I 
 
tv 
 
 THE^ y*/* 
 
 LORD OF THE ISLES, 
 
 A POEM, 
 
 BY WALTER SCOTT, ESQ, 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY MOSES THOMAS, 
 NO 52, CHESET7T-STREET. 
 
 1815. 
 
'ZtisU'&cL 
 
 ts*+ 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 The scene of this poem lies, at first, in the castle 
 of Artornish, on the coast of Argyleshire; and, after- 
 wards, in the islands of Skye and Arran, and upon the 
 coast of Ayrshire. Finally, it is laid near Stirling. The 
 story opens in the spring of the year 1307, when Bruce, 
 who had been driven out of Scotland by the English, 
 and the Barons who adhered to that foreign interest, 
 returned from the Island of Rachrin on the coast of Ire- 
 land, again to assert his claims to the Scottish crown. 
 Many of the personages and incidents introduced are 
 of historical celebrity. The authorities used are chief- 
 ly those of the venerable Lord Hailes, as well entitled 
 to he called the restorer of Scottish history, as Bruce 
 the restorer of Scottish monarchy; and of Archdea- 
 con Barbour, a correct edition of whose Metrical His- 
 tory of Robert Bruce will soon, I trust, appear under 
 the care of my learned friend, the Rev. Dr. Jamieson. 
 Ahbotsford s 10th December, 1814, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 r 
 
 Page. 
 
 CANTO I. 3 
 
 II. 29 
 
 III. - 55 
 
 IV 83 
 
 V. ------...---. 1U 
 
 VI. - 143 
 
 Notes to Canto I. --------- 170 
 
 II ■> - - - 202 
 
 III. 236 
 
 IV. - - 248 
 
 V 262 
 
 VI 277 
 
r 
 
 THE 
 
 LORD OF THE ISLES. 
 
 CANTO FIRST. 
 
THK 
 
 LORD OF THE ISLES. 
 
 CANTO FIRST. 
 
 AlJTUMN departs— but still his mantle's fold 
 
 Rests on the groves of noble Somerville, 
 Beneath a shroud of russet dropp'd with gold 
 
 Tweed and his tributaries mingle still; 
 Hoarser the wind, and deeper sounds the rill, 
 
 Yet lingering notes of sylvan music swell, 
 The deep-toned cushat, and the redbreast shrill; 
 
 And yet some tints of summer splendour tell 
 When the broad sun sinks down on Ettrick's western 
 
 fell. 
 
 Autumn departs — from Gala's fields no more 
 
 Come rural sounds our kindred banks to cheer; 
 Blent with the stream, and gale that wafts it o'er, 
 
 No more the distant reaper's mirth we hear. 
 The last blithe shout hath died upon our ear, 
 
 And harvest-home hath hush'd the clanging wain, 
 On the waste hill no forms of life appear, 
 
 Save where, sad laggard of the autumnal train, 
 Some age-struck wanderer gleans few ears of scatter'** 
 
 grain. 
 
4 THE LORD OF Canto I. 
 
 Deem'st thou these sadden'd scenes have pleasure 
 still, 
 Lovest thou through Autumn's fading realms to 
 stray, 
 To see the heath-flower wither'd on the hill, 
 
 To listen to the woods' expiring lay, 
 To note the red leaf shivering on the spray, 
 
 To mark the last hright tints the mountain stain, 
 On the waste fields to trace the gleaner's way, 
 And moralize on mortal joy and pain? — 
 O! if such scenes thou lovest, scorn not the minstrel 
 strain! 
 
 No! do not scorn, although its hoarser note 
 
 Scarce with the cushat's homely song can vie, 
 Though faint its beauties as the tints remote 
 
 That gleam through mist in autumn's evening sky, 
 And few as leaves that tremble, scar and dry, 
 
 When wild November hath his bugle wound; 
 Nor mock my toil — a lonely gleaner I, 
 
 Through fields time-wasted, on sad inquest bound, 
 Where happier bards of yore have richer harvest found. 
 
 So shalt thon list, and haply not unmoved, 
 
 To a wild tale of Albyn's warrior day; 
 In distant lands, by the rough West reproved, 
 
 Still live some reliques of the ancient lay. 
 For, when on Coolin's hills the lights decay, 
 
 With such the Seer of Skye the eve beguiles, 
 'Tis known amid the pathless wastes of Reay, 
 
 In Harries known, and in Ionia's piles, 
 
 W r here rest from mortal coil the Mighty of the Isles. 
 
 . 
 
Canto I. THE ISLES. 
 
 I. 
 
 " Wake, Maid of Lorn!" the Minstrels sung. 
 
 Thy rugged halls, Artornish! rung, 
 
 And the dark seas, thy towers that lave, 
 
 Heaved on the heach a softer w^ve, 
 
 As mid the tuneful choir to keep 
 
 The diapason of the Deep. 
 
 Lull'd were the winds on Inninmore, 
 
 And green Loch-Alline's woodland shore, 
 
 As if wild woods and waves had pleasure 
 
 In listing to the lovely measure. 
 
 And ne'er to symphony more sweet 
 
 Gave mountain echoes answer meet, 
 
 Since, met from mainland and from isle, 
 
 Ross, Arran, Hay, and Argyle, 
 
 Each minstrel's tributary lay 
 
 Paid homage to the festal day. 
 
 Dull and dishonour'd were the bard, 
 
 Worthless of guerdon and regard, 
 
 Deaf to the hope of minstrel fame, 
 
 Or lady's smiles, his noblest aim, 
 
 Who on that morn's resistless call 
 
 Was silent in Artornish hall. 
 
 II. 
 " Wake, Maid of Lorn!" 'twas thus they sung, 
 And yet more proud the descant rung, 
 " Wake, Maid of Lorn! high right is ours, 
 To charm dull sleep from Beauty's bowers; 
 
6 THE LOUD OF Canto L 
 
 Earth, Ocean, Air, have nought so shy 
 
 But owns the power of minstrelsy. 
 
 In Lettermore the timid deer 
 
 "Will pause, the harp's wild chime to hear; 
 
 Rude Heiskar's seal through surges dark 
 
 Will long pursue the minstrel's bark; 
 
 To list his notes, the eagle proud 
 
 Will poise him on Uen-Cailliach's cloud; 
 
 Then let not Maiden's ear disdain 
 
 The surrtmons of the minstrel train, 
 
 But, while our harps wild music make, 
 
 Edith of Lorn, awake, awake! 
 
 hi. 
 
 " O wake, while Dawn, with dewy shine, 
 Wakes Nature's charms to vie with thine! 
 She bids the mottled thrush rejoice 
 To mate thy melody of voice; 
 The dew that on the violet lies 
 Mocks the dark lustre of thine eyes; 
 But, Edith, wake, and all we see 
 Of sweet and fair shall yield to thee!" — 
 " She comes not yet," gray Ferrand cried; 
 " Brethren, let softer spell be tried, 
 Those notes prolong'd, that soothing theme, 
 Which best may mix with Beauty's dream, 
 And whisper, with their silvery tone, 
 The hope she loves, yet fears to own." — 
 He spoke, and on the harp-strings died 
 The strains of flattery and of pride; 
 More soft, more low, more tender fell 
 The lay of love he bade them tell. 
 
 
Canto I. THE ISLES, 
 
 IV. 
 
 "Wake, Maid of Lorn! the moments fly, 
 
 Which yet that maiden-name allow; 
 Wake, Maiden, wake! the hour is nigh, 
 
 When love shall claim a plighted vow. 
 By Fear, thy bosom's fluttering guest, 
 
 By Hope, tHat soon shall fears remove, 
 We hid thee break the bonds of rest, 
 
 And wake thee at the call of Love! 
 
 ** Wake, Edith, wake! in yonder bay 
 
 Lies many a galley gaily mann'd, 
 We hear the merry pibrochs play, 
 
 We see the streamers' silken band. 
 What Chieftain's praise these pibrochs swell, 
 
 What crest is on these banners wove, 
 The harp, the minstrel, dare not tell — 
 
 The riddle must be read by Love/* 
 
 V. 
 
 Retired her maiden train among, 
 
 Edith of Lorn received the song, 
 
 But tamed the Minstrel's pride had been 
 
 That had her cold demeanour seen; 
 
 For not upon her cheek awoke 
 
 The glow of pride when Flattery spoke, 
 
 Nor could their tenderest numbers bring 
 
 One sigh responsive to the string. 
 
 As vainly had her maidens vied 
 
 In skill to deck the princely bride. 
 
 Her locks, in dark brown length arrayed, 
 
 CatUeen of Ulne, 'twas thine to braid; 
 
* THE LORD OF Canto I. 
 
 Young Eva with meet reverence drew 
 On the light foot the silken shoe, 
 "While on the ancle's slender round 
 Those strings of pearl fair Bertha wound, 
 That, bleached Lochryan's depths within, 
 Seem'd dusky still on Edith's skin. 
 ButEinion, of experience old, 
 Had weightiest task — the mantle's fold 
 In many an artful plait she tied, 
 To show the form it seemed to hide, 
 Till on the floor descending roll'd 
 its waves of crimson blent with gold. 
 
 VI. 
 
 O! lives there now so cold a maid, 
 Who thus in beauty's pomp array'd, 
 In beauty's proudest pitch of power, 
 And conquest won — the bridal hour — 
 With every charm that wins the heart, 
 By Nature given, enhanced by Art, 
 <>ould yet the fair reflection view, 
 In the bright mirror pictured true, 
 And not one dimple on her cheek 
 A tell-tale consciousness bespeak? — 
 Lives still such maid? — Fair damsels, say, 
 For farther vouches not my lay, 
 Save that such lived in Britain's isle, 
 When Lorn's bright Edith scorn'd to smile. 
 
 VI L 
 
 But Morag, to whose fostering care 
 Proud Lorn had given his daughter fair. 
 
Canto I. THE ISLES. 
 
 Morag, who saw a mother's aid 
 
 By all a daughter's love repaid, 
 
 (Strict was that bond — most kind of all — 
 
 Inviolate in Highland hall — ) 
 
 Gray Morag sate a space apart, 
 
 In Edith's eyes to read her heart. 
 
 In vain the attendants' fond appeal 
 
 To Morag' s skill, to Morag's zeal; 
 
 She mark'd her child receive their care, 
 
 Cold as the image sculptured fair, 
 
 (Form of some sainted patroness) 
 
 Which cloister'd maids combine to dress; 
 
 She mark'd — and knew her nursling's heart 
 
 In the vain pomp took little part. 
 
 Wistful a while she gazed — then press'd 
 
 The maiden to her anxious breast 
 
 In finished loveliness — and led 
 
 To where a turret's airy fyead, 
 
 Slender and steep, and battled round, 
 
 O'erlook'd, dark Mull! thy mighty Sound, 
 
 Where thwarting tides, with mingled roar, 
 
 Part thy swarth hills from Morven's shore. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 "Daughter," she said, '* these seas behold, 
 Round twice an hundred islands roh'd, 
 From Hirt, that hears their northern roar, 
 To the green Hay's fertile shore; 
 Or mainland turn, where many a tower 
 Owns thy bold father's feudal power, 
 Each on its own dark cape reclined, 
 And listening to its own wild wind, 
 A 2 
 
10 THE LORD OF Canto I. 
 
 From where Mingarry, sternly placed, 
 O'erawes the woodland and the waste, 
 To where Dunstaffnage hears the raging 
 Of Connal with his rocks engaging. 
 Think'st thou, amid this ample round, 
 A single brow hut thine has frowu'd, 
 To sadden this auspicious morn, 
 That bids the daughter of high Lorn 
 Impledge her spousal faith to wed 
 The Heir of mighty Somerled; 
 Ronald, from many a hero sprung, 
 The fair, the valiant, and the young, 
 Lord of the Isles, whose lofty name 
 A thousand bards have given to fame, 
 The mate of monarchs, and allied 
 On equal terms with England's pride. — 
 From chieftain's tower to bondsman's cot, 
 Who hears the tale, and triumphs not? 
 The damsel dons her best attire, 
 The shepherd lights his beltane fire, 
 Joy, Joy! each warder's horn hath sung, 
 Joy, joy! each matin bell hath rung; 
 The holy priest says grateful mass, 
 Loud shouts each hardy gal la-glass, 
 No mountain den holds outcast boor. 
 Of heart so dull, of soul so poor, 
 But he hath Bung his task aside, 
 And c^aim'd this morn for holy-tide; 
 Yet, empress of this joyful day, 
 Edith is sad while all are gay."-— 
 
Canto I. THE ISLES. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Proud Edith's soul came to her eye, 
 
 Resentment check'd the struggling sigh, 
 
 Her hurrying hand indignant dried 
 
 The burning tears of injured pride — 
 
 " Morag, forbear! or lend thy praise 
 
 To swell yon hireling harpers' lays; 
 
 Make to yon maids thy boast of power. 
 
 That they may waste a wondering hour, 
 
 Telling of banners proudly borne, 
 
 Of pealing bell and bugle-horn, 
 
 Or, theme more dear, of robes of price, 
 
 Crownlets and gawds of rare device. 
 
 Bui thou, experienced as thou art, 
 
 Think'st thou with these to cheat the heart, 
 
 That, bound in strong affection's chain, 
 
 Looks for return and looks in vain? 
 
 No! sum thine Edith's wretched lot 
 
 In these brief words — he loves her not! 
 
 X. 
 
 " Debate it not — too long I strove 
 To call his cold observance love, 
 AH blinded by the league that styled 
 Edith of Lorn, — while, yet a child, 
 She tripped the heath by Morag's side,— - 
 The brave Lord Ronald's destined bride. 
 Ere yet I saw him, while afar 
 _Hjs broadsword blazed in Scotland's war, 
 Train'd to believe our fates the same, 
 My bosom throbb'd when Ronald's name 
 Came gracing Fame's heroic tale, 
 Like perfume on the summer gale. 
 
1 2 THE LOR!) OF Canto T. 
 
 What pilgrim sought our halls, nor told 
 
 Of Ronald's deeds in hattle hold; 
 
 Who touch'd the harp to heroes' praise, 
 
 But his achievments iwell'd the lays? 
 
 Even Morag — not I tale of fume 
 
 Was hcr's hut closed with Ronald's nai a 
 
 He came! and all that had heen told 
 
 Of his high worth seem'd poor and cold, 
 
 Tame, lifeless, void of energy, 
 
 Unjust to Ronald and to me! 
 
 XI. 
 
 " Since then, what thought had Edith's heart, 
 
 And gave not plighted love its {>art! — 
 
 And what requital? cold delay- — 
 
 Excuse that shunn'd the spousal day. — 
 
 It dawns, and Ronald is not here! — 
 
 Hunts he Rentalla's nimhle deer, 
 
 Or loiters he in secret dell 
 
 To hid some lighter love farewell, 
 
 And swear that though he may not scorn 
 
 A daughter of the House of Lorn, 
 
 Yet, when these formal rites are o'er, 
 
 Again they meet, to part no more!" — 
 
 XII. 
 
 — "Hush, daughter, hush! thy doubts remove* 
 
 More nobly think of Ronald's love. 
 
 Look, where beneath the castle gray 
 
 His fleet unmoor from Aros-bay! 
 
 See'st not each galley's topmast bend, 
 
 As on the vards the sails ascend' 
 
Canto I. THE ISLES. 
 
 Hiding the dark blue land they rise, 
 Like the white clouds on April skies; 
 The shouting vassals man the oars, 
 Behind them sink Mull's mountain shores, 
 Onward their merry course they keep, 
 Through whistling breeze and foaming deep. 
 And mark the headmost, seaward cast, 
 Stoop to the freshening gale her mast, 
 As if she vail'd its banner 3 d pride, 
 To greet afar her prince's bride! 
 Thy Ronald comes, and while in speed 
 His galley mates the flying steed, 
 He chides her sloth!" — Fair Edith sigh'd, 
 Blush'd, sadly smiled, and thus replied — 
 
 XIII. 
 
 * c Sweet thought, but vain!— No, Morag! mark, 
 
 Type of his course, yon lonely bark, 
 
 That oft hath shifted helm and sail, 
 
 To win its way against the gale. 
 
 Since peep of morn, my vacant eyes 
 
 Have view'd by fits the course she tries; 
 
 Now, though the darkening scud comes on, 
 
 And dawn's fair promises be gone, 
 
 And though the weary crew may 6ee 
 
 Our sheltering haven on their lee, 
 
 Still closer to the rising wind 
 
 They strive her shivering sail to bind, 
 
 Still nearer to the shelves 5 dread verge 
 
 At every tack her course they urge, 
 
 As if they fear'd Artornish more 
 
 Than adverse winds and breakers' roar."-*- 
 
14 THE LORD OF Canto I. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Sooth spoke the Maid. — Amid the tide 
 The skiff she markM lay tossing sore, 
 And shitted oft her stooping side, 
 In wearj tack from shore to shore. 
 Yet on her destined course no more 
 
 She gaio'd, of forward way, 
 Than what a minstrel may compare 
 With the poor meed which peasants share, 
 
 Who toil the lire-long day; 
 And such the risk her pilot braves, 
 
 That oft, before she wore, 
 Her holtsprit kiss'd the broken waves, 
 Where in white foam the ocean raves 
 
 Upon the shelving shore. 
 Yet, to their destined purpose true, 
 Undaunted toil'd her hardy crew, 
 
 Nor look'd where shelter lay, 
 Nor for Artornish Castle drew, 
 
 Nor steer'd for Aros-bay. 
 
 XV. 
 
 Thus while they strove with wind and K 
 Borne onward by the willing breeze, 
 
 Lord Ronald's fleet swept by, 
 Streamer'd with silk, and trick'd with gold., 
 Mann'd with the noble and the bold 
 
 Of Island chivalry. 
 Around their prows the ocean roars, 
 And chafes beneath their thousand oars, 
 
 Yet bears them on their way: 
 So fumes the war-horse in his might, 
 That field-ward bears some valiant knight, 
 
Canto I. THE ISLES. 15 
 
 Champs till both bitt and boss are white, 
 
 But, foaming, must obey. 
 On each gay deck they might behold 
 Lances of steel and crests of gold, 
 And hauberks with their burnish' d fold, 
 
 That, shimmer'd fair and free; 
 And each proud galley, as she pass'd, 
 To the wild cadence of the blast 
 
 Gave wilder minstrelsy. 
 Full many a shrill triumphant note 
 Saline and Scallastie bade float 
 
 Their misty shores around; 
 And Morven's echoes answer'd well. 
 And Duart heard the distant swell 
 
 Come down the darksome Sound. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 So bore they on with mirth and pride, 
 And if that labouring bark they spied, 
 
 Twas with such idle eye 
 As nobles cast on lowly boor, 
 When, toiling in his task obscure, 
 
 They pass him careless by. . 
 Let them sweep on with heedless eyes! 
 But, had they known what mighty prize 
 
 In that frail vessel lay, 
 The famish'd wolf that prowls the wold, 
 Had scatheless pass d the unguarded fold, 
 Ere, drifting by these galleys bold, 
 
 Unchallenged were her way! 
 And thou, Lord Ronald, sweep thou on, 
 With mirth and. pride and minstrel tone! 
 
16 THE LORD OF 
 
 But had'st thou known who sail'd so nigh, 
 Far other glance were in thine e\e! 
 Far other flush were on thy brow, 
 That, shaded by the bonnet, now 
 Assumes but ill the blithesome cheer 
 Of bridegroom when the bride is near! 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Yes, sweep they on! — We will not I 
 
 For them that triumph, those who grieve. 
 
 With that armada g*y 
 Be laughter loud and jocund shout, 
 And bards to cheer the wafsall rout, 
 
 With tale, romance, and lay; 
 And of wild mirth each clamorous art, 
 Which, if it cannot cheer the heart, 
 May stupify and stun its smart, 
 
 For one loud busy day. 
 Yes, sweep they on! — But with that skiff 
 
 Abides the minstrel tale, 
 "Where there was dread of surge and clifi', 
 And toil that strain'd each sinew stiff, 
 
 And one sad Maiden's wail. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 All day with fruitless strife they toil'd, 
 With eve the ebbing currents boil'd 
 
 More fierce from streight and lake; 
 And mid-way through the channel met 
 Conflicting tides that foam and fret, 
 And high their mingled billows jet, 
 As spears, that, in the battle set, 
 
 Spring upward as they break. 
 
Canto I. THE ISLES. 17 
 
 Then too the lights of eve were past, 
 And louder sung the western hlast 
 
 On rocks of Inninmore; 
 "Rent was the sail, and strain'd the mast, 
 And many a leak was gaping fast, 
 And the pale steersman stood aghast, 
 
 And gave the conflict o'er. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 'Twas then that One, whose lofty look 
 Nor labour dull'd nor terror shook, 
 
 Thus to the Leader spoke; 
 " Brother, how hopest thou to abide 
 The fury of this wilder' d tide, 
 Or how avoid the rock's rude side, 
 
 Until the day has broke? 
 Did'st thou not mark the vessel reel, 
 With quivering planks, and groaning keek 
 
 At the last billow's shock? 
 Yet how of better counsel tell, 
 Though here thou seest poor Isabel 
 
 Half dead with want and fear; 
 For look on sea, or look on land, 
 Or yon dark sky, on every hand 
 
 Despair and death are near. 
 For her alone I grieve — on me 
 Danger sits light by land and sea, 
 
 I follow where thou wilt; 
 Either to bide the tempest's lour, 
 Or wend to yon unfriendly tower, 
 Or rush amid their naval power, 
 With war-cry wake their wassail-hour, 
 
 And die with hand on hilt." — 
 
18 THE LORD OP Canto 1. 
 
 XX. 
 
 That elder Leader's calm reply 
 
 In steady voice was given, 
 * In man's most dark extremity 
 
 Oft succour dawns from Heaven. 
 Edward, trim thou the shatter'd sail, 
 The helm be mine, and down the gale 
 
 Let our free course be driven; 
 So shall we 'scape the western bay, 
 The hostile fleet, the unequal fray, 
 So safely hold our vessel's way 
 
 Beneath the castle wall; 
 For if a hope of safety rest, 
 'Tis on the sacred name of guest, 
 Who seeks for shelter, storm-distress'd, 
 
 Within a chieftain's hall. 
 If not — it best beseems our worth, 
 Our name, our right, our lofty birth, 
 
 By noble hands to fall." — 
 
 XXI. 
 
 The helm, to his strong arm consign'd, 
 Gave the reef 'd sail to meet the wind, 
 
 And on her alter'd way, 
 Fierce bounding, forward sprung the ship, 
 Like gray hound starting from the slip 
 
 To seize his flying prey. 
 Awaked before the rushing prow, 
 The mimic fires of oeean glow, 
 
 Those lightnings of the wave; 
 Wild sparkles crest the broken tides, 
 And, flashing round, the vessel's sides 
 
 With elvish lustre lave, 
 
Canto I. THE ISLES. 19 
 
 While, far behind, their livid light 
 To the dark billows of the night 
 
 A gloomy splendor gave. 
 It seems as if old Ocean shakes 
 From his dark brow the livid flakes 
 
 In envious pageantry, 
 To match the meteor light that streaks 
 
 Grim Hecla's midnight sky. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 Nor lackM they steadier light to keep 
 Their course upon the darken'd deep;— 
 Artornish, on her frowning steep 
 
 'Twixt cloud and ocean hung, 
 Glanced with a thousand lights of glee. 
 And landward far, and far to sea, 
 
 Her festal radiance flung. 
 By that blithe beacon-light they steer'd, 
 
 Whose lustre mingled well 
 With the pale beam that now appear'd, 
 As the cold Moon her head uprear'd 
 
 Above the eastern Fell. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 .Thus guided, on their course they bore 
 Until they near'd the mainland shore, 
 When frequent on the hollow blast 
 Wild shouts of merriment were cast, 
 And wind and wave and sea birds' cry 
 With wassail sounds in concert vie, 
 Like funeral shrieks with revelry, 
 Or like the battle-^hout 
 
80 THE LORD OF Canto I. 
 
 By peasants heard from cliffs on high, 
 When Triumph, Rage, and Agony, 
 
 Madden the fight and rout. 
 Now nearer yet, through mist and storm, 
 Dimly arose the Castle's form, 
 
 And deepen'd shadow made, 
 Far lengthen'd on the main below, 
 Where, dancing in reflected glow, 
 
 An hundred torches play'd, 
 Spangling the wave with lights as vain 
 As pleasures in this vale of pain, 
 
 That dazzle as they fade. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Beneath the Castle's sheltering lee, 
 They staid their course in quiet sea. 
 
 Hewn in the rock, a passage there 
 
 Sought the dark fortress by a stair 
 So strait, so high, so steep, 
 With peasant's staff one valiant hand 
 Might well the dizzy pass have mann'd, 
 'Gainst hundreds arm'd with spear and brand, 
 
 And plunged them in the deep. 
 His bugle then the helmsman wound; 
 Loud answer'd every echo round, 
 
 From turret, rock, and bay, 
 The postern's hinges crash and groan, 
 And soon the warder's cresset shone 
 On those rude steps of slippery stone, 
 
 To light the upward way. 
 "Thrice welcome, holy Sire!" he said; 
 "Full long the spousal train have staid, 
 
 And, vex'd at thy delay, 
 
Canto I. THE ISLES. 21 
 
 Fear'd lest, amidst these wildering seas, 
 The darksome night and freshening hreeze 
 Had driven thy bark astray." — 
 
 XXV. 
 
 "Warder," the younger stranger said, 
 " Thine erring guess some mirth had made 
 In mirthful hour; but nights like these, 
 When the rough winds wake western seas, 
 
 Brook not of glee. We crave some aid 
 
 And needful shelter for this maid 
 
 Until the break of day; 
 For, to ourselves, the deck's rude plank 
 Is easy as the mossy bank 
 
 That's breathed upon by May; 
 And for our storm-toss'd skiff we seek 
 Short shelter in this leeward creek, 
 Prompt when the dawn the east shall streak, 
 
 Again to bear away." — 
 Answer'd the Warder, " In what name 
 Assert ye hospitable claim? 
 
 Whence come, or whither bound? 
 Hath Erin seen your parting sails? 
 Or come ye on Norweyan gales? 
 And seek ye England's fertile vales, 
 
 Or Scotland's mountain ground?" — 
 " Warriors — for other title none 
 For some brief space we list to own, 
 Bound by a vow— warriors are we; 
 In strife by land, and storm by sea, 
 
 We have been known to fame: 
 
22 THE LORD OF Canto 1 
 
 And these brief words have import dear, 
 
 When sounded in a noble ear^ 
 
 To harbour safe, and friendly cheer, 
 
 That gives us rightful claim. 
 Grant us the trivial boon we seek, 
 And we in other realms will speak 
 
 Fair of your courtesy; 
 Deny — and be your niggard Hold 
 Scorn'd by the noble and the bold, 
 Shunn'd by the pdgrim on the wold, 
 
 And wanderer on the lea! ,> — 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 "Bold stranger, no — 'gainst claim like thine, 
 
 No bolt revolves by hand of mine, 
 
 Though urged in tone that more express'd 
 
 A monarch than a suppliant guest. 
 
 Be what ye will, Artornish Hall 
 
 On this glad eve is free to all. 
 
 Though ye had drawn a hostile sword 
 
 'Gainst our great ally, England's Lord, 
 
 Or mail upon your shoulders borne, 
 
 To battle with the Lord of Lorn, 
 
 Or, outlaw'd, dwelt by greenwood tree 
 
 "With the fierce Knight of Ellerslie, 
 
 Or aided even the murderous strife, 
 
 When Comyn fell beneath the knife 
 
 Of that fell homicide The Bruce, 
 
 This night had been a term of truce. — 
 
 Ho, vassals! give these guests your care, 
 
 And show the narrow postern stair. " — 
 
GantoL THE ISLES, 23 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 To land these two bold brethren leapt* 
 (The weary crew their vessel kept} 
 And, lighted by the torches' flare, _ 
 That seaward flung their smoky glare, 
 The younger knight that maiden bare 
 
 Half lifeless up the rock; 
 On his strong shoulder lean'd her head, 
 And down her long dark fresses shed, 
 As the wild vine, in tendrils spread, 
 
 Droops from the mountain oak. 
 Him follow'd close that elder Lord, 
 And in his haud a sheathed sword, 
 
 Such as few arms could wield; 
 .But when he bound him to such task, 
 Well could it cleave the strongest casque, 
 
 And rend the surest shield. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 The raised portcullis' arch they pass* 
 The wicket with its bars of brass, 
 
 The entrance long and low, 
 Flank'd at each turn by loop-holes strait, 
 Where bowmen might in ambush wait, 
 (If force or fraud should burst the gate,) 
 
 To gall an entering foe. 
 But every jealous post of ward 
 Was now defenceless and unbarr'd, 
 
 And all the passage free 
 To one low-brow'd and vaulted room, 
 Where squire and yeoman, page and groom* 
 
 Plied their loud revelry. 
 
24 THE LORD OF Canto 1. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 And "Rest ye here," the Warder bade, 
 " Till to our Lord your suit is said. — 
 And, comrades, gaze not on the maid, 
 And on these men who ask our aid, 
 
 As if ye ne'er had seen 
 A damsel tired of midnight bark, 
 Or wanderers of a moulding stark, 
 
 And bearing martial mien." — 
 But not for Eachin's reproof 
 Would page or vassal stand aloof, 
 
 But crowded on to stare, 
 As men of courtesy untaught, 
 Till fiery Edward roughly caught, 
 
 From one the foremost there, 
 His chequer'd plaid, and in its shroud, 
 To hide her from the vulgar crowd, 
 
 Involved his sister fair. 
 His brother, as the clansman bent 
 His sullen brow in discontent, 
 
 Made brief and stern excuse; — 
 u Vassal, were thine the cloak of pall 
 That decks thy Lord in bridal hall, 
 
 'Twere honour'd by her use." — 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Proud was his tone, but calm; his eye 
 
 Had that compelling dignity, 
 
 His mien that bearing haught and high, 
 
 Which common spirits fear; 
 Needed nor word nor signal more, 
 Nod, wink, and laughter, all were o'er; 
 
Canto I. THE ISLES. 25 
 
 Upon each other back they bore, 
 
 And gazed like startled deer. 
 But now appear'd the Seneschal, 
 Commission'd by his Lord to call 
 The strangers to the Baron's hall, 
 
 Where feasted fair and free 
 That Island Prince in nuptial tide, 
 \yith Edith there his lovely bride, 
 And her bold brother by her side, 
 And many a chief, the flower and pride 
 
 Of Western land and sea. 
 
 Here pause we, gentles, for a space; 
 And, if our tale hath won your grace* 
 Grant us brief patience, and again 
 We will renew the minstrel strain. 
 
 END OF CANTO FIRST. 
 
THE 
 
 LORD OF THE ISLES. 
 
 CANTO SECOND*, 
 
THE 
 
 LORD OF THE ISLES. 
 
 CANTO SECOND. 
 
 i? ILL the bright goblet, spread the festive board! 
 Summon the gay, the noble, and the fair! 
 Through the loud hall in joyous concert pour'd, 
 Let mirth and music sound the dirge of Care! 
 But ask thou not if Happiness be there, 
 
 If the loud laugh disguise convulsive throe, 
 Or if the brow the heart's true livery wear; 
 
 Lift not the festal mask!— enough to know, 
 No scene of mortal life but teems with mortal w« 
 
 II. 
 
 With beakers' clang, with harpers 5 lay, 
 With all that olden time deem'd gay, 
 The Island Chieftain feasted high; 
 But there was in his troubled eye 
 A gloomy fire, and on his brow 
 Now sudden flush'd, and faded now, 
 Emotions such as draw their birth 
 From deeper source than festal mirth. 
 By fits he paused, and harper's strain 
 And jester's tale went round in vain, 
 
30 THE LORD OF Canto II. 
 
 Or fell but on his idle ear 
 Like distant sounds which dreamers hear. 
 Then would he rouse him, and employ 
 Each art to aid the clamorous joy, 
 
 And call for pledge and lay, 
 And, for brief space, of all the crowd, 
 As he was loudest of the loud, 
 
 Seem gayest of the gay. 
 
 III. 
 
 Yet nought amiss the bridal throng 
 Marked in brief mirth, or musing long; 
 The vacant brow, the unlistening ear, 
 They gave to thoughts of raptures near, 
 And his fierce starts of sudden glee 
 Seem'd bursts of bridegroom's ecstasy. 
 Nor thus alone misjudged the crowd, 
 Since lofty Lorn, suspicious, proud, 
 And jealous of his honoured line, • 
 And that keen knight, De Argentine, 
 (From England sent on errand high, 
 The western league more firm to tie,) 
 Both deem'd in Ronald's mood to find 
 A lover's transport-troubled mind. 
 But one sad heart, one tearful eye, 
 Pierced deeper through the mystery, 
 And watch'd, with agony and fear, 
 Her wayward bridegroom's varied cheer. 
 
 IV. 
 
 She watch'd — yet fear'd to meet his glance^ 
 And he shunn'd her's; — till when by chance 
 
Canto II. THE ISLES. 
 
 They met, the point of foeman's lance 
 
 Had given a milder pang! 
 Beneath the intolerable smart 
 He writhed; — then sternly mann'd his heart 
 To play his hard but destined part, 
 
 And from the table sprang. 
 Cf Fill me the mighty cup!" he said, 
 u Erst own'd by royal Somerled. 
 Fill it, till on the studded brim 
 In burning gold the bubbles swim, 
 And every gem of varied shine 
 Glow doubly bright in rosy wine! 
 
 To you, brave lord, and brother mine, 
 
 Of Lorn, this pledge I drink — 
 The union of Our House with thine, 
 By this fair bridal-link! "— 
 
 V. 
 £ * Let it pass round!" quoth He of Lorn, 
 H And in good time — that winded horn 
 
 Must of the Abbot tell; 
 The laggard monk is come at last." — 
 Lord Ronald heard the bugle blast, 
 And on the floor at random cast, 
 
 The untasted goblet fell. 
 JBut when the Warder in his ear 
 Tells other news, his blither cheer 
 
 Returns like sun of May, 
 When through a thunder-cloud it beams!— 
 Lord of two hundred isles, he seems 
 
 As glad of brief delay, 
 
2 THE LORD OF 
 
 As some poor criminal might feel, 
 When from the gibbet or the wheel 
 Respited for a day. 
 
 VI. 
 
 " Brother of Lorn," with hurried voice 
 He said, " And you, fair lords, rejoice! 
 
 Here, to augment our glee, 
 Come wandering knights from travel far, 
 Well proved, they say, in strife of war, 
 
 And tempest on the sea. — 
 Ho! give them at your board such place 
 As best their presence seems to grace, 
 
 And bid them welcome free!"— 
 With solemn step, and silver wand, 
 The Seneschal the presence scann'd 
 Of these strange guests; and well he knew 
 How to assign their rank its due; 
 
 For, though the costly furs 
 That erst had dcck'd then* caps were torn. 
 And their gay robes were over-worn, 
 
 And soil'd their gilded spurs, 
 Yet such a high commanding grace 
 Was in their mien and in their face, 
 As suited best the princely dais, 
 
 And royal canopy; 
 And there he marshall'd them their place. 
 
 First of that company. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Then lords and ladies spake aside, 
 And angry looks the error chide* 
 
Canto II. THE ISLES. 
 
 That gave to guests unnamed, unknown, 
 A place so near their prince's thrones 
 
 But Owen Erraught said, 
 (i For forty years a seneschal, 
 To marshal guests in bower and hall 
 
 Has been my honour'd trade. 
 Worship and birth to me are known, 
 By look, by bearing, and by tone, 
 ot by furr'd robe or brojder'd zone; 
 
 And 'gainst an oaken bough 
 I'll gage my silver wand of state, 
 That these three strangers oft have sate 
 
 Iu higher place than now." — 
 
 VIIJ. 
 
 w I, too." the aged Ferrand said, 
 ? Am qualified by minstrel trade 
 
 Of rank and place to tell; — 
 Mark'd ye the younger stranger's eye, 
 My mates, how quick, how keen, how high, 
 
 How fierce its flashes fell, 
 Glancing among the festal rout 
 As if to seek the noblest out, 
 Because the owner might not brook 
 On any save his peers to look? 
 
