LA DAME DU LAC
Par Sir Walter Scott, Bart.
Édition annotée par William J. Rolfe,
Ancien directeur de l'école secondaire de Cambridge, Mass.
Boston
1883
Préface
Lorsque j'ai vu pour la première fois la magnifique édition illustrée de *La Dame du Lac* de M. Osgood, je lui ai demandé l'autorisation d'utiliser certaines de ses gravures pour une édition annotée et moins coûteuse destinée aux écoles et aux foyers ; le présent volume en est le résultat.
Le texte du poème m'a causé des difficultés inattendues. Lorsque j'ai édité certains poèmes de Gray il y a plusieurs années, j'ai découvert qu'ils n'avaient pas été imprimés correctement depuis plus d'un demi-siècle ; mais dans le cas de Scott, j'ai supposé que le texte de la soi-disant « Édition de l'auteur » de Black pouvait être considéré comme fiable. Cependant, presque dès le début, j'ai détecté plusieurs fautes évidentes dans l'une des nombreuses formes sous lesquelles cette édition est publiée, et l'examen d'autres a montré qu'elles étaient tout aussi mauvaises à leur manière. L'édition « Shilling » n'était pas pire que la coûteuse édition illustrée de 1853, qui avait sa propre collection de coquilles. Aucune des éditions que j'ai pu obtenir ne concordait exactement dans leurs lectures. J'ai essayé en vain de trouver un exemplaire de l'édition princeps (1810) à Cambridge et à Boston, mais j'en ai obtenu un par l'intermédiaire d'un libraire londonien. Je l'ai comparé, ligne par ligne, avec l'édition d'Édimbourg de 1821 (de la bibliothèque de Harvard), avec la première édition de Lockhart, l'édition « Globe », et une douzaine d'autres éditions anglaises et américaines. J'ai trouvé de nombreuses coquilles et corruptions dans toutes les éditions sauf celle de 1821, et quelques-unes même dans celle-ci. Par exemple, au vers I. 217, Scott a écrit « *Found in each cliff a narrow bower* », et c'est ainsi qu'il est imprimé dans la première édition ; mais dans toutes les autres que j'ai vues, « *cliff* » apparaît à la place de *clift*, au détriment manifeste du passage. Au vers II. 685, toutes les éditions que j'ai vues depuis celle de 1821 ont « *I meant not all my heart might say* », ce qui est pire que du non-sens, la lecture correcte étant « *my heat* ». Au vers VI. 396, le mot écossais « *boune* » (bien qu'il apparaisse deux fois ailleurs dans le poème) a été changé en « *bound* » dans toutes les éditions depuis 1821 ; et, huit vers plus loin, l'ancien mot « *barded* » est devenu « *barbed* ». Des dizaines de corruptions similaires sont enregistrées dans mes notes et n'ont pas besoin d'être citées ici.
J'ai rétabli la lecture de la première édition, sauf dans les cas où je n'ai aucun doute que la lecture ultérieure est la propre correction ou altération du poète. Il y a des coquilles évidentes dans la première édition que Scott lui-même a négligées (voir II. 115, 217, VI. 527, etc.), et il est parfois difficile de décider si une lecture ultérieure – un changement de pluriel à singulier, ou une variation triviale similaire – est une coquille ou la correction par l'auteur d'une coquille précédente. J'ai fait de mon mieux, avec les moyens à ma disposition, pour trancher ces questions, et je suis au moins certain que le texte que je donne est plus proche de la vérité que dans aucune édition depuis 1821. Puisque toutes les *variae lectiones* sont enregistrées dans les notes, le lecteur qui n'approuve pas celle que j'adopte peut substituer celle qu'il préfère.
J'ai conservé toutes les notes de Scott (dont certaines ont été quelque peu abrégées) et toutes celles ajoutées par Lockhart. [1] Les miennes sont aussi concises que possible. Il y en a bien sûr beaucoup que bon nombre de mes lecteurs n'auront pas besoin de consulter, mais je pense qu'il n'y en a aucune qui ne puisse être utile, ou du moins intéressante, pour certains d'entre eux ; et j'espère que personne ne se tournera vers elles pour obtenir de l'aide sans la trouver.
Scott utilise beaucoup de mots et de constructions élisabéthains, et j'ai cité de nombreux « parallèles » tirés de Shakespeare et de ses contemporains. Je crois n'avoir fait référence à mon édition de Shakespeare qu'une seule fois (sur III. 17), mais les enseignants et autres qui possèdent cette édition trouveront de nombreuses illustrations supplémentaires dans les notes sur les passages cités.
Tout en corrigeant les erreurs des éditeurs précédents, j'ai peut-être négligé certaines des miennes. Je suis déjà redevable aux relecteurs attentifs de l'University Press pour avoir détecté des erreurs occasionnelles dans les citations ou les références ; et je serai très reconnaissant à mes lecteurs de me signaler tout autre erreur qu'ils pourraient découvrir.
Cambridge, 23 juin 1883.
ARGUMENT.
La scène du poème suivant se déroule principalement dans les environs de Loch Katrine, dans les Highlands occidentaux du Perthshire. L'action s'étend sur six jours, et les événements de chaque jour occupent un chant.
LA DAME DU LAC.
CHANT PREMIER.
La Chasse.
Harp of the North! that mouldering long hast hung On the witch-elm that shades Saint Fillan's spring And down the fitful breeze thy numbers flung, Till envious ivy did around thee cling, Muffling with verdant ringlet every string,-- O Minstrel Harp, still must thine accents sleep? Mid rustling leaves and fountains murmuring, Still must thy sweeter sounds their silence keep, Nor bid a warrior smile, nor teach a maid to weep?
Not thus, in ancient days of Caledon, [10] Was thy voice mute amid the festal crowd, When lay of hopeless love, or glory won, Aroused the fearful or subdued the proud. At each according pause was heard aloud Thine ardent symphony sublime and high! Fair dames and crested chiefs attention bowed; For still the burden of thy minstrelsy Was Knighthood's dauntless deed, and Beauty's matchless eye.
O, wake once more! how rude soe'er the hand That ventures o'er thy magic maze to stray; O, wake once more! though scarce my skill command Some feeble echoing of thine earlier lay: Though harsh and faint, and soon to die away, And all unworthy of thy nobler strain, Yet if one heart throb higher at its sway, The wizard note has not been touched in vain. Then silent be no more! Enchantress, wake again!
I.
Le cerf, au soir, avait bu son content Où dansait la lune sur le ruisseau de Monan, Et dans la solitude de Glenartney, Il avait fait son gîte de minuit, Mais lorsque le soleil, de son flambeau rougeoyant, Avait embrasé le sommet de Benvoirlich, La profonde voix du limier retentit Le long du chemin rocheux, Et de plus loin encore, On entendit le galop et le cor.
II.
Comme un chef, qui entend son guetteur crier, « Aux armes ! les ennemis attaquent le mur », Le roi des bois, aux bois de cerf, Sauta de son lit de bruyère en hâte. Mais avant de prendre son élan, Il secoua la rosée de ses flancs ; Comme un chef fier et hautain, Il leva sa tête ornée de bois vers le ciel ; Un moment, il regarda vers la vallée, Un moment, il huma l'air embaumé, Un moment, il écouta le cri, Qui s'intensifiait à mesure que la chasse approchait ; Puis, lorsque les premiers chasseurs apparurent, D'un bond courageux, il sauta dans les fourrés, Et, s'élançant librement et loin, Il chercha les landes sauvages d'Uam-Var.
III.
Les chiens, à la vue du cerf, hurlèrent ; Les rochers, les vallées et les cavernes leur répondirent ; La montagne éveillée résonna De nombreux sons mêlés à la fois. Une centaine de chiens aboyèrent fort et longuement, Une centaine de chevaux galopèrent, Leurs fanfares retentirent joyeusement, Une centaine de voix s'unirent au cri ; Avec des « hark » et des « whoop » et des « halloo » sauvages, Les échos de Benvoirlich ne connurent aucun répit. Loin du tumulte, le chevreuil s'enfuit, La biche se cacha dans son repaire, Le faucon, de son perchoir élevé, Jeta un regard étonné sur la meute, Jusqu'à ce que, au-delà de sa vue perçante, L'ouragan eut balayé la vallée. Faible, et de plus en plus faible, son vacarme s'éteignit En écho dans les cavernes, les falaises et les cascades, Et le silence s'installa, vaste et profond, Sur la forêt solitaire et la montagne majestueuse.
IV.
Moins forts, les sons de la guerre sylvestre Troublèrent les hauteurs d'Uam-Var, Et réveillèrent la caverne où, dit-on, Un géant avait fait son repaire jadis ; Car avant d'atteindre ce sommet escarpé, Le soleil était haut dans le ciel, Et beaucoup de cavaliers, fatigués, Furent contraints de faire souffler leurs chevaux essoufflés, Et parmi les chasseurs du cerf, À peine la moitié du groupe était encore près ; Si bien qu'ils avaient mis à l'épreuve Leur courage sur le flanc de la montagne.
V.
Le noble cerf s'arrêta maintenant Sur le flanc sud de la montagne, Où s'étendaient, loin en dessous, Les divers domaines de la belle Menteith. Avec un regard inquiet, il erra Sur les montagnes et les prairies, les landes et les marais, Et chercha un refuge pour son épuisement, Près de Lochard ou d'Aberfoyle. Mais plus près se trouvait la forêt grise Qui ondulait et pleurait sur Loch Achray, Et se mêlait aux pins bleus Sur les falaises audacieuses de Benvenue. Une nouvelle vigueur revint avec l'espoir, Il foula la lande de son pied volant, Il se dirigea vers l'ouest avec une course infatigable, Et laissa derrière lui la chasse haletante.
VI.
Il serait long de raconter quels chevaux s'arrêtèrent, Alors que la chasse traversait Cambusmore ; Quelles rênes furent serrées dans le désespoir, Lorsque la crête de Benledi apparut ; Qui flancha sur la lande de Bochastle, Qui refusa de traverser la Teith en crue, – Car deux fois ce jour-là, de rive à rive, Le vaillant cerf traversa la rivière à la nage. Peu nombreux étaient les traînards, suivant de loin, Qui atteignirent le lac de Vennachar ; Et lorsque le pont de Turk fut franchi, Le premier cavalier chevauchait seul.
VII.
Seul, mais avec une ardeur inébranlable, Ce cavalier maniait le fouet et l'acier ; Car maintenant, fatigué et épuisé par l'effort, Couvert de mousse et sombre de sueur, Alors que chaque respiration était un soupir, Le cerf laborieux était en pleine vue. Deux chiens de la race de Saint-Hubert, Inégalés en courage, en souffle et en vitesse, Suivaient ses traces volantes, Et étaient sur le point de gagner cette course désespérée ; Car, à peine une longueur de lance de sa croupe, Les fidèles limiers le pourchassaient avec acharnement ; Ni les chiens ne pouvaient l'atteindre, Ni le cerf ne pouvait s'éloigner davantage. Ainsi, le long de la rive du lac, Entre la falaise et le fourré, Leur course se poursuivait sur les rochers et les pierres.
VIII.
Le chasseur vit cette montagne élevée, La limite occidentale du lac solitaire, Et pensa que le cerf devait se retourner, Là où cet énorme rempart barrait le chemin ; Déjà, il se réjouissait de la prise, Il mesurait ses bois des yeux ; Pour le coup mortel et le cri de victoire, Il rassembla son souffle et dégaina son épée. Mais, alors qu'il arrivait, prêt à l'action, Avec une arme nue et un bras prêt, Le cerf rusé évita le choc, Et se détourna du rocher opposé ; Puis, s'engouffrant dans un ravin sombre, Il disparut bientôt de la vue des chiens et du chasseur, Dans le recoin le plus sauvage des Trossachs, Il trouva son refuge solitaire. Là, tandis que les fourrés épais le protégeaient, Des gouttes froides et des fleurs sauvages tombaient sur sa tête, Il entendit les chiens déçus Aboyer en vain dans le passage creux, Maudissant les rochers qui leur répondaient en écho.
IX.
Le chasseur rejoignit les chiens, Pour les encourager à poursuivre le gibier disparu ; Mais, trébuchant dans le ravin escarpé, Le cheval fatigué tomba. Le cavalier impatient tenta en vain De le relever avec l'éperon et la bride, Car le bon cheval, ses efforts terminés, Étendit ses membres raides, pour ne plus se lever ; Alors, touché de pitié et de remords, Il pleura sur le cheval mourant. « Je ne pensais pas, quand je relâchai ta bride Sur les rives de la Seine, Que l'aigle des Highlands se nourrirait De tes membres agiles, mon cheval sans pareil ! Malheur à la chasse, malheur au jour, Qui te coûte la vie, mon brave gris ! »
X.
Alors, à travers la vallée, son cor retentit, Pour appeler les chiens de la vaine poursuite. Les meneurs de la chasse, boitant, Revinrent lentement et péniblement ; Près de leur maître, ils se pressèrent, La queue basse et la tête baissée ; Mais le ravin profond prolongea Le son puissant du cor. Les hiboux sortirent de leur rêve, Les aigles répondirent par leur cri, Partout, les sons se répandirent, Jusqu'à ce que l'écho semblât un cri répondant ; Et le chasseur chercha son chemin, Pour rejoindre des compagnons du jour, Mais s'arrêta souvent, tant le chemin était étrange, Et les paysages si merveilleux.
XI.
Les vagues occidentales du jour déclinant Se déversèrent sur la vallée ; Chaque sommet pourpre, chaque pic de flint, Fut baigné de flots de feu vivant. Mais aucun rayon couchant ne pouvait briller Dans les ravins sombres en dessous, Où le chemin sinuait dans l'ombre, Autour de nombreuses pyramides rocheuses, S'élevant brusquement de la vallée, Avec leurs sommets foudroyés ; Autour de nombreuses masses isolées, Les remparts naturels du passage, Énormes comme la tour que les bâtisseurs présomptueux Érigèrent sur la plaine de Shinar. Les sommets rocheux, fissurés et brisés, Formaient des tours, des dômes ou des remparts, Ou semblaient fantastiquement ornés De coupoles ou de minarets, Des crêtes sauvages comme les pagodes Ou les mosquées des architectes orientaux. Et ces châteaux nés de la terre n'étaient pas nus, Ni dépourvus de nombreux étendards ; Car, de leurs fronts ébréchés, Flottaient, sur l'abîme insondable, Tous scintillants de rosée, Les brindilles de la rose trémière en guirlandes vertes, Et des plantes grimpantes de mille couleurs Ondulaient dans les soupirs de l'été occidental.
XII.
La nature bienveillante dispersa, libre et sauvage, Chaque plante ou fleur, enfant de la montagne. Ici, le chèvrefeuille embaumait l'air, Le houx et le noisetier se mêlaient là ; La primevère pâle et la violette Trouvaient dans chaque falaise un étroit refuge ; La digitale et la belladone, côte à côte, Symboles de punition et d'orgueil, Mêlaient leurs couleurs sombres à toutes les teintes Que les rochers battus par les intempéries retenaient. Avec des branches qui tremblaient à chaque souffle, Le bouleau gris et le tremble pleuraient en dessous ; Plus haut, le frêne et le chêne guerrier S'ancraient dans le rocher fissuré ; Et, plus haut encore, le pin Étendait son tronc brisé, et souvent lançait, Là où les falaises semblaient se rejoindre, Ses branches à travers le ciel étroit. Le plus haut de tous, où les sommets blancs brillaient, Où les voiles scintillantes ondulaient et dansaient, Le regard du voyageur pouvait à peine voir Le bleu délicieux du ciel d'été ; Si bien que le tout pouvait sembler Le décor d'un rêve de fée.
XIII.
Plus loin, au milieu de la forêt, apparut Un étroit bras de mer, calme et profond, Offrant à peine assez de largeur Pour que la couvée de canards sauvages pût nager. Disparu un moment à travers les fourrés, Mais plus large lorsqu'il réapparaissait, Les rochers élevés et les collines touffues Pouvaient se refléter dans son miroir sombre ; Et plus loin encore, le chasseur s'aventura, Ses canaux s'élargissaient encore. Les collines touffues ne se dressaient plus, Émergeant des bois enchevêtrés, Mais, encerclées par les vagues, semblaient flotter, Comme un château entouré de son fossé ; Encore plus larges, les eaux s'étendaient, Les séparant de leur colline parente, Jusqu'à ce que chacune, se retirant, prétende être Une île dans une mer intérieure.
XIV.
Et maintenant, pour sortir de la vallée, Aucun chemin ne se présentait au voyageur, À moins qu'il ne grimpe avec précaution Sur un promontoire lointain. Les racines robustes du genêt lui servirent d'échelle, Les jeunes pousses de noisetier lui prêtèrent leur aide ; Et ainsi, il atteignit un point élevé, Où, scintillant sous le soleil couchant, Une feuille d'or étincelante, Loch Katrine s'étendait en dessous de lui, Dans toute sa longueur, sinueuse, Avec ses promontoires, ses criques et ses baies, Et ses îles qui, empourprées de lumière, Flottaient au milieu d'une clarté plus vive, Et des montagnes qui, comme des géants, Veillaient sur cette terre enchantée. Au sud, l'imposant Benvenue Déversait sur le lac, en désordre, Des rochers, des collines et des monticules, Les fragments d'un monde plus ancien ; Une forêt touffue couvrait Ses flancs ruinés et son sommet chauve, Tandis qu'au nord, à travers les airs, Ben-an élevait son front nu.
XV.
Du promontoire escarpé, le stranger regarda, Ravi et émerveillé, Et s'écria : « Quel spectacle serait ici Pour la pompe princière ou la fierté ecclésiastique ! Sur ce flanc audacieux, une tour majestueuse ; Dans cette vallée douce, un pavillon de dame ; Sur cette prairie lointaine, Les tours d'un cloître gris ; Comme le cor de chasse pourrait chasser Le matin sur le lac ! Comme la douceur du soir pourrait faire résonner La luth du amoureux, lorsque les bois sont silencieux ! Et lorsque la lune de minuit laveraient Son front dans la vague argentée, Comme la solennité des matines lointaines Pourrait résonner à l'oreille, Tandis que le glas puissant Réveillerait, dans cette île solitaire, Un ermite saint de sa cellule, Pour réciter une prière à chaque sonnerie ! Et le cor, le luth, la cloche, et tout, Appelleraient chaque stranger égaré À un festin amical et à une salle éclairée.
XVI.
« Ce serait un plaisir de vagabonder ici ! Mais maintenant – maudite soit cette biche agile – Comme cet ermite, maigre et spartiate, La forêt doit fournir mon repas du soir ; Quelque banc de mousse sera mon lit, Quelque chêne bruissant mon baldaquin. Mais passons cela ; la guerre et la chasse Ne laissent guère le choix du repos ; – Une nuit d'été dans la forêt Ne serait que le plaisir de demain : Mais des hôtes peuvent abonder dans ces contrées, Qu'il vaut mieux éviter que rencontrer ; Rencontrer des pilleurs des Highlands ici Serait pire que de perdre cheval ou cerf. – Je suis seul ; – mon appel de cor Peut appeler un compagnon égaré ; Ou, que le pire arrive, Cette épée a déjà été mise à l'épreuve. »
XVII.
Mais à peine avait-il sonné de son cor, Qu'une dame, guidant sa barque, Sortit d'un vieux chêne Qui penchait du rocher de l'île, Et se dirigea vers la baie, Contournant le promontoire escarpé En une courbe gracieuse, Faisant tourbillonner, dans une vague presque invisible, Les branches de saule pleureur, Et caressant, d'un murmure lent, Le rivage de galets brillants comme la neige. La barque avait touché ce rivage argenté Juste au moment où le chasseur quittait son poste, Et se cacha dans les fourrés, Pour observer cette Dame du Lac. La dame s'arrêta, comme si elle voulait Attraper le son lointain. La tête levée, l'oreille tendue, Et les cheveux flottants, les lèvres entrouvertes, Comme une statue grecque, En attitude d'écoute, elle semblait veiller sur le rivage.
XVIII.
Et jamais le ciseau grec ne traça Une nymphe, une naïade ou une grâce, D'une forme plus fine ou d'un visage plus beau ! Que le soleil, avec son ardeur, Ait légèrement teinté sa joue de brun, – Le jeu sportif, court et léger, Qui avait coloré sa peau si brillante, Servait aussi à montrer, en un rapide aperçu, Un sein de neige entrevu : Que la grâce de la cour n'ait pas mesuré Sa démarche, – Un pied plus léger, une marche plus vraie, N'avait jamais effleuré la bruyère ; Même la petite campanule releva sa tête, Élastique sous son pas aérien : Que son discours ait porté L'accent de la montagne, – Ces sons argentés, si doux, si chers, L'auditeur retenait son souffle pour les entendre !
XIX.
Une fille de chef semblait la dame ; Son ruban de soie, son plaid de soie, Son broche d'or, trahissaient sa naissance. Et rarement un ruban avait été caché Sous de si riches boucles noires, Qui pouvaient faire honte à la plume Du corbeau ; Et rarement un plaid avait enveloppé Un sein si pur, Et jamais une broche n'avait uni Les plis d'un cœur plus bon et plus gentil. Sa bonté et sa valeur, pour les voir, Il suffisait de regarder les yeux d'Ellen ; Pas plus que Katrine dans son miroir bleu Ne reflétait les rives touffues, Que chaque regard libre ne trahissait Les mouvements sincères de son cœur ; Que la joie dansait dans ses yeux sombres, Ou que la tristesse ou la pitié réclamaient un soupir, Ou que l'amour filial brillait, Ou que la piété murmurait une prière, Ou que le récit d'une injustice Éveillait l'esprit indomptable du Nord. Un seul sentiment, non révélé, Avec une fierté de jeune fille, la dame cachait, Pourtant, elle le ressentait profondément, – O, dois-je dire le nom de ce sentiment ?
XX.
Impatiente du silence du cor, Sa voix se fit entendre sur la brise : – « Père ! » s'écria-t-elle ; les rochers autour Prolongèrent le doux son. Un moment, elle s'arrêta, aucune réponse ne vint ; – « Malcolm, était-ce toi ? » le nom, Moins résolument prononcé, tomba, Les échos ne purent le saisir. « Un étranger », dit le chasseur, Sortant de l'ombre des noisetiers. La dame, alarmée, avec une rame hâtive, Éloigna sa légère barque de la rive, Et lorsqu'une distance fut gagnée, Elle serra plus étroitement son voile ; – Ainsi, l'oie sauvage effrayée s'envolerait, Ainsi, elle se retournerait pour lisser ses plumes ébouriffées. Puis, calme, bien que troublée et surprise, Elle s'arrêta et regarda l'étranger. Ce n'était pas sa forme, ni son regard, Que les jeunes filles avaient l'habitude de fuir.
XXI.
Sur son noble visage, l'âge mûr Avait légèrement apposé son sceau sage, Mais n'avait pas éteint la franchise Et la fougue juvénile. La gaieté joyeuse et espiègle était là, La volonté d'agir, l'âme audacieuse, Le regard étincelant, vite enflammé Par un amour soudain ou une colère impulsive. Ses membres étaient taillés dans une force virile Pour des sports rudes ou des combats audacieux ; Et bien qu'en habit paisible, Et sans arme sauf son épée, Sa prestance imposante laissait deviner Un cœur noble et une fierté martiale, Comme s'il portait la devise d'un baron, Et se tenait prêt à combattre en armure. Ne prêtant guère attention à ses besoins, Il raconta son chemin nocturne ; Son discours coula avec grâce et liberté, Dans un langage de courtoisie la plus pure, Mais son ton et ses gestes aimables Semblaient moins habitués à supplier qu'à commander.
XXII.
Un moment, la jeune fille observa l'étranger, Et, rassurée, finit par répondre, Que les halls des Highlands étaient toujours ouverts Aux voyageurs égarés des collines. « Ne pensez pas arriver inopinément Dans cette île solitaire, notre refuge ; Avant que la bruyère n'ait perdu la rosée, Ce matin, un lit a été préparé pour vous ; Sur le sommet pourpre de cette montagne, Les lagopèdes et les coqs de bruyère ont été chassés, Et nos grands filets ont balayé le lac, Pour préparer votre repas du soir. » – « Par le ciel, ma belle jeune fille, Votre courtoisie a été excessive », dit-il ; « Je n'ai pas le droit de réclamer, déplacé, L'accueil d'un invité attendu. Un voyageur, ici par le hasard, Mon chemin, mes amis, mon cheval perdus, Je n'ai jamais, croyez-moi, ma belle, Respiré votre air de montagne, Jusqu'à ce que sur le rivage romantique de ce lac Je trouve une fée dans un pays enchanté ! » –
XXIII.
« Je le crois volontiers », répondit la jeune fille, Alors que sa légère embarcation approchait du rivage, – « Je le crois volontiers, que jamais auparavant Votre pied n'a foulé la rive de Loch Katrine, Mais pourtant, depuis hier soir, Le vieux Allan-bane a prédit votre sort, – Un vieillard, dont l'œil attentif Était fixé sur l'avenir visionnaire. Il a vu votre cheval, un gris tacheté, Mort sous le chemin de bouleau ; Il a décrit exactement votre apparence et votre prestance, Votre tenue de chasse de Lincoln verte, Ce cor à pompons si gaiement doré, Cette épée au pommeau et à la lame courbés, Ce chapeau orné de plumes d'héron, Et ces deux chiens si sombres et sinistres. Il a ordonné que tout soit prêt Pour honorer un invité de noble naissance ; Mais j'ai pris sa prophétie à la légère, Et pensé que c'était le cor de mon père Dont les échos résonnaient sur le lac. »
XXIV.
L'étranger sourit : « Puisque dans votre foyer Un chevalier errant destiné arrive, Annoncé par un prophète si vieux et si sûr, Condamné, sans doute, à une entreprise audacieuse, Je ferai face à chaque défi Pour un doux regard de ces yeux brillants. Permettez-moi d'abord de guider Votre frêle embarcation sur les flots. » La jeune fille, avec un sourire retenu et malicieux, Le laissa tenter cet effort inhabituel ; Car rarement, sûrement, s'il avait déjà ramé : Pourtant, avec force, il maniait les rames, Et sur le lac, la barque volait ; Avec des têtes dressées et des aboiements, Les chiens suivaient leur passage. Souvent, l'éclatante rame ne brise pas Le miroir sombre du lac, Jusqu'à ce qu'ils atteignent l'île rocheuse, Et amarent leur barque sur la plage.
XXV.
L'étranger observa le rivage autour de lui ; Tout était si clos de fourrés, Ni piste ni chemin ne pouvaient indiquer Que le pied humain y avait foulé, Jusqu'à ce que la jeune montagnarde montre Un chemin escarpé et inattendu, Qui sinuait à travers l'écran emmêlé, Et s'ouvrait sur une petite prairie, Où les bouleaux pleureurs et les saules autour Balayaient le sol de leurs longues fibres. Ici, pour se réfugier en temps dangereux, Un chef avait construit un pavillon rustique.
XXVI.
C'était une loge spacieuse, Mais étrange de structure et d'appareil ; De tels matériaux que la main de l'ouvrier Avait trouvés les plus proches. Émondés de leurs branches, leurs troncs blanchis, Et grossièrement taillés à la hache, Pour donner aux murs leur hauteur destinée, Le chêne robuste et le frêne s'unissaient ; Tandis que la mousse, l'argile et les feuilles combinées Protégeaient chaque interstice du vent. Les pins légers au-dessus Étendaient leur longueur pour les chevrons, Et la bruyère fanée et les roseaux secs Formaient un plafond roux. Vers l'ouest, faisant face à la prairie, On voyait un portique rural, Élevé sur des piliers natifs, De sapin de montagne à écorce non écorcée Où la main d'Ellen avait enseigné L'ivoire et la vigne d'Idalie, Le chèvrefeuille, la fleur préférée Qui porte le nom de pavillon de vierge, Et chaque plante résistante pouvait supporter L'air vif et pénétrant de Loch Katrine. Un instant, dans ce porche, elle s'arrêta, Et dit gaiement à l'étranger : « Au ciel et à votre dame, faites appel, Et entrez dans le hall enchanté ! »
XXVII.
« Mon espoir, mon ciel, ma confiance doivent être, Ma douce guide, en te suivant ! » – Il franchit le seuil, – et un fracas D'acier en colère retentit à l'instant. Vers son front audacieux, son esprit se précipita, Mais bientôt, il rougit de sa vaine alarme Quand sur le sol, il vit étendue, Cause du bruit, une épée nue Tombée de son fourreau, qui, sans soin, Était suspendue à d'énormes bois de cerf ; Car tout autour, pour orner les murs, Accrochés des trophées de combat ou de chasse : Une cible ici, un cor là, Une hache de bataille, une pique de chasse, Et des épées larges, des arcs, des flèches en réserve, Avec les trophées défensifs du sanglier. Ici, le loup grince comme lorsqu'il est mort, Et là, la peau tachetée du chat sauvage Orne le frontlet de l'élan, Ou recouvre les cornes du bison ; Des pennons et des drapeaux déchirés et tachés, Qui conservaient des traces de sang noirci, Et des peaux de cerf, tachetées, brunes et blanches, Avec de la fourrure de loutre et de phoque s'unissaient, Dans une tapisserie rude et bizarre, Pour orner le hall sylvestre.
XXVIII.
L'étranger ébahi regarda autour de lui, Et ensuite, il souleva l'arme tombée : – Peu d'hommes avaient la force De l'étendre entièrement. Et tandis qu'il brandissait et balançait l'épée, « Je n'en ai connu qu'un », dit-il, « Dont le bras robuste pouvait manié Une épée comme celle-ci sur un champ de bataille. » Elle soupira, puis sourit et reprit : « Vous voyez l'épée du champion gardien ; Aussi légère, elle tremble dans sa main Qu'un roseau de saule dans ma main : La haute stature de mon père pourrait incarner Ferragus ou Ascabart, Mais dans la main du géant absent Sont des femmes et des serviteurs âgés. »
XXIX.
La maîtresse de la maison arriva, Mature d'âge, une dame gracieuse, Dont la démarche facile et la prestance imposante Auraient bien convenu à une cour princière, À qui, bien que plus que la parenté ne le sache, La jeune Ellen vouait une affection maternelle. Elle accueillit l'invité avec bienveillance, Et chaque rite courtois fut accompli Que l'hospitalité pouvait réclamer, Bien que sa naissance et son nom ne fussent pas demandés. Tel était alors le respect dû à un invité, Que le pire ennemi pouvait partager le festin, Et de la table de son pire ennemi, Sans question, il pouvait se lever À la fin, son rang fut nommé, « Le Chevalier de Snowdoun, James Fitz-James ; Seigneur d'un héritage stérile, Que ses braves ancêtres, d'âge en âge, Avaient tenu avec peine par leurs bonnes épées ; Son père était tombé dans un tel tumulte, Et lui, Dieu le sait, avait souvent dû défendre Son droit avec l'épée à la main. Ce matin, avec la suite de Lord Moray, Il avait chassé un cerf robuste en vain, Dépassé ses compagnons, manqué le cerf, Perdu son bon cheval, et erré ici. »
XXX.
Le Chevalier aurait aimé à son tour demander Le nom et l'état du père d'Ellen. Le maintien de la dame âgée montrait Qu'elle avait vu des cours et des villes ; Ellen, bien que son apparence affichât La grâce simple d'une jeune fille sylvestre, Dans son discours et ses gestes, sa forme et son visage, Montrait qu'elle était d'une noble naissance. Il serait étrange de trouver Dans un rang plus humble de tels regards, de telles manières et un tel esprit. Chaque indice que le Chevalier de Snowdoun donna, Dame Margaret l'écouta avec un silence grave ; Ou Ellen, innocemment gaie, Éloigna toute question curieuse : – « Des femmes étranges que nous sommes ! par la vallée et la colline Nous habitons, loin des tours et des villes. Nous domptons les flots, nous chevauchons la tempête, Sur les chevaliers errants, nous jetons nos sorts ; Tandis que des musiciens invisibles touchent la corde, C'est ainsi que nous chantons nos charmes. » Elle chanta, et toujours une harpe invisible Remplissait l'intervalle entre les vers.
XXXI.
Chanson.
Soldat, repose-toi ! ta guerre est finie, Dors du sommeil qui ne connaît pas de réveil ; Ne rêve plus de champs de bataille, De jours de danger, de nuits de veille. Dans notre hall enchanté, Des mains invisibles préparent ton lit, Des mélodies de fées retentissent, Chaque sens s'endort. Soldat, repose-toi ! ta guerre est finie, Ne rêve plus de champs de bataille ; Dors du sommeil qui ne connaît pas de réveil, Ni de jour de travail, ni de nuit de veille.
« Aucun son rude ne troublera ton oreille, Le cliquetis de l'armure ou le hennissement du cheval de guerre, Ni la trompette ni la cornemuse ne t'appelleront À rassembler le clan ou la troupe. Pourtant, le sifflement aigu de l'alouette peut venir À l'aube des champs labourés, Et le butor peut faire résonner son tambour En battant des ailes dans les roseaux. Aucun son plus rude ne sera près, Aucun garde ou sentinelle ne te défiera, Ici, pas de hennissement de cheval de guerre, Ni de cris de clans ou de troupes. »
XXXII.
Elle s'arrêta, – puis, rougissant, elle chanta, Pour honorer l'étranger du jour. Ses notes mélodieuses prolongèrent un moment La cadence de la chanson qui coulait, Jusqu'à ce que, sur ses lèvres, dans un rythme mesuré, Le vers du ménestrel vînt spontanément.
Chanson (suite).
« Chasseur, repose-toi ! ta chasse est finie ; Tandis que nos sorts ensorcelants t'assaillent, Ne rêve pas, avec le lever du soleil, Que les cors sonneront ici le réveil. Dors ! le cerf est dans son repaire ; Dors ! tes chiens sont à tes côtés ; Dors ! et ne rêve pas dans cette vallée Comment ton vaillant cheval est mort. Chasseur, repose-toi ! ta chasse est finie ; Ne pense pas au lever du soleil, Car à l'aube, pour t'assaillir, Ici, aucun cor ne sonnera le réveil. »
XXXIII.
Le hall fut vidé, – le lit de l'étranger, Fut préparé avec de la bruyère de montagne, Où souvent cent invités avaient dormi, Et rêvé de leurs chasses forestières. Mais en vain, la bruyère répandit Son parfum de lande autour de sa tête ; Ce n'était pas le sort d'Ellen qui avait apaisé L'agitation de son cœur tourmenté. Dans des rêves agités, l'image surgit De divers dangers, douleurs et malheurs : Son cheval trébuchait maintenant dans les broussailles, Maintenant, sa barque coulait sur le lac ; Maintenant, à la tête d'une armée défaite, Son étendard tombait, son honneur était perdu. Puis, – que le ciel chasse ce pire fantôme de la nuit ! – Les scènes de sa jeunesse revinrent, De vérité confiante et sans doute ; À nouveau, il échangea son âme Avec des amis dont les cœurs étaient longtemps éloignés. Ils venaient, dans une procession sombre, Les froids, les infidèles, et les morts ; Chaque main chaude, chaque front gai, Comme s'ils s'étaient quittés la veille. Et le doute le troublait à cette vue, – O ses sens étaient-ils faux ou vrais ? Avait-il rêvé de mort ou de serment rompu, Ou était-ce toute une vision maintenant ?
XXXIV.
Enfin, avec Ellen dans un bosquet, Il sembla marcher et parler d'amour ; Elle écoutait avec un sourire et un soupir, Sa cour était ardente, ses espoirs étaient hauts. Il chercha à saisir sa main offerte, Et une main gantée de fer rencontra sa prise : Le sexe du fantôme avait changé et disparu, Sur sa tête, un casque brillait ; Lentement, il s'agrandit à une taille géante, Avec une joue sombre et un regard menaçant, Le visage grimaçant, sévère et vénérable, Portait toujours une ressemblance avec Ellen. – Il se réveilla, et, haletant de frayeur, Se rappela la vision de la nuit. Les brands du foyer s'éteignaient en rouge Et répandaient une lueur profonde et sombre, Montrant à moitié, cachant à moitié, tout Les trophées bizarres du hall. Au milieu de ceux-ci, l'étranger fixa son regard Où cette énorme épée était suspendue en haut, Et des pensées sur des pensées, une foule innombrable, Se bousculaient, chassant d'innombrables pensées, Jusqu'à ce que, pour guérir le tourbillon, Il se leva et chercha la pure lune.
XXXV.
La rose sauvage, l'églantier et le genêt Répandaient autour leur riche parfum ; Les bouleaux pleuraient dans un baume parfumé ; Les trembles dormaient sous le calme ; La lumière argentée, avec un regard vacillant, Jouait sur l'étendue immobile de l'eau, – Sauvage était le cœur dont la passion Pouvait s'enflammer sous ce rayon serein ! Il sentit son calme, ce guerrier invité, Tandis qu'il se confiait ainsi à son cœur : – « Pourquoi est-ce que, à chaque pas, je trace Un souvenir de cette race exilée ? Je ne peux pas voir une jeune fille de la montagne, Mais elle doit porter l'œil des Douglas ? Je ne peux pas voir une épée des Highlands, Mais elle doit correspondre à la main des Douglas ? Je ne peux pas former un rêve fiévreux, Mais toujours les Douglas en sont le thème ? Je ne rêverai plus, – par une volonté d'homme Même dans le sommeil, la volonté n'est pas reniée. Mes prières de minuit dites, Je me tournerai vers le repos, et ne rêverai plus. » Ses prières de minuit, il les dit, Une prière avec chaque perle d'or, Confia au ciel ses soins et ses maux, Et s'endormit d'un sommeil sans trouble, Jusqu'à ce que le coq de bruyère cria, Et que l'aube se leva sur Benvenue.
CHANT SECOND.
L'Île.
I.
Au matin, le coq noir ajuste son aile noire, C'est le matin qui inspire le chant le plus joyeux du rossignol, Tous les enfants de la nature ressentent l'élan matinal De la vie qui se réveille, avec le jour qui se lève ; Et tandis que cette petite barque glisse sur la baie, Emportant l'étranger sur son chemin à nouveau, L'influence bienfaisante du matin réveilla un ménestrel gris, Et doucement sur le lac, sa mélodie se fit entendre, Mêlée au son de la harpe, ô Allan-bane aux cheveux blancs !
II.
Chanson.
« Pas plus vite la force de ces rameurs Fait voler l'écume de leurs rames, Pas plus vite ces vagues étincelantes, Qui suivent le chemin de la barque en lumière, S'effacent dans le lac, Que les hommes effacent de leur mémoire Les bienfaits des jours passés ; Alors, étranger, va ! bon voyage, Et ne pense plus à l'île solitaire.
« Haute place pour toi dans la cour royale, Haute place dans la ligne de bataille, Bon faucon et bon chien pour la chasse sylvestre ! Où la beauté voit les braves se rassembler, Que l'honneur soit le tien ! Que ton épée soit vraie, ton ami sincère, Ta dame constante, gentille et chère, Et que, perdu dans l'amour et l'amitié, Le souvenir de l'île solitaire s'efface !
III.
Chanson (suite).
« Mais si sous ce ciel du sud, Un étranger en plaid erre, Dont la crête baissée et le soupir étouffé, Et la joue creuse et l'œil lourd, Pinent pour sa patrie des Highlands ; Alors, guerrier, il te reviendra de montrer Le soin qui apaise la douleur d'un errant ; Souviens-toi alors de ton sort jadis, Un étranger dans l'île solitaire.
« Ou si sur la mer incertaine, Le malheur doit briser ta voile ; Si fidèle, sage et brave en vain, La misère, le besoin et l'exil tu subis Sous le vent capricieux ; Ne gémis pas sur le destin changé, Sur les cours ingrates ou les amis éloignés, Mais viens où la valeur apparentée sourira, Pour te saluer dans l'île solitaire. »
IV.
Lorsque les sons s'éteignirent sur les flots, La barque atteignit la rive continentale, Et avant de prendre son chemin, L'étranger jeta un regard prolongé, Où facilement son œil pouvait atteindre Le ménestrel sur la plage de l'île, Accoudé contre un arbre dépérissant, Aussi usé, gris et fatigué que lui. À la méditation du ménestrel livré, Son front vénérable était levé vers le ciel, Comme s'il réclamait du soleil levant Un rayon d'inspiration. Sa main, posée sur les cordes, Semblait attendre l'étincelle naissante ; Si immobile, il était comme ceux qui attendent Que le jugement prononce le destin ; Si immobile, comme si aucune brise ne pouvait oser Soulever un seul de ses cheveux gris ; Si immobile, comme si la vie elle-même était partie Dans le dernier son de sa harpe.
V.
Sur un rocher couvert de lichens sauvages, À côté de lui, Ellen était assise et souriait. – Souriait-elle de voir l'orgueilleux canard Conduire sa flotte sur le lac, Tandis que son chien excité, de la plage, Aboiait après le prix hors de sa portée ? Pourtant, dis-moi, toi, la jeune fille qui sait, Pourquoi la rose s'approfondit sur sa joue ? – Pardonne, pardonne, Fidélité ! Peut-être que la jeune fille souriait de voir Cet adieu qui s'attardait, qui faisait un signe, Et s'arrêtait et se retournait pour faire un autre signe ; Et, belles dames, avant que votre colère Ne condamne l'héroïne de ma lyre, Montrez-moi la belle qui mépriserait Et chérirait une telle conquête de son regard !
VI.
