 
 saw its triple gates, through which the youth of 
 the city poured abroad with the mid-day sun to en- 
 joy the green fields, and their sports and pastimes, 
 and returned again by sunset, when the warders 
 secured them with bar and bolt. He saw crowds 
 of busy and laborious citizens thronging through 
 the streets, troops of young and lordly dames, 
 their velvets glancing, and their jewels sparkling at 
 6very step, while groups of grave and thoughtful 
 men discussed the affairs of the nation, and enter- 
 tained questions of policy, or learning, or genius. 
 
 "I see," said Sir James, " a magnificent city, like 
 Tyre of old, whose merchants were princes ; I see 
 an Exchange thronged with sea captains and
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 179 
 
 traders from distant countries; streets filled with a 
 numerous and laborious people, who seem watching 
 the coming of some procession of monks, or 
 pilgrims, for they all bear green boughs in their 
 hands. What rare and profitable relic has the 
 church discovered that tliey usher it into public 
 notice by a holiday; a rib bone of Saint Lud; the 
 stmg of the dragon's tail which Saint George van- 
 quished; a feather from the wing of Noah's 
 dove; honey from the bees of the riddle of 
 Sampson; the church can cast an atmosphere of 
 holiness and importance around any thing, and go 
 fed and clad on the credulity of mankind." 
 
 "The people," answered Sir Michael, "have 
 more substantial relic to welcome ; the relic they 
 have poured out of their homes to worship are of 
 the sword, not of superstition. Behold a proces- 
 sion of martial pilgrims; does the sight give thee 
 joy? " Sir James gazed anxiously down from the 
 hill; he beheld the gates pouring out their eager 
 thousands of young and old, on foot and on 
 horseback, with banners spread, and green branches 
 waving; while advancing to meet this shouting 
 tide of citizens he saw along the northern road a 
 long train of captains and captives. His colour 
 changed as he gazed, for he saw the spoils of 
 Flodden field borne along in triumph; the heavy 
 culverins dragged onwards, covered with garlands.
 
 180 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 by horses whose riders wore laurel in their helmetsj 
 while beliind walked a crowd of disarmed warriors, 
 guarded by the bowmen of the Tyne, and the men 
 at arms of Northumberland." 
 
 " Sorrowful mayst thou look," said Sir Michael ; 
 *' thou seest no imaginary scene; the prospect 
 before thee is not painted out of air ; nor are these 
 men the juggling pilgrims of a rapacious church; 
 Thou beholdest the capital of thine enemy's land, 
 the dwelling place of Harry Tudor; these captains 
 are thy conquerors, and these captives are the men 
 who survive the fatal field of Flodden. But the 
 bravest of thy native land, alas ! are not there; they 
 lie naked and unburied on a bloody plain, and the 
 unbridled war-horse rushes over them in quest 
 of his master. Let us go and unite ourselves to 
 the procession. But speak; — choose whose form 
 •thou wouldst wish to wear; for in thine own thou 
 canst not appear and live free?" Sir James 
 smiled, and answered, " Lend me the look of one 
 whose spurs are not yet won, who longs to do 
 some deed of arms, and has an arm as well as the 
 spirit to perform it." " Thou hast thy wish," re- 
 plied Sir Michael ; " look there, and say how well 
 such a shape becomes thee." Sir James glanced 
 into the pure mirror of the little spring, and ex- 
 claimed, starting back, " Patrick Lindsaye ; but I 
 shall do no deed that may dishonour one of the
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 181 
 
 purest and worthiest knights of the whole north 
 country : let us go." And they mingled with the 
 crowd. 
 
 " Take that, thou proud Scot," said a West- 
 moreland archer, striking Sir James with his 
 slackened bov/ ; " take that for a malapert Scot ; 
 thou wast not so forward at Flodden, by my faith, 
 else thou hadst failed to bring away that body 
 without an honourable testimony from sword or 
 arrow." " Til tell thee, Richard," said a billman, 
 interposing, " an thou learns not more civility for 
 those on whom dame fortune has turned the back 
 of her hand, I shall beat a little into that hard 
 noddle of thine with the steel end of my bill," and 
 he raised his weapon and menaced the archer, who 
 strung his bow in a moment, and, touching the 
 nerve with his forefinger, looked lowering in the 
 other's face, while the string of his bow raised a 
 sound like swarming bees in a sunny day. " I 
 care no more for thy stick and thy string, Dick," 
 said the other, a bold yeoman from Appleby, 
 " than Moll of Preston cared for thy hanging lip 
 and saffron visage when she followed Ned Dawson 
 of Rugby." 
 
 The archer had plucked an arrow from the qui- 
 ver, and had drawn his bow-string within a span of 
 his right ear, when a blow from a partizan struck 
 him to the pavement. " Bows ! bows ! " shouted a
 
 182 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 hundred archers, and they raised their formidable 
 weapons, and directed their points against the 
 billmen and spearmen, who brought up the rear of 
 the procession. The narrow way and the pressing 
 crowd rendered dieir bows nearly harmless, and left 
 them at the mercy of the others, but for their short 
 sharp swords, which were readily plucked out, and 
 many a blow and thrust were given, and much 
 blood was spilt, before order could be restored. 
 
 " Who made this ill-timed fray?" enquired 
 Lord Henry Beaumont, " if he be an archer, I 
 shall have his Kendal-green doublet plucked over 
 his head, and beat him back to the north with his 
 own bow. If he be a billman, three good bangs 
 shall he bide with the shaft of his own weapon, and 
 for the next campaign he shall be the last in the 
 attack and the first in the retreat." " It was Dick 
 Featherstone," said a billman ; " he struck one of 
 the proud Scots with his bow, and Hob Noble of 
 Applebly broke his jaw with his partizan." " Who, 
 I ? " cried the archer, " I struck no proud Scot 
 since I struck them with my cloth-yard-shafts on 
 Flodden-edge." " It was North-Riding Rugby 
 himself," said one of the archers ; " I saw him 
 strike John of Kendal by the same token that 
 blood followed the blow." Rugby of the North 
 Riding, a fiery spearman, repelled the charge by a 
 round oath of his innocence, and by a blow on the 
 
 # 
 #
 
 SIR 3IICHAEL SCOTT. 183 
 
 mouth of the accuser, which displaced three of his 
 teeth. " Stand back," said the archer, drawing 
 his bow and discharging his arrow, which, glancing 
 from the steel gorget of the yeoman, struck one of 
 the war-horses to the heart. The horse, plunging 
 in the pangs of death, threw down several soldiers 
 and stopt up the narrow gate of the city. Swords 
 flashed on all sides, lances were levelled, and arrows 
 flew, and the noise of the tumult startled the citi- 
 zens, and run along the streets. Sir James heard the 
 wild laugh of Brunelfin above the din of the strife. 
 " Sir James," said Sir JMichael, " of what fiery 
 materials man is made. Seest thou yon burly 
 groom with the brandished lance; an invisible 
 hand deals a blow which makes him stoop and 
 stagger, and in revenge he thrusts his comrade 
 through the body. Behold yon archer with the 
 arrow laid in the string; a bill in an unseen 
 hand leaves him only strength to draw an arrow, 
 which strikes a spearman down. Hark ! the 
 greenwood bugle blast of the incensed archers; 
 now their arrows will come in flocks together 
 like the wild swans from whose wings they are 
 fledged. Hearken, too, the horn of the ready bill- 
 men ; now for thrust of spear and blow of bilk 
 This proud triumph of Lord Howard will cost his 
 country dear." " Alas, poor hinds," said Sir 
 James, " why should they slay one another ? Ad-
 
 184 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 monish thy page, and let him find out some more 
 innocent way of amusing himself than by spilling 
 blood." " When," answered Sir Michael, " thou 
 talkest of sparing man's blood, then there is hope 
 of thy amendment. Brnnelfin knows thy wish and 
 mine; he is come here to annoy the Southron, 
 let him have it his own way; but there shall be 
 no more blood-spilling." 
 
 The soldiers were now reduced to order, and the 
 city-gates were shut and bolted behind them. But 
 the movements had been so slow, that the sun was 
 set ere the last bar was replaced by the hands of the 
 cautious warder. When the sun retired, sudden 
 darkness rushed down from the sky, and involved 
 the leaders of the English chivalry in sevenfold con- 
 fusion. Torches were called for, and as promptly 
 they came ; but instead of shedding a regular and 
 steady light, they startled about like meteors ; now 
 here, now there ; behind, before, now singeing the 
 plumes of the soldiers, then flashing high in the 
 air and threatening to set the city in flames. Under 
 this wild and extraordinary light no man knew his 
 brother's face; all appeared strange and wild, dis- 
 torted and discoloured. 
 
 " Now's the time, Diccon," said a borderer, who 
 had fought for three distinguished persons in his 
 day, namely, the king of England, the king of 
 Scotland, and himself; " now's the time, Diccon,
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 185 
 
 to relieve one of the London churls of his gold. 
 See this window is full of jewellery, and my 
 Kirstine, thou knowest, has need of a trinket or 
 two to make her look tempting." The soldier 
 into whose ear this was whispered, turned hastily 
 round and exclaimed, " Knave, darest thou utter 
 such a wish to me ? — but stay, thou art fool as well 
 as knave surely, for these jewels of thine are only 
 gilt gingerbread ; be silent, and indulge in none of 
 thy knaveries here." " Saint i^ndrew and St. 
 George too, muttered the astonished borderer, I 
 spoke to Diccon of Grahamsdyke, and who should 
 answer me but Sir Hugh Selby of Saint Bees." 
 
 King Henry, w^ith his nobles, had come forth 
 to welcome the victor, and his right hand was 
 held out to Surrey when this unwonted darkness 
 descended. The bewildering fires which came 
 flashing round on all sides dazzled the courtiers, 
 and as they streamed to and fro like lights in the 
 northern sky, ten thousand pale faces were turned 
 up in dismay; the priests prayed and invoked 
 the saints ; the ladies trembled for their splendid 
 trains, and the kinor for the daffjjer of the domestic 
 foe. " Welcome, my Lord Howard," said King 
 Henry, " and welcome too all thy fellow-warriors ; 
 but by the Confessor's bones, man, thou comest 
 strangely attended; thou hast taken ten thousand 
 meteors captive as well as ten thousand Scots.'*
 
 186 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 " Truly, my liege," answered the Earl, " I have 
 ceased to marvel at wonders ; our whole march 
 from Flodden-edge hither has been accompanied 
 by all manner of wild and wonderful things. The 
 very dead rose before my face and rode on horse- 
 back. No minstrel ever witnessed, in the wildest 
 mood of his imagination, marvels more strange than 
 I. I wish we had a poet worthy of embodying them 
 in rhyme." 
 
 *' Sir Earl," replied the Bishop of Lincoln, " it 
 is the fault of good and stout soldiers like thyself 
 to go to battle without the company of pious and 
 holy men, whose presence would check the evil 
 invisible power, and keep the camp free from the 
 power of Satan." " My Lord Bishop then thinks," 
 answered the Earl, meekly, " that the prayers and 
 the presence of a pious and sound divine would 
 have saved us from the visitations of those strange 
 shapes and wild encounters. Truly, if your reve- 
 rence thinks so, even try your virtue in a con- 
 test with these meteor torches, which belong to 
 the kingdom of him wdth whom the church wages 
 religious war." " It becomes thee not. Earl 
 Surrey," said the Bishop, " to scoff at the pious 
 efforts of holy men, nor to imagine that all which 
 behold you beyond the scope of your judgment be- 
 longs to the evil place. May not these lights be 
 kindled in honour of the overthrow which the arms
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 187 
 
 of a pious monarch have given to a licentious king? 
 The Hght which shines may be hght from heaven." 
 " Aye," answered the Earl, " but not the light 
 which leads astray, and this seems to be one of 
 those." " We shall see," replied the prelate, hold- 
 ing up his hands. " Light, if thou art come hither 
 for evil, begone whence thou hast come. I com- 
 mand thee to go." " Call again, priest," muttered 
 Lord Mowbray, " the false light hears not what 
 your reverence says." In a moment the waving 
 lights were extinguished, and the lamps and torches 
 of the citizens alone showed the way to the king 
 and his chief captains. 
 
 " Now behold yon proud prelate," said Sir 
 James to his companion, " his success with Bru- 
 nelfin's fairy-lights will doubly increase his dignity ; 
 his exploit will go forth to the world, and be 
 blazoned through every land by the ready tongues 
 of a lying priesthood, who are willing to exalt the 
 commonest operations of nature into marvels 
 wrought by holy men, and miracles performed by 
 saints." " O vex not thy spirit about the matter," 
 said Sir Michael, " my tricky page raises the 
 proud priest only that he may pluck him down at 
 his proudest. Hearken, we shall have some min- 
 strelsy of another stamp than what kings hear at 
 court." As he spake, a shrill cry was heard over 
 head, and a voice, which seemed sometimes drop-
 
 188 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 ing from the sky, springing from the ground, or 
 coming from the bier on which the body of one of 
 the Scottish leaders was laid, chaunted a song, of 
 which this imperfect copy survives. 
 
 WILLIAM WALLACE. 
 I. 
 
 O London town ! O London town ! 
 
 'Gainst palace, tower, and wall. 
 And judge's cap, and monarch's crown, 
 
 I lift my voice, and call. 
 The cannon-burst shall tame thy might. 
 
 And down thy stately street 
 Red blood shall reek, and children shriek. 
 
 Beneath thy conqueror's feet. 
 There 's not a stone in thy strong wall. 
 
 Nor rafter in thy palace, 
 But what shall tremble yet, and smoke, 
 
 For blood of William Wallace ! 
 
 II. 
 
 O London town ! O London town ! 
 
 Built on the sea-broad Thame, 
 'Tis not the force of foreign foes 
 
 Thy giant strength shall tame j 
 The Frenchman on his war-steed fierce. 
 
 The Spaniard on the main. 
 Shall shake the lance, and spread the sail 
 
 Against thy shores in vain. 
 When nought but gray men fill your halls. 
 
 And drj)hans crowd your vallies, 
 And thy best blood like water runs. 
 
 Then think on William Wallace !
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 189 
 
 III. 
 
 O London town ! O London town 1 
 
 With what a shout there came 
 To casement wide, and turret high, 
 
 Serf, knight, and lord, and dame ; 
 The bills and axes flashed before, 
 
 Behind shone many a spear. 
 And there he rode who tamed your earjg. 
 
 And chased your chiefs like deer. 
 O thou didst send a glad voice forth 
 
 From all thy streets and alleys — 
 Lo ! Scotland's hero comes in chains. 
 
 Come gaze on William Wallace ! 
 
 IV. 
 
 O London town ! O London town ! 
 
 Ye sang to see him pass 
 In bonds, who warred for liberty, 
 
 And tyrants trod like grass ; 
 With chains on those heroic limbs. 
 
 On his young head a crown 
 In mockery, and that right hand bound 
 
 Which struck your proudest down. 
 A herald cried with a loud voice, 
 
 *' Prepare the axe and gallows, 
 For here comes Scotland's rebel chief 
 
 And traitor, William Wallace !" 
 
 V. 
 
 O London town ! O London town ' 
 
 In bondage through thy street, 
 *Twas sad to see the hero ride 
 
 A traitor's doom to meet.
 
 190 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 Fierce Edward stood, and grimly smiled 
 
 To see hira calmly stand, 
 The judge upon the judgment seat, 
 
 The headsman at his hand. 
 ♦* Thou slewest our lieges and our lords, 
 
 With corses choked our vallies, 
 Tliy head shall stand on London gate — 
 
 What sayest thou, William Wallace ?" 
 
 vr. 
 
 The hero on old Edward threw 
 A fearless glance and free, 
 
 «* I've knelt to God, Sir King," he said, 
 " But never knelt to thee. 
 
 Free have I lived, as free I '11 die- 
 Yet tremble in thy guilt, 
 
 For every drop my body bleeds. 
 Ten thousand shall be spilt. 
 
 The tyrant's deeds high God condemns, 
 The freeman's fate he hallows ; 
 
 Men's hate is thine, their love is mine- 
 Lead on i" — saii William Wallace. 
 
 " Priest," said Lord Howard, " canst thou not 
 stay that traitorous chaunt. What is thy piety 
 worth, if it fail to silence the fiend when he turns 
 traitor." " Sir Earl," answered the prelate, " I 
 am not prepared to say that the song is of an evil 
 origin. The Wallace was a free-born chief, and of 
 a free nation ; and surely our first Edward sinned 
 in seeking to enslave him, and more sorely still in 
 striking off his head. Our Edward made him die 
 like a traitor ; our Henry would have revered him
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. l9l 
 
 as a hero." " By heavens ! Sir Priest," answered 
 Lord Howard, " if thou say est one word more 
 in that rebel's praise, I shall strike thee where 
 thou standest with my truncheon." " Howard, 
 Howard," replied the prelate, with a meek and 
 undaunted air, " that warrior was no traitor ; and 
 I shall ever revere his memory for his kindness to 
 the monks of Heckmondsham. * Abide with me,' 
 he said, ' for my men are evil doers, and I may 
 not chastise them.' " Howard forgot in whose 
 presence he stood, also the holiness of the person 
 of his opponent, and in a moment discharged such 
 a blow with his steel truncheon on the shoulder of 
 the prelate, that had his body been of brass, in- 
 stead of frail flesh, it could not have failed to have 
 prostrated him. " So serve I all proud priests," 
 he exclaimed, " I should have done it, had it 
 been Pope Julius himself" " Why, what hast 
 thou done man," said the king peevishly, " that 
 thou shouldest thus vaunt thyself? My good bi- 
 shop and thee must be friends. What sayest thou, 
 Lincoln: wilt thou give thy hand to Howard." 
 " Gladly, my liege," answered the prelate; " and 
 I take the opportunity of admonishing him to 
 speak with more reverence of those who live in 
 the bosom of the church. My lord of Surrey 
 beheves too in di\dnation and magic, and he prac- 
 tises poetry, and other unholy arts."
 
 192 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 Lord Howard held out his hand at the king's 
 order in the deepest astonishment. " Magic 1" 
 he muttered. " By the splendour of heaven, and 
 the darkness of the pit, magic abounds ! I saw 
 him rolling in the dust, clenching his hands, and 
 gnashing his teeth ; yet there he stands unharmed, 
 and I must needs receive the hand he presents. '' 
 " Lord of Surrey," said the prelate, " thou art a 
 worthy leader, and well and wisely hast thou 
 warred in the north ; but there are matters of high 
 concernment, in which thou art little otherwise 
 than a heathen. Thou givest food, raiment, and 
 largesses, to vain and licentious minstrels, who turn 
 the story of their song against the holiness of the 
 church, and insinuate a belief of its looseness and 
 impurity into the minds of men. Thou art thy- 
 self a maker of slight and frivolous rhymes, 
 wherein the brightness of a lady's eyes, the sweet- 
 ness of her speech, and the youthful glance of her 
 face, nay, even her feet and nimble ancles, are all 
 made into gods, before which thou fallest down 
 and dost homage. Thou didst also consort with 
 one familiar with demons, who showed thee the 
 face of Lady Grace Percy in a glass, languishing 
 for thy love, when between thee and her roared a 
 wide sea. Think of these things and repent thee. 
 Lord Earl." 
 