 And yet it moves me more, 
 That steady, calm, majestic brow, 
 With which the eider chief even now 
 
 Scann'd the gay presence o'er, 
 Like being of superior kind, 
 In whose high-toned impartial mind 
 Degrees of mortal rank and state 
 Seem objects of indifferent weight. 
 B 2 
 
34 THE LORD OF Canto II. 
 
 The lady too — though closely tied 
 
 The mantle veil both face and eye, 
 Her motions' gjrace it could not hide, 
 
 Nor cloud her form's fair symmetry ." — 
 
 IX. 
 
 Suspicious doubt and lordly scorn 
 Lour'd on the haughty front of Lorn 
 From underneath his brows of pride, 
 The stranger guests he sternly eyed, 
 And whisper'd closely what the ear 
 Of Argentine alone might hear; 
 
 Then cuiestion'd, high and brief, 
 If, in their voyage, aught they knew 
 Of the rebellious Scottish crew, 
 Who to Hath Erin's shelter drew, 
 
 With Carrick's out-la wM Chief.' 
 And if, their winter's exile o'er, 
 They harbour'd still by Ulster's shore, 
 Or lanch'd their galleys on the main, 
 To vex their native land again? 
 
 X 
 
 That younger stranger, fierce and high. 
 At once confronts the Chieftain's eye 
 
 With look of equal sco n: — 
 "Of rebels have we nought to show; 
 But if of Royal Bruce thou'dst know, 
 
 I warn thee he has sworn, 
 Ere thrice three days shall come and go, 
 His banner Scottish winds shall blow, 
 Despite each mean or mighty foe, 
 
Canto H. THE ISLES. 35 
 
 From England's every bill and bow, 
 
 ToAllasterofLorn." 
 Kindled the mountain Chieftain's ire, 
 But Ronald quench' d the rising fire; 
 " Brother, it better suits the time 
 To chase the night with Ferrand's rhime, 
 Than wake, 'midst mirth and wine, the jars 
 That flow from these unhappy wars." — 
 " Content," said Lorn; and spoke apart 
 With Ferrand, master of his art, 
 
 Then whisper'd Argentine, — 
 iS The lay I named will carry smart 
 To these bold strangers' haughty heart, 
 
 If right this guess of mine." — 
 He ceased, and it was silence all, 
 Until the Minstrel waked the hall. 
 
 XI. 
 THE BROACH OF LORN. 
 
 if Whence the broach of burning gold, 
 That clasps the Chieftain's mantle fold, 
 Wrought and chased with rare device, 
 Studded fair with gems of price, 
 On the varied tartans beaming, 
 As, through night's pale rain-bow gleaming, 
 Fainter now, now seen afar, 
 Fitful shines the northern star? 
 
 (t Gem! ne'er wrought on highland mountain, 
 Did the fairy of the fountain, 
 Or the mermaid of the wave, 
 Frame thee in some coral cave? 
 
36 THE LOUD OI' Canto II 
 
 Did in Iceland's darksome mine 
 Dwarf's swarth hands thy metal twine' 
 Or, mortal-moulded, comest thou here, 
 From England's love, or France's i 
 
 XII. 
 
 SONG CO XI 1NUED. 
 
 M No! — thy splendours nothing tell 
 Foreign art or faery spell. 
 Moulded thou for monarch's use, 
 By the over-weening Bruce, 
 When the royal robe he tied 
 O'er a heart of wrath and pride; 
 Thence in triumph wert thou torn, 
 By the victor hand of Lorn! 
 
 M While the gem was won and lost 
 Widely was the war-cry toss'd! 
 liung aloud Bendourish Fell, 
 Answer'd Douchart's sounding dell, 
 Fled the deer from wild Teyndrum, 
 When the homicide, o'ercome, 
 Hardly 'scaped with scathe and scorn, 
 Left the pledge with conquering Lorn'- 
 
 XIII. 
 
 SONG CONCLUDED. 
 
 M Vain was then the Douglas brand, 
 Vain the Campbell's vaunted hand, 
 Vain Kirkpatrick's bloody dirk, 
 Making sure of murder's work; 
 Farendown fled fast away, 
 Fled the fiery De la Haye, 
 
I 
 
 anto II. THE ISLES. 
 
 When this broach, triumphant borne, 
 Beam'd upon the breast of Lorn. 
 
 Farthest fied its former Lord, 
 Left his men to brand and cord, 
 Bloody brand of Highland steel, 
 English gibbet, axe, and wheel. 
 Letliim fly from coast to coast, 
 Dogg'd by Comyn's vengeful ghost, 
 While his spoils, in triumph worn, 
 Long shall grace victorious Lorn!" — 
 
 XIV. 
 
 As glares the tiger on his foes, 
 Heram'd in by hunters' spears and bows, 
 And, ere he bounds upon the ring, 
 Selects the object of his spring, — 
 Now on the bard, now on his Lord, 
 So Edward glared and grasp'd his sword— » 
 But stern his brother spoke, — *' Be still. 
 " What! art thou yet so wild of will, 
 After high deeds and sufferings long, 
 To chafe thee for a menial's song? — 
 Well hast thou framed, Old Man, thy strains, 
 I To praise the hand that pays thy pains; 
 Yet something might thy song have told 
 Of Lorn's three vassals, true and bold, 
 Who rent their Lord from Bruce's hold, 
 As underneath his knee he lay, 
 And died to save him in the fray. 
 I've heard the Bruce's cloak and clasp 
 Was clench'd within their dying grasp, 
 
38 THE LORD OF Canto II. 
 
 What time a hundred foemen more 
 Rush'd in and back the victor bore, 
 Long after Lorn had left the strife, 
 Full glad to 'scape with limb and life. — 
 Enough of this — And, Minstrel, hold, 
 As minstrel-hire, this chain of gold, 
 For future lays a fair excuse, 
 To speak more nobly of the Bruce." — 
 
 
 "XV. 
 
 u Now, by Columba's shrine, I swear, 
 
 And every saint that's buried there, 
 
 'Tis he himself!" Lorn sternly cries, 
 
 14 And for my kinsman's death he dies." — 
 
 As loudly Ronald calls — " Forbear! 
 
 Not in my sight while brand I wear, 
 
 O'er-match'd by odds, shall warrior fall, 
 
 Or blood of stranger stain my hall! 
 
 This ancient fortress of my race 
 
 Shall be Misfortune's resting place, 
 
 Shelter and shield of the distress'd, 
 
 No slaughter-house for ship-wreck'd guest" — 
 
 ** Talk not to me," fierce Lorn replied, 
 
 '* Of odds or match! — when Comyn died, 
 
 Three daggers clash'd within his side! 
 
 Talk not to me of sheltering hall, 
 
 The Church of God saw Comyn fall! 
 
 On God's own altar stream'd his blood, 
 
 While o'er my prostrate kinsman stood 
 
 The ruthless murderer — e'en as now— 
 
 With armed hand and scornful brow. — 
 
 Up, all who love me! blow on blow! 
 
 And lay the outlaw'd felons low!" — 
 
 
Canto II. THE ISLES. 39 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Then up sprung many a mainland Lord, 
 Obedient to their Chieftain's word. 
 Barcaldine's arm is high in air, 
 And Kinloch-Alline's blade is bare, 
 Black Murthok's dirk has left its sheath, 
 And clench'd is Dermid's hand of death. 
 Their mutter' d threats of vengeance swell 
 Into a wild and warlike yell; 
 Onward they press with weapons high, 
 The affrighted females shriek and fly, 
 And, Scotland, then thy brightest ray 
 Had darken'd ere its noon of day, 
 But every chief of birth and fame, 
 That from the Isles of Ocean came, 
 At Ronald's side that hour withstood 
 Fierce Loin's relentless thirst for blood. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Brave Torquil from Dunvegan high, 
 
 Lord of the mist}' hills of Skye, 
 
 Mac-Neil, wild Bara's ancient thane, 
 
 Duart, of bold Clan Gillian's strain, 
 
 Fergus, of Canna's castled bay, 
 
 Mac-Duffith, Lord of Colonsay, 
 
 Soon as they saw the broadswords glance, 
 
 With ready weapons rose at once, 
 
 More prompt, that many an ancient feud, 
 
 Full oft suppressed, ftdl oft renewM, 
 
 Glow'd 'twixt the chieftains of Argyle, 
 
 And many a lord of Ocean's isle. 
 
 Wild was the scene — each sword was bare. 
 
 Back stream'd each chieftain's shaggy hair, 
 
40 THE LOUD OF Canto II 
 
 In gloomjrmmosition set, 
 Eyes, hanflf, and branriish'd weapons met; 
 Blue gleaming oYr the social board, 
 Flash'd to the torches many a sword; 
 And soon those bridal lights may shine 
 On purple blood for rosy wine. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 While thus for blows and death prepared, 
 Each heart was up, each weapon bared, 
 Each foot advanced, — a surly pause 
 Still reverenced hospitable laws. 
 All menaced violence, but alike 
 Reluctant each the first to strike, 
 (For aye accursed in minstrel line 
 Is he who hrawls 'mid song and wine, 
 And, match'd in numbers and in might, 
 Doubtful and desperate seem'd the fight.) 
 Thus threat and murmur died away, 
 Till on the crowded hall there lay 
 Such silence, as the deadly still, 
 Ere bursts the thunder on the hill. 
 With blade advanced, each Chieftain bold 
 Show'd like the Sworder's form of old, 
 As wanting still the torch of life, 
 To wake the marble into strife. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 That awful pause the stranger maid, 
 And Edith, seized to pray for aid. 
 As to De Argentine they clung, 
 Away her veil the stranger flung, 
 
Canto H. THE ISLES. 41 
 
 And, lovely .'mid her wild despair, 
 Fast stream'd her eyes, wide flow'd her hair. 
 "'0 thou, of knighthood once the flower, 
 Sure refuge in distressful hour, 
 Thou, who in Judah well hast fought 
 For our dear faith, and oft hast sought 
 Renown in knightly exercise, 
 When this poor hand has dealt the prize, 
 Say, can thy soul of honour brook 
 On the unequal strife to look, 
 When, butcher' d thus in peaceful hall, 
 Those once thy friends, my brethren, fall!"— 
 To Argentine she turn'd her word, 
 But her eye sought the Island Lord. 
 A flush like evening's setting flame 
 GlowM on his cheek; his hardy frame, 
 As with a brief convulsion, shook: 
 With hurried voice and eager look, — ■ 
 .."Fear not," he said, " my Isabel! 
 What said I— Edith!— all is well- 
 Nay, fear not — I will well provide 
 The safety of my lovely bride — 
 11 y bride?" — but there the accents clung 
 In tremor to his faultering tongue. 
 
 XX. 
 
 Mow rose De Argentine, to claim 
 The prisoners in his sovereign's name, 
 To England's crown, who, vassals sworn, 
 'Gainst their liege lord had weapon borne — 
 (Such speech, I ween, was but to hide 
 His care their safety to provide; 
 
42 THE LORD OF Canto II. 
 
 For knight more true in thought and & 
 
 Than Argentine ne'er ipurrVI a iteed) — 
 
 And Ronald, who li is meaning 
 
 ScciiiM hall" to sanction the reqti 
 
 Tliis purpose fiery Torquil broke? — 
 
 " Somewhat we've heard of I'. upland's yoke," 
 
 He sail], "and, in onr islands, FaflM 
 
 Bath whispered of a lawful claim, 
 That calls the Braee fair Scotland's Lord, 
 Though dispossess' d by foreign sword. 
 This craves reflection — l>ut though right 
 
 And just the charge of England's Knight, 
 Let England's crown her rebels seize, 
 Where she has power; — in towers like these, 
 'Midst Scottish Chieftains summon'd here 
 To bridal mirth and bridal cheer, 
 fie sure, with no consent of mine, 
 Shall either Lorn or Argentine 
 With chains or violence, in our sight, 
 Oppress a brave and banish'd knight." — 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Then waked the wild debate again, 
 
 With brawling threat and clamour vain. 
 
 Vassals and menials, thronging in, 
 
 Lent their brute rage to swell the din: 
 
 When, far and wide, a bugle-clang 
 
 From the dark ocean upward rang. 
 
 •' The Abbot comes!" they cry at once, 
 " The holy man, whose favour'd glance 
 Hath sainted visions known; 
 
Canto II. THE ISLES. 43 
 
 Angels Lave met him on the way, 
 
 13eside the blessed martyrs' bay, 
 And by Columba's stone. 
 
 His monks have heard their hymnings high 
 
 Sound from the summit of Dun-Y, 
 
 To cheer his penance lone, 
 
 When at each cross, on girth and wold, 
 
 (Their number thrice an hundred-fold,) 
 
 His prayer he made, his beads he told, 
 
 With Aves many a one — 
 He comes our feuds to reconcile, 
 A sainted man from sainted isle; 
 We will his holy doom abide, 
 The Abbot shall our strife decide." — 
 
 XXII. 
 
 Scarcely this fair accord was o'er, 
 When through the w ide revolving door 
 
 The black stoled brethren wind; 
 Twelve sandall'd monks, who reliques bore, 
 W r ith many a torch-bearer before, 
 
 And many a cross behind. 
 Then sunk each fierce uplifted hand, 
 And dagger bright and flashing brand 
 
 Dropp'd swiftly at the sight; 
 They vanish'd from the churchman's eye, 
 As shooting stars, that glance and die, 
 
 Dart from the vault of night. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 The Abbot on the threshold stood, 
 And in his hand the holy rood; 
 
44 THE LORD OF Canto 11 
 
 Back on his shoulders flow'd his hood, 
 The torch 
 
 Show'dj in its red a-.< l.t, 
 
 His v, ith<'iM (fit ck and ai,,i 
 
 Mis blue eye gliatei iag cold and bright, 
 
 His t : ■ i and gray. 
 
 "Fair Lords," he said, " Our Lady's I 
 And peace in- with jroo from above, 
 
 And BenedicHtl — 
 — But wha( means tin 
 Do dirks unsheathed suit bridal c\<< 
 
 Or are these naked bf 
 A seemly show for Churchman's sight, 
 When he comes summoned to unite 
 
 Betrothed hearts and hands'" — 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Then, cloaking hate with fiery zeal, 
 Proud Lorn first answered the appeal;— 
 
 " Thou cornest, O holy Man, 
 True sons of hlessed church to greet, 
 But little deeming here to meet 
 
 A wretch, beueath the ban 
 Of Pope and Church, for murder done 
 Even on the sacred altar-stone! — 
 Well raay'st thou wonder we should know 
 Such miscreant here, nor lay him low, 
 Or dream of greeting, peace, or truce, 
 With excommunicated Bruce! 
 Yet well I grant, to end debate, 
 Thy sainted voice decide his fate."-— 
 
 
Canto n. THE ISLES. 45 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Then Ronald pled the stranger's cause, 
 
 And knighthood's oath and honour's laws; 
 
 And Isabel, on bended knee, 
 
 Brought pray'rs and tears to back the plea; 
 
 And Edith lent her generous aid, 
 
 And wept, and Lorn for mercy pray'd. 
 
 " Hence," he exclaim'd " degenerate maid! 
 
 Was't not enough to Ronald's bower 
 
 I brought thee, like a paramour, 
 
 Or bond-maid at her master's gate, 
 
 His careless cold approach to wait? — 
 
 But the bold Lord of Cumberland, 
 
 The gallant Clifford, seeks thy hand; 
 
 His it shall be — Nay, no reply! 
 
 Hence! till those rebel eyes be dry."— 
 
 With grief the Abbot heard and saw, 
 
 Yet nought relax'd his brow of awe. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Then Argentine, in England's name, 
 So highly urged his sovereign's claim, 
 He wakedja spark, that, long suppress'd, 
 Had smoulder' d in Lord Ronald's breast; 
 And now, as from the flint the fire, 
 Flash M forth at once his generous ire. — 
 " Enough of noble blood," he said, 
 cc By English Edward had been shed, 
 Since matchless Wallace first had been 
 In mock'ry crown'd with wreaths of green, 
 And done to death by felon hand, 
 For guarding well his father's land. 
 
46 THE LORD OF Canto II 
 
 Where's Nigel Bruce? and J)e ia Haye, 
 And valiant Seton — where are they? 
 Where Somerville, the kind and free? 
 And Fraser, flower of chivalry? 
 Have they not been on gibbet bound, 
 Their quarters flung to hawk and hound, 
 And hold we here a cold debate, 
 To yield more victims to their fate? 
 What! can the English Leopard's mood 
 Never be gorged with northern blood > 
 Was not the life of A thole shed, 
 To sooth the tyrant's sickened bed? 
 AnTl must his word, at dying day, 
 Be nought but quarter* hang, and slay! — 
 Thou frown'st, I)e Argentine, — my gage- 
 Is prompt to prove the strife I wage." — 
 
 XXVIL 
 
 " Nor deem," said stout Dunvegan's knight, 
 
 " That thou shalt brave alone the fight! 
 
 By saints of isle and mainland both, 
 
 B> Woden wild, (my grandsire's oath) 
 
 Let Rome and England do their worst, 
 
 Howe'er attainted or accursed, 
 
 If Eruce shall e'er find friends again, 
 
 Once more to brave a battle plain, 
 
 If Douglass couch again his lance, 
 
 Or Randolph dare another chance, 
 
 Old Torquil will not be to lack 
 
 With twice a thousand at his back. — 
 
 Nay, chafe not at my bearing bold, 
 
 Good Abbot! for thou know'st of old > 
 
 
Canto II. THE ISLES. 47 
 
 Torquil's rude thought and stubborn will 
 
 Smack of the wild Norwegian still; 
 
 Nor will I barter Freedom's cause 
 
 For England's wealth, or Rome's applause."— 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 The Abbot seem'd with eye severe, 
 The hardy Chieftain's speech to hear; 
 Then on the monarch turn'd the Monk, 
 But twice his courage came and sunk, 
 Confronted with the hero's look; 
 Twice fell his eye, his accents shook; 
 At length, resolved in tone and brow, 
 Sternly he questioned him — " And thoU, 
 Unhappy! what hast thou to plead, 
 Why I denounce not on thy deed 
 That awful doom whsch canons tell 
 Shuts paradise, and opens hell; 
 Anathema of power so dread, 
 It blends the living with the dead, 
 Bids each good angel soar away, 
 And every ill one claim his prey; 
 Expels thee from the church's care, 
 And deafen's Heaven against thy prayer; 
 Arms every hand against thy life, 
 Bans all who aid thee in the strife, 
 Nay, each whose succour, cold and scant, 
 With meanest alms relieves thy want; 
 Haunts thee while living, — and, when dead, 
 Dwells on thy yet devoted head, 
 Kends Honour's scutcheon from thy hearse* 
 Stills o'er thy bier the holy Yerse, 
 
48 THE LOUD OF fcanto ll 
 
 And spurns thy corpse from hallow 'd ground, 
 
 Flung like vile carrion to the hound! 
 
 Such is the dire and desperate doom, 
 
 For sacrilege decreed by Rome; 
 
 And such the well-deserved meed 
 
 Of thine unhallow'd, ruthless deed." — 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 " Abbot!*' the Bruce replied, " thy charge 
 
 It boots not to dispute at large. 
 
 This much, howe'er, I bid thee know, 
 
 No selfish vengeance dealt the blow, 
 
 For Corny n died his country's foe. 
 
 Nor blame I friends whose ill-timed speed 
 
 Fulfill'd my soon repented deed, 
 
 Nor censure those from whose stern tongue 
 
 The dire anathema has rung. 
 
 I only blame mine own wild ire; 
 
 By Scotland's wrongs incensed to fire. 
 
 Heaven knows my purpose to atone, 
 
 Far as I may, the evii done, 
 
 And hears a penitent's appeal 
 
 From papal curse and prelate's zeal. 
 
 My first and dearest task achieved, 
 
 Fair Scotland from her thrall relieved, 
 
 Shall many a priest in cope and stole 
 
 Say requiem for Red Corny n's soul, 
 
 While I the blessed cross afhance, 
 
 And expiate this unhappy chance, 
 
 In Palestine, with sword and lance. 
 
 But, while content the church should kn«w 
 
 My conscience owns the debt I owe, 
 
Canto IT. THE ISLES. 
 
 Unto De Argentine and Lorn 
 
 The name of traitor I return, f 
 
 Bid them defiance stern and high, 
 
 And give them in their throats the lie! 
 
 These brief words spoke, I speak no more. 
 
 Do what thou wilt; my shrift is o J er." — 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Like man by prodigy amazed, 
 Upon the King the Abbot gazed; 
 Then o'er his pallid features glance 
 Convulsions of ecstatic trance. 
 His breathing came more thick and fast, 
 And from his pale blue eyes were cast 
 Strange rays of wild and wandering light; 
 Uprise his locks of silver white, 
 Flush'd is his brow, through every vein 
 In azure tide the currents strain, 
 And undistinguished accents broke 
 The awful silence ere he spoke. 
 
 XXXI. 
 *'De Bruce! I rose with purpose dread 
 To speak my curse upon thy head, 
 And give thee as an outcast o'er 
 To him who burns to shed thy gore; — 
 But, like the Midianite of old, 
 Who stood on Zophim, heaven-control'd, 
 I feel within mine aged breast 
 A power that will not be repress'd. 
 It prompts my voice, it swells my veins, 
 It burns, it maddens, it constrains! — 
 c 
 
$0 THE LORD OF Canto II 
 
 De Bruce, thy sacrilegious blow 
 
 Hath at God's altar slain thy foe: 
 
 O'er-master'd yet by high behest, 
 
 1 bless thee, and thou shalt be bless'd!" — 
 
 He spoke, and o'er the astonished throng 
 
 Was silence, awful, deep, aud long. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Again that light has fired his eye, 
 Again hs form swells bold and high, 
 The broken voice of age is gone, 
 'Tis vigorous manhood's lofty tone: — 
 M Thrice vanquished on the battle-plain, 
 Thy followers slaughter'd, fled, or ta'en, 
 A hunted wanderer on the wild, 
 On foreign shores a man exiled, 
 Disown'd, deserted and distress'd, 
 I bless thee, and thou shalt be bless'd; 
 Bless'd in the hall and in the field, 
 Under the mantle as the sh eld. 
 Avenger of thy country's shame^ 
 Restorer of her injured fame, 
 Bless'd in thy sceptre and thy sword, 
 De Bruce, fair Scotland's rightful Lord, 
 Bless'd in thy deeds and in thy fame, 
 "What lengthen'd honours wait thy name? 
 In distant ages, sire to son 
 Shall tell thy tale of freedom won, 
 And teach his infants, in the use 
 In earliest speech, to faulter Bruce. 
 Go, then, triumphant! sweep along 
 Thy course, the theme of many a song 1 . 
 
Canto II. THE ISLES. 51 
 
 The Power, whose dictates swell my breast, 
 Hath bless'd thee, and thou shalt be bless'd!-— 
 Enough — my short-lived strength decays, 
 And sinks the momentary blaze.-— 
 Heaven hath our destined purpose broke, 
 Not here must nuptial vow be spoke, 
 Brethren, our errand here is o'er, 
 Our task discharged. — Unmoor, unmoor!" — 
 His priests received the exhausted Monk, 
 As breathless in their arms he sunk. 
 Punctual his orders to obey, 
 The train refused alllonger stay, 
 Embark'd, raised sail, and bore away. 
 
 £ND OF CANTO SECOND. 
 
THE 
 
 LORD OF THE ISLES- 
 
 CANTO THIRI>. 
 
THE 
 
 LOED OF THE ISLES. 
 
 CANTO THIRD. 
 
 XX A ST thou not mark'd, when o'er thy startled 
 head 
 Sudden and deep the thunder-peal has roll'd, 
 
 How, when its echoes fell, a silence dead 
 
 Sunk on the wood, the meadow, and the wold? 
 
 The rye-grass shakes not on the sod.huilt fold, 
 The rustling aspen's leaves are mute and still, 
 
 The wall-flower waves not on the ruin'd Hold, 
 Till, murmuring distant first, then near and shrill, 
 The savage whirlwind wakes, and sweeps the groan- 
 ing hill. 
 
 II. 
 
 Artomish! such a silence sunk 
 
 Upon thy halls, when that gray Monk 
 
 His prophet-speech had spoke; 
 And his obedient brethren's sail 
 Was stretch'd to meet the southern gale 
 
 Before a whisper woke. 
 Then murmuring sounds of doubt and fear, 
 Close pour'd in many an anxious ear, 
 
 The solemn stillness broke; 
 
56 THE LORD OF Canto III. 
 
 And still they gazed with eager guess, 
 Where, in an oriel's deep recess, 
 The Island Prince seem'd bent to press 
 What Lorn, by his impatient cheer, 
 And gesture fierce, scarce deign'd to hear. 
 
 III. 
 
 Starting at length with frowning look, 
 His hand he clenchM, his head he shook, 
 
 And sternly flung apart; — 
 *' And deem'at thou me so mean of mood, 
 As to forget the mortal feud, 
 And clasp the hand with blood embrued 
 
 From my dear kinsman'^ heart? 
 Is this thy rede? — a due return 
 For ancient league and friendship sworn! 
 But well our mountain proverb shows 
 The faith of Islesmen ebbs and flows. 
 Be it even so — believe, ere long, 
 He that now bears sha'l wreak the wrong. — 
 Call Edith— call the Maid of Lorn! 
 My sister, slaves! — for further scorn, 
 Be sure nor she nor I will stay. — 
 Away, De Argentine, away! — 
 We nor ally nor brother know, 
 In Bruce's friend, or England's foe. ,, — 
 
 IV. 
 
 But who the Chieftain's rage can tell, 
 When, sought from lowest dungeon cell 
 To highest tower the castle round, 
 No Ladv Edith was there found' 
 
Canto III. THE ISLES. 57 
 
 He shouted, " Falsehood! — treachery!— 
 Revenge and blood! — a lordly meed 
 To him that will avenge the deed! 
 A Baron's lands!" — His frantic mood 
 Was scarcely by the news withstood, 
 That Morag shared his sister's flight, 
 And that, in hurry of the night, 
 'Scaped noteless, and without remark, 
 Two strangers sought the Abbot's bark. — 
 "Man every galley! — fly — pursue! 
 The priest his treachery shall- rue! 
 Ay, and the time shall quickly come, 
 When we shall hear the thanks that Rome 
 Will pay his feigned prophecy!" — 
 Such was fierce Lorn's indignant cry; 
 And Cormae Doil in haste obey'd, 
 Hoisted his sail, his anchor weigh'd, 
 (For, glad of each pretext for spoil, 
 A pirate sworn was Cormic Doil.) 
 But others, lingering, spoke apart, — 
 " The Maid has given her maiden heart 
 
 To Ronald of the Isles, 
 And, fearful lest her brother's word 
 Bestow her on that English Lord, 
 
 She seeks Iona's piles, 
 And wisely deems it best to dwell 
 A vot'ress in the holy cell, 
 Until these feuds, so fierce and fell, 
 
 The Abbot reconciles." — 
 
 V. 
 
 As, impotent of ire, the hall 
 Echoed to Lorn's impatient call, 
 
58 THE LORD OF Canto III. 
 
 " My horse, my mantle, and my train! 
 Let none who honours Lorn remain!" — 
 Courteous, but stern, a bold request 
 To Bruce de Argentine address'd. 
 •* Lord Earl," he said, — " I cannot chuse 
 But yield such title to the Bruce, 
 Though name and earldom both are gone, 
 Since he braced rebel's armour on — 
 But, Karl or Serf — rude phrase was thine 
 Of late, and lanch'd at Argentine; 
 Such as compels me to demand 
 Redress of honour at thy hand. 
 We need not to each other tell, 
 That both can wield their weapons well; 
 
 Then do me but the soldier grace, 
 This glove upon thy helm to place 
 
 Where we may meet in fight; 
 
 And I will say, as still I've said, 
 Though by ambition far misled, 
 
 Thou art a noble knight." — 
 
 VI. 
 
 "And I," the princely Bruce replied, 
 u Might term it stain on knighthood's pride, 
 That the bright sword of Argentine 
 Should in a tyrant's quarrel shine; — 
 
 But, for your brave request, 
 Be sure the honour'd pledge you gave 
 In every battle-field shall wave 
 
 Upon my helmet-crest; 
 Believe, that if my hasty tongue 
 Hath done thine honour causeless wrong, 
 
 It shall be well redress'd. 
 
Canto in. THE ISLES 
 
 Not clearer to my soul was glove, 
 Bestow'd in youth by lady's love, 
 
 Than this which thou hast given! 
 Thus, then, my noble foe I greet; 
 Health and high fortune till we meet, 
 
 And then— what pleases Heaven." — 
 
 VI. 
 
 Thus parted they — for now, with sound 
 Like waves roll'd back from rocky ground, 
 
 The friends of Lorn retire; 
 Each mainland chieftain, with his train, 
 Draws to his mountain towers again, 
 Pondering how mortal schemes prove vain, 
 
 And mortal hopes expire. 
 But through the castle double guard, 
 By Ronald's charge, kept wakeful ward. 
 Wicket and gate were trebly barr'd.. 
 
 By beam and bolt and chain; 
 Then of the guests, in courteous sort, 
 He pray'd excuse for mirth broke short* 
 And bade them in Artornish fort 
 
 In confidence remain. 
 Now torch and menial tendance led 
 Chieftain and knight to bower and bed, 
 And beads were told, and aves said, 
 
 And soon they sunk away 
 Into such sleep, as wont to shed 
 Oblivion on the weary head, 
 
 After a toilsome day 
 
60 THE LORD OF Canto 111. 
 
 MI. 
 But soon op -rooted* the monarch cried 
 To Edward slumbering by his side, 
 
 " Awake, or sleep for a\e! 
 Even now there jarr'd a secret door — 
 A taper light gleams on the floor — 
 
 Up, Edward, up, I say! 
 Some one glides in like midnight ghost — 
 « — Nay, strike not! 'tis our noble Host." — 
 Advancing then his taper's flame, 
 Ronald stept forth, and with him came 
 Dunvegan's chief — each bent the knee 
 To Bruce, in sign of fealty, 
 
 And proffered him his sword, 
 And hail'd him, in a monarch's style, 
 \s king of mainland and of isle, 
 
 And Scotland's rightful lord. 
 " And O," said Ronald, " Own'd of Heaven 
 Say, is my erring youth forgiven, 
 By falsehood's arts from duty driven, 
 
 Who rebel falchion drew, 
 Yet ever to thy deeds of fame, 
 Even while I strove against thy claim, 
 
 Paid homage just and true?" — 
 "Alas! dear youth, the unhappy time," 
 Answer'd the Bruce, " must bear the crime, 
 
 Since, guiltier far than you, 
 Even I" — he paused; for Falkirk's woes 
 Upon his conscious soul arose. 
 The Chieftain to his breast he press'd, 
 And in a sigh conceal'd the rest. 
 
Canto in. THE ISLES. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 They proffer' d aid, by arms and might, 
 To repossess him in his right; 
 But well their counsels must be weigh'd, 
 Ere banners raised and musters made, 
 For English hire and Lorn's intrigues 
 Bound many chiefs in southern leagues. 
 In answer, Bruce his purpose bold 
 To his new vassals frankly told. 
 " The winter worn in exile o'er, 
 I long'd for Carrick's kindred shore. 
 I thought upon my native Ayr, 
 And long'd to see the burly fare 
 That Clifford makes, whose lordly call 
 Now echoes through my father's hall. 
 But first my course to Arran led, 
 Where valiant Lennox gathers head, 
 And on the sea, by tempests toss'd, 
 Our barks dispersed, our purpose cross'd, 
 Mine own, a hostile sail to shun, 
 Far from her destined course had run, 
 When that wise will, which masters ours, 
 Compell'd us to your friendly towers," — 
 
 IX. 
 
 Then Torquil spoke: " The time craves speed I 
 
 We must not linger in our deed, 
 
 But instant pray our Sovereign Liege 
 
 To shun the perils of a siege. 
 
 The vengeful Lorn, with all his powers, 
 
 Lies but too near Artornish towers, 
 
 And England's light-armed vessels ride, 
 
 Not distant far, the waves of Clyde, 
 
62 THE LORD OF Canto III 
 
 Prompt at these tidings to unmoor, 
 
 And sweep each strait, and guard each shore. 
 
 Then, till this fresh alarm pass by, 
 
 Secret and safe my Liege must lie 
 
 In the fair bounds of friendly Skye, 
 
 Torquil thy pilot and thy guide." — 
 
 ** Not so, brave Chieftain," Ronald cried; 
 
 " Myself will on my Sovereign wait, 
 
 And raise in arms the men of Sleate, 
 
 Whilst thou, renown'd where chiefs debate, 
 
 Shalt sway their souls by council sage, 
 
 And awe them by thy locks of age." — 
 
 — " Ard if my words in weight shall fail, 
 
 This ponderous sword shall turn the scale." — 
 
 X. 
 
 u The scheme," said Bruce, u contents me well; 
 
 Meantime, 'twere best that Isabel, 
 
 For safety, with my bark and crew, 
 
 Again to friendly Erin drew. 
 
 There Edward, too, shall with her wend, 
 
 In nee? to cheer her and defend, 
 
 And - Her up each scatter'd friend." — 
 
 Here yeem'd it as Lord Ronald's ear 
 
 Would other council gladlier hear; 
 
 But, all achieved as soon as plann'd, 
 
 Both barks, in secret armM and mann'd, 
 
 From out the haven bore; 
 On different voyage forth they ply, 
 This for the coast of winged Skye, 
 
 And that for Erin's shore. 
 
Canto ffl. THE ISLES. S3 
 
 XI. 
 With Bruce and Ronald bides the tale. 
 To favouring winds they gave the sail, 
 Till Mull's dark headlands scarce they knew, 
 And Ardnaraurchan's hills were blue. 
 But then the squalls blew close and hard, 
 And, fain to strike the galley's yard, 
 
 And take them to the oar, 
 With these rude seas, in weary plight, 
 They strove the live-long day and night, 
 Nor till the dawning had a sight 
 
 Of Skye's romantic shore. 
 Where Coolin stoops him to the west, 
 They saw upon his shiver'd crest 
 
 The sun's arising gleam; 
 But such the labour and delay, 
 Ere they were moor'd in Scarigh bay, 
 (For calmer heaven compell'd to stay) 
 
 He shot a western beam. 
 Then Ronald said, *' If true mine eye, 
 These are the savage wilds that lie 
 North of Strathnardill and Dunskye; 
 
 No human foot comes here, 
 And, since these adverse breezes blow, 
 If my good Liege love hunter's bow, 
 What hinders that on land we go, 
 
 And strike a mountain deer? 
 Allan, my Page, shall with us wend, 
 A bow full deftly can he bend, 
 And, if we meet a herd, may send 
 
 A shaft shall mend our cheer." — 
 Then each took bow and bolts in hand, 
 Their row-boat laneh'd and leapt to land, 
 
& THE LORD OF Canto HI. 
 
 And left their skiff* and train, 
 Where a wild stream, with headlong shock, 
 Came brawling down its bed of rock, 
 
 To mingle with the main. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 A while their route they silent made, 
 
 As men who stalk for mountain-deer, 
 Till the good Bruce to Ronald said, 
 
 'St Mary! what a scene is here! 
 I've traversed many a mountain-strand, 
 Abroad and in my native land, 
 And it has been my lot to tread 
 Where safety more than pleasure led; 
 Thus, many a waste I've wander'd o'er, 
 Clombe many a crag, cross'd many a moor, 
 
 But, by my halidome, 
 A scene so rude, so wild as this, 
 Yet so sublime in barrenness, 
 "Ne'er did my wandering footsteps press, 
 
 Where'er I happ'd to roam." — 
 
 
 XIV. 
 