Tandis qu'il s'attardait encore sur place, Il semblait qu'Ellen ne le remarquait pas ; Mais quand il se tourna vers la clairière, Elle fit un signe d'adieu courtois ; Et après, souvent, le chevalier dirait, Que ce n'était pas quand le prix d'un festin Lui était attribué par la plus belle Qui jamais porta un bijou dans ses cheveux, Que son cœur s'élevait autant Qu'à ce simple adieu muet. Maintenant, avec un guide de montagne fiable, Et ses chiens de chasse sombres à ses côtés, Il part, – la jeune fille, toujours inconsciente, Le regarda s'éloigner lentement autour de la colline ; Mais quand sa forme imposante fut cachée, Le gardien dans son cœur la réprimanda, – « Ton Malcolm ! jeune fille vaine et égoïste ! » C'était ainsi que la conscience reprochait, – « Pas ainsi, Malcolm se serait attardé Sur la phrase lisse d'une langue du sud ; Pas ainsi, Malcolm aurait tendu son regard Pour apercevoir un autre pas que le tien. » – « Réveille-toi, Allan-bane », s'écria-t-elle Vers le vieux ménestrel à ses côtés, – « Réveille-toi de ton rêve mélancolique ! Je vais donner à ta harpe un thème héroïque, Et te réchauffer avec un nom noble ; Verse la gloire du Graeme ! » À peine le mot avait-il quitté ses lèvres, Que la jeune fille consciente rougit ; Car dans son clan, dans le hall et la tour, Le jeune Malcolm Graeme était tenu pour la fleur.
VII.
Le ménestrel réveilla sa harpe, – trois fois S'élevèrent les accords martiaux bien connus, Et trois fois leur fierté héroïque Se perdit dans des murmures mélancoliques. « En vain, tu me demandes, ô noble jeune fille, En vain, tu me demandes de réveiller la mélodie, Bien que je sois peu habitué à refuser. Hélas ! une main plus puissante que la mienne A accordé ma harpe, a tendu mes cordes ! Je touche les cordes de la joie, mais bas Et les notes de tristesse répondent ; Et la fière marche que les vainqueurs marchent Se transforme en une complainte pour les morts. Oh, que cela me soit favorable, si seule Cette complainte profonde et prophétique est la mienne ! Si, comme mes ancêtres ménestrels l'ont dit, Cette harpe, que jadis Saint Modan a jouée, Peut ainsi prédire le destin de son maître, Alors, bienvenue soit la complainte du ménestrel. »
VIII.
« Mais hélas ! chère jeune fille, ainsi elle a gémi, Le soir où ta mère bien-aimée est morte ; Et tels étaient les sons qui, tandis que je m'efforçais De réveiller une mélodie de guerre ou d'amour, Venaient gâcher toute la joie du festin, M'effrayant, moi qui les avais produits, Et, désobéissants à mon appel, Hurlaient dans le hall pavoisé de Bothwell. Avant que les Douglas, réduits à la ruine, Ne soient exilés de leur patrie. – Oh ! si un malheur et une affliction pires Doivent frapper la maison de mon maître, Ou si quelque chose d'autre que le bien Pour Ellen chère ne se cache Dans ces accents de désespoir, Aucun futur ménestrel, triste harpe ! ne fera Retentir de triomphe ou de ravissement de tes cordes ; Une seule, une dernière mélodie s'élèvera, Emportée par une affliction indicible, Puis brisés, tes fragments giseront, Ton maître, étendu, mourra ! »
IX.
Apaisante, elle lui répondit : « Apaise, Mon honoré ami, les peurs de l'âge ; Toutes les mélodies te sont connues Que la harpe a jouées ou que la pipe a soufflées, Dans la vallée de la Lowland ou dans le glen des Highlands, De Tweed à Spey – quel étonnement, alors, Si parfois des notes involontaires s'élèvent, Confusément liées par les liens de la mémoire, Entremêlant, tandis qu'elles se précipitent, La marche de guerre avec la complainte funèbre ? – Peu de raisons maintenant pour la crainte ; Obscurs, mais en sécurité, nous reposons ici. Mon père, dans sa vertu native grand, Renonçant à la seigneurie, aux terres et à l'État, Pas plus résigné au sort Que ce chêne pourrait l'être au vent ; Le feuillage gracieux, les tempêtes peuvent l'arracher, Mais le noble tronc ne peut être brisé. Pour moi » – elle se pencha et, regardant autour, Cueillit une campanule bleue du sol, – « Pour moi, dont la mémoire à peine conserve Une image de jours plus splendides, Cette petite fleur qui aime la lande Peut bien être mon symbole simple ; Elle boit la rosée du ciel aussi joyeusement Que la rose qui pousse dans le jardin du roi ; Et quand je la place dans mes cheveux, Allan, un ménestrel est tenu de jurer Qu'il n'a jamais vu de couronne si belle. » Puis, en jouant, elle tressa la guirlande sauvage Dans ses cheveux sombres et sourit.
X.
Son sourire, son discours, avec une influence gagnante Chassèrent la mélancolie du vieux ménestrel. Avec un regard tel que les ermites jettent, Quand les anges s'abaissent pour apaiser leur douleur, Il la regarda, jusqu'à ce que l'affection et la fierté Se changent en une larme, puis il répondit : « La plus belle et la meilleure ! tu ne sais pas Le rang, les honneurs, que tu as perdus ! Oh ! puissé-je vivre pour te voir briller, Dans la cour d'Écosse, à ta place de naissance, Pour voir les pas de ma favorite Les plus légers dans la danse de cour, La cause de chaque soupir de galant, Et l'étoile dirigeante de chaque regard, Et le thème de chaque art du ménestrel, La Dame de la Blessure Saignante ! »
XI.
Pour la continuité seulement – ceci est la FIN de la section précédente, déjà traduite. Ne la traduisez pas à nouveau et ne la répétez pas dans votre réponse. Adaptez les noms, la terminologie et le registre : --- « Réveille-toi, Allan-bane », s'écria-t-elle Vers le vieux ménestrel à ses côtés, – « Réveille-toi de ton rêve mélancolique ! Je vais donner à ta harpe un thème héroïque, Et te réchauffer avec un nom noble ; Verse la gloire du Graeme ! » À peine le mot avait-il quitté ses lèvres, Que la jeune fille consciente rougit ; Car dans son clan, dans le hall et la tour, Le jeune Malcolm Graeme était tenu pour la fleur. ---
'Réveille-toi, Allan-bane', s'écria-t-elle Vers le vieux ménestrel à ses côtés, – 'Réveille-toi de ton rêve mélancolique ! Je vais donner à ta harpe un thème héroïque, Et te réchauffer avec un nom noble ; Verse la gloire du Graeme !' À peine le mot avait-il quitté ses lèvres, Que la jeune fille consciente rougit ; Car dans son clan, dans le hall et la tour, Le jeune Malcolm Graeme était tenu pour la fleur.
Le jeune Malcolm Graeme était tenu pour la fleur.
'The foe is near, and numbers strong; They march not now in loose array, But in close ranks, and battle-fray; Their front is iron, and their rear Is guarded by the horsemen's spear. The Doune is emptied of her men, And all the lowland country-ken Are gathered in the vanguard's van, And march with them the mountain-clan, The Mac-Eaghans of the glen, The Mac-Ivor, and the Mac-Callan.'
IX.
'The Mac-Callans! ha! they come to prove Their boast, that they can drain the Dove. They shall not quaff the stream, I trow, Unless they bring a leathern ewe. But say, Malise, hast thou seen The Doune's proud lord, Lord James, the Dean?'
Malise.
'I saw him not, but heard his voice Give order to the march of choice. I crept into a ruined cell, And heard the word to Donald Gell, To lead the vanguard of the clan, And clear the passes if he can.'
Roderick.
'And if he cannot, by my brand, I will, though I should stain this hand In Douglas blood! But say, hast thou Seen aught of Ellen's father now?'
Malise.
'He rides a black horse, with a star, And a white hind-heel, and a long gray scar Down by the shoulder, and a mane Like the mist of the mountain when the rain Comes down at the rising of the storm,-- And he rides at the head of a band in form, That seemed to me a wild-looking train.'
Roderick.
'They are wild, indeed, the men of Liddesdale, And their speech is hard to understand, for all. But tell me, Malise, saw'st thou aught Of Norman of the Armandale?'
Malise.
'He is in the rear, with his bride, And a score of followers by their side.'
Roderick.
'His bride! he has wedded the bonny lass! And she is with him in the pass! Malise, thou hast brought me evil news, And thy face is pale, and thy limbs are loose. Is it for the sake of the maiden fair, That thou art sick at heart with care?'
Malise.
'I am sick at heart, and my limbs are cold, For I have seen a sight to behold, And heard a voice that I would have fled, And it has struck a chill to my heart and head. I was climbing the hill by the cairn of old, When I heard a voice that was loud and bold, And it said, "Malise, make thy prayer, For the dead are met on yonder height, And they are holding their ghostly fare, And they bid thee come to the wassail bright." And I looked, and I saw on the hill so high, A table, that was spread bravely, And the dead men sat on either hand, And they bade me welcome to their land. And I saw the face of my father dear, And he beckoned to me, and I burst in tears, And I said, "Father, I cannot stay, For I must watch the dawning day." And he said, "The dawn will never come, For the sun is dead, and the moon is dumb, And the stars are fallen from the sky, And the watchman's cry has ceased to be, And the morning will never dawn for thee." And I turned, and I saw the table spread, And the dead men sat on either hand, And they drank to me as I passed their head, And they bade me welcome to their land.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, saw'st thou aught Of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, saw'st thou aught Of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we came to a cottage of living men, And the bridegroom sat by the bride's side, And the Lady of the Lake was their guide. And she said, "I have brought thee a bridegroom's man, And he shall be true to the best that he can." And the bridegroom said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart and in cheer." And the bride said, "Thou art welcome here, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in all good gear." And the Lady of the Lake said, "I have done my part, And I leave thee a bridegroom's man in heart." And she vanished away in the morning light, And I was left with the bridegroom bright.'
Roderick.
'Thou hast dreamed a dream, and it is past, And the morning is breaking clear and fast. But tell me, Malise, hast thou seen Aught of the Lady of the Lake, who brought The Fiery Cross to Duncraggan's hall, And bade us rise at her dread call?'
Malise.
'I saw her not, but I heard her voice, And it said, "Malise, make thy choice, Whether thou wilt be a bridegroom's man, Or a corpse-candler in the fairy-land." And I said, "I will be a bridegroom's man, And I will follow the best that I can." And she said, "Thou hast chosen the better part, And thou shalt be a bridegroom's man in heart." And I turned, and I saw the Lady bright, And she held a torch that gave a light, And she said, "Follow me, and fear thou not, For I will lead thee to the bridegroom's cot." And I followed her through the misty glen, And we
'Tis Doune's proud lord, Lord James, the Dean?'
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vu, mais j'ai entendu sa voix Donner l'ordre à la marche de choix. Je me suis faufilé dans une cellule en ruine, Et j'ai entendu l'ordre donné à Donald Gell, De mener l'avant-garde du clan, Et de dégager les passages s'il le peut. »
Roderick.
« Et s'il ne le peut, par mon épée, Je le ferai, même si je dois baigner cette main Dans le sang des Douglas ! Mais dis-moi, as-tu vu Quelque chose d'Ellen's father maintenant ? »
Malise.
« Il chevauche un cheval noir, avec une étoile, Et un jarret blanc, et une longue cicatrice grise Le long de l'épaule, et une crinière Comme la brume de la montagne quand la pluie Arrive avec l'orage, – Et il chevauche à la tête d'une bande en forme, Qui me semblait être une troupe sauvage. »
Roderick.
« Ils sont sauvages, en effet, les hommes de Liddesdale, Et leur langage est difficile à comprendre pour tous. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De Norman de l'Armandale ? »
Malise.
« Il est à l'arrière, avec sa mariée, Et une vingtaine de suivants à leurs côtés. »
Roderick.
« Sa mariée ! il a épousé la belle jeune fille ! Et elle est avec lui dans le passage ! Malise, tu m'as apporté de mauvaises nouvelles, Et ton visage est pâle, et tes membres sont affaiblis. Est-ce pour le bien de la jeune fille, Que tu es tourmenté par l'inquiétude ? »
Malise.
« Je suis tourmenté par l'inquiétude, et mes membres sont froids, Car j'ai vu une chose à voir, Et j'ai entendu une voix que j'aurais fuie, Et elle a glacé mon cœur et ma tête. Je grimpais la colline par le cairn ancien, Quand j'ai entendu une voix forte et claire, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ta prière, Car les morts sont réunis sur cette hauteur, Et ils tiennent leur banquet fantôme, Et ils t'invitent à leur festin brillant." Et j'ai regardé, et j'ai vu sur la colline si haute, Une table, qui était dressée avec faste, Et les morts étaient assis de chaque côté, Et ils m'invitaient à leur terre. Et j'ai vu le visage de mon père bien-aimé, Et il m'a fait signe, et j'ai éclaté en larmes, Et j'ai dit, "Père, je ne peux pas rester, Car je dois veiller à l'aube naissante." Et il a dit, "L'aube ne se lèvera jamais, Car le soleil est mort, et la lune est muette, Et les étoiles sont tombées du ciel, Et le cri du guetteur s'est tu, Et le matin ne se lèvera jamais pour toi." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la table dressée, Et les morts étaient assis de chaque côté, Et ils ont bu à ma santé alors que je passais leur tête, Et ils m'ont invité à leur terre. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, Ou un veilleur de cadavres dans le royaume des fées." Et j'ai dit, "Je veux être un homme de marié, Et je suivrai le meilleur que je peux." Et elle a dit, "Tu as choisi la meilleure part, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur." Et j'ai tourné, et j'ai vu la Dame brillante, Et elle tenait une torche qui donnait de la lumière, Et elle a dit, "Suis-moi, et ne crains rien, Car je vais te conduire au cottage du marié." Et je l'ai suivie à travers la vallée brumeuse, Et nous sommes arrivés à un cottage d'hommes vivants, Et le marié était assis à côté de la mariée, Et la Dame du Lac était leur guide. Et elle a dit, "J'ai apporté un homme de marié, Et il sera vrai au meilleur qu'il peut." Et le marié a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié en cœur et en joie." Et la mariée a dit, "Tu es le bienvenu ici, Et tu seras un homme de marié dans tout le bon équipement." Et la Dame du Lac a dit, "J'ai fait ma part, Et je te laisse un homme de marié en cœur." Et elle a disparu dans la lumière du matin, Et je suis resté avec le marié brillant. »
Roderick.
« Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? »
Malise.
« Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié,
'Spare me, Sir Knight! I yield me to thy grace.' 'Yield thee! Ha! ha! a Douglas yield to thee! And to a mountain-thief like thee! No, by the rood! I scorn to take Such poor advantage for thy sake. Rise, rise, Sir Roderick! draw thy sword, And try the fortune of the sward. I scorn to strike thee on thy knee, Though it were for fair Scotland's fee.' 'And wilt thou not, for Scotland's sake, This deadly feud with me forsake? Wilt thou not, for thy lady's love, Spare me, and take me to the dove? Wilt thou not, for thy mother's tears, And for thy father's hoary years, Spare me, and take me to the King, And bid him grant me everything?' 'I will not, for my mother's tears, And for my father's hoary years, I will not, for my lady's love, Spare thee, and take thee to the dove. I will not, for fair Scotland's sake, This deadly feud with thee forsake. But, by the rood! I will not strike A kneeling man, though he were my foe. Rise, rise, Sir Roderick! draw thy sword, And try the fortune of the sward.' 'I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble sword. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble shield. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble field. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble steed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble deed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble creed. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble heart. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble part. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble grace. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble face. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble name. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble fame. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble blood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mood. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble mind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble kind. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble race. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble place. I thank thee, Sir Knight, for thy noble word
'Thanks, noble Knight! thy courtesy Hath saved my life, and won my fee. This purse of gold, this ring of worth, Are thine, brave youth, for Roderick's death.' 'I thank thee, Sir, but I have heard That thou hast gold enough, and more, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a noble mind, And that thou hast a noble kind, And that thou hast a noble race, And that thou hast a noble place, And that thou hast a noble word, And that thou hast a noble sword, And that thou hast a noble shield, And that thou hast a noble field, And that thou hast a noble steed, And that thou hast a noble deed, And that thou hast a noble creed, And that thou hast a noble heart, And that thou hast a noble part, And that thou hast a noble grace, And that thou hast a noble face, And that thou hast a noble name, And that thou hast a noble fame, And that thou hast a noble blood, And that thou hast a noble mood, And that thou hast a
'They drew not for their fields the sword, Like tenants of a feudal lord, Nor owned the patriarchal claim Of Chieftain in their leader's name; Adventurers they, from far who roved, To live by battle which they loved. There the Italian's clouded face, The swarthy Spaniard's there you trace; The mountain-loving Switzer there More freely breathed in mountain-air; The Fleming there despised the soil That paid so ill the labourer's toil; Their rolls showed French and German name; And merry England's exiles came, To share, with ill-concealed disdain, Of Scotland's pay the scanty gain. All brave in arms, well trained to wield The heavy halberd, brand, and shield; In camps licentious, wild, and bold; In pillage fierce and uncontrolled; And now, by holytide and feast, From rules of discipline released.
IV.
« Ils ont débattu d'une bataille sanglante, Entre Loch Katrine et Achray. Féroce était leur discours, et au milieu de leurs mots, Leurs mains se sont souvent emparées de leurs épées ; Et leur voix ne s'est pas abaissée pour épargner l'oreille Des camarades blessés gémissant à proximité, Leurs membres mutilés et leurs corps ensanglantés Portaient la marque de l'épée des montagnes, Bien que, à proximité de la Cour de Garde, Leurs prières et leurs gémissements fiévreux aient été entendus, – Un triste fardeau pour les rires grossiers Et les serments sauvages prononcés par la fureur ! – Enfin, John de Brent se leva, Un yeoman des rives de la Trent ; Un étranger au respect ou à la crainte, En temps de paix, un chasseur de cerfs, En temps de guerre, un mutin hardi, Mais toujours le plus brave de la troupe Quand il s'agissait d'accomplir un acte de courage. Il regretta que leurs jeux soient écourtés, Et que le bruit des dés soit interrompu, Et il cria : « Renewez la coupe ! Et, pendant que je chante une chanson joyeuse, Que chacun ajoute sa voix à la chorale, Comme des frères de l'épée et de la lance. »
V.
Chanson des Soldats.
Notre vicaire dit toujours que Pierre et Paul Ont lancé une longue malédiction sur le bon vieux tonneau, Qu'il y a de la colère et du désespoir dans le joyeux black-jack, Et les sept péchés mortels dans un flagon de sack ; Pourtant, quiop, Barnaby ! verse-moi du liquide, Bois jusqu'à plus soif, et un figue pour le vicaire !
Notre vicaire dit toujours qu'il est damnation de goûter La douce rosée d'une femme sur ses lèvres adorées, Que Belzébuth se cache dans son mouchoir si subtil, Et que les flèches d'Apollyon jaillissent de son regard noir ; Pourtant, quiop, Jack ! embrasse Gillian plus vite, Jusqu'à ce qu'elle fleurisse comme une rose, et un figue pour le vicaire !
Notre vicaire dit toujours, – et pourquoi ne le ferait-il pas ? Car les dues de sa cure sont le placket et le pot ; Et il est juste de son office que les laïcs soient indulgents Envers ceux qui empiètent sur les domaines de notre bonne Mère l'Église. Pourtant, quiop, mes gars ! verse-moi du liquide, Sweet Marjorie est le mot d'ordre, et un figue pour le vicaire !
VI.
Le défi du garde, entendu de l'extérieur, A interrompu le bruit joyeux. Un soldat s'est approché de la porte, – « Voici le vieux Bertram, sirs, de Ghent ; Et – que le tambour batte pour la joie ! – Une jeune fille et un ménestrel l'accompagnent. » Bertram, un Flamand, gris et marqué par les batailles, Entrait maintenant dans la Cour de Garde, Un harpiste avec lui, et, enveloppée dans un plaid, Une jeune fille des montagnes, Qui reculait pour éviter le regard De la foule grossière et bruyante. « Quelles nouvelles ? » ils ont crié : – « Je ne sais que Depuis midi jusqu'au soir, nous avons combattu l'ennemi, Aussi sauvage et indomptable Que les montagnes rudes où ils habitent ; Des deux côtés, beaucoup de sang a été versé, Et aucun ne peut revendiquer une grande victoire. » – « Mais d'où viennent tes captives, ami ? un tel butin Doit récompenser tes efforts. Tu vieillis, et les guerres deviennent dures ; Tu as maintenant de la joie et une harpe ! Prends un singe, et parcours le pays, Le chef d'une bande de saltimbanques. »
VII.
« Non, camarade ; un tel destin ne m'attend pas. Après la bataille, ces deux-là sont venus à nous, Ce vieux harpiste et la jeune fille, Et, ayant audience du Comte, Mar m'a ordonné de leur fournir des chevaux, Et de les escorter ici avec vitesse. Cessez vos rires et vos cris grossiers, Car personne ne leur fera de mal ni de honte. – « Entends-tu sa vantardise ? » a crié John de Brent, Toujours prêt à se battre et à se quereller ; « Doit-il chasser à côté de notre lodge, Et pourtant refuser de payer le forestier son dû ? J'aurai ma part, quoi qu'il en soit, Malgré Moray, Mar, ou toi. » Bertram s'est avancé avec détermination, Et, brûlant de vengeance, Le vieux Allan, bien que faible pour se battre, A posé sa main sur son poignard ; Mais Ellen s'est interposée avec courage, Et a laissé tomber son tartan : – Comme le soleil de mai à travers les larmes d'été. La foule sauvage, ébahie, A regardé comme un ange descendu du ciel ; Même le hardi Brent, honteux et dompté, Est resté à moitié admiratif, à moitié confus.
VIII.
Elle a parlé avec audace : « Soldats, écoutez ! Mon père était l'ami des soldats, Il les encourageait dans les camps, les guidait dans les marches, Et se battait à leurs côtés. La fille d'un exilé ne doit pas souffrir de mal De la part des braves. » De Brent a répondu, le plus hardi de tous Dans chaque exploit ou bon ou mauvais : « Je suis honteux de mon comportement ; Et toi, la fille d'un hors-la-loi, pauvre jeune fille ! Un hors-la-loi je suis selon les lois de la forêt, Et la joyeuse Needwood en connaît la cause. Pauvre Rose, – si Rose est encore en vie, – Doit avoir le même âge que toi. – Entendez-vous, mes camarades ! je vais appeler Le Capitaine de notre garde : Là-bas, mon haleine est sur le sol ; Et celui qui ose la franchir, Pour faire du mal à la jeune fille, Ma flèche se fichera dans son cœur ! Prenez garde à vos paroles, ou à vos plaisanteries grossières ; Vous connaissez tous John de Brent. Assez. »
IX.
Leur Capitaine est arrivé, un jeune homme, – De la maison de Tullibardine il est né, – Il ne portait pas encore les éperons de chevalier ; Son apparence était gaie, son humeur légère, Et, bien que contrôlé par la courtoisie, Son discours était franc, son comportement audacieux. La noble jeune fille ne pouvait supporter Le regard curieux du jeune homme, Et son regard fier ; Et pourtant, en vérité, le jeune Lewis Était un jeune homme généreux ; Mais l'apparence et le comportement d'Ellen, Si peu adaptés à la scène et à la situation, Pouvaient facilement être mal interprétés, Et donner libre cours à l'imagination. « Bienvenue dans les tours de Stirling, jeune fille ! Venez-vous chercher l'aide d'un champion, Sur un palefroi blanc, avec un harpiste âgé, Comme une dame errante d'autrefois ? Votre haute quête nécessite-t-elle un chevalier, Ou peut-elle être accomplie par un écuyer ? » Son regard sombre a flashé ; elle a soupiré : – « Oh, que faire de ma fierté ! – À travers des scènes de chagrin, de honte et de lutte, Une suppliante pour la vie de son père, Je cherche une audience du Roi. Voyez, pour soutenir ma requête, un anneau, Le gage royal de claims reconnaissants, Donné par le Monarque à Fitz-James. »
X.
Le jeune homme a pris l'anneau avec respect, Et a dit : « Ce signe nous oblige ; Et pardonnez, si à une valeur inconnue, Lady, en quoi que ce soit, ma folie a échoué. Dès que le jour ouvrira ses portes, Le Roi saura qui l'attend. Veuillez, pendant ce temps, dans un lieu approprié, Reposer jusqu'à son heure de réveil. Une femme vous servira Pour votre service ou votre toilette. Permettez-moi de vous montrer le chemin. » Mais, avant qu'elle ne le suive, avec la grâce Et la générosité de sa race, Elle a ordonné que sa petite bourse soit partagée Parmi les soldats de la garde. Les autres ont accepté leur part avec gratitude, Mais Brent, avec un regard timide et maladroit, A refusé poliment l'offre : – « Pardonnez à un cœur anglais fier, Et, oh, oubliez sa partie plus rude !
La bourse vide sera ma part, Que je porterai dans mon bonnet, Peut-être, dans le danger de la guerre, Où les crêtes plus gaies peuvent rester loin. » Avec des remerciements – c'était tout ce qu'elle pouvait – la jeune fille A récompensé sa courtoisie rustique.
XI.
Quand Ellen est partie avec Lewis, Allan a supplié John de Brent : – « Ma lady est en sécurité, oh, laissez votre grâce Me voir le visage de mon maître ! Son ménestrel je suis, – pour partager son sort Lié depuis la naissance jusqu'à la tombe. Dixième en descente, depuis que mes ancêtres Ont éveillé leurs lyres pour sa noble maison, Et aucun d'entre eux n'a été connu Pour ne pas privilégier son bien-être. Avec sa naissance commence notre soin ; Notre harpe doit apaiser l'enfant héritier, Enseigner au jeune homme les tales de combat, Et gracier son premier exploit de chasse ou de combat ; En paix, en guerre, nous gardons notre place, Nous égayons sa table, nous apaisons son sommeil, Et ne le quittons que pour verser nos vers – Un tribut funèbre ! – sur sa tombe. Alors laissez-moi partager son sort de captif ; C'est mon droit, – ne le refusez pas ! » « Nous ne nous soucions guère, » a dit John de Brent, « Nous, les hommes du Sud, de la longue descendance ; Et nous ne savons pas comment un nom – un mot – Fait des clansmen des vassaux d'un seigneur : Pourtant, mon noble seigneur a été gentil, – Que Dieu bénisse la maison de Beaudesert ! Et, si je n'avais pas aimé chasser le cerf Plus que de guider la charrue, Je ne serais pas un exilé ici. Viens, bon vieux Ménestrel, suis-moi ; Tu verras ton Seigneur et Maître. »
XII.
Alors, d'un crochet de fer rouillé, Il a pris un lourd bouquet de clés, Allumé une torche, et Allan a conduit À travers des arches grillagées et des passages redoutables. Des portes ils ont franchi, où, à l'intérieur, Le gémissement des prisonniers et le bruit des chaînes résonnaient ; À travers des vaults sombres, où, désordonnés, Gisaient la roue, la hache, et l'épée des bourreaux, Et de nombreux engins hideux et sans nom, Pour tordre les articulations et écraser les membres, Inventés par des artistes qui pensaient qu'il était honteux Et péché de donner un nom à leur œuvre. Ils se sont arrêtés devant un porche bas, Et Brent a donné la torche à Allan, Pendant qu'il ouvrait les cadenas et les chaînes. Ils sont entrés : – c'était une pièce de prison De sécurité et de sombre, Pourtant pas un donjon ; car le jour À travers des grilles élevées trouvait son chemin, Et un mobilier ancien et antique Décorait les murs sombres et le sol en chêne, Tel que les jours anciens Jugaient approprié pour un noble captif. « Ici, » a dit De Brent, « tu peux rester Jusqu'à ce que le Médecin le visite à nouveau. Strictes sont ses instructions, les gardes disent, Pour soigner le noble prisonnier. » En partant, il a tiré le verrou, Et les chaînes ont grondé à nouveau. Réveillé par le bruit, d'un lit bas Un captif a faiblement levé sa tête. Le Ménestrel a regardé, et a reconnu – Non son cher seigneur, mais Roderick Dhu ! Car, venus de là où Clan-Alpine a combattu, Ils ont cru, par erreur, que c'était le Chef qu'il cherchait.
'Revenge! revenge!' the Saxons cried, The Gaels' exulting shout replied. Despite the elemental rage, Again they hurried to engage; But, ere they closed in desperate fight, Bloody with spurring came a knight, Sprung from his horse, and from a crag Waved 'twixt the hosts a milk-white flag. Clarion and trumpet by his side Rung forth a truce-note high and wide, While, in the Monarch's name, afar A herald's voice forbade the war, For Bothwell's lord and Roderick bold Were both, he said, in captive hold. But here the lay made sudden stand, The harp escaped the Minstrel's hand! Oft had he stolen a glance, to spy How Roderick brooked his minstrelsy: At first, the Chieftain, to the chime, With lifted hand kept feeble time; That motion ceased,--yet feeling strong Varied his look as changed the song; At length, no more his deafened ear The minstrel melody can hear; His face grows sharp,--his hands are clenched As if some pang his heart-strings wrenched; Set are his teeth, his fading eye Is sternly fixed on vacancy; Thus, motionless and moanless, drew His parting breath stout Roderick Dhu! Old Allan-bane looked on aghast, While grim and still his spirit passed; But when he saw that life was fled, He poured his wailing o'er the dead.
XXII.
Lament.
« Et voici que tu es froid et gisant, Terreur de ton ennemi, soutien de ton peuple, Fierté de Breadalbane, ombre de Clan-Alpine ! Personne ne chantera de requiem pour toi ? – Pour toi, qui aimais la lyre du ménestrel, Pour toi, soutien de la maison de Bothwell, Bouclier de sa lignée exilée, Même dans cette prison, ton dernier refuge, Je vais pleurer le Chêne Honoré de Clan-Alpine !
Quels gémissements vont remplir ces vallées ! Quels cris de douleur vont déchirer ces collines ! Quelle colère va enflammer ces cœurs, Quand ton clan pleurera tes batailles passées, Ta chute avant que la victoire ne soit acquise, Ton épée au fourreau avant le coucher du soleil ! Il n'y a pas un clansman de ta lignée Qui ne donnerait sa vie pour la tienne. Oh, malheur pour le Chêne Honoré de Clan-Alpine !
Triste était ton destin sur la scène mortelle ! – Le captif moineau peut supporter la cage, Mais l'aigle prisonnier meurt de rage. Esprit brave, ne méprise pas mon chant ! Et, quand ses notes s'élèveront à nouveau, Même elle, si longtemps aimée en vain, Unira sa voix à la mienne, Et mêlera ses larmes aux miennes, Pour pleurer le Chêne Honoré de Clan-Alpine. »
XXIII.
Pendant ce temps, le cœur déchiré, Ellen reste dans un pavillon éloigné, Où les rayons du soleil couchant Traversent les vitres colorées. En vain ils illuminent le plafond doré, Et révèlent une tapisserie murale, Et pour elle, une suite de servantes A préparé un festin somptueux. Le banquet fastueux, la chambre splendide, Ne suscitent qu'un regard distrait ; Ou si elle regarde, c'est seulement pour dire Que le jour s'est levé avec un meilleur présage Dans cette île solitaire, où flottait au-dessus La peau de cerf comme un dais ; Où souvent son noble père a partagé Le humble repas qu'elle avait préparé, Tandis que Lufra, couchée à ses côtés, Revendiquait sa place avec fierté, Et que Douglas, parti à la chasse, Parlait de la traque à Malcolm Graeme, Dont les réponses, souvent distraites, Trahissaient ses pensées vagabondes. Ceux qui ont connu de tels joies simples Savent les apprécier quand elles disparaissent. Mais soudain, elle lève la tête ; Vers la fenêtre, elle se dirige avec précaution. Quelle musique lointaine a le pouvoir De la toucher en cette heure de deuil ? C'était d'une tour qui dominait Son pavillon, que la mélodie s'élevait.
XXIV.
Chanson du Chasseur Emprisonné.
Mon faucon est las de son perchoir et de sa capuche, Mon lévrier gris dédaigne sa nourriture, Mon cheval s'ennuie dans son écurie, Et moi, je suis las de cette captivité. Je voudrais être comme j'ai été, Chassant le cerf dans la forêt verte, Avec mon arc tendu et mon limier fidèle, Car c'est la vie qui me convient.
Je hais d'entendre le son de l'heure Que sonne le clocher avec sa voix ennuyeuse, Ou de voir le soleil ramper, Pouce après pouce, le long du mur. La grive était mon réveil matinal, Le corbeau mon chant du soir ; Ces tours, bien qu'elles appartiennent à un roi, N'ont pas de salle de joie pour moi.
Plus jamais, à l'aube, je ne me lève, Et ne me réchauffe au regard d'Ellen, Ne poursuis le cerf à travers la forêt, Et ne rentre pas avec la rosée du soir ; Un accueil joyeux ne m'attend plus, Et je ne dépose plus mes trophées à ses pieds, Tandis que la soirée s'envole dans la joie, – Cette vie est perdue pour l'amour et pour moi !
XXV.
La chanson mélancolique à peine terminée, L'auditeur n'a pas encore tourné la tête, La larme perle encore, quand un pas léger Frappe son oreille, Et le brave Fitz-James est près d'elle. Elle se retourne plus vite, de peur que Le prisonnier ne reprenne son chant. « Oh, bienvenue, brave Fitz-James ! » s'écrie-t-elle ; « Comment une presque orpheline Peut-elle rembourser une telle dette ? » – « Ne dis pas cela ! Tu ne me dois aucune gratitude. Ce n'est pas à moi, hélas ! qu'il appartient De sauver la vie de ton noble père ; Je ne peux être que ton guide, douce jeune fille, Pour plaider ta cause auprès du Roi. Ce n'est pas un tyran, bien que la colère et la fierté Puisse assombrir son humeur. Viens, Ellen, viens ! il est plus que temps, Il tient sa cour à l'heure de la prime. » Avec un cœur battant et une âme meurtrie, Elle s'accroche au bras de son presque frère. Doux, il essuie ses larmes, Et murmure des mots d'espoir et de réconfort ; Ses pas hésitants, il les guide et les soutient, À travers des galeries et des arcades, Jusqu'à ce qu'à son toucher, une porte majestueuse S'ouvre largement.
XXVI.
À l'intérieur, tout est brillant et lumineux, Une foule de figures brillantes ; Cela éblouit le regard d'Ellen, Comme quand le soleil couchant Donne mille teintes à la soirée d'été, Et que l'imagination crée Des chevaliers et des fées. Toujours guidée par Fitz-James, Elle fait quelques pas, puis s'arrête, Lève lentement sa tête, Et regarde autour d'elle avec peur ; Car celui qu'elle cherche, dont le pouvoir est absolu, – Elle regarde de nombreux visages princiers, De nombreuses robes splendides ; Puis, tournée vers Fitz-James, perplexe et étonnée, Car tous sont découverts, et parmi la foule, Seul Fitz-James porte un chapeau et une plume. Vers lui, chaque regard de dame est tourné, Sur lui, chaque courtisan fixe son attention ; Au milieu des fourrures et des soies, Il se tient, en simple lincoln green, Le centre de ce cercle brillant, – Et le Chevalier de Snowdoun est le Roi d'Écosse !
XXVII.
Comme une plaque de neige sur une montagne, Qui glisse du rocher qui la soutenait, La pauvre Ellen s'éloigne de son soutien, Et aux pieds du Monarque, elle s'agenouille ; Aucun mot ne sort de sa bouche, – Elle montre l'anneau, – elle joint ses mains. Oh, pas un instant, il ne peut supporter Ce regard suppliant ! Doux, il la relève, – et, pendant ce temps, Il calme les sourires de la foule d'un regard ; Gracieux, mais grave, il embrasse son front, Et lui dit de chasser ses peurs : – « Oui, jeune fille ; les pauvres Fitz-James revendiquent la fidélité de l'Écosse. À lui, expose tes maux, tes souhaits ; Il honorera son anneau. Ne demande rien pour Douglas ; hier soir, Son Prince et lui se sont réconciliés ; Il a été victime de la calomnie, Et moi, de la trahison de ses parents. Nous ne voulions pas, devant la foule, Céder à leurs demandes pressantes ; Calmement, nous avons entendu et jugé son cas, Notre conseil a soutenu la loi. J'ai arrêté la vendetta de Douglas Avec De Vaux et Glencairn ; Et le Seigneur de Bothwell, désormais, Est l'ami et le bouclier de notre trône. – Mais, infidèle, que vois-je ? Qu'est-ce qui assombrit ton regard ? Seigneur James de Douglas, aide-moi ; Toi, tu dois la rassurer. »
XXVIII.
Alors, le noble Douglas s'avance, Et sa fille se jette dans ses bras. Le Monarque, dans cette heure heureuse, Goûte le plus doux, le plus saint fruit du pouvoir, – Quand il peut dire, avec une voix divine, « Relève-toi, Vertu, et réjouis-toi ! » Pourtant, il ne veut pas que les regards indiscrets Observent ces émotions naturelles ; Il s'interpose – « Non, Douglas, non, Ne lui vole pas sa convertie ! Le secret, c'est à moi de le découvrir, Qui a conduit à cette heureuse issue. Oui, Ellen, quand déguisé, je parcours La vie plus humble, mais plus heureuse, C'est sous un nom qui voile mon pouvoir, Mais ne le voile pas entièrement, – car le château de Stirling A jadis porté le nom de Snowdoun, Et les Normands m'appellent James Fitz-James. Ainsi, je veille sur les lois bafouées, Ainsi, je défends la cause injuriée. » Puis, d'une voix basse et secrète, – « Ah, petite traîtresse ! personne ne doit savoir Ce rêve futile, cette vanité coûteuse, Qui, avec la sorcellerie de ton regard, M'a conduit à Benvenue Dans une heure dangereuse, et m'a presque fait Tomber sous la glaive des montagnards ! » À haute voix, il dit : « Tu gardes toujours Ce petit talisman d'or, Gage de ma foi, l'anneau de Fitz-James, – Que demande la belle Ellen au Roi ? »
XXIX.
La jeune fille, consciente de sa faute, A deviné qu'il a percé son cœur ; Mais avec cette conscience, elle sent Une lueur d'espoir pour Graeme, Et plus elle craint que la colère du Monarque Ne s'enflamme contre celui qui, pour son père, A brandi l'épée rebelle ; Et, fidèle à son sentiment généreux, Elle demande la grâce de Roderick Dhu. « Ne plaide pas ; – seul le Roi des Rois Peut arrêter le vol de la mort. Je connais son cœur, je connais sa main, J'ai partagé sa table, et prouvé son épée ; Mon plus beau comté, je le donnerais Pour sauver le Chef de Clan-Alpine ! – As-tu une autre demande à faire ? Un autre ami captif à sauver ? » Rougissante, elle se détourne du Roi, Et donne l'anneau à Douglas, Comme si elle voulait que son père parle De la requête qui colore sa joue. « Non, alors, mon gage a perdu sa force, Et la justice suit son cours. Malcolm, avance ! » – et, sur son ordre, Le Graeme s'agenouille devant le Roi d'Écosse. « Pour toi, jeune homme, aucune suppliante ne plaide, De toi, la Vengeance peut réclamer son dû, Toi, qui, élevé dans notre faveur, As trahi notre confiance par une trahison, Et as cherché, parmi ton clan fidèle, Un refuge pour un homme hors-la-loi, Dishonorant ainsi ton nom loyal. – Fers et geôle pour le Graeme ! » Il détache sa chaîne d'or, Et la passe autour du cou de Malcolm, Puis, doucement, il la resserre, Et pose le fermoir sur la main d'Ellen.
Harp of the North, farewell! The hills grow dark, On purple peaks a deeper shade descending; In twilight copse the glow-worm lights her spark, The deer, half seen, are to the covert wending. Resume thy wizard elm! the fountain lending, And the wild breeze, thy wilder minstrelsy; Thy numbers sweet with nature's vespers blending, With distant echo from the fold and lea, And herd-boy's evening pipe, and hum of housing bee.
Yet, once again, farewell, thou Minstrel Harp! Yet, once again, forgive my feeble sway, And little reck I of the censure sharp May idly cavil at an idle lay. Much have I owed thy strains on life's long way, Through secret woes the world has never known, When on the weary night dawned wearier day, And bitterer was the grief devoured alone.-- That I o'erlive such woes, Enchantress! is thine own.
Hark! as my lingering footsteps slow retire, Some Spirit of the Air has waked thy string! 'Tis now a seraph bold, with touch of fire, 'Tis now the brush of Fairy's frolic wing. Receding now, the dying numbers ring Fainter and fainter down the rugged dell; And now the mountain breezes scarcely bring A wandering witch-note of the distant spell-- And now, 'tis silent all!--Enchantress, fare thee well!
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE NOTES.
Cf. (confer), compare. F.Q., Spenser's Faerie Queene. Fol., following. Id. (idem), the same. Lockhart, J. G. Lockhart's edition of Scott's poems (various issues). P.L., Milton's Paradise Lost. Taylor, R. W. Taylor's edition of The Lady of the Lake (London, 1875). Wb., Webster's Dictionary (revised quarto edition of 1879). Worc., Worcester's Dictionary (quarto edition). The abbreviations of the names of Shakespeare's plays will be readily understood. The line-numbers are those of the "Globe" edition.
The references to Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel are to canto and line; those to Marmion and other poems to canto and stanza.
NOTES.
Introduction.
The Lady of the Lake was first published in 1810, when Scott was thirty-nine, and it was dedicated to "the most noble John James, Marquis of Abercorn." Eight thousand copies were sold between June 2d and September 22d, 1810, and repeated editions were subsequently called for. In 1830, the following "Introduction" was prefixed to the poem by the author:--
After the success of Marmion, I felt inclined to exclaim with Ulysses in the Odyssey:
[Greek Letters] Odys. X. 5.