 The procession now advanced without interrup-
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 193 
 
 tion. " He of Lincoln," said Sir Michael, " is a 
 good prelate, and though somewhat puffed up in 
 pride by imagining himself a prophet, which cir- 
 cumstances strongly countenanced, yet his notion 
 of civil liberty, and admiration of the hero of 
 Scottish freedom, won my heart, and subdued the 
 merry maliciousness of Brunelfin. Had not the 
 good prelate uttered his bold defence of the elfin's 
 song, there would have been wild work with earls, 
 coronets, and reverend wigs." Sir James laid his 
 hand on his, and said, " Look there ! look there ! 
 What carry they on that bier ? See ! the blood 
 trickles through that velvet pall, and a sword, a 
 l)roken spear, and a cloven crown, lie above it. It 
 is the body of some of our noblest warriors, a 
 gallant Gordon, a valiant Lindsaye, a brave Her- 
 ries ; or, to name all in one, a good and heroic 
 Douglas." " What wouldst thou think," said Sir 
 Michael, " if it happened to be a Stuart?" " And 
 a Stuart indeed it is," said an English soldier, 
 " and a royal one too. There he lies, who, for a 
 woman's smile and a wanton's lip, led his bold 
 thousands to an English grave. 'Tis a pity of him 
 too, for he was a stout soldier, and bore himself 
 right royally when the day went against him. All 
 wouldn't do, my masters : the Scottish spear and 
 Michael's magic are poor defences against an 
 English war-axe and a gray-goose shaft. His 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 194 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 head will grace London-gate, beside that of Wil- 
 liam Wallace. A curse on the name ! He killed 
 my ancestor, a fierce Fenwick, and slew his two 
 sons, and for that his scull deserves a bleaching." 
 And he pointed with his spear to a human head, 
 which was fixed over the portal through which 
 they were about to pass. 
 
 Sir James gazed upwards, and it was not with- 
 out awe that he beheld a human head, shedding 
 from its eyes a bright light, which startled the 
 horses, and alarmed the king and his nobles. " To 
 thy tools, my good Bishop," said Lord Howard, 
 " to thy tools ; the evil spirit has got into thy fa- 
 vourite hero's scull, and thou canst not say that the 
 light thou seest is light from heaven. Had it 
 -come with a helmet and plume, and with sword or 
 spear, a Howard might have accepted the chal- 
 lenge, but this defiance comes manifestly within 
 the rules of the church, and accept it thou must." 
 " Lord Earl," replied the prelate, " when that 
 heroic head wore steel, when the manly body was 
 united to it, and life animated the whole, I have 
 not heard that a Howard sought the honourable 
 danger of withstanding it." " A truce to this un- 
 profitable talk," said the King Henry; "the head 
 of the bold warrior deserves the care of the church, 
 and with to-morrow's sun it shall be interred in 
 holy ground. Vengeance hath had its day, and 
 the hour of mercy hath come at last."
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 195 
 
 " Saints of Heaven, and our blessed Lady, 
 shield us," said the Bishop of Lincoln, " what un- 
 holy sound is that ? I hear as if ten thousand war- 
 riors on horseback were rushing through the air. 
 Lo ! I see the glittering of their breast-plates, 
 and the quivering light of their spears." " I hear 
 no sound, and I see none of the imaginary war- 
 riors," exclaimed Lord Howard ; " and yet I see 
 all that is between me and the sky. This now 
 will make a fair legend for the miracle book of 
 Lincoln cathedral, which he of the lake of dark- 
 ness daily overlooks, and says that it is good." — 
 " Peace, peace, Howard," said King Henry, 
 " some terrible thing is present ; I hear such sounds 
 in the air as rise from a battle field." " Run for 
 thy relics, Sir Priest," said Howard, " else we 
 shall be all overawed and vanquished by a peace- 
 able scull which has stood on London-gate these 
 two hundred j^ears, and underneath which the 
 city maidens dance on May-day." 
 
 A veteran soldier, who had followed Howard 
 through all his wars, and fought by his side, laid 
 his hand on his leader's arm, and said, " Look 
 there ! my Lord, look there!" and he held his 
 sword into the murky air, and gazed like one who 
 beholds something fearful. " Nay, Ralph Fen- 
 wick," said Lord Howard, " if thou feel est fear 
 I may well feel it by faith; but by the Sur- 
 k2
 
 196 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 rey's soul I see nothing. What seest thou ? " "I 
 see," said the soldier, with a shudder, " a broad 
 banner displayed in the air; the very banner 
 w^ich flowed o'er the Royal tent on Flodden-edge ; 
 it is torn and bloody, even as it was when trodden 
 among our horses' feet. I see many a helmeted 
 and plumed head around it. And, saints of hea- 
 ven, what is this ? Look there, look there, my 
 Lord* Onmarrowless bones there comes flesh; to 
 the dead there comes life." 
 
 The fearful vision which alarmed Ralph Fen- 
 wick was visible to others. " I vow seven gold 
 candlesticks to the shrine of our Lady at Ripon," 
 said Sir Hugh Percy ; " this pageant is from the 
 pit, since it comes in the shape of an enemy." 
 " And I vow a silver font to the shrine of St. Tho- 
 mas at York," said Sir Edward Mordaunt ; " have 
 we to fight the Scots in the air and on land too." 
 " And f give my fair estate of Haselton," said 
 Sir Andrew Hazelrigg, " to be laid out in long 
 sincere masses for the repose of the Scottish chief- 
 tain's soul ; he slew my ancestor, but I war not 
 with his dust." " I am but a poor knight," ex- 
 claimed Sir Anton Buhner, " and have no gold to 
 vow, nor lands to give ; but found thou the church, 
 and provide for the Mass, Hazelrigg, and, by Saint 
 George, I shall see that the lazy priests do the good 
 office." " Spare all your vows," said King Henry,
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 197 
 
 " and pass on to Westminster Hall ; I in some 
 sort agree with stout Howard here, that this page- 
 ant has been prepared to surprise us ; what thinks 
 our good bishop ? " 
 
 The bishop looked into the air for a little space, 
 and said, " this pageant is not of man ; nor is it 
 altogether either of hell or heaven. Of the spirits 
 which haunt the earth some are blessed, some are 
 reprobate, and others are both." " A kind of 
 Borderers, my lord Bishop," interrupted Howard, 
 " who are akin to both coimtries, and plunder 
 both." " Your simile is just, my lord," continued 
 the prelate, " and those spirits not wholly blessed, 
 nor yet wholly reprobate, are left loose on earth to 
 fulfil the predictions of the saints ; to keep man 
 awake to a sense of his sins ; to induce penance, 
 fast, vigil, and the abasement of the flesh. To 
 us, not as saints, but as sinners, are these shapes 
 come, and they have, in part, fulfilled their pur« 
 pose, since these good knights have vowed so largely 
 to the church. Doth my Lord Howard vow no- 
 thing ? " " When I see any thing I shall vow," 
 replied Howard. " What sees the reverend and 
 holy Prelate ? " I see all that thou seest, and 
 no more," replied the priest; but he is by my 
 side who will tell thee what he sees. Come hither, 
 brother Ambrose." 
 
 Brother Ambrose came forward at the prelate's
 
 198 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 call, and presented a form which merited the looks 
 of surprise, and even alarm, with which Howard's 
 veterans regarded him. His head, neck, arms, 
 and legs were naked, hairy as a wolf-hound, and 
 brown with exposure to sun and wind ; a shirt, or 
 rather close garment of sack-cloth, was bound 
 about his middle, with a twisted rope of hair ; his 
 beard, matted and gray, descended on his bosom ; 
 in his left hand he held a printed book, and in his 
 right a scourge, which had been recently applied 
 to his own shoulders. He waited for no introduc- 
 tion, but tossed his hands wildly, and cried, "A 
 woe, and a woe to this land; from the ground 
 there comes a cry, and in the air there is a vision, 
 denouncing wrath, war, and judgment. I looked, 
 and I beheld on the gate of this proud city a 
 watcher, a terrible watcher ; a bloody sword was 
 in one hand, and a burning torch was in the other, 
 and he stood and cried, I give your sons to the 
 sword, and your daughters to defilement, for ye 
 hearken not to the words of my holy ones ; ye be- 
 come your own gods, and each man interpreteth 
 the word of the Most High according to the wish 
 of his own heart. For our blessed Lady and our 
 glorious saints ye set up painted idols, and ye bow 
 to the interpretations of mere man, nor regardeth 
 the holy watcher, whose throne is on the seven 
 hDls." " Out upon thee, false knave," exclaimed
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 199 
 
 Sir George Beaumont, " wilt thou preach down 
 knowledge that comes from God, and set up an 
 Italian priest for a divinity ? " The prophet seem- 
 ed insensible to the reproach ; his eyes rolled, and 
 his hands were raised wildly, and he looked into 
 the midnight air. 
 
 " Lo ! and the spirit cometh again," he cried ; 
 " cometh in the shape of England's terrible 
 enemy; even the hero who was drawTi and 
 quartered. In the south there shone a light, and 
 from the light there came a shape, and the shape 
 became that of a mighty warrior, with a helmet 
 of fire upon his head, and a sword of flame 
 in his hand. Lo ! there the fearful vision stalks 
 before us ; look ye all, and tremble." " Why, 
 priest, this is the rarest madness," said the Earl 
 Marshal, "I see nothing but the cloud of dark- 
 ness which retires before our torches." " Yes," 
 replied the priest, " but in the cloud moves the 
 terrible shape; see,, lo ! and behold, it stops at 
 Whitehall ; it points to the ground ; it expands to 
 sevenfold stature ; lo ! it vanishes in a shower of 
 fire and blood." As he said this, the darkness 
 seemed cloven asunder, and a column of vi\dd fire 
 flashed over their heads, and towTi, tower, pa- 
 lace, church, and river, gleamed as brightly as at 
 noon ; each warrior saw his fellow's face for a mo- 
 ment, as if it had been dipt in blood and flame.
 
 200 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 ^« By heaven, Sir Priest," said Lord Mordaimt, 
 " I could have prophesied a better prophesy than 
 thine, but I could not have made so bright a vision. 
 If thou wilt conie and be my guest at Mordaunt 
 tower, thou shalt have a robe fit for a cardinal, a 
 table from which seven bishops might rise satisfied, 
 and gold enough to endow a chapel ; for, by the 
 mass, thou wilt make a rare comrade during the 
 Christmas festivities." The prophet made no re- 
 ply, but moved onward silently till he came 
 to Whitehall; he stopt, pointed to the ground, 
 and said, " Henry Tudor of England, thy blood, 
 and the blood of him who was foiled at Flod- 
 den shall stain that ground when there is none 
 to help. The crown shall be taken from thy 
 descendant's hand ; the head from his body, 
 and his throne shall be given to his enemies 
 for a season, that his race may know there is a 
 God who punishes oppression, cruelty, thirst of 
 blood, lust, covetousness, and sinful abuse of 
 power." The Priest mixed with the crowd as he 
 spake, and the procession proceeded towards West- 
 rninster Abbey.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 201 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 And when that they came to the middle of the course, 
 The steed to his rider began to discourse ; 
 He rolled his large eye, and his black mane he tost, 
 If ye bless me or spur me, your journey is lost. 
 
 Old Song. 
 
 It was with awe and reverence that Henry and 
 his nobles entered the silent abbey, and walked 
 slowly over the graves of the dead. A thousand 
 banners won from the Heathens, the Danes, the 
 French, and the Scots, sti'eamed over their heads i 
 on the walls the sculptured figures of many a prince 
 and warrior were sleeping or praying, in their mi- 
 litary garb, and underneath lay the bones of the 
 illustrious worthies, of old England, their names 
 engraven on the gray marble. Long lines of 
 waxen tapers, and long rows of sandalled monks 
 were on each side, and as the warriors marched 
 silently along, each bearing his helmet and his 
 sheathed sword in his hand, the clink of their gol- 
 den spurs raised an unusual echo among the abbey 
 aisles. 
 
 Six men now appeared bearing the body of a 
 warrior, covered with a velvet pall, and ornamented 
 K 5
 
 202 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 at the corners with the figures of angels in prayer, 
 with clasped hands and closed wings. A crown of 
 gold, a bloody sword, and armour pierced with war- 
 axe and arrow, were grouped on the top, while on 
 each side walked twelve noble Scottish captains; 
 their heads were bared, their hands laid over their 
 bosoms, and velvet cloaks of the darkest hue were 
 clasped round their necks, and descended nigh to 
 their knees. They looked on the noble pile above 
 them, where the captive flags of their country floated ; 
 they looked oJi the walls around, where they saw the 
 tombs of martial prelates and pious kings ; and 
 they looked on the dead body before them, on the 
 living forms beside them, and sighed deeply for 
 the disasters which had befallen their country. 
 King Henry and his nobles knelt down, and the 
 abbot of Westminster uttered a prayer full of ten- 
 derness to the conquered, praise to the victorious, 
 andeulogiums upon the wisdom and sagacity of the 
 monarch who chose so good a leader. Nor did he 
 conclude it without an insinuation that something 
 was owing to the unremitting and zealous prayers 
 of the church, that a revelation of victory was made 
 to him, whilst he prayed at the tomb of Edward the 
 Confessor, and intimated that some of the holy 
 niches were destitute of silver saints, for the fashion- 
 ing of which he imagined the spoils of the Scots 
 were wondrously well adapted.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 203 
 
 " By the mass, Sir Abbot," said Lord Howard, 
 as he rose from the penance of a prayer a full 
 hour in length, " you know nothing of the people 
 of whom you speak. All the gold in Scotland went 
 to make the king a crown, and all the silver of the 
 kingdom was not enough to make spurs for the 
 youths whom James knighted as he crossed the 
 border. Of iron I have taken good store, and 
 thou art as welcome to it as the flower to May ; let 
 some prudent saint try his skill, and convert it into 
 metal suitable to be w^orshipped. You may have 
 heard of good knocks in the Scottish w^ars, but 
 never of a good booty." 
 
 When the procession entered the abbey, Sir 
 Michael took Sir James into a little darksome 
 cr\^t, wherein a silver censer burned, with a skull 
 and a book beside it. He closed the door and 
 said, " Follow me, much must be done, and to do 
 it well we must do it speedily." He took the silver 
 lamp in his hand, descended many steps, and has- 
 tened along a vaulted passage which led them to the 
 side of the Thames; the river glimmered before 
 them deep and broad. Sir Michael placed the lamp 
 at his foot, and said, " Rich and consecrated vessel 
 which has shed light for a thousand years, showing 
 men the pages of truth and holiness, let thy glory 
 shine on this darksome water, till this mortal and I 
 fulfil our voyage." As he spoke, the censer
 
 204. 
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 Streamed seven fold bright, and bank and stream 
 gleamed beneath its pure and constant radiance. 
 Touching the bank lay a small boat. Sir Michael 
 leaped in, pushed it from the side, it darted sud- 
 denly along the dimpling water, and soon the abbey 
 and the walled city, with all its towers, became in- 
 visible. But the vivid light still gleamed on their 
 path, and guided them to a small harbour, where 
 a flight of steps led them to a green bank, over 
 which the moon threw the shadow of a lofty and 
 noble ruin, which rose roofless into the air. 
 
 "Behold," said Sir Michael, "the wreck in 
 which war glories. This fair abbey fed daily an 
 hundred poor at its gates ; its monks visited and 
 healed the sick and the lame, conversed with the 
 wise and the learned, gave food and raiment to the 
 virtuous minstrel, and said masses for the souls of 
 the poor soldiers who fell in far lands, at the call 
 of the vain and ambitious. A knioht bleeding and 
 severely wounded, the relic of a battle field, came, 
 with his enemies behind him, and laid hold of the 
 altar. His foes rushed in, stained the altar with 
 his blood, threw fire on the sacred pile, consumed 
 it, scattered its people, seized its lands, and now 
 hold them as the violent hold the earth by the 
 sword and by the spear." As he said this they en- 
 tered the church by a small postern. 
 
 It was not without awe, that Sir James stood
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 205 
 
 and looked on the crumbling pile, from the sum- 
 mit of which the long grass waved, while out of 
 the innumerable joints of its masonry, the flowers 
 shot in tufts, in strings and tassels, and in the 
 niches and recesses the birds of carnage built nests 
 and brought forth their young. The moon-beams 
 glimmered through the broken window and the 
 shattered niche, and showed the processions of 
 pilgrims, the performance of miracles, and pas- 
 sages of scripture embodied in stone, and decay- 
 ing under the exposure to the moist island climate. 
 Beneath their feet were the graves of ancient kings 
 and nobles ; belted knights were there, and many 
 a proud abbot and abbess. 
 
 " Sir James," said Sir Michael, " my heart is sad 
 for Scotland ; her king is an infant, her nobles are on 
 their nurses knees, and so deeply has the sword of 
 the Southron struck, that she has neither men 
 of wisdom nor courage left to represent her in 
 an enemy's land. Listen to me. The glory 
 of a country lies not in jewelled coronets, and 
 embroidered cloaks, nor is the importance of 
 an ambassador in the trappings ,of his steeds, 
 and the splendour of his retinue. Let us go 
 and present ourselves before yon proud king, 
 and his numberless courtiers, and tell him that 
 Scotland is sorro^vful but not subdued ; that she 
 has sons capable of asserting her dignity, and
 
 206 SIR MICHAEL SGOTT. 
 
 maintaining her independence ; and that it would 
 become him to treat his prisoners with tenderness, 
 and place the body of the warrior king among 
 those of the princes of his land." Sir James 
 smiled, and replied, " Let them offer what indig- 
 nity they chuse to the body they have borne so 
 far, for be assured, Sir Knight, they insult not the 
 remains of James the knight-errant, as Surrey 
 called him. They show indeed the robe of the 
 king, but where is the penance-chain of iron, 
 which never has, and will not be separated from 
 his body till it sinks into dust. But let us go and 
 fulfil thy wish.'' 
 
 They stood for a little space, then Sir Michael 
 went to a royal tomb, round which angels knelt 
 by the side of a warrior, cut out of black marble. 
 He looked for a moment on the moon, which was 
 slowly sinking behind the pile of ruins, leaving all 
 the interior in dark shadow, and he took a hand- 
 ful of dust from the tomb, and showered it into 
 the air; the air grew dark as doomsday, and in 
 the darkness Sir James imagined he saw like the 
 form of some living thing. 
 
 « Behold," said Sir Michael, " a steed fit for a 
 king's errand ! " and as he spoke the darkness dis^ 
 solved away, and a war-horse, as black as the 
 raven's breast, stood beside them. Light streamed 
 from his eyes, and smoke from his nostrils. Sir
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 207 
 
 James marvelled to see a creature so noble, its 
 mane flowed like a wave of the sea, and there was 
 a bridle in its lips, which shone like the polished 
 steel. " I never beheld so stately a creature," 
 said Sir James ; " but his limbs are too long for 
 his body, else a more glorious animal never was 
 spurred against spears." Sir Michael smiled, and 
 cried, " Mount him, nor heed his length of limb; 
 he will bear you like the charger of a king. 
 Mount him, spur him, and spare not, for he comes 
 from the dust of Scotland's worst enemy, Edward 
 Longshanks." 
 