 No marvel thus the Monarch spake; 
 
 For rarely human eye has known 
 A scene so stern as that dread lake, 
 
 With its dark ledge of barren stone. 
 Seems that primeval earthquake's sway 
 Hath rent a strange and shatter'd way 
 
 Through the rude bosom of the hill, 
 And that each naked precipice, 
 Sable ravine, and dark abyss, 
 
 Tells of the outrage still. 
 
Canto III. THE ISLES. 65 
 
 The -wildest glen, but this, can show 
 Some touch of Nature's genial glow; 
 On high Benmore green mosses grow, 
 And heath-bells bud in deep Glencroe, 
 
 And copse on Cruchan-Ben, 
 But here, above, around,, below, ' 
 
 On mountain or in glen, 
 Nor tree, nor shrub, nor plant, nor flower, 
 Nor aught of vegetative power, 
 
 The weary eye may ken. 
 For all is rocks at random thrown, 
 Black waves, bare crags, and banks of stone, 
 
 As if were here denied 
 The summer sun, the spring's sweet dew, 
 That clothe with many a varied hue 
 
 The bleakest mountain-side. 
 
 XV. 
 
 And wilder, forward as they wound, 
 Were the proud cliffs and lake profound. 
 Huge terraces of granite black 
 Afforded rude and cumber' d track; 
 
 For from the mountain hoar, 
 Hurl'd headlong in some night of fear, 
 When yell'd the wolf and iled the deer, 
 
 Loose crags had toppled o'er; 
 And some, chance-poised and balanced, lay. 
 So that a stripling arm might sway 
 
 A mass no host could raise, 
 In Nature's rage at random thrown, 
 Yet trembling like the Druid's stone 
 
 On its precarious base. 
 
66 THE LOUD OF Canto HI. 
 
 The evening mists, with ceaseless change, 
 Now clothed the mountains' lofty range, 
 
 Now left their foreheads bare, 
 And round the skirts their mantle fiirl'd, 
 Or on the sable waters curf d, 
 Or, on the eddying breezes whirl 'd, 
 
 Dispersed in middle air. 
 And oft, condensed, at once they lower 
 When, brief and fierce, the mountain shower 
 
 Pours like a torrent down, 
 And when return the sun's glad beams, 
 Whiten'd with foam a thousand streams 
 
 Leap from the mountain's crown. 
 
 
 XVI. 
 
 " This lake," said Bruce, " whose barriers drear 
 Are precipices sharp and sheer, 
 Yielding no track for goat or deer, 
 
 Save the black shelves we tread, 
 How term you its dark waves? and how 
 Yon northern mountain's pathless brow, 
 
 And yonder peak of dread, 
 That to the evening sun uplifts 
 The griesly gulfs and slaty rifts, 
 
 Which seam its shiver'd head?" — 
 " Coriskin call the dark lake's name, 
 Coolin the ridge, as bards proclaim, 
 From old Cuchullin, ehief of fame. 
 But Bards, familiar in our isles 
 Rather with Nature's frowns than smiles, 
 Full oft their careless humours please 
 By sportive names for scenes like these. 
 
Canto III. THE ISLES. 67 
 
 I would old Torquil were to show 
 
 His maidens with their breasts of snow, 
 
 Or that my noble Leige were nigh 
 
 To hear his nurse sing lullaby! 
 
 (The Maids — tall cliffs with breakers white, 
 
 The Nurse — a torrent's roaring might,) 
 
 Or that your eye could see the mood 
 
 Of Corryvrekin's whirlpool rude, 
 
 When dons the Hag her whiten'd hood— 
 
 'Tis thus our islesmen's fancy frames, 
 
 For scenes so stern, fantastic names."— 
 
 XVIT. 
 
 Answer'd the Bruce, " And musing mind 
 
 Might here a graver moral find. 
 
 These mighty cliffs, that heave on high 
 
 Their naked brows to middle sky, 
 
 Indifferent to the sun or snow, 
 
 Where nought can fade, and nought can blow, 
 
 May they not mark a monarch's fate, — 
 
 Raised high 'mid storms of strife and state^ 
 
 Beyond life's lowlier pleasures plae'd, 
 
 His soul a rock, his heart a waste? 
 
 O'er hope and love and fear aloft 
 
 High rears his crowned head — But soft! 
 
 Look, underneath yon jutting crag 
 
 Are hunters and a slaughter'd stag. 
 
 Who may they be? But late you said 
 
 No steps these desert legions tread?" — ■ 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 M So said I — and believed in sooth," 
 Eonald replied, " 1 spoke the truth. 
 
68 THE LORD OF Canto III 
 
 Yet now T spy, by yonder stone, 
 
 Five men — they mark us, and come on; 
 
 And by their badge on bonnet borne, 
 
 I guess them of the land of Lorn, 
 
 Foes to my Liege." — " So Jet it be; 
 
 I've faced worse odds than five to three— 
 
 — But the poor page can little aid; 
 
 Then be our battle thus array M, 
 
 If our free passage they contest; 
 
 Cope thou with two, I'll match the rest." — 
 
 " Not so, my Liege — for by my life, 
 
 This sword shall meet the treble strife; 
 
 My strength, my skill in arms, more small, 
 
 And less the loss should Ronald fail. 
 
 But islesmen soon to soldiers grow, — 
 
 Allan has sword as well as bow, 
 
 And were my Monarch's order given, 
 
 Two shafts should make our number even." — 
 
 " No! not to save my life!" he said; 
 
 u Enough of blood rests on my head, 
 
 Too rashly spill'd — we soon shall know, 
 
 Whether they come as friend or foe." — 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Nigh came the strangers, and more nigh; — 
 Still less they pleased the Monarch's eye. 
 Men were they all of evil mien, 
 Down-look'd, unwilling to be seen; 
 They moved with half-resolved pace, 
 And bent on earth each gloomy face. 
 The foremost two were 1 fair array'd, 
 With brogue and bonnet, trews and pi aid , 
 
il Canto III. THE ISLES. 69 
 
 And bore the arms of mountaineers, 
 Daggers and broadswords, bows and spears. 
 The three, that lagg'd small space behind, 
 Seem'd serfs of more degraded kind; 
 Goat-skins or deer-hides o'er them cast, 
 Made a rude fence against the blast; 
 Their arms and feet and heads were bare* 
 Matted their beards, unshorn their hair; 
 For arms, the caitiffs bore in hand, 
 A club, an axe, a rusty brand. 
 
 XX. 
 
 Onward, still mute, they kept the track;— 
 ** Tell who ye be, or else stand back," 
 Said Bruce; " In deserts when they meet, 
 Men pass not as in peaceful street." — 
 Still, at his stern command, they stood, 
 And proffer'd greeting brief and rude, 
 But acted courtesy so ill, 
 As seem'd of fear, and not of will. 
 *' Wanderers we are, as you may be; 
 Men hither driven by wind and sea, 
 Who, if you list to taste our cheer, 
 Will share with you this fallow deer." — 
 ** If from the sea, where lies your bark?" 
 *' Ten fathom deep in ocean dark! 
 Wreck'd yesternight; but we are men, 
 Who little sense of peril ken. 
 The shades come down— the day is shut- 
 Will you go with us to our hut?" — 
 K Our vessel waits us in the bay; 
 Thanks for your proffer — hare good day.?' — 
 
YO THE LORD OF Canto III 
 
 " Was that your galley, then, which rode 
 Not far from shore when evening glow'd?"-— 
 M It was." — M Then spare your needless pain, 
 There -will she now be sought in vain. 
 We saw her from the mountain head, 
 When with St. George's blazon red 
 A southern vessel bore in sight, 
 And yours raised sail, and took to flight." — 
 
 XXI. 
 
 "Now, by the rood, unwelcome news!" 
 Thus with Lord Ronald communed Bruce; 
 %i Nor rests there light enough to show 
 If this their tale he true or no. 
 The men seem bred of churlish kind, 
 Yet rugged brews have bosoms kind; 
 We will go with tiiem — food and fire 
 And sheltering roof our wants require. 
 Sure guard 'gainst treachery will we keep, 
 And watch by turns our comrades' sleep.— 
 Good fellows, thanks; your guests we'll be, 
 And well will pay the courtesy. 
 Come, lead us where your lodging lies,— 
 — Nay, soft! we mix not companies. — 
 Show us the path o'er crag and stone, 
 And we will follow you; — lead on." — 
 
 XXII. 
 
 They reach'd the dreary cabin, made 
 Of sails against a rock display'd, 
 And there, on entering, found 
 
Canto m. THE ISLES. 71 
 
 A slender boy, whose form and mien 
 111 suited with such savage scene, 
 In cap and cloak of velvet green, 
 
 Low seated on the ground. 
 His garb was such as minstrels wear, 
 Dark was his hue, and dark his hair, 
 His youthful cheek was marr'd by care, 
 
 His eyes in sorrow drown'd. 
 u Whence this poor boy?" — As Ronald spoke, 
 The voice his trance of anguish broke; 
 As if awaked from ghastly dream, 
 He raised his head with start and scream, 
 
 And wildly gazed around; 
 Then to the wall his face he turn'd, 
 And his dark cheek with blushes burn'd. 
 
 XXIII. 
 u Whose is the boy?" again he said. 
 " By chance of war our captive made; 
 He may be yours, if you should hold 
 That music has more charms than gold; 
 For, though from earliest childhood mute, 
 The lad can deftly touch the lute, 
 
 And on the rote and viol play, 
 
 And well can drive the time away 
 For those who love such glee; 
 
 For me, the favouring breeze, when loud 
 
 It pipes upon the galley shroud, 
 Makes blither melody."— 
 ft Hath he, then, sense of spoken sound?"—- 
 
 —"Aye; so his mother bade us know, 
 
72 THE LORD OF Canto III 
 
 A crone in our late shipwreck drown'd, 
 
 And hence the silly stripling's wo. 
 More of the youth I cannot say, 
 Our captive hut since yesterday; 
 When wind and weather wax'd so grim, 
 We little listed think of him — 
 But why waste time in idle words? 
 Sit to your cheer — unbelt your swords.*' 
 Sudden the captive turifd his head, 
 And one quick glance to Ronald sped. 
 It was a keen and warning look, 
 And well the chief the signal took. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 " Kind host," he said, " our needs require 
 
 A separate board and separate fire; 
 
 For know, that on a pilgrimage 
 
 Wend I, my comrade, and this page. * 
 
 And, sworn to vigil and to fast, 
 
 Long as this hallow'd task shall last. 
 
 We never doff the plaid or sword, 
 
 Or feast us at a stranger's board; 
 
 And never share one common sleep, 
 
 But one must still his vigil keep 
 
 Thus for our separate use, good friend,, 
 
 We'll hold tliis hut's remoter end."— 
 
 " A churlish vow," the eldest said, 
 
 " And hard, methinks, to be obey'd. 
 
 How say you, if, to wreak the scorn 
 
 That pays our kindness harsh return, 
 
Canto III. THE ISLES. 73 
 
 We should refuse to share our meal?' 3 — 
 " — Then say we, that our swords are steel! 
 And our vow binds us not to fast, 
 Where gold or force may buy repast." — 
 Their host's dark brow grew keen and fell, 
 His teeth are clench'd, his features swell; 
 Yet sunk the felon's moody ire 
 Before Lord Ronald's glance of fire, 
 Nor could his craven courage brook 
 The Monarch's calm and dauntless look, 
 With laugh constrain'd. — "Let every man 
 Follow the fashion of his clan! 
 Each to his separate quarters keep, 
 And feed or fast, or wake or sleep.''— 
 
 XXV. 
 
 # Their fire at separate distance burns, 
 By turns they eat, keep guard by turns; 
 For evil seem'd that old man's eye, 
 Dark and designing, fierce yet shy. 
 Still he avoided forward look, 
 But slow and circumspectly took 
 A circling, never-ceasing glance, 
 By doubt and cunning mark'd at once, 
 Which shot a mischief-boding ray, 
 From under eye-brows shagg'd and grey, 
 The younger, too, who seem'd his son, 
 Had that dark look, the timid shun; 
 The half-clad serfs behind them sate, 
 And scowl'd a glare 'twixt fear and hate- 
 Till all, as darkness onward crept, 
 Couch'd down and seem'd to sleep, or slept, 
 Nor he, that boy, whose powerless tongue 
 BMust trust hi^eye& to wail his wrons:. 
 
74 THE LORD OF Canto III. 
 
 A longer watch of sorrow made, 
 
 But stretched his limbs to slumber laid. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Not in his dangerous host confides 
 The King, but wary watch provides. 
 Ronald keeps ward till midnight past, 
 Then wakes the King, young Allan last; 
 Thus rank'd, to give the youthful Page 
 The rest required by tender age. 
 —What is Lord Ronald's wakeful thought, 
 To chase the languor toil had brought? — 
 (For deem not that he deign'd to throw 
 Much care upon such coward foe,) — 
 He thinks of lovely Isabel, 
 When at her foeman's feet she fell, 
 Nor less when, placed in princely selle, 
 She glanced on him with favouring eyes, 
 At Woodstocke when he won the prize. 
 Nor, fair in joy, in sorrow fair, 
 In pride of place as 'mid despair, 
 Must she alone engross his care. 
 His thoughts to his betrothed bride, 
 To Edith, turn — O how decide, 
 When here his ldVe and heart are given, 
 And there his faith stands plight to Heaven! 
 No drowsy ward 'tis his to keep, 
 For seldom lovers long for sleep. 
 Till sung his midnight hymn the owl, 
 Answer'd the dog-fox with his howl, 
 Then waked the King — at his request, 
 Lord Ronald stretch'd himself to rest. 
 
 I ' >: **V k#& i ;U 
 
Canto III. THE ISLES. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 What spell was good King Robert's, say. 
 
 To drive the weary night away? 
 
 His was the patriot's burning thought, 
 
 Of Freedom's battle bravely fought, 
 
 Of castles storm'd, of cities freed, 
 
 Of deep design and daring deed, 
 
 Of England's roses reft and torn, 
 
 And Scotland's cross in triumph worn, 
 
 Of rout and rally, war and truce, — 
 
 As heroes think, so thought the Bruce. 
 
 No marvel, 'mid such musings high, 
 
 Sleep shunn'd the monarch's thoughtful eye. 
 
 Now over Coolin's» eastern head 
 
 The greyish light begins to spread, 
 
 The otter to his cavern drew, 
 
 And clamour'd shrill the wakening mew; 
 
 Then watch'd the Page — to needful rest 
 
 The King resign'd his anxious breast. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 To Allan's eyes was harder task, 
 The weary watch their safeties ask. 
 He trimm'd the fire, and gave to shine 
 With bickering light the splinter'cf pine; 
 Then gazed awhile, where silent laid 
 Their hosts were shrouded by the plaid. 
 
 i But little fear waked in his mind, 
 For he was bred of martial kind, 
 And, if to manhood he arrive, 
 May match the boldest knight alive. 
 Then thought he of his mother's tower, 
 
 j His little sisters' green-wood bower, 
 
76 THE LORD OF Canto III. 
 
 How there the Easter-gambols pass, 
 And of Dan Joseph's lengthen'd mass. 
 But still before his weary eye 
 In rays prolonged the blazes die — 
 Again he roused him — on the lake 
 Look'd forth, where now the twilight-flake 
 Of pale cold dawn began to wake. 
 On Coolin's cliffs the mist lay furl'd, 
 The morning breeze the lake had curl'd, 
 The short dark waves, heaved to the land, 
 With ceaseless plash kiss'd cliff or sand; — 
 It was a slumVrous sound — he turn'd 
 To tales at which his youth had burn'd, 
 Of pilgrim's path by demon cross'd, 
 Of sprightly elf or yelling ghost, 
 Of the wild witch's baneful cot, 
 And mermaid's alabaster grot, 
 Who bathes her limbs in sunless well 
 
 Deep in Strathaird's enchanted cell. 
 
 Thither in fancy rapt he flies, 
 
 And on his sight the vaults arise; 
 
 That hut's dark walls he sees no more, 
 
 His foot is on the marble floor, 
 
 And o'er his head the dazzling spars 
 
 Gleam like a firmament of stars! 
 
 —Hark! hears he not the sea-nymph speak 
 
 Her anger in that thrilling shriek? — 
 
 No! all too late, with Allan's dream 
 
 Mingled the captive's warning scream! 
 
 As from the ground he strives to start, 
 
 A ruffian's dagger finds his heart! 
 
 Upward he casts his dizzy eyes, . . . 
 
 Murmur*-his master's name, , . , and dies! 
 
Canto III. THE ISLES. 77 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 Not so awoke the King! his hand 
 Snatch'd from the flame a knotted brand. 
 The nearest weapon of his wrath; 
 With this he eross'd the murderer's path, 
 
 And venged young Allan well! 
 The spatter'd brain and bubbling blood 
 Hiss'd on the haJf-extinguishM wood, 
 
 The miscreant gasp'd and fell! 
 Nor rose in peace the Island Lord; 
 One caitiff died upon his sword, 
 And one beneath his grasp lies prone, 
 In mortal grapple over-thrown. 
 But while Lord Ronald's dagger drank 
 The life-blood from his panting flank, 
 The Father-ruffian of the band 
 Behind him rears a coward hand! 
 
 — O for a moment's aid, 
 Till Bruce, who deals no double blow, 
 Dash to the earth another foe, 
 
 Above his comrade laid! — 
 And it is gained— the captive sprung 
 On the raised arm, and closely clung, 
 
 And, ere he shook him loose, 
 The master'd felon press'd the ground, 
 And gasp'd beneath a mortal wound, 
 
 While o'er him stands the Bruce. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 " Miscreant! while lasts thy flitting spark, 
 Give me to know the purpose dark, 
 That arm'd thy hand with murderous knifo 
 Against offenceless stranger's life?"— 
 
78 THE LORD OF Canto III. 
 
 u — No stranger thou!" with accent fell, 
 
 Murrnur'd the wretch; "I know thee well; 
 
 And know thee for the foeman sworn 
 
 Of my high chief, the mighty Lorn " — 
 
 <f — Speak yet again, and speak the truth 
 
 For thy soul's sake! — from whence this youth! 
 
 His country, birth, and name declare, 
 
 And thus one evil deed repair." — 
 
 — " Vex me no more! . . . my blood runs cold . . ■ 
 
 No more I know than I have told. 
 
 We found him in a bark we sought 
 
 With different purpose . . . and I thought". . . 
 
 Fate cut him short; in blood and broil, 
 
 As he had lived, died Cormac Doil. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Then resting on his bloody blade, 
 The valiant Bruce to Ronald said, 
 "Now shame upon us both! — that boy 
 
 Lifts his mute face to heaven, 
 And clasps his hands, to testify 
 His gratitude to God on high, 
 
 For strange deliverance given. 
 His speechless gesture thanks hath paid, 
 Which our free tongues have left unsaid!"— 
 He raised the youth with kindly word, 
 But mark'd him shudder at the sword; 
 He cleansed it from its hue of death, 
 And plunged the weapon in its sheath. 
 f< Alas, poor child! unfitting part 
 Fate doom'd, when with so soft a heart, 
 
 And form so slight as thine, 
 She made thee first a pirate's slave, 
 Then, in his stead, a patron gave 
 
 Of wayward lot like mine; 
 
Canto III. THE ISLES. 79 
 
 A landless prince, whose wandering life 
 Is but one scene of blood and strife — 
 Yet scant of friends the Bruce shall be, 
 But he'll find resting-place for thee.— 
 Come, noble Ronald! o'er the dead 
 Enough thy generous grief is paid, 
 And well has Allan's fate been wroke;— 
 Come, wend we hence — the day has broke, 
 Seek we our bark — I trust the tale 
 Was false, that she had hoisted sail."— 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Yet, ere they left that charnel-cell, 
 The Island Lord bade sad farewell 
 To Allan:— " Who shall tell this tale," 
 He said, " in hails of Donagaile! 
 Oh, who his widow'd mother tell, 
 That, ere his bloom, her fairest fell! — 
 Rest thee, poor youth! and trust my care, 
 For mass and knell and funeral prayer; 
 While o'er those caitiffs, where they lie, 
 The wolf shall snarl, the raven cry!" — 
 And now the eastern mountain's head 
 On the dark lake threw lustre red; 
 Bright gleams of gold and purple streak 
 Ravine and precipice and peak — 
 (So earthly power at distance shows; 
 Reveals his splendour, hides his woes.) • 
 O'er sheets of granite dark and broad, 
 Rent and unequal, lay the road. 
 In sad discourse the warriors wind, 
 And the mute Page moves slow behind, 
 
 m& OF CAETO THIRD, 
 
THE 
 
 LORD OF THE ISLES, 
 
 CANTO FOURTH, 
 
 D2 
 
THE 
 
 LORD OF THE ISLES. 
 
 CANTO FOURTH, 
 
 I. 
 
 STRANGER! ife'er thine ardent step hath traced 
 
 The northern realms of ancient Caledon, 
 Where the proud Queen of Wilderness hath 
 placed, 
 
 By lake and cataract, her lonely throne; 
 Sublime but sad delight thy soul hath known, 
 
 Gazing on pathless glen and mountain high, 
 Listing 'where from the cliffs the torrents thrown 
 
 Mingle their echoes with the eagle's cry, 
 And with the sounding lake, and with the moaning sky. 
 
 Yes! 'twas sublime, but sad. — The loneliness 
 
 Loaded thy heart, the desert tired thine eye; 
 And strange and awful fears began to press 
 
 Thy bosom with a stern solemnity. 
 Then hast thou wish'd some woodman's cottage 
 nigh, 
 Something that show'd of life, though low and 
 mean, 
 Glad sight, its curling wreath of smoke to spy, 
 
8 4 THE LORD OF Canta IV. 
 
 Glad sound, its cock's blithe carol would have 
 been, 
 Or children whooping wild beneath the willows green. 
 
 Such are the scenes, where savage grandeur wakes 
 
 An awful thrill that softens into sighs; 
 Such feelings rouse them by dim Rannoch's lakes, 
 
 In dark Glencoe such gloomy raptures rise: 
 Or farther, where, beneath the northern skies, 
 
 Chides wild Loch-Eribol his caverns hoar — 
 But, be the minstrel judge, they yield the prize 
 
 Of desert dignity to that dread shore, 
 That sees grim Coolin rise, and hears Corisken roar. 
 
 II. 
 
 Through such wild scenes the champions pass'd, 
 
 When bold halloo and bugle-blast 
 
 Upon the breeze came loud and fast. 
 
 " There,' 3 said the Bruce, " blew Edward's horn! 
 
 What can have caused such brief return? 
 
 And see, brave Ronald,— see him dart 
 
 O'er stock and stone like hunted hart, 
 
 Precipitate, as is the use, 
 
 In war or sport, of Edward Bruce. 
 
 — He marks us, and his eager cry 
 
 Will tell his news ere he be nigh." — 
 
 III. 
 
 Loud Edward shouts, " What make ye here, 
 Warring upon the mountain deer, 
 
 When Scotland wants her King? 
 A bark from Lennox cross'd our track, 
 With her in speed I hurried back, 
 
 These joyful news to bring*— 
 
Canto IV. THE ISLES. 85 
 
 The Stuart stirs in Teviotdale, 
 
 And Douglas wakes his native vale, 
 
 Thy storm-toss'd fleet hath won its way 
 
 With little loss to Brodick-Bay, 
 
 And Lennox, with a gailant bund, 
 
 Waits but thy corning and command 
 
 To waft them o'er to Carrick strand. 
 
 There are blithe news! — but mark the close! 
 
 Ed ward, the deadliest of our foes, 
 
 As with his host he northward pass'd, 
 
 Hath on the Borders breathed his last. 3 ' — 
 
 IV. 
 
 Still stood the Bruce — his steady cheek 
 Was little wont his joy to speak, 
 
 But then his colour rose: 
 " Now, Scotland! shortly shaft thou see, 
 With God's high will, thy children free, 
 
 And vengeance on thy foes! 
 Yet to no sense of selfish wrongs, 
 Bear witness with me Heaven, belongs 
 
 My joy o'er Edward's bier; 
 I took my knighthood at his hand, 
 And lordship held of him, and land, 
 
 And well may vouch it here, 
 That, blot the story from his page, 
 Of Scotland ruin'd in his rage, 
 You read a monarch brave and sage, 
 
 And to his people dear." — 
 "Let London's burghers mourn her Lord, 
 And Croydon monks his praise record," 
 
 The eager Edward said; 
 " Eternal as his own, my hate 
 Surmounts the bounds of mortal fate, 
 
 And dies not with the dead! r 
 
S 6 THE LORD OP Canto IV. 
 
 Such hate was his on Sol way's strand, 
 When vengeance elench'd his palsied hand, 
 That pointed yet to Scotland's land, 
 
 As his last accents pray'd 
 Disgrace and curse upon his heir, 
 If he one Scottish head should spare, 
 Till stretch'd upon the bloody lair 
 
 Each rebel corpse was laid! 
 Such hate was his, when his last breath 
 Renounced the peaceful house of death, 
 And bade his bones to Scotland's coast 
 Be borne by his remorseless host, 
 As if his dead and stony eye 
 Could still enjoy her misery! 
 Such hate was his, — dark, deadly, long; 
 Mine, — as enduring, deep, and strong!"— 
 
 V. 
 
 u Let women, Edward, war with words, 
 
 With curses monks, but men with swords: 
 
 Nor doubt of living foes, to sate 
 
 Deepest revenge and deadliest hate. 
 
 Now, to the sea! behold the beach, 
 
 And see the galleys' pendants stretch 
 
 Their fluttering length down favouring gale! 
 
 Aboard, aboard! and hoist the sail. 
 
 Hold we our way for Arran first, 
 
 Where meet in arms our friends dispersed; 
 
 Lennox the loyal, De la Haye, 
 
 And Boyd the bold in battle fray. 
 
 I long the hardy band to head, 
 
 And see once more my standard spread. — « 
 
 Does noble Ronald share our course, 
 
 Or stay to raise his island force?"— 
 
o IV. THE ISLES. 
 
 ''Come weal, come woe, by Bruee's side,' 5 
 Replied the Chief, " will Ronald bide. 
 And since t«o galleys yonder ride, 
 Be mine, so please my liege, dismiss'd 
 To wake to arms the clans of Uist, 
 And all who hear the Minehes roar, 
 On the Long Island's lonely shore. 
 The nearer Isles, with slight delay, 
 Ourselves may summon in our way; 
 And soon on Arran's shore shall meet. 
 With Torquii's aid, a gallant fleet, 
 If aught, avails their Chieftain'* s hest 
 Among the islesmen of the west.'* — 
 
 VL 
 
 Thus was their venturous council said. 
 
 But, ere their sails the galleys spread, 
 
 Coriskin dark and Coolin high 
 
 Echoed the dirge's doleful cry; 
 
 Along that sable lake pass'M slow, — 
 
 Fit scene for such a sight of woe, — 
 
 The sorrowing islesmen, as they bore 
 The murder* d Allan to the shore. 
 At every pause, with dismal shout, 
 Their coronach of grief rung out. 
 And ever, when they moved again* 
 The pipes resumed their clamorous strain, 
 And, with the pibroch's shrilling wail, 
 Mourn'd the young heir of Donagaile. 
 Round and around, from cliff and cave, 
 His answer stern old Ccolin gave, 
 Till high upon his misty side 
 
 nguish'd the mournful notes, and died. 
 
38 THE LORD OF Canto IV. 
 
 For never sounds, by mortal made, 
 AttainM his high and haggard head, 
 That echoes but the tempest's moan, 
 Or the deep thunder's rending groan. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Merrily, merrily, bounds the bark, 
 
 She bounds before the gale, 
 The mountain breeze from Ben-na-darch 
 
 Is joyous in her sail! 
 With fluttering sound like laughter noarse, 
 
 The cords and canvass strain, 
 The waves, divided by her force, 
 In rippling eddies chased her course, 
 
 As if they laugh'd again. 
 Not down the breeze more blithely flew, 
 Skimming the wave, the light sea-mew, 
 
 Than that gay galley bore 
 Her course upon that favouring wind, 
 And Coolin's crest has sunk behind, 
 
 And Siapin's cavern'd shore. 
 'Twas then that warlike signals wake 
 Dunscaith's dark towers and Eisord's lake, 
 And soon from Cavilgarrigh's head, 
 Th ck wreaths of eddying smoke were spread; 
 A summons these of war and wrath, 
 To the brave clans of Sleat and Strath, 
 
 And, ready at the sight, 
 Each warrior to his weapons sprung, 
 And targe upon his shoulder flung, 
 
 Impatient for the fight. 
 Mac-Kinnon ? s chief, in warfare grey, 
 Had charge to muster their array, 
 And guide their barks to Brodick-Bay 
 
 
Canto IV. THE ISLES. S9 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Signal of Ronald's high command, 
 
 A beacon gleam'd o'er sea and land, 
 
 From Canna's tower, that, steep and grey, 
 
 Like falcon -nest o'erhangs the bay. 
 
 Seek not the giddy crag to climb, 
 
 To view the turret scathed by time; 
 
 It is a task of doubt and fear 
 
 To aught but goat or mountain -deer. 
 
 But rest thee on the silver beach, 
 
 And let the aged herdsman teach 
 His tale of former day; 
 
 His cur's wild clamour he shall chide, 
 
 And for thy seat by ocean's side, 
 His varied plaid display; 
 
 Then tell, with Canna's Chieftain came, 
 
 In ancient times, a foreign dame 
 To yonder turret grey. 
 Stern was her Lord's suspicious mind, 
 "Who in so rude a jail confined 
 
 So soft and fair a thrall! 
 And oft when moon on ocean slept, 
 That lovely lady sate and wept 
 
 Upon the castle-wall, 
 And turn'd her eye to southern climes, 
 And thought perchance of happier times, 
 And touch'd her. lute by fits, and sung 
 Wild ditties in her native tongue. 
 And still, when on the cliff and bay 
 Placid and pale the moonbeams play, 
 
 And every breeze is mute, 
 Upon the lone Hebridean's ear 
 Steals a strange pleasure mix'd with fear* 
 
90 THE LORD OF Canto IV. 
 
 While from that cliff he seems to hear 
 
 The murmur of a lute, 
 And sounds, as of a captive lone, 
 That mourns her woes in tongue unknown.— 
 Strange is the tale — but all too long 
 Already hath it staid the song — 
 
 Yet who may pass them by, 
 That crag and tower in ruins grey, 
 Nor to their hapless tenant pay 
 
 The tribute of a sigh! 
 
 IX. 
 
 Merrily, merrily, bounds the bark 
 
 O'er the broad ocean driven, 
 Her path by Ronin's mountains dark 
 
 The steersman's hand has given. 
 And Ronin's mountains dark have sent 
 
 Their hunters to the shore, 
 And each his ashen bow unbent, 
 
 And gave his pastime o'er, 
 And at the Island Lord's command, 
 Tor hunting spear took warrior's brand. 
 On Scooreigg next a warning light 
 Summon' d her warriors to the light; 
 A numerous race, ere stern Macleod 
 O'er their bleak shores in vengeance strode, 
 When all in vain the ocean cave 
 Its refuge to his victims gave. 
 The Chief, relentless in his wrath, 
 With blazing heath blockades the path; 
 In dense and stifling volumes roll'd, 
 The vapour fill'd the cavern'd Hold! 
 The warrior-threat, the infant's plain* 
 The mother's screams, were heard in vain; 
 
Canto IV. THE ISLES. g \ 
 
 The vengeful Chief maintains his fires, 
 Till in the vault a tribe expires! 
 The bones which strew that cavern's gloom, 
 Too well attest their dismal doom, 
 
 X. 
 
 Merrily, merrily, goes the hark 
 
 On a breeze from the northward free, 
 So shoots through the morning sky the lark, 
 
 Or the swan through the summer sea. 
 The shores of Muil on the eastward lay, 
 And Ulva dark and Colonsay, 
 And all the group of islets gay 
 
 That guard famed Staffa round. 
 Then all unknown its columns rose, 
 Where dark and undisturb'd repose 
 
 The cormorant had found, 
 And the shy seal had quiet home, 
 And welter'd in that wond'rous dome, 
 Where, as to shame the temples deek'd 
 By skill of earthly architect, 
 Nature herself, it seera'd, would raise 
 A Minster to her Maker's praise! 
 Not for a meaner use ascend 
 Her columns, or her arches bend; 
 Nor of a theme less solemn tells 
 That mighty surge that ebbs and swells, 
 And still, between each awful pause, 
 From the high vault an answer draws, 
 In varied tone prolong'd and high, 
 That mocks the organ's melody, 
 Nor doth its entrance front in vain 
 To old Iona's holy fane, m 
 
9 2 THE LORD OF Canto IV. 
 
 That Nature's voice might seem to say, 
 " Well hast thou done, frail child of clay! 
 Thy humble powers that stately shrine 
 Task'd high and hard — but witness mine!" — 
 
 XL 
 
 Merrily, merrily, goes the bark, 
 
 Before the gale she bounds; 
 So darts the dolphin from the shark, 
 
 Or the deer before the hounds. 
 They left Loch-Tua on their lee, 
 And they waken'd the men of the wild Tirce, 
 
 And the chief of the sandy Coll; 
 They paused not at Columba's isle, 
 Though peal'd the bells from the holy pile 
 
 With long and measured toll; 
 No time for matin or for mass, 
 And the sounds of the holy summons pass 
 
 Away in the billows 3 roll. 
 Lochbuie's fierce and warlike Lord 
 Their signal saw, and grasp' d his sword, 
 And verdant Hay call'd her host, 
 And the clans of Jura's rugged coast 
 
 Lord Ronald's call obey, 
 And Scarba's isle, whose tortured shore 
 Still rings to Corrievreken's roar, 
 
 And lonely Colon say; 
 —Scenes sung by him who sings no more! 
 His bright and brief career is o'er, 
 
 And mute his tuneful strains; 
 Quench'd is his lamp of varied lore, 
 That loved the light of song to pour; 
 A distant and a deadly shore 
 
 Has Leyden's cold remains! 
 
€antoIV. THE ISLES. 93 
 
 XII. 
 
 Ever the breeze blows merrily, 
 But the galley ploughs no more the sea. 
 Lest, rounding wild Cantire, they meet 
 The southern foe men's watchful fleet, 
 
 They held unwonted way; — 
 Up Tarbat's western lake they bore, 
 Then draggM their bark the isthmus o'er, 
 As far as Kiimaconnel's shore, 
 
 Upon the eastern bay. 
 It was a wond'rous sight to see 
 Topmast and pennon glitter free, 
 High raised above the greenwood tree, 
 As on dry land the galley moves, 
 By cliff and copse and alder groves. 
 Deep import from that selcouth sign, 
 Did many a mountain Seer divine, 
 For ancient legends told the Gael, 
 That when a royal bark should sail 
 
 O'er Kilmaconnel mOss, 
 Old Albyn should in fight prevail, 
 And every foe should faint and quail 
 
 Before her silver Cross. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Now launch'd once more, the inland sea 
 They furrow with fair augury, 
 
 And steer for Arran's isle; 
 The sun, ere yet he sunk behind 
 Ben-ghoil, " the Mountain of the Wind/ 5 
 Gave his grim peaks a greeting kind, 
 
 And bade Loeh-Ranza smile. 
 
 ! 
 