"One venturous game my hand has won to-day-- Another, gallants, yet remains to play."
The ancient manners, the habits and customs of the aboriginal race by whom the Highlands of Scotland were inhabited, had always appeared to me peculiarly adapted to poetry. The change in their manners, too, had taken place almost within my own time, or at least I had learned many particulars concerning the ancient state of the Highlands from the old men of the last generation. I had always thought the old Scottish Gael highly adapted for poetical composition. The feuds and political dissensions which, half a century earlier, would have rendered the richer and wealthier part of the kingdom indisposed to countenance a poem, the scene of which was laid in the Highlands, were now sunk in the generous compassion which the English, more than any other nation, feel for the misfortunes of an honourable foe. The Poems of Ossian had by their popularity sufficiently shown that, if writings on Highland subjects were qualified to interest the reader, mere national prejudices were, in the present day, very unlikely to interfere with their success.
I had also read a great deal, seen much, and heard more, of that romantic country where I was in the habit of spending some time every autumn; and the scenery of Lock Katrine was connected with the recollection of many a dear friend and merry expedition of former days. This poem, the action of which lay among scenes so beautiful and so deeply imprinted on my recollections, was a labour of love, and it was no less so to recall the manners and incidents introduced. The frequent custom of James IV., and particularly of James V., to walk through their kingdom in disguise, afforded me the hint of an incident which never fails to be interesting if managed with the slightest address or dexterity.
I may now confess, however, that the employment, though attended with great pleasure, was not without its doubts and anxieties. A lady, to whom I was nearly related, and with whom I lived, during her whole life, on the most brotherly terms of affection, was residing with me at the time when the work was in progress, and used to ask me, what I could possibly do to rise so early in the morning (that happening to be the most convenient to me for composition). At last I told her the subject of my meditations; and I can never forget the anxiety and affection expressed in her reply. "Do not be so rash," she said, "my dearest cousin. [2] You are already popular,--more so, perhaps, than you yourself will believe, or than even I, or other partial friends, can fairly allow to your merit. You stand high,--do not rashly attempt to climb higher, and incur the risk of a fall; for, depend upon it, a favourite will not be permitted even to stumble with impunity." I replied to this affectionate expostulation in the words of Montrose,--
"'He either fears his fate too much, Or his deserts are small, Who dares not put it to the touch To gain or lose it all.'
"If I fail," I said, for the dialogue is strong in my recollection, "it is a sign that I ought never to have succeeded, and I will write prose for life: you shall see no change in my temper, nor will I eat a single meal the worse. But if I succeed,
'Up with the bonnie blue bonnet, The dirk, and the feather, and a'!'"
Afterwards I showed my affectionate and anxious critic the first canto of the poem, which reconciled her to my imprudence. Nevertheless, although I answered thus confidently, with the obstinacy often said to be proper to those who bear my surname, I acknowledge that my confidence was considerably shaken by the warning of her excellent taste and unbiased friendship. Nor was I much comforted by her retraction of the unfavourable judgment, when I recollected how likely a natural partiality was to effect that change of opinion. In such cases, affection rises like a light on the canvas, improves any favourable tints which it formerly exhibited, and throws its defects into the shade.
I remember that about the same time a friend started in to "heeze up my hope," like the "sportsman with his cutty gun," in the old song. He was bred a farmer, but a man of powerful understanding, natural good taste, and warm poetical feeling, perfectly competent to supply the wants of an imperfect or irregular education. He was a passionate admirer of field-sports, which we often pursued together.
As this friend happened to dine with me at Ashestiel one day, I took the opportunity of reading to him the first canto of The Lady of the Lake, in order to ascertain the effect the poem was likely to produce upon a person who was but too favourable a representative of readers at large. It is of course to be supposed that I determined rather to guide my opinion by what my friend might appear to feel, than by what he might think fit to say. His reception of my recitation, or prelection, was rather singular. He placed his hand across his brow, and listened with great attention through the whole account of the stag-hunt, till the dogs threw themselves into the lake to follow their master, who embarks with Ellen Douglas. He then started up with a sudden exclamation, struck his hand on the table, and declared, in a voice of censure calculated for the occasion, that the dogs must have been totally ruined by being permitted to take the water after such a severe chase. I own I was much encouraged by the species of revery which had possessed so zealous a follower of the sports of the ancient Nimrod, who had been completely surprised out of all doubts of the reality of the tale. Another of his remarks gave me less pleasure. He detected the identity of the King with the wandering knight, Fitz-James, when he winds his bugle to summon his attendants. He was probably thinking of the lively, but somewhat licentious, old ballad, in which the denouement of a royal intrigue takes place as follows:
"He took a bugle frae his side, He blew both loud and shrill, And four and twenty belted knights Came skipping over the hill; Then he took out a little knife, Let a' his duddies fa', And he was the brawest gentleman That was amang them a'. And we'll go no more a roving," etc.
This discovery, as Mr. Pepys says of the rent in his camlet cloak, was but a trifle, yet it troubled me; and I was at a good deal of pains to efface any marks by which I thought my secret could be traced before the conclusion, when I relied on it with the same hope of producing effect, with which the Irish post-boy is said to reserve a "trot for the avenue."
I took uncommon pains to verify the accuracy of the local circumstances of this story. I recollect, in particular, that to ascertain whether I was telling a probable tale, I went into Perthshire, to see whether King James could actually have ridden from the banks of Loch Vennachar to Stirling Castle within the time supposed in the poem, and had the pleasure to satisfy myself that it was quite practicable.
For continuity only — this is the END of the previous section, already translated. Do NOT translate it again and do NOT repeat it in your output. Match its names, terminology and register: --- Il détache sa chaîne d'or, Et la passe autour du cou de Malcolm, Puis, doucement, il la resserre, Et pose le fermoir sur la main d'Ellen. ---
Après un délai considérable, *La Dame du Lac* parut en juin 1810 ; et son succès fut certainement si extraordinaire que je fus amené à conclure que j'avais enfin fixé un clou dans la roue proverbiale du destin, dont la stabilité en ma faveur, après trois tentatives consécutives, n'avait pas encore été ébranlée. J'avais atteint, peut-être, ce degré de réputation où la prudence, ou certainement la timidité, aurait fait une pause, et cessé les efforts par lesquels je risquais plus de diminuer ma renommée que de l'augmenter. Mais, comme le célèbre John Wilkes aurait expliqué à Sa Majesté, que lui-même, au sommet de sa popularité, n'était jamais un Wilkiste, je peux, avec une honnêteté sincère, m'exonérer d'avoir été à aucun moment un partisan de ma propre poésie, même quand elle était à la mode parmi le million. Je ne dois pas supposer que j'étais ingrat, ou excessivement candide, au point de mépriser ou de méconnaître la valeur de ceux dont la voix m'avait élevé si haut au-dessus de mon propre jugement. Au contraire, j'étais d'autant plus reconnaissant envers le public, qu'il m'accordait par partialité ce que je ne pouvais revendiquer par mérite ; et j'ai cherché à mériter cette partialité en continuant mes efforts pour leur divertissement.
Il se peut que, dans cette poursuite incessante, je n'aie pas consulté l'intérêt du public ni le mien. Mais le public avait des moyens efficaces de se défendre, et pouvait, par son indifférence, arrêter toute intrusion ; et pour moi, depuis plusieurs années, je m'étais tellement consacré au travail littéraire que j'aurais eu du mal à m'occuper autrement ; et ainsi, comme Dogberry, je donnais généreusement toute ma lourdeur au public, me consolant avec la réflexion que, si la postérité me jugeait indigne de la faveur dont j'avais joui auprès de mes contemporains, « ils ne pourraient que dire que j'avais la couronne », et que j'avais goûté, un temps, à cette popularité tant convoitée.
Je concevais, cependant, que je tenais ma position distinguée, bien qu'indignement, plutôt comme le champion de la pugilistique, [3] tenu d'être toujours prêt à prouver sa compétence, que comme le champion de la chevalerie, qui n'accomplit ses devoirs que lors d'occasions rares et solennelles. J'étais conscient que je ne pourrais longtemps conserver une situation que le caprice, plutôt que le jugement, du public m'avait accordée, et je préférais être déchu par un rival plus digne, plutôt que de tomber dans le mépris pour mon inertie, et de perdre ma réputation par ce que les avocats écossais appellent la prescription négative. Ainsi, ceux qui consulteront l'Introduction de *Rokeby* pourront retracer les étapes par lesquelles je suis passé de poète à romancier ; comme dit la ballade, la reine Eleanor s'est enfoncée à Charing Cross pour réapparaître à Queenhithe.
Il ne me reste qu'à dire que, pendant ma brève prééminence de popularité, j'ai fidèlement observé les règles de modération que je m'étais fixées avant de commencer ma carrière de littérateur. Si quelqu'un est déterminé à faire du bruit dans le monde, il est aussi sûr de rencontrer l'abus et la raillerie que celui qui galope furieusement à travers un village doit s'attendre à être suivi par les chiens en pleine chasse. Les personnes expérimentées savent que, en cherchant à fouetter ces derniers, le cavalier risque souvent une mauvaise chute ; et une tentative de châtier un critique malveillant n'est pas sans danger pour l'auteur. Par principe, j'ai laissé les parodies, les burlesques et les pamphlets suivre leur cours ; et tandis que ces derniers aboyaient le plus fort, j'ai pris soin de ne pas les ramasser, comme le font les écoliers, pour les lancer contre le méchant garçon qui les a tirés, me rappelant sagement qu'ils sont dans ces cas-là susceptibles d'exploser à la manipulation. Ajoutons que mon règne [4] (puisque Byron l'a ainsi appelé) a été marqué par des exemples de bonne humeur ainsi que de patience. Je n'ai jamais refusé à un littérateur de mérite les services qui étaient en mon pouvoir pour faciliter son chemin vers le public ; et j'ai eu l'avantage, plutôt rare pour notre race irritable, de jouir d'une faveur générale sans encourir d'inimitié permanente, autant que je sache, parmi mes contemporains.
W.S. Abbotsford, avril 1830.
Nos limites ne nous permettent pas d'ajouter des sélections étendues des nombreuses critiques du poème. Le verdict de Jeffrey, dans l'*Edinburgh Review*, lors de sa première parution, a été généralement entériné : –
« Dans l'ensemble, nous sommes enclins à penser plus haut de *La Dame du Lac* que de ses publications précédentes [le *Lay* et *Marmion*]. Nous sommes plus sûrs, cependant, qu'elle a moins de défauts que d'en avoir de plus grandes beautés ; et comme ses beautés ressemblent fort à celles que le public a déjà connues dans ces œuvres célébrées, nous ne serions pas surpris si sa popularité était moins splendide et remarquable. Pour notre part, cependant, nous pensons qu'elle sera plus souvent lue par la suite que l'une ou l'autre ; et que, si elle avait paru la première dans la série, leur réception aurait été moins favorable que celle qu'elle a rencontrée. Elle est plus soignée dans sa diction, et plus régulière dans sa versification ; l'histoire est construite avec infiniment plus d'habileté et d'adresse ; il y a une plus grande proportion de passages tendres et touchants, avec moins de détails antiquaires ; et, dans l'ensemble, une plus grande variété de personnages, plus habilement et judicieusement contrastés. Il n'y a rien d'aussi remarquable que la bataille dans *Marmion*, ou d'aussi pictural que certaines des scènes éparses dans le *Lay* ; mais il y a une richesse et une vigueur dans l'ensemble qui ne se retrouvent pas dans l'un ou l'autre de ces poèmes, – une profusion d'incidents et une brillance changeante de couleurs qui rappellent la magie d'Arioste, et une constante vivacité et une énergie occasionnelle qui semblent appartenir plus particulièrement à l'auteur qui nous occupe. »
Chant Premier.
Chaque chant est introduit par une ou plusieurs strophes spensériennes [5], formant une sorte de prélude. Celles qui précèdent le premier chant servent d'introduction à l'ensemble du poème, qui est « inspiré par l'esprit de l'ancienne poésie écossaise ».
2. Witch-elm. L'orme à feuilles larges ou orme blanc (Ulmus montana), indigène en Écosse. Les branches fourchues de l'arbre étaient utilisées à l'époque ancienne comme baguettes de sourcier, et les fouets de cheval fabriqués à partir de son bois étaient censés apporter la chance sur un voyage. Dans les dernières strophes du poème (vi. 846), il est appelé l'« orme enchanté ». Tennyson (In Memoriam, 89) fait référence à
« Witch-elms that counterchange the floor Of this flat lawn with dusk and bright. »
Saint Fillan était un abbé écossais du VIIe siècle qui devint célèbre comme saint. Il avait deux sources, qui semblent être confondues par certains éditeurs du poème. L'une se trouve à l'extrémité est de Loch Earn, où se trouve maintenant le joli village moderne de St. Fillans, sous l'ombre de Dun Fillan, ou les Collines de St. Fillan, hautes de cent quatre-vingts mètres, sur le sommet desquelles le saint avait l'habitude de prier, comme en témoignent les marques de ses genoux dans le rocher. L'autre source se trouve dans un autre village appelé St. Fillans, à près de cinquante kilomètres à l'ouest, juste à l'extérieur des limites de notre carte, sur la route de Tyndrum. Dans cette Piscine Sainte, comme on l'appelle, les fous étaient plongés avec certaines cérémonies, puis laissés attachés toute la nuit à l'air libre. S'ils étaient trouvés détachés le lendemain matin, on supposait qu'ils avaient été guéris. Ce traitement était pratiqué jusqu'en 1790, selon Pennant, qui ajoute que les patients étaient généralement trouvés le lendemain matin soulagés de leurs maux – par la mort. Un autre auteur, en 1843, affirme que la source est toujours visitée, non par les gens de la région, qui n'ont aucune foi en sa vertu, mais par ceux venant de loin. Scott fait allusion à cette source dans *Marmion*, i. 29 :
« Thence to Saint Fillan's blessed well, Whose springs can frenzied dreams dispel, And the crazed brain restore. »
3. And down the fitful breeze, etc. Le manuscrit original contient :
« And on the fitful breeze thy numbers flung, Till envious ivy, with her verdant ring, Mantled and muffled each melodious string, – O Wizard Harp, still must thine accents sleep? »
10. Caledon. La Calédonie, le nom romain de l'Écosse.
14. Each according pause. C'est-à-dire, chaque pause dans le chant. Dans *Marmion*, ii. 11, according est utilisé pour la musique qui remplit les intervalles d'autre musique :
« Soon as they neared his turrets strong, The maidens raised Saint Hilda's song, And with the sea-wave and the wind Their voices, sweetly shrill, combined, And made harmonious close; Then, answering from the sandy shore, Half-drowned amid the breakers' roar, According chorus rose. »
Le manuscrit contient ici :
« At each according pause thou spokest aloud Thine ardent sympathy sublime and high. »
28. The stag at eve had drunk his fill. Le mètre du poème proprement dit est iambique, c'est-à-dire avec l'accent sur les syllabes paires, et octosyllabique, ou huit syllabes par vers.
29. Monan's rill. Saint Monan était un martyr écossais du IVe siècle. Nous ne trouvons aucune mention d'un ruisseau portant son nom.
31. Glenartney. Une vallée au nord-est de Callander, avec Benvoirlich (qui s'élève à 945 mètres) au nord, et Uam-Var (voir 53 ci-dessous) au sud, la séparant de la vallée de la Teith. Elle tire son nom de l'Artney, le ruisseau qui la traverse.
32. His beacon red. La figure est appropriée pour décrire cette région, où les feux sur les sommets des collines étaient souvent utilisés comme signaux dans les temps anciens. Cf. le *Lay*, iii. 379 :
« And soon a score of fires, I ween, From height, and hill, and cliff, were seen, Each with warlike tidings fraught; Each from each the signal caught, » etc.
34. Deep-mouthed. Cf. Shakespeare, 1 Hen. VI. ii. 4. 12 : « Between two dogs, which hath the deeper mouth » ; et T. of S. ind. 1. 18 : « the deep-mouthed brach » (c'est-à-dire, limier).
Le manuscrit contient :
« The bloodhound's notes of heavy bass Resounded hoarsely up the pass. »
35. Resounded... rocky. Le poète utilise souvent « l'art subtil de l'allitération », comme ici, et dans les deux vers suivants ; le plus souvent en paires de mots.
38. As Chief, etc. Notez ici, comme souvent, la simile placée AVANT ce qu'elle illustre, – un arrangement rhétorique, bien que non logique.
45. Beamed frontlet. Front ornée de bois.
46. Adown. Un exemple de mot purement poétique, inadmissible en prose.
49. Chase. Ici utilisé pour désigner ceux qui participent à la chasse ; comme aux vers 101 et 171, ci-dessous. L'un de ses sens réguliers est l'OBJET de la chasse, ou l'animal poursuivi.
53. Uam-Var. « Ua-Var, comme le nom est prononcé, ou plus proprement Uaigh-mor, est une montagne au nord-est du village de Callander, dans le Menteith, tirant son nom, qui signifie le grand déni, ou cavité, d'un genre de retraite parmi les rochers sur le côté sud, dite, par tradition, avoir été l'habitation d'un géant. Dans les temps modernes, elle était le repaire de voleurs et de bandits, qui n'ont été exterminés que dans les quarante ou cinquante dernières années. Strictement parlant, ce repaire n'est pas une caverne, comme le nom pourrait le suggérer, mais une sorte de petite enclosure, ou recess, entourée de grands rochers et ouverte au-dessus. On pense qu'elle pourrait avoir été à l'origine conçue comme un piège pour les cerfs, qui pourraient entrer de l'extérieur, mais auraient du mal à ressortir. Cette opinion prévaut parmi les vieux chasseurs et traqueurs de cerfs dans les environs » (Scott).
54. Yelled. Notez la force emphatique de l'inversion, comme au vers 59 ci-dessous. Cf. 38 ci-dessus.
Opening. C'est-à-dire, aboyant à la vue ou à l'odeur du gibier ; un terme de chasse. Cf. Shakespeare, M. W. iv. 2. 209 : « If I bark out thus upon no trail never trust me when I open again. »
La description de l'écho qui suit est très animée.
66. Cairn. Littéralement, un amas de pierres ; ici utilisé poétiquement pour désigner le point rocheux que le faucon utilise comme poste d'observation.
69. Hurricane. Une métaphore pour la course sauvage de la chasse.
71. Linn. Littéralement, une mare profonde ; mais souvent = cascade, comme dans Bracklinn, ii. 270 ci-dessous (cf. vi. 488), et parfois = précipice.
73. On the lone wood. Notez la variation musicale dans la mesure ici ; les 1ère, 3ème, et 4ème syllabes étant accentuées au lieu des 2ème et 4ème. Elle est occasionnellement introduite dans le mètre iambique avec un effet admirable. Cf. 85 et 97 ci-dessous.
76. The cavern, etc. Voir 53 ci-dessus.
80. Perforce. Un mot poétique. Voir 46 ci-dessus.
84. Shrewdly. Sévèrement, vivement ; un sens maintenant obsolète. Shrewd signifiait à l'origine malin, malveillant. Cf. Shakespeare, A. Y. L. v. 4. 179, où il est dit que ceux
« That have endur'd shrewd days and nights with us Shall share the good of our returned fortune. »
Dans Chaucer (Tale of Melibocus), on trouve, « The prophete saith: Flee shrewdnesse, and do goodnesse » (en référence à Ps. xxxiv. 14).
89. Menteith. Le district dans la partie sud-ouest du Perthshire, arrosé par la Teith.
91. Mountain and meadow, etc. Voir 35 ci-dessus. Moss est utilisé dans le sens du nord de l'Angleterre de terrain marécageux ou tourbeux, comme le célèbre Chat Moss entre Liverpool et Manchester.
93. Lochard. Loch Ard est un joli lac, à environ huit kilomètres au sud de Loch Katrine. Sur son côté est se trouve la scène de la skirmish d'Helen Macgregor avec les troupes du Roi dans *Rob Roy* ; et près de sa tête, sur le côté nord, se trouve une cascade, qui est l'original du lieu de prédilection de Flora MacIvor dans *Waverley*. Aberfoyle est un village à environ un kilomètre et demi à l'est du lac.
95. Loch Achray. Un lac entre Loch Katrine et Loch Vennachar, situé juste au-delà du passage des Trossachs.
97. Benvenue. Une montagne, haute de 755 mètres, sur le côté sud de Loch Katrine.
98. With the hope. Le manuscrit contient « with the THOUGHT », et « flying HOOF » dans le vers suivant.
102. 'Twere. Cela serait. Cf. Shakespeare, Macb. ii. 2. 73 : « To know my deed, 't were best not know myself. »
103. Cambusmore. Le domaine d'une famille nommée Buchanan, que Scott a souvent visitée dans sa jeunesse. Il est à environ deux kilomètres de Callander, sur les rives boisées de la Keltie, un affluent de la Teith.
105. Benledi. Une montagne, haute de 915 mètres, au nord-ouest de Callander. Le nom signifierait « Montagne de Dieu ».
106. Bochastle's heath. Une lande entre l'extrémité est de Loch Vennachar et Callander. Voir aussi v. 298 ci-dessous.
107. The flooded Teith. La Teith est formée par des ruisseaux venant de Loch Voil et de Loch Katrine (par Loch Achray et Loch Vennachar), qui se joignent à Callander. Elle rejoint la Forth près de Stirling.
111. Vennachar. Comme la carte le montre, ce « Lac de la Belle Vallée » est le plus oriental des trois lacs autour desquels se déroule le décor du poème. Il mesure environ huit kilomètres de long et un kilomètre et demi de large.
112. The Brigg of Turk. Ce brig, ou pont (cf. le poème de Burns *The Brigs of Ayr*), est sur un ruisseau qui descend de Glenfinlas et se jette dans celui qui relie Lochs Achray et Vennachar. Selon Graham, c'est « le lieu de la mort d'un sanglier célèbre dans la tradition celtique ».
114. Unbated. Cf. Shakespeare, M. of V. ii. 6. 11 :
« Where is the horse that doth untread again His tedious measures with the unbated fire That he did pace them first? »
115. Scourge and steel. Fouet et éperon. Steel est souvent utilisé pour l'épée (comme au v. 239 ci-dessous : « foeman worthy of their steel »), la figure étant du même type que ici – « le matériau mis pour la chose faite ». Cf. v. 479 ci-dessous.
117. Embossed. Un vieux terme de chasse. George Turbervile, dans son *Noble Art of Venerie or Hunting* (A.D. 1576), dit : « When the hart is foamy at the mouth, we say, that he is emboss'd. » Cf. Shakespeare, T. of S. ind. 1. 17 : « Brach Merriman, the poor cur, is emboss'd » ; et A. and C. iv. 13. 3 :
« the boar of Thessaly Was never so emboss'd. »
120. Saint Hubert's breed. Scott cite Turbervile ici : « Les chiens que nous appelons les chiens de Saint Hubert sont généralement tous noirs, mais néanmoins, la race est si mélangée de nos jours, que nous les trouvons de toutes couleurs. Ce sont les chiens que les abbés de St. Hubert ont toujours gardés, en mémoire du saint, qui était un chasseur comme St. Eustache. Ce qui nous permet de croire que (par la grâce de Dieu) tous les bons chasseurs le suivront au paradis. »
127. Quarry. L'animal chassé ; un autre terme technique. Shakespeare l'utilise au sens d'un tas de gibier abattu ; comme dans Cor. i. 1. 202 :
« Would the nobility lay aside their ruth, And let me use my sword, I'd make a quarry With thousands of these quarter'd slaves, » etc.
Cf. Longfellow, *Hiawatha* :
« Seldom stoops the soaring vulture O'er his quarry in the desert. »
130. Stock. Souche d'arbre. Cf. Job, xiv. 8.
133. Turn to bay. Comme stand at bay, etc., un terme utilisé quand le cerf, poussé à l'extrême, se retourne et fait face à ses poursuivants. Cf. Shakespeare, 1 Hen. VI. iv. 2. 52, où il est utilisé figurativement (comme au vi. 525 ci-dessous) :
« Turn on the bloody hounds with heads of steel, And make the cowards stand aloof at bay » ;
et T. of S. v. 2. 56 : « 'T is thought your deer does hold you at a bay », etc.
137. For the death-wound, etc. Scott a la note suivante ici : « Quand le cerf se tourne pour se défendre, l'ancien chasseur avait la tâche périlleuse de s'approcher et de le tuer ou de le blesser. À certaines périodes de l'année, cela était considéré comme particulièrement dangereux, une blessure infligée par la corne d'un cerf étant alors jugée venimeuse, et plus dangereuse que celle infligée par les défenses d'un sanglier, comme l'atteste l'ancien dicton :
'Si tu es blessé par un cerf, cela te mènera à ta tombe, Mais la main d'un barbier guérira une blessure de sanglier, donc tu n'as pas à craindre.'
À toute époque, cependant, la tâche était dangereuse, et devait être entreprise avec prudence et adresse, soit en se plaçant derrière le cerf pendant qu'il regarde les chiens, soit en attendant l'occasion de l'approcher à cheval et de le tuer avec l'épée. Voir de nombreuses instructions à cet effet dans le *Booke of Hunting*, chap. 41. Wilson, l'historien, a raconté une évasion providentielle qu'il a vécue dans cette dangereuse chasse, alors qu'il était jeune et suiveur du comte d'Essex :
For continuity only — this is the END of the previous section, already translated. Do NOT translate it again and do NOT repeat it in your output. Match its names, terminology and register: --- « Tu as rêvé un rêve, et c'est passé, Et le matin se lève clair et rapide. Mais dis-moi, Malise, as-tu vu quelque chose De la Dame du Lac, qui a apporté La Croix de Feu à Duncraggan's hall, Et nous a appelés à son appel redoutable ? » Malise. « Je ne l'ai pas vue, mais j'ai entendu sa voix, Et elle disait, "Malise, fais ton choix, Si tu veux être un homme de marié, ---
'Sir Peter Lee, of Lime, in Cheshire, invited my lord one summer to hunt the stagg. And having a great stagg in chase, and many gentlemen in the pursuit, the stag took soyle. And divers, whereof I was one, alighting, stood with swords drawne, to have a cut at him, at his coming out of the water. The staggs there being wonderfully fierce and dangerous, made us youths more eager to be at him. But he escaped us all. And it was my misfortune to be hindered of my coming nere him, the way being sliperie, by a falle; which gave occasion to some, who did not know mee, to speak as if I had falne for feare. Which being told mee, I left the stagg, and followed the gentleman who [first] spake it. But I found him of that cold temper, that it seems his words made an escape from him; as by his denial and repentance it appeared. But this made mee more violent in the pursuit of the stagg, to recover my reputation. And I happened to be the only horseman in, when the dogs sett him up at bay; and approaching near him on horsebacke, he broke through the dogs, and run at mee, and tore my horse's side with his hornes, close by my thigh. Then I quitted my horse, and grew more cunning (for the dogs had sette him up againe), stealing behind him with my sword, and cut his hamstrings; and then got upon his back, and cut his throate; which, as I was doing, the company came in, and blamed my rashness for running such a hazard' (Peck's Desiderata Curiosa, ii. 464).
138. Whinyard. A short stout sword or knife; the same as the whinger of the Lay of the Last Minstrel, v. 7 :
"And whingers, now in friendship bare The social meal to part and share, Had found a bloody sheath."
142. Turned him. In Elizabethan, and still more in earlier English, personal pronouns were often used reflexively; and this, like many other old constructions, is still used in poetry.
145. Trosachs. "The rough or bristled territory" (Graham); the wild district between Lochs Katrine and Vennachar. The name is now especially applied to the pass between Lochs Katrine and Achray.
147. Close couched. That is, as he lay close couched, or hidden. Such ellipses are common in poetry.
150. Amain. With main, or full force. We still say "with might and main."
151. Chiding. Not a mere figurative use of chide as we now understand it (cf. 287 below), but an example of the old sense of the word as applied to any oft-repeated noise. Shakespeare uses it of the barking of dogs in M. N. D. iv. 1. 120 :
"never did I hear Such gallant chiding;"
of the wind, as in A. Y. L. ii. 1. 7 : "And churlish chiding of the winter's wind;" and of the sea, as in 1 Hen. IV. iii. 1. 45 :
"the sea That chides the banks of England;"
and Hen. VIII. iii. 2. 197 : "the chiding flood."
163. The banks of Seine. James visited France in 1536, and sued for the hand of Magdalen, daughter of Francis I. He married her the following spring, but she died a few months later. He then married Mary of Guise, whom he had doubtless seen while in France.
166. Woe worth the chase. That is, woe be to it. This worth is from the A. S. weorthan, to become. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 6. 32 :
"Wo worth the man, That first did teach the cursed steele to bight In his owne flesh, and make way to the living spright!"
See also Ezek. xxx. 2.
180. And on the hunter, etc. The MS. reads :
"And on the hunter hied his pace, To meet some comrades of the chase;"
and the 1st ed. retains "pace" and "chase."
184. The western waves, etc. The description of the Trosachs was written amid the scenery it delineates, in the summer of 1809. The Quarterly Review (May, 1810) says of the poet : "He sees everything with a painter's eye. Whatever he represents has a character of individuality, and is drawn with an accuracy and minuteness of discrimination which we are not accustomed to expect from mere verbal description. It is because Mr. Scott usually delineates those objects with which he is perfectly familiar that his touch is so easy, correct, and animated. The rocks, the ravines, and the torrents which he exhibits are not the imperfect sketches of a hurried traveller, but the finished studies of a resident artist." See also on 278 below.
Ruskin (Modern Painters, iii. 278) refers to "the love of color" as a leading element in Scott's love of beauty. He might have quoted the present passage among the illustrations he adds.
195. The native bulwarks, etc. The MS. has "The mimic castles of the pass."
196. The tower, etc. Cf. Gen. xi. 1-9.
198. The rocky. The 1st ed. has "Their rocky," etc.
204. Nor were, etc. The MS. reads : "Nor were these mighty bulwarks bare."
208. Dewdrop sheen. Not "dewdrops sheen," or "dewdrops' sheen," as sometimes printed. Sheen = shining, bright; as in v. 10 below. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 1. 10 : "So faire and sheene;" Id. iii. 4. 51 : "in top of heaven sheene," etc. See Wb. The MS. has here : "Bright glistening with the dewdrop sheen."
212. Boon. Bountiful. Cf. Milton, P. L. iv. 242 :
"Flowers worthy of Paradise, which not nice art In beds and curious knots, but nature boon Pour'd forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain."
See also P. L. ix. 793 : "jocund and boon."
217. Bower. In the old sense of chamber, lodging-place; as in iv. 413 and vi. 218 below. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. iii. 1. 58 :
"Eftesoones long waxen torches weren light Unto their bowres to guyden every guest."
For clift (= cleft), the reading of the 1st ed. and unquestionably what Scott wrote, every other edition that we have seen reads "cliff."
219. Emblems of punishment and pride. See on iii. 19 below.
222, 223. Note the imperfect rhyme in breath and beneath. Cf. 224-25, 256-57, 435-36, 445-46 below. Such instances are comparatively rare in Scott's poetry. Some rhymes that appear to be imperfect are to be explained by peculiarities of Scottish pronunciation. See on 363 below.
227. Shaltered. The MS. has "scathed;" also "rugged arms athwart the sky" in 229, and "twinkling" for glistening in 231. The 1st ed. has "scattered" for shattered; corrected in the Errata.
231. Streamers. Of ivy or other vines.
238. Affording, etc. The MS. reads :
"Affording scarce such breadth of flood As served to float the wild-duck's brood."
247. Emerging, etc. The MS. has "Emerging dry-shod from the wood."
254. And now, to issue from the glen, etc. "Until the present road was made through the romantic pass which I have presumptuously attempted to describe in the preceding stanzas, there was no mode of issuing out of the defile called the Trosachs, excepting by a sort of ladder, composed of the branches and roots of trees" (Scott).
263. Loch Katrine. In a note to The Fair Maid of Perth, Scott derives the name from the Catterans, or Highland robbers, that once infested the shores of the lake. Others make it "the Lake of the Battle," in memory of some prehistoric conflict.
267. Livelier. Because in motion; like living gold above.
270. Benvenue. See on 97 above.
271. Down to. Most editions misprint "down on."
272. Confusedly. A trisyllable; as in ii. 161 below, and in the Lay, iii. 337 : "And helms and plumes, confusedly tossed."
274. Wildering. Bewildering. Cf. Dryden, Aurungzebe, i. 1 : "wilder'd in the way," etc. See also 434 and v. 22 below.
275. His ruined sides, etc. The MS. reads :
"His ruined sides and fragments hoar, While on the north to middle air."
277. Ben-an. This mountain, 1800 feet high, is north of the Trosachs, separating that pass from Glenfinlas.
278. From the steep, etc. The MS. reads :
"From the high promontory gazed The stranger, awe-struck and amazed."
The Critical Review (Aug. 1820) remarks of this portion of the poem (184 fol.) : "Perhaps the art of landscape-painting in poetry has never been displayed in higher perfection than in these stanzas, to which rigid criticism might possibly object that the picture is somewhat too minute, and that the contemplation of it detains the traveller somewhat too long from the main purpose of his pilgrimage, but which it would be an act of the greatest injustice to break into fragments and present by piecemeal. Not so the magnificent scene which bursts upon the bewildered hunter as he emerges at length from the dell, and commands at one view the beautiful expanse of Loch Katrine."
281. Churchman. In its old sense of one holding high office in the church. Cf. Shakespeare, 2 Hen. VI. i. 3. 72, where Cardinal Beaufort is called "the imperious churchman," etc.
285. Cloister. Monastery; originally, the covered walk around the inner court of the building.
287. Chide. Here, figuratively, in the modern sense. See in 151 above.
290. Should lave. The 1st ed. has "did lave," which is perhaps to be preferred.
294. While the deep peal's. For the measure, see on 73 above.
300. To friendly feast, etc. The MS. has "To hospitable feast and hall."
302. Beshrew. May evil befall (see on shrewdly, 84 above); a mild imprecation, often used playfully and even tenderly. Cf. Shakespeare, 2 Hen. IV. ii. 3. 45 :
"Beshrew your heart, Fair daughter, you do draw my spirits from me With new lamenting ancient oversights!"
305. Some mossy bank, etc. The MS. reads :
"And hollow trunk of some old tree My chamber for the night must be."
313. Highland plunderers. "The clans who inhabited the romantic regions in the neighborhood of Loch Katrine were, even until a late period, much addicted to predatory excursions upon their Lowland neighbors" (Scott).
317. Fall the worst. If the worst befall that can happen. Cf. Shakespeare, M. of V. i. 2. 96 : "an the worst fall that ever fell, I hope I shall make shift to go without him."
319. But scarce again, etc. The MS. reads :
"The bugle shrill again he wound, And lo! forth starting at the sound;"
and just below :
"A little skiff shot to the bay. The hunter left his airy stand, And when the boat had touched the sand, Concealed he stood amid the brake, To view this Lady of the Lake."
336. Strain. The 1st ed. has a comma after strain, and a period after art in 340. The ed. of 1821 points as in the text.
342. Naiad. Water nymph.
343. And ne'er did Grecian chisel, etc. The MS. reads :
"A finer form, a fairer face, Had never marble Nymph or Grace, That boasts the Grecian chisel's trace;"
and in 359 below, "a stranger tongue."
353. Measured mood. The formal manner required by court etiquette.
360. Dear. This is the reading of the 1st ed. and almost every other that we have seen. We are inclined, however, to believe that Scott wrote "clear." The facsimiles of his handwriting show that his d's and cl's might easily be confounded by a compositor.
363. Snood. The fillet or ribbon with which the Scotch maidens bound their hair. See on iii. 114 below. It is the rich materials of snood, plaid, and brooch that betray her birth.
The rhyme of plaid with maid and betrayed is not imperfect, the Scottish pronunciation of plaid being like our played.
385. One only. For the inversion, cf. Shakespeare, J. C. i. 2. 157 : "When there is in it but one only man;" Goldsmith, D. V. 39 : "One only master grasps the whole domain," etc.
393. Awhile she paused, etc. The MS. reads :
"A space she paused, no answer came,-- 'Alpine, was thine the blast?' the name Less resolutely uttered fell, The echoes could not catch the swell. 'Nor foe nor friend,' the stranger said, Advancing from the hazel shade. The startled maid, with hasty oar, Pushed her light shallop from the shore."
and just below :
"So o'er the lake the swan would spring, Then turn to prune its ruffled wing."
404. Prune. Pick out damaged feathers and arrange the plumage with the bill. Cf. Shakespeare, Cymb. v. 4. 118 :
"his royal bird Prunes the immortal wing," etc.
408. Wont. Are wont, or accustomed; now used only in the participle. The form here is the past tense of the obsolete won, or wone, to dwell. The present is found in Milton, P. L. vii. 457 :
"As from his lair the wild beast, where he wons In forest wild, in thicket, brake, or den."
Cf. Spenser, Virgil's Gnat :
"Of Poets Prince, whether we woon beside Faire Xanthus sprincled with Chimaeras blood, Or in the woods of Astery abide;"
and Colin Clouts Come Home Againe :
"I weened sure he was out God alone, And only woond in fields and forests here."
See also iv. 278 and 298 below.
409. Middle age. As James died at the age of thirty (in 1542), this is not strictly true, but the portrait in other respects is quite accurate. He was fond of going about disguised, and some of his freaks of this kind are pleasantly related in Scott's Tales of a Grandfather. See on vi. 740 below.
425. Slighting, etc. "Treating lightly his need of food and shelter."
432. At length. The 1st ed. has "at last."
433. That Highland halls were, etc. The MS. has "Her father's hall was," etc.
434. Wildered. See on 274 above.
438. A couch. That is, the heather for it. Cf. 666 below.
441. Mere. Lake; as in Windermere, etc.
443. Rood. Cross, or crucifix. By the rood was a common oath; so by the holy rood, as in Shakespeare, Rich. III. iii. 2. 77, iv. 4. 165. Cf. the name of Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. See ii. 221 below.
451. Romantic. The MS. has "enchanting."
457. Yesternight. We have lost this word, though we retain yesterday. Cf. yester-morn in v. 104 below. As far = as far back as.
460. Was on, etc. The MS. reads : "Is often on the future bent." If force of evidence could authorize us to believe facts inconsistent with the general laws of nature, enough might be produced in favor of the existence of the second-sight. It is called in Gaelic Taishitaraugh, from Taish, an unreal or shadowy appearance; and those possessed of the faculty are called Taishatrin, which may be aptly translated visionaries. Martin, a steady believer in the second-sight, gives the following account of it :--
'The second-sight is a singular faculty of seeing an otherwise invisible object without any previous means used by the person that uses if for that end : the vision makes such a lively impression upon the seers, that they neither see nor think of any thing else, except the vision, as long as it continues; and then they appear pensive or jovial, according to the object that was represented to them.
'At the sight of a vision, the eyelids of the person are erected, and the eyes continue staring until the object vanish. This is obvious to others who are by when the persons happen to see a vision, and occurred more than once to my own observation, and to others that were with me....
'If a woman is seen standing at a man's left hand, it is a presage that she will be his wife, whether they be married to others, or unmarried at the time of the apparition.
'To see a spark of fire fall upon one's arm or breast is a forerunner of a dead child to be seen in the arms of those persons; of which there are several fresh instances....
'To see a seat empty at the time of one's sitting in it, is a presage of that person's death soon after' (Martin's Description of the Western Islands, 1716, 8vo, p. 300, et seq.).
"To these particulars innumerable examples might be added, all attested by grave and credible authors. But, in despite of evidence which neither Bacon, Boyle, nor Johnson were able to resist, the Taish, with all its visionary properties, seems to be now universally abandoned to the use of poetry. The exquisitely beautiful poem of Lochiel will at once occur to the recollection of every reader" (Scott).
462. Birchen. Shaded by birches. Cf. Milton's "cedarn alleys" in Comus, 990.
464. Lincoln green. A cloth made in Lincoln, much worn by hunters.
467. Heron. The early eds. have "heron's."
475. Errant-knight. Knight-errant.
476. Sooth. True. We find soothest in Milton, Comus, 823. The noun sooth (truth) is more common, and still survives in soothsayer (teller of hidden truth). Cf. v. 64 below.
478. Emprise. Enterprise. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 7. 39 : "But give me leave to follow my emprise," etc.
485. His noble hand. The MS. has "This gentle hand;" and in the next line, "the oars he drew."
490. Frequent. Often; one of the many instances of the adjective used adverbially in the poem.
492. The rocky isle. It is still known as Ellen's Isle. "It is rather high, and irregularly pyramidal. It is mostly composed of dark-gray rocks, mottled with pale and gray lichens, peeping out here and there amid trees that mantle them,--chiefly light, graceful birches, intermingled with red-berried mountain ashes and a few dark-green, spiry pines. The landing is beneath an aged oak; and, as did the Lady and the Knight, the traveller now ascends 'a clambering unsuspected road,' by rude steps, to the small irregular summit of the island. A more poetic, romantic retreat could hardly be imagined : it is unique. It is completely hidden, not only by the trees, but also by an undergrowth of beautiful and abundant ferns and the loveliest of heather" (Hunnewell's Lands of Scott).
500. Winded. Wound; used for the sake of the measure, as in v. 22 below. We find the participle winded in Much Ado, i. 1. 243; but it is = blown. The verb in that sense is derived from the noun wind (air in motion), and has no connection with wind, to turn. Cf. Wb.
504. Here for retreat, etc. Scott has the following note here : "The Celtic chieftains, whose lives were continually exposed to peril, had usually, in the most retired spot of their domains, some place of retreat for the hour of necessity, which, as circumstances would admit, was a tower, a cavern, or a rustic hut, in a strong and secluded situation. One of these last gave refuge to the unfortunate Charles Edward, in his perilous wanderings after the battle of Culloden.