 Sir James, whose hand was already on the 
 animal's mane, and his left foot rising from the 
 ground, stept back at once, and exclaimed, " How 
 dare you thus profane the dust of a line of kings ? 
 Is there no dull and sordid dust lying here, that 
 you must insult the ashes of the fierce and heroic 
 king, who warred so well for Christendom against 
 the heathen? Let him sleep in his owti land, 
 sheltered by the walls which his piety reared." 
 " Well art thou named James the errant-knight," 
 answered the other ; " but all thy pity for aught 
 of a royal line can have no influence over what is 
 not of this world; the will of God ordains that 
 the spiller of righteous blood shall be punished in 
 flesh and in spirit. The brute-shadow of this 
 bloody king shall go to sleep again, till summoned
 
 ^8 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 by some evil spirit from the tomb, to endure a 
 more galling load than thine." He took the bridle 
 from its lips, and it vanished among the tombs. 
 
 " I shall try to suit you, Sir Knight," said Sir 
 Michael; " I shall seat you on a controller of 
 li:ings, a deposer of princes — one who could set his 
 sandalled foot on the neck of monarchs, and with 
 his right hand open the gate of heaven." And he 
 went to a tomb, on which was carved a mitre and 
 a pastoral crook, round which millions of knees 
 had knelt, and the sick imagined themselves cured. 
 He took a handful of dust, threw it into the air, 
 and the air became suddenly dark. A thick cloud 
 ascended from the tomb. Sir Michael walked 
 into the darkness, and led forth a noble steed, 
 whose sides had never felt human spurs, and on 
 whose feet cold iron had never been fixed. 
 
 " Mount him, James, mount him," said Sir 
 Michael. " In his human form, and when the 
 breath of God animated him, he was the bitter 
 enemy of kings, and an implacable enemy of the 
 people. To a foreign priest he sought to enslave 
 this land ; the monarch's sceptre he trod under his 
 feet ; he dissolved human oaths and vows as the 
 sun dissolves the snow; and but for the patriotic 
 swords of three bold knights, our island would 
 have been one great harem of licentious nuns and 
 dissolute monks ; and the name of England had
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 209 
 
 been mute in martial deeds for ever." Sir James 
 muttered, " Saint Thomas a Becket, with your 
 leave, I must even do with you as you did with 
 the kings of the earth. Alas ! to what extremes 
 religious frenzy drives us, when a bloody, base, 
 and bigoted priest, is worshipped as a god, and 
 his intercession in our favour is sought by naked 
 knees, long pilgrimages, and presents of gold and 
 land." And seizing the mane he vaulted upon 
 its back, wheeled it round and round, and 
 darted into the open air; as he wished, se it 
 moved. " Fierce priest," said Sir James, " I 
 have thee at my mercy, and I would that my ene- 
 mies were before me, and the lances in the rest, 
 that I might teach thee how terrible warfare is." 
 And giving him the rein, the steed started away 
 into the open fields. 
 
 Sir Michael staid but a short time behind. He 
 w^ent to the door of a dungeon, on the sides of which 
 the rings and bolts still remained where the church 
 chained its victims. Graves were there, into which 
 the reeking corse had been huddled; and niches 
 were in the walls, which had closed round the young 
 and livino' and bloomin^^. He stood and looked for 
 a moment, and said, " No : the spirit of evil need 
 not remain where blood has been unjustly shed;" 
 and he went into a secret chamber, richly orna- 
 mented with flowers and figures. Seven niches,
 
 210 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 with their seven seats, and corresponding tables of 
 stone, still remained ; an eighth had been removed, 
 where the head of the abbey presided, and gave 
 judgment on those who transgressed against the 
 laws of the church, who blasphemed the saints, 
 ridiculed the relics, expressed doubt of miracles, 
 and held Saint Thomas a Becket to be of inferior 
 importance, compared to our Saviour. 
 
 " Here," said Sir Michael, pausing on the 
 threshold, " the crimes of the church were con- 
 ceived; the deed of lasciviousness, the act of op- 
 pression upon body or conscience, the treason 
 against civil freedom, the invention of lying le- 
 gends and imposing miracles, the sale of seats in 
 heaven and exemption from hell — so here will the 
 evil presence be;'' and stooping down, he took 
 dust in both hands, and threw it towards the roof. 
 The dust, as it descended, seemed transformed to 
 a shower of fire, and while it fell Sir Michael said, 
 " Demon of evil, who haunteth this place, if ever 
 deed worthy of eternal reprobation was plotted 
 here, I charge thee to come, and come in the shape 
 of a steed. Demon, that haunteth this place, if thou 
 hopest for salvation, when in the fulness of time 
 thy crimes are expiated, I command thee to come 
 hither." As he spoke the wall shook like the sides 
 of a tent, the ground seemed convulsed, and 
 the whole place was filled with a dark vapour.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 211 
 
 Into the miclst of the murky exhalation he shook 
 his ivory bridle ; and Sir James, who awaited his 
 appearance with impatience, saw figures formed of 
 fire passing and repassing the shattered windows, 
 heard a whirlwind singing among the aisles, and 
 then saw Sir Michael come suddenly forth, seated on 
 a steed coal-black in colour, of exquisite shape, 
 and extraordinary swiftness. The creature was of 
 common size, but he moved as if he felt not the 
 earth, and at one bound he reached the side of Sir 
 James, whose horse acknowledged his presence by 
 a violent shudder. 
 
 " Ah ! then," said Sir Michael, " there's grace 
 in the church yet, when a priest trembles in the 
 presence of one of the lesser fiends. Move ! 
 Move ! King Henry and his nobles are at 
 prayers in Westminster Abbey : we shall meet him 
 at the northern gate, and plead the cause of Scot- 
 land." " Truly," answered Sir James, " our 
 mission will be unheeded ; we will appear with so 
 little of the pomp and circumstance of ambassa- 
 dors, that the nobles will mock us, and taunt us 
 about poor Scotland's gear. I see not how this 
 wild undertaking of thine, Michael, can come to 
 good." " I do believe thee," replied the other; 
 " and would think my errand an unwise one if 
 thou didst. But know I trust nothing to man in 
 this matter : I shall make my steed awe the proud
 
 212 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 king and his haughty nobles ; so let us forward on 
 our way." And abiding no farther questions, he 
 moved rapidly towards London. 
 
 The moon was sinking in the west, as gaining 
 the public way Sir Michael and his companion 
 approached the city gate with the speed of two 
 falcons in their flight through the morning air. 
 They met an hundred horsemen ; their new velvet 
 mantles, and their boots chained round their knees 
 with gold, glittered as they moved beneath the 
 light of an hundred torches. On a white palfrey 
 rode a young creature of surpassing beauty ; her 
 white hand held a bridle bitted with gold, and she 
 rode with her eyes looking on the ground. Sir 
 Michael, when he met this bridal procession, spoke 
 not, neither did he return their salutations, nor 
 bless the bride, nor nod to the bridegroom. He 
 passed them; and the moment that he passed 
 them they all turned round and followed him, 
 with their mantles glittering in jewelled clasps, 
 and the bride still looking down. 
 
 Near the city gate they met four mutes on 
 horseback bearing sable plumes; the body of 
 one of the princes of the land was laid on a 
 bier and borne along on the backs of two black 
 horses; behind came two men carrying his 
 helmet, his armour, and his sword, while three- 
 score lords, knights, and gentlemen, followed in
 
 SIR MICHx\EL SCOTT. 213 
 
 cloaks of black velvet, and all looking on tlie 
 ground sorrowful. Sir Michael passed them, and 
 they all turned round, mutes, bier-bearers, and 
 mourners, and followed him in silence. 
 
 When he came to the city gate, the astonished 
 warders looked from the wall and said, " What a 
 glorious sight; here comes the Scottish ambassa- 
 dor ^\ith two hundred nobles behind him ; there is 
 as much gold about their mantles as could ransom 
 a prince ; and he who leads them, is worthy of be- 
 coming an emperor. But here they cannot come ; 
 at this hour, the gates of London are never opened; 
 and they will have an opportunity of comparing, 
 as they ruminate in the green fields, the air of 
 meiTy old England at midnight, A\dth the cold 
 moist breeze of Caledonia." Sir ^lichael rode up 
 to the gate, and setting an ivory horn to his lips, he 
 sent forth such a sound that the towers tottered, 
 the bolts started from their places, and the brazen 
 ffates went asunder with a crash which sounded all 
 over the city. 
 
 Sir Michael rode onward ; he met a train of 
 priests ; their white garments swept the ground ; 
 the shirts of some were of hair cloth, and others 
 were of silk ; some walked with pebbles in their 
 shoes, others wore the softest wool and the finest 
 leather. They all carried crucifixes, sanctified 
 relics, images of saints, and waxen tapers, while.
 
 214 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 bearing a pair of crutches, an old man, with a si- 
 nister expression of countenance, walked in the 
 middle, and at every step he waved the crutches in 
 the air, and the priests chaunted slowly a Latin 
 song, of which the following is a faithful version : 
 
 THE PRIEST'S SONG. 
 
 I. 
 
 Saint George, he reigns in Westminster , 
 
 Saint Thomas reigns in Kent; 
 And every tower and tov/n and hall 
 
 Its relic has, and saint ; 
 But there 's a saint in London found. 
 Whose voice calls dead men from the ground. 
 
 II. 
 
 Saint David rules on Penman-mau^, 
 
 Saint Andrew o'er the border; 
 Saint Patrick on yon holy isle, 
 
 Keeps all its saints in order ; 
 But there 's a saint in Crutched-Fiiars 
 Can brave the fiend and quench his fires. 
 
 III. 
 
 He looked ; six bed-rid dames sprang up, 
 
 And leaped and danced like witches. 
 He spoke ; six cripples sang, and made 
 
 Twelve crosses of their crutches. 
 He prayed ; and in the charnel vault 
 Six corses made a summersault.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 215 
 
 IV. 
 
 One glance but from his holy eye 
 
 Can turn sworn foes to brothers, 
 And charm to chasteness London town, 
 
 With its unmarried mothers. 
 He blessed an old man's limb of wood, 
 'Twas changed to flesh, and bone, and blood. 
 
 V. 
 
 To day they bore an alderman 
 
 Past to the city Spital ; 
 Ten thousand shouted, there he goes. 
 
 Slain with excess of victual. 
 The saint touched one who touched his shank, 
 He started up, and ate and drank. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Six millions of most beauteous souls. 
 
 Saint Patrick won from Dagon ; 
 'Twas both' by prayer and push of pike. 
 
 Saint George subdued the dragon. 
 But London's saint clad in sack-cloth, 
 Works far more wonders than them both. 
 
 When the priests conckided their song of mar- 
 vels, they all turned round with one accord, and 
 followed Sir Michael. He met a young gallant 
 close wrapt in his cloak of silk, a mask upon his 
 face, and a swoi'd by his side ; he was within a do- 
 zen steps of the house of his mistress, and the mo- 
 ment of assignation was nigh. He turned round, 
 and followed Sir Michael. He met one of the des-
 
 216 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 peradoes of the day, who spilt blood without re- 
 morse for any man's money ; his sword was hid 
 beneath his cloak ; his dagger was at his side ; he 
 had singled out his victim; was following close 
 upon his steps, while his employer walked behind, 
 with the price of blood in his hand, rejoicing 
 in the coming moment of revenge. The hired 
 and the hirer turned round and followed Sir 
 Michael. 
 
 A thousand casements flew open, and gray- 
 headed age, and bright-eyed youth, filled up the 
 openings, and lay and gazed upon the strange pro- 
 cession. " Is it not a noble sight," said a veteran 
 from the French wars, <* to see so many nobles 
 and knights clad in their mail of fine steel fastened 
 with clasps of silver, and their banners displayed 
 before them ? " " There they go," exclaimed an 
 ancient courtier, who projected his body anxiously 
 from a window nigh Temple-bar; " there they go, 
 all princes, and earls, and thrice belted knights. 
 Their jewelled coronets glittering as they move; 
 their mantles of rich velvet, loaded with golden 
 net-work and embroidery, and their horses sweat- 
 ing under the weight of metal and gems. Never 
 did so brave an embassy arrive in England." 
 " From what land," said an earl's daughter, " have 
 so many gallant knights and nobles come? how 
 fairly they ride ; how well their jewelled robes and
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. SIT 
 
 feathered bonnets become them ; and how will the 
 hearts of the dames of Henry's court flutter to 
 behold them." " Hear, " said a minstrel of the 
 court, who with his harp borne before him, his 
 rich cloak carried behind him, and two armed men 
 marching in front to clear the way, was hastening 
 to the levee of a court favourite ; " hear, " he said, 
 " how^ divinely the minstrels of this embassy sing ; 
 their voices are not of this land, nor are the words 
 in w^hich then- feelin«js are embodied, belonn^inoj to 
 old England; yet the words are so much akin to 
 this country, and the music so delicious, that I feel 
 all their sweetness, variety, and strength. Saint 
 George ! but the Bards of the Border still surpass 
 those of the court. 
 
 Fast the rumour flew, that a strange ambassador 
 with all his train had entered London by force, and 
 was now on his way to Westminster abbey. Of 
 the amount and quality of the strangers there 
 were many rumours. " By Saint Edward ! " ex- 
 claimed the Earl INIarshal of England, " let there 
 be one, or let there be an hundred ; let them be 
 clad in Milan steel, or let them be sage and pru- 
 dent counsellors wrapped in their furred mantles, 
 with wisdom on their lips : or let them be a crowd 
 of shaveling priests, with relics, chaunting inter- 
 minable anthems — and rumour has told this varied 
 story — I shall meet them and beard them, be they 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 218 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 ever so bold." So saying he rode forward, accompa- 
 nied by an hundred knights; but no splendid 
 embassage met he. Sir Michael rode foremost, 
 Sir James rode behind, and a weary and mingled 
 multitude followed without order ; young and old, 
 peasant and noble, citizen and churl, for whom- 
 soever he met followed him, nor had the knight 
 himself a very imposing appearance. 
 
 " Saw ye ever such a sight. Sir Geoi^e Beau- 
 mont ? " said the Earl Marshal to a gallant knight 
 who rode by his bridle-rein ; " the city should be 
 deprived of its charter, for allowing such a rabble to 
 enter its gates. The fellow now who rides foremost 
 with his coarse mantle, plumeless bonnet, and steed 
 unshod, uncombed, and uncut, seems more of the 
 make of a Border trooper, than an ambassador. 
 Ho, Sir Churl," he said, addressing Sir Michael, 
 " what savage land has the honour of being repre- 
 sented by one so mean and so unseemly ? But 
 why need I ask, Scotland, Scotland is written in 
 your looks, your garb, and all your emblazonry ; a 
 country barren, cold, poor, and inhospitable." 
 " Lord Earl," said Sir Michael, " thy surmise 
 is as just as it is courteously expressed ; but my 
 message is not to thee, but to thy master, so move 
 aside, and let us pass." The Earl Marshal laughed 
 in scorn, and said, " Sir Scot, thou must dis- 
 burthen thee of thy weighty message, even to one
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 219 
 
 SO humble as the Earl. Marshal of England. Had 
 the Lord Mayor guarded his gates against men- 
 dicants, we had not been stayed in the street by 
 the Scottish Ambassador. Thy message, I pray 
 thee, thy message ? " 
 
 Sir Michael rode close to the Earl Marshal and 
 said, " Thou wottest not what thou art doing, nor 
 what thou art saying. Let me not, I pray thee, 
 for as sure as Thames runs to the sea, and Henry 
 rules and England obeys, I shaU put thee and thy 
 train aside as easily as a ship divides the water, 
 or the wind moves withered grass ; and thy resist- 
 ance may cost thee the soiling of thy velvet coat." 
 " Back, base Scot !" exclaimed the other in WTath, 
 "else I shall strike thee with my truncheon. 
 Back churl, back. Nay, if thou wilt have it, take 
 it, in God's name, and a blessing go with it ;" and 
 he struck a blow at Cir Michael, which seemed 
 equal to the extinction of the life of any being of 
 mortal mould. The truncheon descended full on 
 him, the blow was heard to sound like the blow of 
 a steel hammer falling on an anvil, and the iron 
 truncheon flew from the grasp of the Earl, the 
 whole width of the street. In a moment it was 
 wafted into the hand of Sir Michael, who pre- 
 sented it to the ovmer, and said, " You know not, 
 Lord Earl, how to wield such a weapon as that. 
 Take it, and use it more wisely." " Nay," ex- 
 l2
 
 220 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 claimed the earl, as he looked on the truncheon, 
 which was dinted, as if it had descended on some- 
 thing harder than case hardened steel, " if thou canst 
 endure a blow from a staff full fifteen northern 
 pounds in weight, thou mayest bide a dint from 
 my sword ; it shall never be said that I struck a 
 man a fair stroke and he fell not." And he pulled 
 out his sword as he spoke. 
 
 The horse of Sir Michael snorted when it saw 
 the flashing of the blade, and the war-horses of the 
 Earl Marshal and his knights swerved aside, and 
 started off, as if a thunder bolt had fallen among 
 them. Horse and man rolled over each other, and 
 when they rose their war-saddles and mantles were 
 befouled with mud ; the horses shuddered, and a 
 strange fear seized all the knights. " Earl Mar- 
 shal," said Sir Michael, "this humility is beyond 
 my wishes. I desired but leave to pass, and thy 
 knights and thyself fall prostrate before me. It 
 becomes not a simple knight of Scotland to see the 
 proudest Earl of England on his knees, in a street 
 which is none of the purest. Arise, and lead the 
 way to the abbey gate." 
 
 Slowly, and with pain the Earl Marshal arose, 
 " Sir Scot," he said haughtily, " thou speakest 
 proud words, and thou hast seen what no man ever 
 saw before, the Earl Marshal thrown from his 
 horse like a youth who had not won his spurs. But
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOIT. 221 
 
 be assured no one to-night shall see King Henry's 
 face, who wins not there by my permission. Arrest 
 this Stranger, ye knights of my train, put iron on 
 neck and limb, and to the dungeon with him." As 
 their captain spoke, they rushed on Sir Michael 
 and his companion, to seize them and bind them ; 
 but Sir Michael rode quietly through all impedi- 
 ments, down the middle of the street, followed by 
 all who followed before, without further stay or 
 molestation. " Tliat Scot has a terrible arm," 
 said one citizen to another ; " sawest thou not how 
 cleverly he set it at work ? " " He has a more 
 terrible horse," said the other ; " fire comes from its 
 nostrils, it treads on air, its neigh is like a trum- 
 pet's call, and it would rush through a stone-wall, 
 were it well spurred to the charge ; I would I had 
 one of the same breed." " Drop on thy kness my 
 son," said a pilgrim, gray with age, and leaning on 
 a staff, " drop on thy knees, and pray God to re- 
 lease thee from thy rash wish. The rider is a 
 wizard and the steed is an incarnate fiend." And 
 the pilgrim sighed, and muttered prayers, as he 
 went tottering away. 
 