94 THE LORD OP Canto IV. 
 
 Thither their destined course they drew; 
 It seem'd the isle her monarch knew, 
 So brilliant was the landward view, 
 
 The ocean so serene; 
 Each puny wave in diamonds rollM 
 O'er the calm deep, where hues of gold 
 
 With azure strove and green. 
 The hill, the vale, the tree, the tower, 
 Glow'd with the tints of evening's hour, 
 
 The beach was silver sheen, 
 The wind breathed soft as lover's sigh, 
 And, oftrenew'd, seeni'd oft to die, 
 
 With breathless pause between. 
 O who, with speech of war and woes, 
 Would wish to break the soft repose 
 
 Of such enchanting scene! 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Is it of war Lord Ronald speaks? 
 
 The blush that dyes his manly cheeks, 
 
 The timid look, and down -cast eye, 
 
 And faultering voice, the theme deny. 
 And good King Robert's brow express'd, 
 He ponder'd o'er some high request, 
 
 As doubtful to approve; 
 Yet in his eye and lip the while 
 Dwelt the half-pitying glance and smile, 
 Which manhood's graver mood beguile, 
 When lovers talk of love. 
 
 Anxious his suit Lord Ronald pled; 
 
 . — " And for my bride betrothed," he said, 
 
 " My Liege has heard the rumour spread 
 
 Of Edith from Artornish fled. 
 

 Canto IV. THE ISLES. 95 
 
 Too hard her fate — I claim no right 
 To blame her for her hasty flight, 
 Be joy and happiness her lot! — 
 But she hath fled the bridal-knot, 
 And Lorn recall'd his promise plight, 
 In the assembled Chieftains' sight. — 
 
 When, to fulfil our father's band, 
 
 I proffer'd all I could — my hand— 
 I was repulsed with scorn; 
 
 Mine honour I should in assert, 
 
 And worse the feelings of my heart, 
 
 If I should play a suitor's part 
 Again, to pleasure Lorn."— 
 
 XV. 
 
 " Young Lord," the royal Bruce replied, 
 " That question must the Church decide; 
 Yet seems it hard, since rumours state 
 Edith takes Clifford for her mate, 
 The very tie, which she hath broke, 
 To thee should still be binding yoke. 
 But, for my sister Isabel — 
 The mood of woman who can tell? 
 I guess the Champion of the Rock, 
 Victorious in the tour nay shock, 
 That knight unknown, to whom the prize 
 She dealt, — had favour in her eyes; 
 But since our brother Nigel's fate, 
 Our ruin'd house and hapless state, 
 From worldly joy and hope estranged, 
 Much is the hapless mourner changed. 
 Perchance,' 9 here smiled the noble King, 
 "This tale may other musings bring. 
 
 < 
 
I 
 
 9 6 THE LORD OF Canto IV. 
 
 Soon shall we know — yon mountains hide 
 The little convent of Saint Bride; 
 There, sent by Edward, she mist stay, 
 Till fate shall give more prosperous day; 
 And thither will I bear thy suit, 
 Nor will thine advocate be mute." — 
 
 XVI. 
 
 As thus they talk'd in earnest mood, 
 
 That speechless boy beside them stood. 
 
 He stoop' d his head against the mast, 
 
 And bitter sobs came thick and fast, 
 
 A grief that would not be repress'd, 
 
 But seem'd to burst his youthful breast. 
 
 His hands, against his forehead held, 
 
 As if by force his tears repell'd, 
 
 But through his fingers, long and slight, 
 
 Fast trill'd the drops of crystal bright. 
 
 Edward, who walk'd the deck apart, 
 
 First spied this conflict of the heart. 
 
 Thoughtless as brave, with bluntness kind 
 
 He sought to cheer the sorrower's mind; 
 
 By force the slender hand he drew 
 
 From those poor eyes that stream'd with dew. 
 
 As in his hold the stripling strove, — 
 
 ('Tvvas a rough grasp, though meant in love,) 
 
 Away his tears the warrior swept, 
 
 And bade shame on him that he wept. 
 
 " I would to heaven, thy helpless tongue 
 
 Could tell me who hath wrought thee wrong! 
 
 For, were he of our crew the best, 
 
 The insult went not unredress'd. 
 
 Come, cheer thee; thou art now of age 
 
 To be a warrior's gallant page; 
 
eantoIV. THE ISLES. $7 
 
 Thou shalt be mine! — a palfrey fair 
 O'er hill and holt my boy shall bear, 
 To hold my bow in hunting grove, 
 Or speed on errand to my love; 
 For well I wot thou wilt not tell 
 The temple where my wishes dwell/' — 
 
 XVIL 
 
 Bruce interposed, — (i Gay Edward, no, 
 
 This is no youth to hold thy bow, 
 
 To fill thy goblet, or to bear 
 
 Thy message light to lighter fair. 
 
 Thou art a patron all too wild 
 
 And thoughtless, for this orphan child. 
 
 See'st thou not how apart he steals, 
 
 Keeps lone!) couch, and lonely meals? 
 
 Fitter by far in yon calm cell 
 
 To tend our sister Isabel, 
 
 With father Augustine to share 
 
 The peaceful change of convent prayer, 
 
 Than wander wild adventures through, 
 
 With such a reckless guide as you." — 
 
 i( Thanks, brother!" Edward answer' d gay, 
 
 u For the high laud thy words convey! 
 
 But we may learn some future day, 
 
 If thou or I can this poor boy 
 
 Protect the best, or best employ. 
 
 Meanwhile, our vessel nears the strand; 
 
 Lahch we the boat, and seek the land."— 
 
 XV11I. 
 
 "To land King Robert lightly sprung, 
 And thrice aloud his bugle run^ 
 
98 THE LOTTO OF Canto IV. 
 
 With note prolongM and varied strain, 
 
 Till bold Ben-ghoil replied again. 
 
 Good Douglas then, and De la Haye, 
 
 Had in a glen a hart at bay, 
 
 And Lennox cheer'd the laggard hounds, 
 
 When waked that horn the green -wood bounds. 
 
 <( It is the foe!" cried Boyd, who came 
 
 In breathless haste with eye on flame, — 
 
 u It is the foe! — Each valiant lord 
 
 .Fling by his bow, and grasp his sword!"—- - 
 
 <c Not so," replied the good Lord James, 
 
 ** That blast no English bugle claims. 
 
 Oft I have heard it fire the fight, 
 
 Cheer the pursuit, or stop the flight. 
 
 Dead were my heart, and deaf mine ear, 
 
 If Bruce should call, nor Douglas hear! 
 
 Each to Loch-Ranza's margin spring; 
 
 That blast was winded by the King!'* — 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Fast to their mates the tidings spread, 
 And fast to shore the warriors sped. 
 Bursting from t,ien and green-wood tree> 
 High waked their loyal jubilee! 
 Around the royal Bruce they crowd, 
 And clasp'd his hands, and wept aloud. 
 Veterans of early fields were there, 
 Whose helmets press' d their hoary hairy 
 Whose swords and axes bore a stain 
 From life-blood of the red-hair'd Dane; 
 And boys, whose hands scarce brook'd to wieM 
 The heavy sword or bossy shield. 
 
Canto IV, THE ISLES. 9S 
 
 Men too were there, that bore the scars 
 Impress'd in Albyn's woeful wars, 
 At Falkirk's fierce and fatal fight, • 
 
 Teyndrum's dread rout and Methven's flight; 
 The might of Douglas there was seen, 
 There Lennox with his graceful mien; 
 Kirkpatrick, Closeburn's dreaded Knight; 
 The Lindsay, fiery, fierce, and light; 
 The Heir of murder d De la Have, 
 And Boyd the grave, and Seton gay. 
 Around their King regain'd they press'd, 
 Wept, shouted, elasp'd him to their breast^ 
 And \oung and old, and serf and lord, 
 And he who ne'er unsheath'd a sword, 
 And he in many a peril tried, 
 Alike resolved the brunt to bide, 
 And live or die by Bruce 's side! 
 
 XX. 
 
 Oh, War! thou hast thy fierce delight. 
 Thy gleams of joy, intensely bright! 
 Such gleams, as from thy polish VI shield 
 Fly dazzling o'er thy battle-field! 
 Such transports wake, severe and high, 
 Amid the pealing conquest cry; 
 Scarce less, when, after battle lost, 
 Muster the remnants of a host, 
 And as each comrade's name they telly 
 Who in the well-fought conflict fell, 
 Knitting stern brow o'er flashing eye, 
 Vow to avenge them or to die!— 
 Warriors! — and where are warriors fouiHTy 
 If not ou martial Britain's ground? 
 
 t 
 
100 THE LORD OF Canto IV. 
 
 And who, when waked with note of fire, 
 Love more than they the British lyre? — 
 Know ye not, — hearts to honour dear! 
 That joy, deep-thrilling, stern, severe, 
 At which the heart-strings vibrate high. 
 And wake the fountains of the eye? 
 And blame ye, then, the Bruce, if trace 
 Of tear is ou his manly face, 
 When, scanty reliques of the train 
 That hail'd at Scone his early reign, 
 This patriot band around him lu.ng, 
 And to his knees and bosom clung? — 
 Blame ye the Bruce? — his brother blamed, 
 But shared the weakness, while ashamed. 
 With haughty laugh his head he turn'd, 
 And dash'd away the tear he scorn'd. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 'Tis morning, and the Convent bell 
 Long time had ceased its matin knell, 
 
 Within thy walls, Saint Bride! 
 An aged Sister sought the cell 
 Assign' d to Lady Isabel, 
 
 And hurriedly she cried, 
 u Haste, gentle Lady, haste — there waits 
 A noble stranger at the gates; 
 Saint Bride's poor vot'ress ne'er has seen 
 A knight of such a princely mien; 
 His errand, as he bade me tell, 
 Is with the Lady Isabel." — 
 The princess rose, — for on her kne« 
 Low bent she told her rosary, — 
 
Canto IV. THE ISLES. 101 
 
 " Let him by thee his purpose teach; 
 I may not give a stranger speech." — 
 " Saint Bride forefend, thou royal Maid!" 
 The portress eross'd herself, and said, — 
 •* Not to be prioress might I 
 Debate his will, his suit deny." — 
 ** Has earthly show then, simple fool, 
 Power o'er a sister of thy rule, 
 And art thou like the worldly train, 
 Subdued by splendours light and vain?"— 
 
 XXII. 
 
 " No, Lady! in old eyes like mine, 
 Gauds have no glitter, gems no shine; 
 Nor grace his rank attendants vain, 
 One youthful page is all his train. 
 It is the form, the eye, the word, 
 The bearing of that stranger Lord; 
 His stature, manly, bold, and tall, 
 Built like a castle's battled wall, 
 Yet moulded in such just degrees, 
 His giant-strength seems lightsome ease. 
 Close as the tendrils of the vine 
 His locks upon his forehead twine, 
 Jet-black, save where some touch of gray 
 Has ta'en the youthful hue away. 
 "Weather and war their rougher trace 
 Have left on that majestic face;— 
 But 'tis his dignity of eye! 
 There, if a suppliant, would I fly, 
 Secure, 'mid danger, wrongs, and griefs 
 Of sympathy, redress, relief— 
 
102 THE LORD OF Canto IV, 
 
 That glance, if guilty, wouF I dread 
 
 More than the doom that spoke me dead!"— 
 
 "Enough, enough/' the princess cried, 
 
 'Tis Scotland's hope, her joy, her pride! 
 
 To meaner front was ne'er assign'd 
 
 Such mastery o'er the common mind — ■ 
 
 Bestow'd thy high designs to aid, 
 
 How long, O Heaven! how long delay'd!— 
 
 Haste, Wona, haste, to introduce 
 
 My darling brother, royal Bruce!" — 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 They met like friends who part in pain, 
 And meet in doubtful hope again. 
 But when subdued that fitful swell, 
 The Bruce survey'd the humble cell;-— 
 u And this is thine, poor Isabel, — 
 That pallet-couch, and naked wall, 
 For room of state, and bed of pall; 
 For costly robes and jewels rare, 
 A string of beads and zone of hair; 
 And for the trumpet's sprightly call 
 To sport or banquet, grove or hall, 
 The bell's griui voice divides thy care, 
 'Twixt hours of penitence and prayer!— 
 O ill for thee, my royal claim 
 From the First David's s in ted name! 
 O wo for thee, that while he sought 
 His right, thy brother feebly fought!"— 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 4 * Now lay these vain regrets aside, 
 And he the unshaken Bruce!" she cried. 
 
Canto IV. THE ISLES. 103 
 
 " For more I glory to have shared 
 The woes thy venturous fpirit dared, 
 When raising first thy valiant band 
 In rescue of thy native land. 
 Than had fair Fortune set me down 
 The partner of an empire's crown. 
 And grieve not that on Pleasure's stream 
 No more I dri-ve m giddy dream, 
 For Heaven the erring pilot knew, 
 And from the gulf the vessel drew, 
 Tried me with judgments stern and great 
 My house's ruin, thy defeat, 
 Poor Nigel's death, till, tamed, I own, 
 My hopes are fix'd on Heaven alone; 
 Nor e'er shall earthly prospects win 
 My heart to this vain world of sin."— 
 
 XXV. 
 
 u Nay, Isabel, for such stern choice. 
 First wilt thou wait thy brother's voice; 
 Then ponder if in convent scene 
 No softer thoughts might intervene — 
 Say they were of that unknown Knight, 
 Victor in Woodstock's tourney -fight— 
 Nay if his name such blush you owe. 
 Victorious o'er a fairer foe!"— 
 Truly his penetrating eye 
 Hath caught that blushes passing dye, — 
 Like the last beam of evening thrown 
 On a white cloud, — just seen and gone. 
 Soon with calm cheek and steady eye, 
 The princess made composed reply:-*- 
 
MM THE LORD OP Canto IV. 
 
 " I guess my brother's meaning well; 
 
 For not so silent is the cell ,* 
 
 But we have heard the islesmen all 
 
 Arm in thy cause at Ronald's call, 
 
 And mine eye proves that Knight unknown 
 
 And the brave Island Lord are one. — 
 
 Had then his suit been earlier made, 
 
 In his own name, with thee to aid, 
 
 (But that his plighted faith forbade) 
 
 1 know not But thy page so near?— 
 
 This is no tale for menial's ear."— 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Still stood that Page, as far apart 
 
 As the small cell would space afford; 
 
 With dizzy eye and bursting heart, 
 He leant his weight on Bruee's sword, 
 
 The monarch's mantle too he bore, 
 
 And drew the fold his visage o'er. 
 
 ** Fear not for him — in murderous strife," 
 
 Said Bruce, " his warning saved my life; 
 
 Full seldom parts he from my side; 
 
 And in his silence I confide, 
 
 Since he can tell no tale again. — 
 
 He is a boy of gentle strain, 
 
 And I have purposed he shall dwell 
 
 In Augustine the chaplain's cell, 
 
 And wait on thee, my Isabel. — 
 
 Mind not his tears; I've seen them flow* 
 
 As in the thaw dissolves the snow. 
 
 'Tis a kind youth, but fanciful, 
 
 Unfit against the tide to pull a 
 
Canto IV. THE ISLES. 105 
 
 And those that with the Burce would sail, 
 Must learn to strive with stream and gale.—* 
 But forward, gentle Isabel — 
 My answer for Lord Ronald tell.* 5 — 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 " This answer be to Ronald given-— 
 The heart he asks is fix'd on heaven. 
 My love was like a summer flower, 
 That wither'd in the wintry hour, 
 Born but of vanity and pride, 
 And with these sunny visions died. 
 If further press his suit — then say, 
 He should his plighted tro.th obey, 
 Troth plighted both with ring and word, 
 And sworn on crucifix and sword. — 
 Oh, shame thee, Robert! I have seen 
 Thou hast a woman's guardian been! 
 Even in extremity's dread hour, 
 When press'd on thee the Southern power, 
 And safety, to all human sight, 
 Was only found in rapid flight, 
 Thouheard'st a wretched female plain 
 In agony of travail pain, 
 And thou didst bid thy little band 
 Upon the instant turn and stand, 
 And dare the worst the foe might do, 
 Rather than, like a knight untrue, 
 Leave to pursuers merciless 
 A woman in her last distress. — 
 And wilt thou now deny thine aid 
 To an oppress'd and injured maid, 
 E 2 
 
106 THE LORD OP Canto IV. 
 
 Even plead for Ronald's perfidy, 
 And press his fickle faith on me? — 
 So witness Heaven, as true I vow, 
 Had I those earthly feelings now, 
 Which could my former bosom move 
 Ere taught to set its hopes above, 
 I'd spurn each proffer he could bring; 
 Till at my feet he laid the ring. 
 The ring and spousal contract both, 
 And fair acquittal of his oath, 
 By her who brooks his perjured scorn. 
 The ill-requited maid of Lorn!" — 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 With sudden impulse forward sprung 
 The Page, and on her neck he hung; 
 Then, recollected instantly, 
 His head he stoop'd, and bent his knee, 
 Kiss'd twice the hand of Isabel, 
 Arose, and sudden left the cell — 
 The princess, loosen'd from his hold, 
 Blush'd angry from his bearing bold; 
 
 But good King Robert cried, 
 "Chafe not — by signs he speaks his mind, 
 He heard the plan my care design'd. 
 Nor could his transports hide. — 
 But, sister, now bethink thee well; 
 No easy choice the convent cell; 
 Trust, I shall play no tyrant part, 
 Either to force thy hand or heart, 
 Or suffer that Lord Ronald scorn, 
 Or wrong for thee, the Maid of Lore, 
 
fknto IV. THE ISLES. 107 
 
 But think, — not long the time has been, 
 That thou wert wont to sigh unseen, 
 And would'st the ditties best approve, 
 That told some lay of hapless love. 
 Now are thy wishes in thy power, 
 And thou art bent on cloister bower! 
 O! if our Edward knew the change, 
 How would his busy satire range, 
 With many a sarcasm varied still 
 On woman's wish, and woman's will!"«^- 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 " Brother, I well believe," she said, 
 
 " Even so would Edward's part be played. 
 
 Kindly in heart, in word severe, 
 
 A foe to thought, and grief, and fear, 
 
 He holds his humour uncontroll'd; 
 
 But thou art of another mould. 
 
 Say then to Ronald, as I say, 
 
 Unless before my feet he lay 
 
 The ring which bound the faith he swore, 
 
 By Edith freely yielded o'er, 
 
 He moves his suit to me no more. 
 
 Nor do I promise, even if now 
 
 He stood absolved of spousal vow, 
 
 That I would change my purpose made, 
 
 To shelter me in holy shade.— 
 
 Brother, for little space, farewell! 
 
 To other duties warns the bell."— 
 
 XXX. 
 
 H Lost to the world," King Robert said', 
 When he had left the royal maid, 
 
108 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. Canto IV. 
 
 " Lost to the world by lot severe, 
 
 O what a gem lies buried here, 
 
 Nipp'd by misfortune's cruel frost, 
 
 The buds of fair affection lost! — 
 
 But what have I with love to do? 
 
 Far sterner cares my lot pursue. 
 
 —Pent in this isle we may not lie, 
 
 Nor would it long our wants supply. 
 
 Right opposite, the mainland towers 
 
 Of my own Turnberry court our powers— 
 
 — Might not my father's beadsman hoar, 
 
 Cuthbert, who dwells upon the shore, 
 
 Kindle a signal-flame, to show 
 
 The time propitious for the blow? — 
 
 It shall be so— some friend shall bear 
 
 Our mandate with despatch and care; 
 
 Edward shall find the messenger. 
 
 That fortress ours, the island fleet 
 
 May on the coast of Carrick meet.— 
 
 O Scotland! shall it e'er be mine 
 
 To wreak thy wrongs in battle-line, 
 
 To raise my victor head, and see 
 
 Thy hills, thy dales, thy people free, — 
 
 That glance of bliss is all I crave, 
 
 Betwixt my labours and my grave!"— 
 
 Then down the hill he slowly went, 
 
 Oft pausing on the steep descent, 
 
 And reach'd the spot where his bold train 
 
 Held rustic camp upon the plain. 
 
 END OF CANTO FOURTH, 
 

 m 
 
 LORD OF THE ISLES 
 
 r\N! 
 

 HMM 
 
THE, 
 
 LORD OF THE ISLES. 
 
 CANTO FIFTH. 
 
 \JN fair Loch-Ranza stream'd the early day, 
 
 Thin wreaths of cottage-smoke are upward curl'd 
 From the lone hamlet, which her inland bay 
 
 And circling mountains sever from the world. 
 And there the fisherman his sail unfurl'd, 
 
 The goat-herd drove his kids to steep Ben-Ghoil, 
 Before the hut the dame her spindle twirl'd, 
 
 Courting the sun-beam as she plied her toil,— 
 For, wake where'er he may, Man wakes to care and 
 
 coil. 
 
 But other duties called each convent maid, 
 
 Roused by the summons of the moss-grown bell; 
 Sung were the matins and the mass was said, 
 
 And every sister sought her separate cell, 
 Such was the rule, her rosary to tell. 
 
 And Isabel has knelt in lonely prayer; 
 The sun -beam, through the narrow lattice, fell 
 
 Upon the snowy neck and long dark hair, 
 As stoop'd her gentle head in meek devotion there* 
 
112 THE LORD OF Canto V. 
 
 II. 
 
 She raised her eyes, that fluty done, 
 "When glanced upon the pavement stone, 
 Geram'd and enchased, a golden ring, 
 Bound to a scroll with silken string, 
 With few brief words inscribed to tell, 
 " This for the Lady Isabel." 
 Within, the writing farther bore, — 
 "'Twas with th s ring his plight he swore, 
 With this his promise I restore; 
 To her who can the heart command, 
 Well may I yield the plighted hand. 
 And O! for better fortune born, 
 Grudge not a passing sigh to mourn 
 Her who was Edith once of Lorn!" — 
 One single 6ash of glad surprise 
 Just glanced from Isabel's dark eyes, 
 But vanish' d in the blush of shame, 
 That, as its penance, instant came. 
 " O thought unworthy of my race! 
 Selfish, ungenerous, mean, and base, 
 A moment's tjirob of joy to own, 
 That rose upon her hopes o'erthrown!— - • 
 Thou pledge of vows too well believed, 
 Of man ingrate and maid deceived, 
 Think not thy lustre here shall gain 
 Another heart to hope in vain! 
 For thou shalt rest, thou tempting gaud, 
 Where worldly thoughts are overawed, 
 And worldly splendours sink debased." — 
 Then by the cross the ring she placed. 
 
Canto V. THE ISLES. lie 
 
 III. 
 
 Next rose the thought, — its owner far, 
 How came it here through bolt and bar?— 
 But the dim lattice is a-jar — 
 She looks abroad — the morning dew 
 A light short step had brush'd anew, 
 
 And there were foot prints seen 
 On the carved buttress rising still, 
 Till on the mossy window-sill 
 
 Their track effaced the green, 
 The ivy twigs were torn and fray'd, 
 As if some climber's steps to aid.— 
 But who the hardy messenger, 
 Whose venturous path these signs infer?— 
 *' Strange doubts are mine! — Mona, draw nigh, 
 •r-Nought 'scapes old Mona's curious eye— 
 What strangers, gentle mother, say, 
 Have sought these holy walls to-day?"— • 
 " None, Lady, none of note or name; 
 Only your brother's foot-page came, 
 At peep of dawn — I pray'd him pass 
 To chapel where they said the mass; 
 But like an arrow he shot by, 
 And tears seem'd bursting from his eye."— • 
 
 TV. 
 
 The truth at once on Isabel, 
 
 As darted by a sun -beam, fell. — 
 
 " 'Tis Edith's self! — her speechless wo, 
 
 Her form, her looks, the secret show! 
 
 —Instant, good Mona, to the bay, 
 
 And to my royal brother say, 
 
114 THE LORD OF Canto V. 
 
 I do conjure him seek my cell, 
 
 With that mute page he loves so well."— 
 
 " What! know'st thou not his warlike host 
 
 At break of clay has left our coast? 
 
 My old ejes saw them from the tower. 
 
 At eve they couch'd in green -wood bower, 
 
 At dawn a bugle-signal, made 
 
 By their bold Lord, their ranks array'd; 
 
 Up sprung the spears through bush and tree*, 
 
 No time for benedicite! 
 
 Like deer, that, rousing from their lair, 
 
 Just shake the dew-drops from their hair, 
 
 And toss their armed crests aloft, 
 
 Such matins theirs!" — "Good mother, soft— 
 
 Where does my brother bend his way?"— 
 
 " As 1 have heard, for Brodick-Bay, 
 
 Across the isle — of barks a score 
 
 Lie there, 'tis said, to waft them o'er, 
 
 On sudden news, to Carrick-shore." — 
 
 M If such their purpose, deep the need," 
 
 Said anxious Isabel, "of speed! 
 
 Call Father Augustine, good dame." — 
 
 The nun obey'd, the Father came. 
 
 V. 
 
 " Kind Father, hie without delay, 
 Across the hills to Brodick-Bay! 
 This message to the Bruce be given; 
 1 pray him, by his hopes of Heaven, 
 That, till he speak with me, he stay! 
 Qr r if his haste brook no delay, 
 That he deliver, on my suit, 
 Into thy charge that stripling mute. 
 
Canto V. THE ISLES. 115 
 
 Thus prays his sister Isabel, 
 For causes more than she may tell— — 
 Away, good father! — take good heed, 
 That life and death are on th speed."-— 
 His cowl the good old priest did on, 
 Took his piked staff a«id sandall'd shoon, 
 And, like a palmer bent by eld, 
 O'er moss and moor his journey held. 
 
 VL 
 
 Heavy and dull the foot of age, 
 
 And rugged was the pilgrimage; 
 
 But none was there beside, whose care 
 
 Might such important message bear. 
 
 Through birchen copse he wander'd slow, 
 
 Stunted and sapless, thin and low; 
 
 By many a mountain stream he pass'd, 
 
 From the tall cliffs in tumult cast, 
 
 Dashing to foam their waters dun, 
 
 And sparkling in the summer sun. 
 
 Round his gray head the wild curlew 
 
 In many a fearless circle flew. 
 
 O'er chasms he pass'd, where fractures wide 
 
 Craved wary eye and ample stride; 
 
 He cross'd his brow beside the stone, 
 
 Where Druids erst heard victims groan, 
 
 And at the cairns upon the wild, 
 
 O'er many a heathen hero piled, 
 
 He breathed a timid prayer for those 
 
 Who died ere Shiloh's sun arose. 
 
 Beside Macfarlane's Cross he staid, 
 
 There told his hours within the shades 
 
 And at the stream his thirst allay'd. 
 
116 THE LORD OF Cant© Y . 
 
 Thence onward journeying slowly still, 
 As evening closed he reach'd the hill, 
 Where, rising through the woodland green, 
 Old Brodick's gothic towers were seen. 
 From Hastings late, their English Lord, 
 Douglas had won them by the sword. 
 The sun that sunk behind the isle, 
 Now tinged them with a parting smile 
 
 VII. 
 
 But though the beams of light decay, 
 'Twas bustle all in Brodick-Bay. 
 The Bruce's followers crowd the shore, 
 And boals and barges some unmoor, 
 Some raise the sail, some seize the oar; 
 Their eyes oft turn'd where glimmered far 
 What might have seem'd an early star 
 On heaven's blue arch, save that its light 
 Was all too flickering, fierce, and bright. 
 
 Far distant in the south, the ray 
 
 Shone pale amid retiring day, 
 But as, on Carrick shore, 
 
 Dim seen in outline faintly blue, 
 
 The shades of evening closer drew, 
 It kindled more and more. 
 The Monk's slow steps new press the sands, 
 And now amid a scene he stands, 
 
 Full strange to churchman's eye; 
 Warriors, who, arming for the fight, 
 Rivet and clasp their harness light, 
 And twinkling spears, and axes bright, 
 And helmets flashing high; 
 
 1 
 
Canto V. THE ISLES. 11? 
 
 Oft, too, with unaccustom'd ears, 
 A language much unmeet he hears, 
 
 While, hastening all on hoard, , 
 As stormy as the swelling surge 
 That mix'd its roar, the leaders urge 
 Their followers to the ocean verge, 
 
 With many a haughty word. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Through that wild throng the Father pass'd, 
 
 And reach'd the Royal Bruce at last. 
 
 He leant against a stranded boat, 
 
 That the approaching tide must float, 
 
 And counted every rippling wave, 
 
 As higher yet her sides they lave, 
 
 And oft the distant fire he eyed, 
 
 And closer yet his hauberk tied, 
 
 And loosen'd in its sheath his brand. 
 
 Edward and Lennox were at hand, 
 
 Douglas and Ronald had the care 
 
 The soldiers to the barks to share.— 
 
 The Monk approach'd and homage paid; 
 
 " And art thou come," King Robert said, 
 
 " So far to bless us ere we part?" — 
 
 — " My Liege, and with a loyal heart!— 
 
 But other charge I have to tell," — 
 
 And spoke the hest of Isabel. 
 
 — •" Now by Saint Giles," the monarch cried, 
 
 " This moves me much!— this morning tide, 
 
 I sent the stripling to Saint Bride, 
 
 With my commandment there to bide." — 
 
 — " Thither he came the portress show'd, 
 
 But there, my Liege, made brief abode." — 
 
118 THE LORD OF Canto V. 
 
 IX. 
 
 u 'Twaa I," said Edward, M found employ 
 
 Of nobler import for the boy. 
 
 Deep pondering in my anxious mind, 
 
 A fitting messenger to find. 
 
 To bear thy written mandate o'er 
 
 To Cuthbert on the Carrick shore. 
 
 I chanced, a. early dawn, to pass 
 
 The chapel gate to snatch a mass. 
 
 I found the stripling on a tomb 
 
 Low-seated, weeping for the doom 
 
 That gave his youth to convent-gloom. 
 
 I told my purpose, and his eves 
 
 Flash'd joyful at the glad surprise. 
 
 He bounded to the skiff, the sail 
 
 Was spread before a prosperous gale, 
 
 And well my charge he hath obey'd; 
 
 For, see! the ruddy signal made, 
 
 That Clifford, with his merry-men all, 
 
 Guards carelessly our father's hall.*'—- 
 
 X. 
 
 * O wild of thought, and hard of heart!" 
 Answer' d the Monarch, " on a part 
 Of such deep danger to employ 
 A mute, an orphan, and a boy! 
 Unfit for flight, unfit for strife, 
 Without a tongue to plead for life! 
 Now, were my right restored b\ heaven., 
 Edward, my crown 1 would bare given, 
 Ere, thrust on such adventure wild, 
 I peril'd thus the helpless child.'* — 
 
Canto V. THE ISLES. 119 
 
 — Offended half, and half submiss, 
 
 " Brother and Liege, of blame like this/* ^ 
 
 Edward replied, " I little dream'd. 
 
 .A stranger messenger, I deem'd, 
 
 Might safest seek the beadsman's cell, 
 
 Where all thy squires are known so well. 
 
 Noteless his presence, sharp his sense, 
 
 His imperfection his defence. 
 
 If seen, none can his errand guess; 
 
 If ta'en, his words no tale express — 
 
 Methinks, too, yonder beacon's shine 
 
 Might expiate greater fault than mine." — 
 
 " Rash," said King Robert, "was the deed — 
 
 But it is done.— -Embark with speed!— 
 
 Good Father, say to Isabel 
 
 How this unhappy chance befel; 
 
 If well we thrive on yonder shore, 
 
 Soon shall my care her page restore. 
 
 Our greeting to our sister bear, 
 
 And think of us in mass and prayer." — 
 
 XI. 
 
 *' Aye!"— said the Priest, " while this poor hand 
 
 Can chalice raise or cross command, 
 
 While my old voice has accents' use, 
 
 Can Augustine forget the Bruce!" — 
 
 Then to his side Lord Ronald press'd, 
 
 And whispered, " Bear thou this request, 
 
 That when by Brace's side I fight, 
 
 For Scotland's crown and freedom's right, 
 
 The princess grace her knight to bear 
 
 Some token of her favouring cares 
 
120 
 
 THE LORD OF 
 
 Canto V. 
 
 It shall be shown where England's best 
 May shrink to see it on my crest. 
 And for the boy — since weightier care 
 For royal Bruce the times prepare, 
 The helpless youth is Ronald's charge, 
 His couch my plaid, his fence my targe. M — 
 He ceased; for many an eager hand 
 Had urged the barges from the strand. 
 Their number was a score and ten, 
 They bore thrice three-score chosen men. 
 With such small force did Bruce at last 
 The dye for death or empire cast! 
 
 XII 
 
 Now on the darkening main afloat, 
 
 Ready and mann'd rocks every boat; 
 
 Beneath their oars the ocean's might 
 
 Was dash'd to sparks of glimmering light. 
 
 Faint and more faint, as off they bore, 
 
 Their armour glanced against the shore, 
 
 And, mingled with the dashing tide, 
 
 Their murmuring voices distant died. — 
 
 " God speed them!" said the Priest, as dark 
 
 On distant billows glides each bark; 
 
 <c O Heaven! when swords for freedom shine, 
 
 And monarch's right, the cause is thine! 
 
 Edge doubly every patriot blow! 
 
 Beat down the banners of the foe! 
 
 And be it to the nations known, 
 
 That Victory is from God alone!" — 
 
 As up the hill his path he drew, 
 
 He turn'd, his blessings to renew. 
 
Canto V. 
 
 THE ISLES. 
 
 129 
 
 Eternal shame, if at the brunt 
 Lord Ronald grace not battle's front! 
 ** See yonder oak, within whose trunk 
 Decay a darken'd ceil hath sunk; 
 Enter, and rest thee there a space. 
 Wrap in my plaid thy limbs, thy face 
 I will not be, believe me, far; 
 But must not quit the ranks of war. 
 Well will I mark the bosky bourne, 
 And soon, to guard thee hence, return.- 
 
 Nay, weery riot so, thou ?'- 
 But sleep in peace, an'' 
 Tn sylvan lodging ek 
 He placed the png*. i_ 
 With strength put forth, 
 And soon the marching % 
 
 boy! 
 
 ok, 
 
 xxhX 
 
 Thus strangely left, long sobb'd ?.». 
 The page, till, wearied out, he slept. 
 A rough voice waked his dream — " Xa, 
 Here by this thicket pass'd the deer- 
 Be neath that oak old Ryno staid — 
 What have we here? — a Scott" sh plaid, 
 And in its folds a stripling laid? — 
 Come forth! thy name and busir.es: 
 What, silent? — then 1 guess thee v. 
 The spy that sought old Cuthberf 
 Wafted from Arran Tester mor.' 
 Come, comrades, we will strai 1 
 Our Lcrd may choose the rac' 
 To this young lurcher use o' 
 
 IK*. 
 
 .,J tea 
 
 oh. 
 
130 THE LORD OF Canto V 
 
 Thy bow-string, till I bind him fast."— 
 " Nay, but he weeps and stands aghast; 
 "Unbound we'll lead him, fear it not; 
 *Tu a fair stripling, though a Scot." — 
 The hunters to the castle sped, 
 And there the hapless cap tire led. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 Stout Clifford in the castie-court 
 Prepar'd him for the morning sport; 
 And now with Lorn held deep discourse, 
 Now gave command for hound and horse. 
 War-steeds and palfreys paw'd the ground, 
 And many a deer-dog how*M around. 
 To Amadine, Lc.i-n's well-known word 
 Replying to that Southern Lord, 
 Mix's with this clanging din, might seem 
 Th/j phantasm of a fever'd dream. 
 T^;e tone upon his ringing ears 
 t-arae like the sounds which fancy hears, 
 V, hen in rude waves or roaring winds 
 Some words of wo the muser finds, 
 Until more loudly and more near, 
 Their speech arrests the page's ear. 
 
 xxiv. 
 
 ' kC And was sha thus," said Clifford, " lost? 
 The priest should rue it to his cost! 
 What says the Monk?"—" The holy Sire 
 Owns, that, in masquer's quaint attire, 
 She sought his skiff, disguised, unknown 
 To all except to him alone. 
 
Canto V. THE ISLES. 131 
 
 But, says the priest, a bark from Lorn 
 
 Laid them aboard that very morn, 
 
 And pirates seized her for their prey.' 
 