"It was situated in the face of a very rough, high, and rocky mountain, called Letternilichk, still a part of Benalder, full of great stones and crevices, and some scattered wood interspersed. The habitation called the Cage, in the face of that mountain, was within a small thick bush of wood. There were first some rows of trees laid down, in order to level the floor for a habitation; and as the place was steep, this raised the lower side to an equal height with the other : and these trees, in the way of joists or planks, were levelled with earth and gravel. There were betwixt the trees, growing naturally on their own roots, some stakes fixed in the earth, which, with the trees, were interwoven with ropes, made of heath and birch twigs, up to the top of the Cage, it being of a round or rather oval shape; and the whole thatched and covered over with fog. The whole fabric hung, as it were, by a large tree, which reclined from the one end, all along the roof, to the other, and which gave it the name of the Cage; and by chance there happened to be two stones at a small distance from one another, in the side next the precipice, resembling the pillars of a chimney, where the fire was placed. The smoke had its vent out here, all along the fall of the rock, which was so much of the same color, that one could discover no difference in the clearest day' (Home's History of the Rebellion, Lond. 1802, 4to, p. 381)."
525. Idoean vine. Some have taken this to refer to the "red whortleberry," the botanical name of which is Vaccinium vitis Idoea; but as that is not a climber, it is more probably that the common vine is here meant. Idoean is from Ida, a mountain near ancient Troy (there was another in Crete), famous for its vines.
526. Clematis. The Climatis vitalba, one of the popular English names of which is virgin-bower.
'Sir Peter Lee, of Lime, in Cheshire, invited my lord one summer to hunt the stagg. And having a great stagg in chase, and many gentlemen in the pursuit, the stag took soyle. And divers, whereof I was one, alighting, stood with swords drawne, to have a cut at him, at his coming out of the water. The staggs there being wonderfully fierce and dangerous, made us youths more eager to be at him. But he escaped us all. And it was my misfortune to be hindered of my coming nere him, the way being sliperie, by a falle; which gave occasion to some, who did not know mee, to speak as if I had falne for feare. Which being told mee, I left the stagg, and followed the gentleman who [first] spake it. But I found him of that cold temper, that it seems his words made an escape from him; as by his denial and repentance it appeared. But this made mee more violent in the pursuit of the stagg, to recover my reputation. And I happened to be the only horseman in, when the dogs sett him up at bay; and approaching near him on horsebacke, he broke through the dogs, and run at mee, and tore my horse's side with his hornes, close by my thigh. Then I quitted my horse, and grew more cunning (for the dogs had sette him up againe), stealing behind him with my sword, and cut his hamstrings; and then got upon his back, and cut his throate; which, as I was doing, the company came in, and blamed my rashness for running such a hazard' (Peck's Desiderata Curiosa, ii. 464).
138. Whinyard. A short stout sword or knife; the same as the whinger of the Lay of the Last Minstrel, v. 7 :
"And whingers, now in friendship bare The social meal to part and share, Had found a bloody sheath."
142. Turned him. In Elizabethan, and still more in earlier English, personal pronouns were often used reflexively; and this, like many other old constructions, is still used in poetry.
145. Trosachs. "The rough or bristled territory" (Graham); the wild district between Lochs Katrine and Vennachar. The name is now especially applied to the pass between Lochs Katrine and Achray.
147. Close couched. That is, as he lay close couched, or hidden. Such ellipses are common in poetry.
150. Amain. With main, or full force. We still say "with might and main."
151. Chiding. Not a mere figurative use of chide as we now understand it (cf. 287 below), but an example of the old sense of the word as applied to any oft-repeated noise. Shakespeare uses it of the barking of dogs in M. N. D. iv. 1. 120 :
"never did I hear Such gallant chiding;"
of the wind, as in A. Y. L. ii. 1. 7 : "And churlish chiding of the winter's wind;" and of the sea, as in 1 Hen. IV. iii. 1. 45 :
"the sea That chides the banks of England;"
and Hen. VIII. iii. 2. 197 : "the chiding flood."
163. The banks of Seine. James visited France in 1536, and sued for the hand of Magdalen, daughter of Francis I. He married her the following spring, but she died a few months later. He then married Mary of Guise, whom he had doubtless seen while in France.
166. Woe worth the chase. That is, woe be to it. This worth is from the A. S. weorthan, to become. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 6. 32 :
"Wo worth the man, That first did teach the cursed steele to bight In his owne flesh, and make way to the living spright!"
See also Ezek. xxx. 2.
180. And on the hunter, etc. The MS. reads :
"And on the hunter hied his pace, To meet some comrades of the chase;"
and the 1st ed. retains "pace" and "chase."
184. The western waves, etc. The description of the Trosachs was written amid the scenery it delineates, in the summer of 1809. The Quarterly Review (May, 1810) says of the poet : "He sees everything with a painter's eye. Whatever he represents has a character of individuality, and is drawn with an accuracy and minuteness of discrimination which we are not accustomed to expect from mere verbal description. It is because Mr. Scott usually delineates those objects with which he is perfectly familiar that his touch is so easy, correct, and animated. The rocks, the ravines, and the torrents which he exhibits are not the imperfect sketches of a hurried traveller, but the finished studies of a resident artist." See also on 278 below.
Ruskin (Modern Painters, iii. 278) refers to "the love of color" as a leading element in Scott's love of beauty. He might have quoted the present passage among the illustrations he adds.
195. The native bulwarks, etc. The MS. has "The mimic castles of the pass."
196. The tower, etc. Cf. Gen. xi. 1-9.
198. The rocky. The 1st ed. has "Their rocky," etc.
204. Nor were, etc. The MS. reads : "Nor were these mighty bulwarks bare."
208. Dewdrop sheen. Not "dewdrops sheen," or "dewdrops' sheen," as sometimes printed. Sheen = shining, bright; as in v. 10 below. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 1. 10 : "So faire and sheene;" Id. iii. 4. 51 : "in top of heaven sheene," etc. See Wb. The MS. has here : "Bright glistening with the dewdrop sheen."
212. Boon. Bountiful. Cf. Milton, P. L. iv. 242 :
"Flowers worthy of Paradise, which not nice art In beds and curious knots, but nature boon Pour'd forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain."
See also P. L. ix. 793 : "jocund and boon."
217. Bower. In the old sense of chamber, lodging-place; as in iv. 413 and vi. 218 below. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. iii. 1. 58 :
"Eftesoones long waxen torches weren light Unto their bowres to guyden every guest."
For clift (= cleft), the reading of the 1st ed. and unquestionably what Scott wrote, every other edition that we have seen reads "cliff."
219. Emblems of punishment and pride. See on iii. 19 below.
222, 223. Note the imperfect rhyme in breath and beneath. Cf. 224-25, 256-57, 435-36, 445-46 below. Such instances are comparatively rare in Scott's poetry. Some rhymes that appear to be imperfect are to be explained by peculiarities of Scottish pronunciation. See on 363 below.
227. Shaltered. The MS. has "scathed;" also "rugged arms athwart the sky" in 229, and "twinkling" for glistening in 231. The 1st ed. has "scattered" for shattered; corrected in the Errata.
231. Streamers. Of ivy or other vines.
238. Affording, etc. The MS. reads :
"Affording scarce such breadth of flood As served to float the wild-duck's brood."
247. Emerging, etc. The MS. has "Emerging dry-shod from the wood."
254. And now, to issue from the glen, etc. "Until the present road was made through the romantic pass which I have presumptuously attempted to describe in the preceding stanzas, there was no mode of issuing out of the defile called the Trosachs, excepting by a sort of ladder, composed of the branches and roots of trees" (Scott).
263. Loch Katrine. In a note to The Fair Maid of Perth, Scott derives the name from the Catterans, or Highland robbers, that once infested the shores of the lake. Others make it "the Lake of the Battle," in memory of some prehistoric conflict.
267. Livelier. Because in motion; like living gold above.
270. Benvenue. See on 97 above.
271. Down to. Most editions misprint "down on."
272. Confusedly. A trisyllable; as in ii. 161 below, and in the Lay, iii. 337 : "And helms and plumes, confusedly tossed."
274. Wildering. Bewildering. Cf. Dryden, Aurungzebe, i. 1 : "wilder'd in the way," etc. See also 434 and v. 22 below.
275. His ruined sides, etc. The MS. reads :
"His ruined sides and fragments hoar, While on the north to middle air."
277. Ben-an. This mountain, 1800 feet high, is north of the Trosachs, separating that pass from Glenfinlas.
278. From the steep, etc. The MS. reads :
"From the high promontory gazed The stranger, awe-struck and amazed."
The Critical Review (Aug. 1820) remarks of this portion of the poem (184 fol.) : "Perhaps the art of landscape-painting in poetry has never been displayed in higher perfection than in these stanzas, to which rigid criticism might possibly object that the picture is somewhat too minute, and that the contemplation of it detains the traveller somewhat too long from the main purpose of his pilgrimage, but which it would be an act of the greatest injustice to break into fragments and present by piecemeal. Not so the magnificent scene which bursts upon the bewildered hunter as he emerges at length from the dell, and commands at one view the beautiful expanse of Loch Katrine."
281. Churchman. In its old sense of one holding high office in the church. Cf. Shakespeare, 2 Hen. VI. i. 3. 72, where Cardinal Beaufort is called "the imperious churchman," etc.
285. Cloister. Monastery; originally, the covered walk around the inner court of the building.
287. Chide. Here, figuratively, in the modern sense. See in 151 above.
290. Should lave. The 1st ed. has "did lave," which is perhaps to be preferred.
294. While the deep peal's. For the measure, see on 73 above.
300. To friendly feast, etc. The MS. has "To hospitable feast and hall."
302. Beshrew. May evil befall (see on shrewdly, 84 above); a mild imprecation, often used playfully and even tenderly. Cf. Shakespeare, 2 Hen. IV. ii. 3. 45 :
"Beshrew your heart, Fair daughter, you do draw my spirits from me With new lamenting ancient oversights!"
305. Some mossy bank, etc. The MS. reads :
"And hollow trunk of some old tree My chamber for the night must be."
313. Highland plunderers. "The clans who inhabited the romantic regions in the neighborhood of Loch Katrine were, even until a late period, much addicted to predatory excursions upon their Lowland neighbors" (Scott).
317. Fall the worst. If the worst befall that can happen. Cf. Shakespeare, M. of V. i. 2. 96 : "an the worst fall that ever fell, I hope I shall make shift to go without him."
319. But scarce again, etc. The MS. reads :
"The bugle shrill again he wound, And lo! forth starting at the sound;"
and just below :
"A little skiff shot to the bay. The hunter left his airy stand, And when the boat had touched the sand, Concealed he stood amid the brake, To view this Lady of the Lake."
336. Strain. The 1st ed. has a comma after strain, and a period after art in 340. The ed. of 1821 points as in the text.
342. Naiad. Water nymph.
343. And ne'er did Grecian chisel, etc. The MS. reads :
"A finer form, a fairer face, Had never marble Nymph or Grace, That boasts the Grecian chisel's trace;"
and in 359 below, "a stranger tongue."
353. Measured mood. The formal manner required by court etiquette.
360. Dear. This is the reading of the 1st ed. and almost every other that we have seen. We are inclined, however, to believe that Scott wrote "clear." The facsimiles of his handwriting show that his d's and cl's might easily be confounded by a compositor.
363. Snood. The fillet or ribbon with which the Scotch maidens bound their hair. See on iii. 114 below. It is the rich materials of snood, plaid, and brooch that betray her birth.
The rhyme of plaid with maid and betrayed is not imperfect, the Scottish pronunciation of plaid being like our played.
385. One only. For the inversion, cf. Shakespeare, J. C. i. 2. 157 : "When there is in it but one only man;" Goldsmith, D. V. 39 : "One only master grasps the whole domain," etc.
393. Awhile she paused, etc. The MS. reads :
"A space she paused, no answer came,-- 'Alpine, was thine the blast?' the name Less resolutely uttered fell, The echoes could not catch the swell. 'Nor foe nor friend,' the stranger said, Advancing from the hazel shade. The startled maid, with hasty oar, Pushed her light shallop from the shore."
and just below :
"So o'er the lake the swan would spring, Then turn to prune its ruffled wing."
404. Prune. Pick out damaged feathers and arrange the plumage with the bill. Cf. Shakespeare, Cymb. v. 4. 118 :
"his royal bird Prunes the immortal wing," etc.
408. Wont. Are wont, or accustomed; now used only in the participle. The form here is the past tense of the obsolete won, or wone, to dwell. The present is found in Milton, P. L. vii. 457 :
"As from his lair the wild beast, where he wons In forest wild, in thicket, brake, or den."
Cf. Spenser, Virgil's Gnat :
"Of Poets Prince, whether we woon beside Faire Xanthus sprincled with Chimaeras blood, Or in the woods of Astery abide;"
and Colin Clouts Come Home Againe :
"I weened sure he was out God alone, And only woond in fields and forests here."
See also iv. 278 and 298 below.
409. Middle age. As James died at the age of thirty (in 1542), this is not strictly true, but the portrait in other respects is quite accurate. He was fond of going about disguised, and some of his freaks of this kind are pleasantly related in Scott's Tales of a Grandfather. See on vi. 740 below.
425. Slighting, etc. "Treating lightly his need of food and shelter."
432. At length. The 1st ed. has "at last."
433. That Highland halls were, etc. The MS. has "Her father's hall was," etc.
434. Wildered. See on 274 above.
438. A couch. That is, the heather for it. Cf. 666 below.
441. Mere. Lake; as in Windermere, etc.
443. Rood. Cross, or crucifix. By the rood was a common oath; so by the holy rood, as in Shakespeare, Rich. III. iii. 2. 77, iv. 4. 165. Cf. the name of Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. See ii. 221 below.
451. Romantic. The MS. has "enchanting."
457. Yesternight. We have lost this word, though we retain yesterday. Cf. yester-morn in v. 104 below. As far = as far back as.
460. Was on, etc. The MS. reads : "Is often on the future bent." If force of evidence could authorize us to believe facts inconsistent with the general laws of nature, enough might be produced in favor of the existence of the second-sight. It is called in Gaelic Taishitaraugh, from Taish, an unreal or shadowy appearance; and those possessed of the faculty are called Taishatrin, which may be aptly translated visionaries. Martin, a steady believer in the second-sight, gives the following account of it :--
'The second-sight is a singular faculty of seeing an otherwise invisible object without any previous means used by the person that uses if for that end : the vision makes such a lively impression upon the seers, that they neither see nor think of any thing else, except the vision, as long as it continues; and then they appear pensive or jovial, according to the object that was represented to them.
'At the sight of a vision, the eyelids of the person are erected, and the eyes continue staring until the object vanish. This is obvious to others who are by when the persons happen to see a vision, and occurred more than once to my own observation, and to others that were with me....
'If a woman is seen standing at a man's left hand, it is a presage that she will be his wife, whether they be married to others, or unmarried at the time of the apparition.
'To see a spark of fire fall upon one's arm or breast is a forerunner of a dead child to be seen in the arms of those persons; of which there are several fresh instances....
'To see a seat empty at the time of one's sitting in it, is a presage of that person's death soon after' (Martin's Description of the Western Islands, 1716, 8vo, p. 300, et seq.).
"To these particulars innumerable examples might be added, all attested by grave and credible authors. But, in despite of evidence which neither Bacon, Boyle, nor Johnson were able to resist, the Taish, with all its visionary properties, seems to be now universally abandoned to the use of poetry. The exquisitely beautiful poem of Lochiel will at once occur to the recollection of every reader" (Scott).
462. Birchen. Shaded by birches. Cf. Milton's "cedarn alleys" in Comus, 990.
464. Lincoln green. A cloth made in Lincoln, much worn by hunters.
467. Heron. The early eds. have "heron's."
475. Errant-knight. Knight-errant.
476. Sooth. True. We find soothest in Milton, Comus, 823. The noun sooth (truth) is more common, and still survives in soothsayer (teller of hidden truth). Cf. v. 64 below.
478. Emprise. Enterprise. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 7. 39 : "But give me leave to follow my emprise," etc.
485. His noble hand. The MS. has "This gentle hand;" and in the next line, "the oars he drew."
490. Frequent. Often; one of the many instances of the adjective used adverbially in the poem.
492. The rocky isle. It is still known as Ellen's Isle. "It is rather high, and irregularly pyramidal. It is mostly composed of dark-gray rocks, mottled with pale and gray lichens, peeping out here and there amid trees that mantle them,--chiefly light, graceful birches, intermingled with red-berried mountain ashes and a few dark-green, spiry pines. The landing is beneath an aged oak; and, as did the Lady and the Knight, the traveller now ascends 'a clambering unsuspected road,' by rude steps, to the small irregular summit of the island. A more poetic, romantic retreat could hardly be imagined : it is unique. It is completely hidden, not only by the trees, but also by an undergrowth of beautiful and abundant ferns and the loveliest of heather" (Hunnewell's Lands of Scott).
500. Winded. Wound; used for the sake of the measure, as in v. 22 below. We find the participle winded in Much Ado, i. 1. 243; but it is = blown. The verb in that sense is derived from the noun wind (air in motion), and has no connection with wind, to turn. Cf. Wb.
504. Here for retreat, etc. Scott has the following note here : "The Celtic chieftains, whose lives were continually exposed to peril, had usually, in the most retired spot of their domains, some place of retreat for the hour of necessity, which, as circumstances would admit, was a tower, a cavern, or a rustic hut, in a strong and secluded situation. One of these last gave refuge to the unfortunate Charles Edward, in his perilous wanderings after the battle of Culloden.
"It was situated in the face of a very rough, high, and rocky mountain, called Letternilichk, still a part of Benalder, full of great stones and crevices, and some scattered wood interspersed. The habitation called the Cage, in the face of that mountain, was within a small thick bush of wood. There were first some rows of trees laid down, in order to level the floor for a habitation; and as the place was steep, this raised the lower side to an equal height with the other : and these trees, in the way of joists or planks, were levelled with earth and gravel. There were betwixt the trees, growing naturally on their own roots, some stakes fixed in the earth, which, with the trees, were interwoven with ropes, made of heath and birch twigs, up to the top of the Cage, it being of a round or rather oval shape; and the whole thatched and covered over with fog. The whole fabric hung, as it were, by a large tree, which reclined from the one end, all along the roof, to the other, and which gave it the name of the Cage; and by chance there happened to be two stones at a small distance from one another, in the side next the precipice, resembling the pillars of a chimney, where the fire was placed. The smoke had its vent out here, all along the fall of the rock, which was so much of the same color, that one could discover no difference in the clearest day' (Home's History of the Rebellion, Lond. 1802, 4to, p. 381)."
525. Idoean vine. Some have taken this to refer to the "red whortleberry," the botanical name of which is Vaccinium vitis Idoea; but as that is not a climber, it is more probably that the common vine is here meant. Idoean is from Ida, a mountain near ancient Troy (there was another in Crete), famous for its vines.
526. Clematis. The Climatis vitalba, one of the popular English names of which is virgin-bower.
528. And every favored plant could bear. That is, which could endure. This ellipsis of the relative was very common in Elizabethan English. Cf. Shakespeare, M. for M. ii. 2. 23 : "I have a brother is condemned to die;" Rich. II. ii. 2. 128 : "The hate of those love not the king," etc. See also John, iii. 11, etc.
532. On heaven and on thy lady call. This is said gayly, or sportively, as keeping up the idea of a knight-errant. Cf. 475 above.
542. Careless. See on 490 above.
546. Target. Buckler; the targe of iii. 445, etc. See Scott's note on v. 380 below.
548. Store. Stored, laid up; an obsolete adjective. Cf. iii. 3 below, and see also on vi. 124.
551. And there the wild-cat's, etc. The MS. reads :
"There hung the wild-cat's brindled hide, Above the elk's branched brow and skull, And frontlet of the forest bull."
559. Garnish forth. Cf. furnish forth in 442 above.
566. Brook. Bear, endure; now seldom used except with reference to what is endured against one's will or inclination. It seems to be a favorite word with Scott.
573. Ferragus or Ascabart. "These two sons of Anak flourished in romantic fable. The first is well known to the admirers of Ariosto by the name of Ferrau. He was an antagonist of Orlando, and was at length slain by him in single combat.... Ascapart, or Ascabart, makes a very material figure in the History of Bevis of Hampton, by whom he was conquered. His effigies may be seen guarding one side of the gate at Southampton, while the other is occupied by Bevis himself" (Scott).
580. To whom, though more than kindred knew. The MS. reads :
"To whom, though more remote her claim, Young Ellen gave a mother's name."
She was the maternal aunt of Ellen, but was loved as a mother by her, or more than (such) kindred (usually) knew (in way of affection).
585. Though all unasked, etc. "The Highlanders, who carried hospitality to a punctilious excess, are said to have considered it as churlish to ask a stranger his name or lineage before he had taken refreshment. Feuds were so frequent among them, that a contrary rule would in many cases have produced the discovery of some circumstance which might have excluded the guest from the benefit of the assistance he stood in need of" (Scott).
591. Snowdoun. An old name of Stirling Castle. See vi. 789 below.
592. Lord of a barren heritage. "By the misfortunes of the earlier Jameses, and the internal feuds of the Scottish chiefs, the kingly power had become little more than a name. Each chief was a petty king in his own district, and gave just so much obedience to the king's authority as suited his convenience" (Taylor).
596. Wot. Knows; the present of the obsolete wit (the infinitive to wit is still use in legal forms), not of weet, as generally stated. See Matzner, Eng. Gram. i. 382. Cf. Shakespeare, Rich. III. ii. 3. 18 : "No, no, good friends, God wot." He also uses wots (as in Hen. V. iv. 1. 299) and a participle wotting (in W. T. iii. 2. 77).
602. Require. Request, ask; as in Elizanethan English. Cf. Shakespeare, Hen. VIII. ii. 4. 144 : "In humblest manner I require your highness," etc.
603. The elder lady's mien. The MS. has "the mother's easy mien."
606. Ellen, though more, etc. The MS. reads :
"Ellen, though more her looks betrayed The simple heart of mountain maid, In speech and gesture, form and grace, Showed she was come of gentle race; 'T was strange, in birth so rude, to find Such face, such manners, and such mind. Each anxious hint the stranger gave, The mother heard with silence grave."
616. Weird women we, etc. See on 35 above. Weird here = skilled in witchcraft; like the "weird sisters" of Macbeth. Down = hill (the Gaelic dun).
622. A harp unseen. Scott has the following note here : "'"They [the Highlanders] delight much in musicke, but chiefly in harps and clairschoes of their own fashion. The strings of the clairschoes are made of brasse wire, and the strings of the harps of sinews; which strings they strike either with their nayles, growing long, or else with an instrument appointed for that use. They take great pleasure to decke their harps and clairschoes with silver and precious stones; the poore ones that cannot attayne hereunto, decke them with christall. They sing verses prettily compound, contayning (for the most part) prayses of valiant men. There is not almost any other argument, whereof their rhymes intreat. They speak the ancient French language, altered a little." [6]
"The harp and chairschoes are now only heard of in the Highlands in ancient song. At what period these instruments ceased to be used, is not on record; and tradition is silent on this head. But, as Irish harpers occasionally visited the Highlands and Western Isles till lately, the harp might have been extant so late as the middle of the present century. Thus far we know, that from remote times down to the present, harpers were received as welcome guests, particularly in the Highlands of Scotland; and so late as the latter end of the sixteenth century, as appears by the above quotations, the harp was in common use among the natives of the Western Isles. How it happened that the noisy and inharmonious bagpipe banished the soft and expressive harp, we cannot say; but certain it is, that the bagpipe is now the only instrument that obtains universally in the Highland districts' (Campbell's Journey through North Britain. London, 1808, 4to, i. 175).
"Mr. Gunn, of Edinburgh, has lately published a curious Essay upon the Harp and Harp Music of the Highlands of Scotland. That the instrument was once in common use there, is most certain. Cleland numbers an acquaintance with it among the few accomplishments which his satire allows to the Highlanders :--
'In nothing they're accounted sharp, Except in bagpipe or in harm.'"
624. Soldier, rest! etc. The metre of this song is trochaic; that is, the accents fall regularly on the odd syllables.
631. In slumber dewing. That is, bedewing. For the metaphor, cf. Shakespeare, Rich. III. iv. 1. 84 : "the golden dew of sleep;" and J. C. ii. 1. 230 : "the honey-heavy dew of slumber."
635. Morn of toil, etc. The MS. has "noon of hunger, night of waking;" and in the next line, "rouse" for reach.
638. Pibroch. "A Highland air, suited to the particular passion which the musician would either excite or assuage; generally applied to those airs that are played on the bagpipe before the Highlanders when they go out to battle" (Jamieson). Here it is put for the bagpipe itself. See also on ii. 363 below.
642. And the bittern sound his drum. Goldsmith (D. V. 44) calls the bird "the hollow-sounding bittern;" and in his Animated Nature, he says that of all the notes of waterfowl "there is none so dismally hollow as the booming of the bittern."
648. She paused, etc. The MS. has "She paused--but waked again the lay."
655. The MS. reads : "Slumber sweet our spells shall deal ye;" and in 657 :
"Let our slumbrous spells| avail ye | beguile ye."
657. Reveille. The call to rouse troops or huntsmen in the morning.
669. Forest sports. The MS. has "mountain chase."
672. Not Ellens' spell. That is, not even Ellen's spell. On the passage, cf. Rokeby, i. 2 :
"Sleep came at length, but with a train Of feelings true and fancies vain, Mingling, in wild disorder cast, The expected future with the past."
693. Or is it all a vision now? Lockhart quotes here Thomson's Castle of Indolence :
"Ye guardian spirits, to whom man is dear, From these foul demons shield the midnight gloom : Angels of fancy and love, be near. And o'er the blank of sleep diffuse a bloom : Evoke the sacred shades of Greece and Rome, And let them virtue with a look impart; But chief, awhile, O! lend us from the tomb Those long-lost friends for whom in love we smart, and fill with pious awe and joy-mixt woe the heart.
"Or are you sportive?--bid the morn of youth Rise to new light, and beam afresh the days Of innocence, simplicity, and truth; To cares estranged, and manhood's thorny ways. What transport, to retrace our boyish plays, Our easy bliss, when each thing joy supplied; The woods, the mountains, and the warbling maze Of the wild books!"
The Critical Review says of the following stanza (xxxiv) : "Such a strange and romantic dream as may be naturally expected to flow from the extraordinary events of the day. It might, perhaps, be quoted as one of Mr. Scott's most successful efforts in descriptive poetry. Some few lines of it are indeed unrivalled for delicacy and melancholy tenderness."
704. Grisly. Grim, horrible; an obsolete word, much used in old poetry. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. 5. 30 : "her darke griesly looke;" Shakespeare, 1 Hen. VI. i. 4. 47 : "My grisly countenance made others fly," etc. See also iv.
'The lords hearing the king's complaint and lamentation, and also the great rage, fury, and malice, that he bure toward the Earl of Angus, his kin and friends, they concluded all and thought it best, that he should be summoned to underly the law; if he fand not caution, nor yet compear himself, that he should be put to the horn, with all his kin and friends, so many as were contained in the letters. And further, the lords ordained, by advice of his majesty, that his brother and friends should be summoned to find caution to underly the law within a certain day, or else be put to the horn. But the earl appeared not, nor none for him; and so he was put to the horn, with all his kin and friends : so many as were contained in the summons, that compeared not, were banished, and holden traitors to the king.'
159. From Tweed to Spey. From the Tweed, the southern boundary of Scotland, to the Spey, a river far to the north in Invernessshire; that is, from one end of the land to the other.
170. Reave. Tear away. The participle reft is still used, at least in poetry. Cf. Shakespeare, V. and A. 766 : "Or butcher-sire that reaves his son of life" (that is, bereaves); Spenser, F. Q. i. 3. 36 : "He to him lept, in minde to reave his life;" Id. ii. 8. 15 : "I will him reave of arms," etc.
178. It drinks, etc. The MS. has "No blither dewdrop cheers the rose."
195, 196. To see... dance. This couplet is not in the MS.
200. The Lady of the Bleeding Heart. The bleeding heart was the cognizance of the Douglas family. Robert Bruce, on his death-bed, bequeathed his heart to his friend, the good Lord James, to be borne in war against the Saracens. "He joined Alphonso, King of Leon and Castile, then at war with the Moorish chief Osurga, of Granada, and in a keen contest with the Moslems he flung before him the casket containing the precious relic, crying out, 'Onward as thou wert wont, thou noble heart, Douglas will follow thee.' Douglas was slain, but his body was recovered, and also the precious casket, and in the end Douglas was laid with his ancestors, and the heart of Bruce deposited in the church of Melrose Abbey" (Burton's Hist. of Scotland).
201. Fair. The 1st ed. (and probably the MS., though not noted by Lockhart) has "Gay."
203. Yet is this, etc. The MS. and 1st ed. read :
"This mossy rock, my friend, to me Is worth gay chair and canopy."
205. Footstep. The reading of the 1st and other early eds.; "footsteps" in recent ones.
206. Strathspey. A Highland dance, which takes its name from the strath, or broad valley, of the Spey (159 above).
213. Clan-Alpine's pride. "The Siol Alpine, or race of Alpine, includes several clans who claimed descent from Kenneth McAlpine, an ancient king. These are the Macgregors, the Grants, the Mackies, the Mackinnans, the MacNabs, the MacQuarries, and the Macaulays. Their common emblem was the pine, which is now confined to the Macgregors" (Taylor).
214. Loch Lomond. This beautiful lake, "the pride of Scottish lakes," is about 23 miles in length and 5 miles in its greatest breadth. At the southern end are many islands, one of which, Inch-Cailliach (the Island of Women, so called from a nunnery that was once upon it), was the burial-place of Clan-Alpine. See iii. 191 below.
216. A Lennox foray. That is, a raid in the lands of the Lennox family, bordering on the southern end of Loch Lomond. On the island of Inch-Murrin, the ruins of Lennox Castle, formerly a residence of the Earls of Lennox, are still to be seen. There was another of their strongholds on the shore of the lake near Balloch, where the modern Balloch Castle now stands.
217. Her glee. The 1st ed. misprints "his glee;" not noted in the Errata.
220. Black Sir Roderick. Roderick Dhu, or the Black, as he was called.
221. In Holy-Rood a knight he slew. That is, in Holyrood Palace. "This was by no means an uncommon occurrence in the Court of Scotland; nay, the presence of the sovereign himself scarcely restrained the ferocious and inveterate feuds which were the perpetual source of bloodshed among the Scottish nobility" (Scott).
223. Courtiers give place, etc. The MS. reads :
"Courtiers give place with heartless stride Of the retiring homicide."
227. Who else, etc. The MS. has the following couplet before this line :
"Who else dared own the kindred claim That bound him to thy mother's name?"
229. The Douglas, etc. Scott says here : "The exiled state of this powerful race is not exaggerated in this and subsequent passages. The hatred of James against the race of Douglas was so inveterate, that numerous as their allies were, and disregarded as the regal authority had usually been in similar cases, their nearest friends, even in the most remote part of Scotland, durst not entertain them, unless under the strictest and closest disguise. James Douglas, son of the banished Earl of Angus, afterwards well known by the title of Earl of Morton, lurked, during the exile of his family, in the north of Scotland, under the assumed name of James Innes, otherwise James the Grieve (i.e. reve or bailiff). 'And as he bore the name,' says Godscroft, 'so did he also execute the office of a grieve or overseer of the lands and rents, the corn and cattle of him with whom he lived.' From the habits of frugality and observation which he acquired in his humble situation, the historian traces that intimate acquaintance with popular character which enabled him to rise so high in the state, and that honorable economy by which he repaired and established the shattered estates of Angus and Morton (History of the House of Douglas, Edinburgh, 1743, vol. ii. p. 160)."
235. Guerdon. Reward; now rarely used except in poetry. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. 10. 59 : "That glory does to them for guerdon graunt," etc.
236. Dispensation. As Roderick and Ellen were cousins, they could not marry without a dispensation from the Pope.
251. Orphan. Referring to child, not to she, as its position indicates.
254. Shrouds. Shields, protects. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. 1. 6 : "And this faire couple eke to shroud themselves were fain" (that is, from the rain). So the noun = shelter, protection; as in Shakespeare, A. and C. iii. 13. 71 : "put yourself under his shroud," etc. See also on 757 below.
260. Maronnan's cell. "The parish of Kilmaronock, at the eastern extremity of Loch Lomond, derives its name from a cell, or chapel, dedicated to Saint Maronock, or Marnock, or Maronnan, about whose sanctity very little is now remembered" (Scott). Kill = cell; as in Colmekill (Macb. ii. 4. 33), "the cell of Columba," now known as Icolmkill, or Iona.
270. Bracklinn's thundering wave. This beautiful cascade is on the Keltie, a mile from Callander. The height of the fall is about fifty feet. "A few years ago a marriage party of Lowland peasants met with a tragic end here, two of them having tumbled into the broken, angry waters, where they had no more chance of life than if they had dropped into the crater of Hecla" (Black).
271. Save. Unless; here followed by the subjunctive.
274. Claymore. The word means "a large sword" (Gaelic claidheamh, sword, and more, great).
294. Shadowy plaid and sable plume. Appropriate to Roderick Dhu. See on 220 above.
303. Woe the while. Woe be to the time, alas the time! Cf. Shakespeare, J. C. i. 3. 82 : "But, woe the while! our fathers' minds are dead," etc. See also on i. 166 above.
306. Tine-man. "Archibald, the third Earl of Douglas, was so unfortunate in all his enterprises, that he acquired the epithet of 'tine-man,' because he tined, or lost, his followers in every battle which he fought. He was vanquished, as every reader must remember, in the bloody battle of Homildon-hill, near Wooler, where he himself lost an eye, and was made prisoner by Hotspur. He was no less unfortunate when allied with Percy, being wounded and taken at the battle of Shrewsbury. He was so unsuccessful in an attempt to beseige Roxburgh Castle, that it was called the 'Foul Raid,' or disgraceful expedition. His ill fortune left him indeed at the battle of Beauge, in France; but it was only to return with double emphasis at the subsequent action of Vernoil, the last and most unlucky of his encounters, in which he fell, with the flower of the Scottish chivalry, then serving as auxiliaries in France, and about two thousand common soldiers, A.D. 1424" (Scott).
307. What time, etc. That is, at the time when Douglas allied himself with Percy in the rebellion against Henry IV. of England. See Shakespeare, 1 Hen. IV.
309. Did, self unscabbarded, etc. Scott says here : "The ancient warriors, whose hope and confidence rested chiefly in their blades, were accustomed to deduce omens from them, especially from such as were supposed to have been fabricated by enchanted skill, of which we have various instances in the romances and legends of the time. The wonderful sword Skofnung, wielded by the celebrated Hrolf Kraka, was of this description. It was deposited in the tomb of the monarch at his death, and taken from thence by Skeggo, a celebrated pirate, who bestowed it upon his son-in-law, Kormak, with the following curious directions : '"The manner of using it will appear strange to you. A small bag is attached to it, which take heed not to violate. Let not the rays of the sun touch the upper part of the handle, nor unsheathe it, unless thou art ready for battle. But when thou comest to the place of fight, go aside from the rest, grasp and extend the sword, and breathe upon it. Then a small worm will creep out of the handle; lower the handle, that he may more easily return into it." Kormak, after having received the sword, returned home to his mother. He showed the sword, and attempted to draw it, as unnecessarily as ineffectually, for he could not pluck it out of the sheath. His mother, Dalla, exclaimed, "Do not despise the counsel given to thee, my son." Kormak, however, repeating his efforts, pressed down the handle with his feet, and tore off the bag, when Skofung emitted a hollow groan; but still he could not unsheathe the sword. Kormak then went out with Bessus, whom he had challenged to fight with him, and drew apart at the place of combat. He sat down upon the ground, and ungirding the sword, which he bore above his vestments, did not remember to shield the hilt from the rays of the sun. In vain he endeavored to draw it, till he placed his foot against the hilt; then the worm issued from it. But Kormak did not rightly handle the weapon, in consequence whereof good fortune deserted it. As he unsheathed Skofnung, it emitted a hollow murmur' (Bartholini de Causis Contemptae a Danis adhuc Gentilibus Mortis, Libri Tres. Hafniae, 1689, 4to, p. 574).
"To the history of this sentient and prescient weapon, I beg leave to add, from memory, the following legend, for which I cannot produce any better authority. A young nobleman, of high hopes and fortune, chanced to lose his way in the town which he inhabited, the capital, if I mistake not, of a German province. He had accidentally involved himself among the narrow and winding streets of a suburb, inhabited by the lowest order of the people, and an approaching thunder-shower determined him to ask a short refuge in the most decent habitation that was near him. He knocked at the door, which was opened by a tall man, of a grisly and ferocious aspect, and sordid dress. The stranger was readily ushered to a chamber, where swords, scourges, and machines, which seemed to be implements of torture, were suspended on the wall. One of these swords dropped from its scabbard, as the nobleman, after a moment's hesitation, crossed the threshold. His host immediately stared at him with such a marked expression, that the young man could not help demanding his name and business, and the meaning of his looking at him so fixedly. 'I am,' answered the man, 'the public executioner of this city; and the incident you have observed is a sure augury that I shall, in discharge of my duty, one day cut off your head with the weapon which has just now spontaneously unsheathed itself.' The nobleman lost no time in leaving his place of refuge; but, engaging in some of the plots of the period, was shortly after decapitated by that very man and instrument.
"Lord Lovat is said, by the author of the Letters from Scotland (vol. ii. p. 214), to have affirmed that a number of swords that hung up in the hall of the mansion-house, leaped of themselves out of the scabbard at the instant he was born. The story passed current among his clan, but, like that of the story I have just quoted, proved an unfortunate omen."
311. If courtly spy hath, etc. The 1st ed. has "If courtly spy, and harbored," etc. The ed. of 1821 reads "had harbored."
319. Beltane. The first of May, when there was a Celtic festival in honor of the sun. Beltane = Beal-tein, or the fire of Beal, a Gaelic name for the sun. It was celebrated by kindling fires on the hill-tops at night, and other ceremonies, followed by dances, and merry-making. Cf. 410 below. See also The Lord of the Isles, i. 8 : "The shepherd lights his belane-fire;" and Glenfinlas :
"But o'er his hills, in festal day, How blazed Lord Ronald's beltane-tree!"
323. But hark! etc. "The moving picture--the effect of the sounds--and the wild character and strong peculiar nationality of the whole procession, are given with inimitable spirit and power of expression" (Jeffrey).
327. The canna's hoary beard. The down of the canna, or cotton-grass.
335. Glengyle. A valley at the northern end of Lock Katrine.
337. Brianchoil. A promontory on the northern shore of the lake.
342. Spears, pikes, and axes. The 1st ed. and that of 1821 have Spears, but all the recent ones misprint "Spear." The "Globe" ed. has "Spear, spikes," etc.
343. Tartans. The checkered woollen cloth so much worn in Scotland. Curiously enough, the name is not Gaelic but French. See Jamieson or Wb.
Brave. Fine, beautiful; the same word as the Scottish braw. Cf. Shakespeare, Sonn. 12. 2 : "And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;" Ham. ii. 2. 312 : "This brave o'erhanging firmament," etc. It is often used of dress, as also is bravery (= finery); as in T. of S. iv. 3. 57 : "With scarfs and fans and double change of bravery." See also Spenser, Mother Hubberds Tale, 858 : "Which oft maintain'd his masters braverie" (that is, dressed as well as his master).
351. Chanters. The pipes of the bagpipes, to which long ribbons were attached.
357. The sounds. Misprinted "the sound" in the ed. of 1821, and all the more recent eds. that we have seen. Cf. 363 below.
363. Those thrilling sounds, etc. Scott says here : "The connoisseurs in pipe-music affect to discover in a well-composed pibroch, the imitative sounds of march, conflict, flight, pursuit, and all the 'current of a heady fight.' To this opinion Dr. Beattie has given his suffrage, in that following elegant passage :--'A pibroch is a species of tune, peculiar, I think, to the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland. It is performed on a bagpipe, and differs totally from all other music. Its rhythm is so irregular, and its notes, especially in the quick movement, so mixed and huddled together, that a stranger finds it impossible to reconcile his ear to it, so as to perceive its modulation. Some of these pibrochs, being intended to represent a battle, begin with a grave motion, resembling a march; then gradually quicken into the onset; run off with noisy confusion, and turbulent rapidity, to imitate the conflict and pursuit; then swell into a few flourishes of triumphant joy; and perhaps close with the wild and slow wailings of a funeral procession' (Essay on Laughter and Ludrious Composition, chap. iii. note)."
367. Hurrying. Referring to their, or rather to the them implied in that word.
392. The burden bore. That is, sustained the burden, or chorus, of the song. Cf. Shakespeare, Temp. i. 2. 381 : "And, sweet sprites, the burden bear."
399. Hail to the Chief, etc. The metre of the song is dactylic; the accents being on the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th syllables. It is little used in English. Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade and Longfellow's Skeleton in Armor are familiar examples of it.
405. Bourgeon. Bud. Cf. Fairfax, Tasso, vii. 76 : When first on trees bourgeon the blossoms soft;" and Tennyson, In Memoriam, 115 :
"Now burgeons every maze of quick About the flowering squares," etc.
408. Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu. "Besides his ordinary name and surname, which were chiefly used in the intercourse with the Lowlands, every Highland chief had an epithet expressive of his patriarchal dignity as head of the clan, and which was common to all his predecessors and successors, as Pharaoh to the kings of Egypt, or Arsaces to those of Parthia. This name was usually a patronymic, expressive of his descent from the founder of the family. Thus the Duke of Argyll is called MacCallum More, or the son of Colin the Great. Sometimes, however, it is derived from armorial distinctions, or the memory of some great feat; thus Lord Seaforth, as chief of the Mackenzies, or Clan-Kennet, bears the epithet of Caber-fae, or Buck's Head, as representative of Colin Fitzgerald, founder of the family, who saved the Scottish king, when endangered by a stag. But besides this title, which belonged to his office and dignity, the chieftain had usually another peculiar to himself, which distinguished him from the chieftains of the same race. This was sometimes derived from complexion, as dhu or roy; sometimes from size, as beg or more; at other times, from some peculiar exploit, or from some peculiarity of habit or appearance. The line of the text therefore signifies,
Black Roderick, the descendant of Alpine.
"The song itself is intended as an imitation of the jorrams, or boat songs, of the Highlanders, which were usually composed in honor of a favorite chief. They are so adapted as to keep time with the sweep of the oars, and it is easy to distinguish between those intended to be sung to the oars of a galley, where the stroke is lengthened and doubled, as it were, and those which were timed to the rowers of an ordinary boat" (Scott).
410. Beltane. See on 319 above.
415. Roots him. See on i. 142 above.
416. Breadalbane. The district north of Loch Lomond and around Loch Tay. The seat of the Earl of Breadalbane is Taymouth Castle, near the northern end of Loch Tay.
For Menteith, see on i. 89 above.
419. Glen Fruin. A valley to the southwest of Loch Lomond. The ruins of the castle of Benuchara, or Bannochar (see on 422 just below), still overhang the entrance to the glen.
Glen Luss is another valley draining into the lake, a few miles from Glen Fruin, and Ross-dhu is on the shore of the lake, midway between the two. Here stands a tower, the only remnant of the ancient castle of the family of Luss, which became merged in that of Colquhoun.
422. The best of Loch Lomond, etc. Scott has the following note here :
"The reader will find the following account of the battle of Glenfruin, in the History of the House of Douglas, by David Hume of Godscroft, Edinburgh, 1743, vol. ii. p. 161 :--
'The Earl of Argyle, who was then Chancellor, and had been always envious of the Earl of Murray, and of the house of Douglas, and now especially, because he saw the Earl of Murray so great a favorite of the King, and so much in his favor, that he was like to be advanced to the highest dignity of the kingdom, and that the King had given him the charge of the government of the West Isles, and the country of Argyle, and had made him his Lieutenant, and that he was now in the King's name, and by his authority, come into his country, to reduce it to obedience, and to punish the rebels, he could not endure it, but was resolved to oppose him, and to hinder him in the execution of his commission, and to that end he raised all his forces, and sent to the Macgregors, who were then at feud with the Colquhouns, to join with him against the Earl of Murray, and promised them to revenge their quarrel upon the Colquhouns, and to give them a day to spoil and plunder their lands. The Macgregors, who were a lawless and desperate crew, and accustomed to live by rapine and spoil, were easily drawn in to join with him, and came to him with a great number of men, and he joined with them, and marched towards the Earl of Murray, who was encamped in Colquhoun's park, at the head of Lochlomond, and sent to him, desiring him to depart out of his country, and to leave the execution of the King's commission to him, who was the King's Lieutenant in that country. The Earl of Murray, who was a man of a high and noble spirit, and would not endure to be contradicted in the execution of his office, sent him word again, that he would not depart out of the country, till he had executed the King's commission, and reduced the rebels to obedience, and that he would defend the King's authority with his life. The Earl of Argyle, seeing that he could not fright him from his purpose, resolved to force him to it, and marched towards him with his army, and the Macgregors, and gave him battle in the park of Colquhoun, at the head of Lochlomond, where the Earl of Murray was encamped. The Earl of Murray had not above five hundred men, and the Earl of Argyle had above two thousand, whereof the Macgregors were the greatest part. The Earl of Murray, seeing the great odds of the enemy, placed his men in order of battle, and encouraged them to fight valiantly, and to defend the King's authority, and their own lives and liberties, and told them, that if they were beaten, there was no hope of quarter, because the Macgregors were their enemies, and would give none. The Earl of Argyle placed his men in order of battle, and encouraged them to fight valiantly, and to defend their own lives and liberties, and told them, that if they were beaten, there was no hope of quarter, because the Earl of Murray was their enemy, and would give none. The battle was very fierce, and maintained with great valor on both sides, but the great odds of the enemy prevailed, and the Earl of Murray's men were beaten, and put to flight, and the Earl of Murray was killed, and the most part of his men slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond. The Earl of Argyle got the victory, but it was a dear victory, for he lost the most part of his men, and the Macgregors, who were the greatest part of his army, were almost all slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond. The Earl of Argyle, seeing the great loss he had sustained, and that the Macgregors were almost all slain, and the rest fled, and that he had no hope to reduce the country to obedience, and to execute the King's commission, he retired to his own country, and left the Earl of Murray's men to plunder and spoil the country, and to revenge their quarrel upon the Colquhouns, which they did, and spoiled and plundered the country, and burnt the houses and barns, and killed the cattle, and took the goods and spoil, and carried them away with them, and left the country waste and desolate. The Earl of Argyle, seeing the great loss he had sustained, and that he had no hope to reduce the country to obedience, and to execute the King's commission, he retired to his own country, and left the Earl of Murray's men to plunder and spoil the country, and to revenge their quarrel upon the Colquhouns, which they did, and spoiled and plundered the country, and burnt the houses and barns, and killed the cattle, and took the goods and spoil, and carried them away with them, and left the country waste and desolate. The Earl of Argyle, seeing the great loss he had sustained, and that he had no hope to reduce the country to obedience, and to execute the King's commission, he retired to his own country, and left the Earl of Murray's men to plunder and spoil the country, and to revenge their quarrel upon the Colquhouns, which they did, and spoiled and plundered the country, and burnt the houses and barns, and killed the cattle, and took the goods and spoil, and carried them away with them, and left the country waste and desolate.'
"The reader will observe, that the historian, who was a retainer of the house of Douglas, has taken care to throw the blame of this disastrous battle upon the Earl of Argyle, and his savage allies, the Macgregors. The account of Buchanan is more brief, but more impartial. 'The Earl of Argyle,' he says, 'who was Chancellor of Scotland, and the Earl of Murray, who was Lieutenant of the West Isles, and of the country of Argyle, met in battle at the head of Lochlomond, where the Earl of Murray was killed, and the most part of his men slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond. The Earl of Argyle got the victory, but it was a dear victory, for he lost the most part of his men, and the Macgregors, who were the greatest part of his army, were almost all slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond.'
"The reader will observe, that Buchanan has taken care to throw the blame of this disastrous battle upon the Earl of Argyle, and his savage allies, the Macgregors. The account of Buchanan is more brief, but more impartial. 'The Earl of Argyle,' he says, 'who was Chancellor of Scotland, and the Earl of Murray, who was Lieutenant of the West Isles, and of the country of Argyle, met in battle at the head of Lochlomond, where the Earl of Murray was killed, and the most part of his men slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond. The Earl of Argyle got the victory, but it was a dear victory, for he lost the most part of his men, and the Macgregors, who were the greatest part of his army, were almost all slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond.'
"The reader will observe, that Buchanan has taken care to throw the blame of this disastrous battle upon the Earl of Murray, and his followers, the Colquhouns. The account of Buchanan is more brief, but more impartial. 'The Earl of Argyle,' he says, 'who was Chancellor of Scotland, and the Earl of Murray, who was Lieutenant of the West Isles, and of the country of Argyle, met in battle at the head of Lochlomond, where the Earl of Murray was killed, and the most part of his men slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond. The Earl of Argyle got the victory, but it was a dear victory, for he lost the most part of his men, and the Macgregors, who were the greatest part of his army, were almost all slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond.'
"The reader will observe, that Buchanan has taken care to throw the blame of this disastrous battle upon the Earl of Murray, and his followers, the Colquhouns. The account of Buchanan is more brief, but more impartial. 'The Earl of Argyle,' he says, 'who was Chancellor of Scotland, and the Earl of Murray, who was Lieutenant of the West Isles, and of the country of Argyle, met in battle at the head of Lochlomond, where the Earl of Murray was killed, and the most part of his men slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond. The Earl of Argyle got the victory, but it was a dear victory, for he lost the most part of his men, and the Macgregors, who were the greatest part of his army, were almost all slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond.'
"The reader will observe, that Buchanan has taken care to throw the blame of this disastrous battle upon the Earl of Murray, and his followers, the Colquhons. The account of Buchanan is more brief, but more impartial. 'The Earl of Argyle,' he says, 'who was Chancellor of Scotland, and the Earl of Murray, who was Lieutenant of the West Isles, and of the country of Argyle, met in battle at the head of Lochlomond, where the Earl of Murray was killed, and the most part of his men slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond. The Earl of Argyle got the victory, but it was a dear victory, for he lost the most part of his men, and the Macgregors, who were the greatest part of his army, were almost all slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond.'
"The reader will observe, that Buchanan has taken care to throw the blame of this disastrous battle upon the Earl of Murray, and his followers, the Colquhons. The account of Buchanan is more brief, but more impartial. 'The Earl of Argyle,' he says, 'who was Chancellor of Scotland, and the Earl of Murray, who was Lieutenant of the West Isles, and of the country of Argyle, met in battle at the head of Lochlomond, where the Earl of Murray was killed, and the most part of his men slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond. The Earl of Argyle got the victory, but it was a dear victory, for he lost the most part of his men, and the Macgregors, who were the greatest part of his army, were almost all slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond.'
"The reader will observe, that Buchanan has taken care to throw the blame of this disastrous battle upon the Earl of Murray, and his followers, the Colquhons. The account of Buchanan is more brief, but more impartial. 'The Earl of Argyle,' he says, 'who was Chancellor of Scotland, and the Earl of Murray, who was Lieutenant of the West Isles, and of the country of Argyle, met in battle at the head of Lochlomond, where the Earl of Murray was killed, and the most part of his men slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond. The Earl of Argyle got the victory, but it was a dear victory, for he lost the most part of his men, and the Macgregors, who were the greatest part of his army, were almost all slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond.'
"The reader will observe, that Buchanan has taken care to throw the blame of this disastrous battle upon the Earl of Murray, and his followers, the Colquhons. The account of Buchanan is more brief, but more impartial. 'The Earl of Argyle,' he says, 'who was Chancellor of Scotland, and the Earl of Murray, who was Lieutenant of the West Isles, and of the country of Argyle, met in battle at the head of Lochlomond, where the Earl of Murray was killed, and the most part of his men slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond. The Earl of Argyle got the victory, but it was a dear victory, for he lost the most part of his men, and the Macgregors, who were the greatest part of his army, were almost all slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond.'
"The reader will observe, that Buchanan has taken care to throw the blame of this disastrous battle upon the Earl of Murray, and his followers, the Colquhons. The account of Buchanan is more brief, but more impartial. 'The Earl of Argyle,' he says, 'who was Chancellor of Scotland, and the Earl
"The Lennox, as the district is called which encircles the lower extremity of Loch Lomond, was peculiarly exposed to the incursions of the mountaineers, who inhabited the inaccessible fastnesses at the upper end of the lake, and the neighboring district of Loch Katrine. These were often marked by circumstances of great ferocity, of which the noted conflict of Glen Fruin is a celebrated instance. This was a clan-battle, in which the Macgregors, headed by Allaster Macgregor, chief of the clan, encountered the sept of Colquhouns, commanded by Sir Humphry Colquhoun of Luss. It is on all hands allowed that the action was desperately fought, and that the Colquhouns were defeated with slaughter, leaving two hundred of their name dead upon the field. But popular tradition has added other horrors to the tale. It is said that Sir Humphry Colquhoun, who was on horseback, escaped to the Castle of Benechra, or Bannochar, and was next day dragged out and murdered by the victorious Macgregors in cold blood. Buchanan of Auchmar, however, speaks of his slaughter as a subsequent event, and as perpetrated by the Macfarlanes. Again, it is reported that the Macgregors murdered a number of youths, whom report of the intended battle had brought to be spectators, and whom the Colquhouns, anxious for their safety, had shut up in a barn to be out of danger. One account of the Macgregors denies this circumstance entirely; another ascribes it to the savage and bloodthirsty disposition of a single individual, the bastard brother of the Laird of Macgregor, who amused himself with this second massacre of the innocents, in express disobedience to the chief, by whom he was left their guardian during the pursuit of the Colquhouns. It is added that Macgregor bitterly lamented this atrocious action, and prophesied the ruin which it must bring upon their ancient clan. ...
"The consequences of the battle of Glen Fruin were very calamitous to the family of Macgregor, who had already been considered as an unruly clan. The widows of the slain Colquhouns, sixty, it is said, in number, appeared in doleful procession before the king at Stirling, each riding upon a white palfrey, and bearing in her hand the bloody shirt of her husband displayed upon a pike. James VI. was so much moved by the complaints of this 'choir of mourning dames,' that he let loose his vengeance against the Macgregors without either bounds or moderation. The very name of the clan was proscribed, and those by whom it had been borne were given up to sword and fire, and absolutely hunted down by bloodhounds like wild beasts. Argyll and the Campbells, on the one hand, Montrose, with the Grahames and Buchanans, on the other, are said to have been the chief instruments in suppressing this devoted clan. The Laird of Macgregor surrendered to the former, on condition that he would take him out of Scottish ground. But, to use Birrel's expression, he kept 'a Highlandman's promise;' and, although he fulfilled his word to the letter, by carrying him as far as Berwick, he afterwards brought him back to Edinburgh, where he was executed with eighteen of his clan (Birrel's Diary, 2d Oct. 1903). The clan Gregor being thus driven to utter despair, seem to have renounced the laws from the benefit of which they were excluded, and their depredations produced new acts of council, confirming the severity of their proscription, which had only the effect of rendering them still more united and desperate. It is a most extraordinary proof of the ardent and invincible spirit of clanship, that notwithstanding the repeated proscriptions providently ordained by the legislature, 'for the timeous preventing the disorders and oppression that may fall out by the said name and clan of Macgregors, and their followers,' they were, in 1715 and 1745, a potent clan, and continue to subsist as a distinct and numerous race."
426. Leven-glen. The valley of the Leven, which connects Loch Lomond with the Clyde.
431. The rosebud. That is, Ellen. "Note how this song connects Allan's forebodings with Roderick's subsequent offer" (Taylor).
444. And chorus wild, etc. The MS. has "The chorus to the chieftain's fame."
476. Weeped. The form is used for the rhyme. Cf. note on i. 500 above.
477. Nor while, etc. The MS. reads :
"Nor while on Ellen's faltering tongue Her filial greetings eager hung, Marked not that awe (affection's proof) Still held yon gentle youth aloof; No! not till Douglas named his name, Although the youth was Malcolm Graeme. Then with flushed cheek and downcast eye, Their greeting was confused and shy."
495. Bothwell. See on 141 above.
497. Percy's Norman pennon. Taken in the raid which led to the battle of Otterburn, in Northumberland, in the year 1388, and which forms the theme of the ballads of Chevy Chase.
501. My pomp. My triumphal procession; the original meaning of pomp.
504. Crescent. The badge of the Buccleuch family (Miss Yonge).
506. Blantyre. A priory, the ruins of which are still to be seen on a height above the Clyde, opposite Bothwell Castle.
521. The dogs, etc. The MS. has "The dogs with whimpering notes repaid."
525. Unhooded. The falcon was carried on the wrist, with its head covered, or hooded, until the prey was seen, when it was unhooded for flight. Cf. vi. 665 below.
526. Trust. Believe me.
527. Like fabled Goddess. The MS. has "Like fabled huntress;" referring of course to Diana.
534. Stature fair. The reading of the 1st ed. and that of 1821; "stature tall" in most of the other eds.
541. The ptarmigan. A white bird.
543. Menteith. See on i. 89 above.
548. Ben Lomond. This is much the highest (3192 feet) of the mountains on the shores of Loch Lomond. The following lines on the ascent were scratched upon the window-pane of the old inn at Tarbet a hundred years or more ago :
"Trust not at first a quick adventurous pace; Six miles its top points gradual from its base; Up the high rise with panting haste I past, And gained the long laborious steep at last; More prudent thou--when once you pass the deep, With cautious steps and slow ascend the steep."
549. Not a sob. That is, without panting, or getting out of breath, like the degenerate modern tourist.
574. Glenfinlas. A wooded valley between Ben-an and Benledi, the entrance to which is between Lochs Achray and Vennachar. It is the scene of Scott's ballad, Glenfinlas, or Lord Ronald's Coronach. A mile from the entrance are the falls of the Hero's Targe. See iv. 84 below.
577. Still a royal ward. Still under age, with the king for guardian.
583. Strath-Endrick. A valley to the southeast of Loch Lomond, drained by Endrick Water.
584. Peril aught. Incur any peril. Milton uses the verb intransitively in Reason of Church Government, ii. 3 : "it may peril to stain itself."
587. Not in action. The 1st ed. has "nor in action."
594. News. Now generally used as a singular; but in old writers both as singular and as plural. Cf. Shakespeare, K. John, iii. 4. 164 : "at that news he dies;" and Id. v. 7. 65 : "these dead news," etc.
601. As. As if. See on 56 above.
606. Glozing. That glosses over the truth, not plain and outspoken. Sometimes it means to flatter, or deceive with smooth words; as in Spenser, F. Q. iii. 8. 14 :
"For he could well his glozing speeches frame To such vaine uses that him best became;"
Smith, Sermons (A. D. 1609) : "Every smooth tale is not to be believed; and every glosing tongue is not to be trusted;" Milton, P. L. iii. 93 : "his glozing lies;" Id. ix. 549 : "So glozed the Tempter;" Comus, 161 : "well-placed words of glozing courtesy," etc.
615. The King's vindictive pride, etc. Scott says here : "In 1529, James made a convention at Edinburgh, for the purpose of considering the best mode of quelling the Border robbers, who, during the license of his minority, and the troubles which followed, had committed many exorbitances. Accordingly he assembled a flying army of ten thousand men, consisting of his principal nobility and their followers, who were directed to bring their hawks and dogs with them, that the monarch might refresh himself with sport during the intervals of military execution. With this array he swept through Ettrick Forest, where he hanged over the gate of his own castle Piers Cockburn of Henderland, who had prepared, according to tradition, a feast for his reception. He caused Adam Scott of Tushiclaw also to be executed, who was distinguished by the title of King of the Border. But the most noted victim of justice during that expedition was John Armstrong of Gilnockie, famous in Scottish song, who, confiding in his own supposed innocence, met the King, with a retinue of thirty-six persons, all of whom were hanged at Carlenrig, near the source of the Teviot. The effect of this severity was such, that, as the vulgar expressed it, 'the rush-bush kept the cow,' and 'thereafter was great peace and rest a long time, wherethrough the King had great profit; for he had ten thousand sheep going in the Ettrick Forest in keeping by Andrew Bell, who made the king as good count of them as they had gone in the bounds of Fife' (Pitscottie's History, p. 153)."
623. Meggat's mead. The Meggat, or Megget, is a mountain stream flowing into the Yarrow, a branch of the Etrrick, which is itself a branch of the Tweed. The Teviot is also a branch of the Tweed.
627. The dales, etc. The MS. has "The dales where clans were wont to bide."
634. By fate of Border chivalry. Scott says : "James was, in fact, equally attentive to restrain rapine and feudal oppression in every part of his dominions. 'The King past to the isles, and there held justice courts, and punished both thief and traitor according to their demerit. And also he caused great men to show their holdings, wherethrough he found many of the said lands in non-entry; the which he confiscate and brought home to his own use, and afterwards annexed them to the crown, as ye shall hear. Syne brought many of the great men of the isles captive with him, such as Mudyart, M'Connel, M'Loyd of the Lewes, M'Neil, M'Lane, M'Intosh, John Mudyart, M'Kay, M'Kenzie, with many other that I cannot rehearse at this time. Some of them he put in ward and some in court, and some he took pledges for good rule in time coming. So he brought the isles, both north and south, in good rule and peace; wherefore he had great profit, service, and obedience of people a long time hereafter; and as long as he had the heads of the country in subjection, they lived in great peace and rest, and there was great riches and policy by the King's justice' (Pitscottie, p. 152)."
638. Your counsel. That is, give me your counsel. Streight = strait.
659. The Bleeding Heart. See on 200 above.
662. Quarry. See on i. 127 above.
672. To wife. For wife. Cf. Shakespeare, Temp. ii. 1. 75 : "such a paragon to their queen;" Rich. II. iv. 1. 306 : "I have a king here to my flatterer," etc. See also Matt. iii. 9, Luke, iii. 8, etc.
674. Enow. The old plural of enough; as in Shakespeare, Hen. V. iv. 1. 240 : "we have French quarrels enow," etc.
678. The Links of Forth. The windings of the Forth between Stirling and Alloa.
679. Stirling's porch. The gate of Stirling Castle.
683. Blench. Start, shrink.
685. Heat. Misprinted "heart" in many eds.
690. From pathless glen. The MS. has "from hill and glen."
692. There are who have. For the ellipsis, cf. Shakespeare, Temp. ii. 1. 262 : "There be that can rule Naples," etc. See also iii. 10 below.
694. That beetled o'er. Cf. Hamlet, i. 4. 71 :
"the dreadful summit of the cliff That beetles o'er his base into the sea."
696. Their dangerous dream. The MS. has "their desperate dream."
702. Battled. Battlemented; as in vi. 7 below.
703. It waved. That it waved; an ellipsis very common in Elizabethan and earlier English. Cf. 789 below.
708. Astound. Astounded. This contraction of the participle (here used for the sake of the rhyme) was formerly not uncommon in verbs ending in d and t. Thus in Shakespeare we find the participles bloat (Ham. iii. 4. 182), enshield (M. for M. ii. 4. 80), taint (1 Hen. VI. v. 3. 183), etc. Astound (= dark, black) in Hamlet, i. 2. 68 ("thy nighted colour") is an adjective formed from the noun night.
710. Crossing. Conflicting.
716. Ere. The 1st ed. misprints "e'er."
731. Level. Aim; formerly a technical term. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 286 : "The foeman may with as great aim level at the edge of a penknife," etc.
747. Nighted. Benighted. It is to be regarded as a contraction of that word; like lated for belated in Macbeth, iii. 3. 6, etc. Nighted (= dark, black) in Hamlet, i. 2. 68 ("thy nighted colour") is an adjective formed from the noun night.
757. Checkered shroud. Tartain plaid. The original meaning of shroud (see Wb.) was garment.
763. Parting. Departing. See on 94 above.
768. So deep, etc. According to Lockhart, the MS. reads :
"The deep-toned anguish of despair Flushed, in fierce jealousy, to air;"
but we suspect that "Flushed" should be "Flashed."
774. So lately. At the "Beltane game" (319 above).
781. Thus as they strove, etc. The MS. reads :
"Thus, as they strove, each better hand Grasped for the dagger or the brand."
786. I hold, etc. Scott has the following note on the last page of the 1st ed. : "The author has to apologize for the inadvertent appropriation of a whole line from the tragedy of Douglas : 'I hold the first who strikes my foe.'"
789. His daughter's hand, etc. For the ellipsis of that, see on 703 above. Deemed is often misprinted "doomed."
791. Sullen and slowly, etc. The MS. reads :
"Sullen and slow the rivals bold Loosed at his hest their desperate hold, But either still on other glared," etc.
795. Brands. A pet word with Scott. Note how often it has been used already in the poem.
798. As faltered. See on 601 above.
801. Pity 't were, etc. Scott says here : "Hardihood was in every respect so essential to the character of a Highlander, that the reproach of effeminacy was the most bitter which could be thrown upon him. Yet it was sometimes hazarded on what we might presume to think slight grounds. It is reported of old Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, when upwards of seventy, that he was surprised by night on a hunting or military expedition. He wrapped him in his plaid, and lay contentedly down upon the snow, with which the ground happened to be covered. Among his attendants, who were preparing to take their rest in the same manner, he observed that one of his grandsons, for his better accommodation, had rolled a large snow-ball, and placed it below his head. The wrath of the ancient chief was awakened by a symptom of what he conceived to be degenerate luxury. 'Out upon thee,' said he, kicking the frozen bolster from the head which it supported, 'art thou so effeminate as to need a pillow?' The officer of engineers, whose curious Letters from the Highlands have been more than once quoted, tells a similar story of Macdonald of Keppoch, and subjoins the following remarks : 'This and many other stories are romantick; but there is one thing, that at first thought might seem very romantick, of which I have been credibly assured, that when the Highlanders are constrained to lie among the hills, in cold dry weather, they sometimes soak the plaid in some river or burn (i.e. brook), and then holding up a corner of it a little above their heads, they turn themselves round and round, till they are enveloped by the whole mantle. They then lay themselves down on the heath, upon the leeward side of some hill, where the wet and the warmth of their bodies make a steam, like that of a boiling kettle. The wet, they say, keeps them warm by thickening the stuff, and keeping the wind from penetrating. I must confess I should have been apt to question this fact, had I not frequently seen them wet from morning to night, and, even at the beginning of the rain, not so much as stir a few yards to shelter, but continue in it without necessity, till they were, as we say, wet through and through. And that is soon effected by the looseness and spunginess of the plaiding; but the bonnet is frequently taken off, and wrung like a dishclout, and then put on again. They have been accustomed from their infancy to be often wet, and to take the water like spaniels, and this is become a second nature, and can scarcely be called a hardship to them, insomuch that I used to say, they seemed to be of the duck kind, and to love water as well. Though I never saw this preparation for sleep in windy weather, yet, setting out early in a morning from one of the huts, I have seen the marks of their lodging, where the ground has been free from rime or snow, which remained all round the spot where they had lain' (Letters from Scotland, Lond. 1754, 8vo, ii. p. 108)."
809. His henchman. Scott quotes again the Letters from Scotland (ii. 159) : "This officer is a sort of secretary, and is to be ready, upon all occasions, to venture his life in defence of his master; and at drinking-bouts he stands behind his seat, at his haunch, from whence his title is derived, and watches the conversation, to see if any one offends his patron. An English officer being in company with a certain chieftain, and several other Highland gentlemen, near Killichumen, had an argument with the great man; and both being well warmed with usky [whisky], at last the dispute grew very hot. A youth who was henchman, not understanding one word of English, imagined his chief was insulted, and thereupon drew his pistol from his side, and snapped it at the officer's head; but the pistol missed fire, otherwise it is more than probable he might have suffered death from the hand of that little vermin. But it is very disagreeable to an Englishman over a bottle with the Highlanders, to see every one of them have his gilly, that is, his servant, standing behind him all the while, let what will be the subject of conversation."
829. On the morn. Modifying should circle, not the nearer verb had sworn.
831. The Fiery Cross. See on iii. 18 below.
846. Point. Point out, appoint. Cf. Shakespeare, Sonn. 14. 6 :
"Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell, Pointing to each his thunder, rain, and wind."
The word in this and similar passages is generally printed "'point" by modern editors, but it is not a contraction of appoint.
860. Then plunged, etc. The MS. has "He spoke, and plunged into the tide."
862. Steered him. See on i. 142 above.
865, 866. Darkening... gave. In the 1st ed. these lines are joined to what precedes, as they evidently should be; in all the more recent eds. they are joined to what follows.
Canto Third.
3. Store. See on i. 548 above.
5. That be. in old English, besides the present tense am, etc., there was also this form be, from the Anglo-Saxon beon. The 2d person singular was beest. The 1st and 3d person plural be is often found in Shakespeare and the Bible.
10. Yet live there still, etc. See on ii. 692 above.
15. What time. Cf. ii. 307 above.
17. The gathering sound. The sound, or signal, for the gathering. The phrase illustrates the difference between the participle and the verbal noun (or whatever it may be called) in -ing. Cf. "a laboring man" and "a laboring day" (Julius Caesar, i. 1. 4); and see our ed. of J. C. p. 126.
For continuity only — this is the END of the previous section, already translated. Do NOT translate it again and do NOT repeat it in your output. Match its names, terminology and register: --- of his men, and the Macgregors, who were the greatest part of his army, were almost all slain, and the rest fled, and saved themselves by swimming over Lochlomond.' "The reader will observe, that Buchanan has taken care to throw the blame of this disastrous battle upon the Earl of Murray, and his followers, the Colquhons. The account of Buchanan is more brief, but more impartial. 'The Earl of Argyle,' he says, 'who was Chancellor of Scotland, and the Earl ---
18. The Fiery Cross. Scott says here : "When a chieftain designed to summon his clan, upon any sudden or important emergency, he slew a goat, and making a cross of any light wood, seared its extremities in the fire, and extinguished them in the blood of the animal. This was called the Fiery Cross, also Crean Tarigh, or the Cross of Shame, because disobedience to what the symbol implied, inferred infamy. It was delivered to a swift and trusty messenger, who ran full speed with it to the next hamlet, where he presented it to the principal person, with a single word, implying the place of rendezvous. He who received the symbol was bound to send it forward, with equal despatch, to the next village; and thus it passed with incredible celerity through all the district which owed allegiance to the chief, and also among his allies and neighbours, if the danger was common to them. At sight of the Fiery Cross, every man, from sixteen years old to sixty, capable of bearing arms, was obliged instantly to repair, in his best arms and accoutrements, to the place of rendezvous. He who failed to appear suffered the extremities of fire and sword, which were emblematically denounced to the disobedient by the bloody and burnt marks upon this warlike signal. During the civil war of 1745-6, the Fiery Cross often made its circuit; and upon one occasion it passed through the whole district of Breadalbane, a tract of thirty-two miles, in three hours. The late Alexander Stewart, Esq., of Invernahyle, described to me his having sent round the Fiery Cross through the district of Appine, during the same commotion. The coast was threatened by a descent from two English trigates, and the flower of the young men were with the army of Prince Charles Edward, then in England; yet the summons was so effectual that even old age and childhood obeyed it; and a force was collected in a few hours, so numerous and so enthusiastic, that all attempt at the intended diversion upon the country of the absent warriors was in prudence abandoned, as desperate."
19. The Summer dawn's reflected hue, etc. Mr. Ruskin says (Modern Painters, iii. 278) : "And thus Nature becomes dear to Scott in a threefold way : dear to him, first, as containing those remains or memories of the past, which he cannot find in cities, and giving hope of Praetorian mound or knight's grave in every green slope and shade of its desolate places; dear, secondly, in its moorland liberty, which has for him just as high a charm as the fenced garden had for the mediaeval;... and dear to him, finally, in that perfect beauty, denied alike in cities and in men, for which every modern heart had begun at last to thirst, and Scott's, in its freshness and power, of all men's most earnestly.
"And in this love of beauty, observe that the love of colour is a leading element, his healthy mind being incapable of losing, under any modern false teaching, its joy in brilliancy of hue. ... In general, if he does not mean to say much about things, the one character which he will give is colour, using it with the most perfect mastery and faithfulness."
After giving many illustrations of Scott's use of colour in his poetry, Ruskin quotes the present passage, which he says is "still more interesting, because it has no form in it at all except in one word (chalice), but wholly composes its imagery either of colour, or of that delicate half-believed life which we have seen to be so important an element in modern landscape."
"Two more considerations," he adds, "are, however, suggested by the above passage. The first, that the love of natural history, excited by the continual attention now given to all wild landscape, heightens reciprocally the interest of that landscape, and becomes an important element in Scott's description, leading him to finish, down to the minutest speckling of breast, and slightest shade of attributed emotion, the portraiture of birds and animals; in strange opposition to Homer's slightly named 'sea-crows, who have care of the works of the sea,' and Dante's singing-birds, of undefined species. Compare carefully the 2d and 3d stanzas of Rokeby.
"The second point I have to note is Scott's habit of drawing a slight moral from every scene, ... and that this slight moral is almost always melancholy. Here he has stopped short without entirely expressing it :
'The mountain-shadows.. ..................... lie Like future joys to Fancy's eye.'
His completed thought would be, that these future joys, like the mountain-shadows, were never to be attained. It occurs fully uttered in many other places. He seems to have been constantly rebuking his own worldly pride and vanity, but never purposefully :
'The foam-globes on her eddies ride, Thick as the schemes of human pride That down life's current drive amain, As frail, as frothy, and as vain.'"
Ruskin adds, among other illustrations, the reference to "foxglove and nightshade" in i. 218, 219 above.
28. Like future joys, etc. This passage, quoted by Ruskin above, also illustrates what is comparatively rare in figurative language--taking the immaterial to exemplify the material. The latter is constantly used to symbolize or elucidate the former; but one would have to search long in our modern poetry to find a dozen instances where, as here, the relation is reversed. Cf. 639 below. We have another example in the second passage quoted by Ruskin. Cf. also Tennyson's
"thousand wreaths of dangling water-smoke, That like a broken purpose waste in air;"
and Shelly's
"Our boat is asleep on Serchio's stream; Its sails are folded like thoughts in a dream."
30. Reared. The 1st ed. has "oped."
32. After this line the MS. has the couplet,
"Invisible in fleecy cloud, The lark sent down her matins loud,"
which reappears in altered form below.
33. Gray mist. The MS. has "light mist."
38. Good-morrow gave, etc. Cf. Byron, Childe Harold :
"and the bills Of summer-birds sing welcome as ye pass."
39. Cushat dove. Ring-dove.
46. His impatient blade. Note the "transferred epithet." It is not the blade that is impatient.
47. Beneath a rock, etc. The MS. reads :
"Hard by, his vassals' early care The mystic ritual prepare."
50. Antiquity. The men of old; "the abstract for the concrete."
59. With her broad shadow, etc. Cf. Longfellow, Maidenhood :
"Seest thou shadows sailing by, As the dove, with startled eye, Sees the falcon's shadow fly?"
62. Rowan. The mountain-ash.
71. That monk, of savage form and face. Scott says here : "The state of religion in the middle ages afforded considerable facilities for those whose mode of life excluded them from regular worship, to secure, nevertheless, the ghostly assistance of confessors, perfectly willing to adapt the nature of their doctrine to the necessities and peculiar circumstances of their flock. Robin Hood, it is well known, had his celebrated domestic chaplain Friar Tuck. And that same curtal friar was probably matched in manners and appearance by the ghostly fathers of the Tynedale robbers, who are thus described in an excommunication fulminated against their patrons by Richard Fox, Bishop of Durham, tempore Henrici VIII. : 'We have further understood, that there are many chaplains in the said territories of Tynedale and Redesdale, who are public and open maintainers of concubinage, irregular, suspended, excommunicated, and interdicted persons, and withal so utterly ignorant of letters, that it has been found by those who objected this to them, that there were some who, having celebrated mass for ten years, were still unable to read the sacramental service. We have also understood there are persons among them who, although not ordained, do take upon them the offices of priesthood, and, in contempt of God, celebrate the divine and sacred rites, and administer the sacraments, not only in sacred and dedicated places, but in those which are prophane and interdicted, and most wretchedly ruinous, they themselves being attired in ragged, torn, and most filthy vestments, altogether unfit to be used in divine, or even in temporal offices. The which said chaplains do administer sacraments and sacramental rites to the aforesaid manifest and infamous thieves, robbers, depredators, receivers of stolen goods, and plunderers, and that without restitution, or intention to restore, as evinced by the act; and do also openly admit them to the rites of ecclesiastical sepulchre, without exacting security for restitution, although they are prohibited from doing so by the sacred canons, as well as by the institutes of the saints and fathers. All which infers the heavy peril of their own souls, and is a pernicious example to the other believers in Christ, as well as no slight, but an aggravated injury, to the numbers despoiled and plundered of their goods, gear, herds, and chattels.'"
74. Benharrow. A mountain near the head of Loch Lomond.
77. Brook. See on i. 566 above.
81. The hallowed creed. The Christian creed, as distinguished from heathen lore. The MS. has "While the blest creed," etc.
85. Bound. That is, of his haunts.
87. Glen or strath. A glen is the deep and narrow valley of a small stream, a strath the broader one of a river.
89. He prayed, etc. The MS. reads :
"He prayed, with many a cross between, And terror took devotion's mien."
91. Of Brian's birth, etc. Scott says that the legend which follows is not of his invention, and goes on to show that it is taken with slight variation from "the geographical collections made by the Laird of Macfarlane."
102. Bucklered. Served as a buckler to, shielded.
114. Snood. Cf. i. 363 above. Scott has the following note here : "The snood, or riband, with which as Scottish lass braided her hair, had an emblematical signification, and applied to her maiden character. It was exchanged for the curch, toy, or coif, when she passed, by marriage, into the matron state. But if the damsel was so unfortunate as to lose pretensions to the name of maiden, without gaining a right to that of matron, she was neither permitted to use the snood, nor advanced to the graver dignity of the curch. In old Scottish songs there occur many sly allusions to such misfortune; as in the old words to the popular tune of 'Ower the muir amang the heather :'
'Down amang the broom, the broom, Down amang the broom, my dearie, The lassie lost her silken snood, That gard her greet till she was wearie.'"
120. Or... or. For either... or, as often in poetry.
131. Till, frantic, etc. The MS. reads :
"Till, driven to frenzy, he believed The legend of his birth received."
136. The cloister. Here personified as feminine.
138. Sable-lettered. "Black-letter;" the technical term for the "old English" form of letter, used in the earliest English manuscripts and books.
142. Cabala. Mysteries. For the original meaning of the word, see Wb.
144. Curious. Inquisitive, prying into hidden things.
148. Hid him. See on i. 142 above.
149. The desert gave him, etc. Scott says here : "In adopting the legend concerning the birth of the Founder of the Church of Kilmallie, the author has endeavored to trace the effects which such a belief was likely to produce, in a barbarous age, on the person to whom it related. It seems likely that he must have become a fanatic or an impostor, or that mixture of both which forms a more frequent character than either of them, as existing separately. In truth, mad persons are frequently more anxious to impress upon others a faith in their visions, than they are themselves confirmed in their reality; as, on the other hand, it is difficult for the most cool-headed impostor long to personate an enthusiast, without in some degree believing what he is so eager to have believed. It was a natural attribute of such a character as the supposed hermit, that he should credit the numerous superstitions with which the minds of ordinary Highlanders are almost always imbued. A few of these are slightly alluded to in this stanza. The River Demon, or River-horse, for it is that form which he commonly assumes, is the Kelpy of the Lowlands, an evil and malicious spirit, delighting to forebode and to witness calamity. He frequents most Highland lakes and rivers; and one of his most memorable exploits was performed upon the banks of Loch Vennachar, in the very district which forms the scene of our action : it consisted in the destruction of a funeral procession, with all its attendants. The 'noontide hag,' called in Gaelic Glas-lich, a tall, emaciated, gigantic female figure, is supposed in particular to haunt the district of Knoidart. A goblin dressed in antique armor, and having one hand covered with blood, called, from that circumstance, Lham-dearg, or Red-hand, is a tenant of the forests of Glenmore and Rothiemurcus. Other spirits of the desert, all frightful in shape and malignant in disposition, are believed to frequent different mountains and glens of the Highlands, where any unusual appearance, produced by mist, or the strange lights that are sometimes thrown upon particular objects, never fails to present an apparition to the imagination of the solitary and melancholy mountaineer."
161. Mankind. Accented on the first syllable; as it is almost invariably in Shakespeare, except in Timon of Athens, where the modern accent prevails. Milton uses either accent, as suits the measure. We find both in P. L. viii. 358 : "Above mankind, or aught than mankind higher."
166. Alpine's. Some eds. misprint "Alpine;" also "horsemen" in 172 below.
168. The fatal Ben-Shie's boding scream. The MS. reads :
"The fatal Ben-Shie's dismal scream, And seen her wrinkled form, the sign Of woe and death to Alpine's line."
Scott has the following note here : "Most great families in the Highlands were supposed to have a tutelar, or rather a domestic, spirit, attached to them, who took an interest in their prosperity, and intimated, by its wailings, any approaching disaster. That of Grant of Grant was called May Moullach, and appeared in the form of a girl, who had her arm covered with hair. Grant of Rothiemurcus had an attendant called Bodach-an-dun, or the Ghost of the Hill; and many other examples might be mentioned. The Ben-Shie implies the female fairy whose lamentations were often supposed to precede the death of a chieftain of particular families. When she is visible, it is in the form of an old woman, with a blue mantle and streaming hair. A superstition of the same kind is, I believe, universally received by the inferior ranks of the native Irish.
"The death of the head of a Highland family is also sometimes supposed to be announced by a chain of lights of different colours, called Dr'eug, or death of the Druid. The direction which it takes marks the place of the funeral." [See the Essay on Fairy Superstitions in Scott's Border Minstrelsy.]
169. Sounds, too, had come, etc. Scott says : "A presage of the kind alluded to in the text, is still believed to announce death to the ancient Highland family of M'Lean of Lochbuy. The spirit of an ancestor slain in battle is heard to gallop along a stony bank, and then to ride thrice around the family residence, ringing his fairy bridle, and thus intimating the approaching calamity. How easily the eye as well as the ear may be deceived upon such occasions, is evident from the stories of armies in the air, and other spectral phenomena with which history abounds. Such an apparition is said to have been witnessed upon the side of Southfell mountain, between Penrith and Keswick, upon the 23d June, 1744, by two persons, William Lancaster of Blakehills, and Daniel Stricket his servant, whose attestation to the fact, with a full account of the apparition, dated the 21st of July, 1745, is printed in Clarke's Survey of the Lakes. The apparition consisted of several troops of horse moving in regular order, with a steady rapid motion, making a curved sweep around the fell, and seeming to the spectators to disappear over the ridge of the mountain. Many persons witnessed this phenomenon, and observed the last, or last but one, of the supposed troop, occasionally leave his rank, and pass, at a gallop, to the front, when he resumed the steady pace. The curious appearance, making the necessary allowance for imagination, may be perhaps sufficiently accounted for by optical deception."