 Sir Michael now approached the abbey, and the 
 lofty and beautiful pile arose in all that obscure 
 splendour which moonlight gives to a gothic struc- 
 ture. At the period of which we speak the abbey, 
 a fabric of pure and unmingled gothic, seemed
 
 i^2 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 the offspring of the soil, the production alike of 
 the religion and the natural taste of the people. 
 Its lofty spires, numerous buttresses and minarets, 
 its carved doors and painted windows, through 
 which light of a thousand dyes streamed, inspired 
 awe in the beholder, and the steed of Sir Michael 
 took a soberer pace, and its rider a more serious 
 brow. Even the wild multitude who came rolling 
 after him grew grave as they came, and it was not 
 without awe that they heard a voice sing the fol- 
 lowing song ; it seemed to come from the door of 
 the abbey, to drop from middle air, and sometimes 
 it sounded as if it came from the lips of Sir Mi- 
 chael himself: 
 
 OPEN WIDE, YE HOLY DOORS. 
 I. 
 
 Oh ! open wide, ye holy doors. 
 
 Be opened fair and wide ; 
 To one with more than monarch's might. 
 
 And less than monarch's pride. 
 Be opened wide ye holy doors. 
 
 And let the pilgrim in ; 
 Who comes with glory on his hrow. 
 
 And soul released from sin. 
 
 II. 
 
 Be opened wide, ye holy doors, 
 
 Lo, here a pilgrim kneels ; 
 Ye open wide to those who come 
 
 With gold spurs on their heels.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 223 
 
 Ye open wide to mitred heads, 
 
 And brows which bear a crown ; 
 But here comes one whose meanest word. 
 
 Can pluck your princes down, 
 
 III. 
 
 Be opened wide, ye holy doors. 
 
 For let the pilgrim call ; 
 Your bands shall melt like wax, and ye 
 
 Shall start against the wall. 
 Be opened wide ye holy doors. 
 
 For let the pilgrim cry. 
 Against ye, and your brazen bars, 
 
 Like to the chaff shall fly. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Be opened wide, ye holy doors. 
 
 For by the light aboon. 
 And by the stone on which bold Bruce 
 
 Was crowned at royal Scoon, 
 One comes to bid ye open wide, 
 
 Whose word could sweep ye far 
 From earth, nor leave one trace behind, 
 
 More than a shooting star. 
 
 Be opened wide, ye holy doors. 
 
 Look on yon pilgrim well ; 
 No sandalled monk is he with beads. 
 
 And cross and scallop-shell. 
 To him some of that power is given. 
 
 That sent to Shinar's plain. 
 Confusion and the Red Sea stemmed, 
 
 And temple rent in twain.
 
 224 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 When this wild chaunt concluded, the doors of 
 the abbey flew against the walls, and a stream of 
 light gushed out into the air, which illumined the 
 loftiest towers, glimmered on the bosom of the 
 Thames, and showed to the King and his nobles 
 Sir Michael seated on his coal black steed, with 
 his hands laid on his bosom.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 22o 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 When I bestride him, I soar, 1 am a hawk ; he trots the air ; tlie 
 earth sings when he touches it j the basest horn of his hoof is 
 more musical than the pipe of Hermes. He is the prince of pal- 
 freys : his neigh is like the bidding of a monarch, aud his coun- 
 tenance enforces homage. 
 
 Shakspeare. 
 
 King Henry, with his warriors and nobles had 
 hung the banners taken at Flodden over the high 
 altar; had returned thanks to the God of heaven, 
 and all his saints, for the fortunate victory; and 
 had placed the supposed body of the Scottish mo- 
 narch beneath a canopy of velvet at the foot of 
 the altar, when they heard the clang of the massy 
 doors, as they were flung against the wall. The 
 monarch looked for some time upon Sir Michael, 
 as he sat in silence before the gate, his hands laid 
 on his bosom, and submission and awe in his 
 aspect. " What man may this be," inquired the 
 king, " whose presence spreads fear and conster- 
 nation among my people ; who has opened London 
 gates like London's monarch, and foiled my stout 
 Eai'l Marshal and all his people ? He seems but 
 a churl, for he backs that gallant steed like one 
 l5
 
 226 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 who is not master of his seat. Go, and speak to 
 him, my Lord Abbot ; belike he may be some pil- 
 grim, from a far land, with a few profitable relics. 
 Be not close-handed with the holy man, for church 
 miracles have not abounded in London of late." 
 The King returned into the abbey. 
 
 The Lord Abbot, a little round plump oily 
 personage, bustled forward, with the united im- 
 portance of church and state in his face. He 
 advanced to the side of Sir Michael, and said, 
 " What would my fair son? Comes he with 
 tidings of weight from abroad, his holiness is infirm, 
 and there will be a vacancy among the cardinals, 
 which will be followed by a change of caps among 
 the bishops, when our deservings may be remem- 
 bered. Or has our son been in Palestine, and re- 
 turned with a blessed relic from the holy moun- 
 tain or the sacred tomb, which he wishes to lay on 
 the shrine of our blessed saint, Edward the Con- 
 fessor ? " « Abbot," said Sir Michael, hastily, « I 
 am no messenger from mother church, nor a pil- 
 grim with the newest relics. I am ambassador 
 from the Scottish King, and am come to speak 
 to King Henry. So lead the way, monk." 
 
 " Fair son," said the abbot, " thou speakest 
 irreverently to one who has some rule in the 
 church; but we pass that — a sinful man may be 
 spoken to in a simple way. But thou wilt have
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 227 
 
 the modesty to assume a less startling title tlian am- 
 bassador, seeing thou hast neglected the necessary 
 pomp of such a plenipotentiary ; thou art without 
 attendants, save one simple groom ; nor dost thou 
 bear on thy person the external tokens of one who 
 is trusted with the ear of princes." " Thou art a 
 reader of faces then, monk," said Sir Michael; 
 " a wise man, who, by fasting, and penance, and 
 long prayers, and humbling of the body in coarse 
 garments, has acquired the gift of foreknowledge. 
 Wottest thou now of the change which awaits this 
 golden hive of thine ? If thou wouldst fain know, 
 look through this little glass — a glance may be a 
 lesson to thee — thou wilt see what is fore-ordained, 
 and will surely come to pass." 
 
 The abbot took a small glass from the hand of 
 Sir Michael, and, turning to the abbey, looked for 
 a moment on the building. " My son," he said, 
 " this glass of thine is the work of a false pro- 
 phet ; and he who made it, and he who believes 
 in its truth, shall surely die." He took another 
 look, and his face became flushed. " The vision 
 is still the same — the robe is plucked from the 
 monk, the saint is torn from his niche, the crucifix 
 is trampled under foot, and the holy relics are cast 
 to the street like the bones of dogs. Tliy glass 
 shall be burnt, and thou shalt be slain, my son." 
 And he hurried into the abbey, ciying, " Ho !
 
 228 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 brother Ambrose, brother Souhs, brother Bankes, 
 and brother Andrews, here is a most pestilent he- 
 retic ! Bring red-hot pincers and scalding oil, 
 bring the iron boots, and the sword called the 
 mercy of God. The smell of a suffering heretic 
 is savoury in the nostrils of one of the true 
 church." And a multitude of monks flocked 
 round their superior, for the word heretic called 
 them in swarms from their cells, like bees at 
 casting time. 
 
 " What ails our good abbot," inquired the 
 king ; " this man at the gate cannot be come from 
 Rome to strip him of his dignity, and wear his 
 cap in his stead." " What ails me, my liege? 
 much ails me," exclaimed the churchman. " This 
 land, under your mild and merciful rule, is be- 
 come the hotbed of heresy; and here comes a 
 Scottish churl, who, under pretence of bearing a 
 message to your majesty, has insulted the dig- 
 nity of our saints and our relics. He shall die ! 
 I swear it by the Confessor's dust, and by Becket's 
 bones," " He will die no doubt, my good Abbot,^' 
 said the king mildly, " but by burning a Scot you 
 will not establish the belief in things holy. This 
 pious matter has been pushed too boldly of late ; 
 my lieges, Sir Monk, have discovered certain 
 errors in the lives of the sons of the church, and 
 tiieir faith has been shrewdly shaken ; but we shall
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 229 
 
 hear what this rustic ambassador has to say. We 
 wot well that our late cousin's land abounds not in 
 riches, so we shall excuse the want of diplomatic 
 splendour. Let him come into the presence. Go, 
 Sir Ralph Beaumont, and Sir Edmund Mauley, 
 and do the devoir of our court to this singular 
 ambassador." 
 
 The two knights went, and the scene presented 
 to their sight was unexpected and dazzling. The 
 groves of trees seemed hung with cloth of gold 
 and the richest tapestry, forming an avenue, in 
 which stood ranks of nobles and knights, their 
 pennons streaming to the wind, and their armour 
 glittering to the torches. At the head of this re- 
 markable embassy sat Sir Michael himself, the 
 same calm silent being he had first presented him- 
 self. The two knights bowed ; and Sir Ralph 
 Beaumont said, " Will my lord ambassador choose 
 to alight ? His majesty will give him an audience 
 for a moment now, and on the morrow hearken to 
 what he has to propose from the infant King of 
 Scotland." " Sir Ralph," said the other, " you 
 speak like a wise and prudent knight, but this 
 matter may not be as you propose. I must be- 
 gone to-night, and his majesty must indulge me, 
 by hearing what I have to say on horseback." 
 
 Sir Ralph Beaumont gazed on the ambassador, 
 and exclaimed, " By the glory of England, Sir
 
 230 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 Ambassador, you must find some more courteous 
 message for the ear of his majesty; I should do 
 thee and thy land much wrong, did I become the 
 bearer of such a wild request. Demean thyself, I 
 pray thee, as becomes thy country's fortunes." 
 " I demean myself according to both. Sir Ralph," 
 said Sir Michael, " and before I depart thou shalt 
 thyself acknowledge that my words become well 
 the powers which I possess. How now. Monk of 
 Westminster ! the historical glance which thou 
 hadst of thy church's fortunes, has not increased 
 thy humility. What wantest thou now ? " 
 
 The lord abbot, to whom these concluding 
 words were addressed, came accompanied by a 
 swarm of the functionaries of his establishment, 
 whose employment was the extermination of sor- 
 cery, magic, and heresy, from the land; they 
 came laden with the arguments which the strong 
 use against the weak, and which the church of 
 Rome used in defending herself against all who 
 came with reason and scripture to confront her in 
 her strong holds. The monks held up their name- 
 less instruments of torture, as their superior waved 
 his hand; and Sir Michael saw without emotion, 
 and the two English knights with mingled fear 
 and curiosity, a vast array of pincers, racks, iron 
 boots, and all manner of instruments of conver- 
 sion and conviction, which the cruelty of Spain,
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 231 
 
 or the cunning of Italy, provided in aid of the 
 true belief. " My fair son," said the abbot, lay- 
 ing his hand on Sir Michael's knee, in order that 
 he might at once point out his \dctim and secure 
 it, " my fair son, the church, out of reverent care 
 for thy person, and love for thy soul, wills it that 
 thou shouldst accompany us into our secret cham- 
 ber, that the truths of oin* holy belief, and the 
 traditions of our mother church, together with the 
 merciful doctrines of the fathers, should all be re- 
 vealed unto thee ; so come, my fair son." And turn- 
 ing to his followers, he said, " Lay hands on him, 
 my children, and see that he escape not ; in sym- 
 pathy for his soul, we must constrain his body. 
 Bring him after me into Saint Thomas's chamber." 
 The temporal and spiritual assistants of the 
 worthy abbot advanced to seize him ; a new 
 and unexpected obstacle intei'posed itself, which 
 confounded all their practical acuteness in sing- 
 ling out victims for the church. " Father Am- 
 brose," exclaimed one of his companions, who 
 carried a couple of steel collars, with thumb-screws 
 in his left hand, " there are two delinquents, so 
 like in form, and in look, that I know not which is 
 which: canst thou tell me how to determine?" 
 " A miracle ! a miracle ! " cried father Ambrose ; 
 " the saints are kind to their church : they have 
 sent us two pestilent heretics to admonish, so
 
 232 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 bring them both along." " My Lord Abbot named 
 only one ; and thou knowest," whispered a monk, 
 how little thanks he rendered us for leading the 
 two fair ladies of Lambeth to the stake. We 
 ought to have reserved a moiety for the private 
 use of the church." " Thou sayest truth, brother 
 Bankes," said Ambrose, " so bring the one next 
 thee along. Nay, lay thy hands mercifully upon 
 him, seeing that he is a meek and considerate 
 youth." And pulling from his horse, and dragging 
 into the abbey, a figure in every respect bearing 
 the form and impress of Sir Michael, the monks 
 entered, singing an anthem in praise of mercy and 
 loving-kindness, as they marched along; partly 
 because it was habitual, and partly because it 
 served to drown whatever cries their victim might 
 utter. The captive went quietly and silently, 
 and was placed without resistance in the chair of 
 accusation. 
 
 The abbot and his sanctified comrades are pos- 
 sessed," said Sir Ralph Beaumont; " they are 
 setting up their throats, and pouring out a thun- 
 dering hymn of rejoicing, in the belief that our 
 heretical ambassador here is delivered up to the 
 loving kindness of the church. But come. Sir 
 Ambassador, either alight and kneel to our mo- 
 narch, or turn thy bridle about, and ride north- 
 ward again." " Peace !" said Sir Edmund Mauley,
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 233 
 
 " here comes our gracious king, and chiding in 
 his face too." " Dilatory varlets ! " exclaimed King 
 Henry, as he came forward, his long velvet robe 
 borne up by twelve noble youths, and some of the 
 chiefs of his household on his right hand and left, 
 " did I not bid you usher the ambassador of our 
 neighbour kingdom into our presence, and here 
 you stand looking on a northern churl, sorrily 
 mounted, with a ragged rabble behind him." 
 
 " May it please you, sire," 'said Sir Ralph 
 Beaumont, " the person before you is the ambas- 
 sador of whom you speak ; he will inform your ma- 
 jesty of the reasons which induced him to decline 
 delivering his message according to our request." 
 " What !" exclaimed the king, dragging the train 
 of his robe from the youthful trainbearers as he 
 spoke, and fixing his kindling glance on the face 
 of Sir Michael, " callest thou thyself ambassador ? 
 Return to thy child-king and thy discomfited peo- 
 ple, and say, Henry of England receives princes 
 as suppliants, and nobles as ambassadors — never 
 peasants. Begone ! else thy insolent head shall be 
 found within an hour on Temple gate." " Most 
 mercifid prince and most wise monarch," said Sir 
 Robert Carew, one of his counsellors, interpos- 
 ing, "the eyes of your servant see diiferently in 
 this matter : in this man's look there is dignity 
 stamped; and the nobles and knights who form
 
 S34 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 his train fill all the royal grove from hence to 
 
 Hungerford-stairs." " My eyes see a different and 
 
 more terrible sight," said another courtier ; " the 
 
 whole grove and park are crowded thick with 
 
 bonnet and plume, and war-axe and spear; and 
 
 this warrior, who rides at their head, seems one 
 
 Ml 
 who can lead wisely, and fight well." " I see 
 
 not," said the king^s chaplain, " with the eyes of 
 
 these two servants of an earthly prince, I see a 
 
 holy procession of devout men, bearing before 
 
 them the sacred relics and consecrated symbols of 
 
 our church; and I behold in the distance the 
 
 piled up fagots, the lighted torch, and the bound 
 
 heretic." 
 
 " The holy priest sees what he wishes to see, and 
 my two counsellors see each according to his own 
 character. Henry Tudor only sees an uncourtly 
 churl, and as such he vdll treat him. Hear me, 
 Sir Ambassador ; return to your king in the swad- 
 dling band, with his diminished court, and say, 
 Henry of England converses not with the churle, 
 but with the nobles of Scotland." Sir Michael fixed 
 his eye on the king, and said, '* Bethink you well 
 what you do. King Harry Tudor : I am the re- 
 presentative of a warlike people, and a fiery mes- 
 sage may cost thee another invasion." 
 
 " By the forehead of heaven ! " exclaimed the 
 king, " thou art an overbold peasant; yet we like
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 235 
 
 thy threat. Another invasion ! I have the gos- 
 hawk in keeping, which stooped among your doves 
 on Flodden. Henry Howard, art thou alarmed 
 for this new Scottish war ? " " The Scots," an- 
 swered the warlike courtier, " are good warriors, 
 and when the battle closes they thrust a good 
 lance, and strike a good stroke. It is a pleasure 
 to meet with men who fight it out to the last, and 
 who never run whilst hope remains." " God's 
 glory, man ! " cried King Henry, " thou art be- 
 come a Scot thyself; the people whom thou hast 
 beaten, with their bravest at their head, may be 
 beaten again. I wot not what has hitherto hin- 
 dered England from extendinoj her dominion to 
 John-o'-Groats." " I shall tell thee," said Sir 
 Michael, " England, with her most warlike kings 
 to lead her, was unable to do more than overrun 
 our land: think on Stirling-bridge, Roslin-lea, 
 and Bannock-brook. A firm heart, and deter- 
 mined hand, have saved Scotland, and will save 
 her, till she gives England a monarch." 
 
 King Henry laughed in scorn, and said, " Be- 
 gone, Sir Peasant, and tell your boy-king fi-om 
 me, that I am coming with my Enghsh yeomen to 
 turn his barren inheritance into a hunting-field." 
 " The Prince of Scotland," answered Sir Michael, 
 " having been informed that such was your gra- 
 cious intention, desired me to say, that he would
 
 236 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 have his hounds ready to meet you on the marches. 
 He bade me too put into your royal hand a horn, 
 a single blast of which will arouse you some 
 gallant game, which the fleetest hound of the 
 royal pack will hardly pull down." So saying, he 
 took from his pocket a little horn, of ivory and 
 gold, and presented it to King Henry. The 
 monarch took the horn, and looked for a moment 
 on the characters which were chased in the ivory, 
 then set it to his lips, and blew a blast. 
 
 As the sound spread, there appeared to the 
 eyes of the king a forest of tall trees. Through 
 among their shafts be heard a wild cry, and in a mo- 
 ment there burst from the greenwood seven swart 
 hounds, their eyes seemed living fire, and their 
 mouths were dyed with blood. They followed a 
 deer at full speed. " I swear by my sceptre," said 
 the king, " that I never saw such gallant hounds. 
 How they devour the way, how dark is their hue, 
 and how huge are their limbs, and how fierce their 
 eyes." The English nobles strained their eyes, 
 looked as the king looked, and though they saw 
 nothing of the vision which appeared to their 
 monarch, yet as good courtiers, they thought it 
 prudent to see what the king saw, and ac- 
 cordingly several exclaimed, " How dark of hue, 
 huge of limb, fierce of eye. Saint George and 
 Saint David to boot, but they are gallant hounds."
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 237 
 
 " King Harry Tudor," said Sir Michael, " these 
 hounds are fleeter than the shooting star, yet the 
 game they follow, will they never overtake. That 
 little horn has called up a vision, for thy contem- 
 plation, profit by it, Sir King, to few is such a 
 vision shown, but more direful will thy doom 
 be, if thou seest and shuttest thy heart against 
 such instruction." King Henry still stood and 
 gazed, the greenwood gradually faded away, the 
 forms of the seven hounds grew fainter; their 
 eager cry for blood became more distant, nature 
 gradually resumed her empire, and the rolling 
 river, the illuminated city, and tlie lofty abbey, 
 returned to his sight, and he said, " What may 
 the meaning be ? " 
 
 " Those seven hounds," answered Sir Michael, 
 " are the spirits of seven evil men, whose ambition 
 knew no bounds, and who sported with the lives 
 of human beings, even as the hound with the hare. 
 They coveted rule which did not belong to them, 
 and they deluged France, and Scotland, and Wales, 
 with blood, from the mere love of spilling it. I 
 shall not name them, they were of this island, and 
 most of them, were kings. Such was their ambi- 
 tion, and such is their punishment, their spirits 
 are transferred into hounds, howling with eternal 
 hunger and thirst, doomed to chase a fiend whom
 
 238 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 they can never overtake. As they are now, so will 
 they be to the day of doom." 
 