 He proffer'd ransom-gold to pay, 
 
 And they agreed — but, ere told o'er, 
 
 The winds blow loud, the billows roar; * 
 
 They sever'd, and they met no more. 
 
 He deems — such tempest vex'd the coasts 
 
 Ship, crew, and fugitive, were lost. 
 
 • — So let it be, with the disgrace 
 
 And scandal of her lofty race! 
 
 Thrice better she had ne'er been born. 
 
 Than brought her infamy on Lorn!"— 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Lord Clifford now the captive spied; — 
 
 " Whom, Herbert, hast thou there?" he cried, 
 
 " A spy we seized within the Chase, 
 
 An hollow oak his lurking place." — 
 
 " What tidings can the youth afford?" — 
 
 " He plays the mute." — " Then noose a cord-— 
 
 Unless brave Lorn reverse the doom 
 
 For his plaid's sake."—" Clan-Colla's loom," 
 
 Said Lorn, whose careless glances trace 
 
 Rather the vesture than the face, 
 
 " Clan-Colla's dames such tartans twine; 
 
 Wearer nor plaid claims care of mine, 
 
 Give him, if my advice you crave, 
 
 His own scathed oak; and let him wave 
 
 In air, unless, by terror wrung, 
 
 A frank confession find his tongue.-— 
 
 Nor shall he die without his rite; 
 
 —Thou, Angus Roy, attend the sight, 
 
132 THE LORD OF Canto V 
 
 And give Clan-Colla's dirge thy breath, 
 As they convey him to his death." — 
 " O brother! cruel to the last!" — 
 Through the poor captive's bosom pass'd 
 The thought, but, to his purpose true, 
 He said not, though he sigh'd, " Adieu!"— 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 And Mill he keep his purpose still, 
 
 In sight of that last closing ill, 
 
 AVhen one poor breath, one single word^ 
 
 May freedom, safety, life, afford? 
 
 Can he resist the instinctive call, 
 
 For life that bids us barter all? — 
 
 Love, strong as death, his heart hath steel'd*. 
 
 His nerves hath strung — he will not yield! 
 
 Since that poor breath, that little word, 
 
 May yield Lord Ronald to the sword. — 
 
 Clan-Colla's dirge is pealing wide, 
 
 The griesly headsman's by his side; 
 
 Along the green-wood Chase they bend, 
 
 .And now their march has ghastly end! 
 
 That old and shattered oak beneath, 
 
 They destine for the place of death. 
 
 — What thoughts are Irs, while all in vain 
 
 His eye for aid explores the plain? 
 
 What thoughts, while, with a dizzy ear, 
 
 He hears the death -prayer mutter'd near ? 
 
 And must he die such death accurst, 
 
 Or will that bosom-secret burst? 
 
 Cold on his brow breaks terror's dew*. 
 
 His trembling lips are livid blue; 
 
Canto V. THE ISLES. 
 
 Oft turn'd till on the darkenM coast 
 AH traces of their course were lost; 
 Then slowly bent to Brodick tower. 
 To shelter for the evening hour. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 In night the fairy prospects sink, 
 Where Cumray's isles with verdant link 
 Close the fair entrance of the Clyde; 
 The woods of Bute no more descried 
 Are gone — and on the placid sea 
 The rowers plied their task with glee, 
 "While hands that knightly lances bore 
 Impatient aid the labouring oar. 
 The half-faced moon shone dim and pale s 
 And glanced against the whiten'd sail; 
 But on that ruddy beacon-light 
 Each steersman kept the helm aright, 
 And oft, for sueh the King's command, 
 That all at once might reach the strand* 
 From boat to boat loud shout and hail 
 Warn'd them to crowd or slacken sail. 
 South and by west the armada bore, 
 And near at length the Carrick shore. 
 As less and less the distance grows, 
 High and more high the beacon rose; 
 The light, that seem'd a twinkling star. 
 Now blazed portentous, fierce, and ^tar. 
 Dark-red the heaven above it glo\v ,9 c|' 
 Dark-red the sea beneath it flow'd, 
 Red rose the rocks on ocean's brim,* 
 In blood -red light her islets swim; 
 
122 THE LORD OF Canto V 
 
 Wild scream the dazzled sea-fowl gave, 
 
 Dropp'd from their crags on plashing wave, 
 
 The deer to distant covert drew, 
 
 The black-cock deem'd it day, and crew. 
 
 Like some tall castle given to flame, 
 
 O'er half the land the lustre came. 
 
 " Xom', good my Liege, and brother sage, 
 
 What think ye of mine elfin page?" 
 
 ** Row on!" the noble King replied, 
 
 u We'll learn the truth w hate'er betide; 
 
 Yet sure the beadsman and the child 
 
 Could ne'er have waked that beacon wild?' — 
 
 XIV. 
 
 With that the boats approach'd the land, 
 Rut Edward's grounded on the sand; 
 The eager knight leap'd in the sea 
 Waist-deep, and first on shore was he, 
 Though every barge's hardy band 
 Contended which should gain the land, 
 When that strange light, which, seen afar, 
 Seem'd steady as the polar star, 
 Now, like a prophet's fiery chair, 
 Seem'd travelling the realms of air. 
 Wide o'er the sky the splendour glows, 
 As that portentous meteor rose; 
 Helm, axe, and falchion glitter'd bright. 
 And in the red aniLdusky light 
 His comrade's fae^fcach warrior saw, 
 Nor marvell'd it was pale with awe. 
 Then high' ia air the beams werte lost, 
 And darkness sunk upon the coast. — 
 
Canto V. THE ISLES. 123 
 
 Ronald to Heaven a prayer addressed, 
 
 And Douglas crossed his dauntless breast; 
 
 " Saint James protect us!" Lennox cried, 
 
 But reckless Edward spoke aside, 
 
 " Deem'st thou, Kirkpatrick, in that flame 
 
 Red Comyn's angry spirit came, 
 
 Or would thy dauntless heart endure 
 
 Once more to make assurance surer" 
 
 " Hush!" said the Bruce, " we soon shall know, 
 
 If this be sorcerer's empty show, 
 
 Or stratagem of southern foe. 
 
 The moon shines out — upon the sand 
 
 Let every leader rank his band." — 
 
 XV. 
 
 Faintly the moon's- pale beams .supply 
 
 That ruddy light's unnatural dye, 
 
 The dubious cold reflection lay 
 
 On the wet sands and quiet bay. 
 
 Beneath the rocks King Robert drew 
 
 His scatter'd files to order due, 
 
 Till shield compact and serried spear 
 
 In the cool light shone blue and clear. 
 
 Then down a path that sought the tide, 
 
 That speechless page was seen to glide; 
 
 He knelt him lowly on the sand, 
 
 And gave a scroll to Robert's hand. 
 
 M A torch," the Monarch cried, " What, ho! 
 
 Now shall we Cuthbert's tidings \now." — 
 
 But evil news the letters bare, 
 
 The Clifford's force^was strong and ware, 
 
 Augmented, too, that very morn, 
 
 By mountaineers who came with Lorn. 
 
124 THE LORD OF Canto V. 
 
 Long harrow'd by oppressor's hand. 
 Courage and faith had fled the land, 
 And over Carriek, dark and deep, 
 Had sunk dejection's iron sleep. — 
 Cuthbert had seen that beacon-flame, 
 Unwitting from what source it came. 
 Doubtful of perilous event, 
 Edward's mute messenger he sent, 
 If Bruce deceived should venture o'er, 
 To warn him from the fatal shore. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 As round the torch the leaders crowd, 
 Bruce read these chilling news aloud. 
 " What council, nobles, have we now? — 
 To ambush us in green-wood bough, 
 And take the chance which fate may send 
 To bring our enterprise to end, 
 Or shall we turn us to the main 
 As exiles, and embark again?" — 
 Answer'd fierce Edward, M Hap what may, 
 In Carriek, Carrick's Lord must stay. 
 I would not minstrels told the tale, 
 Wild-fire or meteor made us quail." — 
 Answer'd the Douglas, w If my liege 
 May win yon walls by storm or siege, 
 Then were each brave and patriot heart 
 Kindled of new for loyal part." — 
 Answer'd Lord Ronald, " Not for shame 
 Would I that aged Torquil came, 
 And found, for all our empty boast^ 
 Without a blow we fled the coast* 
 
Canto V. THE ISLES. 125 
 
 I will not credit that this land, 
 
 So famed for warlike heart and hand, 
 
 The nurse of Wallace and of Bruce, 
 
 Will long with tyrants hold a truce." — 
 
 " Prove we our fate — the brunt we'll bide!" 
 
 So Boyd and Haye and Lennox cried; 
 
 So said, so vow'd, the leaders all; 
 
 So Bruce resolved: " And in my hall 
 
 Since the bold Southern make their home, 
 
 The hour of payment soon shall come, 
 
 When, with a rough and rugged host, 
 
 Clifford may reckon to his cost. 
 
 Meantime, through well-known bosk and dell, 
 
 I'll lead where we may shelter well." — 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Now ask you whence that wond'rous light, 
 Whose fairy glow beguil'd their sight?— 
 Jt ne'er was known — yet gray-hair'd eld 
 A superstitious credence held, 
 That never did a mortal hand 
 W T ake its broad glare on Carrick strand; 
 Nay, and that on the self-same night 
 When Bruce cross'd o'er, still gleams the light* 
 Yearly it gleams o'er mount and moor, 
 And glittering wave and crimson'd shore- 
 But whether beam celestial, lent 
 By Heaven to aid the King's descent, 
 Or fire hell-kindled from beneath, 
 To lure him to defeat and death, ^ 
 Or were it but some meteor strange, 
 Of such as oft through midnight range, 
 
126 THE LORD OF Canto \ 
 
 Startling the traveller late and lone, 
 I know not — and it ne'er was known. 
 
 \ 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Now up the rocky pass they drew, 
 
 And Ronald, to his promise true, 
 
 Still made his arm the stripling's stay, 
 
 To aid him on the rugged way.. 
 
 " Now cheer thee, simple Amadine! 
 
 Why throbs that silly heart of thine?" — 
 
 —That name the pirates to their slave, 
 
 (In Gselic 'tis the Changeling) gave — 
 
 " Dost thou not rest thee on my arm? 
 
 Do not my plaid-folds hold thee warm? 
 
 Hath not the wild bull's treble hide 
 
 This targe for thee and me supplied? 
 
 Is not Clan-Colla's sword of steel? 
 
 And, trembler, canst thou terror feel? 
 
 Cheer thee$ and still that throbbing heart; 
 
 From Ronald's guard thou shalt not part."— 
 
 — O! many a shaft, at random sent, 
 
 Finds mark the archer little meant! 
 
 And many a word, at random spoken, 
 
 May sooth or wound a heart that's broken* 
 
 Half sooth'd, half grieved, half terrified, 
 
 Close drew the page to Ronald's side; 
 
 A wild delirious thrill of joy 
 
 Was in that hour of agony, 
 
 As up the steepy pass he strove, 
 
 Fear, toil, and sorrow lost in love 1 
 
 I 
 
Canto V. * THE ISLES. 127 
 
 XIX. 
 
 The barrier of that iron shore, 
 
 The rock's steep ledge, is now climb'd o'er; 
 
 And from the castle's distant wall, 
 
 From tower to tower the warder's call: 
 
 The sound swings over land and sea, 
 
 And marks a watchful enemy.—- 
 
 They gain'd the Chase, a wide domain 
 
 Left for the Castle's sylvan reign, 
 
 (Seek not the scene — the axe, the plough, 
 
 The boor's dull fence, have marr'd it now) 
 
 But then, soft swept in velvet green 
 
 The plain with many a glade between, 
 
 Whose tangled alleys far invade 
 
 The depth of the brown forest shade. 
 
 Here the tall fern obscur'd the lawn, 
 
 Fair shelter for the sportive faun; 
 
 There, tufted close with copse-wood green. 
 
 Was many a swelling hillock seen; 
 
 And all around was verdure meet 
 
 For pressure of the fairies' feet. 
 
 The glossy holly loved the Park, 
 
 The yew-tree lent its shadow dark, 
 
 And many an old oak, worn and bare, 
 
 W r ith all its shiver'd boughs, was there. 
 
 Lovely between, the moon-beams fell 
 
 On lawn and hillock, glade and dell. 
 
 The gallant Monarch sigh'd to see 
 
 These glades so loved in childhood free. 
 
 Bethinking that, as outlaw now, 
 
 He ranged beneath the forest bough. 
 
128 THF. LORD OF Canto V. 
 
 XX. 
 
 Fast o'er the moonlight Chase they sped. 
 Well knew the band that measured tread, 
 When, in retreat or in advance/ 
 The serried warriors move at once; 
 And evil were the luck, if dawn 
 Descried them on the open lawn. 
 Copset they traverse, hrooks they cross, 
 Strain up the bank and o'er the moss. 
 From the exhausted page's brow 
 Cold drops of toil are streaming now; 
 With effort faint and lengthen'd pause, 
 His weary step the stripling draws. 
 u Nay, droop not yet!" the warrior said; 
 w Come, let me give thee ease and aid! 
 Strong are mine arms, and little care 
 A weight so slight as thine to bear.— 
 What! wilt thou not? — capricious boy!— 
 Thsn thine own limbs and strength employ* 
 Pass but this night, and pass thy care, 
 I'll place thee with a lady fair, 
 Where thou shalt tune thy lute to tell 
 How Ronald loves fair Isabel!" — 
 Worn out, dishearten'd, and dismay'd, 
 Here Amadine let go the plaid; 
 His trembling limbs their aid refuse, 
 He sunk among the midnight dews! 
 
 XXI. 
 
 What may be done? — the night is gone— 
 The Bruce*s band mov?s swiftly on — 
 
 
Canto V. THE ISLES. 137 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 The valiant Clifford is no more; 
 
 On Ronald's broadsword streamed his gore; 
 
 But better hap had he of Lorn, 
 
 Who, by the foeman backward borne, 
 
 Yet gain'd with slender train the port, 
 
 Where lay his bark beneath the fort, 
 
 And cut the cable loose. 
 Short were his shrift in that debate, 
 That hour of fury and of fate, 
 
 If Lorn encounter'd Bruce! 
 Then long and loud the victor shout 
 From turret and from tour rung out, 
 
 The rugged vaults replied; 
 And from the donjon tower on high, 
 The men of Carrick may descry 
 Saint Andrew's cross, in blazonry 
 
 Of silver, waving wide! 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 The Bruce hath won his father's hall! 
 
 — w Welcome, brave friends and comrades all, 
 
 Welcome to mirth and joy! 
 The first, the last, is welcome here, 
 From lord and chieftain, prince and peer, 
 
 To this poor speechless boy. 
 Great God! once more my sire's abode 
 Is mine— behold the floor I trode 
 
 In tottering infancy! 
 And there the vaulted arch, whdse sound 
 Echoed my joyous shout and bound 
 In boyhood, and that rung around 
 
 To youth's unthinking glee! 
 
138 THE LORD OF Canto V. 
 
 O first, to thee, all-gracious Heaven, 
 Then to my friends, my thanks be given!" — 
 He paused a space, his brow he ci^ss'd— 
 Then on the board his sword he toss'd, 
 Yet steaming hot; with Southern gore 
 Trom hilt to point 'twas orimson'd o'er. 
 
 xxxti. 
 
 n Bring here" he said, " the mazers four. 
 
 My noble fathers loved of yore. 
 
 Thrice let them circle round the board, 
 
 The pledge, fair Scotland's rights restored! 
 
 And he whose lip shall touch the wine, 
 
 Without a vow as true as mine, 
 
 To hold both lands and life at nought, 
 
 Until her freedom shall be bought,— 
 
 Be brand of a disloyal Scot, 
 
 And lasting infamy his lot! 
 
 Sit, gentle friends! our hour of glee 
 
 Is brief, we'll spend it joyously! 
 
 Blithest of all the sun's bright beams, 
 
 When betwixt storm and storm he gleams. 
 
 Well is our country's work begun, 
 
 But more, far more, must yet be done!— 
 
 Speed messengers the country through; 
 
 Arouse old friends, and gather new; 
 
 Warn Lanark's knights to gird their mail, 
 
 Rouse the brave sons of Teviotdale, 
 
 Let Ettrick's archers sharp their darts, 
 
 The fairest forms, the truest hearts! 
 
Canto V. THE ISLES. 139 
 
 Call all, call all! from Reedswair path, 
 To the wild confines of Cape-Wrath; 
 Wide let the news through Scotland ring, 
 The Northern Eagle claps his wing!"- — 
 
 >:»]) OF CANTO FIFTH. 
 
THE 
 
 LORD OF THE ISLES. 
 
 CANTO SIXTH. 
 
THE 
 
 LORD OF THE ISLES- 
 
 CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 vl WHO, that shared them, ever shall forget 
 
 The emotions of the spirit-rousing time, 
 When breathless in the mart the couriers met, 
 
 Early and late, at evening and at prime; 
 When the loud cannon and the merry chime 
 
 Hail'd news on news, as field on field was won, 
 When Hope, long doubtful, soar'd at length sublime, 
 
 And our glad eyes, awake as day begun, 
 Watch'd Joy's broad banner rise, to meet the rising 
 
 sun! 
 
 O these were hours, when thrilling joy repaid 
 
 A long, long course of darkness, doubts, and 
 fears! 
 The heart-sick faintness of the hope delay'd, 
 
 The waste, the wo, the bloodshed, and the tears. 
 That track'd with terror twenty rolling years, 
 
 All was forgot in that blithe jubilee! 
 Her downcast eye even pale Affliction rears, 
 
 To sigh a thankful prayer, amid the glee, 
 That hailM the Despot's fall, and peace and liberty! 
 
144 THE LORD OF Canto Vr. 
 
 Such news o'er Scotland's hills triumphant rode, 
 
 When 'gainst the invaders turn'd the battle's scale, 
 When Bruce's banner had victorious flow'd 
 
 O'er Loudoun's mountain, and in Ury's vale; 
 When English blood oft deluged Douglas-dale, 
 
 And fiery Edward routed stout St. John, 
 When Randolph's war-cry swell'd the southern gale^ 
 
 And many a fortress, town, and tower, was won, 
 And Fame still sounded forth fresh deeds of glory 
 done. 
 
 II. 
 
 Blithe tidings flew from Baron's tower, 
 To peasant's cot, to forest-bower, 
 And waked the solitary cell, 
 Where lone Saint Bride's recluses dwell* 
 Princess no more, fair Isabel, 
 
 A vot'ress of the. order now; 
 Say, did the rule that bid thee wear 
 Dim veil and woollen scapulare, 
 And reft thy locks of dark-brown hair, 
 
 That stern and rigid vow, 
 Did it condemn the transport high, 
 Which glisten'd in thy watery eye, 
 When minstrel or when palmer told 
 Each fresh exploit of Bruce the bold? — 
 And whose the lovely form, that shares 
 Thy anxious hopes, thy fears, thy prayers: 
 No sister she of convent shade; 
 So say these locks in lengthen'd braid, 
 So say the blushes and the sighs, 
 The tremors that unbidden rise, 
 When, mingled with the Bruce's fame, 
 The brave Lord Ronald's praises came. 
 
Canto V. THE ISLES. 1$ 
 
 The agony of parting life 
 
 Has nought to match that moment's strife! 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 But other witnesses are nigh., 
 
 Who mock at fear, and death defy! 
 
 Soon as the dire lament was play'd, 
 
 It waked the lurking ambuscade. 
 
 The Island Lord look'd forth, and spied 
 
 The cause, and loud in fury cried, 
 
 " By Heaven they lead the page to die, 
 
 And mock me in his agony! 
 
 They shall abye it!"— On his arm 
 
 Bruce laid strong grasp, " They shall not harm 
 
 A ringlet of the stripling's hair; 
 
 But, till I give the word, forbear. 
 
 — Douglas, lead fifty of our force 
 
 Up yonder hollow water-course, 
 
 And couch thee midway on the wold, 
 
 Between the flyers and their Hold: 
 
 A spear above the copse di splay 'd, 
 
 Be signal of the ambush made. 
 
 — Edward, with forty spearmen, straight 
 
 Through yonder copse approach the gate, 
 
 And, when thou hear'st the battle din, 
 
 Rush forward, and the passage win, 
 
 Secure the drawbridge — storm the port- — 
 
 And man and guard the castle-court. — 
 
 The rest move slowly forth with me, 
 
 In shelter of the forest tree, 
 
 Till Douglas at his post I see." — 
 
134 THE LORD OF Canto V 
 
 XXVIIf. 
 
 Like war-horse eager to rush on, 
 Coropcll'd to wait the signal blown, 
 Hid, and scarce hid, by green-wood bough- 
 Trembling with rage, stands Ronald now, 
 And in his grasp his sword gleams blue, 
 Soon to be dyed with deadlier hue.— 
 Meanwhile the Bruce, with steady eye, 
 Sees the dark death-train moving by, 
 And heedful measures oft the space, 
 The Douglas and his band must trace, 
 Ere they can reach their destined ground 
 Now sinks the dirge's wailing sound, 
 Now cluster round the direful tree 
 That slow and solemn company, 
 While hymn mistuned and mutter' d prayer 
 The victim for his fate prepare. — 
 What glances o'er the green-wood shade? — 
 The spear that marks the ambuscade! — 
 " Now, noble Chief! 1 leave thee loose; 
 Upon them, Ronald!" said the Bruce. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 " The Bruce, the Bruce!" to well-known cry 
 His native rocks and woods reply. 
 u The Bruce, the Bruce!" in that dread word 
 The knell of hundred deaths was heard. 
 The astonish'd Southern gazed at first, 
 Where the wild tempest was to burst, 
 That waked in that presaging name. 
 Before, behind, around it came! 
 
Canto V: THE ISLES. 155 
 
 Half-arm'd, surprised, on every side 
 Hemm'd in, hew'd down, they bled and died. 
 Deep in the ring the Bruce engaged, 
 And tierce Cian-Colla's broadsword raged! 
 Full soon the few who fought were sped, 
 Nor better was their lot who fled, 
 And met, 'mid terror's wild career, 
 The Douglas's redoubted spear! 
 Two hundred yeomen on that morn 
 1 he castle left, and aone return. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Not on their flight press'd Ronald's brand, 
 A gentler duty elaim'd his hand. 
 He raised the page, where on the plain 
 His fear had sunk him with the slain: 
 And twice, that morn, surprise well near 
 Betrav'd the secret kept by fear. 
 Once, when, with life returning, came 
 To the boy's lip Lord Ronald's name, 
 And hardly recollection drown'd 
 The accents in a murmuring sound; 
 And once, when scarce he could resist 
 The Chieftain's care to loose the vest, 
 Drawn tightly o'er his labouring breast. 
 But then the Bruee's bugle blew, 
 For martial work was yet to do. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 ( A harder task fierce Edward waits, 
 Ere signal given, the castle gates 
 His fury had assail'd; 
 
136 THE LORD OF Owatfc \ 
 
 Such was his wonted reckless mood, 
 Yet desperate valour oft made good, 
 Even by its daring, venture rude, 
 
 Where prudence might have failM. 
 Upon the bridge his strength he threw, 
 And struck the iron chain in two 
 
 By which its planks arose; ^ 
 
 The warder next his axe's edge 
 Struck down upon the threshold ledge, 
 'Twixt door and post a ghastly wedge! 
 
 The gate they may not close. 
 Well fought the Southern in the fray, 
 Clifford and Lorn fought well that day, 
 But stubborn Edward forced his way 
 
 Against an hundred foes. 
 Load came the cry, " The Bruce, the Bruce!" 
 No hope or in defence or truce, 
 
 Fresh combatants pour in; 
 Mad with success, and drunk with gore, 
 They drive the struggling foe before, 
 
 And ward on ward they win. 
 Unsparing was the vengeful sword, 
 And limbs were lopp'd and life-blood pour'd, 
 The cry of death and conflict roar'd, 
 
 And fearful was the din! 
 The startling horses plunged and flung, 
 Clamour' d the dogs till turrets rung, 
 
 Nor sunk the fearful cry, 
 Till not a foe man was there found 
 Alive, save those who on the ground 
 
 Groan'd in their agony! 
 
Janto VI. THE ISLES. I45 
 
 III. 
 
 Believe, his father's castle won, 
 And his bold enterprise begun, 
 That Brace's earliest cares restore 
 The speechless page to Arran's shore; 
 Nor think that long the quaint disguise 
 Conceal'd her from a sister's eyes; 
 And sister-like in love they dwell 
 In that lone convent's silent cell. 
 There Bruce 5 s slow assent allows 
 Fair Isabel the veil and vows; 
 And there, her sex's dress regain'd, 
 The lovely Maid of Lorn remain'd, 
 Unnamed, unknown, while Scotland far 
 Resounded with the din of war; 
 And many a month, and many a day, 
 In calm seclusion wore away. 
 
 IV. 
 
 These days, these months, to years had worn* 
 When tidings of high weight were borne 
 
 To that lone island's shore;~ 
 Of all the Scottish conquests made 
 By the first Edward's ruthless blade, 
 
 His son retain'd no more, 
 Northward of Tweed, but Stirling's towers^ 
 Beleaguer'd by King Robert's powers; 
 
 And they took term of truce, 
 If England's King should not relieve 
 The siege ere John the Baptist's eve, 
 
 To yield them to the Bruce. 
 England was roused — on every side 
 Courier and post and herald hied, 
 
 To summon prince and peer, 
 G 
 
146 THE LpRD OF Canto VJ. 
 
 At Berwick-bounds to meet their Liege, 
 Prepared to raise fair Stirling's siege, 
 
 With buckler, brand, and spear. 
 The term was nigh — they muster'd fast, 
 By beacon and by bugle-blast 
 
 Forth marshalPd for the field; 
 There rode each knight of noble name, 
 There England's hardy archers came, 
 The land they trode seem'd all on flame, 
 
 With banner, blade, and shield! 
 And not famed England's powers alone, 
 Renown' d in arms, the summons own; 
 
 For Neustria's knights obey'd, 
 Gascogne hath lent her horsemen good, 
 And Cambria, but of late subdued, 
 Sent forth her mountain -multitude, 
 And Connoght pour'd from waste and wood 
 Her hundred tribes, whose sceptre rude 
 
 Dark Eth O'Connor sway'd. 
 
 V. 
 
 Right to devoted Caledon 
 
 The storm of war rolls slowly on, 
 
 With menace deep and dread; 
 So the dark clouds, with gathering power, 
 Suspend a while the threaten'd shower, 
 Till every peak and summit lower 
 
 Round the pale pilgrim's head. 
 Not with such pilgrim's startled eye 
 King Robert mark'd the tempest nigh! 
 
 Resolved the brunt to bide, 
 His royal summons warn'd the land, 
 That all who own'd their King's command 
 Should instant take the spear and brand, 
 
 To combat at his side. 
 
Canto VI. THE ISLES. 1 47 
 
 O who may tell the sons of fame, 
 That at King Robert's bidding came, 
 
 To battle for the right! 
 From Cheviot to the shores of Ross, 
 From Solway -Sands to Marshal's Moss, 
 
 All boun'd them for the fight. 
 Such news the royal courier tells, 
 Who came to rouse dark Arran's dells; 
 But farther tidings must the ear 
 Of Isabel in secret hear. 
 These in her cloister walk, next morn, 
 Thus shared she with the Maid of Lorn. 
 
 VI. 
 
 " My Edith, can I tell how dear 
 Our intercourse of hearts sincere 
 
 Hath been to Isabel? — 
 Judge then the sorrow of my heart, 
 When I must say the words, We part! 
 
 The cheerless convent-cell 
 Was not, sweet maiden, made for thee; 
 Go thou where thy vocation free 
 
 On happier fortunes fell. 
 Nor, Edith, judge thyself betray'd, 
 Though Robert knows that Lorn's high Maid 
 And his poor silent page were one. 
 Versed in the fickle heart of man, 
 Earnest and anxious hath he look'd 
 How Ronald's heart the message brook'd, 
 That gave him, with her last farewell, 
 The charge of Sister Isabel, 
 To think upon thy better right, 
 And keep the faith his promise plight. 
 
1 4 8 THE LORD OF Canto VI. 
 
 Forgive him, for thy sister's sake, 
 At first if vain repinings wake — 
 
 Long since that mood is gone: 
 Now dwells he on thy juster claims, 
 And oft his breach of faith he blames — 
 
 Forgive him for thine own!" — 
 
 VII. 
 
 " No! never to Lord Ronald's bower 
 
 Will I again as paramour" — 
 
 " Nay, hush thee, too impatient maid, 
 
 Until my final tale be said! — 
 
 The good King Robert would engage 
 
 Edith once more his elfin page, 
 
 By her own heart, and her own eye, 
 
 Her lover's penitence to try — 
 
 Safe in his royal charge, and free, 
 
 Should such thy final purpose be, 
 
 Again unknown to seek the cell, 
 
 And live and die with Isabel." — 
 
 Thus spoke the maid — King Robert's eye 
 
 Might have some glance of policy; 
 
 Dunstaftnage had the monarch ta'en, 
 
 And Lorn had own'd King Robert's reign; 
 
 Her brother had to England fled, 
 
 And there in banishment was dead; 
 
 Ample, through exile, death, and flight, 
 
 O'er tower and land was Edith's right; 
 
 This ample right o'er tower and land 
 
 Were safe in Ronald's faithful hand. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Embarrass'd eye and blushing cheek, 
 Pleasure, and shame, and fear bespeak! 
 
Canto VI. THE ISLES, 1 49 
 
 Yet much the reasoning Edith made; 
 " Her sister's faith she must upbraid, 
 Who gave such secret, dark and dear, 
 In council to another's ear. 
 Why should she leave the peaceful cell? — 
 How should she part with Isabel? — 
 How wear that strange attire agen? — 
 How risk herself 'midst martial men?—- 
 And how be guarded on the way? — 
 At least she might entreat delay." — 
 Kind Isabel, with secret smile, 
 Saw and forgave the maiden's wile, 
 Reluctant to be thought to move 
 At the first call of truant love. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Oh, blame her not! — when zephyrs wake, 
 The aspen's trembling leaves must shake; 
 When beams the sun through April's shower, 
 It needs must bloom, the violet flower; 
 And Love, how e'er the maiden strive, 
 Must with reviving hope revive! 
 A thousand soft excuses came, 
 To plead his cause 'gainst virgin shame. 
 Pledged by their sires in earliest youth, 
 He had her plighted faith and truth — 
 Then, 'twas her Liege's strict command, 
 And she, beneath his royal hand, 
 A ward in person and in land: — 
 And, last, she was resolved to stay 
 Only brief space — one little day- 
 Close hidden in her safe disguise 
 From all, but most from Ronald's eyes — 
 
1 50 THE LORD OF Canto VI. 
 
 But once to see him more! — nor blame 
 Her wish — to hear him name her name! — 
 Then, to bear back to solitude 
 The thought, he had his falsehood rued! 
 But Isabel, who long had seen 
 Her pallid check and pensive mien, 
 And well herself the cause might know, 
 Though innocent, of Edith's woe, 
 JoyM, generous, that revolving time 
 Gave means to expiate the crime. 
 High glow'd her bosom as she said, 
 u Well shall her sufferings be repaid!" — 
 Now came the parting hour — a band 
 From Arran's mountains left the land: 
 Their chief, Fitz-Louis, had the care 
 The speechless Amadine to bear 
 To Bruce, with honour, as behoved 
 To page the monarch dearly loved. 
 
 X. 
 
 The King had deem'd the maiden bright 
 
 Should reach him long before the fight, 
 
 But storms and fate her course delay: 
 
 It was on eve of battle-day, 
 
 When o'er the Giliie's-hill she rode. 
 
 The landscape like a furnace glow'd, 
 
 And far as e'er the eye was borne, 
 
 The lances waved like autumn-corn. 
 
 In battles four beneath their eye, 
 
 The forces of King Robert lie. 
 
 And one below the hill was laid, 
 
 Reserved for rescue and for aid; 
 
 And three, advanced, form'd va ward-line, 
 
 *Twixt Bannock's brook and Ninian's shrine* 
 
Canto VI. THE ISLES. 151 
 
 Detach'd was each, yet each so nigh 
 As well might mutual aid supply. 
 Beyond, the Southern host appears, 
 A boundless wilderness of spears, 
 Whose verge or rear the anxious eye 
 Strove far, but strove in vain, to spy. 
 Thick flashing in the evening beam, 
 Glaves, lanees, bills, and banners gleam; 
 And where the heaven join'd with the hiUj 
 Was distant armour flashing still, 
 So wide, so far, the boundless host 
 Seem'd in the blue horizon lost. 
 
 f XI. 
 
 Down from the hill the maiden pass'd, 
 At the wild show of war aghast; 
 And traversed first the rearward host, 
 Reserved for aid where needed most. 
 The men of Carrick and of Ayr, 
 Lennox and Lanark too, were there, 
 
 And all the western land; 
 With these the valiant of the Isles 
 Beneath their chieftains rank'd their files, 
 
 In many a plaided band. 
 There, in the centre, proudly raised, 
 The Bruce' s royal standard blazed, 
 And there Lord Ronald's banner bore 
 A galley driven by sail and oar. 
 A wild, yet pleasing contrast, made 
 Warriors in mail and plate array'd, 
 With the plumed bonnet and the plaid 
 
 By these Hebrideans worn; 
 But O! unseen for three long years, 
 Dear was the garb of mountaineers 
 
 To the fair Maid of Lorn! 
 
1 5 2 THE LORD OP Canto VI. 
 
 For one 9he look'd — but he was far 
 
 Busied amid the ranks of war — 
 
 Yet with affection's troubled eye 
 
 She mark'd his banner boldly fly, 
 
 Gave on the countless foe a glance, 
 
 And thought on battle's desperate chance. 
 
 XIL 
 
 To centre of the vaward line 
 Fitz-Louis guided Amadine. 
 Arm'd all on foot, that host appears 
 A serried mass of glimmering spears. 
 There stood the Marchers' warlike band, 
 The warriors there of Lodon's land; 
 Ettrick and Liddell bent the yew, 
 A band of archers fieree, though few; 
 The men of Nith and Annan's vale, 
 And the bold Spears of Teviotdale;— 
 The dauntless Douglas these obey, 
 And the young Stuart's gentle sway. 
 North-eastward by Saint Ninian's shrine, 
 Beneath fierce Randolph's charge, combine 
 The warriors whom the hardy North 
 From Tay to Sutherland sent forth. 
 The rest of Scotland's war-array 
 With Edward Bruce to westward lay, 
 Where Bannock, with his broken bank 
 A id deep ravine, protects their flank* 
 Behind them, sereen'd by sheltering wood, 
 The gallant Keith, Lord Marshal, stood: 
 His men-at-arms bear mace and lance, 
 And plumes that wave, and helms that glanee. 
 