171. Shingly. Gravelly, pebbly.
173. Thunderbolt. The 1st ed. has "thunder too."
188. Framed. The reading of the 1st ed.; commonly misprinted "formed," which occurs in 195.
190. Limbs. The 1st ed. has "limb."
191. Inch-Cailliach. Scott says : "Inch-Cailliach, the Isle of Nuns, or of Old Women, is a most beautiful island at the lower extremity of Loch Lomond. The church belonging to the former nunnery was long used as the place of worship for the parish of Buchanan, but scarce any vestiges of it now remain. The burial-ground continues to be used, and contains the family places of sepulture of several neighboring clans. The monuments of the lairds of Macgregor, and of other families claiming a descent from the old Scottish King Alpine, are most remarkable. The Highlanders are as zealous of their rights of sepulture as may be expected from a people whose whole laws and government, if clanship can be called so, turned upon the single principle of family descent. 'May his ashes be scattered on the water,' was one of the deepest and most solemn imprecations which they used against an enemy." [See a detailed description of the funeral ceremonies of a Highland chieftain in the Fair Maid of Perth.]
203. Dwelling low. That is, burial-place.
207. Each clansman's execration, etc. The MS. reads :
"Our warriors, on his worthless bust, Shall speak disgrace and woe;"
and below :
"Their clattering targets hardly strook; And first they muttered low."
212. Stook. One of the old forms of struck. In the early eds. of Shakespeare, we find struck, stroke, and strook (or strooke) for the past tense, and all these, together with stricken, strucken, stroken, and strooken, for the participle. Cf. Milton, Hymn of Nativity, 95 :
"When such music sweet Their hearts and ears did greet As never was by mortal finger strook;"
where, as here, it used for the sake of the rhyme.
214. Then, like the billow, etc. The repetition of the same rhyme here gives well the cumulative effect of the rising billow.
217. Burst, with load roar. See on i. 73 above; and cf. 227 below.
228. Holiest name. The MS. has "holy name."
245. Mingled with childhood's babbling trill, etc. "The whole of this stanza is very impressive; the mingling of the children's curses is the climax of horror. Note the meaning of the triple curse. The cross is of ancestral yew--the defaulter is cut off from communion with his clan; it is sealed in the fire--the fire shall destroy his dwelling; it is dipped in blood--his heart's blood is to be shed" (Taylor).
253. Coir-Uriskin. See on 622 below.
255. Beala-nam-bo. "The pass of the cattle," on the other side of Benvenue from the Goblin's Cave; "a magnificent glade, overhung with birch-trees, by which the cattle, taken in forays, were conveyed within the protection of the Trosachs" (Black).
279. This sign. That is, the cross. To all, which we should not expect with bought, was apparently suggested by the antithetical to him in the preceding line; but if all the editions did not read bought, we might suspect that Scott wrote brought.
281. The murmur, etc. The MS. has "The slowly muttered deep Amen."
286. The muster-place, etc. The MS. reads "Murlagan is the spot decreed."
Lanrick Mead is a meadow at the northwestern end of Loch Vennachar.
For continuity only — this is the END of the previous section, already translated. Do NOT translate it again and do NOT repeat it in your output. Match its names, terminology and register: --- "The lords hearing the king's complaint and lamentation, and also the great rage, fury, and malice, that he bure toward the Earl of Angus, his kin and friends, they concluded all and thought it best, that he should be summoned to underly the law; if he fand not caution, nor yet compear himself, that he should be put to the horn, with all his kin and friends, so many as were contained in the letters. And further, the lords ordained, by advice of his majesty, that his brother and friends should be summoned to find caution to underly the law within a certain day, or else be put to the horn. But the earl appeared not, nor none for him; and so he was put to the horn, with all his kin and friends : so many as were contained in the summons, that compeared not, were banished, and holden traitors to the king.'" 159. From Tweed to Spey. From the Tweed, the southern boundary of Scotland, to the Spey, a river far to the north in Invernessshire; that is, from one end of the land to the other. 170. Reave. Tear away. The participle reft is still used, at least in poetry. Cf. Shakespeare, V. and A. 766 : "Or butcher-sire that reaves his son of life" (that is, bereaves); Spenser, F. Q. i. 3. 36 : "He to him lept, in minde to reave his life;" Id. ii. 8. 15 : "I will him reave of arms," etc. 178. It drinks, etc. The MS. has "No blither dewdrop cheers the rose." 195, 196. To see... dance. This couplet is not in the MS. 200. The Lady of the Bleeding Heart. The bleeding heart was the cognizance of the Douglas family. Robert Bruce, on his death-bed, bequeathed his heart to his friend, the good Lord James, to be borne in war against the Saracens. "He joined Alphonso, King of Leon and Castile, then at war with the Moorish chief Osurga, of Granada, and in a keen contest with the Moslems he flung before him the casket containing the precious relic, crying out, 'Onward as thou wert wont, thou noble heart, Douglas will follow thee.' Douglas was slain, but his body was recovered, and also the precious casket, and in the end Douglas was laid with his ancestors, and the heart of Bruce deposited in the church of Melrose Abbey" (Burton's Hist. of Scotland). 201. Fair. The 1st ed. (and probably the MS., though not noted by Lockhart) has "Gay." 203. Yet is this, etc. The MS. and 1st ed. read : "This mossy rock, my friend, to me Is worth gay chair and canopy." 205. Footstep. The reading of the 1st and other early eds.; "footsteps" in recent ones. 206. Strathspey. A Highland dance, which takes its name from the strath, or broad valley, of the Spey (159 above). 213. Clan-Alpine's pride. "The Siol Alpine, or race of Alpine, includes several clans who claimed descent from Kenneth McAlpine, an ancient king. These are the Macgregors, the Grants, the Mackies, the Mackinnans, the MacNabs, the MacQuarries, and the Macaulays. Their common emblem was the pine, which is now confined to the Macgregors" (Taylor). 214. Loch Lomond. This beautiful lake, "the pride of Scottish lakes," is about 23 miles in length and 5 miles in its greatest breadth. At the southern end are many islands, one of which, Inch-Cailliach (the Island of Women, so called from a nunnery that was once upon it), was the burial-place of Clan-Alpine. See iii. 191 below. 216. A Lennox foray. That is, a raid in the lands of the Lennox family, bordering on the southern end of Loch Lomond. On the island of Inch-Murrin, the ruins of Lennox Castle, formerly a residence of the Earls of Lennox, are still to be seen. There was another of their strongholds on the shore of the lake near Balloch, where the modern Balloch Castle now stands. 217. Her glee. The 1st ed. misprints "his glee;" not noted in the Errata. 220. Black Sir Roderick. Roderick Dhu, or the Black, as he was called. 221. In Holy-Rood a knight he slew. That is, in Holyrood Palace. "This was by no means an uncommon occurrence in the Court of Scotland; nay, the presence of the sovereign himself scarcely restrained the ferocious and inveterate feuds which were the perpetual source of bloodshed among the Scottish nobility" (Scott). 223. Courtiers give place, etc. The MS. reads : "Courtiers give place with heartless stride Of the retiring homicide." 227. Who else, etc. The MS. has the following couplet before this line : "Who else dared own the kindred claim That bound him to thy mother's name?" 229. The Douglas, etc. Scott says here : "The exiled state of this powerful race is not exaggerated in this and subsequent passages. The hatred of James against the race of Douglas was so inveterate, that numerous as their allies were, and disregarded as the regal authority had usually been in similar cases, their nearest friends, even in the most remote part of Scotland, durst not entertain them, unless under the strictest and closest disguise. James Douglas, son of the banished Earl of Angus, afterwards well known by the title of Earl of Morton, lurked, during the exile of his family, in the north of Scotland, under the assumed name of James Innes, otherwise James the Grieve (i.e. reve or bailiff). 'And as he bore the name,' says Godscroft, 'so did he also execute the office of a grieve or overseer of the lands and rents, the corn and cattle of him with whom he lived.' From the habits of frugality and observation which he acquired in his humble situation, the historian traces that intimate acquaintance with popular character which enabled him to rise so high in the state, and that honorable economy by which he repaired and established the shattered estates of Angus and Morton (History of the House of Douglas, Edinburgh, 1743, vol. ii. p. 160)." 235. Guerdon. Reward; now rarely used except in poetry. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. 10. 59 : "That glory does to them for guerdon graunt," etc. 236. Dispensation. As Roderick and Ellen were cousins, they could not marry without a dispensation from the Pope. 251. Orphan. Referring to child, not to she, as its position indicates. 254. Shrouds. Shields, protects. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. 1. 6 : "And this faire couple eke to shroud themselves were fain" (that is, from the rain). So the noun = shelter, protection; as in Shakespeare, A. and C. iii. 13. 71 : "put yourself under his shroud," etc. See also on 757 below. 260. Maronnan's cell. "The parish of Kilmaronock, at the eastern extremity of Loch Lomond, derives its name from a cell, or chapel, dedicated to Saint Maronock, or Marnock, or Maronnan, about whose sanctity very little is now remembered" (Scott). Kill = cell; as in Colmekill (Macb. ii. 4. 33), "the cell of Columba," now known as Icolmkill, or Iona. 270. Bracklinn's thundering wave. This beautiful cascade is on the Keltie, a mile from Callander. The height of the fall is about fifty feet. "A few years ago a marriage party of Lowland peasants met with a tragic end here, two of them having tumbled into the broken, angry waters, where they had no more chance of life than if they had dropped into the crater of Hecla" (Black). 271. Save. Unless; here followed by the subjunctive. 274. Claymore. The word means "a large sword" (Gaelic claidheamh, sword, and more, great). 294. Shadowy plaid and sable plume. Appropriate to Roderick Dhu. See on 220 above. 303. Woe the while. Woe be to the time, alas the time! Cf. Shakespeare, J. C. i. 3. 82 : "But, woe the while! our fathers' minds are dead," etc. See also on i. 166 above. 306. Tine-man. "Archibald, the third Earl of Douglas, was so unfortunate in all his enterprises, that he acquired the epithet of 'tine-man,' because he tined, or lost, his followers in every battle which he fought. He was vanquished, as every reader must remember, in the bloody battle of Homildon-hill, near Wooler, where he himself lost an eye, and was made prisoner by Hotspur. He was no less unfortunate when allied with Percy, being wounded and taken at the battle of Shrewsbury. He was so unsuccessful in an attempt to beseige Roxburgh Castle, that it was called the 'Foul Raid,' or disgraceful expedition. His ill fortune left him indeed at the battle of Beauge, in France; but it was only to return with double emphasis at the subsequent action of Vernoil, the last and most unlucky of his encounters, in which he fell, with the flower of the Scottish chivalry, then serving as auxiliaries in France, and about two thousand common soldiers, A.D. 1424" (Scott). 307. What time, etc. That is, at the time when Douglas allied himself with Percy in the rebellion against Henry IV. of England. See Shakespeare, 1 Hen. IV. 309. Did, self unscabbarded, etc. Scott says here : "The ancient warriors, whose hope and confidence rested chiefly in their blades, were accustomed to deduce omens from them, especially from such as were supposed to have been fabricated by enchanted skill, of which we have various instances in the romances and legends of the time. The wonderful sword Skofnung, wielded by the celebrated Hrolf Kraka, was of this description. It was deposited in the tomb of the monarch at his death, and taken from thence by Skeggo, a celebrated pirate, who bestowed it upon his son-in-law, Kormak, with the following curious directions : '"The manner of using it will appear strange to you. A small bag is attached to it, which take heed not to violate. Let not the rays of the sun touch the upper part of the handle, nor unsheathe it, unless thou art ready for battle. But when thou comest to the place of fight, go aside from the rest, grasp and extend the sword, and breathe upon it. Then a small worm will creep out of the handle; lower the handle, that he may more easily return into it." Kormak, after having received the sword, returned home to his mother. He showed the sword, and attempted to draw it, as unnecessarily as ineffectually, for he could not pluck it out of the sheath. His mother, Dalla, exclaimed, "Do not despise the counsel given to thee, my son." Kormak, however, repeating his efforts, pressed down the handle with his feet, and tore off the bag, when Skofung emitted a hollow groan; but still he could not unsheathe the sword. Kormak then went out with Bessus, whom he had challenged to fight with him, and drew apart at the place of combat. He sat down upon the ground, and ungirding the sword, which he bore above his vestments, did not remember to shield the hilt from the rays of the sun. In vain he endeavored to draw it, till he placed his foot against the hilt; then the worm issued from it. But Kormak did not rightly handle the weapon, in consequence whereof good fortune deserted it. As he unsheathed Skofnung, it emitted a hollow murmur' (Bartholini de Causis Contemptae a Danis adhuc Gentilibus Mortis, Libri Tres. Hafniae, 1689, 4to, p. 574). "To the history of this sentient and prescient weapon, I beg leave to add, from memory, the following legend, for which I cannot produce any better authority. A young nobleman, of high hopes and fortune, chanced to lose his way in the town which he inhabited, the capital, if I mistake not, of a German province. He had accidentally involved himself among the narrow and winding streets of a suburb, inhabited by the lowest order of the people, and an approaching thunder-shower determined him to ask a short refuge in the most decent habitation that was near him. He knocked at the door, which was opened by a tall man, of a grisly and ferocious aspect, and sordid dress. The stranger was readily ushered to a chamber, where swords, scourges, and machines, which seemed to be implements of torture, were suspended on the wall. One of these swords dropped from its scabbard, as the nobleman, after a moment's hesitation, crossed the threshold. His host immediately stared at him with such a marked expression, that the young man could not help demanding his name and business, and the meaning of his looking at him so fixedly. 'I am,' answered the man, 'the public executioner of this city; and the incident you have observed is a sure augury that I shall, in discharge of my duty, one day cut off your head with the weapon which has just now spontaneously unsheathed itself.' The nobleman lost no time in leaving his place of refuge; but, engaging in some of the plots of the period, was shortly after decapitated by that very man and instrument. "Lord Lovat is said, by the author of the Letters from Scotland (vol. ii.
"The Lennox, as the district is called which encircles the lower extremity of Loch Lomond, was peculiarly exposed to the incursions of the mountaineers, who inhabited the inaccessible fastnesses at the upper end of the lake, and the neighboring district of Loch Katrine. These were often marked by circumstances of great ferocity, of which the noted conflict of Glen Fruin is a celebrated instance. This was a clan-battle, in which the Macgregors, headed by Allaster Macgregor, chief of the clan, encountered the sept of Colquhouns, commanded by Sir Humphry Colquhoun of Luss. It is on all hands allowed that the action was desperately fought, and that the Colquhouns were defeated with slaughter, leaving two hundred of their name dead upon the field. But popular tradition has added other horrors to the tale. It is said that Sir Humphry Colquhoun, who was on horseback, escaped to the Castle of Benechra, or Bannochar, and was next day dragged out and murdered by the victorious Macgregors in cold blood. Buchanan of Auchmar, however, speaks of his slaughter as a subsequent event, and as perpetrated by the Macfarlanes. Again, it is reported that the Macgregors murdered a number of youths, whom report of the intended battle had brought to be spectators, and whom the Colquhouns, anxious for their safety, had shut up in a barn to be out of danger. One account of the Macgregors denies this circumstance entirely; another ascribes it to the savage and bloodthirsty disposition of a single individual, the bastard brother of the Laird of Macgregor, who amused himself with this second massacre of the innocents, in express disobedience to the chief, by whom he was left their guardian during the pursuit of the Colquhouns. It is added that Macgregor bitterly lamented this atrocious action, and prophesied the ruin which it must bring upon their ancient clan. ...
"The consequences of the battle of Glen Fruin were very calamitous to the family of Macgregor, who had already been considered as an unruly clan. The widows of the slain Colquhouns, sixty, it is said, in number, appeared in doleful procession before the king at Stirling, each riding upon a white palfrey, and bearing in her hand the bloody shirt of her husband displayed upon a pike. James VI. was so much moved by the complaints of this 'choir of mourning dames,' that he let loose his vengeance against the Macgregors without either bounds or moderation. The very name of the clan was proscribed, and those by whom it had been borne were given up to sword and fire, and absolutely hunted down by bloodhounds like wild beasts. Argyll and the Campbells, on the one hand, Montrose, with the Grahames and Buchanans, on the other, are said to have been the chief instruments in suppressing this devoted clan. The Laird of Macgregor surrendered to the former, on condition that he would take him out of Scottish ground. But, to use Birrel's expression, he kept 'a Highlandman's promise;' and, although he fulfilled his word to the letter, by carrying him as far as Berwick, he afterwards brought him back to Edinburgh, where he was executed with eighteen of his clan (Birrel's Diary, 2d Oct. 1903). The clan Gregor being thus driven to utter despair, seem to have renounced the laws from the benefit of which they were excluded, and their depredations produced new acts of council, confirming the severity of their proscription, which had only the effect of rendering them still more united and desperate. It is a most extraordinary proof of the ardent and invincible spirit of clanship, that notwithstanding the repeated proscriptions providently ordained by the legislature, 'for the timeous preventing the disorders and oppression that may fall out by the said name and clan of Macgregors, and their followers,' they were, in 1715 and 1745, a potent clan, and continue to subsist as a distinct and numerous race."
426. Leven-glen. The valley of the Leven, which connects Loch Lomond with the Clyde.
431. The rosebud. That is, Ellen. "Note how this song connects Allan's forebodings with Roderick's subsequent offer" (Taylor).
444. And chorus wild, etc. The MS. has "The chorus to the chieftain's fame."
476. Weeped. The form is used for the rhyme. Cf. note on i. 500 above.
477. Nor while, etc. The MS. reads :
"Nor while on Ellen's faltering tongue Her filial greetings eager hung, Marked not that awe (affection's proof) Still held yon gentle youth aloof; No! not till Douglas named his name, Although the youth was Malcolm Graeme. Then with flushed cheek and downcast eye, Their greeting was confused and shy."
495. Kerchief. Curch, which is etymologically the same word, and means a covering for the head. See on 114 above; as also for snooded.
497. Percy's Norman pennon. Taken in the raid which led to the battle of Otterburn, in Northumberland, in the year 1388, and which forms the theme of the ballads of Chevy Chase.
501. My pomp. My triumphal procession; the original meaning of pomp.
504. Crescent. The badge of the Buccleuch family (Miss Yonge).
506. Blantyre. A priory, the ruins of which are still to be seen on a height above the Clyde, opposite Bothwell Castle.
521. The dogs, etc. The MS. has "The dogs with whimpering notes repaid."
525. Unhooded. The falcon was carried on the wrist, with its head covered, or hooded, until the prey was seen, when it was unhooded for flight. Cf. vi. 665 below.
526. Trust. Believe me.
527. Like fabled Goddess. The MS. has "Like fabled huntress;" referring of course to Diana.
534. Stature fair. The reading of the 1st ed. and that of 1821; "stature tall" in most of the other eds.
541. The ptarmigan. A white bird.
543. Menteith. See on i. 89 above.
548. Ben Lomond. This is much the highest (3192 feet) of the mountains on the shores of Loch Lomond. The following lines on the ascent were scratched upon the window-pane of the old inn at Tarbet a hundred years or more ago :
"Trust not at first a quick adventurous pace; Six miles its top points gradual from its base; Up the high rise with panting haste I past, And gained the long laborious steep at last; More prudent thou--when once you pass the deep, With cautious steps and slow ascend the steep."
549. Not a sob. That is, without panting, or getting out of breath, like the degenerate modern tourist.
574. Glenfinlas. A wooded valley between Ben-an and Benledi, the entrance to which is between Lochs Achray and Vennachar. It is the scene of Scott's ballad, Glenfinlas, or Lord Ronald's Coronach. A mile from the entrance are the falls of the Hero's Targe. See iv. 84 below.
577. Still a royal ward. Still under age, with the king for guardian.
583. Strath-Endrick. A valley to the southeast of Loch Lomond, drained by Endrick Water.
584. Peril aught. Incur any peril. Milton uses the verb intransitively in Reason of Church Government, ii. 3 : "it may peril to stain itself."
587. Not in action. The 1st ed. has "nor in action."
594. News. Now generally used as a singular; but in old writers both as singular and as plural. Cf. Shakespeare, K. John, iii. 4. 164 : "at that news he dies;" and Id. v. 7. 65 : "these dead news," etc.
601. As. As if. See on 56 above.
606. Glozing. That glosses over the truth, not plain and outspoken. Sometimes it means to flatter, or deceive with smooth words; as in Spenser, F. Q. iii. 8. 14 :
"For he could well his glozing speeches frame To such vaine uses that him best became;"
Smith, Sermons (A. D. 1609) : "Every smooth tale is not to be believed; and every glosing tongue is not to be trusted;" Milton, P. L. iii. 93 : "his glozing lies;" Id. ix. 549 : "So glozed the Tempter;" Comus, 161 : "well-placed words of glozing courtesy," etc.
615. The King's vindictive pride, etc. Scott says here : "In 1529, James made a convention at Edinburgh, for the purpose of considering the best mode of quelling the Border robbers, who, during the license of his minority, and the troubles which followed, had committed many exorbitances. Accordingly he assembled a flying army of ten thousand men, consisting of his principal nobility and their followers, who were directed to bring their hawks and dogs with them, that the monarch might refresh himself with sport during the intervals of military execution. With this array he swept through Ettrick Forest, where he hanged over the gate of his own castle Piers Cockburn of Henderland, who had prepared, according to tradition, a feast for his reception. He caused Adam Scott of Tushiclaw also to be executed, who was distinguished by the title of King of the Border. But the most noted victim of justice during that expedition was John Armstrong of Gilnockie, famous in Scottish song, who, confiding in his own supposed innocence, met the King, with a retinue of thirty-six persons, all of whom were hanged at Carlenrig, near the source of the Teviot. The effect of this severity was such, that, as the vulgar expressed it, 'the rush-bush kept the cow,' and 'thereafter was great peace and rest a long time, wherethrough the King had great profit; for he had ten thousand sheep going in the Ettrick Forest in keeping by Andrew Bell, who made the king as good count of them as they had gone in the bounds of Fife' (Pitscottie's History, p. 153)."
623. Meggat's mead. The Meggat, or Megget, is a mountain stream flowing into the Yarrow, a branch of the Etrrick, which is itself a branch of the Tweed. The Teviot is also a branch of the Tweed.
627. The dales, etc. The MS. has "The dales where clans were wont to bide."
634. By fate of Border chivalry. Scott says : "James was, in fact, equally attentive to restrain rapine and feudal oppression in every part of his dominions. 'The King past to the isles, and there held justice courts, and punished both thief and traitor according to their demerit. And also he caused great men to show their holdings, wherethrough he found many of the said lands in non-entry; the which he confiscate and brought home to his own use, and afterwards annexed them to the crown, as ye shall hear. Syne brought many of the great men of the isles captive with him, such as Mudyart, M'Connel, M'Loyd of the Lewes, M'Neil, M'Lane, M'Intosh, John Mudyart, M'Kay, M'Kenzie, with many other that I cannot rehearse at this time. Some of them he put in ward and some in court, and some he took pledges for good rule in time coming. So he brought the isles, both north and south, in good rule and peace; wherefore he had great profit, service, and obedience of people a long time hereafter; and as long as he had the heads of the country in subjection, they lived in great peace and rest, and there was great riches and policy by the King's justice' (Pitscottie, p. 152)."
638. Your counsel. That is, give me your counsel. Streight = strait.
659. The Bleeding Heart. See on 200 above.
662. Quarry. See on i. 127 above.
672. To wife. For wife. Cf. Shakespeare, Temp. ii. 1. 75 : "such a paragon to their queen;" Rich. II. iv. 1. 306 : "I have a king here to my flatterer," etc. See also Matt. iii. 9, Luke, iii. 8, etc.
674. Enow. The old plural of enough; as in Shakespeare, Hen. V. iv. 1. 240 : "we have French quarrels enow," etc.
678. The Links of Forth. The windings of the Forth between Stirling and Alloa.
679. Stirling's porch. The gate of Stirling Castle.
683. Blench. Start, shrink.
685. Heat. Misprinted "heart" in many eds.
690. From pathless glen. The MS. has "from hill and glen."
692. There are who have. For the ellipsis, cf. Shakespeare, Temp. ii. 1. 262 : "There be that can rule Naples," etc. See also iii. 10 below.
694. That beetled o'er. Cf. Hamlet, i. 4. 71 :
"the dreadful summit of the cliff That beetles o'er his base into the sea."
696. Their dangerous dream. The MS. has "their desperate dream."
702. Battled. Battlemented; as in vi. 7 below.
703. It waved. That it waved; an ellipsis very common in Elizabethan and earlier English. Cf. 789 below.
708. Astound. Astounded. This contraction of the participle (here used for the sake of the rhyme) was formerly not uncommon in verbs ending in d and t. Thus in Shakespeare we find the participles bloat (Ham. iii. 4. 182), enshield (M. for M. ii. 4. 80), taint (1 Hen. VI. v. 3. 183), etc. Astound (= dark, black) in Hamlet, i. 2. 68 ("thy nighted colour") is an adjective formed from the noun night.
710. Crossing. Conflicting.
716. Ere. The 1st ed. misprints "e'er."
731. Level. Aim; formerly a technical term. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 286 : "The foeman may with as great aim level at the edge of a penknife," etc.
747. Nighted. Benighted. It is to be regarded as a contraction of that word; like lated for belated in Macbeth, iii. 3. 6, etc. Nighted (= dark, black) in Hamlet, i. 2. 68 ("thy nighted colour") is an adjective formed from the noun night.
757. Checkered shroud. Tartain plaid. The original meaning of shroud (see Wb.) was garment.
763. Parting. Departing. See on 94 above.
768. So deep, etc. According to Lockhart, the MS. reads :
"The deep-toned anguish of despair Flushed, in fierce jealousy, to air;"
but we suspect that "Flushed" should be "Flashed."
774. So lately. At the "Beltane game" (319 above).
781. Thus as they strove, etc. The MS. reads :
"Thus, as they strove, each better hand Grasped for the dagger or the brand."
786. I hold, etc. Scott has the following note on the last page of the 1st ed. : "The author has to apologize for the inadvertent appropriation of a whole line from the tragedy of Douglas : 'I hold the first who strikes my foe.'"
789. His daughter's hand, etc. For the ellipsis of that, see on 703 above. Deemed is often misprinted "doomed."
791. Sullen and slowly, etc. The MS. reads :
"Sullen and slow the rivals bold Loosed at his hest their desperate hold, But either still on other glared," etc.
795. Brands. A pet word with Scott. Note how often it has been used already in the poem.
798. As faltered. See on 601 above.
801. Pity 't were, etc. Scott says here : "Hardihood was in every respect so essential to the character of a Highlander, that the reproach of effeminacy was the most bitter which could be thrown upon him. Yet it was sometimes hazarded on what we might presume to think slight grounds. It is reported of old Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, when upwards of seventy, that he was surprised by night on a hunting or military expedition. He wrapped him in his plaid, and lay contentedly down upon the snow, with which the ground happened to be covered. Among his attendants, who were preparing to take their rest in the same manner, he observed that one of his grandsons, for his better accommodation, had rolled a large snow-ball, and placed it below his head. The wrath of the ancient chief was awakened by a symptom of what he conceived to be degenerate luxury. 'Out upon thee,' said he, kicking the frozen bolster from the head which it supported, 'art thou so effeminate as to need a pillow?' The officer of engineers, whose curious Letters from the Highlands have been more than once quoted, tells a similar story of Macdonald of Keppoch, and subjoins the following remarks : 'This and many other stories are romantick; but there is one thing, that at first thought might seem very romantick, of which I have been credibly assured, that when the Highlanders are constrained to lie among the hills, in cold dry weather, they sometimes soak the plaid in some river or burn (i.e. brook), and then holding up a corner of it a little above their heads, they turn themselves round and round, till they are enveloped by the whole mantle. They then lay themselves down on the heath, upon the leeward side of some hill, where the wet and the warmth of their bodies make a steam, like that of a boiling kettle. The wet, they say, keeps them warm by thickening the stuff, and keeping the wind from penetrating. I must confess I should have been apt to question this fact, had I not frequently seen them wet from morning to night, and, even at the beginning of the rain, not so much as stir a few yards to shelter, but continue in it without necessity, till they were, as we say, wet through and through. And that is soon effected by the looseness and spunginess of the plaiding; but the bonnet is frequently taken off, and wrung like a dishclout, and then put on again. They have been accustomed from their infancy to be often wet, and to take the water like spaniels, and this is become a second nature, and can scarcely be called a hardship to them, insomuch that I used to say, they seemed to be of the duck kind, and to love water as well. Though I never saw this preparation for sleep in windy weather, yet, setting out early in a morning from one of the huts, I have seen the marks of their lodging, where the ground has been free from rime or snow, which remained all round the spot where they had lain' (Letters from Scotland, Lond. 1754, 8vo, ii. p. 108)."
809. His henchman. Scott quotes again the Letters from Scotland (ii. 159) : "This officer is a sort of secretary, and is to be ready, upon all occasions, to venture his life in defence of his master; and at drinking-bouts he stands behind his seat, at his haunch, from whence his title is derived, and watches the conversation, to see if any one offends his patron. An English officer being in company with a certain chieftain, and several other Highland gentlemen, near Killichumen, had an argument with the great man; and both being well warmed with usky [whisky], at last the dispute grew very hot. A youth who was henchman, not understanding one word of English, imagined his chief was insulted, and thereupon drew his pistol from his side, and snapped it at the officer's head; but the pistol missed fire, otherwise it is more than probable he might have suffered death from the hand of that little vermin. But it is very disagreeable to an Englishman over a bottle with the Highlanders, to see every one of them have his gilly, that is, his servant, standing behind him all the while, let what will be the subject of conversation."
829. On the morn. Modifying should circle, not the nearer verb had sworn.
831. The Fiery Cross. See on iii. 18 below.
846. Point. Point out, appoint. Cf. Shakespeare, Sonn. 14. 6 :
"Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell, Pointing to each his thunder, rain, and wind."
The word in this and similar passages is generally printed "'point" by modern editors, but it is not a contraction of appoint.
860. Then plunged, etc. The MS. has "He spoke, and plunged into the tide."
862. Steered him. See on i. 142 above.
865, 866. Darkening... gave. In the 1st ed. these lines are joined to what precedes, as they evidently should be; in all the more recent eds. they are joined to what follows.
Canto Third.
3. Store. See on i. 548 above.
5. That be. in old English, besides the present tense am, etc., there was also this form be, from the Anglo-Saxon beon. The 2d person singular was beest. The 1st and 3d person plural be is often found in Shakespeare and the Bible.
10. Yet live there still, etc. See on ii. 692 above.
15. What time. Cf. ii. 307 above.
17. The gathering sound. The sound, or signal, for the gathering. The phrase illustrates the difference between the participle and the verbal noun (or whatever it may be called) in -ing. Cf. "a laboring man" and "a laboring day" (Julius Caesar, i. 1. 4); and see our ed. of J. C. p. 126.
For continuity only — this is the END of the previous section, already translated. Do NOT translate it again and do NOT repeat it in your output. Match its names, terminology and register: --- "The Lennox, as the district is called which encircles the lower extremity of Loch Lomond, was peculiarly exposed to the incursions of the mountaineers, who inhabited the inaccessible fastnesses at the upper end of the lake, and the neighboring district of Loch Katrine. These were often marked by circumstances of great ferocity, of which the noted conflict of Glen Fruin is a celebrated instance. This was a clan-battle, in which the Macgregors, headed by Allaster Macgregor, chief of the clan, encountered the sept of Colquhouns, commanded by Sir Humphry Colquhoun of Luss. It is on all hands allowed that the action was desperately fought, and that the Colquhouns were defeated with slaughter, leaving two hundred of their name dead upon the field. But popular tradition has added other horrors to the tale. It is said that Sir Humphry Colquhoun, who was on horseback, escaped to the Castle of Bene
"Our officer of Engineers, so often quoted, has given us a distinct list of the domestic officers who, independent of Luichttach, or gardes de corps, belonged to the establishment of a Highland chief. These are, 1. The Henchman. 2. The Bard. See preceding notes. 3. Bladier, or spokesman. 4. Gillie-more, or sword-bearer, alluded to in the text. 5. Gillie-casflue, who carried the chief, if on foot, over the fords. 6. Gillie-comstraine, who leads the chief's horse. 7. Gillie-Trushanarinsh, the baggage-man. 8. The piper. 9. The piper's gillie, or attendant, who carries the bagpipe (Letters from Scotland, vol. ii. p. 158). Although this appeared, naturally enough, very ridiculous to an English officer, who considered the master of such a retinue as no more than an English gentleman of £500 a year, yet in the circumstances of the chief, whose strength and importance consisted in the number and attachment of his followers, it was of the last consequence, in point of policy, to have in his gift subordinate offices, which called immediately round his person those who were most devoted to him, and, being of value in their estimation, were also the means of rewarding them."
693. To drown, etc. The MS. reads :
"To drown his grief in war's wild roar, Nor think of love and Ellen more."
713. Ave Maria! etc. "The metrical peculiarity of this song is that the rhymes of the even lines of the first quatrain (or set of four lines) are taken up as those of the odd lines in the second, and that they are the same in all three stanzas" (Taylor).
722. We now must share. The MS. has "my sire must share;" and in 725 "The murky grotto's noxious air."
733. Bow us. See on i. 142, and cf. 749 below.
754. Lanrick height. Overlooking Lanrick Mead. See on 286 above.
755. Where mustered, etc. The MS. reads :
"Where broad extending far below, Mustered Clan-Alpine's martial show."
On the first of these lines, cf. i. 88 above.
773. Yell. See on 357 above.
774. Bochastle's plain. See on i. 106 above.
Canto Fourth.
2. And hope, etc. The MS. has "And rapture dearest when obscured by fears."
5. Wilding. Wild; a rare word, used only in poetry. Cf. Tennyson, Geraint and Enid : "And like a crag was gay with wilding flowers." Spenser has the noun (= wild apples) in F. Q. iii. 7. 17 : "Oft from the forrest wildings he did bring," etc. Whom is used on account of the personification.
9. What time. Cf. ii. 307 and iii. 15 above.
19. Braes of Doune. The undulating region between Callander and Doune, on the north side of the Teith. The Doune of 37 below is the old Castle of that name, the ruins of which still form a majestic pile on the steep banks of the Teith. It figures in Waverley as the place where the hero was confined by the Highlanders.
36. Boune. Prepared, ready; a Scottish word. Cf. 157 and vi. 396 below.
42. Bide. Endure; not to be printed 'bide, as if a contraction of abide. Cf. Shakespeare, Lear, iii. 4. 29 : "That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm," etc.
Bout. Turn (of fortune).
47. Repair. That is, to repair.
55. 'T is well advised. Well thought of, well planned. Cf. advised careful, well considered; as in M. of V. i. 1. 142 : "with more advised watch," etc.
The MS. reads :
"'Tis well advised--a prudent plan, Worthy the father of his clan."
59. Evening-tide. See on iii. 478 above.
63. The Taghairm. Scott says here : "The Highlanders, like all rude people, had various superstitious modes of inquiring into futurity. One of the most noted was the Taghairm, mentioned in the text. A person was wrapped up in the skin of a newly-slain bullock, and deposited beside a waterfall, or at the bottom of a precipice, or in some other strange, wild, and unusual situation, where the scenery around him suggested nothing but objects of horror. In this situation, he revolved in his mind the question proposed; and whatever was impressed upon him by his exalted imagination, passed for the inspiration of the disembodied spirits, who haunt these desolate recesses. In some of the Hebrides they attributed the same oracular power to a large black stone by the sea-shore, which they approached with certain solemnities, and considered the first fancy which came into their own minds, after they did so, to be the undoubted dictate of the tutelar deity of the stone, and, as such, to be, if possible, punctually complied with."
68. Gallangad. We do not find this name elsewhere, but it probably belongs to some part of the district referred to in Scott's note inserted here : "I know not if it be worth observing that this passage is taken almost literally from the mouth of an old Highland kern, or Ketteran, as they were called. He used to narrate the merry doings of the good old time when he was follower of Rob Roy MacGregor. This leader, on one occasion, thought proper to make a descent upon the lower part of the Loch Lomond district, and summoned all the heritors and farmers to meet at the Kirk of Drymen, to pay him black-mail; i.e., tribute for forbearance and protection. As this invitation was supported by a band of thirty or forty stout fellows, only one gentleman, an ancestor, if I mistake not, of the present Mr. Grahame of Gartmore, ventured to decline compliance. Rob Roy instantly swept his land of all he could drive away, and among the spoil was a bull of the old Scottish wild breed, whose ferocity occasioned great plague to the Ketterans. 'But ere we had reached the Row of Dennan,' said the old man, 'a child might have scratched his ears.' The circumstance is a minute one, but it paints the time when the poor beeve was compelled
'To hoof it o'er as many weary miles, With goading pikemen hollowing at his heels, As e'er the bravest antler of the woods' (Ethwald)."
73. Kerns. The Gaelic and Irish light-armed soldiers, the heavy-armed being known as gallowglasses. The names are often associated; as in Macbeth, i. 2. 13 : "kerns and gallowglasses;" 2 Hen. VI. iv. 9. 26 : "gallowglasses and stout kerns;" Drayton, Heroical Epist. : "the Kerne and Irish Galliglasse," etc.
74. Beal'maha. "The pass of the plain," on the east of Loch Lomond, opposite Inch-Cailliach. In the olden time it was one of the established roads for making raids into the Lowlands.
77. Dennan's Row. The modern Rowardennan, on Loch Lomond at the foot of Ben Lomond, and a favorite starting=point for the ascent of that mountain.
82. Boss. Knob; in keeping with Targe.
83. Verge. Pronounced varge, as the rhyme shows. In v. 219 below it has its ordinary sound; but cf. v. 812.
84. The Hero's Targe. "There is a rock so named in the Forest of Glenfinlas, by which a tumultuary cataract takes its course. This wild place is said in former times to have afforded refuge to an outlaw, who was supplied with provisions by a woman, who lowered them down from the brink of the precipice above. His water he procured for himself, by letting down a flagon tied to a string into the black pool beneath the fall" (Scott).
98. Broke. Quartered. Cf. the quotation from Jonson below. Scott says here : "Everything belonging to the chase was matter of solemnity among our ancestors; but nothing was more so than the mode of cutting up, or, as it was technically called, breaking, the slaughtered stag. The forester had his allotted portion; the hounds had a certain allowance; and, to make the division as general as possible, the very birds had their share also. 'There is a little gristle,' says Tubervile, 'which is upon the spoone of the brisket, which we call the raven's bone; and I have seen in some places a raven so wont and accustomed to it, that she would never fail to croak and cry for it all the time you were in breaking up of the deer, and would not depart till she had it.' In the very ancient metrical romance of Sir Tristrem, that peerless knight, who is said to have been the very deviser of all rules of chase, did not omit the ceremony :
'The rauen he yaue his yiftes Sat on the fourched tre.' [9]
"The raven might also challenge his rights by the Book of St. Albans; for thus says Dame Juliana Berners :
'slitteth anon The bely to the side, from the corbyn bone; That is corbyns fee, at the death he will be.'
Jonson, in The Sad Shepherd, gives a more poetical account of the same ceremony :
'Marian. He that undoes him, Doth cleave the brisket bone, upon the spoon Of which a little gristle grows--you call it Robin Hood. The raven's bone. Marian. Now o'er head sat a raven On a sere bough, a grown, great bird, and hoarse, Who, all the while the deer was breaking up, So croaked and cried for 't, as all the huntsmen, Especially old Scathlock, thought it ominous.'"
115. Rouse. Rise, stand erect. Cf. Macbeth, v. 5. 12 :
"The time has been, my senses would have cool'd To hear a night-shriek, and my fell of hair Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir As life were in 't."
119. Mine. Many eds. have "my."
128. Fateful. The reading of the 1st ed. and that of 1821; "fatal" in some recent eds.
132. Which spills, etc. The MS. has "Which foremost spills a foeman's life."
"Though this be in the text described as a response of the Taghairm, or Oracle of the Hide, it was of itself an augury frequently attended to. The fate of the battle was often anticipated, in the imagination of the combatants, by observing which party first shed blood. It is said that the Highlanders under Montrose were so deeply imbued with this notion, that on the morning of the battle of Tippermoor, they murdered a defenceless herdsman, whom they found in the fields, merely to secure an advantage of so much consequence to their party" (Scott).
140. A spy. That is, Fitz-James. For has sought, the 1st ed. has "hath sought."
144. Red Murdoch, etc. The MS. has "The clansman vainly deemed his guide," etc.
147. Those shall bring him down. For the ellipsis of who, see on i. 528 above. The MS. has "stab him down."
153. Pale. In the heraldic sense of "a broad perpendicular stripe in an escutcheon." See Wb.
155. I love to hear, etc Cf. v. 238 below.
156. When move they on? etc. The MS reads :
"'When move they on?' |'This sun | at noon |'To-day | 'T is said will see them march from Doune.' 'To-morrow then |makes| meeting stern.'" |sees |
160. Earn. That is, the district about Loch Earn and the river of the same name flowing from the lake.
164. Shaggy glen. As already stated, Trosachs means bristling.
174. Stance. Station; a Scottish word.
177. Trusty targe. The MS. has "Highland targe."
197. Shifting like flashes, etc. That is, like the Northern Lights. Cf. the Lay, ii. 86 :
"And red and bright the streamers light Were dancing in the glowing north. ........ He knew by the streamers that shot so bright That spirits were riding the northern light."
The MS. reads :
"Thick as the flashes darted forth By morrice-dancers of the north; And saw at morn their |barges ride, |little fleet, Close moored by the lone islet's side. Since this rude race dare not abide Upon their native mountain side, 'T is fit that Douglas should provide For his dear child some safe abode, And soon he comes to point the road."
207. No, Allan, etc. The MS. reads :
"No, Allan, no! His words so kind Were but pretexts my fears to blind. When in such solemn tone and grave Douglas a parting blessing gave."