 "Sorcerer," exclaimed the monarch, "think 
 not that King Henry will allow thee to escape ; 
 thou hast violated the hallowed tomb, and ani- 
 mated the dust of our greatest monarchs, to give 
 them as a sport to fiends of perdition* There are 
 laws for punishing such, and thou wilt find those 
 speedily who can give them full effect." " Chafe 
 not, sire," replied Sir Michael, " nor imagine pu- 
 nishments which thou hast not power to inflict. I 
 am no sorcerer, but one of a purer calling ; one 
 who can rival the most consummate members of 
 the priesthood in the performance of miraculous 
 things. To me rather than to them is given the 
 power of rebuking pride into humility ; and War- 
 wick himself was not half such a setter up and 
 puller down of princes. Call all your priests, 
 your abbots, your manufacturers of miracles, your 
 dealers in relics real and apocryphal, and let 
 them show you a vision such as mine. I have 
 shown the present, behold the future ; there in 
 that glass may the monarch of England see the 
 end of his house's glory." 
 
 Henry could not choose but to look, his brow of 
 scorn was instantly exchanged for one of deep and 
 md^ncholy thought ; he saw the chief events of 
 his son and daughter's reigns passing rapidly on
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 as he looked ; scaiFolds streaming with the blood 
 of queens, with the blood of subjects; and his 
 stern and childless daughter dying in her chair, 
 while her crown was plucked away by a foreign 
 hand. Henry clasped his hands together, and ex- 
 claimed, " More, show me more, what presump- 
 tuous hand is that which steals England's royal 
 crown." " That thou canst not know," said Sir 
 Michael, " call thy chief priests, thy men who make 
 church legends, and work imaginary miracles, and 
 let them tell thee, if they can." " Alas ! " said the 
 king, " the miracles which my devout monks work, 
 are such that they extend neither my kingdom nor 
 my knowledge. Some crippled churl will they make 
 whole ; to some childless lady will they find an 
 heir ; they will bring down rain on the church lands 
 when it descends no where else, and they will 
 gather two kinds of fruit from one tree. But they 
 will not condescend to work more meritorious mi- 
 racles, and as for giving me a true history of future 
 events. Saint Edward ! I wish they would give me 
 an accurate one. Sir Scot, of matters which hap- 
 pen before their eyes." 
 
 A loud outcry from the interior of the abbey 
 startled the king and his courtiers ; the abbot and 
 his monks came rushing along the aisle, which, wide 
 as it was, seemed too narrow to contain them ; they 
 came with horror in their looks, sweat on their
 
 240 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 brows, and a wild tale on dieir tongues. " He is 
 no Scot, but Satan himself; I swear it by Becket's 
 bloody stone, and by all that remains of the true 
 cross," exclaimed one monk. " He is seven evil 
 spirits in one," exclaimed a second, " he has as 
 many shapes at command, as our dean has suits of 
 apparel." " Run, brother Bankes," cried a third, 
 " and bring seven drops of the dew which Saint 
 Wyvile gathered on Mount Hermon ; bring a cin- 
 der of the coals which consumed Saint Lawrence ; 
 the stone that whetted the knife that flayed Saint 
 Bartholomew ; a salmon scale from the miraculous 
 draught ; a " " Peace, brother Micah," ex- 
 claimed a fourth, " I vow to inflict on my body 
 thirteen hundred and thirty and three stripes, with 
 a thong cut from a wild ass's back, to sit on my 
 bare knees on the cold stone of the Confessor's 
 tomb from midnight to sun rise, if this pest will be 
 removed." " It is done, it is done," shouted fifty 
 monks at once, " blessed be the good Father Wal- 
 tone, for his atonement is accepted." 
 
 " Priests," inquired King Henry, " what is all 
 this wild outcry about; cannot you deal with 
 heresy without claumering amid your pleasures, 
 and telling all the city and the court that a dead 
 heretic is acceptable in your eyes." " My liege 
 lord," said the abbot, " a thing more terrible hath 
 taken place than is to be found in any of the
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 241 
 
 Church legends since the time that the miraculous 
 dew fell on the camp of Offa's Saxons, when seven- 
 teen thousand heathens lay down to sleep, and all 
 awoke baptized. There came a man to our gate, 
 a sorcerer, who dealt in magic, one of those for 
 whom the church hath proposed a merciful punish- 
 ment, by disjointing their bones on the rack, tearing 
 their limbs with red hot pincers, pouring boiling oil 
 into the wounds, and finally breaking their bodies 
 on an iron cross. The servants of the Church 
 seized him, carried him into our private cell of con- 
 ference, and placed him on the wheel, in order that 
 the pain of the body might bring repentance to the 
 soul. Down he sat, a youthful man with a grave 
 aspect, but with the first movement of the wheel he 
 was a man no longer." A strong fit of shuddering 
 interrupted the Abbot in his speech; one of his 
 brethren took up the dropt thread of the story. 
 
 " He was a man no longer but an incarnate fiend 
 with cloven feet and saucer eyes, a whole forest of 
 horns on his head. He gave one wild yell, and the 
 teeth dropt out of the iron wheel like ripe nuts. I 
 held the blessed cord in my hands with which St, 
 Dunstan scourged the devil, and I sought to bind 
 him, but he snapt it in twain, and disappeared. 
 And I thought he was gone, but on looking around 
 I saw a wild fire flashing about the cell, and threw 
 holy water on it, when up sprang a little brown elf 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 24.2 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 with long hairy fingers." " It became a devil of a 
 brown complexion," said another monk, taking up 
 the legend, " and groaned, and chattered, and pat- 
 tered with its fingers, like one telling beads. And 
 I seized him with a pair of red hot tongs — things 
 mainly useful in the management of all manner of 
 heresies ; so I seized him as I said, and he yelled 
 and bestowed on me such a buffet, that I fell and 
 saw him no more for a time." " He fell, and we saw 
 him no more for a time," said a fourth monk. "Then 
 I called on the aid of the saints, and adventured to 
 grapple with him, and I felt something in my arms, 
 like the form of a young damsel, and a dimness 
 <:ame over my sight, and my knees shook, and my 
 limbs failed, and I fell by the side of brother Kil- 
 lavie." 
 
 " Sire," exclaimed a fifth monk, " the most 
 marvellous part of the story is yet untold. In the 
 arms of my brother he turned into a fair dame ; but 
 he felt in mine like an armful of thorns, still I held 
 him fast ; then he became like the whole folio works 
 of the fathers descending upon me, and I was 
 nearly overwhelmed ; still I held him fast ; next he 
 turned into a cardinal's robe and cap ; I kept a reso- 
 lute hold ; and finally he became the blessed form 
 of our prioress ; and as I gazed upon her whom 
 I knew so well, he became a skeleton ; I threw him 
 from me, the bones rattled as they fell, and the
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 243 
 
 fiend laughed till the vault re-echoed, and we saw 
 him no more ; only he has left behind him an 
 odour so strong that all our holy essences will 
 scarcely subdue it. 
 
 " Monks ! by my faith," said King Henry, " you 
 have added another good legend to the stores of the 
 church. All who love a curious tale will love my 
 priests of Westminster. We, too, have had our 
 share of marvels ; and may have more ; he who 
 can bring strange things to pass still sits before me, 
 and I think his very presence enchants me; for here, 
 contrary to all precedent and court etiquette, I 
 stand while my city is turned into a hunting-park, 
 and this holy abbey into a den for the fiends to 
 sport in with the priests." " Sire," said the Abbot, 
 " may I request the singular honour of being al- 
 lowed to entertain this northern stranger in my Ab- 
 bey for one night, till your Majesty may desire a 
 conference with him. I would fain converse with him 
 on the delusions of learning, on the folly of know- 
 ledge, on the vanity of letters, on the frivolity of 
 science, and the sinfulness of working wonders by 
 other means than by relics, by prayer, and by 
 faith." " I think. Monk," said the King, « there is 
 wisdom in thy request. Thou wilt admonish this 
 stranger by means of very intelligible instruments. 
 The rack, the wheel, the boiling oil, the burning 
 pincers, and the screws are all ready to assist thee in 
 M 2
 
 214 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 thy argument ; truly, Monk, I shall pleasure thee 
 in tills little matter." 
 
 " King Henry," said Sir Michael, " a king's face 
 should give grace, and thine only sanctions the 
 will of this cunning priest. But if such be thy 
 will thou wilt surely exact a promise from the Ab- 
 bot, that he will not injure the person of an Am- 
 bassador. Let his weapons of argument or conver- 
 sion be strictly theological." " Priest," said the king, 
 "you hear the wish of the Scot; how say you, will 
 you war against him only with words? I am no 
 friend to truths and confessions extracted by iron 
 weapons." " Sire," replied the Abbot, " your Ma- 
 jesty speaks like one of the profane laity. To the 
 church is given the power of converting the heathen 
 — of combating unbelief — of rooting out heresies, 
 iind working out man's salvation; and whatever 
 weapons she uses in this pious warfare, are there- 
 fore weapons from the armoury of the saints. 
 Through the aid of St. Thomas, I shall entertain 
 this stranger in such sort that he will while he lives 
 remember the Abbot of Westminster." 
 
 " Abbot," answered Sir Michael, " I shall not 
 put thy hospitality to the proof, nor thy church in 
 peril, by becoming its lodger. Let me give thee 
 fair warning. The time is nigh when the darkness 
 of thy secret cells shall be as light as day ; when 
 thy holiest relics, and thy engines of torture, shall
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 245 
 
 be shewn to the wondering and hissing world; 
 when the nakedness of thy demurest daughters 
 shall be seen by the vulgar multitude, and the king 
 and the nobles who now stand by thy side, shall 
 point the finger in mockery, and regard thee no 
 more than they would an adder whose sting is 
 plucked out." " Audacious Scot," said the Abbot, 
 <' how darest thou talk thus ? thou shalt be stript 
 and scourajed throuofh London streets. I swear 
 it by the brazen toe of St. Peter at Rome — by 
 Becket's rib-bone — and by a portion of the true net 
 which caught the miraculous draught of fishes." 
 
 " Sir Monk," said King Henry, " we must not 
 soil pure hands in this foul matter. The Scot, 
 be he ambassador or not, has observed none of the 
 forms which regulate intercourse between nations ; 
 I therefore hold him unworthy of my confidence, 
 and order him to return to his own land, and 
 there abide the coming of my ambassador, who 
 with fifty thousand stout soldiers at his back, 
 shall teach Scotland that King Henry resents this 
 idle mockery." " Sire," said Sir Philip Mordaunt, 
 " the Scot is royally attended, he has nobles and 
 knights without number in his train ; and though I 
 know not his name, he has proved himself a tried 
 warrior, by foiling the Earl Marshal and an hun- 
 dred knights, who opposed his coming." Loud 
 laughed King Henry, and exclaimed, " By the light
 
 240 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 of heaven, Sir Philip, did I not know thee to 
 be both sage in council and bold in the field, 
 I should imagine thee weak in judgment and fear- 
 ful in war. Nobles and knights ! rooks and daws ! 
 whom seest thou before thee ? but a mean person, 
 a man of low degree, and it shall be my business to 
 direct his steps northward, and that right speedily. 
 Sir Ambassador get thee gone, else I shall whip 
 thee through London, in spite of all the imaginary 
 retinue which Sir Philip has given thee." 
 
 " Thou actest unlike a monarch in this matter," 
 said Sir Michael, " 1 am a free man of a free coun- 
 try, and claim, as such, an exemption from stripes or 
 bondage. But it is enough ; thou wilt hearken 
 neither to my own words, nor to those of my 
 mission, so farewell ; but before I depart thou shalt 
 judge if I be a fit person or no. For myself shall I 
 not say one word ; when my good steed has stamped 
 thrice I shall begone." 
 
 As he ceased, the horse on which he sat stamped 
 fiercely with one of his forefeet. The ground trem- 
 bled ; the houses shook ; the bells of the Abbey 
 rang ; and the trees of the park waved to and fro 
 like corn caught in a whirlwind. The courtiers 
 gazed wildly on the king; the king gazed wildly on 
 his courtiers; the Abbot prayed earnestly and 
 loud, and the Monks told their beads with a rapi- 
 dity quickened by fear. " Sir Abbot," said the king,
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 247 
 
 " wilt thou allow this knave to pull thy abbey about 
 thy ears — canst thou not stay him ? What is the 
 use of thee and thy miracles, if thou canst not do a 
 kind act when the hour of need is come ?'* " Sire," 
 answered the Abbot, " over this man we have no 
 power; his might comes not from the place over 
 which we exercise controul. He is not the slave 
 of Satan like the sorcerers of old, but Satan is 
 his slave, and power has been given to him for 
 a time." " Sir Abbot, thou art a dreamer like 
 Sir Philip Mordaunt," exclaimed the king, " and 
 being something of a dealer in profitable marvels 
 thyself, thou hast a wish to maintain the reputation 
 of the trade. Come, Sir Ambassador begone ; 
 we have no more time to waste thus unprofitably." 
 Sir Michael uttered not a word, but his horse 
 gave a second stamp on the ground, and the 
 ground quaked, as if it would have gaped and 
 swallowed up the abbey, with all it contained ; the 
 trees were scattered like reeds, the Thames ran 
 backward many a mile, and as much of London 
 wall was thrown to the ground as would have 
 served six thousand men to have marched into the 
 city abreast, with banners displayed. King Henry 
 crossed himself, and muttered a prayer ; Sir Philip 
 Mordaunt drew his sword, and struck at the horse 
 of Sir Michael ; the blade seemed to divide it in 
 two, and descending, made an impression on the
 
 Ms SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 Stones of the street; but the animal still stood, 
 and Sir Michael sat composedly on its back, and 
 it lifted its hoof to give the third stamp, when 
 King Henry cried, with a loud voice, " Stay, Sir 
 Ambassador, stay ! let thy steed set down its ter- 
 rible hoof in peace, and be thine what boon thou 
 wilt." 
 
 Sir Michael folded his arms over his bosom, and 
 said, "It is well, Harry Tudor, else the third 
 stamp of my horse would have made London into 
 a lake." The animal, as he spoke, tossed its flow- 
 ing mane, from which lightning seemed to stream, 
 gave a snort, which made the ground quiver, and 
 set down its foot with slow and reluctant gentle- 
 ness, " See," said Sir Michael, " how unwil- 
 lingly my steed keeps truce : it is not fear of thee, 
 Sir King, and all thy court, which has made 
 peace between us, for I have the power to 
 trample thee and thy mightiest to dust. Hearken ! 
 for this is my boon: be gentle with thy cap- 
 tives; be kind to thy youthful kinsman, the 
 Monarch of Scotland ; keep good rule on the 
 Marches ; use not thy strength to his injury ; and 
 cast that body, covered with a costly pall, into a 
 common grave : he was a good soldier, and fought 
 well and bravely — he was a vassal, but not a 
 king." 
 
 " Thy boon is granted. Sir Ambassador," said
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 249 
 
 King Henry : I shall use the might of my king- 
 dom mercifully; and Scotland, and its infant 
 prince, shall not be stricken, unless they strike. 
 But this, I say, is the body of the King of Scotland ; 
 what token hast thou to shew me that it is a 
 subject, and not a prince." " A token true," re- 
 plied Sir Michael; look there!" As he waved 
 his hand, the steed of Sir James stood abreast of 
 that of Sir Michael. The King of England and tht^ 
 Earl Howard started back, exclaiming both at once, 
 " James Stuart the king! " and certainly the figure 
 which was before them vindicated their exclama- 
 tion. He wore a cro^vn of gold above his helmet ; 
 a velvet mantle, flowered with golden thistles, fell 
 from his shoulder, over his left knee ; a sword was 
 in his hand; and that martial fire shone in his 
 eyes which lightened up his form with heroism, 
 as the sun lights the morning air. It was but the 
 vision of a moment. Sir Michael turned his 
 horse round, and. said, " Mount, evil one, and 
 fly;" and, as he spoke, the steeds vanished from 
 their places, and no one saw whither they went. 
 
 M i>
 
 250 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The moon looked out with all her stars, 
 
 The ship moYcd merrily on, 
 Until she came to a castle high. 
 
 That all as diamonds shone. 
 On every tower there streamed a light. 
 
 On the middle tower shone three ; 
 Move for that tower, my mariners a', 
 
 My love keeps watch for me. 
 
 Scottish Song. 
 
 The morning was growing into a silver gray 
 on the eastern mountain tops, when Sir Michael 
 and his companion halted their horses on a wild 
 shore, against which the waves of the sea tumbled 
 in multitudes, filling all the air with a moist salt 
 spray. The water-fowl sat in flocks along the line 
 of shells which separated the tide from the solid 
 ground ; the wreck of a ship was visible amid the 
 broken lines of foam, which were agitated by a 
 reef of rocks and sand ; while a vessel, with all her 
 sails set, and her mariners on board, sailed away 
 with a snoring breeze, and a moist sheet, into the 
 boundless sea. On one side stood the remains of 
 an ancient castle, which from a lofty rock over-
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 251 
 
 looked the sea that murmured many a fathom 
 below, while its shattered summit was jointly occu- 
 pied by land and water fowl ; and, on the other side, 
 the sea rolled in a deep and romantic bay, which, 
 fringed with woods and rocks, and filled with sea- 
 cormorants and gulls, showed that man was seldom 
 present to disturb its solitude, or remark its 
 beauty. 
 
 Sir Michael and Sir James leaped from their 
 horses, and the animals, released from their riders, 
 neighed wildly, shook their dishevelled manes in 
 the morning air, and dashing at once into the 
 foaming surf, swam for the other side of the bay. 
 They stood and looked on them, as with heads 
 uplifted above the tide, and tails stretched dark 
 amid the foam they darted through the water; 
 and they saw a hag, bent with years, hastening as 
 fast as her weakness allowed her to the water edge. 
 " Now," said Sir Michael, " I promised to reveal 
 the wonders of the world for your instruction and 
 use. Look on that creature, sore subdued by 
 time, covered with coarse raiment, dwelling by 
 herself in a lonesome house, without a friend in 
 the world, and seemingly suifering at once from 
 old age and misery, yet she knows all the myste- 
 ries of the invisible kingdom of the fallen angels 
 on earth. See ! she knows that there are spirits 
 in the bay, and is about to avail herself of the cir-
 
 252 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 cumstance. Did she know that one sees her, who 
 can turn her skill to his own advantage, she would 
 display her art more privily." , 
 
 She wet her left foot in the surge, dipped in her 
 withered hands, and threw water into the morning 
 air. The two animals had nearly gained the other 
 side, when one was suddenly deprived of strength, 
 floated rather than swam, and uttered a faint cry, 
 like a creature in pain. She then took up two 
 sea-shells, held them to her ears like a curious 
 ehild, breathed upon them, and threw them into 
 the bay. In a moment the sea rose into ridges, a 
 wild wind was awakened upon the water, a murky 
 cloud descended upon shore and bay, and nought 
 was heard for the space of several minutes, save 
 the rushing of the agitated water upon rock and 
 sward. " Now," said Sir Michael, " your steed is 
 become, in the poetic language of the Norse 
 rhymers, a dark rider of the wave ; over mine she 
 had no power ; and when the cloud is cleared off, 
 you will behold a fair vessel on the flood, instead 
 of your gallant horse." As he spoke the cloud dis- 
 solved away, the old tower, the waving woods, and 
 the wide sea, were revealed at once, and the grow- 
 ing light of the morning tinged the summits of 
 hill and wave with silver, as far as the eye could 
 :see. 
 