Cmito VI. THE ISLES. 1 5 3 
 
 Thus fair divided by the King, 
 Centre, and right, and left-ward wing, 
 Composed his front; nor distant far 
 Was strong reserve to aid the war. 
 And 'twas to front of this array, 
 Her guide and Edith made their way. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Here must they pause; for, in advance 
 As far as one might pitch a lance, 
 The Monarch rode along the van, 
 The foe's approaching force to scan, 
 His line to marshal and to range, 
 And ranks to square, and fronts to change. 
 Alone he rode — from head to heel 
 Sheathed in his ready arms of steel; 
 Nor mounted yet on war-horse wight, 
 But, till more near the shock of fight, 
 Reining a palfrey low and light. 
 A diadem of gold was set 
 Above his bright steel bassinet, 
 And clasp'd within its glittering tw r ine 
 Was seen the glove of Argentine; 
 Truncheon or leading staff he lacks, 
 Bearing, instead, a battle-axe. 
 He ranged his soldiers for the fight, 
 Accoutred thus, in open sight 
 Of either host. — Three bowshots far, 
 Paused the deep front of England's war, 
 And rested on their arms awhile, 
 To close and rank their warlike file, 
 And hold high council, if that night 
 Should view the strife, or dawning light. 
 G2 
 
1 5 4 THE LORD OF Canto VI. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 gay, yet fearful to behold, 
 Flashing with steel and rough with gold, 
 
 And bristled o'er witli bills and spears, 
 With plumes and pennons waving fair, 
 Was that bright battle-front! for there 
 
 Rode England's King and peers: 
 And who, that saw that monarch ride, 
 His kingdom battled by his side, 
 Could then his direful doom foretell! — 
 Fair was his seat in knightly selle, 
 And in his sprightly eye was set 
 Some spark of the Plantagenet. 
 Though light and wandering was his glance, 
 It flash'd at sight of shield and lance. 
 •'Know'st thou," he said, "De Argentine, 
 Yon knight who marshals thus their line?" — 
 u The tokens on his helmet tell 
 The Bruce, my Liege: I know him well." — 
 u And shall the audacious traitor brave 
 The presence where our banners wave?"— 
 "So please my Liege," said Argentine, 
 "Were he but horsed on steed like mine, 
 To give him fair and knightly chance, 
 
 1 would adventure forth my lance." — 
 "In battle-day," the King replied, 
 
 " Nice tourney rules are set aside. 
 —Still must the rebel dare our wrath? 
 Set on him — sweep him from our path!" — 
 And, at King Edward's signal, soon 
 Dash'd from the ranks Sir Henry Boune. 
 
Canto VI. THE ISLES. 15* 
 
 XV. 
 
 Of Hereford's high blood he came, 
 
 A race renown'd for knightly fame. 
 
 He burn'd before his Monarch's eye 
 
 To do some deed of chivalry. 
 
 He spurr'd his steed, he couch'd his lance,, 
 
 And darted on the Bruce at once. 
 
 — As motionless as rocks, that bide 
 
 The wrath of the advancing tide, 
 
 The Bruce stood fast. — Each breast beat high. 
 
 And dazzled was each gazing eye — 
 
 The heart had hardly time to think, 
 
 The eye-lid scarce had time to wink, 
 
 While on the King, like flash of flame, 
 
 Spurr'd to full speed the war-horse came! 
 
 The partridge may the falcon mock, 
 
 If that slight palfrey stand the shock — 
 
 But, swerving from the Knight's career, 
 
 Just as they met, Bruce shunn'd the spear. 
 
 Onward the baffled warrior bore 
 
 His course — but soon his course was o'er!— - 
 
 High in his stirrups stood the King, 
 
 And gave his battle-axe the swing. 
 
 Right on De Boune, the whiles he pass'd, 
 
 Fell that stern dint — the first — the last!— 
 
 Such strength upon the blow was put, 
 
 The helmet erash'd like hazel-nut; 
 
 The axe-shaft, with its brazen clasp, 
 
 Was shiver'd to the gauntlet grasp. 
 
 Springs from the blow the startled horse^ 
 
 Drops to the plain the lifeless corse; 
 
 — First of that fatal field, how soon, 
 
 How sudden, fell the fierce De Boune! 
 
1 5 6 ™ E L °ft D OF Canto VI. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 One pitying; glance the Monarch sped, 
 Where on the field his foe lay dead; 
 Then gently turn'd his palfrey's head, 
 And, pacing back, his sober way, 
 Slowly he gain'd his own array. 
 There round their King the leaders crowd, 
 And blame his recklessness aloud, 
 That risk'd 'gainst each adventurous spear 
 A life so valued and so dear. 
 His broken weapon's shaft survey 'd 
 The King, and careless answer made,—- 
 "My loss may pay my folly's tax; 
 I've broke my trusty battle-axe." — 
 'Twas then Fitz-Louis, bending low, 
 Did Isabel's commission show; 
 Edith, disguised, at distance stands, 
 And hides her blushes with her hands. 
 The monarch's brow has changed its hue, 
 Away the gory axe he threw, 
 While to the seeming page he drew, 
 
 Clearing war's terrors from his eye. 
 Her hand with gentle ease he took, 
 With such a kind protecting look, 
 
 As to a weak and timid boy 
 Might speak, that elder brother's care 
 And elder brother's love were there. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 "Fear not," he said, "young Amadine!" 
 Then whisper'd, " Still that name be thine. 
 Fate plays her wonted fantasy, 
 Kind Amadine, with thee and me, 
 
Canto VI. THE ISLES. I5jr 
 
 And sends thee here in doubtful hour. 
 But soon we are beyond her power; 
 For on this chosen battle-plain, 
 Victor or vanquished, I remain. 
 Do thou to yonder hill repair; 
 The followers of our host are there, 
 And all who may not weapons bear. — 
 Fitz-Louis, have him in thy care- 
 Joyful we meet, if all go well; 
 If not, in A.rran's hoi} cell 
 Thou must take part with Isabel; 
 For brave Lord Ronald, too, hath sworn. 
 Not to regain the Maid of Lorn, 
 (The bliss on earth he covets most,) 
 Would he forsake his battle-post, 
 Or shun the fortune that may fall 
 To Bruce, to Scotland, and to all. — 
 But, hark! some news these trumpets tell; 
 Forgive my haste — farewell — farewell."— 
 And in a lower voice he said, 
 "Be of good cheer— farewell, sweet maid!" — > 
 
 XVIII. 
 €i What train of dust, with trumpet-sound 
 And glimmering spears, is wheeling round 
 Our leftward flankr" — the Monarch cried, 
 To Moray's Earl who rode beside. 
 " Lo! round thy station pass the foes! 
 Randolph, thy wreath has lost a rose."— 
 The Earl his visor closed, and said, 
 M My wreath shall bloom, or life shall fade.— 
 Follow, my household!" — And they go 
 Like lightning on the advancing foe, 
 
1 5 8 THE LORD OF Canto VI. 
 
 " My Liege," said noble Douglas then, 
 
 "Earl Randolph has but one to ten: 
 
 Let me go forth his band to aid!" — 
 
 — " Stir not. The error he hath made, 
 
 Let him amend it as lie may; 
 
 I will not weaken mine array." — 
 
 Then loudly rose the conflict-cry, 
 
 And Douglas's brave heart swell'd high,— 
 
 M My Liege," he said, u with patient ear 
 
 I must not Moray's death-knell hear!" — 
 
 "Then go — but speed thee back again." — 
 
 Forth sprung the Douglas with his train; 
 
 But, when they won a rising hill, 
 
 He bade his followers hold them still. — 
 
 f ' Sec, see! the routed Southern fly! 
 
 The Barl hath won the victory. 
 
 Lo! where yon steeds run masterless, 
 
 His banner towers above the press. 
 
 Rein up; our presence would impair 
 
 The fame we come too late to share." — 
 
 Back to the host the Douglas rode, 
 
 And soon glad tidings are abroad, 
 
 That, Dayncourt by stout Randolph slain, 
 
 His followers fled with loosen'd rein. — 
 
 That skirmish closed the busy day, 
 
 And couch'd in battle's prompt array, 
 
 Each army on their weapons lay. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 It was a night of lovely June, 
 
 High rode in cloudless blue the moon, 
 
 Demayet smiled beneath her ray; 
 Old Stirling's towers arose in light, 
 And, twined in finks of silver blight, 
 
 Herjwinding river lay. 
 
Canto VI. THE ISLES. 1 5 9 
 
 Ah, gentle planet! other sight 
 
 Shall greet thee, next returning night, 
 
 Of broken arms and banners tore, 
 
 And marshes dark with human gore, 
 
 And piles of slaughter' d men and horse, 
 
 And Forth that floats the frequent corse, 
 
 And many a wounded wretch to plain 
 
 Beneath thy silver light in vain! 
 
 But now, from England's host, the cry 
 
 Thou hear' st of wassail revelry, 
 
 While from the Scottish legions pass 
 
 The murmur' d prayer, the early mass! — 
 
 Here, numbers had presumption given; 
 
 There, bands o'er-match'd sought aid from Heaven, 
 
 XX 
 
 On Gillie's-hill, whose height commands 
 
 The battle-field, fair Edith stands, 
 
 With serf and page unfit for war, 
 
 To eye the conflict from afar. 
 
 O! with what doubtful agony 
 
 She sees the dawning tint the sky! — 
 
 Now on the Ochils gleams the sun, 
 
 And glistens now Demayet dun; 
 Is it the lark that carols shrill, 
 Is it the bittern's early hum? 
 No! — distant, but increasing still, 
 The trumpet's sound swells up the hill, 
 With the deep murmur of the drum, 
 
 Responsive from the Scottish host, 
 
 Pipe-clang and bugle-sound were toss'd, 
 
 His breast and brow each soldier cross'd, 
 And started from the ground; 
 
1 60 THE LORD OF Canto VI. 
 
 Arm'd and array M for instant fight, 
 Kose archer, spearman, squire and knight, 
 And in the pomp of battle bright 
 The dread battalia frown'd. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Now onward, and in open view, 
 
 The countless ranks of England drew, 
 Dark rolling like the ocean-tide, 
 When the rough west hath chafed his pride, 
 And his deep roar sends challenge wide 
 
 To all that bars his way 1 
 In front the gallant archers trode, 
 The men-at-arms behind them rode, 
 And midmost of the phalanx broad 
 
 The Monarch held his sway. 
 Beside him many a war-horse fumes, 
 Around him waves a sea of plumes, 
 Where many a knight in battle known, 
 And some who spurs had first braced on, 
 And deem'd that fight should see them -won, 
 King Edward's hests obey. 
 
 De Argentine attends his side, 
 
 With stout De Valence, Pembroke's pride, . 
 
 Selected champions from the train, 
 
 To wait upon his bridle-rein. 
 
 Upon the Scottish foe he gazed — 
 
 — At once, before his sight amazed, 
 Sunk banner, spear, and shield; 
 
 Each weapon-point is downward sent, 
 
 Each warrior to the ground is bent. 
 
 " The rebels, Argentine, repent! 
 For pardon they have kneelM »" — 
 
CanteVI. THE ISLES. 161 
 
 < c Aye! — but they bend to other powers, 
 And other pardon sue than ours! 
 See where yon bare-foot Abbot stands, 
 And blesses them with lifted hands! 
 Upon the spot where they have kneel'd, 
 These men will die, or win the field." — 
 — ss Then prove we if they die or win! 
 Bid Gloster's Earl the fight begin."— 
 
 XXII. 
 
 Earl Gilbert waved his truncheon high, 
 
 Just as the Northern ranks arose, 
 Signal for England's archery 
 
 To halt and bend their bows. 
 Then stepp'd each yeoman forth a pace, 
 Glanced at the intervening space, 
 
 And raised his left hand high; 
 To the right ear the cords they bring — 
 — At once ten thousand bow-strings ring, 
 
 Ten thousand arrows fly! 
 Nor paused on the devoted Scot 
 The ceaseless fury of their shot; 
 
 As fiercely and as fast, 
 Forth whistling came the grey-goose wing, 
 As the wild hail-stones pelt and ring 
 
 Adown December's blast. 
 Nor mountain targe of tough bull-hide, 
 Nor lowland mail, that storm may bide; 
 Woe, woe to Scotland's banner'd pride, 
 
 If the fell shower may last! 
 Upon the right, behind the wood, 
 Each by his steed dismounted, stood 
 
 The Scottish chivalry; — 
 
1 62 THE LORD OF Canto VI. 
 
 —With foot in stirrup, hand on mane, 
 Fierce Edward Bruce can scarce restrain 
 His own keen heart, his eager train, 
 Until the archers gain'd the plain; 
 
 Then, " Mount, ye gallants free!" 
 He cried; and, vaulting from the ground, 
 His saddle every horseman found. 
 On high their glittering crests they toss, 
 As springs the wild-fire from the moss; 
 The shield hangs down on every breast, 
 Each ready lance is in the rest, 
 
 And loud shouts Edward Bruce, — 
 u Forth, Marshal, on the peasant foe! 
 We'll tame the terrors of their bow, 
 
 And cut the bow-string loose!" — 
 
 XXIII. 
 Then spurs were dash'd in chargers' flanks, 
 They rush'd among the archer ranks. 
 No spears were there the shock to let, 
 No stakes to turn the charge were set, 
 And how shall yeoman's armour slight 
 Stand the long lance and mace of might? 
 Or what may their short swords avail, 
 'Gainst barbed horse and shirt of mail? 
 Amid their ranks the chargers sprung, 
 High o'er their heads the weapons swung, 
 And shriek and groan and vengeful shout 
 Give note of triumph and of rout! 
 Awhile, with stubborn hardihood, 
 Their English hearts the strife made good; 
 Borne down at length on every side, 
 Cowipell'd to flight they scatter wide.— 
 
Canto VI. THE ISLES. 163 
 
 Let stags of Sherwood leap for glee, 
 
 And bound the deer of Dallom-Lee! 
 
 The broken bows of Bannock's shore 
 
 Shall in the green- wood ring no more! 
 
 Round Wakefield's merry may -pole now, 
 
 The maids may twine the summer bough, 
 
 May northward look with longing glance, 
 
 For those that wont to lead the dance, 
 
 For the blithe archers look in vain! 
 
 Broken, dispersed, in flight o'erta'en, 
 
 Pierced through, trode down, by thousands slain, 
 
 They cumber Bannock's bloody plain. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 The King with scorn beheld their flight. 
 "Are these," he said, "our yeomen wight? 
 Each braggart churl could boast before, 
 Twelve Scottish lives his baldric bore! 
 Fitter to plunder chase or park, 
 Than make a manly foe their mark.— 
 Forward, each *gen tie man and knight! 
 Let gentle blood show generous might, 
 And chivalry redeem the fight!" — 
 
 To rightward of the wild affray, 
 
 The field show'd fair and level way; 
 But, in mid-space, the Bruce's care 
 Had bored the ground with many a pit, 
 With turf and brushwood hidden yet, 
 
 That form'd a ghastly snare. 
 Rushing, ten thousand horsemen came, 
 With spears in rest, and hearts on flame, 
 
 That panted for the shock! 
 With blazing crests and banners spread, 
 
1 64 THE LORD OF Canto VI. 
 
 And trumpet-clang and clamour dread, 
 The wide plain thunder' d to their tread, 
 
 As far as Stirling rock. 
 Down! down! in headlong overthrow,, 
 Horseman and horse, the foremost go, 
 
 Wild floundering on the field! 
 The first are in destruction's gorge, 
 Their followers wildly o'er them urge;— 
 
 The knightly helm and slueld, 
 The mail, the acton, and the spear, 
 Strong hand, high heart, are useless here! 
 Loud from the mass confused the cry 
 Of dying warriors swells on high, 
 And steeds that shriek in agony! 
 They came like mountain -torrent red, 
 That thunders o'er its rocky bed; 
 They broke like that same torrent's wave, 
 When swallow'd by a darksome cave. 
 Billows on billows burst and boil, 
 Maintaining stul the stern turmoil, 
 And to their wild and tortured groan 
 Each adds new terrors of his own! 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Too strong in courage and in might 
 Was England yet, to yield the fight. 
 
 Her noblest all are here; 
 Names that to fear were never known, 
 Bold Norfolk's Earl De Brotherton, 
 
 And Oxford's famed De Vere. 
 There Gloster plied the bloody sword, 
 And Berkley, Grey, and Hereford, 
 
 Bottelourt and Sanzavere, 
 
Canto VI. THE ISLES. 16c 
 
 Ross, Montague, and Mauley, came, 
 And Courtenay's pride, and Percy's fame- 
 Names known too well in Scotland's war, 
 At Falkirk, Methven, and Dunbar, 
 Blazed broader yet in after years, 
 At Cressy red and fell Poitiers. 
 Pembroke with these, and Argentine, 
 Brought up the rearward battle-line. 
 With caution o'er the ground they tread, 
 Slippery with blood and piled with dead, 
 Till hand to hand in battle set, 
 The bills with spears and axes met, 
 And, closing dark on every side, 
 Raged the full contest far and wide. 
 Then was the strength of Douglas tried, 
 Then proved was Randolph's generous pride, 
 And well did Stewart's actions grace 
 The sire of Scotland's royal race! 
 
 Firmly they kept their ground; 
 As firmly England onward press'd, 
 And down went many a noble crest, 
 And rent was many a valiant breast, 
 
 And Slaughter revell'd round. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Unflinching foot 'gainst foot was set, 
 Unceasing blow by blow was met; 
 
 The groans of those who fell 
 Were drown'd amid the shriller clang? 
 That from the blades and harness rang, 
 
 And in the battle-yell. 
 Yet fast they fell, unheard, forgot, 
 Both Southern fierce and hardy Scot;— 
 And O! amid that waste of life, 
 What various motives fired the strife! 
 
1 66 THE LORD OF Canto VI. 
 
 The aspiring Noble bled for fame, 
 
 The Patriot for his country's claim; 
 
 This Knight his youthful strength to prove, 
 
 And that to win his lady's love; 
 
 Some fought from ruffian thirst of blood, 
 
 From habit some, or hardihood. 
 
 But ruffian stern, and soldier good 
 
 The noble and the slave, 
 From various cause the same wild road, 
 On the same bloody morning, trode, 
 
 To that dark inn the (> 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 The tug of strife to flag begins, 
 Though neither loses yet nor wins. 
 High rides the sun, thick rolls the dust, 
 And feebler speeds the blow and thrust. 
 Douglas leans on his war-sword now, 
 And Randolph wipes his bloody brow, 
 Nor less had toil'd each Southern knight, 
 From morn till mid-day in the fight. 
 Strong Egremont for air must gasp, 
 Beauchamp undoes his visor-clasp, 
 And Montague must quit his spear, 
 And sinks thy falchion, bold De VereJ 
 The blows of Berkley fall less fast, 
 And Gallant Pembroke's bugle-blast 
 
 Hath lost its lively tone; 
 Sinks, Argentine, thy battle-word, 
 And Percy's shout was fainter heard, 
 
 " My merry -men, fight on! ? ' — 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 Bruce with the pilot's wary eye, 
 The slackning of the storm could spy. 
 
Canto VI. THE ISLES. 167 
 
 " One effort more, and Scotland's free! 
 Lord of the isles, my trust in thee 
 
 Is firm as Ailsa-roek; 
 Rush on with Highland sword and targe, 
 I, with my Carrick spearmen, charge; 
 Now, forward to the shock!" — 
 At once the spears were forward thrown, 
 Against the sun the broadswords shone; 
 The pibroch lent its maddening tone, 
 And loud King Robert's voice was known — 
 cl Carrick press on— they fail, they fail! 
 Press on, brave sons of Tnnisgail, 
 
 The foe is fainting fast! 
 Each strike for parent, child, and wife, 
 For Scotland, liberty, and life,— , 
 The battle cannot last! 3 ' — 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 The fresh and desperate onset bore 
 The foes three furlongs back and more, 
 Leaving their noblest in their gore. 
 
 Alone, De Argentine 
 Yet bears on high his red-cross shield, 
 Gathers the reliques of the field, 
 Renews the ranks whe" %f have reel'd, 
 
 And still makes ' v ne. 
 
 Brief strife, but fierce, e r raise, 
 \ bright but momentary blaze. 
 Fair Edith heard the Southern shout, 
 Beheld them turning from the rout, 
 Heard the wild call their trumpets sent, 
 In notes 'twixt triumph and lament. 
 
168 THE LORD OF Canto VI, 
 
 That rallying force, combined anew, 
 Appear'd, in her distracted view, 
 
 To hem the isles-men round; 
 "O Ciod! the combat they renew, 
 
 And is no rescue found! 
 And ye that look thus tamely on, 
 And see your native land o'erthrown, 
 O! are your hearts of flesh or stone?" — 
 
 The multitude that watchM afar, 
 
 Rejected from the ranks of I 
 
 IJuil not unmoved beheld the light, 
 
 When stiove the Bruce for Scotland's right; 
 
 Each heart had caught the patriot spark, 
 
 Old man and stripling, priest and clerk, 
 
 Bondsman and serf; even female hand 
 
 StretchM to the hatchet or the brand; 
 But, when mute Amadine they heard, 
 Give to their zeal his signal-word, 
 A frenzy fired the throng:— 
 "Portents and miracles impeach 
 Our sloth — the dumb our duties teach-^- 
 And he that gives the mute his speech, 
 Can bid the weak be strong. 
 
 To us, as to our lords, are given 
 
 A native earth, a promised heaven; 
 
 To us, as to our lords, belongs 
 
 The vengeance for our nation's wrongs; 
 
 The choice, 'twixt death or freedom, warms 
 
 Our breasts as theirs — To arms, to arms!" — 
 
 To arms they flew, — axe, club, or spear,-— 
 
 And mimic ensigns high they rear, 
 
Canto VI. THE ISLES. 169 
 
 And, like a banner' d host afar, 
 Bear down on England's wearied war. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Already scatter'd o'er the plain, 
 Reproof, command, and counsel vain, 
 The rearward squadrons fled amain, 
 
 Or made but doubtful stay; — 
 "But when they mark'd the seeming show 
 Of fresh and fierce and marshall'd foe, 
 
 The boldest broke array. 
 
 give their hapless prince his due! 
 In vain the royal Edward threw 
 
 His person 'mid the spears, 
 Cried " Fight!" to terror and despair, 
 Menaced, and wept, and tore his hair, 
 
 And cursed their caitiff fears; 
 Till Pembroke turned his bridle rein, 
 And forced him from the fatal plain. 
 With them rode Argentine, until 
 They gained the summit of the hill, 
 
 But quitted there the train: — * 
 " In yonder fleld a gage I left, — 
 
 1 must not live of fame bereft; 
 
 I needs must turn again. 
 \ Speed hence, my Liege, for on your trace 
 The fiery Douglas takes the chaee, 
 
 I know his banner well. 
 God send my Sovereign joy and bliss, 
 And many a happier field than this! — - 
 
 Once more, my Liege, farewell."— 
 
 H 
 
1 70 THE LORD OF Canto VI 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Agnin he faced the battle-field, — 
 
 Wildly they fly, are slain, or yield. 
 
 " Now then," he said, and couch'd his spear, 
 
 u My course is run, the goal is near; 
 
 One effort more, one brave career, 
 
 Must close this race of mine." 
 Then in his stirrups rising high, 
 He shouted loud his battle-cry, 
 
 " Saint James for Argentine!" 
 And, of the bold pursuers, four 
 The gallant knight from saddle bore; 
 But not unharm'd — a lance's point 
 Has found his breast-plate's loosen'd joint, 
 
 An axe has razed his crest; 
 Yet still on Colonsay's fierce lord, 
 Who press'd the chace with gory sword, 
 
 He rode with spear in rest, 
 And through his bloody tartans bored, 
 
 And through his gallant breast. 
 Nail'd to the earth, the mountaineer 
 Yet writhed him up against the spear, 
 
 And swung his broad-sword round! 
 —Stirrup, steel-boot, and cuish gave way, 
 Beneath that blow's tremendous sway, 
 
 The blood gush'd from the wound; 
 And the grim Lord of Colonsay 
 
 Hath turn'd him on the ground, 
 And laugh'd in death -pang, that his blade 
 The mortal thrust so well repaid. 
 
Canto VI. THEtSLES. l?i 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Now toil'd the Bruce, the battle done, 
 To use his conquest boldly won; 
 And gave command for horse and spear 
 To press the Southern's scatter'd rear, 
 Nor \et his broken force combine, 
 — When the war-cry of Argentine 
 
 Fell faintly on his ear! 
 " Save, save his life," he cried, " O save 
 The kind, the noble, and the brave!" — 
 The squadrons round free passage gave, 
 
 The wounded knight drew near. 
 He raised his red-cross shield no more, 
 Helm, cuish, and breast-plate stream'd with gore, 
 Yet, as he saw the King advance, 
 He strove even then to couch his lance — 
 
 The effort was in vain! 
 The spur-stroke fail'd to rouse the horse; 
 Wounded and weary, in mid course 
 
 He stumbled on the plain. 
 Then foremost was the generous Bruce 
 To raise his head, his helm to loose:— 
 
 " Lord Earl, the day is thine! 
 My Sovereign's charge, and adverse fate, 
 Have made our meeting all too late: 
 
 Yet this may Argentine, 
 As boon from ancient comrade, crave — 
 A Christian's mass, a soldier's grave." — 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Bruce press'd his dying hand*— its grasp 
 Kindly replied; but, in his clasp, 
 It stiffen'd and grew cold— 
 
1 72 THE LOUD OF Canto VI. 
 
 And, " O Farewell!" the victor cried, 
 " Of chivalry the flower and pride, 
 
 The arm in hattle hold, 
 The courteous mien, the nohle race, 
 The stainless faith, the man'} face! — 
 Bid Ninian's convent light their shrine, 
 For late-wake of De Argentine. 
 O'er hetter knight on death-bier laid, 
 Torch never ^leam'd nor mass was said!" — 
 
 XXXV. 
 Nor forDe A rgentin e alone, 
 Through Ninian's church these torches shone. 
 And rose the death-prayer's awful tone. 
 That yellow lustre glimmer'd pale, 
 On hroken plate and Moodied mail, 
 Kent crest and shatter'd coronet, 
 Of Baron, Earl, and Banneret; 
 And the hest names that England knew, 
 Claim' d in the death-prayer dismal due. 
 
 Yet mourn not, Land of Fame! 
 Though ne'er the leopards on thy shield 
 Retreated from so sad a field, 
 
 Since Norman William came. 
 Oft may thine anRals justly boast 
 Of battles stern by Scotland lost; 
 
 Grudge not her \ictory, 
 When for her free-born rights she strove; 
 Rights dear to all who freedom love, 
 
 To none so dear as thee! 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 Turn we to Bruce, whose curious ear 
 Mhst from Fitz -Louis tidings hear; 
 
Canto VI. THE ISLES. i 72 
 
 With him, an hundred voices tell 
 Of prodigy and miracle, 
 
 " For the mute Page had spoke."—- 
 "Page!" said Fitz-Louis, " rather say, 
 An angel sent from realms of day, 
 
 To hurst the English yoke. 
 I saw his plume and bonnet drop, 
 When hurrying from the mountain top; 
 A lovely brow, dark locks that wave, 
 To his bright eyes new lustre gave, 
 A step as light upon the green, 
 As if his pinions waved unseen!" — 
 "Spoke he with none?" — "With none — one word 
 Burst when he saw, the Island Lord, 
 Returning from the battle-field." — 
 " What answer made the Chief?" — " He kneel'd, 
 Durst not look up, but mutter'd low, 
 Some mingled sounds that none might know, 
 And greeted him 'twixt joy and fear, 
 As being of superior sphere." — 
 
 XXX VIL 
 
 Even upon Bannock's bloody plain, 
 Heap'd then with thousands of the slain, 
 3 Mid victor monarch's musings high, 
 Mirth laugh'd in good King Robert's eye. 
 "And bore he such angelic air, 
 Such noble front, such waving hair? 
 Hath Ronald kneel'd to him?" he said, 
 " Then must we call the church to aid— - 
 Our will be to the Abbot known, 
 Ere these strange news are wider blown, 
 To Cambuskenneth straight he pass, 
 And deck the church for solemn rnass, 
 
1 74 THE LORD OF Canto \T. 
 
 To pay, for high deliverance given, 
 A nation's thanks to gracious Heaven. 
 Let him array, besides, such state, 
 As should on princes' nuptials wait. 
 Ourself the cause, through fortune's spite, 
 That once broke short that spousal rite, 
 Ourself will grace, with early morn, 
 The bridal of the Maid of Lorn. 
 
Canto VI. THE ISLES. \ 7t 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 uo forth, my Song, upon thy venturous way; 
 
 Go boldly forth; nor yet thy master blame, 
 Who ehose no patron for his h amble lay, 
 
 And graced thy numbers with no friendly name_, 
 Whose partial zeal might smooth thy path to fame 
 
 There was — and 0! how many sorrows crowd 
 Into these two brief words! — there was a claim 
 
 By generous friendship given — had fate allow'd, 
 It well had bid thee rank the proudest of the prpacH 
 
 All angel now — yet little less than all, 
 
 While still a pilgrim in our world below? 
 What 'vails it us that patience to recall, 
 
 Which hid its own, to sooth all other woe; 
 What 'vails to tell, how Virtue's purest glow 
 
 Shone yet more lovely in a form so fair; — 
 And, least of all, what 'vails, the world should know^ 
 
 That one poor garland, twined to deck thy hair, 
 la hung upon thy hearse, to droop and wither there! 
 


 
 NOTES. 
 
 H.2 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIRST, 
 
 Note I. 
 Thy rugged halls, Artornish, rvng*—§t. I. p. S. 
 The ruins of the castle of Artornish are situated 
 upon a promontory, on the Morven, or mainland side 
 of the Sound of Mull, a name given to the deep arm 
 of the sea, which divides that island from the conti- 
 nent. The situation is wild and romantic in the 
 highest degree, having on the one hand a high and 
 precipitous chain of rocks overhanging the sea, and 
 on the other the narrow entrance to the beautiful 
 salt-water lake, called Loch-Alline, which is in many- 
 places finely fringed with copse-wood. The ruins of 
 Artornish are not now very considerable, and consist 
 chiefly of the remains of an old keep, or tower, with 
 fragments of outward defences. But, in former days, 
 it was a place of great consequence, being one of the 
 principal strong-holds which the Lords of the Isles, 
 during the period of their stormy independence, 
 possessed upon the main-land of Argyleshire. Here 
 they assembled what popular tradition calls, their 
 parliaments, meaning, I suppose, their cour pleniere, 
 or assembly of feudal and patriarchal vassals and de- 
 pendants. From this castle of Artornish, upon the 
 19th day of October, 1461, John de Yle, designing 
 himself Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles, granted, 
 in the style of an independent sovereign, a commis- 
 sion to his trusty and well-beloved cousins, Ronald of 
 the Isles, and Duncan, Arch-Dean of the Isles, for 
 empowering them to enter into a treaty with the 
 
180 NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. 
 
 most excellent Prince Edward, by the grace of God, 
 King of France and England, and Lord of Ireland. 
 Edward IV., on his part, named Laurence Bishop "1 
 Durham, the Earl of Worcester, the Prior ol St. 
 John's, Lord Wenlock. and Mr. Robert Stillington, 
 keeper of the privy seal, his deputies and commis- 
 sioners, to confer with those named by the Lord of 
 the Isles. The conference termini ity, by 
 
 which the Lord of the Isles agreed to become a vassal 
 to tlie crown of England, and to rt^.a Edward IV. 
 and .laiiies Earl of Douglas, then in banishment, in 
 subduing the realm Of Scotland. 
 
 The first article provide*, that John dc Isle, Earl 
 if Rosi, with bis son Donald Ballovh. and his grand- 
 son .John de Isle, with all their subjects, men, p< oplr. 
 and inhabitants become raffish and liegemen to Ed- 
 ward IV. of England, and assist him in his wars in 
 Scotland or Ireland; and then follow the allowances 
 to be made to the Lord of the Isles, in recompense of 
 bis military service, and the provisions for dividing 
 <uch conquests as their united arms should make 
 upon the main-land of Scotland among the confede- 
 rates. These appear such curious illustrations of the 
 period, that they are here subjoined: 
 
 *' Itrm y The seid John Erie of Rosse shall, from the 
 >eid fist ci Whittesontjde next comyng, yerely, dur- 
 yng his lyf, have and take for f_*es and wages in 
 of peas, of the seid most high and Christien 
 prince c. marc sterlyng of Englysh money; and in 
 ryine of werre, as long as he shall entende with his 
 mygiit and power in the seid werres, in maner and 
 borme aboveseid, he shall have wages of cc. lib. 
 sterlyng of English money yerely; and after the rate 
 of the tyine that he shall be occu-pyed in the seid 
 werres. 
 
 ■ Item, The seid Donald shall, from the seid feste 
 of Whittesontide, have and take, during his lyf, 
 yerly, in tyme of peas, for his fees and wages, xx k 
 sterlyng of Englysh money; and, when he shall be 
 ^ccnpk'd and intend to the weire, with his my/gh I 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. 181 
 
 and power, and in manner and fourme aboveseid, he 
 shall have and take, for his wages yearly, xl. 1. ster- 
 lynge of Englysh money; or for the rate of the tyme 
 of werre ■■ • 
 
 " Item, The seid John, sonn and heire apparant of 
 the said Donald, shall have and take, yerely, from the 
 seid fest, for his fees and wages, in the tyrne of peas, 
 X. 1. sterlynges of Englysh money; and for tyme of 
 werre, and his intendyng thereto, in maner and 
 fourme aboveseid, he shall have, for his fees and 
 wages, yerely xx 1. sterlynges of Englysh money; or 
 after the rate of the tyme that he shall be occupied 
 in the werre: And the seid John. th ; Erie Donald and 
 John, and eche of them, shall have good and suffi- 
 ciaunt paiment of the seid fees and wages, as wel for 
 tyme of pees as of werre, accordyng to thees articules 
 and appoyntements. Item, it is appointed, accorded, 
 concluded, and finally determined, that, if it so be 
 that hereafter the seid reaume of Scotlande, or the 
 more part tberof, be conquered, subdued, and brought 
 to the obeissance of the seid most high and Christien 
 prince, and his heires, or suceessours, of the seid 
 Lionell, in fourme aboveseid descend yng, be the as- 
 sistance, helpe, and aide of the seid John Erie of 
 Kosse, and Donald, and of James Erie of Douglas, 
 then, the seid fees and wages for the tyme of peas 
 cessyng, the same erles and Donald shall have, by the 
 graunte of the same most Christien prince, all the 
 possessions of the seid reaume beyonde Scottishe se.e, 
 they to be departed equally betwix them; eche of 
 them, his heires and suceessours, to holde his parte 
 of the seid most Christien prince, his heires, and suc- 
 eessours, for evermore, in right of his croune of 
 England, by homage and feaute to be done there- 
 fore. 
 
 u Item, If so be that, by th' aide and assistence of 
 the seid James Erie of Douglas, the seid reaume of 
 Scotlande be conquered and subdued as above, then 
 he shall have, enjoie, and inherite all his own pes- 
 sessions, landes, and inheritatmee, on this syde the 
 
182 
 
 NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. 
 
 said Scottishe see; that is to saye, betwix the seid 
 Scottisshe see and Englande, such he hath rejoice 
 and be possessed of before this; there to holde them 
 of the seid most high and Christien prince, his heires, 
 and successours, as is aboveseid, for evermore, in 
 right of the coroune of Englonde, as weel the seid 
 Erie of Douglas, as his heires, and successours, by 
 homage and feaute to be done therefore."— Rymer's 
 Focdera Convent iones, Litenc et cujuscunque generis 
 Acta Publira, Fol. vol. P., 1741. 
 
 Such was the treaty of Artornish; but it does not 
 appear that the allies ever made any very aeti\i 
 effort to realize their ambitious designs. It will ser 
 to show both thn power of these reguli, and their in 
 dependence upon the crown of Scotland. 
 
 It is only farther necessary to say of the castle < 
 Artornish, that it is almost opposite to the bay of 
 Aros, in the Island of Mull, where there was another 
 castle, the occasional residence of the Lord of the 
 Isles. 
 
 Note II. 
 Rude Htiskars seal through surges dark 
 Will long pursue the Minstrel's bark —St. II. p. 6. 
 The seal displays a taste for music, which could 
 scarcely be expected from his habits and local predi- 
 lections. They Mill long follow a boat in which any 
 musical instrument is placed, and even a tune sim- 
 ply whistled has attractions for them. The Dean of 
 the Isles says of Heiskar, a small uninhabited rock, 
 about twelve (Scottish) miles from the isle of Uist, 
 that an infinite slaughter of seals takes place there. 
 
 Note III. 
 
 dark Mull! thy mighty Sound.—St. VII. p. 9. 
 