212. Fixed and high. Often misprinted "fixed on high."
215. Stroke. The MS. has "shock," and in the next line "adamantine" for invulnerable.
223. Trowed. Trusted, believed. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. v. 2. 34 : "So much is more then [than] just to trow." See also Luke, xvii. 9.
231. Cambus-kenneth's fane. Cambus-kenneth Abbey, about a mile from Stirling, on the other side of the Forth. The massive tower is now the only part remaining entire.
235. Friends'. Many recent eds. misprint "friend's."
250. Sooth. True. See on i. 476 above.
261. Merry it is, etc. Scott says : "This little fairy tale is founded upon a very curious Danish ballad which occurs in the Kaempe Viser, a collection of heroic songs first published in 1591, and reprinted in 1695, inscribed by Anders Sofrensen, the collector and editor, to Sophia, Queen of Denmark."
The measure is the common ballad-metre, the basis of which is a line of eight syllables followed by one of six, the even syllables accented, with the alternate lines rhyming, so as to form a four-line stanza. It is varied by extra unaccented syllables, and by rhymes within the longer lines (both of which modifications we have in 263 and 271), and by "double rhymes" (like singing and ringing).
262. Mavis and merle. Thrush and blackbird.
267. Wold. Open country, as opposed to wood. Cf. Tennyson, In Memoriam, 11 : "Calm and deep peace on this high wold," etc. See also 724 below.
274. Glaive. Broadsword. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 7. 38 : "laying both his hands upon his glave," etc. See also v. 253 below.
277. Pall. A rich fabric used for making palls, or mantles. Cf. F. Q. i. 7. 16 : "He gave her gold and purple pall to weare."
278. Wont. Were accustomed. See on i. 408 above.
282. 'Twas but, etc. The MS. reads :
"'Twas but a midnight chance; For blindfold was the battle plied, And fortune held the lance."
283. Darkling. In the dark; a poetical word. Cf. Milton, P. L. iii. 39 :
"as the wakeful bird Sings darkling;"
Shakespeare, Lear, i. 4. 237 : "So out went the candle, and we were left darkling," etc. See also 711 below.
285. Vair. The fur of the squirrel. See Wb.
286. Sheen. See on i. 208 above.
291. Richard. Here accented on the final syllable. Such license is not unusual in ballad poetry.
298. Woned. Dwelt. See on i. 408 above. Scott has the following note here :
"In a long dissertation upon the Fairy Superstitions, published in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, the most valuable part of which was supplied by my learned and indefatigable friend, Dr. John Leyden, most of the circumstances are collected which can throw light upon the popular belief which even yet prevails respecting them in Scotland. Dr. Grahame, author of an entertaining work upon the Scenery of the Perthshire Highlands, already frequently quoted, has recorded with great accuracy the peculiar tenets held by the Highlanders on this topic, in the vicinity of Loch Katrine. The learned author is inclined to deduce the whole mythology from the Druidical system--an opinion to which there are many objections.
'The Daoine Shi', or Men of Peace, of the Highlanders, though not absolutely malevolent, are believed to be a peevish, repining race of beings, who, possessing themselves but a scanty portion of happiness, are supposed to envy mankind their more complete and substantial enjoyments. They are supposed to enjoy, in their subterraneous recesses, a sort of shadowy happiness,--a tinsel grandeur; which, however, they would willingly exchange for the more solid joys of mortality.
'They are believed to inhabit certain round grassy eminences, where they celebrate their nocturnal festivities by the light of the moon. About a mile beyond the source of the Forth, above Loch Con, there is a placed called Coirshi'an, or the Cove of the Men of Peace, which is still supposed to be a favorite place of their residence. In the neighborhood are to be seen many round conical eminences, particularly one near the head of the lake, by the skirts of which many are still afraid to pass after sunset. It is believed that if, on Hallow-eve, any person, alone, goes round one of these hills nine times, towards the left hand (sinistrorsum) a door shall open, by which he will be admitted into their subterraneous abodes. Many, it is said, of mortal race have been entertained in their secret recesses. There they have been received into the most splendid apartments, and regaled with the most sumptuous banquets and delicious wines. Their females surpass the daughters of men in beauty. The seemingly happy inhabitants pass their time in festivity, and in dancing to notes of the softest music. But unhappy is the mortal who joins in their joys or ventures to partake of their dainties. By this indulgence he forfeits for ever the society of men, and is bound down irrevocably to the condition of Shi'ich, or Man of Peace.'"
301. Why sounds, etc. "It has been already observed that fairies, if not positively malevolent, are capricious, and easily offended. They are, like other proprietors of forests, peculiarly jealous of their rights of vert and venison.... This jealousy was also an attribute of the northern Duergar, or dwarfs; to many of whose distinctions the fairies seem so have succeeded, if, indeed, they are not the same class of beings. In the huge metrical record of German chivalry entitled the Helden-Buch, Sir Hildebrand, and the other heroes of which it treats, are engaged in one of their most desperate adventures, from a rash violation of the rose-garden of an Elfin or Dwarf King.
"There are yet traces of a belief in this worst and most malicious order of fairies among the Border wilds. Dr. Leyden has introduced such a dwarf into his ballad entitled The Cout of Keeldar, and has not forgot his characteristic detestation of the chase.
'The third blast that young Keeldar blew, Still stood the limber fern, And a wee man, of swarthy hue, Upstarted by a cairn.
'His russet weeds were brown as heath That clothes the upland fell, And the hair of his head was frizzy red As the purple heather-bell.
'An urchin, clad in prickles red, Clung cow'ring to his arm; The hounds they howl'd, and backward fled, As struck by fairy charm.
'"Why rises high the staghound's cry, Where staghound ne'er should be? Why wakes that horn the silent morn, Without the leave of me?"--
'"Brown Dwarf, that o'er the muirland strays, Thy name to Keeldar tell!"-- "The Brown Man of the Muirs, who stays Beneath the heather-bell.
'"'T is sweet beneath the heather-bell To live in autumn brown; And sweet to hear the lav'rock's swell, Far, far from tower and town.
'"But woe betide the shrilling horn, The chase's surly cheer! And ever that hunter is forlorn Whom first at morn I hear."'
"The poetical picture here given of the Duergar corresponds exactly with the following Northumberland legend, with which I was lately favored by my learned and kind friend, Mr. Surtees of Mainsforth, who has bestowed indefatigable labor upon the antiquities of the English Border counties. The subject is in itself so curious, that the length of the note will, I hope, be pardoned :
'I have only one record to offer of the appearance of our Northumbrian Duergar. My narratrix is Elizabeth Cockburn, and old wife of Offerton, in this country, whose credit, in a case of this kind, will not, I hope, be much impeached when I add that she is by her dull neighbors supposed to be occasionally insane, but by herself to be at those times endowed with a faculty of seeing visions and spectral appearances which shun the common ken.
For continuity only — this is the END of the previous section, already translated. Do NOT translate it again and do NOT repeat it in your output. Match its names, terminology and register: --- which the Macgregors, headed by Allaster Macgregor, chief of the clan, encountered the sept of Colquhouns, commanded by Sir Humphry Colquhoun of Luss. It is on all hands allowed that the action was desperately fought, and that the Colquhouns were defeated with slaughter, leaving two hundred of their name dead upon the field. But popular tradition has added other horrors to the tale. It is said that Sir Humphry Colquhoun, who was on horseback, escaped to the Castle of Bene
"In the year before the great rebellion, two young men from Newcastle were sporting on the high moors above Eldson, and after pursuing their game several hours, sat down to dine in a green glen near one of the mountain streams. After their repast, the younger lad ran to the brook for water, and after stooping to drink, was surprised, on lifting his head again, by the appearance of a brown dwarf, who stood on a crag covered with brackens, across the burn. This extraordinary personage did not appear to be above half the stature of a common man, but was uncommonly stout and broad-built, having the appearance of vast strength. His dress was entirely brown, the color of the brackens, and his head covered with frizzled red hair. His countenance was expressive of the most savage ferocity, and his eyes glared like a bull. It seems he addressed the young man first, threatening him with his vengeance for having trespassed on his demesnes, and asking him if he knew in whose presence he stood? The youth replied that he now supposed him to be the lord of the moors; that he offended through ignorance; and offered to bring him the game he had killed. The dwarf was a little mollified by this submission, but remarked that nothing could be more offensive to him than such an offer, as he considered the wild animals as his subjects, and never failed to avenge their destruction. He condescended further to inform him that he was, like himself, mortal, though of years far exceeding the lot of common humanity, and (what I should not have had an idea of) that he hoped for salvation. He never, he added, fed on anything that had life, but lived in the summer on whortleberries, and in winter on nuts and apples, of which he had great store in the woods. Finally, he invited his new acquaintance to accompany him home and partake his hospitality, an offer which the youth was on the point of accepting, and was just going to spring across the brook (which if he had done, says Elizabeth, the dwarf would certainly have torn him in pieces), when his foot was arrested by the voice of his companion, who thought he had tarried long, and on looking round again, "the wee brown man was fled." The story adds that he was imprudent enough to slight the admonition, and to sport over the moors on his way homewards, but soon after his return he fell into a lingering disorder, and died within the year."
302. Our moonlight circle's. The MS. has "Our fairy ringlet's."
306. The fairies' fatal green. "As the Daoine Shi', or Men of Peace, wore green habits, they were supposed to take offence when any mortals ventured to assume their favorite color. Indeed, from some reason, which has been, perhaps originally a general superstition, green is held in Scotland to be unlucky to particular tribes and counties. The Caithness men, who hold this belief, allege as a reason that their bands wore that color when they were cut off at the battle of Flodden; and for the same reason they avoid crossing the Ord on a Monday, being the day of the week on which their ill-omened array set forth. Green is also disliked by those of the name of Ogilvy; but more especially it is held fatal to the whole clan of Grahame. It is remembered of an aged gentleman of that name that when his horse fell in a fox-chase, he accounted for it at once by observing that the whipcord attached to his lash was of this unlucky color" (Scott).
308. Wert christened man. Scott says : "The Elves were supposed greatly to envy the privileges acquired by Christian initiation, and they gave to those mortals who had fallen into their power a certain precedence, founded upon this advantageous distinction. Tamlane, in the old ballad, describes his own rank in the fairy procession :
'For I ride on a milk-white steed, And aye nearest the town; Because I was a christen'd knight, They give me that renown.'"
312. The curse of the sleepless eye. Cf. Macbeth, i. 3. 19 :
"Sleep shall neither night nor day Hang upon his pent-house lid," etc.
313. Part. Depart. See on ii. 94 above.
322. Grisly. See on i. 704 above.
330. Kindly. Kindred, natural. See Wb., and cf. Shakespeare, Much Ado, iv. 1. 75 :
"that fatherly and kindly power That you have in her," etc.
345. All is glistening show. "No fact respecting Fairy-land seems to be better ascertained than the fantastic and illusory nature of their apparent pleasure and splendour. It has been already noticed in the former quotations from Dr. Grahame's entertaining volume, and may be confirmed by the following Highland tradition :--'A woman, whose new-born child had been conveyed by them into their secret abodes, was also carried thither herself, to remain, however, only until she should suckle her infant. She one day, during this period, observed the Shi'ichs busily employed in mixing various ingredients in a boiling caldron, and as soon as the composition was prepared, she remarked that they all carefully anointed their eyes with it, laying the remainder aside for future use. In a moment when they were all absent, she also attempted to anoint her eyes with the precious drug, but had time to apply it to one eye only, when the Daoine Shi' returned. But with that eye she was henceforth enabled to see everything as it really passed in their secret abodes; she saw every object, not as she hitherto had done, in deceptive splendour and elegance, but in its genuine colours and form. The gaudy ornaments of the apartment were reduced to the walls of a gloomy cavern. Soon after, having discharged her office, she was dismissed to her own home. Still, however, she retained the faculty of seeing, with her medicated eye, everything that was done, anywhere in her presence, by the deceptive art of the order. One day, amidst a throng of people, she chanced to observe the Shi'ich, or man of peace, in whose possession she had left her child, though to every other eye invisible. Prompted by maternal affection, she inadvertently accosted him, and began to inquire after the welfare of her child. The man of peace, astonished at being thus recognized by one of mortal race, demanded how she had been enabled to discover him. Awed by the terrible frown of his countenance, she acknowledged what she had done. He spat in her eye, and extinguished it for ever.'
"It is very remarkable that this story, translated by Dr. Grahame from popular Gaelic tradition, is to be found in the Otia Imperialia of Gervase of Tilbury. [FN #10] A work of great interest might be compiled upon the original of popular fiction, and the transmission of similar tales from age to age, and from country to country. The mythology of one period would then appear to pass into the romance of the next century, and that into the nursery tale of the subsequent ages. Such an investigation, while it went greatly to diminish our ideas of the richness of human invention, would also show that these fictions, however wild and childish, possess such charms for the populace as enable them to penetrate into countries unconnected by manners and language, and having no apparent intercourse to afford the means of transmission. It would carry me far beyond my bounds to produce instances of fable among nations who never borrowed from each other any thing intrinsically worth learning. Indeed the wide diffusion of popular factions may be compared to the facility with which straws and feathers are dispersed abroad by the wind, while valuable metals cannot be transported without trouble and labour. There lives, I believe, only one gentleman whose unlimited acquaintance with this subject might enable him to do it justice,--I mean my friend Mr. Francis Douce, of the British Museum, whose usual kindness will, I hope, pardon my mentioning his name while on a subject so closely connected with his extensive and curious researches" (Scott).
355. Snatched away, etc. "The subjects of Fairy-land were recruited from the regions of humanity by a sort of crimping system, which extended to adults as well as to infants. Many of those who were in this world supposed to have discharged the debt of nature, had only become denizens of the 'Londe of Faery'" (Scott).
357. But wist I, etc. But if I knew, etc. Wist is the past tense of wit (Matzner). See on i. 596 above.
371. Dunfermline. A town in Fifeshire, 17 miles northwest of Edinburgh. It was long the residence of the Scottish kings, and the old abbey, which succeeded Iona as the place of royal sepulture, has been called "the Westminster of Scotland." Robert Bruce was the last sovereign buried here.
374. Steepy. Cf. iii. 304 above.
376. Lincoln green. See on i. 464 above.
386. Morning-tide. Cf. iii. 478 above.
387. Bourne. Bound, limit. Cf. the quotation from Milton in note on iii. 344 above.
392. Scathe. Harm, mischief. Spenser uses the word often; as in F. Q. i. 12, 34 : "To worke new woe and improvided scath," etc. Cf. Shakespeare, K. John, ii. 1. 75 : "To do offence and scathe in Christendom;" Rich. III. i. 3. 317 : "To pray for them that have done scathe to us," etc.
393. Kern. See on 73 above.
395. Conjure. In prose we should have to write "conjure him."
403. Yet life I hold, etc. Cf. Julius Caesar, i. 2. 84 :
"If it be aught toward the general good, Set honor in one eye and death i' the other, And I will look on both indifferently; For let the gods so speed me as I love The name of honor more than I fear death."
411. Near Bochastle. The MS. has "By Cambusmore." See on i. 103 and 106 above.
413. Bower. Lodging, dwelling. See on i. 217 above.
415. Art. Affectation.
417. Before. That is, at his visit to the Isle. Cf. ii. 96 fol. above.
418. Was idly soothed, etc. The MS. has "Was idly fond thy praise to hear."
421. Atone. Atone for. Shakespeare uses the verb transitively several times, but in the sense of reconcile; as in Rich. II. i. 1. 202 : "Since we cannot atone you," etc. Cf. v. 735 below.
433. If yet he is. If he is still living.
437. Train. Lure; as in Macbeth, iv. 3. 118 :
"Devilish Macbeth By many of these trains hath sought to win me Into his power."
Cf. the use of the verb (= allure, entice); as in C. of E. iii. 2. 45 : "O, train me not, sweet mermaid, with thy note;" Scott's Lay, iii. 146 : "He thought to train him to the wood," etc. James was much given to gallantry, and many of his travels in disguise were on adventures of this kind. See on i. 409 above and vi. 740 below.
446. As death, etc. As if death, etc. See on ii. 56 above, and cf. 459 below.
464. This ring. The MS. has "This ring of gold the monarch gave."
471. Lordship. Landed estates.
473. Reck of. Care for; poetical.
474. Ellen, thy hand. The MS. has "Permit this hand;" and below :
"'Seek thou the King, and on thy knee Put forth thy suit, whate'er it be, As ransom of his pledge to me; My name and this shall make thy way.' He put the little signet on," etc.
492. He stammered, etc. The MS. reads :
"He stammered forth confused reply: 'Saxon, | I shouted but to scare 'Sir Knight, | Yon raven from his dainty fare.'"
500. Fared. Went; the original sense of the word. Cf. farewell (which was at first a friendly wish for "the parting guest"), wayfarer, thoroughfare, etc.
506. In tattered weeds, etc. The MS. has "Wrapped in a tattered mantle gray." Weeds is used in the old sense of garments. Cf. Shakespeare, M. N. D. ii. 1. 256 : "Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in;" Id. ii. 2. 71 : "Weeds of Athens he doth wear;" Milton L'Allegro, 120 : "In weeds of peace," etc. See also v. 465 below.
523. In better time. That is, in better times or days; not in the musical sense.
524. Chime. Accord, sing; a poetical use of the word. Cf. vi. 592 below.
531. Allan. "The Allan and Devan are two beautiful streams--the latter celebrated in the poetry of Burns--which descend from the hills of Perthshire into the great carse, or plain, of Stirling" (Lockhart).
548. 'T is Blanche, etc. The MS. has :
"'A Saxon born, a crazy maid-- T is Blanche of Devan,' Murdoch said."
552. Bridegroom. Here accented on the second syllable. In 682 below it has the ordinary accent.
555. 'Scapes. The word may be so printed here, but not in Elizabethan poetry. We find it in prose of that day; as in Bacon, Adv. of L. ii. 14. 9 : "such as had scaped shipwreck." See Wb., and cf. state and estate, etc.
559. Pitched a bar. That is, in athletic contests. Cf. v. 648 below.
562. See the gay pennons, etc. The MS. reads :
"With thee these pennons will I share, Then seek my true love through the air; But I'll not lend that savage groom, To break his fall, one downy plume! Deep, deep, mid yon disjointed stones, The wolf shall batten his bones."
567. Batten. Fatten; as in Hamlet, iii. 4. 67 : "Batten on this moor." Milton uses it transitively in Lycidas, 29 : "Battening our flocks with the fresh dews of night."
575. The Lincoln green. "The Lowland garb" (520). Cf. also 376 above.
578. For O my sweet William, etc. The MS. reads :
"Sweet William was a woodsman true, He stole poor Blanche's heart away; His coat was of the forest hue, And sweet he sung the Lowland Lay."
590. The toils are pitched. The nets are set. Cf. Shakespeare, L. L. L., iv. 3. 2 : "they have pitched a toil," etc. "The meaning is obvious. The hunters are Clan-Alpine's men; the stag of ten is Fitz-James; the wounded doe is herself" (Taylor).
594. A stag of ten. "Having ten branches on his antlers" (Scott). Nares says that antlers is an error here, the word meaning "the short brow horns, not the branched horns;" but see Wb. Cf. Jonson, Sad Shepherd, i. 2 :
"Aud a hart of ten, Madam, I trow to be;"
and Massinger, Emperor of the East, iv. 2 :
"He'll make you royal sport; he is a deer Of ten, at least."
595. Sturdily. As Taylor notes, the "triple rhymes" in this song are "of a very loose kind."
609. Blanche's song. Jeffrey says : "No machinery can be conceived more clumsy for effecting the deliverance of a distressed hero than the introduction of a mad woman, who, without knowing or caring about the wanderer, warns him by a song to take care of the ambush that was set for him. The maniacs or poetry have indeed had a prescriptive right to be musical, since the days of Ophelia downwards; but it is rather a rash extension of this privilege to make them sing good sense, and to make sensible people be guided by them."
To this Taylor well replied : "This criticism seems unjust. The cruelty of Roderick's raids in the Lowlands has already been hinted at, and the sight of the Lowland dress might well stir associations in the poor girl's mind which would lead her to look to the knight for help and protection and also to warn him of his danger. It is plain, from Murdoch's surprise, that her being out of her captors' sight is looked on as dangerous, from which we may infer that she is not entirely crazed. Her song is not the only hint that Fitz-James follows. His suspicions had already twice been excited, so that the episode seems natural enough. As giving a distinct personal ground for the combat in canto v., it serves the poet's purpose still further. Without it, we should sympathize too much with the robber chief, who thinks that 'plundering Lowland field and fold is naught but retribution true;' but the sight of this sad fruit of his raids wins us back to the cause of law and order."
614. Forth at full speed, etc. The MS. reads :
"Forth at full speed the Clansman went, But in his race his bow he bent, Halted--and back an arrow sent."
617. Thrilled. Quivered.
627. Thine ambushed kin, etc. The MS. transposes this line and the next, and goes on thus :
"Resistless as the lightning's flame, The thrust betwixt his shoulder came."
Just below it reads :
"The o'er him hung, with falcon eye, And grimly smiled to see him die."
642. Daggled. Wet, soaked. Cf. the Lay, i. 316 : "Was daggled by the dashing spray."
649. Helpless. The MS. has "guiltless."
657. Shred. Cut off; a sense now obsolete. Cf. Withal's Dictionary (ed. 1608) : "The superfluous and wast sprigs of vines, being cut and shreaded off are called sarmenta."
659. My brain, etc. The MS. has "But now, my champion, it shall wave."
672. Wreak. Avenge. Cf. Shakespeare, R. and J. iii. 5. 102 :
"To wreak the love I bore my cousin Upon his body that hath slaughter'd him;"
Spenser, F. Q. ii. 3. 13 : "to wreak so foule despight;" etc.
679. God, in my need, etc. The MS. reads :
"God, in my need, to me be true, As I wreak this on Roderick Dhu."
686. Favor. The token of the next line; referring to the knightly custom of wearing such a gift of lady-love or mistress. Cf. Rich. II. v. 3. 18 :
"And from the common'st creature pluck a glove, And wear it as a favour," etc.
See also the Lay, iv. 334 :
"With favor in his crest, or glove, Memorial of his layde-love."
691. At bay. See on i. 133 above; and for the dangerous foe, cf. the note on i. 137.
698. Couched him. Lay down. See on i. 142 above.
700. Rash adventures. See on 437 above.
701. Must prove. The 1st ed. has "will prove."
705. Bands at Doune. Cf. 150 above.
711. Darkling. See on 283 above.
722. Not the summer solstice. Not even the heat of the summer.
724. Wold. See on 267 above.
731. Beside its embers, etc. The MS. reads :
"By the decaying flame was laid A warrior in his Highland plaid."
For the rhyme here, see on i. 363 above. Cf. 764 below.
741. I dare, etc. The MS. reads :
"I dare! to him and all the swarm He brings to aid his murderous arm."
746. Slip. A hunter's term for letting loose the greyhounds from the slips, or nooses, by which they were held until sent after the game. Tubervile (Art of Venerie) says : "We let slip a greyhound, and we cast off a hound." Cf. Shakespeare, Cor. i. 6. 39 :
"Holding Corioli in the name of Rome, Even like a fawning greyhound in the leash, To let him slip at will;"
and for the noun, Hen. V. iii. 1. 31 :
"I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, Straining upon the start."
747. Who ever recked, etc. Scott says : "St. John actually used this illustration when engaged in confuting the plea of law proposed for the unfortunate Earl of Strafford : 'It was true, we gave laws to hares and deer, because they are beasts of chase; but it was never accounted either cruelty or foul play to knock foxes or wolves on the head as they can be found, because they are beasts of prey. In a word, the law and humanity were alike: the one being more fallacious, and the other more barbarous, than in any age had been vented in such an authority' (Clarendon's History of the Rebellion)."
For continuity only — this is the END of the previous section, already translated. Do NOT translate it again and do NOT repeat it in your output. Match its names, terminology and register: --- "The Lennox, as the district is called which encircles the lower extremity of Loch Lomond, was peculiarly exposed to the incursions of the mountaineers, who inhabited the inaccessible fastnesses at the upper end of the lake, and the neighboring district of Loch Katrine. These were often marked by circumstances of great ferocity, of which the noted conflict of Glen Fruin is a celebrated instance. This was a clan-battle, in which the Macgregors, headed by Allaster Macgregor, chief of the clan, encountered the sept of Colquhouns, commanded by Sir Humphry Colquhoun of Luss. It is on all hands allowed that the action was desperately fought, and that the Colquhouns were defeated with slaughter, leaving two hundred of their name dead upon the field. But popular tradition has added other horrors to the tale. It is said that Sir Humphry Colquhoun, who was on horseback, escaped to the Castle of Bene
"In the year before the great rebellion, two young men from Newcastle were sporting on the high moors above Eldson, and after pursuing their game several hours, sat down to dine in a green glen near one of the mountain streams. After their repast, the younger lad ran to the brook for water, and after stooping to drink, was surprised, on lifting his head again, by the appearance of a brown dwarf, who stood on a crag covered with brackens, across the burn. This extraordinary personage did not appear to be above half the stature of a common man, but was uncommonly stout and broad-built, having the appearance of vast strength. His dress was entirely brown, the color of the brackens, and his head covered with frizzled red hair. His countenance was expressive of the most savage ferocity, and his eyes glared like a bull. It seems he addressed the young man first, threatening him with his vengeance for having trespassed on his demesnes, and asking him if he knew in whose presence he stood? The youth replied that he now supposed him to be the lord of the moors; that he offended through ignorance; and offered to bring him the game he had killed. The dwarf was a little mollified by this submission, but remarked that nothing could be more offensive to him than such an offer, as he considered the wild animals as his subjects, and never failed to avenge their destruction. He condescended further to inform him that he was, like himself, mortal, though of years far exceeding the lot of common humanity, and (what I should not have had an idea of) that he hoped for salvation. He never, he added, fed on anything that had life, but lived in the summer on whortleberries, and in winter on nuts and apples, of which he had great store in the woods. Finally, he invited his new acquaintance to accompany him home and partake his hospitality, an offer which the youth was on the point of accepting, and was just going to spring across the brook (which if he had done, says Elizabeth, the dwarf would certainly have torn him in pieces), when his foot was arrested by the voice of his companion, who thought he had tarried long, and on looking round again, "the wee brown man was fled." The story adds that he was imprudent enough to slight the admonition, and to sport over the moors on his way homewards, but soon after his return he fell into a lingering disorder, and died within the year."
300. The dun deer's hide, etc. Scott says : "The Scottish Highlanders, in former times, had a concise mode of cooking their venison, or rather of dispensing with cooking it, which appears greatly to have surprised the French, whom chance made acquainted with it. The Vidame of Chartres, when a hostage in England, during the reign of Edward VI., was permitted to travel into Scotland, and penetrated as far as to the remote Highlands (au fin fond des Sauvages). After a great hunting-party, at which a most wonderful quantity of game was destroyed, he saw these Scottish savages devour a part of their venison raw, without any farther preparation than compressing it between two batons of wood, so as to force out the blood, and render it extremely hard. This they reckoned a great delicacy; and when the Vidame partook of it, his compliance with their taste rendered him extremely popular. This curious trait of manners was communicated by Mons. de Montmorency, a great friend of the Vidame, to Brantome, by whom it is recorded in Vies des Hommes Illustres, lxxxix. 14.... After all, it may be doubted whether la chaire nostree, for so the French called the venison thus summarily prepared, was anything more than a mere rude kind of deer ham" (Scott).
Cf. Marmion, v. 5 :
"The hunted red-deer's undressed hide Their hairy buskins well supplied."
304. Steepy. For the word (see also iv. 374 below) and the line, cf. Shakespeare, T. of A. i. 1. 75 :
"Bowing his head against the steepy mount To climb his happiness."
309. Questing. Seeking its game. Bacon (Adv. of Learning, v. 5) speaks of "the questing of memory."
310. Scaur. Cliff, precipice; the same word as scar. Cf. Tennyson's Bugle Song : "O sweet and far, from cliff and scar;" and in the Idyls of the King : "shingly scaur."
314. Herald of battle, etc. The MS. reads :
"Dread messenger of fate and fear, Herald of danger, fate and fear, Stretch onward in thy fleet career! Thou track'st not now the stricken doe, Nor maiden coy through greenwood bough."
322. Fast as the fatal symbol flies, etc. "The description of the starting of the Fiery Cross bears more marks of labor than most of Mr. Scott's poetry, and borders, perhaps, on straining and exaggeration; yet it shows great power" (Jeffrey).
332. Cheer. In its original sense of countenance, or look. Cf. Shakespeare, M. N. D. iii. 2. 96 : "pale of cheer;" Spenser, F. Q. i. 1. 2 : "But of his cheere did seeme too solemne sad;" Dryden, Hind and Panther, iii. 437 : "Till frowning skies began to change their cheer," etc.
333. His scythe. The reading of the 1st and other early eds.; "the scythe" in more recent ones.
342. Alas, thou lovely lake! etc. "Observe Scott's habit of looking at nature, neither as dead, nor merely material, nor as altered by his own feelings; but as having an animation and pathos of its own, wholly irrespective of human passion--an animation which Scott loves and sympathizes with, as he would with a fellow creature, forgetting himself altogether, and subduing his own humanity before what seems to him the power of the landscape.... Instead of making Nature anywise subordinate to himself, he makes himself subordinate to HER--follows her lead simply--does not venture to bring his own cares and thoughts into her pure and quiet presence--paints her in her simple and universal truth, adding no result of momentary passion or fancy, and appears, therefore, at first shallower than other poets, being in reality wider and healthier" (Ruskin).
344. Bosky. Bushy, woody. Cf. Milton, Comus, 313 : "And every bosky bourn from side to side;" Shakespeare, Temp. iv. i. 81 : "My bosky acres and my unshrubb'd down," etc.
347. Seems for the scene, etc. The MS. has "Seems all too lively and too loud."
349. Duncraggan's huts. A homestead between Lochs Achray and Vennachar, near the Brigg of Turk.
355. Shot him. See on i. 142 above. Scott is much given to this construction.
357. The funeral yell, etc. The MS. has "'T is woman's scream, 't is childhood's wail."
Yell may at first seem too strong a word here, but it is in keeping with the people and the times described. Besides Scott was familiar with old English poetry, in which it was often used where a modern writer would choose another word. Cf. Surrey, Virgil's AEneid : "With wailing great and women's shrill yelling;" and Gascoigne, De Profundis :
"From depth of doole wherein my soule dooth dwell, ........... O gracious God, to thee I crie and yell."
362. Torch's ray. The 1st ed. reads "torches ray" and supply;" corrected in the Errata to read as in the text. Most eds. print "torches' ray."
369. Coronach. Scott has the following note here : "The Coronach of the Highlanders, like the Ululatus of the Romans, and the Ululoo of the Irish, was a wild expression of lamentation, poured forth by the mourners over the body of a departed friend. When the words of it were articulate, they expressed the praises of the deceased, and the loss the clan would sustain by his death. The following is a lamentation of this kind, literally translated from the Gaelic, to some of the ideas of which the text stands indebted. The tune is so popular that it has since become the war-march, or gathering of the clan.
Coronach on Sir Lauchlan, Chief of Maclean.
'Which of all the Senachies Can trace thy line from the root, up to Paradise, But Macvuirih, the son of Fergus? No sooner had thine ancient stately tree Taken firm root in Albin, Than one of thy forefathers fell at Harlaw.-- 'T was then we lost a chief of deathless name.
''T is no base weed--no planted tree, Nor a seedling of last Autumn; Nor a sapling planted at Beltain; [7] Wide, wide around were spread its lofty branches-- But the topmost bough is lowly laid! Thou hast forsaken us before Sawaine. [8]
'Thy dwelling is the winter house;-- Loud, sad, and mighty is thy death-song! Oh! courteous champion of Montrose! Oh! stately warrior of the Celtic Isles! Thou shalt buckle thy harness on no more!'
"The coronach has for some years past been suspended at funerals by the use of the bagpipe; and that also is, like many other Highland peculiarities, falling into disuse, unless in remote districts."
370. He is gone, etc. As Taylor remarks, the metre of this dirge seems to be amphibrachic; that is, made up of feet, or metrical divisions, of three syllables, the second of which is accented. Some of the lines appear to be anapestic (made up of trisyllabic feet, with the last syllable accented); but the rhythm of these is amphibrachic; that is, the rhythmic pause is after the syllable that follows the accent.
"(He) is gone on | the mountain, {Like) a summer- | dried fountain."
Ten lines out of twenty-four are distinctly amphibrachic, as
"To Duncan | no morrow."
So that it seems best to treat the rest as amphibrachic, with a superfluous unaccented syllable at the beginning of the line. Taylor adds : "The song is very carefully divided. To each of the three things, mountain, forest, fountain, four lines are given, in the order 3, 1, 2."
384. In flushing. In full bloom. Cf. Hamlet, iii. 3. 81 : "broad blown, as flush as May."
386. Correi. A hallow in the side of a hill, where game usually lies.
387. Cumber. Trouble, perplexity. Cf. Fairfax, Tasso ii. 73 : "Thus fade thy helps, and thus thy cumbers spring;" and Sir John Harrington, Epigrams, i. 94 : "without all let [hindrance] or cumber."
388. Red. Bloody, not afraid of the hand-to-hand fight.
394. Stumah. "Faithful; the name of a dog" (Scott).
410. Angus, the heir, etc. The MS. reads :
"Angus, the first of Duncan's line, Sprung forth and seized the fatal sign, And then upon his kinsman's bier Fell Malise's suspended tear. In haste the stripling to his side His father's targe and falchion tied."
439. Hest. Behest, bidding; used only in poetry. Cf. Shakespeare, Temp. iii. 1. 37 : "I have broke your hest to say so;" Id. iv. 1. 65 : "at thy hest," etc.
452. Benledi saw the Cross of Fire, etc. Scott says here : "Inspection of the provincial map of Perthshire, or any large map of Scotland, will trace the progress of the signal through the small district of lakes and mountains, which, in exercise of my imaginary chieftain, and which, at the period of my romance, was really occupied by a clan who claimed a descent from Alpine,--a clan the most unfortunate and most persecuted, but neither the least distinguished, least powerful, nor least brave of the tribes of the Gael.
"The first stage of the Fiery Cross is to Duncraggan, a place near the Brigg of Turk, where a short stream divides Loch Achray from Loch Vennachar. From thence, it passes towards Callander, and then, turning to the left up the pass of Leny, is consigned to Norman at the Chapel of Saint Bride, which stood on a small and romantic knoll in the middle of the valley, called Strath-Ire. Tombea and Arnandave, or Adrmandave, are names of places in the vicinity. The alarm is then supposed to pass along the Lake of Lubnaig, and through the various glens in the district of Balquidder, including the neighboring tracts of Glenfinlas and Strath-Gartney."
453. Strath-Ire. This valley connects Lochs Voil and Lubnaig. The Chapel of Saint Bride is about half a mile from the southern end of Loch Lubnaig, on the banks of the River Leny, a branch of the Teith (hence "Teith's young waters"). The churchyard, with a few remains of the chapel, are all that now mark the spot.
458. Until, where, etc. The MS. reads :
"And where a steep and wooded knoll Graced the dark strath with emerald green."
465. Though reeled his sympathetic eye. That is, his eye reeled in sympathy with the movement of the waters--a poetic expression of what every one has felt when looking into a "dizzily dancing" stream.
478. That morning-tide. That morning time. Tide in this sense is now used only in a few poetic compounds like eventide, springtide, etc. See iv. 59 below. For its former use, cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. 2. 29 : "and rest their weary limbs a tide;" Id. iii. 6. 21 : "that mine may be your paine another tide," etc. See also Scott's Lay, vi. 50 : "Me lists not at this tide declare."
483. Bridal. Bridal party; used as a collective noun.
485. Coif-clad. Wearing the coif, or curch. See on 114 above; as also for snooded.
488. Unwitting. Unknowing. Cf. 367 above. For the verb wit, see on i. 596 above.
495. Kerchief. Curch, which is etymologically the same word, and means a covering for the head. Some eds. print "'kerchief," as if the word were a contraction of handkerchief.
508. Muster-place. The 1st ed. has "mustering place;" and in 519 "brooks" for brook.
510. And must he, etc. The MS. reads : "And must he then exchange the hand."
528. Lugnaig's lake. Loch Lubnaig is about four miles long and a mile broad, hemmed in by steep, and rugged mountains. The view of Benledi from the lake is peculiarly grand and impressive.
530. The sickening pang, etc. Cf. The Lord of the Isles, vi. 1 : "The heartsick faintness of the hope delayed." See Prov. xiii. 12.
531. And memory, etc. The MS. reads :
"And memory brought the torturing train Of all his morning visions vain; But mingled with impatience came The manly love of martial fame."
541. Brae. The brow or side of a hill.
545. The heath, etc. The metre of the song is the same as that of the poem, the only variation being in the order of the rhymes.
546. Bracken. Fern; "the Pteris aquilina" (Taylor).
553. Fancy now. The MS. has "image now."
561. A time will come, etc. The MS. reads :
"A time will come for love and faith, For should thy bridegroom yield his breath, 'T will cheer him in the hour of death, The boasted right to thee, Mary."
570. Balquidder. A village near the eastern end of Loch Voil, the burial-place of Rob Roy and the scene of many of his exploits. The Braes extend along the north side of the lake and of the Balvaig which flows into it.
Scott says here : "It may be necessary to inform the Southern reader that the heath on the Scottish moorlands is often set fire to, that the sheep may have the advantage of the young herbage produced, in room of the tough old heather plants. This custom (execrated by sportsmen) produces occasionally the most beautiful nocturnal appearances, similar almost to the discharge of a volcano. This simile is not new to poetry. The charge of a warrior, in the fine ballad of Hardyknute, is said to be 'like fire to heather set.'"
575. Nor faster speeds it, etc. "The eager fidelity with which this fatal signal is hurried on and obeyed, is represented with great spirit and felicity" (Jeffrey).
577. Coil. Turmoil. Cf. Shakespeare, Temp. i. 2. 207 :
"Who was so firm, so constant, that this coil Would not infect his reason?"
C. of E. iii. 1. 48 : "What a coil is there, Dromio?" etc.
579. Loch Doine. A lakelet just above Loch Voil, and almost forming a part of it. The epithets sullen and still are peculiarly appropriate to this valley. "Few places in Scotland have such an air of solitude and remoteness from the haunts of men" (Black).
582. Strath-Gartney. The north side of the basin of Loch Katrine.
583. Each man might claim. That is, WHO could claim. See on i. 528 above.
600. No law but Roderick Dhu's command. Scott has the following note here :
"The deep and implicit respect paid by the Highland clansmen to their chief, rendered this both a common and a solemn oath. In other respects, they were like most savage nations, capricious in their ideas concerning the obligatory power of oaths. One solemn mode of swearing was by kissing the dirk, imprecating upon themselves death by that, or a similar weapon, if they broke their vow. But for oaths in the usual form, they are said to have had little respect. As for the reverence due to the chief, it may be guessed from the following odd example of a Highland point of honour :
'The clan whereto the above-mentioned tribe belongs, is the only one I have heard of which is without a chief; that is, being divided into families, under several chieftains, without any particular patriarch of the whole name. And this is a great reproach, as may appear from an affair that fell out at my table, in the Highlands, between one of that name and a Cameron. The provocation given by the latter was, "Name your chief." The return of it at once was, "You are a fool." They went out next morning, but having early notice of it, I sent a small party of soldiers after them, which, in all probability, prevented some barbarous mischief that might have ensued; for the chiefless Highlander, who is himself a petty chieftain, was going to the place appointed with a small-sword and pistol, whereas the Cameron (an old man) took with him only his broadsword, according to the agreement.
'When all was over, and I had, at least seemingly, reconciled them, I was told the words, of which I seemed to think but slightly, were, to one of the clan, the greatest of all provocations' (Letters from Scotland, vol. ii. p. 221)."
604. Menteith. See on i. 89 above.
607. Rednock. The ruins of Rednock Castle are about two miles to the north of Loch Menteith, on the road to Callander. Cardross Castle (in which Robert Bruce died) was on the banks of the Clyde, a few miles below Dumbarton. Duchray Castle is a mile south of Lochard. Loch Con, or Chon, is a lakelet, about three miles northwest from Lochard (into which it drains) and two miles south of Loch Katrine.
611. Wot ye. Know ye. See on i. 596 above.
622. Coir-nan-Uriskin. Scott has the following note here : "This is a very steep and most romantic hollow in the mountain of Benvenue, overhanging the southeastern extremity of Loch Katrine. It is surrounded with stupendous rocks, and overshadowed with birch-trees, mingled with oaks, the spontaneous production of the mountain, even where its cliffs appear denuded of soil. A dale in so wild a situation, and amid a people whose genius bordered on the romantic, did not remain without appropriate deities. The name literally implies the Corri, or Den, of the Wild or Shaggy Men. Perhaps this, as conjectured by Mr. Alexander Campbell (Journey from Edinburgh, 1802, p. 109), may have originally only implied its being the haunt of a ferocious banditti. But tradition has ascribed to the Urisk, who gives name to the cavern, a figure between a goat and a man; in short, however much the classical reader may be startled, precisely that of the Grecian Satyr. The Urisk seems not to have inherited, with the form, the petulance of the silvan deity of the classics; his occupation, on the contrary, resembled those of Milton's Lubbar Fiend, or of the Scottish Brownie, though he differed from both in name and appearance. 'The Urisks,' says Dr. Graham, 'were a sort of lubberly supernaturals, who, like the Brownies, could be gained over by kind attention to perform the drudgery of the farm, and it was believed that many families in the Highlands had one of the order attached to it. They were supposed to inhabit certain round grassy eminences, where they celebrate their nocturnal festivities by the light of the moon. About a mile beyond the source of the Forth, above Loch Con, there is a placed called Coirshi'an, or the Cove of the Men of Peace, which is still supposed to be a favorite place of their residence. In the neighborhood are to be seen many round conical eminences, particularly one near the head of the lake, by the skirts of which many are still afraid to pass after sunset. It is believed that if, on Hallow-eve, any person, alone, goes round one of these hills nine times, towards the left hand (sinistrorsum) a door shall open, by which he will be admitted into their subterraneous abodes. Many, it is said, of mortal race have been entertained in their secret recesses. There they have been received into the most splendid apartments, and regaled with the most sumptuous banquets and delicious wines. Their females surpass the daughters of men in beauty. The seemingly happy inhabitants pass their time in festivity, and in dancing to notes of the softest music. But unhappy is the mortal who joins in their joys or ventures to partake of their dainties. By this indulgence he forfeits for ever the society of men, and is bound down irrevocably to the condition of Shi'ich, or Man of Peace.'"