 " Behold," said Sir James, " a glorious vessel,
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 253 
 
 her masts gleam like silver, her sails rustle like 
 silk, and the figure which leans from her prow 
 seems like melted gold ; nor lacks she armed men, 
 nor merry mariners. She has sprung from the 
 bottom of the sea ; for the bay was tenanted only 
 by the sea-mew when the cloud dropped down." 
 " She has not sprung from the sea-brine,," said 
 Sir Michael, " but her origin is equally wonder- 
 ful. I must confound this hag, and all her spells." 
 He blew a low note on his ivory horn, and Bru- 
 nelfin stood before him. " I thank thee," he said, 
 " for thy seiTice in London, for thy pleasant pranks 
 among the monks. Look on yon foul hag. See ! 
 she holds her lean yellow arm over the sea, and yon 
 fair ship, of her own shaping, will take her on 
 board. Her skill was unequal to such a creation, 
 had I not used the same materials before. Go ; 
 dissolve the spell which transformed the spirit- 
 steed into a ship ; win thy way to her confidence, 
 by what wiles thou wilt ; visit her enchanted isle, 
 where her fair daughter dwells; dissolve the 
 enchantment, and vdn the maid with the fairy- 
 harp. Go — fly! Why lingerest thou?" 
 
 " Master," said Brunelfin, " my practice has 
 been hitherto on land, and I have no desire to go 
 down to see the wonders of the lower empire in 
 the great deep. Yon dame has skill, which will 
 do me some annoy; and power, which I am too
 
 254 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 weak to resist. Did she not turn the prior of 
 Saint Botolph into a fox, and hunt him to death 
 with a pack of infernal liounds? Did she not 
 clothe a loathly skeleton with flesh and blood, and 
 endow it with youth and beauty ; paint its cheeks 
 with the rose, and its neck with the lily ; and give 
 witchery to its eye, and eloquence to its tongue, 
 to allure the abbot of Saint Austen from the 
 paths of purity and holiness ? And did she not 
 make a page out of the Noi-way pine to the lord 
 of Lanercross, a creature as nimble as water, and 
 as wanton as the wind, which rolled like a ball of 
 fire under the feet of the father confessor, as he 
 retired from the chamber of my lady, and made the 
 good man confess such follies, as set all the vale of 
 Derwent in wonder ? I shall be made into a will-o'- 
 wisp, and have to give light among the lakes and 
 mosses till doomsday." 
 
 " Elf," said Sir Michael, " art thou not more 
 afraid of incensing thy master than of angering a 
 
 hao" ? I will enclose thee like a toad in a bed of 
 
 o 
 
 solid stone; freeze thee into the middle of a 
 mountain of untrodden snow, widiin cry of the 
 pole; fix thee up as a sea-mark in a new voyage 
 of discovery ; throw thee mid-sky height, where 
 thou wilt fly round and round the world like an owl. 
 from this to doomsday." "Master! master!" 
 cried he, " I will do your bidding, be it what it
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 255 
 
 will." He flew to the line where land and water 
 met, and taking up a shell from the surf, set it on 
 the tide, turned it thrice about, and away it darted, 
 expanding as it flew, till it became as large as a 
 shallop. Sir James wondered to observe the rapid 
 growth of this new prodigy, which still retained 
 much of its original elegance of form, and glowed 
 with the varied hues with which nature has so ex- 
 quisitely dyed many of her marine productions. 
 But his skill stopped not here ; he knew that to 
 the witch's sight his work to deceive her must seem 
 her own, and for that purpose he placed lofty 
 masts, clothed them with sails, filled the decks with 
 mariners, and caused the waters to sing around her 
 as she went. The hag shouted for joy when she 
 saw the visionary shallop approach, through a 
 column of mist, which now hovered on the bosom 
 of the bay. She clapped her hands, and cried, 
 " Come, my fair shallop, come ! — three-score years 
 and ten have I served the great spirit which rules 
 the wind and waters, and never till now did he 
 vouchsafe to sanction the spell of his poor hand- 
 maid. Ah ! many a gallant career have I taken 
 on land, but on the billows have I never yet set a 
 foot. How I long to be treading over their foamy 
 heads, and roaming at large on their wilderness of 
 waters." She could contain her joy no longer, 
 but burst into voluntary song, till wood and bay 
 re-echoed.
 
 256^ SIR MICHAEL SCOTT, 
 
 THE MAGIC SHALLOP. 
 
 I. 
 
 O shallop, fair shallop, no storm shall thee wreck. 
 No wind strain thy mainmast, no foam stain thy deck ; 
 The thunder shall pass thee, the lightning shall shine 
 As a lamp, but to light thee thy way on the brine, 
 
 n. 
 
 Thy planks never grew in the wilderness dun, 
 
 The hemp of thy sheets never shone in the sun ; 
 
 The wild hawk envies thee careering so fast, 
 
 And the moon takes delight for to shine on thy mast* 
 
 HL 
 
 All skaithless thou sail'st when the battle is hot^ 
 Regardless of boardlng-spear, powder, and shot ; 
 And he who can daunt thee with terror of wars. 
 May shoot down a sunbeam, and sink all the star&. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Like the wind for its speed, like the fowl for its flight, 
 The thunder for strength, and the tempest for might j 
 Through the battle ye float, midst the tempest ye live, 
 There's a glory about ye which man cannot give. 
 
 As she sung, the imaginary vessel came land- 
 ward ; its sails glittered in the dewy wind, and its 
 ornamented prow ploughed the sand at her feet. 
 She laid her withered hands upon it, and went 
 on board, crying, " Up, my merry mariners, give 
 your sails to the breeze, there's good wine in
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT, 257 
 
 France and Portugal, and I shall make ye all to 
 skip and sing." Her visionary mariners seemed 
 all to shout, and Brunelfin, like an ancient seaman, 
 came and thus received her commands. " You 
 are a creature not of heaven's making, but of mine ; 
 one glance of my eye, one wave of my hand, or 
 one stamp of my foot, and your lease of existence 
 expires. Hearken ! The ship in which we ride 
 can neither be sunk by an enemy, destroyed by the 
 storm, nor consumed by fire. It is not, however, 
 immortal, and should ye, when ye behold any thing 
 strange or wonderful, exclaim in the simple lan- 
 guage of mere mortals, claiming the aid of the 
 saints, or the care of heaven, the planks on which 
 we stand will melt like snow when it falls in the 
 water." 
 
 *' Lady," said Brunelfin, " fear not the saints. I 
 believe not in them, let us to sea fearlessly ; the 
 wines of Brabant, the pine apples of the west, the 
 pearls and gold of the east, and the diamonds of 
 the south, shall all be ours before the moon rises." 
 *' Slave," she said, " and creature of mine own 
 making, be silent, and mind my words, else I shall 
 turn thee into a sea-mew to make the rocks echo to 
 all eternity with" the clang of thy idle wings. Go 
 spread thy sails to the wind, run thy ship right 
 onw^ard from the bay ; shouldst thou see any 
 other ship, alter not thy course, but run on thy
 
 258 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT* 
 
 career, and let vessels built by man's presumptuous 
 hands, beware how they cross the course or hazard 
 an encounter with my spell-built barge." As she 
 spoke the shallop darted out of the bay with the 
 rapidity of a flash of lightning. 
 
 The first ship which she saw was one bound for 
 the Thames, a laborious trader, whose captain had 
 carried out beads, looking-glasses, nails, and two- 
 penny trinkets to the wondering savages of the 
 new discovered isles, and now came home laden to 
 the water's edge with the riches of the earth. The 
 magic vessel struck her right midships, and severed 
 her in two, and the sea was covered for many a 
 rood with silks and spices — with shivered spars and 
 drowning mariners. " There," said the Hag, "let 
 them wallow and sprawl, and drink the salt sea 
 brine ; it is good enough for them. I asked her 
 captain, when he sailed away, if he would buy a 
 full sea and fair wind. A tar tree, and a torch 
 for thee, beldame, quoth he ; there he flutters who 
 mocked my might." Her vessel sailed on. 
 
 Another ship appeared. Its pennon was glitter- 
 ing in the sun, the decks were filled with armed 
 men, and the captain stood on the prow with a 
 helmet on his head, and lance in his hand. " He 
 has reigned king of the ocean these seven years," 
 said Brunelfin ; "he has spoiled alike Turk and 
 Christian, the high and the low, the weak woman
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 259 
 
 and the strong man. Shall I smite him in twain, 
 or sink him at once ? " " Slave," said the dame, 
 " wilt thou harm an innocent mariner, who wins 
 his bread by the strength of his own right arm, and 
 the sharpness of his sword ? Let him pass on, and 
 wish him speed on his voyage." " This self-willed 
 ship of yours," exclaimed Brunelfin, " will not be 
 ruled by me, and unless you can stay her by a 
 spell, she will shear the pirate as cleverly in two 
 as ever he cleft the skull of innocent childhood, or 
 unresisting age." She lifted her staif, and moved 
 it rapidly in the air, but the ship continued its 
 course, and striking the corsair, clave the ship 
 in two, and passed onward, leaving a shriek and a 
 bubble behind her. 
 
 The dame struck her staff on the deck, and ex- 
 claimed, " Oh thou piece of sinful timber, thou 
 hast not fulfilled the will of thy mistress, and thou 
 art no longer worthy of being held in her right 
 hand. On the grave of a murderer didst thou 
 grow ; a spiller of blood came and hanged himself 
 amongst thy branches. At the full of the moon 
 did I cut thee, and the knife with which I pruned 
 thee was taken from the right hand of one who 
 had dyed its blade in the blood of a gray old man 
 and his grandchild. I cut thee, pruned thee, and 
 polished thee, and said words of marvellous power 
 over thee, and now, accursed tree, thou refusest to
 
 260 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 work the will of thy mistress." And she threw 
 away the staff, and exclaimed, " Go ! be thou a 
 monster, and wallow amid the icy seas, till in thy 
 sides mariners plunge their harpoons, and slay 
 thee, and extract fatness from thee to light up the 
 lamps of sepulchres. Go, such is the punishment 
 of disobedience." The staff flew from her hand, 
 fell in the sea, the water flashed, and Elfin ima- 
 gined that he beheld it expanding into a dark and 
 immeasurable monster. 
 
 A ship splendidly equipped appeared before 
 them; knights and ladies, richly attired, crowded the 
 decks, and minstrels were there, whose harpings, 
 and whose songs echoed over the subsiding billows 
 for many a mile. As the wind moved the per- 
 fumed sails, a smell such as the breeze wafts from 
 groves of spice and flowers was diffused over the 
 ocean, and Brunelfin smiled, pleased with a fra- 
 grance which reminded him of the scent of the 
 hills of heath where he had sported and sung. 
 '* See,** said the dame, " how gladsomely these 
 damsels come along the sea to the sound of the harp 
 and the cittern, as if they were in a painted hall 
 among nobles and princes. How hateful a thing 
 beauty and loveliness is, and I would sink that 
 bevy of madams were they what they seem. But 
 they come to aid me in maintaining the empire of 
 my lord and master, and I must welcome them as
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. §61 
 
 I may.*' And she waved her withered hands and 
 cried, " Mahoun speed you, Mahoun speed you. 
 Go among the sons of men, and tempt them with 
 manifold temptations. When gray age kneels to 
 heaven, appear before him and smile in his eyes, 
 and enter into his heart, and pull his thoughts 
 from above. Lie in the way for the green and 
 headlong youth ; be present wherever he moves, 
 interpose between his sight and all hallowed things, 
 let soft couches and lily beds, and bowers of dal- 
 liance haunt his thoughts, till you throw him to the 
 fiends." 
 
 " Atrocious hag ! " muttered Brunelfin, " but 
 these nymphs of perdition shall never harm mor- 
 tal." As he spoke two fierce winds seized the sails 
 of the two ships, and hurried them towards each 
 other. The sails rustled, the masts groaned, and 
 the bows met ; they met, but the ship in which 
 Brunelfin sailed, seemed to meet with no obstruc- 
 tion more than if it had encountered a wave. 
 He looked round and he beheld forms melting in 
 the water, like falling snow, and heard a deep 
 shrill cry. 
 
 "Thou cursed creature," said the hag to Brunelfin, 
 " this tempest is of thy creating, and those servants of 
 my master, have returned again to the element out 
 of which they were created, and will do him deeds 
 of usefulness no more.'' So saying, she seized him
 
 262 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 in her arms, and threw him from her, as far as a 
 man may pitch a quoit, into the foaming sea. In 
 a moment the sails of the ship fell as leaves in the 
 frosts of December; the masts melted away, the 
 planks dissolved beneath her feet, and she was 
 plunged into a wide and disturbed sea, without 
 boat or plank, or help at hand. She uttered a wild 
 scream and sunk like lead. " Hurrah ! " shouted 
 Brunelfin, bestriding a billow, and dipping his 
 hands in the foam, as if he seized the mane of a 
 watery steed, " Hurrah, hag ! canst thou not ride 
 on the chafed ocean, as thou dost on the midnight 
 air, when the moon and stars are startled to be- 
 hold thee. See how gallantly I go, not a hair of 
 my head is wet, and the foam which hangs in my 
 locks moisten them no more than rain on a swan's 
 wrings. What ! art thou sunk altogether ? Nay, 
 then, I shall aid thee." 
 
 He dipt his right hand in the sea, and feeling 
 like a boy who gropes for trouts in a stream, mut- 
 tered : " Cursed Beldame ! I know it will enrage my 
 master if I let thee perish, for he loves all creatures 
 which breathe, else this hour were thy last, for 
 many and evil have thy days been on the earth, and 
 man and his joys hast thou sought to wreck conti- 
 nually." He plucked her up by the locks, and raising 
 her head above the foam, while she sputtered out 
 the seabrine, said : " Wliy thou art a witch of little
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 263 
 
 wisdom in coming upon the sea in a vessel made by 
 other spells than thine own ?" " Other spells than 
 mine own," said she, shaking the foam from^ her 
 tresses, and seating herself on a billow ; " did I not 
 see the spirit of an evil man in the shape of a horse 
 swimming in the bay, and over such my spells have 
 power. Did I not make him into as fair a ship as 
 ever mariners manned ? yet some adverse spell has 
 been used to render mine unenduring, and I who 
 have ridden on the racking tempest, flown with 
 the volleyed lightning between earth and heaven 
 horsed on a rag wort ; I am now dropt like a star 
 flung from the sky into the salt sea, with no hope 
 of escape but through the tenderness of thee, thou 
 beriy-brown Elf." 
 
 "The berry-brown Elf," replied he, " returns thee 
 present good for past evil. Didst thou not trans- 
 form me once into one of thy spell-made steeds, and 
 dash through fifty miles of mire and moor on my 
 back to one of thy infernal trystes ? Didst thou 
 not seize my ae sister, and freeze her upon 
 the bosom of St. Mary's lake, till the blessed sun 
 of heaven came and melted her bonds, and she 
 started up mid way to the sky in the ecstasy of li- 
 berty ? Ah Beldame ! now that I have thee seated 
 beside me on the billows, I would act wisely were 
 I to transform thee into a cormorant; but thou
 
 264 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 wouldst disturb poor sleeping mariners with thy 
 wild cries. Now make thy choice — whether wilt 
 thou be an oyster or a water serpent ? One wave 
 of this little brown hand, and thou never returnest 
 to earth again, save perchance to be eaten by 
 the cormorants of a city corporation in the shape of 
 a fish.'^ " My pretty youth, said the hag, in a mild 
 and soothing tone, " thou art too fair and too ten- 
 der-hearted to do such deeds as thou describest. If 
 thou wilt go to green England again with me I will 
 make thee Lord of all that proud island. The 
 sweetest of its fruits shall I gather for thee to eat, 
 the fairest of its daughters shall strew thy couch 
 with flowers, the tenderest of its minstrels shall 
 gladden thee with mingled music and poetry, o'er 
 thy head shall I shed the scented dews, under thy 
 feet shall grow roses, and like the summer-loving 
 cuckoo thy path shall be one of sunshine and glad- 
 ness." " You paint a fair picture" replied Brunei- 
 fin. " Son, said the Beldame, didst thou ever see 
 my child Elfrida ? she whom I nursed with the ten- 
 derest care, washed every morning in dew caught 
 before it fell, pillowed on the down of the cygnet, 
 fed with the honey taken from the bag of the bee, 
 and the sweet kernelled nuts, and the fragrant 
 moisture of the rose and the violet. She is the fair- 
 est and the purest of the children of the earth ; and
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 265 
 
 to thee alone shall I give her. But why need 
 I speak, thou hast never seen my child, and carest 
 neither for youth nor beauty. 
 
 '• Mother," said Brunelfin, " I have never loved ; 
 the daughters of men I have looked not on, nor 
 deemed them fair ; my delight is in dancing among 
 the glow-worms in some haunted glen ; in lighting 
 my feet through the wilderness with a will-o'-wisp 
 candle ; in riding during the dewy evening com- 
 panioned by some shooting star; and dancing 
 on the foaming billows of the sea when the moon is 
 in eclipse, and the wind is whistling at its loudest. 
 Such are my delights." " Ah ! thou hast been 
 kept in slavery, my child," said the hag, " and thy 
 heart has never expanded in freedom and in 
 joy. Come with me. AA'hen I place my foot 
 amongst the white shells on the shore, I shall 
 create thee a car drawn by steeds fleet as the 
 November wind, and my child shall welcome thee, 
 and hang her w^hite arms round thy neck." 
 
 Brunelfin looked seaward, and said, " Seest thou 
 aught moving on the sea ? Underneath yon golden 
 and overhanging cloud, dost thou behold a ship, 
 with sails like winter snow ? " The hag smiled and 
 answered, " Thine eyes are so accustomed to mar- 
 vels that thou canst see nothing as it is. I see a fair 
 sea-bird, sailing between the sea and sky, with its 
 white neck held out, its broad wings stretched, and 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 266 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 its flight is towards us." " Then Mahoun protect 
 thee," said the Elf, " I can no longer make the bil- 
 lows bear thee as a steed. Thou seest the tokens 
 of thine assured enemy, whom no wisdom of thine 
 nor cunning of mine can avoid. The hour of thy 
 destruction is at hand, and I shall never see fair 
 Elfrida, nor taste the sweets of creation with her 
 at my side." 
 