 The Sound of Mull, which divides that island from 
 the continent of Scotland, is one of the most striking 
 scenes which the Hebrides afford to the traveller. 
 Sailing from Oban to Aros, or Tobermory, through 
 a narrow channel, yet deep enough to bear vessels of 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. 183 
 
 the largest burthen, he has on his left the bold and 
 mountainous shores of Mull; on the right those of 
 that district of Argyleshire, calied Moiven or Mor- 
 vern, successively indented by deep salt-water lochs, 
 running up many miles inland. To the south-east- 
 ward arise a prodigious range of mountains, among 
 which Cruachan Ben is pre-eminent. And to the 
 north-east is the no less huge and picturesque range 
 of the Ardnamurchan hills. Many ruinous castles, 
 situated generally upon cliffs overhanging the ocean, 
 add interest to the scene. Those of Dunolly and 
 DunstafFnage are first passed, then that of Duart, 
 formerly belonging to the chief of the warlike and 
 powerful sept of Macleans, and the scene of Miss 
 Baillie's beautl-ful tragedy, entitled the Family Le- 
 gend. Still passing on to the northward, Artornish 
 and Aros become visible upon the opposite shores 
 and lastly, Mingarry, and other ruins of less distin- 
 guished note. In fine weather, a grander and more 
 impressive scene, both from its natural beauties, and 
 associations with ancient history and tradition, can 
 hardly be imagined. When the weather is rough, the 
 passage is both difficult and dangerous, from the nar- 
 rowness of the channel) and in part from the number 
 of inland lakes, out of which sally forth a number of 
 conflicting and thwarting tides, making the navigation 
 perilous to open boats The sudden flaws and gusts 
 of wind which issue without a moment's warning 
 from the mountain glens, are equally formidable. So 
 that in unsettled weather, a stranger, if not much 
 accustomed to the sea, may sometimes add to the 
 other sublime sensations excited by the scene, that 
 feeling of dignity which arises from a sense of dan= 
 ger. 
 
 Note IV. 
 From Hirt — — — 
 
 To the green Hay' 's fertile shore.— St. VIII. p. 9. 
 The number of the western isles of Scotland ex= 
 ceeds two hundred, of which St, Kilda is the most 
 
Itf4 N0TE9 TO CANTO FIHS 1 . 
 
 northerly, anciently called Birth, or Ilirt, probably 
 from ** earth, " being in fact tin- whok 
 inhabitants. Hay, which now bek Itupely 
 
 to Walter Campbell, Esq. of Shaw held, is by far the 
 »nost fertile of the Hebrides, and has ban greatly 
 impaired under the •pirited and sagacious ■ 
 of the preaant proprietor, ibis in 
 the principal abode of the Lords of th 
 being, if not the b M important island 
 
 of their archipelago. In M 
 
 •f their gmndeor ir< . •• Loch-rmiagan, 
 
 ■bout three rnilet in eireu inference, affords salmon, 
 fronts, and eels: this lake lies in th< cent r of the isle. 
 'I he isle I'inlagan, from which this lake hath its 
 unoni for being onac the court in 
 which the great Mack-Donald, King of the Isles, had 
 ..knee; hil hi fab :uv now ruin- 
 
 Mis guards de corps, called Lucht-tach, kept 
 guard on the lake-side nearest to the isle; the wall, 
 of their houses are still to be seen there. The high 
 of judicature, consisting of fourteen, sat always 
 :;n appall to them from all the 
 in the isles: the eleventh share of the sum in 
 debate was due to the principal judge. There was a 
 big stone of seven foot square in which there was a 
 deep impression made to receive the feet of Mack" 
 Donald; for he was crowned King of the Isles stand- 
 ing in this stone, and swore that he would continue 
 his vassals in the possession of their lands, and do ex- 
 nt justice to all his subjects: and then his father's 
 sword was put into his hand. The Bishop of Argyle 
 and seven priests anointed him king, in presence of 
 all the heads of the tribes in the isles and continent, 
 and were his vassals; at which time the orator re- 
 hearsed a catalogue of his ancestors, &c— Martin'' s 
 Account of the Western Islet, octavo, London, 1716,/>. 
 240. 1. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. ISo 
 
 Note V. 
 _— ._ Mingarry sternly placed, 
 Overawes the woodland and the waste.— St. VIII. p. lf)» 
 The castle of Mingarry is situated on the sea-eoast 
 of the district of Ardnamurchan. The ruins, which 
 are tolerably entire, are surrounded by a very high 
 wall, forming a kind of polygon, for the purpose of 
 adapting itself to the projecting angles of a precipice 
 " overhanging the sea, on which the castle stands. It 
 was anciently the residence of the Mac-Ians, a clan 
 of Mac-Donalds, descended from Ian, or John, a grand- 
 son of Angus Og, Lord of the Isles. The last time 
 that Mingarry was of military importance, occurs in 
 the celebrated Leabhar dearg, or Red-book of Clan- 
 ronald, a MS. renowned in the Ossianie controversy. 
 Allaster Mae-Donald, commonly called Colquitto, 
 who commanded the Irish auxiliaries, sent over by 
 the Earl of Antrim during the great civil war to the 
 assistance of Monti-ose, began his enterprise in 1644, 
 by taking the castles of Kinloch-Alline, and Min- 
 garry, the last of which made considerable resistance, 
 as might, from the strength of the situation, be ex- 
 pected. In the meanwhile, Allaster Mac-Donald's 
 .ships which had brought him over, were attacked in 
 Loch Eisord, in Skye, by an armament sent round by 
 the covenanting parliament, and his own vessel. was 
 taken. This circumstance is said chiefly to have in- 
 duced him to continue in Scotland, where there 
 seemed little prospect of raising an army in behalf 
 of the king. He had no sooner moved eastward to 
 join Montrose, a junction which he effected in the 
 braes of Athole, than ihe Marquis of Argyle besieg- 
 ed the castle of Mingarry, but without success. 
 Among other warriors and chiefs whom Argyle sum- 
 moned to his camp to assist upon this occasion, was 
 John of Moidart, the Captain of Clanronald. Clanro- 
 nald appeared; but, far from yielding effectual assis- 
 tance to Argyle, he took the opportunity of being in 
 arms to lay waste the district of Sunart, then belong- 
 ing to the adherents of Argyle, and sent part of the 
 
136 NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. 
 
 spoil to relieve the castle of Mingarry. Thus tin 
 
 SAU maintained until relieved by Allast< I 
 Donald (Colquitto) who had been detached lor the 
 purpose by Montrose. These particulars are hardly 
 worth mentioning, were they not connecti d with the 
 memorable success. I . related by sji 
 
 witness, and hitherto unknown to Scottish historians. 
 
 The He r of mighty Somerle<l~St. MIL p. 10. 
 Bom and Lord t4 
 
 Isles, about the middle of the twelfth eentnr; 
 teems to hen bority in both eapa- 
 
 . independent of the erown of Scotland, against 
 whieh be often stood in hostility. 
 
 lions Upon the western lowlands during the 
 reign of Malcolm IV., and teemi ' 
 \\iih hi hi upon the terms of an independent prince, 
 about the year 1157. Id 1164, he resumed the war 
 against Malcolm, and invaded Scotland w it!i a large, 
 but probably a tumultuary army, collected r 
 isl»s, in the mainland oi and in the 
 
 neighbouring provinces of Ireland. He was defeated 
 and slain in an engagement with a very inferior 
 force, near Renfrew. His son Gillicolane fell in the 
 •atne battle. This mighty ehieftain married a daugh- 
 ter of Olaus. King of Man. From him our genealo- 
 
 dedoce two dynasties, distinguished in the 
 stormy history of the middle ages; the Lords of the 
 Isles descended from his elder son Ronald, and the 
 Lords of Lorn, who took their sirname of M-Dougal, 
 as descended of his second son Dougal. That Somer- 
 led's territories upon the main-land, and upon the 
 islands, should have been thus divided between his 
 two sons, instead of passing to the elder exclusively, 
 may illustrate the uncertainty of descent among the 
 great Highland families, which we shall presently 
 notice. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. 187 
 
 Note VII. 
 Lord of the Isles.— St. Vttl. p. 10. 
 
 The representative of this independent principali- 
 ty, for such it seems to have been, though acknow- 
 ledging occasionally the pre-eminence of the Scottish 
 crown, was, at the period of the poem, Angus, called 
 Angus Og; but the name has been, euphonias gratia^ 
 exchanged for that of Ronald, which frequently oc- 
 curs in the genealogy. Angus was a protector of Ro- 
 bert Bruce, whom he received in his castle of Dun- 
 naverty, during the time of his greatest distress. As 
 I shall be equally liable to censure for attempting to 
 decide a controversy which has long existed between 
 three distinguished chieftains of this family, who 
 have long disputed the representation of the Lord of 
 the Isles, or for leaving a question of such impor- 
 tance altogether untouched, I chuse hi-the first place 
 to give such information as I have been able to de- 
 rive from Highland genealogists, and which, for those 
 who have patience to investigate such subjects, really 
 contains some curious information concerning the 
 history of the Isles. In the second place, I shall offer 
 a few remarks upon the rules of succession at that pe- 
 riod, without pretending to decide their bearing upon 
 the question at issue, which must depend upon evi- 
 dence which I have had no opportunity to examine. 
 
 ft Angus Og," says an ancient manuscript transla- 
 ted from the Gaelic, "son of Angus Mor, son of 
 Donald, son of Ronald, son of Somerled. high chief 
 and superior Lord of Innisgall, (or the Isles of the 
 Gael, the general name given to the Hebrides,) he 
 married a daughter of Cunbui, namely, Cathan; she 
 was mother to John, son of Angus, and with her 
 came an unusual portion from Ireland, viz. twenty- 
 four clans, of whom twenty-four families in Scotland 
 are descended. Angus had another son, namely, 
 young John Fraoeb, whose descendants are Galled 
 Clan-Ean of Glencoe, and the M'Donalds of Fraoch. 
 This Angus Og died in Isla, where his body was in- 
 terred, his son John succeeded to the inheritance of 
 
188 NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. 
 
 Inisgall. He had good descendants, namely, three 
 sons procreate of Ann, daughter of Rodric, high chief 
 of Lorn, and one daughter, Mary, married to John 
 Maclean, Laird of Duart, and Lauchlan, his brother, 
 Laird of Coll; she was interred in the church of the 
 Black Nuns. The eldest sons of John were Ronald, 
 
 Godfrey, and Angus* He gave Ronald a 
 
 great inheritance. These were the lands which he 
 gave him, viz. from Kilcumin in Abertarf to the river 
 Seil, and from thence to Beilli, north of Eig and 
 Rum, and the two Uists, and from thence to the 
 foot of the river Glaichan, and threescore long ships. 
 John married afterwards Margaret Stewart, daughter 
 to Robert Stewarf, King of Scotland, called John 
 Fernyear; she bore to him three good sons, Donald 
 of the Isles, the heir, John the Tainister, (i. e. Thane) 
 the second son, and Alexander Carrach. John bad 
 another son called Marcos, of whom the clan Mac- 
 donald of Cnoc, in Tirowen, are descended. This 
 John lived long, and made donations to Icolumkiil, 
 he covered the chapel of Eorsey-Elan, the chapel of 
 Finlagam, and the chapel of the Isle of Tsuibhne, 
 and gave the proper furniture for the service of God, 
 upholding the clergy and monks; he built or repaired 
 the church of the Holy Cross immediately before his 
 death. He died at his own castle of Aidtorinish, many 
 priests and monks took the sacrament at his funeral, 
 and they embalmed the body o* this dear man, and 
 brought it to Icolumkiil; the abbot, monks, and vicar, 
 came as they ought to meet the King of Fiongal, (1) 
 and out of great respect to his memory mourned 
 eight days and nights over it, and laid it in the same 
 grave with his father, in the church of Oran, 1380. 
 
 " Ronald, son of John, was chief ruler of the Isles 
 in his father's life-time, and was old in the govern- 
 ment at his father's death. 
 
 " He assembled the gentry of the Isles, brought the 
 
 (l) Western Isles aud adjacent coast. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. 189 
 
 sceptre from Kildonan in Eig, and delivered it to his 
 brother Donald, who was thereupon called M'Donald, 
 and Donald Lord of the Isles, (1) contrary to the opi- 
 nion of the men of the Isles. 
 
 st Ronald, son of John, son of Angus Og, was a 
 great supporter of the church and ciergy; his descen- 
 dants are called Clanronald. He gave the lands of 
 Tiruma, in Uist, to the minister of it for ever, for the 
 honour of God and Columkili; he was proprietor of 
 all the lands of the north along the coast and the 
 isles; he died in the year of Christ 1386, in his own 
 mansion of Castle Tirim, leaving five children. Do- 
 nald of the Isles, son of John, son of Angus Og, the 
 brother of Ronaid, took possession of Inisgall by the 
 consent of his brother and the gentry thereof; they 
 were all obedient to him: he married Mary Lesly, 
 daughter to the Earl of Ross, and by her came the 
 earldom of Ross to the M'Donalds. After his succes- 
 sion to that earldom, he was called M'Donald, Lord 
 of the Isles and Earl of Ross. There are many things 
 written of him in other places. 
 
 " He fought the battle of Garioeh (i. e. Harlaw) 
 against Duke Murdoch, the governor; the Earl of 
 Mar commanded the army, in support of his claim to 
 the earldom of Ross: which was ceded to him by 
 King James the First, after his release from the King 
 of England, and Duke Murdoch, his two sons and 
 retainers, were beheaded: he gave lands in Mull and 
 Jsla to the minister of Hi, and every privilege which 
 the minister of Iona had formerly, besides vessels of 
 gold and silver to Columkili for the monastery, and 
 became himself one of the fraternity. He left issue, 
 a lawful heir to Innisgall and Ross, namely, Alexan- 
 der, the son of Donald: he died in Isla, and his body 
 was interred in the south side of the temple of Oran. 
 Alexander, called John of the Isles, son of Alexander 
 of the Isles, son of Donald of the Isles. Angus, the 
 
 (1) Inisgall. 
 
190 NOTES TO CANTO FIRST, 
 
 thiitl iS Op, marri< 
 
 ibou! iif ir i 
 
 party I ml the othi r tt Mm Mm 
 
 differences increased m much, that John oh 
 
 ill the lands b . h ('• r. 
 
 llp.oU 
 
 Iptiied to be a great meet- 
 
 'l bj hi* own harper 
 i throat with a loin: I 
 
 cone* . i | up to the king. Angus's 
 
 wiU was pregnant .it id murder, and 
 
 Mid Du. If.- was kept in confinciut nt U 
 was thirty years of i ; aaai by the 
 
 of Ok Deo, bj • 
 
 beeaiaeto the laieaj ajid convem 
 oC i h< r«- happened great fendi eetatol 
 these tainilii i while Donald l)u was in confinement, 
 insomuch that Mae-CVan of Ardnamurchan drstroyed 
 
 ale gre at e st pan of the posterity of John Mor of the 
 Ia|ei ami Cantyre. Fur John Cathenaeh, son of John, 
 
 : Donald Uailach. son of John Mor, son of John, 
 son o: beef ot th^ descendants of 
 
 John Mor) and John Mor, son of John Cathanach, 
 and young John, son ot John Cathanach, and young 
 Donald Unliach. so-i of John Cathanach, were treach- 
 erously taken by Mae-Cean in the island of Kinlagan, 
 in Isla. and carried to Edinburgh, where he got them 
 hanged at the Burrow-n.uir, and their bodies were 
 buried in the church of St. Anthony, called the New 
 
 (i) The murderer I presume, not the man who was 
 murdered. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. 191 
 
 Church. There were none left alive at that time of 
 the children of John Cathanach, except Alexander, 
 the son of John Cathanach, and Agnes Flach, who con- 
 cealed themselves in the glens of Ireland. Mac-Cean, 
 hearing of their hiding-places, went to cut down the 
 woods of these glens, in order to destroy Alexander, 
 and" extirpate the whole race. At length Mac-Cean 
 and Alexander met, were reconciled, and a marriage 
 alliance took place; Alexander married Mac Cean's 
 daughter, and she brought him good children. The 
 Mae-Donalds of the north had also descendants; for, 
 after the death of John, Lord of the Isles, and Earl 
 of Ross, and the murder of Angus, Alexander, the son 
 of Archibald, the son of Alexander of the Isles, took 
 possession, and John was in possession of the earldom 
 of Ross, and the north bordering country, he married 
 a daughter of the Earl of Moray, of whom some of 
 the men of the north had descended. The Mac-Ken- 
 zies rose against Alexander, and fought the battle 
 called Blar na Paire. Alexander had only a few of 
 the men of Ross at the battle. He went after that 
 battle to take possession of the Isles, and sailed in a 
 ship to the south to see if he could find any of the 
 posterity of John Mor alive, to rise along with him, 
 but Mac-Cean of Ardnamurchan watched him as he 
 sailed past, followed him to Oransay and Colonsay, 
 went to the house where he was, and he and Alexan- 
 der, son of John Cathanach, murdered him there. 
 
 " A good while after these things fell out, Donald 
 Galda, son of Alexander, son of Archibald, became 
 major; he, with the advice and direction of the Earl 
 of Moray, came to the isles, and Mac-Leod of the 
 Lewis, and many of the gentry of the isles, rose with 
 him: they went by the promontory of Ardnamurchan, 
 where they met Alexander, the son of John Catha- 
 nach, were reconciled to him, he joined his men with 
 theirs against Mac-Cean of Ardnamurchan, came 
 upon him at a place called the Silver Craig, where 
 he and his three sons, and a great number of his peo» 
 pie, were killed, and Donald Galda was immediately 
 
192 
 
 ii, t)ui 
 
 he AM 
 he (]!■ 
 had 1 1 
 Archil 
 
 tin cmitim m, l)iit th 
 
 them. Alexander, U 
 
 son, call' il J( whom is cl* s«h i;»l< d Achna- 
 
 Donald 
 
 I 
 ' ,i of tlu Uk 
 
 ram* ;« 
 
 ripply 
 of HUM" 
 
 and u 
 
 iving in pro] ^louid 
 
 army 
 In- Earl of I. 
 he disbanded his own men, ami nsdt it up witli 
 
 i«l WeM to In land tfl 
 but h Imblin at Drogheda, of a 
 
 ithout issue o 
 In this history ma a o sjgli the Bard or 
 
 Seannacbie touches such u delicate discussion with a 
 gentle hand, the point of difference between the 
 three principal sept, descended from the Lords of the 
 Isles. The first question, and one of no easy solution, 
 Where so little evidence is produced, respects the na- 
 ture of the connexion of John, called by the Arch- 
 dean of the Isles M the Good John of Ila," and " the 
 last Lord of the Isles," with Anne, daughter of Rode- 
 rick Mac-DougaL, high-chief of Lorn. In the absence 
 of positive evidence presumptive must be resorted to, 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. 193 
 
 and I own it appears to render it in the highest de- 
 gree improbable that this connexion was otherwise 
 than legitimate. In the Avars between David II. and 
 Edward Baliol, John of the Isles espoused the Baliol 
 iulerest, to which he was probably determined by his 
 alliance with Roderick of Lorn, who was, from every 
 family predilection, friendly to Baliol and hostile to 
 Bruce. It seems absurd to suppose, that between two 
 chiefs of the same descent, and nearly equal power 
 and rank (though the Mac-Dougals had been much 
 crushed by Robert Bruce,) such a connexion should 
 have been that of concubinage; and it appears much 
 more probable that the tempting offer of an alliance 
 with the Bruce family when they had obtained the 
 decided superiority in Scotland, induced " the good 
 John of Ua" to disinherit to a certain extent his eldest 
 son Ronald, who came of a stock so unpopular as the 
 Mae-Dougals, and to call to his succession his young- 
 er family, born of Margaret Stuart, daughter of Ro- 
 bert, afterwards King of Scotland. The setting aside 
 of this elder branch of his family was most probably 
 si condition of his new alliance, and his being receiv- 
 ed into favour with the dynasty he had always op* 
 posed. Nor were the laws of succession at this early 
 period so clearly understood as to bar such transae* 
 tions. The numerous and strange claims set up to 
 the crown of Scotland, when vacant by the death of 
 Alexander III., make it manifest how very little the 
 indefeasible hereditary right of primogeniture was 
 valued at that period. In fact, the title of the Bruces 
 themselves to the crown, though justly the most po- 
 pular, when assumed with the determination of as= 
 serting the independence of Scotland, was, upon pure 
 principle, greatly inferior to that of Baliol. For 
 Bruce, the competitor, claimed as son of Isabellas 
 second daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, and 
 John Baliol, as grandson of Margaret, the elder 
 daughter of that same earl. So that the plea of Bruce 
 was founded upon the very loose idea, that as the 
 great grandson of David I., King of Seotfgnd, and 
 I 
 
194 NOTES TO CANTO FIB 
 
 the nearest collat.nl relation of Alexander III., he 
 ■was imitletl to iucci i d in i Kcluiion of tin- great-great 
 grand iroe David, though by an elder 
 
 daughter, ibis maxim mvoared of the ancient prac- 
 tice of Scotland which oft* n called a brother I 
 eeed to the crown as Dearer in blood i 1 
 child, or even a son of a d< erased monarch. Hut, in 
 truth, the maxim of inheritance in Scotland was 
 sometimes departed from at periodi when tin \ 
 much more distinctly undo rttood. Such a trai 
 tion took place in the familj o! Hamilton, in 1513, 
 When tin detcendantl of James, 3d Lord, by Lady 
 Janet Home, were let aside, with an appanage of 
 great value indeed, in ordei to call to the sue; 
 those which he had by a subsequent marriage with 
 Janet Beatoun. In short, many other ( -xamph I might 
 be quoted to show that the question or legitime 
 not always determined by the fact of succession; and 
 there sut ins every reason to Ix-lieve that Ronald, 
 descendant of "John of Ila,"' by Ann of Lorn, was 
 legitimate, and therefore Lord of tin- Isles fie jure, 
 though tk facto his younger half brother Donald, son 
 of his father's second marriage with the princess of 
 Scotland, superseded him in his right, and apparently 
 by his own consent. From this Donald so preferred 
 is descended the family of Sleat, now Lords Mac- 
 Donald. On the other hand, from Ronald, the exclud- 
 ed heir, upon whom a very large appanage was set- 
 tled, and who continued to figure as a chieftain of 
 great power and authority, descended the chiefs of 
 Glengary and Cianronald, each of whom had large 
 possessions, and a numerous vassalage, and boasted a 
 long descent of warlike ancestry. Their common 
 ancestor Ronald was murdered by the Earl of Ross 
 at the monastery of Elcho, A. D. 134fi. I believe it 
 has been subject of fierce dispute, whether Donald, 
 who carried on the line of Glengary, or Allan of 
 Moidait, the ancestor of the captains of Cianronald, 
 was the eldest son of Ronald, the son of John of Ila. 
 A humble lowlander may be permitted to waive the 
 discussion, since a Seannachie of no small note, who 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. 195 
 
 wrote in the sixteenth century, expresses himself 
 upon this delicate topic in the following words: 
 " I have now given you an account of every thing 
 you can expect of the descendants of the clan Colla, 
 (i. e. the Mac-Donalds) to the death of Donald Du at 
 Drogheda, namely, the true line of those who posses- 
 sed the Isles, Ross, and the mountainous countries 
 of Scotland. It was Donald, the son of Angus, that 
 was killed at Inverness, by his (own harper Mac- 
 FCairbre,) son of John of the Isles, son of Alexander, 
 son of Donald, son of John, son of Angus Og. And I 
 know not winch of his kindred or relations is the 
 true heir, except these five sons of John, the son of 
 Angus Og, whom I here set down for 3 r ou, namely, 
 Ronald and Godfrey, the two sons of the daughter of 
 Mac-Donald of Lorn, and Donald and John Mor, and 
 Alexander Carrach, the three sons of Margaret Stew- 
 art, daughter of Robert Stewart, King of Scotland." 
 —Leabhar Dearg. 
 
 Note VIII. 
 — -« The House of Lorn.— St. XI. p. 12. 
 The House of Lorn, as we observed in a former 
 note, was, like the Lords of the Isles, descended from 
 a son of Somerled, slain at Renfrew, in 1164. This 
 son obtained the succession of his mainland territo- 
 ries, ^comprehending the greater part of the three 
 districts of Lorn, in Argyleshire, and of course might 
 rather be considered as petty princes than feudal ba- 
 rons. They assumed the patronymic appellation of 
 Mac-Dougal, by which they are distinguished in the 
 history of the middle ages. The Lord of Lorn, who 
 flourished during the wars of Bruce, was Allaster 
 (or Alexander) Mac-Dougall, called Allaster of Ar- 
 gyle. He had married the third daughter of John, 
 called the Red Comyn,(l) who was slain by Bruce 
 
 (1) The aunt, according to Lord Hailes. But the 
 genealogy is distinctly given by Wintoun:— 
 
 The 
 
196 NOTES IOC WTO FIRST. 
 
 • ii th.- Dominican church at Dum 
 
 . of that |*r : 
 
 -liic-. d bin ' 
 nnd distreated period <iJ b 
 
 ;:i BeoUend, look rl 
 
 ■■unity in his power to requite t 
 
 He marched into Argyll shire to lay watte the coun- 
 try. John of Lorn, v.n of the chk Main, was | 
 With his IbUowen in tlie lorn. tween 
 
 Dalmalri and F*una 
 
 bogr and precipicouj mountain, i 
 ■ I 
 
 iug LoeavAwn .id 
 
 mi of an ordinary trarelk r. Hut the skill 
 •»f Bruce had anticipated thii difficulty; while his 
 
 main body, engaged in a •kirmiah with tin p 
 Loin, detained their attention to the front of theu 
 position, Jane* of Douglas, with Sir Alexander Fra- 
 ier, Sir William Wiaenan, and Sir Andrea I 
 
 ascended the mountain with a select body of archery, 
 and obtained possession of the heights which com- 
 manded the pass. A volley of arrows descending- DBOB 
 them directly warned the Argyleshire men o< | 
 
 i- situation, and their resistance, which had 
 hitherto been bold and manly, was changed iuto a 
 precipitate flight. The deep and rapid river of Awe 
 was then (we learn the fact from Barbour with some 
 surprise,) crossed by a bridge. This bridge the moun- 
 taineers attempted to demolish, but JLJruee's follower* 
 
 The third daughter of Red Comyn, 
 
 Alysander of Argyle syne, 
 
 Took and wedded til his wife, 
 
 And on her he gat until his life, 
 
 John of Lorn, the whilk gat 
 
 Ewen of Lorn after that. 
 
 mntoun's Chronicle, Book Fill. c. VI. line 206. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. 19? 
 
 were too close upon their rear, they were, therefore, 
 without refuge and defence and were dispersed with 
 great slaughter. John o^Loiv. suspicious of the event, 
 had early betaken himself to the gallies which he had 
 upon the lake; but tht feelings which Barbour as- 
 signs to him, while witnessing the rout and slaughter 
 of his followers, exculpate him from the charge of 
 cowardice. 
 
 ■ To John of Lorn it should displease, 
 
 " I trow, when he his men might see 
 
 " Ee slain and chased in the hill, 
 
 " That he might set no help theretill: 
 
 " But it angers as greatumly 
 
 " To good hearts that are worthy, 
 
 " To see their foes fuilnl! their will 
 
 " As to themselves to tholl the ill."—— 
 
 After this decisive engagement, Bruce laid waste 
 Argyleshire, and besieged Bunstafr.age Castle, on 
 the western shore of Lorn, compelled it to surrender, 
 and placed in that principal strong-hold of the Mac- 
 Dougals a garrison and governor of his own. The 
 elder Macdougal, now wearied with the contest, sub- 
 mitted to the victor; but his son, " rebellious," says 
 Barbour, " as he wont to be," fled to England by sea. 
 When the wars between the Bruce and Baliol fac- 
 tions again broke out in the reign of David II., the 
 Lords of Lorn Mere again found upon the losing side, 
 owing to their hereditary enmity to the house of 
 Bruce. Accordingly, upon the issue of that contest, 
 they were deprived by David II. and his successor of 
 by far the greater part of their extensive territories, 
 which were conferred upon Stewart, called the Knight 
 of Lorn. The house of Mac-Dougal continued, how- 
 ever, to survive the loss of power, and affords a very 
 rare, if not an unique, instance of a family of such 
 unlimited power, and so distinguished during the 
 middle ages, survived the decay of their grandeur, 
 and flourishing in a private station. The castle of 
 
198 NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. 
 
 >U j| near Oban, with it! dependencies 1 
 
 principal part of what remained to them, with their 
 
 ftainship over the famUies of then- 
 and blood. These they continued to enjoy until the 
 
 rear 1715, when th arred the pe- 
 
 nalty of forfeiture, for his ICCeiliott to the insurrec- 
 tion of that period; thus losing the remains of hi* in- 
 uice, to n plate upon the throne the descendants 
 of those prim on had 
 
 opposed at t] • The 
 
 d about 1745, to the father 
 . whom Tamil. 
 had taught the hazard of interfering with th 
 blished t, and who remained quiet upon 
 
 Ins property 
 when many Highland chiefs lost theirs. 
 
 Nothing c; wildly beautiful tlian the 
 
 situation of Dunollx. The ruins are situated upon a 
 bold and precipitous promontory, overhanging Loch 
 Ktive, ami distant about a mile from the village and 
 port of Oban. The principal part which remains i* 
 the donjon or keep; but fragments of other buildings, 
 overgrown with ivy, attest that it had been once a 
 
 of importance, as large apparently as Aid . 
 or Dunstarlnage. These fragments inclose a court- 
 yard, of which the keep probably formed one side; 
 the entrance being by a steep ascent from the neck 
 of t!u isthmus, formerly cut across by a moat, and 
 defended doubtless by outworks and a draw-bridge. 
 Beneath the castle stands the present mansion of the 
 family, having on the one hand Loch Etive, with its 
 Islands and mountains, on the other two romantic 
 eminences tufted with copse-wood. There are other 
 accompaniments suited to the scene; in particular a 
 huge upright pillar, or detached fragment of that sort 
 of rock called plumb-pudding stone, upon the shore, 
 about a quarter of a mile from the castle. It is called 
 dach-na-cau, or the dog's pillar, because Fingal is 
 said to have used it as a stake to which he bound bis 
 celebrated dog Bran. Others say, that when tbe Lord 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIRST. I99 
 
 of the Isles came upon a visit to the Lord of Lorn, 
 the dogs brought for his sport were kept beside this 
 pillar. Upon the whole, a more delightful and ro- 
 mantic spot can scarce be conceived; and it receives 
 a moral interest from the considerations attached to 
 the residence of a family once powerful enough to 
 confront and defeat Robert Bruce, and now sunk 
 into the shade of private life. It is at present posses- 
 sed by Patrick Mac-Dougal, Esq. the lineal and un- 
 disputed representative of the ancient Lords of Lorn. 
 The heir of Dunolly fell lately in Spain, fighting 
 under the Duke of Wellington,— -a death well becom- 
 ing his ancestry. 
 
 Note IX. 
 — Those lightnings of the ivave»-St. XXI. p. 18. 
 
 The phenomenon called by sailors Sea-fire, is one 
 of the most beautiful and interesting which is wit- 
 nessed in the Hebrides: at times the ocean appears 
 entirely illuminated around the vessel, and a long 
 train of lambent coruscations are perpetually burst- 
 ing upon the sides of the vessel, or pursuing her 
 wake through the darkness. These phosphoric ap- 
 pearances, concerning the origin of which naturalists 
 are not agreed in opinion, seem to be called into ac- 
 tion by the rapid motion of the ship through the wa- 
 ter, and are probably owing to the water being satura- 
 ted with fish-spa w r n, or other animal substances. They 
 remind one strongly of the description of the sea- 
 snakes in Mr. Coleridge's wild, but highly poetical 
 ballad of the Ancient Mariner:— 
 
 " Beyond the shadow* of tb.6 ship 
 I watched the water-snakes, 
 They moved in tracks of shining white, 
 And when they reared, the elvish light 
 Fell off in hoary flakes.'* 
 
200 NOTES TO CANTO YlU 
 
 ■ X. 
 
 I Fran in the rork, n fm—jt there 
 
 Sought the dark for t, 
 So strr 
 
 '/' otic valiant hand 
 
 'Guiiut hurulreds armed with s/>car i 
 
 And pi 
 
 kief mm rioi 
 ways on the sea-shore, for the ffcc lunkft- 
 
 tion which the (*•< an afforded. Nothing can f> 
 wild than lb 
 
 i by whjch the are) 
 
 fend them. Narrow stairs and arclud vaults VI > 
 
 ! modfl of access, and the draw dmdge appears at 
 Dunstaffnage, and Dm the 
 
 twiihting to tin- top at 
 <t any one advancing with hostile pn 
 found himself in a state I I 
 
 elevation, with a gulph between him and the object 
 of his attack. 
 
 These fortresses were guarded with equal care. 
 The duty of the watch devolved chit fly upon an 
 officer called the Cockman, who had the charge of 
 challenging all who approached the castle. Th 
 ancient family of Mac-Neil of Barra kept this atten- 
 dant at their castle about an hundred years ago. 
 Martin gives the following account of the difficulty 
 which attended his procuring entrance tie 
 
 " The little island Kismul lies about a quarter of a 
 mile from the south of this isle, (Bara;) it is the seat 
 of Maekneil of Barra; there is a stone-wall round it 
 two stories high, reaching the sea, and within the 
 wall there is an old tower and an hall, with other 
 houses about it. There is a little magazine in the 
 tower, to which no stranger has access. I saw the 
 officer call'd the Cockman, and an old cock he is: 
 when I bid him ferry me over the water to the island, 
 he told me that he was but an inferior officer, his bu- 
 siness being to attend in the tower; but if (says he. 
 
 I 
 
SOTES TO CANTO FIRST. 201 
 
 the constable, who then stood on the wall, will give 
 you access, I'll ferry you over. I desired him to pro- 
 cure me the constable's permission, and I would re- 
 ward him; but having waited some hours for the con- 
 stable's answer, and not receiving any, I was obliged 
 to return without seeing this famous fort. Macneil 
 and his lady being absent, was the cause of this diffi- 
 culty, and of my not seeing the place. I was told 
 some weeks after, that the constable was very appre- 
 hensive of some design I might have in viewing the 
 fort, and thereby to expose it to the conquest of a 
 foreign power; of which I supposed there was no 
 great cause of fear.*' 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 
 
 Vote I. 
 
 -De Argcn'int—Sl. III. p. 30. 
 
 Sir 1 of the 
 
 looomplished knights of the period. He- had 
 
 i hi ill. wars of Henry of Luxemburg wit'; 
 
 high reputation, that he was, in popular estimation, 
 the third worthj of the age. Those to whom fane 
 ovt r him were Henry of Lux- 
 emburg himself, and Robert Brnee. Argent i 
 
 .! in Palestine, encountered thrice with the 
 r;s, and had slain two antagonists in each en- 
 gagement. An easy matter, he said, for one Chi 
 knight to slay two Pagan dogs. His death correspond- 
 ed with his high character. With Aymer de Valence, 
 Karl of Pembroke, he was appointed to attend imme- 
 diately upon the person of Edward II. When the 
 day was utterly lost they forced the king from the 
 field. De Argentine saw the king safe from immedi- 
 ate danger, and then took his leave of him; ■ God be 
 with you, sir." he said, " it is not my wont to fly." So 
 saying, he turned his horse, cried his war-cry, plunge 
 ed into the midst of the combatants, and was slain. 
 Baston, a rhyming monk, who had been brought by 
 Edward to celebrate his expected triumph, and who 
 was compelled by the victors to compose a poem on 
 his defeat, mentions with some feeling the death of 
 Sir Giles de Argentine: 
 
 "Nobilis Argenten, pugil inclyte, dulcis Egidi, 
 Vix scieram mentem cum te succumbere virtu" 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 203 
 
 " The first line mentions the three chief requisites 
 of a lame knight, noble birth, valour, and courteous- 
 ness. Few Leonine couplets can be produced that 
 have so much sentiment. I wish that I could have 
 collected more ample memorials concerning a cha- 
 racter altogether different from modern manners. Sir 
 Giles d' Argentine was a hero of romance in real 
 life." So observes the excellent Lord Hailes. 
 