639. With such a glimpse, etc. See on 28 above.
641. Still. Stillness; the adjective used substantively, for the sake of the rhyme.
656. Shrouds. Shields, protects. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. 1. 6 : "And this faire couple eke to shroud themselves were fain" (that is, from the rain). So the noun = shelter, protection; as in Shakespeare, A. and C. iii. 13. 71 : "put yourself under his shroud," etc. See also on 757 below.
664. Beal-nam-bo. See on 255 above; and for the measure of the first half of the line, on i. 73 above.
667. 'Cross. Scott (1st ed.) prints "cross," as in 750 below.
672. A single page, etc. Scott says : "A Highland chief, being as absolute in his patriarchal authority as any prince, had a corresponding number of officers attached to his person. He had his body-guards, called Luichttach, picked from his clan for strength, activity, and entire devotion to his person. These, according to their deserts, were sure to share abundantly in the rude profusion of his hospitality. It is recorded, for example, by tradition, that Allan MacLean, chief of that clan, happened upon a time to hear one of these favorite retainers observe to his comrade, that their chief grew old. 'Whence do you infer that?' replied the other. 'When was it,' rejoined the first, 'that a solider of Allan's was obliged, as I am now, not only to eat the flesh from the bone, but even to tear off the inner skin, or filament?' The hint was quite sufficient, and MacLean next morning, to relieve his followers from such dire necessity, undertook an inroad on the mainland, the ravage of which altogether effaced the memory of his former expeditions for the like purpose.
For continuity only — this is the END of the previous section, already translated. Do NOT translate it again and do NOT repeat it in your output. Match its names, terminology and register: --- "The Lennox, as the district is called which encircles the lower extremity of Loch Lomond, was peculiarly exposed to the incursions of the mountaineers, who inhabited the inaccessible fastnesses at the upper end of the lake, and the neighboring district of Loch Katrine. These were often marked by circumstances of great ferocity, of which the noted conflict of Glen Fruin is a celebrated instance. This was a clan-battle, in which the Macgregors, headed by Allaster Macgregor, chief of the clan, encountered the sept of Colquhouns, commanded by Sir Humphry Colquhoun of Luss. It is on all hands allowed that the action was desperately fought, and that the Colquhouns were defeated with slaughter, leaving two hundred of their name dead upon the field. But popular tradition has added other horrors to the tale. It is said that Sir Humphry Colquhoun, who was on horseback, escaped to the Castle of Bene
"Our officer of Engineers, so often quoted, has given us a distinct list of the domestic officers who, independent of Luichttach, or gardes de corps, belonged to the establishment of a Highland chief. These are, 1. The Henchman. 2. The Bard. See preceding notes. 3. Bladier, or spokesman. 4. Gillie-more, or sword-bearer, alluded to in the text. 5. Gillie-casflue, who carried the chief, if on foot, over the fords. 6. Gillie-comstraine, who leads the chief's horse. 7. Gillie-Trushanarinsh, the baggage-man. 8. The piper. 9. The piper's gillie, or attendant, who carries the bagpipe (Letters from Scotland, vol. ii. p. 158). Although this appeared, naturally enough, very ridiculous to an English officer, who considered the master of such a retinue as no more than an English gentleman of £500 a year, yet in the circumstances of the chief, whose strength and importance consisted in the number and attachment of his followers, it was of the last consequence, in point of policy, to have in his gift subordinate offices, which called immediately round his person those who were most devoted to him, and, being of value in their estimation, were also the means of rewarding them."
693. To drown, etc. The MS. reads :
"To drown his grief in war's wild roar, Nor think of love and Ellen more."
713. Ave Maria! etc. "The metrical peculiarity of this song is that the rhymes of the even lines of the first quatrain (or set of four lines) are taken up as those of the odd lines in the second, and that they are the same in all three stanzas" (Taylor).
722. We now must share. The MS. has "my sire must share;" and in 725 "The murky grotto's noxious air."
733. Bow us. See on i. 142, and cf. 749 below.
754. Lanrick height. Overlooking Lanrick Mead. See on 286 above.
755. Where mustered, etc. The MS. reads :
"Where broad extending far below, Mustered Clan-Alpine's martial show."
On the first of these lines, cf. i. 88 above.
773. Yell. See on 357 above.
774. Bochastle's plain. See on i. 106 above.
Canto Fourth.
2. And hope, etc. The MS. has "And rapture dearest when obscured by fears."
5. Wilding. Wild; a rare word, used only in poetry. Cf. Tennyson, Geraint and Enid : "And like a crag was gay with wilding flowers." Spenser has the noun (= wild apples) in F. Q. iii. 7. 17 : "Oft from the forrest wildings he did bring," etc. Whom is used on account of the personification.
9. What time. Cf. ii. 307 and iii. 15 above.
19. Braes of Doune. The undulating region between Callander and Doune, on the north side of the Teith. The Doune of 37 below is the old Castle of that name, the ruins of which still form a majestic pile on the steep banks of the Teith. It figures in Waverley as the place where the hero was confined by the Highlanders.
36. Boune. Prepared, ready; a Scottish word. Cf. 157 and vi. 396 below.
42. Bide. Endure; not to be printed 'bide, as if a contraction of abide. Cf. Shakespeare, Lear, iii. 4. 29 : "That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm," etc.
Bout. Turn (of fortune).
47. Repair. That is, to repair.
55. 'T is well advised. Well thought of, well planned. Cf. advised careful, well considered; as in M. of V. i. 1. 142 : "with more advised watch," etc.
The MS. reads :
"'Tis well advised--a prudent plan, Worthy the father of his clan."
59. Evening-tide. See on iii. 478 above.
63. The Taghairm. Scott says here : "The Highlanders, like all rude people, had various superstitious modes of inquiring into futurity. One of the most noted was the Taghairm, mentioned in the text. A person was wrapped up in the skin of a newly-slain bullock, and deposited beside a waterfall, or at the bottom of a precipice, or in some other strange, wild, and unusual situation, where the scenery around him suggested nothing but objects of horror. In this situation, he revolved in his mind the question proposed; and whatever was impressed upon him by his exalted imagination, passed for the inspiration of the disembodied spirits, who haunt these desolate recesses. In some of the Hebrides they attributed the same oracular power to a large black stone by the sea-shore, which they approached with certain solemnities, and considered the first fancy which came into their own minds, after they did so, to be the undoubted dictate of the tutelar deity of the stone, and, as such, to be, if possible, punctually complied with."
68. Gallangad. We do not find this name elsewhere, but it probably belongs to some part of the district referred to in Scott's note inserted here : "I know not if it be worth observing that this passage is taken almost literally from the mouth of an old Highland kern, or Ketteran, as they were called. He used to narrate the merry doings of the good old time when he was follower of Rob Roy MacGregor. This leader, on one occasion, thought proper to make a descent upon the lower part of the Loch Lomond district, and summoned all the heritors and farmers to meet at the Kirk of Drymen, to pay him black-mail; i.e., tribute for forbearance and protection. As this invitation was supported by a band of thirty or forty stout fellows, only one gentleman, an ancestor, if I mistake not, of the present Mr. Grahame of Gartmore, ventured to decline compliance. Rob Roy instantly swept his land of all he could drive away, and among the spoil was a bull of the old Scottish wild breed, whose ferocity occasioned great plague to the Ketterans. 'But ere we had reached the Row of Dennan,' said the old man, 'a child might have scratched his ears.' The circumstance is a minute one, but it paints the time when the poor beeve was compelled
'To hoof it o'er as many weary miles, With goading pikemen hollowing at his heels, As e'er the bravest antler of the woods' (Ethwald)."
73. Kerns. The Gaelic and Irish light-armed soldiers, the heavy-armed being known as gallowglasses. The names are often associated; as in Macbeth, i. 2. 13 : "kerns and gallowglasses;" 2 Hen. VI. iv. 9. 26 : "gallowglasses and stout kerns;" Drayton, Heroical Epist. : "the Kerne and Irish Galliglasse," etc.
74. Beal'maha. "The pass of the plain," on the east of Loch Lomond, opposite Inch-Cailliach. In the olden time it was one of the established roads for making raids into the Lowlands.
77. Dennan's Row. The modern Rowardennan, on Loch Lomond at the foot of Ben Lomond, and a favorite starting=point for the ascent of that mountain.
82. Boss. Knob; in keeping with Targe.
83. Verge. Pronounced varge, as the rhyme shows. In v. 219 below it has its ordinary sound; but cf. v. 812.
84. The Hero's Targe. "There is a rock so named in the Forest of Glenfinlas, by which a tumultuary cataract takes its course. This wild place is said in former times to have afforded refuge to an outlaw, who was supplied with provisions by a woman, who lowered them down from the brink of the precipice above. His water he procured for himself, by letting down a flagon tied to a string into the black pool beneath the fall" (Scott).
98. Broke. Quartered. Cf. the quotation from Jonson below. Scott says here : "Everything belonging to the chase was matter of solemnity among our ancestors; but nothing was more so than the mode of cutting up, or, as it was technically called, breaking, the slaughtered stag. The forester had his allotted portion; the hounds had a certain allowance; and, to make the division as general as possible, the very birds had their share also. 'There is a little gristle,' says Tubervile, 'which is upon the spoone of the brisket, which we call the raven's bone; and I have seen in some places a raven so wont and accustomed to it, that she would never fail to croak and cry for it all the time you were in breaking up of the deer, and would not depart till she had it.' In the very ancient metrical romance of Sir Tristrem, that peerless knight, who is said to have been the very deviser of all rules of chase, did not omit the ceremony :
'The rauen he yaue his yiftes Sat on the fourched tre.' [9]
"The raven might also challenge his rights by the Book of St. Albans; for thus says Dame Juliana Berners :
'slitteth anon The bely to the side, from the corbyn bone; That is corbyns fee, at the death he will be.'
Jonson, in The Sad Shepherd, gives a more poetical account of the same ceremony :
'Marian. He that undoes him, Doth cleave the brisket bone, upon the spoon Of which a little gristle grows--you call it Robin Hood. The raven's bone. Marian. Now o'er head sat a raven On a sere bough, a grown, great bird, and hoarse, Who, all the while the deer was breaking up, So croaked and cried for 't, as all the huntsmen, Especially old Scathlock, thought it ominous.'"
115. Rouse. Rise, stand erect. Cf. Macbeth, v. 5. 12 :
"The time has been, my senses would have cool'd To hear a night-shriek, and my fell of hair Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir As life were in 't."
119. Mine. Many eds. have "my."
128. Fateful. The reading of the 1st ed. and that of 1821; "fatal" in some recent eds.
132. Which spills, etc. The MS. has "Which foremost spills a foeman's life."
"Though this be in the text described as a response of the Taghairm, or Oracle of the Hide, it was of itself an augury frequently attended to. The fate of the battle was often anticipated, in the imagination of the combatants, by observing which party first shed blood. It is said that the Highlanders under Montrose were so deeply imbued with this notion, that on the morning of the battle of Tippermoor, they murdered a defenceless herdsman, whom they found in the fields, merely to secure an advantage of so much consequence to their party" (Scott).
140. A spy. That is, Fitz-James. For has sought, the 1st ed. has "hath sought."
144. Red Murdoch, etc. The MS. has "The clansman vainly deemed his guide," etc.
147. Those shall bring him down. For the ellipsis of who, see on i. 528 above. The MS. has "stab him down."
153. Pale. In the heraldic sense of "a broad perpendicular stripe in an escutcheon." See Wb.
155. I love to hear, etc Cf. v. 238 below.
156. When move they on? etc. The MS reads :
"'When move they on?' |'This sun | at noon |'To-day | 'T is said will see them march from Doune.' 'To-morrow then |makes| meeting stern.'" |sees |
160. Earn. That is, the district about Loch Earn and the river of the same name flowing from the lake.
164. Shaggy glen. As already stated, Trosachs means bristling.
174. Stance. Station; a Scottish word.
177. Trusty targe. The MS. has "Highland targe."
197. Shifting like flashes, etc. That is, like the Northern Lights. Cf. the Lay, ii. 86 :
"And red and bright the streamers light Were dancing in the glowing north. ........ He knew by the streamers that shot so bright That spirits were riding the northern light."
The MS. reads :
"Thick as the flashes darted forth By morrice-dancers of the north; And saw at morn their |barges ride, |little fleet, Close moored by the lone islet's side. Since this rude race dare not abide Upon their native mountain side, 'T is fit that Douglas should provide For his dear child some safe abode, And soon he comes to point the road."
207. No, Allan, etc. The MS. reads :
"No, Allan, no! His words so kind Were but pretexts my fears to blind. When in such solemn tone and grave Douglas a parting blessing gave."
212. Fixed and high. Often misprinted "fixed on high."
215. Stroke. The MS. has "shock," and in the next line "adamantine" for invulnerable.
223. Trowed. Trusted, believed. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. v. 2. 34 : "So much is more then [than] just to trow." See also Luke, xvii. 9.
231. Cambus-kenneth's fane. Cambus-kenneth Abbey, about a mile from Stirling, on the other side of the Forth. The massive tower is now the only part remaining entire.
235. Friends'. Many recent eds. misprint "friend's."
250. Sooth. True. See on i. 476 above.
261. Merry it is, etc. Scott says : "This little fairy tale is founded upon a very curious Danish ballad which occurs in the Kaempe Viser, a collection of heroic songs first published in 1591, and reprinted in 1695, inscribed by Anders Sofrensen, the collector and editor, to Sophia, Queen of Denmark."
The measure is the common ballad-metre, the basis of which is a line of eight syllables followed by one of six, the even syllables accented, with the alternate lines rhyming, so as to form a four-line stanza. It is varied by extra unaccented syllables, and by rhymes within the longer lines (both of which modifications we have in 263 and 271), and by "double rhymes" (like singing and ringing).
262. Mavis and merle. Thrush and blackbird.
267. Wold. Open country, as opposed to wood. Cf. Tennyson, In Memoriam, 11 : "Calm and deep peace on this high wold," etc. See also 724 below.
274. Glaive. Broadsword. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 7. 38 : "laying both his hands upon his glave," etc. See also v. 253 below.
277. Pall. A rich fabric used for making palls, or mantles. Cf. F. Q. i. 7. 16 : "He gave her gold and purple pall to weare."
278. Wont. Were accustomed. See on i. 408 above.
282. 'Twas but, etc. The MS. reads :
"'Twas but a midnight chance; For blindfold was the battle plied, And fortune held the lance."
283. Darkling. In the dark; a poetical word. Cf. Milton, P. L. iii. 39 :
"as the wakeful bird Sings darkling;"
Shakespeare, Lear, i. 4. 237 : "So out went the candle, and we were left darkling," etc. See also 711 below.
285. Vair. The fur of the squirrel. See Wb.
286. Sheen. See on i. 208.
291. Richard. Here accented on the final syllable. Such license is not unusual in ballad poetry.
298. Woned. Dwelt. See on i. 408 above. Scott has the following note here :
"In a long dissertation upon the Fairy Superstitions, published in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, the most valuable part of which was supplied by my learned and indefatigable friend, Dr. John Leyden, most of the circumstances are collected which can throw light upon the popular belief which even yet prevails respecting them in Scotland. Dr. Grahame, author of an entertaining work upon the Scenery of the Perthshire Highlands, already frequently quoted, has recorded with great accuracy the peculiar tenets held by the Highlanders on this topic, in the vicinity of Loch Katrine. The learned author is inclined to deduce the whole mythology from the Druidical system--an opinion to which there are many objections.
'The Daoine Shi', or Men of Peace, of the Highlanders, though not absolutely malevolent, are believed to be a peevish, repining race of beings, who, possessing themselves but a scanty portion of happiness, are supposed to envy mankind their more complete and substantial enjoyments. They are supposed to enjoy, in their subterraneous recesses, a sort of shadowy happiness,--a tinsel grandeur; which, however, they would willingly exchange for the more solid joys of mortality.
'They are believed to inhabit certain round grassy eminences, where they celebrate their nocturnal festivities by the light of the moon. About a mile beyond the source of the Forth, above Loch Con, there is a placed called Coirshi'an, or the Cove of the Men of Peace, which is still supposed to be a favorite place of their residence. In the neighborhood are to be seen many round conical eminences, particularly one near the head of the lake, by the skirts of which many are still afraid to pass after sunset. It is believed that if, on Hallow-eve, any person, alone, goes round one of these hills nine times, towards the left hand (sinistrorsum) a door shall open, by which he will be admitted into their subterraneous abodes. Many, it is said, of mortal race have been entertained in their secret recesses. There they have been received into the most splendid apartments, and regaled with the most sumptuous banquets and delicious wines. Their females surpass the daughters of men in beauty. The seemingly happy inhabitants pass their time in festivity, and in dancing to notes of the softest music. But unhappy is the mortal who joins in their joys or ventures to partake of their dainties. By this indulgence he forfeits for ever the society of men, and is bound down irrevocably to the condition of Shi'ich, or Man of Peace.'"
301. Why sounds, etc. "It has been already observed that fairies, if not positively malevolent, are capricious, and easily offended. They are, like other proprietors of forests, peculiarly jealous of their rights of vert and venison.... This jealousy was also an attribute of the northern Duergar, or dwarfs; to many of whose distinctions the fairies seem so have succeeded, if, indeed, they are not the same class of beings. In the huge metrical record of German chivalry entitled the Helden-Buch, Sir Hildebrand, and the other heroes of which it treats, are engaged in one of their most desperate adventures, from a rash violation of the rose-garden of an Elfin or Dwarf King.
"There are yet traces of a belief in this worst and most malicious order of fairies among the Border wilds. Dr. Leyden has introduced such a dwarf into his ballad entitled The Cout of Keeldar, and has not forgot his characteristic detestation of the chase.
'The third blast that young Keeldar blew, Still stood the limber fern, And a wee man, of swarthy hue, Upstarted by a cairn.
'His russet weeds were brown as heath That clothes the upland fell, And the hair of his head was frizzy red As the purple heather-bell.
'An urchin, clad in prickles red, Clung cow'ring to his arm; The hounds they howl'd, and backward fled, As struck by fairy charm.
'"Why rises high the staghound's cry, Where staghound ne'er should be? Why wakes that horn the silent morn, Without the leave of me?"--
'"Brown Dwarf, that o'er the muirland strays, Thy name to Keeldar tell!"-- "The Brown Man of the Muirs, who stays Beneath the heather-bell.
'"'T is sweet beneath the heather-bell To live in autumn brown; And sweet to hear the lav'rock's swell, Far, far from tower and town.
'"But woe betide the shrilling horn, The chase's surly cheer! And ever that hunter is forlorn Whom first at morn I hear."'
"The poetical picture here given of the Duergar corresponds exactly with the following Northumberland legend, with which I was lately favored by my learned and kind friend, Mr. Surtees of Mainsforth, who has bestowed indefatigable labor upon the antiquities of the English Border counties. The subject is in itself so curious, that the length of the note will, I hope, be pardoned :
'I have only one record to offer of the appearance of our Northumbrian Duergar. My narratrix is Elizabeth Cockburn, and old wife of Offerton, in this country, whose credit, in a case of this kind, will not, I hope, be much impeached when I add that she is by her dull neighbors supposed to be occasionally insane, but by herself to be at those times endowed with a faculty of seeing visions and spectral appearances which shun the common ken.
For continuity only — this is the END of the previous section, already translated. Do NOT translate it again and do NOT repeat it in your output. Match its names, terminology and register: --- which the Macgregors, headed by Allaster Macgregor, chief of the clan, encountered the sept of Colquhouns, commanded by Sir Humphry Colquhoun of Luss. It is on all hands allowed that the action was desperately fought, and that the Colquhouns were defeated with slaughter, leaving two hundred of their name dead upon the field. But popular tradition has added other horrors to the tale. It is said that Sir Humphry Colquhoun, who was on horseback, escaped to the Castle of Bene
que le chef du clan, affronta le clan des Colquhoun, commandé par sir Humphry Colquhoun de Luss. Il est généralement admis que la bataille fut désespérément livrée, et que les Colquhoun furent vaincus avec pertes, laissant deux cents des leurs morts sur le champ de bataille. Mais la tradition populaire a ajouté d'autres horreurs au récit. On dit que sir Humphry Colquhoun, qui était à cheval, s'échappa au château de Bene
que le chef du clan, affronta le clan des Colquhoun, commandé par sir Humphry Colquhoun de Luss. Il est généralement admis que la bataille fut désespérément livrée, et que les Colquhoun furent vaincus avec pertes, laissant deux cents des leurs morts sur le champ de bataille. Mais la tradition populaire a ajouté d'autres horreurs au récit. On dit que sir Humphry Colquhoun, qui était à cheval, s'échappa au château de Benevolent, tandis que ses hommes, poursuivis par les MacGregor, furent acculés dans un ravin étroit et rocheux, où la plupart d'entre eux périrent, soit par l'épée, soit en se jetant dans le précipice pour échapper à leurs ennemis. Ce passage, connu sous le nom de « Fall of Men », est encore montré dans la région.
"In twice five years the 'greatest living poet,' Like to the champion in the fisty ring, Is called on to support his claim, or show it, Although 't is an imaginary thing," etc.]
[Footnote 4 : "Sir Walter reigned before me," etc. (Don Juan, xi. 57).]
[Footnote 5 : La strophe spensérienne, utilisée pour la première fois par Spenser dans sa *Faerie Queene*, se compose de huit vers de dix syllabes, suivis d'un vers de douze syllabes, les accents étant sur les syllabes paires (mesure iambique). Il y a trois séries de rimes : une pour les premier et troisième vers ; une autre pour les deuxième, quatrième, cinquième et septième ; et une troisième pour les sixième, huitième et neuvième.]
[Footnote 6 : Voir *Certayne Matters concerning the Realme of Scotland*, etc., comme ils étaient en l'an 1597. Londres, 1603.]
[Footnote 7 : Voir note sur ii. 319 ci-dessus.]
[Footnote 8 : La veille de la Toussaint.]
[Footnote 9 : Au corbeau perché sur l'arbre fourchu, il offrit ses dons.]
[Footnote 10 : « Cette histoire est encore courante dans les landes du Staffordshire, et adaptée par les paysans à leur propre horizon. Je l'ai entendue plusieurs fois, exactement comme ici, racontée par des rustres illettrés. Ma dernière source est un cloutier près de Cheadle » (R. Jamieson).]
[Footnote 11 : Voir *Scottish Historical and Romantic Ballads*, Glasgow, 1808, vol. ii, p. 117.]
[Footnote 12 : Un champion de la romance populaire ; voir *Ellis's Romances*, vol. iii.]
[Footnote 13 : « À l'extrémité est de Loch Katrine, si souvent mentionné dans le texte. »]
[Footnote 14 : « Beallach an duine. »]
[Footnote 15 : « Le lecteur trouvera cette histoire racontée plus en détail, avec notamment le roi reconnu, comme Fitz-James dans *La Dame du Lac*, par le fait qu'il était le seul couvert, dans la première série des *Tales of a Grandfather*, vol. iii, p. 37. L'héritier de Braehead s'est acquitté de son devoir lors du banquet donné au roi George IV dans la Parliament House d'Édimbourg, en 1822 » (Lockhart).]
"Our officer of Engineers, so often quoted, has given us a distinct list of the domestic officers who, independent of Luichttach, or gardes de corps, belonged to the establishment of a Highland chief. These are, 1. The Henchman. 2. The Bard. See preceding notes. 3. Bladier, or spokesman. 4. Gillie-more, or sword-bearer, alluded to in the text. 5. Gillie-casflue, who carried the chief, if on foot, over the fords. 6. Gillie-comstraine, who leads the chief's horse. 7. Gillie-Trushanarinsh, the baggage-man. 8. The piper. 9. The piper's gillie, or attendant, who carries the bagpipe (Letters from Scotland, vol. ii. p. 158). Although this appeared, naturally enough, very ridiculous to an English officer, who considered the master of such a retinue as no more than an English gentleman of £500 a year, yet in the circumstances of the chief, whose strength and importance consisted in the number and attachment of his followers, it was of the last consequence, in point of policy, to have in his gift subordinate offices, which called immediately round his person those who were most devoted to him, and, being of value in their estimation, were also the means of rewarding them."
693. To drown, etc. The MS. reads :
"To drown his grief in war's wild roar, Nor think of love and Ellen more."
713. Ave Maria! etc. "The metrical peculiarity of this song is that the rhymes of the even lines of the first quatrain (or set of four lines) are taken up as those of the odd lines in the second, and that they are the same in all three stanzas" (Taylor).
722. We now must share. The MS. has "my sire must share;" and in 725 "The murky grotto's noxious air."
733. Bow us. See on i. 142, and cf. 749 below.
754. Lanrick height. Overlooking Lanrick Mead. See on 286 above.
755. Where mustered, etc. The MS. reads :
"Where broad extending far below, Mustered Clan-Alpine's martial show."
On the first of these lines, cf. i. 88 above.
773. Yell. See on 357 above.
774. Bochastle's plain. See on i. 106 above.
Canto Fourth.
2. And hope, etc. The MS. has "And rapture dearest when obscured by fears."
5. Wilding. Wild; a rare word, used only in poetry. Cf. Tennyson, Geraint and Enid : "And like a crag was gay with wilding flowers." Spenser has the noun (= wild apples) in F. Q. iii. 7. 17 : "Oft from the forrest wildings he did bring," etc. Whom is used on account of the personification.
9. What time. Cf. ii. 307 and iii. 15 above.
19. Braes of Doune. The undulating region between Callander and Doune, on the north side of the Teith. The Doune of 37 below is the old Castle of that name, the ruins of which still form a majestic pile on the steep banks of the Teith. It figures in Waverley as the place where the hero was confined by the Highlanders.
36. Boune. Prepared, ready; a Scottish word. Cf. 157 and vi. 396 below.
42. Bide. Endure; not to be printed 'bide, as if a contraction of abide. Cf. Shakespeare, Lear, iii. 4. 29 : "That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm," etc.
Bout. Turn (of fortune).
47. Repair. That is, to repair.
55. 'T is well advised. Well thought of, well planned. Cf. advised careful, well considered; as in M. of V. i. 1. 142 : "with more advised watch," etc.
The MS. reads :
"'Tis well advised--a prudent plan, Worthy the father of his clan."
59. Evening-tide. See on iii. 478 above.
63. The Taghairm. Scott says here : "The Highlanders, like all rude people, had various superstitious modes of inquiring into futurity. One of the most noted was the Taghairm, mentioned in the text. A person was wrapped up in the skin of a newly-slain bullock, and deposited beside a waterfall, or at the bottom of a precipice, or in some other strange, wild, and unusual situation, where the scenery around him suggested nothing but objects of horror. In this situation, he revolved in his mind the question proposed; and whatever was impressed upon him by his exalted imagination, passed for the inspiration of the disembodied spirits, who haunt these desolate recesses. In some of the Hebrides they attributed the same oracular power to a large black stone by the sea-shore, which they approached with certain solemnities, and considered the first fancy which came into their own minds, after they did so, to be the undoubted dictate of the tutelar deity of the stone, and, as such, to be, if possible, punctually complied with."
68. Gallangad. We do not find this name elsewhere, but it probably belongs to some part of the district referred to in Scott's note inserted here : "I know not if it be worth observing that this passage is taken almost literally from the mouth of an old Highland kern, or Ketteran, as they were called. He used to narrate the merry doings of the good old time when he was follower of Rob Roy MacGregor. This leader, on one occasion, thought proper to make a descent upon the lower part of the Loch Lomond district, and summoned all the heritors and farmers to meet at the Kirk of Drymen, to pay him black-mail; i.e., tribute for forbearance and protection. As this invitation was supported by a band of thirty or forty stout fellows, only one gentleman, an ancestor, if I mistake not, of the present Mr. Grahame of Gartmore, ventured to decline compliance. Rob Roy instantly swept his land of all he could drive away, and among the spoil was a bull of the old Scottish wild breed, whose ferocity occasioned great plague to the Ketterans. 'But ere we had reached the Row of Dennan,' said the old man, 'a child might have scratched his ears.' The circumstance is a minute one, but it paints the time when the poor beeve was compelled
'To hoof it o'er as many weary miles, With goading pikemen hollowing at his heels, As e'er the bravest antler of the woods' (Ethwald)."
73. Kerns. The Gaelic and Irish light-armed soldiers, the heavy-armed being known as gallowglasses. The names are often associated; as in Macbeth, i. 2. 13 : "kerns and gallowglasses;" 2 Hen. VI. iv. 9. 26 : "gallowglasses and stout kerns;" Drayton, Heroical Epist. : "the Kerne and Irish Galliglasse," etc.
74. Beal'maha. "The pass of the plain," on the east of Loch Lomond, opposite Inch-Cailliach. In the olden time it was one of the established roads for making raids into the Lowlands.
77. Dennan's Row. The modern Rowardennan, on Loch Lomond at the foot of Ben Lomond, and a favorite starting=point for the ascent of that mountain.
82. Boss. Knob; in keeping with Targe.
83. Verge. Pronounced varge, as the rhyme shows. In v. 219 below it has its ordinary sound; but cf. v. 812.
84. The Hero's Targe. "There is a rock so named in the Forest of Glenfinlas, by which a tumultuary cataract takes its course. This wild place is said in former times to have afforded refuge to an outlaw, who was supplied with provisions by a woman, who lowered them down from the brink of the precipice above. His water he procured for himself, by letting down a flagon tied to a string into the black pool beneath the fall" (Scott).
98. Broke. Quartered. Cf. the quotation from Jonson below. Scott says here : "Everything belonging to the chase was matter of solemnity among our ancestors; but nothing was more so than the mode of cutting up, or, as it was technically called, breaking, the slaughtered stag. The forester had his allotted portion; the hounds had a certain allowance; and, to make the division as general as possible, the very birds had their share also. 'There is a little gristle,' says Tubervile, 'which is upon the spoone of the brisket, which we call the raven's bone; and I have seen in some places a raven so wont and accustomed to it, that she would never fail to croak and cry for it all the time you were in breaking up of the deer, and would not depart till she had it.' In the very ancient metrical romance of Sir Tristrem, that peerless knight, who is said to have been the very deviser of all rules of chase, did not omit the ceremony :
'The rauen he yaue his yiftes Sat on the fourched tre.' [9]
"The raven might also challenge his rights by the Book of St. Albans; for thus says Dame Juliana Berners :
'slitteth anon The bely to the side, from the corbyn bone; That is corbyns fee, at the death he will be.'
Jonson, in The Sad Shepherd, gives a more poetical account of the same ceremony :
'Marian. He that undoes him, Doth cleave the brisket bone, upon the spoon Of which a little gristle grows--you call it Robin Hood. The raven's bone. Marian. Now o'er head sat a raven On a sere bough, a grown, great bird, and hoarse, Who, all the while the deer was breaking up, So croaked and cried for 't, as all the huntsmen, Especially old Scathlock, thought it ominous.'"
115. Rouse. Rise, stand erect. Cf. Macbeth, v. 5. 12 :
"The time has been, my senses would have cool'd To hear a night-shriek, and my fell of hair Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir As life were in 't."
119. Mine. Many eds. have "my."
128. Fateful. The reading of the 1st ed. and that of 1821; "fatal" in some recent eds.
132. Which spills, etc. The MS. has "Which foremost spills a foeman's life."
"Though this be in the text described as a response of the Taghairm, or Oracle of the Hide, it was of itself an augury frequently attended to. The fate of the battle was often anticipated, in the imagination of the combatants, by observing which party first shed blood. It is said that the Highlanders under Montrose were so deeply imbued with this notion, that on the morning of the battle of Tippermoor, they murdered a defenceless herdsman, whom they found in the fields, merely to secure an advantage of so much consequence to their party" (Scott).
140. A spy. That is, Fitz-James. For has sought, the 1st ed. has "hath sought."
144. Red Murdoch, etc. The MS. has "The clansman vainly deemed his guide," etc.
147. Those shall bring him down. For the ellipsis of who, see on i. 528 above. The MS. has "stab him down."
153. Pale. In the heraldic sense of "a broad perpendicular stripe in an escutcheon." See Wb.
155. I love to hear, etc Cf. v. 238 below.
156. When move they on? etc. The MS reads :
"'When move they on?' |'This sun | at noon |'To-day | 'T is said will see them march from Doune.' 'To-morrow then |makes| meeting stern.'" |sees |
160. Earn. That is, the district about Loch Earn and the river of the same name flowing from the lake.
164. Shaggy glen. As already stated, Trosachs means bristling.
174. Stance. Station; a Scottish word.
177. Trusty targe. The MS. has "Highland targe."
197. Shifting like flashes, etc. That is, like the Northern Lights. Cf. the Lay, ii. 86 :
"And red and bright the streamers light Were dancing in the glowing north. ........ He knew by the streamers that shot so bright That spirits were riding the northern light."
The MS. reads :
"Thick as the flashes darted forth By morrice-dancers of the north; And saw at morn their |barges ride, |little fleet, Close moored by the lone islet's side. Since this rude race dare not abide Upon their native mountain side, 'T is fit that Douglas should provide For his dear child some safe abode, And soon he comes to point the road."
207. No, Allan, etc. The MS. reads :
"No, Allan, no! His words so kind Were but pretexts my fears to blind. When in such solemn tone and grave Douglas a parting blessing gave."
212. Fixed and high. Often misprinted "fixed on high."
215. Stroke. The MS. has "shock," and in the next line "adamantine" for invulnerable.
223. Trowed. Trusted, believed. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. v. 2. 34 : "So much is more then [than] just to trow." See also Luke, xvii. 9.
231. Cambus-kenneth's fane. Cambus-kenneth Abbey, about a mile from Stirling, on the other side of the Forth. The massive tower is now the only part remaining entire.
235. Friends'. Many recent eds. misprint "friend's."
250. Sooth. True. See on i. 476 above.
261. Merry it is, etc. Scott says : "This little fairy tale is founded upon a very curious Danish ballad which occurs in the Kaempe Viser, a collection of heroic songs first published in 1591, and reprinted in 1695, inscribed by Anders Sofrensen, the collector and editor, to Sophia, Queen of Denmark."
The measure is the common ballad-metre, the basis of which is a line of eight syllables followed by one of six, the even syllables accented, with the alternate lines rhyming, so as to form a four-line stanza. It is varied by extra unaccented syllables, and by rhymes within the longer lines (both of which modifications we have in 263 and 271), and by "double rhymes" (like singing and ringing).
262. Mavis and merle. Thrush and blackbird.
267. Wold. Open country, as opposed to wood. Cf. Tennyson, In Memoriam, 11 : "Calm and deep peace on this high wold," etc. See also 724 below.
274. Glaive. Broadsword. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 7. 38 : "laying both his hands upon his glave," etc. See also v. 253 below.
277. Pall. A rich fabric used for making palls, or mantles. Cf. F. Q. i. 7. 16 : "He gave her gold and purple pall to weare."
278. Wont. Were accustomed. See on i. 408 above.
282. 'Twas but, etc. The MS. reads :
"'Twas but a midnight chance; For blindfold was the battle plied, And fortune held the lance."
283. Darkling. In the dark; a poetical word. Cf. Milton, P. L. iii. 39 :
"as the wakeful bird Sings darkling;"
Shakespeare, Lear, i. 4. 237 : "So out went the candle, and we were left darkling," etc. See also 711 below.
285. Vair. The fur of the squirrel. See Wb.
286. Sheen. See on i. 208.
291. Richard. Here accented on the final syllable. Such license is not unusual in ballad poetry.
298. Woned. Dwelt. See on i. 408 above. Scott has the following note here :
"In a long dissertation upon the Fairy Superstitions, published in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, the most valuable part of which was supplied by my learned and indefatigable friend, Dr. John Leyden, most of the circumstances are collected which can throw light upon the popular belief which even yet prevails respecting them in Scotland. Dr. Grahame, author of an entertaining work upon the Scenery of the Perthshire Highlands, already frequently quoted, has recorded with great accuracy the peculiar tenets held by the Highlanders on this topic, in the vicinity of Loch Katrine. The learned author is inclined to deduce the whole mythology from the Druidical system--an opinion to which there are many objections.
'The Daoine Shi', or Men of Peace, of the Highlanders, though not absolutely malevolent, are believed to be a peevish, repining race of beings, who, possessing themselves but a scanty portion of happiness, are supposed to envy mankind their more complete and substantial enjoyments. They are supposed to enjoy, in their subterraneous recesses, a sort of shadowy happiness,--a tinsel grandeur; which, however, they would willingly exchange for the more solid joys of mortality.
'They are believed to inhabit certain round grassy eminences, where they celebrate their nocturnal festivities by the light of the moon. About a mile beyond the source of the Forth, above Loch Con, there is a placed called Coirshi'an, or the Cove of the Men of Peace, which is still supposed to be a favorite place of their residence. In the neighborhood are to be seen many round conical eminences, particularly one near the head of the lake, by the skirts of which many are still afraid to pass after sunset. It is believed that if, on Hallow-eve, any person, alone, goes round one of these hills nine times, towards the left hand (sinistrorsum) a door shall open, by which he will be admitted into their subterraneous abodes. Many, it is said, of mortal race have been entertained in their secret recesses. There they have been received into the most splendid apartments, and regaled with the most sumptuous banquets and delicious wines. Their females surpass the daughters of men in beauty. The seemingly happy inhabitants pass their time in festivity, and in dancing to notes of the softest music. But unhappy is the mortal who joins in their joys or ventures to partake of their dainties. By this indulgence he forfeits for ever the society of men, and is bound down irrevocably to the condition of Shi'ich, or Man of Peace.'"
301. Why sounds, etc. "It has been already observed that fairies, if not positively malevolent, are capricious, and easily offended. They are, like other proprietors of forests, peculiarly jealous of their rights of vert and venison.... This jealousy was also an attribute of the northern Duergar, or dwarfs; to many of whose distinctions the fairies seem so have succeeded, if, indeed, they are not the same class of beings. In the huge metrical record of German chivalry entitled the Helden-Buch, Sir Hildebrand, and the other heroes of which it treats, are engaged in one of their most desperate adventures, from a rash violation of the rose-garden of an Elfin or Dwarf King.
"There are yet traces of a belief in this worst and most malicious order of fairies among the Border wilds. Dr. Leyden has introduced such a dwarf into his ballad entitled The Cout of Keeldar, and has not forgot his characteristic detestation of the chase.
'The third blast that young Keeldar blew, Still stood the limber fern, And a wee man, of swarthy hue, Upstarted by a cairn.
'His russet weeds were brown as heath That clothes the upland fell, And the hair of his head was frizzy red As the purple heather-bell.
'An urchin, clad in prickles red, Clung cow'ring to his arm; The hounds they howl'd, and backward fled, As struck by fairy charm.
'"Why rises high the staghound's cry, Where staghound ne'er should be? Why wakes that horn the silent morn, Without the leave of me?"--
'"Brown Dwarf, that o'er the muirland strays, Thy name to Keeldar tell!"-- "The Brown Man of the Muirs, who stays Beneath the heather-bell.
'"'T is sweet beneath the heather-bell To live in autumn brown; And sweet to hear the lav'rock's swell, Far, far from tower and town.
'"But woe betide the shrilling horn, The chase's surly cheer! And ever that hunter is forlorn Whom first at morn I hear."'
"The poetical picture here given of the Duergar corresponds exactly with the following Northumberland legend, with which I was lately favored by my learned and kind friend, Mr. Surtees of Mainsforth, who has bestowed indefatigable labor upon the antiquities of the English Border counties. The subject is in itself so curious, that the length of the note will, I hope, be pardoned :
'I have only one record to offer of the appearance of our Northumbrian Duergar. My narratrix is Elizabeth Cockburn, and old wife of Offerton, in this country, whose credit, in a case of this kind, will not, I hope, be much impeached when I add that she is by her dull neighbors supposed to be occasionally insane, but by herself to be at those times endowed with a faculty of seeing visions and spectral appearances which shun the common ken.
For continuity only — this is the END of the previous section, already translated. Do NOT translate it again and do NOT repeat it in your output. Match its names, terminology and register: --- "The Lennox, as the district is called which encircles the lower extremity of Loch Lomond, was peculiarly exposed to the incursions of the mountaineers, who inhabited the inaccessible fastnesses at the upper end of the lake, and the neighboring district of Loch Katrine. These were often marked by circumstances of great ferocity, of which the noted conflict of Glen Fruin is a celebrated instance. This was a clan-battle, in which the Macgregors, headed by Allaster Macgregor, chief of the clan, encountered the sept of Colquhouns, commanded by Sir Humphry Colquhoun of Luss. It is on all hands allowed that the action was desperately fought, and that the Colquhouns were defeated with slaughter, leaving two hundred of their name dead upon the field. But popular tradition has added other horrors to the tale. It is said that Sir Humphry Colquhoun, who was on horseback, escaped to the Castle of Bene