 «• Mahoun, I praise thee," muttered the hag to 
 herself, " the image of youth and beauty which 
 I drew, and the spell which I used, have won this 
 wayward spirit to my service ; and were I but on 
 land, the fellest magician of the north should not 
 wile him from me by either wit or spell. My brown 
 and pleasant spirit," she said aloud, " thine eyes 
 are sharper than mine, and the swan which I saw, 
 with outspread wings coming along the waters, is 
 indeed the spell-formed ship of my mortal enemy. 
 One whom I have long hated and feared : one who 
 has contested with me the spiritual rule over sha- 
 dowy and unsubstantial things, and marred the 
 growth of my master's empire on earth. Ah ! but 
 for him the human mind had never revealed its 
 powers by the pen, but lived and glimmered amid 
 the thick darkness of the crypts and recesses of 
 monasteries and abbeys. But for him my master 
 had continued lord of the sea, and prince of the 
 air, and all that is between earth and sky had been
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 261 
 
 ours. No wonder, therefore, that I hate the magi- 
 cian Michael, and wish his power lessened, and his 
 spells made pow3rless." 
 
 " Mother," said Brunelfin, " thou art keeper 
 of the mists of morning, and the thick darkness of 
 night, and why shouldst thou be dismayed ? The 
 billows on which we are seated cannot forsake us, 
 nor refuse to bear us up, since I have thrown a 
 spell upon them." " Thou sayesttrue, my child," 
 answered she. " Come thick darkness, such as no 
 eye can penetrate, and cover the earth and sea. 
 Come night as grim as the raven's wing, or the 
 wolf 's mouth ; ascend from the place where eternal 
 darkness reigns, and cast thy mantle around me. 
 If ever I loved to behold thee quench the moon 
 and stars, and hide the land like a shroud, come 
 now and serve me." As she spoke, a thick dark 
 mist emerged from the sea, and rushed rapidly 
 along the billows. It covered sea and land, and 
 filled all the space from the waves to the firma- 
 ment, with gross darkness, even as a chrystal vase 
 when filled with ink. 
 
 " Son," she said, " my power is still unsubdued, 
 it is strong on the waters, and thrice as strong by 
 land, let us therefore begone, lest Michael thy 
 master should dispel the cloud, and sink us amid 
 the sea." As she spoke a flock of cormorants 
 sailed slowly by, shaping their way to the shore. 
 N 2
 
 268 SIR MICHAEL SCOTTr 
 
 As tliey scudded past, Brunelfin lifted water in 
 both hands, and sprinkled it upon the last of the 
 flock, and there arose a painted shallop with silken 
 sails, and seats of velvet. " Mother," he said, 
 " behold the work of my hands, is it not fair and 
 beautiful ? " " Fair and beautiful indeed it is, my 
 child," she said, seating herself on the prow, and 
 smoothing her disordered tresses, " but it is still 
 more useful than beautiful, and the art with which 
 thou didst create it, is an art which few know. I 
 also can do something my child." And she took 
 a little box of ivory, no larger than a man's thumb, 
 from her bosom, and removing the lid held it up 
 against the sails of the shallop. In a moment a 
 rushing sound was heard, and the sails which before 
 hung motionless and still, now felt the impulse of 
 a strong and constant wind, and the shallop moved 
 rapidly along. 
 
 Brunelfin looked on the ivory receptacle in 
 which the winds lay spell-bound, and held out his 
 hand that he might examine it. " Fair son," said 
 the hag, " it is not every hand that is permitted to 
 touch this treasure. The ivory of which it is made 
 was cut from the horn of an unicorn, as it slept 
 amid the ruins of Tadmor; the little bag with 
 which it is lined is the skin of Mahomet's middle 
 finger, flayed by a knife of elf-flint, while the faith- 
 ful watched around the body Avith nak^ sabres ;
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 269 
 
 and the wind which fills it is part of that tempest 
 which the witch of Sicily sold to Saladin, to drown 
 Richard of England and his nobles. I may not, 
 therefore, trust it in thy hand, lest thy curiosity 
 should let out the wind, and sink us in the ocean." 
 
 The shallop, impelled by this magic breeze, 
 glanced like a beam of light from billow to billow, 
 and such was the rapidity with which it ran, that 
 the shore was unseen till the sharp prow sank a 
 fathom deep in the grassy bank, and they stept 
 joyfully ashore. The shallop vanished slowly away. 
 The milk-white sails became as sunshine, and its 
 pamted sides grew into the flowery bank, which 
 hemmed in the ocean ; the grass still retained a sea 
 green hue, and the flowers turned their opening 
 blossoms seaward. " Mahoun, I thank thee for 
 this deliverance ;" said the hag, " thy enemy and 
 mine is foiled, and I have deprived him of the fel- 
 lowship and aid of his active and ancient servant. 
 Aid me farther, I pray thee, and grant my wishes, 
 for thou knowest the strength of Michael the ma- 
 gician, and how subtle and powerful he is. This 
 imp is his right arm, and if I can win his affection 
 the whole Island empire, south of Tweed is mine." 
 
 As she muttered this, a gleam of red light came 
 through the darkness; the thick shroud which 
 covered sea and shore melted away at once ; the 
 gun shone out, and the billows danced in its glow-
 
 270 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 ing light for many a league. " Speed thee and 
 hide thee, mother ! " exclaimed Brunelfin, " for 
 Michael comes — I shall be chained to a rock 
 for seven years, with fifty fathom of salt-water 
 above me; thou shalt be transformed to an oak- 
 tree, the swine of the desert shall wallow under 
 thee, and crunch thy acorns; the axe, the saw, 
 and the adze, will be upon thee, and thou wilt be 
 formed into a ship, to carry slaves/' 
 
 " My son," said the hag, " cast fear behind 
 thee, and follow me ; into my palace man or spirit 
 cannot come, but with my pleasure; it is sur- 
 rounded by woods, through which the light of day 
 can hardly penetrate ; mountains environ it, where 
 the goat cannot climb, and where the eagle never 
 flew ; and it stands in a lake, through which man 
 cannot wade, nor a boat swim. There in my 
 palace sits my fair child : how she will blush to 
 behold thee.'* And turning her back to the bay 
 she entered the wilderness, which clothed moun- 
 tain and plain down to the edge of the ocean. A 
 small stream came tinkling from stone to stone, 
 forming little busy pools, where the trouts leaped 
 in the sun, and played from side to side ; a footway 
 seldom trod, and showered along the edge with 
 flowers, winded with the stream; and along this 
 path the hag, followed by her companion, pro- 
 ceeded.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 271 
 
 They came to the foot of the mountains, and 
 here the stream, instead of gathering its waters 
 from the scattered springs of the sides or summits 
 of the hills seemed to have cleft the high accli- 
 vity in two, and came gushing through it as swift 
 as an arrow, and as pure as melted silver. Below 
 them, the stream glided darkly along, without a 
 shrub or a blade of grass on its border ; while over 
 head the perpendicular sides of the ravine showed 
 a long narrow slip of mid-day sky, in which the 
 stars dimly twinkled, and athwart which the bats 
 flitted about in the twilight obscurity of the dell. 
 At length the light became brighter and the air 
 sweeter, the boughs of trees hung down into the 
 ravine, and wild birds looked dowai to the mur- 
 muring brook, and discontinued their song. The 
 low singing of the wind in leafy woods now came 
 upon the ear, and the amorous moan of the ring- 
 dove was heard without ceasing. They came to a 
 rock, where the way seemed to terminate ; for 
 through a hole, no wider than an arrow-slit in a 
 castle tower, it appeared impossible to go ; the 
 stream itself spouted through a thousand rifts and 
 fissures, and all access to the interior appeared to 
 be denied. 
 
 Brunelfin glanced through the crevice, and ex- 
 claimed, " This is the wicket of Paradise ! before
 
 272 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 me is a lake of silver, and a palace of burning 
 gold ; the ground is covered with flowers, the 
 bushes studded with fruit, and the road is strewn 
 with pearls and precious stones ! How am I to 
 get into the vale of bliss, for assuredly this is it ?" 
 '* There is a way," said the hag, " so follow me." 
 She entered a recess in the rock, and taking a bun- 
 dle of dried southern-wood, hyssop, rowan-tree, and 
 a bunch of flowering herbs, she laid them before 
 the opening in the rock, and rubbing two pieces of 
 dried wood with her hands till they smoked and 
 sparkled, she kindled the herbs and flowers. A 
 thin and slender reek at first rose, followed by a 
 bright line of flame, till, seizing on the whole mate- 
 rials, a grosser smoke and broader gleam ascended, 
 and filled all the space where they stood with a 
 sweet and fragrant smell. As the flame arose 
 she said. 
 
 Solid and eternal rocks. 
 
 Open, 'tis your mistress knocks ; 
 
 Stone more hard than hammered brass. 
 
 Open, let Brunelfin pass ; 
 
 Then shut, that nought its way may find, 
 
 That 's grosser than the morning wind, 
 
 That 's stronger than the hempen stalk, 
 
 That 's heavier than the hunting hawk. 
 
 Solid and eternal rocks. 
 
 Open, 'tis your mistress knocks.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 273 
 
 As she uttered the last words the passage opened 
 to her touch, as if the rocks had been made of 
 green-wood boughs, and then closed behind them, 
 leaving only a narrow slit, through which was seen 
 the long and gloomy pathway, with the descending 
 sun beaming at the extremity, the gliding stream 
 and the impending rocks. 
 
 n5
 
 274 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT* 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 She princked hersel and prinned herself. 
 
 Put red gold in her hair. 
 And Uke a white hlie she looked, 
 
 Born mid the dewy air. 
 The white silver was 'neath her feet, 
 
 Red gold her head aboon ; 
 And forth she walked love tryste to keep. 
 
 Beneath the summer moon. 
 
 Old Ballad. 
 
 The valley which opened on Brunelfin's sight 
 was such as he had never seen equalled in beauty, 
 and he had seen all that nature and magic could 
 do. A sun-bright lake was enclosed by a range 
 of green hills, garlanded with ancient trees, amid 
 which the ever-moving red deer trooped in herds, 
 and the ring-doves on the forest tops basked in 
 pairs in the sun. In the centre of the lake was a 
 green island, and in the midst of the isle a bower, 
 which rose brightly over the top of the groves of 
 blossoming shrubs and fruit-trees which hemmed 
 the islet round, and drooped their boughs, glowing 
 with golden apples or powdered plums, to the sur- 
 face of the water. Wild teals and swans sailed in
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT, 275 
 
 pairs in the lake ; the doe came with its fawn to 
 drink at the margin ; while here and there sat a 
 heron, solitary and motionless, its wings closely 
 laid down, and its bill touching its bosom ; a thin 
 slender smoke streamed into the air ; and the sound 
 of a cittern and a sweet tongue, gave a voice of 
 joy to the lonesome land. 
 
 " My son," said the hag, " the place which 
 thou beholdest is the residence of Elfrida. Thou 
 art acquainted with sweet sounds and with fair 
 faces ; but the face of my child, and her melodious 
 voice, transcend all thou hast ever heard or seen." 
 They stood at the edge of the lake, the water was 
 pure as chrystal, and the polished pebbles at the 
 bottom were visible as in a mirror ; it seemed of 
 great depth, and there appeared no boat to bear 
 them over to the islet. " Thou art a cunning 
 page," said the hag, and right deftly didst thou 
 find a boat when the ocean denied us one. Canst 
 thou do the same deed of kindness here ? " " That 
 I will, and right gladly," replied he. " Will you 
 have a bridge of ivory ; or a boat, with masts of 
 silver and sails of silk ? " " O ! let us be humble," 
 she said ; " give us a simple boat, with a mast of 
 tree." 
 
 He approached a wild swan, which with raised 
 wings, and head laid proudly back between them, 
 came snorting along the ' margin of the lake.
 
 276 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 He threw water upon it, and muttered one of the 
 strongest spells of his master. The swan sailed 
 on, shaking the water from its wings, and uttering 
 a cry, as if it suffered pain ; but it underwent no 
 change. "Son, son!" she said, "thy skill has 
 forsaken thee : try another spell." He approached 
 a heron ; the solitary bird sat like a stone till the 
 Avater from his hand fell upon it ; then it uttered a 
 loud scream, fell on its back, as its practice is 
 Vv'hen it wars with the hawk, and lay with its long 
 sharp bill standing up like a lance; but it kept 
 its natural shape. Great was the astonishment of 
 Brunelfin, and not a little his anger, when he per- 
 ceived that his spells were of no avail ; he ran to 
 a tree, rent off one of its boughs, and casting it 
 into the lake, muttered over it one of the spells 
 by which a cockle-shell becomes, a gilded barge. 
 The branch, under the influence of the powerful 
 words, writhed as if touched with sudden life ; it 
 began to expand, and assume the rude form of a 
 boat. But the spell was faithless, motion forsook 
 it, it crept together, and remained a bough of a 
 tree. " My curse upon bird and bough !" he said, 
 " my skill is gone." 
 
 " Be not too much cast down," said the hag, 
 " thy skill is good as far as it goes ; I shall do this 
 deed of kindness for thee. Wilt thou go over on a 
 bridge, pass over in a boat, or fly ? Say what thou
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 277 
 
 wilt, and it shall be done." " Pass over as thou 
 wilt," he replied, " the air and the water are 
 still mine : I can run along the edge of a black 
 cloud, when it contains living thunder ; and tread 
 the top of the curling billows v/hen fires flash in 
 heaven, and ships are sinking in the bay;" and he 
 sprung upon the bosom of the lake, and ran over 
 it, while the water trembled and receded to his feet, 
 as infant ice bends to the rash feet of the school- 
 boy. He reached the shore, and exclaimed, " Bru- 
 nelfin can walk on a watery road; the elements 
 are his servants ; the burning fire obeys him ; the 
 running water stays at his word ; and the wind, 
 when he wills it, sings no more in the green-grove 
 top." He entered the island bower. 
 
 The odour of a fire of spice and cedar wood 
 met him at the threshhold, and he heard the tink- 
 ling of a cittern, and the low warbled words of a 
 soft and melancholy song. He entered a room, 
 the walls of which were of glass, and there, beside 
 a little hearth-fire, sat young Elfrida, her cittern 
 in her hand, and her lips Hke opening rosebuds, 
 out of which trickled the divine words of an in- 
 spired song. A frock of white cloth descended 
 mid-leg do^;\Ti, leaving her feet uncovered, which 
 were whiter than new spring lilies, and seem- 
 ed made to move to music, so slender was the 
 foot, and so neat was the ancle. Her tresses, as
 
 278 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 dark as night, descended over her polished shoul- 
 ders, and breaking through the glittering restraint 
 of a fillet set with pearls, gushed luxuriantly 
 down, till they flooded the seat whereon she sat 
 and sung. 
 
 SONG OF ELFRIDA. 
 I. 
 
 Three summers suns have shone 
 
 Since with my love I parted, 
 Three winters winds have blown, 
 
 And I am broken hearted. 
 He vowed he would return 
 
 When July's bloom was blowing, 
 Yet lonesome maun I mourn, 
 
 With eyes for ever flowing. 
 
 II. 
 
 I sit OQ the wild shore. 
 
 When the surge lies sleeping. 
 Looking o'er the waves. 
 
 And sighing, ay ! and wee^ ing. 
 O, every shining sail 
 
 For my love I *m hailing. 
 Yet every ship that comes 
 
 Passes me bewailing. 
 
 III. 
 
 Once I laughed and sang, 
 
 Where was maiden gladder. 
 Look from shore to shorcj 
 
 Show me now a sadder.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 2T9 
 
 Gray men blest my looks, 
 
 Lads loved to be near me, 
 Now my sighs would break 
 
 Half the hearts which hear me. 
 
 IV. 
 
 01 I Ml go build a boat, 
 
 And when the stars are glancing 
 O'er the dimpling waves. 
 
 Gladly I '11 go dancing. 
 I '11 sail round Britain's isle. 
 
 And walk wide Erin over, 
 And every man I meet 
 
 I '11 ask him for my lover. 
 
 She ceased singing, and said, " On what wind 
 hast thou come, or through what unknown vein of 
 the earth, for not on feet couldst thou win hither ?" 
 " Maiden," answered Brunelfin, " neither on the 
 wind did I come, nor through a vein of the earth." 
 " Then," she said, " thou art not of mortal make, 
 " for between my dweUing and the rest of the 
 world are placed impediments which nothing but 
 superhuman power could overleap, the fowls of 
 the air, or the spirits of heaven." "Indeed, fair 
 maiden," he replied, " the spirits of heaven could 
 not well find ought so lovely on earth as thyself; 
 yet the progeny of heaven hold not now, as of old, 
 intercourse with the grosser children of the lower 
 world." " Thy sight," replied Elfrida, " is bounded 
 in its ken to a stone's cast : thou Imaginest that
 
 280 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT* 
 
 all forms which this earth contains are grovelling 
 drudges like thyself. Know then, that the love- 
 liest spiritual shapes descend into this lonesome 
 place, and it is not an hour ago since a young and 
 a shining one came down, as a sunbeam drops 
 from a cloud, and walked before me. There was 
 a radiance about his looks alone, such as the morn- 
 ing wears when the sun is rising, though unrisen, 
 and the floor sent forth music to the motion of 
 his feet." 
 
 Brunelfin laughed, till the bower echoed. " Ah ! 
 my simple Elfrida," he said, " know ye not that 
 shapes of hell can wear the hues of heaven ; and 
 that the evil spirits who are permitted to infest the 
 earth, can hide their horrors in human shape. 
 Even now I behold a dark spirit walking amongst 
 the trees of thy garden. Lo ! look how fair and 
 how innocent he seems. To you, Elfrida, he ap- 
 pears as from above. See ! he draws near." 
 
 As Brunelfin spoke there came to them a fair 
 stripling — some eighteen years old he seemed ; a 
 pair of silver sandals glittered on his feet ; and his 
 uncovered ringlets, brown and long, descended, 
 waving on his shoulders ; a white mantle was fas- 
 tened round his neck with a clasp of gold ; and in 
 hLs hand he held a rod, such as shepherds use. 
 " Good even, fair Elfrida," he said, " and good 
 even to thee, Goblin : thou hast come a long way,
 
 SIR Michael scott. 281 
 
 nor has all thy journey been by land. What 
 wants the drudging page to the foul magician 
 here?" Up rose, Elfrida, as the youth spoke, 
 and standing by his side, exclaimed, " Art thou 
 the elfin drudge of the magician of the north, that 
 meteor spirit which infests sea and land ? From 
 thee — nay, from thy mighty master — I deemed 
 this solitude secure. Begone, lest my mother 
 come, and mischief overtake thee." 
 
 Brunelfin laughed, and shouted, and waved his 
 long sinewy arms in the air. The stranger ex- 
 claimed, " Art thou deaf? Must I use my 
 strength, and repel thee from a presence of which 
 thou art so unworthy?" " Unworthy, I own," re- 
 plied Brunelfin, with a laugh ; " but worthier far 
 than thou. Elfrida is fair, and I am brown ; but 
 thou — thou — who art thon ? Swart spirit, cast off 
 that borrowed shape, that stolen lustre ; appear in 
 the darkness of the pit, with thine eyes hke burning 
 coals, thy locks like hissing snakes, and the howl- 
 ing of hell behind thee." He changed, as Brunel- 
 fin spoke, mto a fiend, dark, fearful, and deformed, 
 and rolling himself together vanished away, making 
 the bower tremble, as if a thunderbolt had passed 
 over it. 
 
 Elfrida threw an armful of her tresses from her 
 bosom, which heaved with agitation, as if it would 
 have burst the seven jewelled laces which enclosed
 
 283 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 it. " I thank thee. Elfin, for this good deed — thou 
 hast come and saved me from loving one of the 
 fiends. Truly didst thou say, that the reprobate 
 spirits could put on the likeness of good angels, and 
 appear decked in the hues of heaven. But here, in 
 good time, comes my mother ; alas ! how sad and 
 disconsolate she looks." Brunelfin gazed on her 
 as she approached, and saw the fire of anger 
 sparkling in her eyes, and that her whole frame 
 was agitated. 
 
 " Cursed am I from this moment," she ex- 
 claimed, " if I own the sovereignty of Satan more ! 
 Cursed be my right hand, if it charms milk from 
 the flocks ; and cursed be my left, if it sheds mur- 
 rain again among the catde ! A faithful and labo- 
 rious servant have I been. I have gathered the 
 midnight dews from the blasted heath; scraped 
 the bloody rust from the murderer's gibbet; fol- 
 lowed the fox, till it wiped its gory mouth on the 
 witch gowans, that I might pick the lucky posie ; 
 pursued the raven, till the feather fell from its 
 starded wing; hunted the heron, till I took the 
 frog from its mouth, and plucked the third lith 
 from its backbone — and all to form a spell strong 
 enough to hinder the sown corn to shoot, the ewe 
 to have lambs, the fruit-tree to bear blossom, and 
 the egg of the farm-yard fowl to quicken under the 
 wing. Behold how I am rewarded ! The child,.
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 28S 
 
 whose very shadow is dearer to me than mine own 
 soul, has been tempted and besieged by a foul 
 spirit, who came in the celestial likeness ; and had 
 I not come on the wings of the wind, and brought 
 one whose strength was mighty with me, my El- 
 frida had been even now as loathsome as the toad, 
 which crawls under its cold stone from the sight of 
 the blessed sun." 
 
 " Mother, my blessed mother ! " said Elfrida, 
 " it is true an evil spirit came and tempted me in 
 the shape of heaven ; but rejoice, rather than 
 curse, for I fell not into temptation, though fair 
 and comely he looked, and though his words were 
 sweeter than the first breeze breathed over a new- 
 opened rose." " Ah ! my child," said her mother, 
 " little dost thou know my pangs of heart, when I 
 found that the evil spirit had put his cursed spell 
 on the lake round thy bower, and that the en- 
 chanted island moved not to the side to receive me. 
 But the evil one was foiled, the spell dissolved, 
 and the green isle received my feet once more." 
 
 " Mother," said Elfrida, taking the harp from 
 the wall, " let me chase sadness from your brow\" 
 And she passed her fingers, white, long, and round, 
 over die strmgs of the instrument, and a pleasant 
 sound arose, fit to chase sorrow fi'oin all cheeks, 
 dry the tears in all eyes, and expel woe from all 
 bosoms. Brunelfin waved his sun-burned sinewy
 
 ^84f SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 arms over his head, and danced with gladness. 
 " Daughter," said the dame, " cease thy music, the 
 good deed is done ; squander not the divine sounds 
 of thine immortal instrument. My daughter's 
 hai'p was framed by good spells, and the heavens 
 consented when the magic strings were added to 
 the enchanted frame. Great is the might of this 
 wondrous instrument ; it can harp honey out of 
 the rock ; fruit from a barren bough ; fish from 
 the stream ; gold from the gripe of a miser ; and 
 the bride from the arms of the bridegroom. At 
 midnight its voice can call the sun to the sky, and 
 the summer flowers to the wintry ground. If you 
 touch its first string, the birds cease their songs, 
 and the deer stands still in sight of the hunters. 
 The second string brings food to your lips ; the 
 third string brings wine ; the fourth string gives 
 you the speed of the hunted hart; the fifth string 
 adds the wings of the eagle ; and the sixth string 
 gives you power over all your enemies. When 
 you touch the seventh string, those you love will 
 come from the uttermost ends of the earth, and 
 follow. 
 
 " It is a glorious harp," said Brunelfin, and as 
 he spoke he laid his hand upon it. A sudden wind 
 shook all the strings, and there came a sound so 
 sweet, so melodious, that Brunelfin who had skill 
 in music, spiritual as well as mortal, never felt the
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 285 
 
 influence of sound so deeply before. " Fair harp," 
 he said, " thy frame of ivory and gold, and thy 
 strings which respond so divinely to the touch, 
 have been framed by a glorious artist, for never in 
 the earth beneath, nor in the air above, nor in the 
 palaces under tlie sea, have I heard ought so ra- 
 vishing." " Son," said the hag, " lay not thy hand 
 too rudely on the instrument, lest the strings should 
 be disordered, and the spell should dissolve." "Fear 
 not," he said, " for I shall touch it witli an affec- 
 tionate hand." 
 
 He rose as he spoke, and standing on the thres- 
 hold of the bower, struck one of the strings. The 
 isle moved lightly over the w^ater, even as the down 
 from the bosom of the swan, and touched the 
 green bank. He touched the second string, and 
 the hills which enclosed the vale seemed to cleave 
 asunder, and a wide and well wooded way led 
 from the place where he stood, into the bosom of 
 the country. He touched a third string, and two 
 steeds sprang from the ground, and coming to his 
 side stood willing to be employed, and neighed and 
 pawed impatient for the road- 
 
 " Fair son," said the hag, " the harp in thy 
 hands has wtues which it possesses not in mine, 
 and I marvel much how thou hast been able to 
 discover merits which to me were unrevealed. 
 From this enchanted vale I deemed there was no
 
 286 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 escape, and lo ! the road is made, and the steeds 
 are ready. It has still one undiscovered virtue 
 which I would gladly show thee ; and then thou 
 mayst begone if thou wilt. She snatched the 
 harp from his hand, turned herself thrice round, 
 and with a hurried hand touched string after string. 
 The isle moved back into the centre of the lake ; 
 the hills lately rent asunder, became solid ground ; 
 and the two steeds vanished from their places, and 
 made the waters of the lake fly into the air as they 
 disappeared. " There ! " she said ; " thou treach- 
 erous imp, all thy spells are unable to help thee 
 over that deep flood ; and all thy magic power will 
 fail to carry thee over these enchanted hills. Abide 
 with me, and love my child, and thou shalt be su- 
 perior to the princes of the earths and the powers 
 of tlie air. Refuse it ! and beneath this bower 
 there is a pit, and in that pit there is a chair, and 
 upon that chair shalt thou be placed by a strong 
 enchantment, which no might less than that of 
 heaven can dissolve, and there shalt thou be seated 
 till doomsday." And she knit her brows and 
 stamped with her foot, till the whole bower 
 quaked. 
 
 Elfrida looked on her mother, and became deadly 
 pale ; but Brunelfin laughed and said, " I refuse 
 thy offer to remain here, but I accept the gift of 
 tliy fair daughter. Among all the children of
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 287 
 
 men, have I never seen a creature so lovely. In 
 no little islet shall our dwelling be; but amid the 
 fragrant breezes of the wilderness shall we wander, 
 on the green hill tops, shall we find our seats, and 
 by the sweet streamlet banks shall we stray : when 
 the moon is in its summer glow." " Have I 
 brought thee hither," exclaimed the hag, " to rebel 
 against my will, and to tempt my child into the 
 wilderness of the world, among evil and impure 
 spirits, and unprincipled mortals? Go to thy 
 punishment, false creature ;'' and striking him with 
 her hai-p, she pushed him fi'om the threshhold, and 
 stamped with her foot, saying, " Open earth, and 
 receive an unblessed morsel." The ground qui- 
 vered and gaped, and disclosed a dark cavern, into 
 which with a power he sought not to resist, she 
 pushed him; the ground closed over him, and 
 shut him out from the light of heaven and all its 
 fresh air. 
 
 Brunelfin laughed till the darksome cavern rung 
 af]:ain : '• Dotino^ haij, dost thou think thou hast 
 power to confine one of the most subtle of all the 
 spirits below, to this magic abode ? " A voice at 
 his side said, " Thou vrilt find her power strong 
 enough to detain thee ; and think not that we shall 
 loose the subtle servant of our immortal enemy 
 from the chair of fate. No, down, do^^•n, the chains
 
 288 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 which will be soon woven around thee as a net, 
 cannot be dissolved. 
 
 Brunelfin looked, and he beheld amid the 
 gloom of the rocky cavern, into which he was de- 
 scending, two dark and undefined shapes, who 
 hovered like sentinels at his side; and at every 
 step he took waxed more frightful and huge. 
 " Shadowy and unembodied beings," he said, " was 
 it from your lips that threatnings came ? Did you 
 imagine that words which are of no more weight 
 in either earth or heaven, than an echo or the 
 sighing of the wind, would daunt or alarm me. 
 Go on, shew me this fated chair, heap spell on 
 spell, charm on charm, exhaust all the potent 
 witchery of her who employs you, and see how 
 vain it will all prove." 
 
 The cavern expanding as he advanced, began to 
 form into something like architectural shape and 
 proportions ; the sides became more perpendicular 
 the roof grew more arched, while along the walls 
 stood rows of dark and gigantic figures shaped 
 out of the solid rock, yet worn with time, and ex- 
 hibiting in their forms the appearance of having 
 contended against the elements for more than a 
 thousand years. As far as he could see he beheld 
 gigantic statues all standing in the attitude of me- 
 ditation, A faint light glimmered over their faces. 
 He came to a little streamlet which moved slug-
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 289 
 
 gishly across the cavern; flowers which seemed 
 so stiff and white as if cut in marble grew along 
 the brink. " Behold that rill,'* said one of the 
 guides ; "its waters are sweet and delicious ; sor- 
 row when it tastes forgets its misery ; age forgoes 
 its years, and man is renovated and restored to the 
 original dignity of his natm'e — a little below the 
 Gods.'' 
 
 " Truly," answered Brunelfin, " the water shall 
 not run to waste : let me complete your shapes ; 
 why should nature send her half made-up forms to 
 scare the world, when this divine stream can finish 
 her imperfect w^orks." So saying, he lifted water 
 in the hollow of either hand, and throwing it right 
 and left, exclaimed, " Appear as nature intended 
 you should — divine or devilish." The shapes on 
 which the water fell were shrivelled together in a 
 moment ; a faint cry w as heard ; and there stood in 
 their place, two figures clothed in darkness ; their 
 feet and heads were bare ; their locks curled like 
 serpents, their eyes gleamed like live coals, and 
 they cried out, " To us is given power over you, 
 to bind so that none shall loose, welcome to the 
 valley of Oblivion; one of the seven entrances to 
 the infernal pit." 
 
 " Contemptible wretches," replied Brunelfin, 
 " think not that I am deceived by the semblance 
 which ye have assumed of immortal though repro- 
 VOL. I. o
 
 290 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT; 
 
 bate spirits. Appear in your natural shapes, and 
 then leave my presence." He waved his hand 
 right, and he waved his hand left, and the two dai*k 
 and deceitful shapes were instantly changed into 
 forms like those of the children of men, yet they 
 seemed equally fierce, moody, and merciless. " Go," 
 said he, " return to earth, and hear the unmitigated 
 curse of mankind pronounced upon your names. In 
 the palace hear the scoff, in the hall the jest, and in 
 the cottage the curse, and feel if you can what the 
 weight of unworthiness is. Go — I name not your 
 names. It is enough that I know the one betrayed 
 his country, and the other oppressed and destroyed 
 an intellect endowed with the riches of heaven. 
 Begone, know that ye have purchased eternal in- 
 famy ; fly to the uttermost ends of the earth, and the 
 voice of immortal scorn and loathing shall reach 
 you.'' They vanished as he spoke, and he walked 
 onwards with no other companions than those 
 melancholy sentinels who stood like columns on 
 either hand. 
 
 The cavern terminated ; at the extremity was 
 a chair of stone raised upon steps fit for re- 
 ceiving one of the immense figures which senti- 
 nelled the place, and before it stood a foot-stool of 
 the same materials on which was impressed the mark 
 of a sandal, corresponding in magnitude with the 
 colossal dimensions all around. As he looked one
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 291 
 
 of the statues moved his hand, set forward his foot, 
 and rolled his eyes ; he went to his side, and said, 
 *' I know thee, no deceit shall avail thee, speak, 
 else I shall pain thee with seven transformations. 
 Into a toad loathsome and poisonous shall I charm 
 thee ; into a serpent, that the shepherd's foot may 
 crush thee ; into a hawk, that the fowler's snare maj 
 destroy thee ; into one possessed of an evil spirit, 
 that the law of the land may torture and burn thee ; 
 into an oyster, that thou mayst be alike insensible 
 to good or evil ; into a wizard's staff, that thou 
 mayst blaze away through the air bearing an un- 
 blessed load ; and finally, into a bishop's mitre, that 
 thou mayst press proud brows, and sit on the seat 
 of vanity and spiritual pride, without hope of en- 
 closing meekness and humility." 
 
 " I pray thee," said the figure, " use thy power 
 with gentleness, and I shall use mine with mercy. 
 Hither was I sent, to place thee in that chair, that 
 thou mightst sit in judgment for a thousand years 
 upon all the souls of men who are doomed to de- 
 scend by the seventh mouth of Tophet into eternal 
 punishment. But the spirits who guarded thee 
 down have neglected their charge, and it is left for 
 me to see thee seated there with honour, and to 
 bring the wandering spirits before you, that good 
 judgment may be given." 
 o 2
 
 292 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 Brunelfin stood unmoved in the presence of his 
 gigantic adversary, and said : — " That chair is pre- 
 pared for one mightier than I, and I have no wish 
 to fill the place of one noble in form and profound 
 in judgment. The deep thought the opinion ex- 
 tracted from contradictory testimony, and the pa- 
 tient and laborious consideration of deeds of dubious 
 import are not for me ; and I would rather fly like 
 a blast of western wind among the green hills of 
 the earth, or move like a restless wave of the 
 ocean from shore to shore, than be judge of the 
 seventh postern of the bottomless pit. Farewell, I 
 return to upper air." "I pray thee," said the 
 other, " to abide and take the state upon thee to 
 which thou art ordained ; stay of thine own free will, 
 else I shall call up the powers who dwell around, be- 
 fore whom all thy might shall be as a willow in 
 the wind." He stalked from his place as he spoke, 
 and clasping his enormous hands round the body of 
 Brunelfin, lifted him from the floor, and advanced 
 towards the chair. A tremendous cry was raised 
 all along the sides of the cavern, it seemed as if 
 every gigantic statue clapped its hands and uttered 
 a shout of joy. 
 
 Other sounds followed, for Brunelfin dashed 
 his gigantic adversary into the chair as if he had 
 discharged him from an engine. Chair, footstool,
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 293 
 
 and figure, went headlong down, and a sudden and 
 fierce light burst fitfully through the aperture illu- 
 mming the vault fi'om extremity to extremity. He 
 gazed down the descent, the figure was still falling, 
 and amid the distant and dusky flames appeared 
 ten thousand grim upturned faces, smiling at the 
 coming of a new companion into the vale of eternal 
 punishment. He turned round and beheld the 
 whole grove of statues animated into life, their faces 
 writhing with agony, their hands clutching the air 
 like creatm'es dying, and their stony lips moving 
 like those of men muttering deep and fearful curses. 
 " The cursed head" he said, " which imagined you, 
 and the cursed hands which fashioned you, are 
 now suffering the punislunent of those who work 
 wickedly. Your work is done, so dissolve away, 
 nor leave a memory of what you have been 
 behind. Of such miscreated shapes I shall not 
 speak when I return amongst the children of men ? 
 " Yet dissolve not wholly away. Leave a mark 
 behind, were it only to give employment to the dull 
 and obtuse intellects of idle men, who, unable to 
 make the world wonder with aught they can do or 
 say on the surface of the earth, descend into her 
 bowels and describe their discoveries in a language 
 fit to confound a sorcerer. On these strange linea- 
 ments shall some learned man, armed with a steel
 
 29^ SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 hammer, and words harder dian an earth-fast 
 flint descant for seven seasons. In them shall he 
 behold the forms of a mightier world, a progeny of 
 creatures prodigious in stature; he will write the his- 
 tory of a long line of kings, and endow them with 
 the gathered wisdom of three universities. Kings 
 will admire, princes stare, and the apostle of idle 
 conjecture shall be rewarded while genius will 
 starve." And he laughed loudly, and ascending in 
 haste spoke the words of power which sever the solid 
 ground, and in a moment he stood at the threshold 
 of the enchanted bower in the solitary isle. 
 
 He entered with a smile, Elfrida sat with her 
 magic harp in her hand, a blush was on her cheek, 
 and moisture was on her long dark eye-lashes. " I 
 expected never to behold thee again," she said; " to 
 this fair isle many have come, all youths fair and 
 comely, and many have gone, but none save thyself 
 have returned." " I come Elfrida," he said, " to 
 show thee the way from this enchanted isle, and to 
 lead thee among the children of men. I shall build 
 thee a bower on the banks of some sunny stream, 
 where we can charm the shepherds with song and 
 with music, and gather the gladsome faces of man- 
 kind around us." " I would rather," said she, " that 
 we were to abide in this sweet and silent place. My 
 step-dame is stern indeed, but I know the way to
 
 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 295 
 
 soothe her." " Thou wilt never need to soothe her 
 more," he said; " she has passed from green earth, 
 of which she was long unworthy, and is now where 
 the innocent and blessed will never be." 
 
 Elfrida turned her head away, and the tears began 
 to find their way through among her fingers long, 
 and white, and round, with which she covered her 
 face. When she looked up the bower was become a 
 summer sheal thatched with long green rushes, the 
 floor was bedded with the same verdant covering, the 
 lake was become a little rivulet, in which the mottled 
 trouts went darting to and fro in the sun, and the 
 steep and inaccessible hills which hemmed it in were 
 gentle mounts covered with green sward and white 
 over with sheep. " My sweet one," said Brunei- 
 fin, " behold what thy enchanted land was, even in 
 its fairest moments, the spell which covered it with 
 false beauty is dissolved for ever. But here we 
 must not abide." He stamped on the ground, and 
 Elfrida saw with wonder a palfrey whiter than snow 
 standing at her side, and one black as the wing of 
 the raven by the side of Brunelfin, so they leaped on 
 and departed. She carried the magic harp in her 
 hand, and threw back her ringlets over her shoul- 
 ders ; they danced on the back of the snowy palfrey, 
 or wantoned on the wind, while she sometimes took 
 them up in an armful, and allowed them to gush
 
 296 SIR MICHAEL SCOTT. 
 
 out again singing all the while, and touching her 
 harp with a tender and gladsome hand. " Let 
 us seek," said her companion, "the presence of my 
 great master, and pray for my liberty, he cannot re- 
 fuse the wish of a faithful servant, and the request 
 of a creature so fair as Elfrida." 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 PRINTED BY J. B. NICHOLS, 25, PARLIAMENT STREET.

 
 /^ 
 
 .^ 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILL1NOI9-URBANA 
 
 3 0112 041775450 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 X 
 
 V 
 
 ;, 
 
 KM^ 
 
 V .