 Note II. 
 K Fill vie the mighty cupl" he said, 
 " Erst oxvrtd by royal Somerled"St. IV. p. 31. 
 
 A Hebridean drinking cup, of the most ancient 
 and curious workmanship, has been long preserved 
 in the castle of Dunvegan, in Skye, the romantic seat 
 of Mac-Leod of Mac-Leod, the chief of that ancient 
 and powerful clan. The horn of Rorie More, pre- 
 served in the same family, and recorded by Dr. John- 
 son, is not to be compared with this piece of anti- 
 quity, which is one of the greatest curiosities in 
 Scotland. The following is a pretty accurate descrip- 
 tion of its shape and dimensions, but cannot, I fear, 
 be perfectly understood without a drawing. 
 
 This very curious piece of antiquity is nine inches 
 and three quarters in inside depth, and ten and a half 
 in height on the outside, the extreme measure over 
 the lips being four inches and a half. The cup is di- 
 vided into two parts by a wrought ledge, beautifully 
 ornamented, about three-fourths of an inch in breadth. 
 Beneath this ledge the shape of the cup is rounded 
 off, and terminates in a flat circle, like that of a tea- 
 cup; four short feet support the whole. Above the 
 projecting ledge the shape of the cup is nearly square, 
 projecting outward at the brim. The cup is made of 
 wood, (oak to all appearance) but most curiously 
 wrought and embossed with silver work, which pro- 
 jects from the vessel. There are a number of regular 
 projecting sockets, which appear to have been set 
 with stones; two or three of them still hold pieces of 
 coral, the rest are empty. At the four corners of the 
 
204 NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 
 
 projecting ledge, or cornice, are four sockets, much 
 larger, probably Cur pebbles or precious stones. I !•• 
 workmanship of the silver ii e\trem< Iv elegant, and 
 i haghlj gilded. IV ledge, brim* 
 |l of the cu]>, are of silver. The famil\ tradi- 
 tion bears that it was the property of Neil GhlW» 
 dhu, or Black-knee. But who this Neil was, no one 
 pretends to say. Around the edge of the cup i 
 lend, perfectly legible, in the Saxon black-! 
 which seems to run thus: 
 
 »#*:*«*»**: miC^: || 
 M&Xi: $jft £?&?&: || 
 ®e : I i;Ui: mUlJWLe : VJ€ty : || 
 ■■Kftfl* : JNMMRJ|l«fll : p 
 <£<€ : &P3CC : ©<£ : 9MP : 3D* : || 
 
 ^>e€^(0T : 3t.lfK& : ©5 : 3# || 
 
 930 &&%%% : <23»3! : |j 
 
 The inscription may run thus at length: Ufa J' 
 Mich Magni PriitcipU de llr Manrie V'uh Lia/iia Mo 
 gryneU tt sperat Domino VmtU dari dementiam illor- 
 <un opera- Fecit Anno Domini 993 0?ti(i Ovni Which 
 may run in English : Ufo, the son of John, the son of 
 Magnus, Prince of Man, the grandson of Liahia Mac- 
 gryneil, trusts in the Lord Jesus that their works (i.e. 
 his own and those of his ancestors) will obtain mercy. 
 Oneil Oimi made this in the year of God nine hun- 
 dred and ninety-three. 
 
 But this version does not include the puzzling let- 
 ters HR before the word Manae. Within the mouth of 
 the cup the letters 3!l}£ (Jesus) are repeated four 
 times. From this and other circumstances it would 
 seem to have been a chalice. This circumstance may 
 perhaps account for the use of the two Arabic nume- 
 rals 93, These figures were introduced by Pope Sylves- 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 203 
 
 ter, A. D. 991, and might be used in a vessel formed for 
 church service so early as 993. The workmanship of 
 the whole cup is extremely elegant, and resembles, 
 I am told, antiquities of the same nature preserved in 
 Ireland. 
 
 The cups thus elegantly formed and highly valued, 
 were by no means utensils of mere show. Martin 
 gives the following account of the festivals of his 
 time, and I have heard similar instances of brutality 
 in the Lowlands at no very distant period. 
 
 " The manner of drinking used by the chief men 
 of the Isles, is called in their language Streah, i. e. a 
 Round; for the company sat in a circle, the cup- 
 bearer fiil'd the drink round to them, and all was drank 
 out, whatever the liquor was, whether strong or weak; 
 they continued drinking so rue times twenty-four some- 
 times forty-eight hours: It was reckoned a piece of 
 manhood to drink until they became drunk, and there 
 were two men with a barrow attending punctually 
 on such occasions. They stood at the door until some 
 became drunk, and they carry'd them upon the bar- 
 row to bed, and returned again to their post as long 
 as any continued fresh, and so carried oif the whole 
 company, one by one, as they became drunk. Several 
 of my acquaintance have been witnesses to this cus- 
 tom of drinking, but it is now abolished." 
 
 This savage custom was not entirely done away 
 within this last generation. I have heard of a gentle- 
 man who happened to be a water-drinker, and was 
 permitted to abstain from the strong potations of the 
 company. The bearers carried away one man after 
 another, till no one was left but this Scottish Mirglip. 
 They then came to do him the same good office, 
 ■which, however, he declined as unnecessary, and 
 proposed to walk to his bed-room. It was a permis- 
 sion he could not obtain. Never such a thing had hap- 
 pened, they said, in the castle! that it was impossible 
 but he must require their assistance, at any rate he 
 must submit to receive it: and carried him off in the 
 barrow acordingly* A classical penalty was sometimes 
 
£06 NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 
 
 imposed on those who baulked the rules of go< 
 lows!) ;» In . I toqn» t. The 
 
 i 
 ■ \ if distinction 
 
 affront, put Opon uny company to broach a pi 
 
 ■le, or aquavitse, and not to tee it all drank out 
 ting, ii way man ehafiee to go out from 
 the company, though hut for a few minuti 
 is obliged upon his return, :n. 
 
 < ■<• In 
 rhyme; which if beeannoi perform, he is liable to 
 
 Mich :i ih m of tbi ' 1 1 1 1 1 k s 
 
 fit to imposes which custom obtains in 
 
 '. which in their lan- 
 
 congratnlatiDg the com- 
 
 Few cups 
 ployed in the rode hospitatitj of the period, than 
 
 those of Dun vegan; one of which we bavejVJl de- 
 d. There it in the Leabhar Dearg, a soup;, inti- 
 mating the overflowing gratitude of a hard of Clan- 
 Ronald, alter the exuberance of a Hebndetn festival 
 at the patriarchal fortress of Mac-Leod. The transla- 
 tion being obviously very literal, has greatly flat 
 as I am informed, the enthusiastic gratitude of the 
 ancient baid, and it must be owned that the works 
 of Homer or Virgil, to say nothing of MaoVuirich, 
 might liave suffered by their transfusion through 
 such a medium. It is pretty plain, that when the tri- 
 bute of poetical praise was bestowed, the horn of Ro- 
 rie More had not been inactive. 
 
 Upon Sir Rodric Mor Macleod, by Niall Mor 
 
 Mac-Vuirich. 
 
 " The six nights I remained in the Dunvegan, it 
 
 was not a show of hospitality I met with there; but a 
 
 plentiful feast in thy fair hall among thy numerous 
 
 host of heroes. 
 
 " The family placed all around under the protec- 
 tion of their great chief, raised by his prosperity and 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 207 
 
 respect for his warlike feats, now enjoying the com- 
 pany of his friends at the feast,— Amidst the sound of 
 harps, overflowing- cups, and happy youth unaccus- 
 tomed to guile, or feud, partaking of the generous fare 
 by a flaming fire. 
 
 " Mighty Chief, liberal to all in your princely man- 
 sion, filled with your numerous warlike host, whose 
 generous wine would overcome the hardiest heroes, 
 yet we continued to enjoy the feast, so happy our 
 host, so generous our fere."— Translated by D. Mac- 
 intosh. 
 
 It would be unpardonable in a modern bard, who 
 has experienced the hospitality of Dun vegan castle in 
 the present day, to omit paying his own tribute of 
 gratitude for a reception more elegant indeed, but 
 not less kindly sincere, than Sir Roderick More him- 
 self could have afforded. But Johnson has already de- 
 scribed a similar scene in the same ancient patriarch- 
 al residence of the Lords of Mac-Leod. 
 
 " Whatever is imaged in the wildest tales, if giants, 
 dragons, and enchantment be excepted, would be felt 
 by him, who, wandering in the mountains without a 
 guide, or upon the sea without a pilot, should be car- 
 ried amidst his terrour and uncertainty, to the hospi- 
 tality and elegance of Raasay or Dunvegan." 
 
 Note III. 
 With solemn step, and silver wand, 
 The Seneschal the presence scanned 
 
 Of these strange guests St. VI. p. 32. 
 
 The Sewer, to whom, rather than the Seneschal, 
 the office of arranging the guests of an island chief 
 appertained, was an officer of importance in the fa- 
 mily of an Hebridean chief. 
 
 " Every family had commonly two stewards, which, 
 in their language, were called Marischall Tach: the 
 first of these served always at home, and was obliged 
 to be versed in the pedigree of all the tribes in the 
 isles, and in the highlands of Scotland; for it was his 
 province to assign every man at table his seat accord- 
 

 ?08 NOT] 
 
 ing to itis »|ii:tlit\; and this «M done without 
 word speaking, only by drawing :i score* with awhile 
 iod wli eh t!n> Marbehall had in h.s haam, in-1'orethc 
 porton wIm mi bid bj in a to rit rbw and |!i 
 
 try to preveni disorder and eontrnttoo; and 
 though 
 
 .: tin- family ii ■ 
 an « m pi late. 
 
 I'll. \ had also cup-fa filled and ear- 
 
 j. round t'i< 
 
 oft" the frst draught. I h j bad likewise purse- 
 roasters, wlio kept their money- lioth ii 
 had an hered <<> their aflat 
 
 ; . 
 
 i fairly writt 
 
 IV. 
 
 .' \ 
 
 iiitii i at ix. p. 3 j. 
 
 It araat b<- Qemembered by all who have iaa ! 
 Seattilh history, thai aftet ha had slain CetBfS 
 at Dumfries, and as* rted his right to the Scottish 
 
 s Robert ISrttccwas reduced to the great* 
 trciuity by the English and their adherents. Hi 
 
 d at Scone by the general consent of the 
 
 Scottish barons, but his authority endured but a short 
 
 According to the phrase said to have been used 
 
 wife, lie was for that year "a summer king, 
 
 but not a winter one." On the 29th March, 1306, he 
 
 was crowned king at Scone. Upon the 19th June in 
 
 wne year, lie was totally defeated at Methven, 
 near Perth; and hi j most important adherents, with 
 few exceptions, either executed, or compelled to em- 
 it nee the English interest, for safety of their lives 
 ind fortunes. After this disaster, his life was that of 
 uu outlaw, rather than a candidate for monarchy. He 
 separated himself from the females of his retinue, 
 whom he sent for safety to the castle of Kildrummie, 
 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 209 
 
 in Aberdeenshire, where they afterward became cap- 
 tives to England. From Aberdeen shire Bruce rt treat- 
 ed to the mountainous parts of Breadalbane. and ap- 
 proached the borders of Argyleshire. There, as men- 
 tioned in a preceding, and more fully in a subsequent 
 note, he was defeated by the Lord of Lorn, who had 
 assumed arms against him in revenge of the death 
 of his relative, John the Red Comyn. Escaped from 
 this peril, Bruce, with his few attendants, subsisted by 
 hunting and fishing, until the weather compelled 
 them to seek better sustenance and shelter than the 
 Highland mountains atforded. With great difficulty 
 they crossed, from Rowardennan probably, to the wes- 
 tern banks of Lochlomond, partly in a miserable boat, 
 and partly by swimming. The valiant and loyal Earl 
 of Lennox, to whose territories they had now found 
 their way, welcomed them with tears, but was una- 
 able to assist them to make an effectual head. The 
 Lord of the Isles, then in possession of great part 
 of Cantyre, received the fugitive monarch and future 
 restorer of his country's independence, in his castle 
 of Dunnaverty, in that district. But treason, says 
 Barbour, was so general, that the king durst not abide 
 there. Accordingly, with the remnant of his followers, 
 Bruce embarked for Rath-Erin, or Rachrine, the Re- 
 cina of Ptolemy, a small island, lying almost opposite 
 to the shores of Ballycastle, on the coast of Ireland. 
 The islanders at first fled from their new and armed 
 guests, but upon some explanation submitted them- 
 selves to Bruee's sovereignty. He resided among them 
 until the approach of spring, [1306,] when he again 
 returned to Scotland, with the desperate resolution 
 to re-conquer his kingdom or perish in the attempt. 
 The progress of his success, from its commencement 
 to its completion, forms the brightest period in Scot- 
 tish History. 
 
 Note V. 
 The broach of Lorn— St. XI. p. 35. 
 It has been" generally mentioned in the preceding 
 
j 10 NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 
 
 that Robert Bruce, after his deH 
 
 ven, l>< m d !>> the Eu 
 
 with the dispirited reranai 
 from IJreadalbane, snd tfa 
 
 into the Argyllshire highlands. Hut he «ri 
 neiUlrred and rvpul 
 
 meat, by ilie Lord of Lorn. Bruce*! personal si. 
 ajad eo idvan- 
 
 mAict There i 
 fiunily of the Mac-Dougal .; their chief- 
 
 tain engaged in personal battle with Bru 
 
 ployed ill pr ' 
 
 -truck 
 
 down by the king. \ BfOal 
 
 rigour of mind, and would have been slain on 
 
 I not two of ] • I father and 
 
 ion, whom tradition mil him, by 
 
 I the mantle of the monarch, and dragging 
 
 him from above his adversary. Bruce lid himself ol 
 
 lots by two blows of his redoubled bat 1 1 
 but was so closely pressed by the other followers of 
 Lorn, that he was forced to abandon the mantle, and 
 broach which fastened it, clasped in the dying grasp 
 of the Mae-K :i led broach, 
 
 been that which King Robert lost upon this occasion, 
 was long preserved in the family of Mac-Dougal, and 
 was lost in a fire which consumed their temporary 
 residence. 
 
 The metrical bistory of Barbour throws an air of 
 credibility upon the tradition, although it does not 
 entirely coincide either in the names or number of 
 the vassals by whom Bruce was assailed, and makes 
 no mention of the personal danger of Lorn, or of the 
 loss of Bruce's mantle. The last circumstance indeed 
 might be warrantably omitted. 
 
 According to Barbour, the king, with his handful 
 of followers, not amounting probably to three hun- 
 dred men, encountered Lorn with about a thousand 
 Argyleshire men in Glen-Douchart, at the head of 
 Breacklbane, near Teyndrum. The place of action is 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 211 
 
 still called Dairy, or the King's Field. The field of 
 battle was unfavourable to Bruce's adherents, who 
 were chiefly men at arms. Many of the horses were 
 slain by the long pole-axes of which the Argyleshire 
 Scottish had learned the use from the Norwegians. 
 At length Bruce commanded a retreat up a narrow 
 and difficult pass, he himself bringing up the rear, 
 and repeatedly turning and driving back the more 
 venturous assailants. Lorn observing the skill and va- 
 lour used by his enemy in protecting the retreat of his 
 followers, " Methinks, Murthokson," said he, address- 
 ing one of his followers, " he resembles Gol-mak-mom 
 protecting his followers from Fingal."— A most un- 
 worthy comparison, observes the arch-deacon of Aber- 
 deen; unsuspicious of the future fame of these names; 
 he might with more propriety have compared the 
 king to Sir Gaudefer de Larys protecting the fora- 
 gers of Gadyrs against the attacks of Alexander. (1) 
 Two brothers, the strongest among Lorn's followers, 
 whose names Barbour calls Mackyn-Drosser (inter- 
 preted Durward or Porterson) resolved to rid their 
 chief of this formidable foe. A third person (perhaps 
 the Mac-Keoch of the family tradition) associated 
 himself with them for this purpose They watched 
 their opportunity until Bruce's party had entered a 
 pass between a lake (Loch-Do chart probably) and a 
 precipice where the king, who was the last of the 
 
 (1) This is a very curious passage, and has been 
 often quoted in the Ossianic controversy. That it 
 refers to ancient Celtic tradition, there can be no 
 doubt, and as little that it refers to no incident in the 
 poems published by Mr. Macpherson as from the 
 Gaelic. The hero of romance, whom Barbour thinks 
 a more proper prototype for the Bruce, occurs in the 
 romance of Alexander, of which there is an unique 
 translation into Scottish verse in the library of the 
 Honourable Mr. Maule of Panmure. See Webei^s Ro* 
 manceS} vol, L Appendix to Introduction, p. Ixxiiu 
 
I I 
 
 >>im to manar 
 three ib«s sprung npon i> 
 
 brink-, but i Mfld which hewed I 
 
 arm; a second pr.i»; 
 
 and eixi ml bin, but •' 
 
 ting spurs to I R ■ him down, still holding 
 
 by tin stirrup, The third, taking adv : 
 
 (\. sprung up behind h- bone. 
 
 bow. vcr, wl> . ngth is uniformly 
 
 1 1 icatoal 
 
 biinv It iron lus gjasp, tbr ■ Ihm. to tin- ground, and 
 
 cklt bis skull with his sword. Hy similar exertion he 
 
 drew i i over- 
 
 I i. and killi d li lit- lay 
 
 among the hmm *t I < t. I b< toW] tol tol romantic, but 
 
 RMB. antic exploit, and it must be 
 
 remembered tbat Brace was armed cap-a-pe, and tin- 
 
 assailants tol M half-clad mountaineers. Barbour adds 
 
 • 'lowing cireu My characteristic of 
 
 dvalr] • Mae»N i ironof 
 
 '. pointed out to the I 
 
 valour which Uru< .orable 
 
 retreat, with the highest expressions of admiration. 
 
 give thee •karare v M toU Lorn, "that he 
 
 makes such havoc among our fri< so, by 
 
 my faith," replied Mac-N'aughton, " but be he I 
 
 or foe who achieve! high deeds of chivalry, men 
 
 should bear faithful witness to ail valour; and i 
 
 have I heard of one, who, hy his knightly feats, has 
 
 extricated himself from such dangers as have this day 
 
 •urrounded Bruce/' 
 
 Note VI. 
 Wrought and cJtased with rare device, 
 St added fair with gems of price. St. XI. p. 35. 
 Great art and expense was bestowed upon the 
 fibula, or broach, which secured the plaid, when the 
 wearer was a person of importance. Martin mentions 
 paving seen a silver broach of an hundred marks 
 value. 
 
"NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 213 
 
 e It was broad as any ordinary pewter plate, the 
 whole curiously engraven with various animals, &c. 
 There was a lesser buckle, which was more in the 
 middle of the larger, and above two ounces weight; 
 it had in the center a large piece of crystal, or some 
 liner stone, and this was set all round with several 
 finer stones of a lesser size"-— JVestern Islands. 
 
 Pennant has given an engraving of such a broach 
 as Martin describes, and the workmanship of which is 
 very elegant. It is said to have belonged to the family 
 «f Lochbuy.—See Pennant* s Tour, vol. III. p. 14. 
 
 Note VII. 
 
 Vain 7vas then the Douglas brand, 
 
 Vain the CampbeWs vaunted hand.— St. XIII. p. 36. 
 The gallant Sir James, called the Good Lord 
 Douglas, the most faithful and valiant of Bruce's 
 adherents, was wounded at the battle of Dairy. Sir 
 Nigel, or Niel Campbell, was also in that unfortunate 
 skirmish. He married Marjorie, sister to Robert Bruce, 
 and was among his most faithful followers. In a ma- 
 nuscript account of the house of Argyle, supplied, it 
 would seem, afr materials for Archbishop Spottis- 
 woode's History of the Church of Scotland, I find the 
 following passage concerning Sir Niel Campbell. 
 u Moreover, when all the nobles in Scotland had left 
 King Robert after his hard success, yet this noble 
 knight was most faithful, and shrinked not, as it is to 
 be seen in an indenture bearing these words:-— Memo- 
 randum quod cum ab incarnatione Domini 1308 con- 
 ventum fuit et concordatum inter nobiles viros Domi- 
 num Alexandrum de Seatoun militem et Dominnm 
 Gilbertum de Haye militem et Dominnm Nigellum 
 Campbell militem apud monasterium de Cambusken- 
 v.eth 9° Septembris qui tacta sancta eucharistica, mag- 
 noqne juramento facto, jurarunt se debere libertatem 
 regni et Bobei'tum nuper regem coronatum contra 
 omnes mortales Francos Anglos Scotos defendere usque 
 ud ultimum terminum vitas ipsorum. Their sealles are 
 
OTES TO CANTO SECOND. 
 
 appended to the inde n tu re in gu w o wax, togithh 
 w ith the seal of Gulfrid, Abl>ot of ( ambuskcnm tli.* 
 
 Note VIII. 
 
 Vain Kirk/ta trick's bloody dirk, 
 
 Making sure of mur tier's W*Wb— 8t XIII. p. 36. 
 
 ider niust recollect that the proximate 
 inerting his right to the crown of 
 
 Scotland, was the ih ath of John, called th 
 Comyn* I In cau* i <»: this act of violence, equally 
 extraordinary iroii flu Ugh rank both of th | 
 trator and sufii n r. ami from tin place Where the 
 slau^l - |j related by 
 
 the Scottish iBd Rngtita historians, and cannot now 
 (!. i be isict that they met at dh 
 
 \-Friar's church in 
 Dumfries, that tin ir ditri ■; 
 and insulting language, and that Bruce drt w li 
 
 ibed Comyn, is certain. Rushing to tin- 
 door o< the church. Bruce met two powc r'ul barons, 
 Kirkpatrick o; Close hurt), and Janus de Lindsay, who 
 !v asked him what tidings? "Bad tidings," 
 answered Bruce, k> I doubt I liave slain Com; n." 
 "Doubt est thou?" said Kirkpatrick, " 1 make sicker" 
 (u e. sure.) With these words he and Lindsay rushed 
 into the church, and dispatched the wounded Comyn. 
 The Kirkpatrick! of Closeburn assumed, in memory 
 of this deed, a hand holding a dagger, with the memo- 
 rable words, " I make sicker." Some doubt having 
 been started by the late Lord Hailes as to the identity 
 of the Kirkpatrick who completed this day's work 
 with Sir Roger, then representative of the ancient 
 family ol Closeburn, my kind and ingenious friend 
 Mr. Charles Kirkpatricke Sharpe, has furnished me 
 with the following memorandum, which appears to 
 fix the deed with his ancestor:— 
 
 " The circumstances of the regent Cummin's mur- 
 der, from which the family of Kirkpatrick, in Niths* 
 dale, is said to have derived its crest and motto, are 
 well know to all conversant with Scottish history,— 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 215 
 
 but Lord Hailes has started a doubt as to the authen- 
 ticity of this tradition, when recording the murder 
 of Roger Kirkpatrick, in his own castle of Caerlave- 
 rock, by Sir James Lindsay. * Fordun,' says his lord- 
 ship, ' remarks that Lindsay and Kirkpatrick were 
 the heirs of the two men who accompanied Robert 
 Brus at the fatal conference with Comyn.' If Fordun 
 was rightly informed as to this particular, an argu- 
 ment arises in support of a notion which I have long 
 entertained, that the person who struck his dagger in 
 Comyn's heart was not the representative of the ho- 
 nourable family of Kirkpatrick, in Nithsdale. Roger 
 de K. was made prisoner at the battle of Durham, in 
 1346. Roger de Kirkpatrick was alive on the 6th of 
 August, 1357; for, on that day, Humphry, the son and 
 heir of Roger de K., is proposed -as one of the young 
 gentlemen who were to be hostages for David Bruce. 
 Roger de K. Miles was present at the parliament 
 held at Edinburgh 25th September, 1357, and he is 
 mentioned as alive 3d October, 1357, (Foeclera); it fol- 
 lows, of necessary consequence, that Roger de K., 
 murdered in June, 1357, must have been a different 
 person.'— Annals of Scotland* vol. II. p. 242. 
 
 " To this it may be answered, that at the period of 
 the regent's murder there were only two families of 
 the name of Kirkpatrick (nearly allied to each other) 
 in existence— Stephen Kirkpatrick, styled in the 
 Chartulary of Kelso, (1278) Dominus villa; de Clos* 
 burn, Filius et kasres Domini Ade de Kirkpatrick, Mi* 
 litis (whose father, Ivone de Kirkpatrick, witnesses 
 a charter of Robert Brus, Lord of Annandale, before 
 the year 1141.) had two sons, Sir Roger, who carried 
 on the line of CJoseburn, and Duncan, who married 
 Isobel, daughter and heiress of Sir David Torthorwakl 
 of that ilk: they had a charter of the lands of Tor- 
 thorwald from King Robert Brus, dated 10th August, 
 the year being omitted— Umphray, the son of Duncan 
 and Isobel, got a charter of Torthorwald from the 
 king, 16th July 1322,— his son, Roger of Torthor- 
 waldj got a charter from John the Grahame, son of 
 
2 1 6 NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 
 
 I annual rent 
 rntyft. Illf 
 
 I, William Kirkpntrick, gran' ,John 
 
 i. » !i, oi 'tin twa imik land of GJeiigip and 
 
 ■ *!l,iI1, v. iti.m the tun nit-lit oi W*nphi 
 
 Ipdl, 1372. From (hit, ;l a|'|>< .i. 
 
 raid bmneli wa> dim nonnrrnctl in the affair of Co- 
 ld tli. inflictions of Pru\ I 
 
 which ensued: Dum 
 
 Ihc Band Mimuvl, w.is the firm friend Of Wal- 
 IO Whom 111' V, ;in R !.;Ud. 
 
 \rkpatriek, |] 
 
 . wod that half ter he liad l>< 
 With Inglismcn he couth nocht wviil .(..cord, 
 Of i urtborwtJd hi B . Lord. 
 
 Of k yn he was to Wallace moajc nor, ccc") 
 
 riut this Baron seems to have had no shan- in ll 
 \intun.i of King Robert,— the crest oi his fan ..' 
 
 i i .mains on a carved stone built into a cottage 
 wall, in the village of Torthorwald, bears so 
 *emhlance, says Grate, to a rose. 
 
 44 Universal tradition, and all our later historians, 
 have attributed the regent*! death-blow to Sir Roger 
 K. of Closehurn; the author of tbe MS. History of the 
 Presbytery of Penpont, in the Advocates' Library, af- 
 firms, that the crest and motto were given by the 
 king on that occasion, and proceeds to relate some 
 circumstances respecting a grant to a cottager and 
 his wife in the vicinity of Closeburne Castle, which 
 are certainly authentic, and strongly vouch for the 
 truth of the other report. 
 
 1 The steep hill, (says he) called the Dune of Tyn- 
 ron, of a considerable height, upon the top of which 
 there hath been some habitation or fort. There have 
 been in ancient times on all hands of it very thick 
 woods and great about that place, which made it the 
 more inaccessible, into which K. Ro. Bruce is said to 
 have been conducted by Roger Kirkpatrick of Close- 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 217 
 
 burn, after they had killed the Cumin at Dumfriess, 
 which is nine miles from this place, whereabout it is 
 probable that he did abide for some time thereafter, 
 and it is reported that during his abode there, he did 
 often divert to a poor man's cottage, named Brown- 
 rig, situate in a small parcel of stony ground, incom- 
 passed with thick woods, where he was content some- 
 times with such mean accommodation as the place 
 could afford; the poor man's wife being advised to pe- 
 tition the king for somewhat, was so modest in her 
 desires, that she sought no more but security for the 
 croft in her husband's possession, and a liberty of 
 pasturage for a very few cattle of different kinds on 
 the hill, and the rest of the bounds. Of which privi- 
 ledge that ancient family by the injury of time hath 
 a long time been and is deprived: but the croft con- 
 tinues in the possession of the heirs and successours 
 lineally descended of this Brovvnrig and his wife, so 
 that this family being more ancient than rich, doth 
 yet continue in the name, and, as they say, retains 
 the old charter."— MS. History of the Presbytery of 
 Pcnpont. in the Advocates'' Library of Edinburgh. 
 
 Note IX. 
 BarendoiL-n fed fast away. 
 Fled the f cry De la Haye.—St. XIII. p. 36. 
 These knights are enumerated by Barbour, among 
 the small number of Bruce's adherents, who remain- 
 ed in arms with him after the battle of Methven. 
 
 " With him was a bold Baron, 
 Schyr William the Baroundoun, 
 
 ert de la Kaye alsua." 
 
 There were more than one of the noble family of 
 Hay engaged in Bruce's cause. But the principal was 
 Gilbert de la Have, Lord of Errol, a staunch adherent 
 to King Robert's interest, and whom he rewarded by 
 seating him hereditary Lord High Constable of Seot- 
 K 
 
21$ NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 
 
 land, a title which he ustd 16th March, 1302, t 
 in a letter from the peen of Scotland to Philip th< 
 Fair of France, he is design* d Gilbert its dc Hay i 
 bulanus Scotuv. He was slain at the battle of Hnli- 
 doun-hill. Hugh de la Hay. his brother, was made 
 prisoner at the battle of Methven. 
 
 Not. 
 
 Weil hast thou framed, Old Man, thy §i 
 
 '1 o praise the hand that pay* thy ; 
 
 St. XIV. p. 37. 
 The character of the Highland bards, however high 
 in an earlier period of society, seem* soon to have 
 degenerated. The Irish affirm, that in their kindred 
 tribes severe laws b* came necessary to restrain their 
 avarice. In the Highlands they seem gradually to 
 have sunk into contempt, as well as the orators, or 
 men of speech, with whose office that of family poet 
 was often united. 
 
 w The orators, in their language called Isdane, were 
 in high esteem both in these islands and the conti- 
 nent; until within these forty years, they sat always 
 among the nobles and chiefs of families in the streah, 
 or circle. Their houses and little villages were sanc- 
 tuaries, as well as churches, and they took place be- 
 fore doctors of physick. The orators, after the Druids 
 were extinct, were brought in to preterye the gene- 
 alogy of families, and to repeat the same at every 
 succession of chief; and upon the occasion of marri- 
 ages and births, they made epithalamiums and panc- 
 gy ricks, which the poet or bard pronounced. The ora- 
 tors, by the force of their eloquence, had a powerful 
 ascendant over the greatest men In their time; fin 
 if any orator did but ask the habit, arms, horse, or any 
 other thing belonging to the greatest man in these 
 islands, it was readily granted them, sometimes out 
 of respect, and sometimes for fear of being exclaimed 
 against by a satire, which in those days was reckoned 
 a great dishonour: but these gentlemen becoming in- 
 solent, lost ever since both the profit and esteem w hich 
 
 
"NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 219 
 
 was formerly due to their character; for neither their 
 panegyricks nor satires are regarded to what they 
 haye been, and they are now allowed but a small* sa- 
 lary. I must not omit to relate their way of study, 
 which is very singular: They shut their doors and 
 and windows for a day's time, and lie on their backs, 
 with a stone on their belly, and plads about their 
 heads, and their eyes being covered, they pump their 
 brains for rhetorical encomium or pan egy rick; and 
 indeed they furnish such a stile from this dark cell, 
 as is understood by very few: and if they purchase a 
 couple of horses as the reward of their meditation, 
 they think they l\ave done a great matter. The poet, 
 or bard, had a title to the bridegroom's upper garb, 
 that is, the plad and bonnet; but now he is satisfyed 
 with what the bridegroom pleases to give him on 
 such occasions."— Martin's Western Isles* 
 
 ^ote XI. 
 WasH not enough to Ronald's bower 
 I brought thee^ like a paramour.— St. XXV. p. 45. 
 It was anciently customary in the Highlands to 
 bring the bride to the house of the husband. Nay, 
 in some cases the complaisance was stretched so far, 
 that she remained there upon trial for a twelvemonth, 
 and the bridegroom, even after this period o-" cohabi- 
 tation, retained an option of refusing to fulfil his en- 
 gagement. It is said that a desperate feud ensued 
 between the clans of Mac-Donald of Sleate and Mac- 
 Leod, owing to the former chief having availed him- 
 self of this license to send back to Dunvegan a sister 
 or daughter of the latter. Mac-Leod resenting the 
 indignity, observed, that since there was no wadding 
 bonfire, there should be one to solemnize the divorce. 
 Accordingly he burned and laid waste the territories 
 of Mac-Donald, who retaliated, and a deadly feud, with 
 all its accompaniments, took place in form. 
 
OTES TO CANTO SECOND. 
 
 XII. 
 matchlti* Wallace jir 
 
 i /,'. wreaths <>j 
 
 l>. 43. 
 We gives the follow:! MOM of I In 
 
 trial and execution of thi.> cell brated patriot:— "Wil- 
 liam Wallace, wbo had oil land in great 
 trouble, was taken and brought to Loudon, with great 
 numbers of men and women wondering upon him. 
 He was lodged in the house of William Delect, a citi- 
 zen of London, in Fenchurch-strcet. On the morrow, 
 h«ing the eve of St. Bartholomew, he was brought on 
 horseback to Westminster. John Legrave and Gef- 
 frey, knights, the .' ; , and aldermen of 
 London, and main otlu rs, both on bom 
 toot, accompanying him; and in the great hall at 
 tminster, he being placed on the south bench, 
 crowned with laurel, for that be had said in 
 past, that he ought to hear a crown in that hall, as it 
 was commonly reported, and being appear bed for a 
 traitor hy Sir Peter Maiorie, the king's justice, he an- 
 swered, that he was never traitor to the King of 
 England; but for other things whereof lie wasaccus' d 
 he confessed them; and was after headed and quar- 
 tered.'*— Stan, Chr. p. 2/9. 
 
 There is something singularly doubtful about the 
 mode in which Wallace was taken. That he was be- 
 trayed to the English is indubitable, and popular 
 fame charges Sir John Henteith with the indelible 
 infamy. " Accursed," says Arnold Blair, u be the day 
 of nativity o John de Menteith, and may his name 
 be struck out of the book of life." But John de Men- 
 teith was ail along a zealous favourer of the English 
 interest, and was governor of Dumbarton Castle by 
 commission from Edward the First; and therefore, as 
 the accurate Lord Hailes has obs< rved, could not be 
 the friend and confidant of Wallace, as tradition 
 states him to be. The truth seems to be, that Menteith 
 thoroughly engaged in the English interest, pursued 
 Wallace closely, and made him prisoner through the 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 22 i 
 
 treachery of an attendant, whom Peter Langtoft calls 
 Jack Short. 
 
 " William Waleis is nomen that master was of theves, 
 Tiding to the king is eomen that robbery mischievs, 
 Sir John of Menetest sued William so nigh, 
 Ke tok him when he ween'd least, on night, his le- 
 
 man him by, 
 That was through treason of Jack Short his man. 
 He was the encheson that Sir John so him ran, 
 Jack's brother had he slain, the Walieis that is said, 
 The more Jack was fain to do William that braid." 
 
 From this it would appear that the infamy of seiz- 
 ing Wallace, must rest between a degenerate Scottish 
 nobleman, the vassal of England, and a domestic, the 
 obscure agent of his treachery; between Sir John 
 Menteith, son of Walter, Earl of Menteith, and the 
 traitor Jack Short. 
 
 Note XIII. 
 
 .Where's Nigel Brace and De I Haye, 
 
 And valiant Seton—xvhere are they? 
 
 Where Somerville, the kind and free? 
 
 And Fraser, flower of chivalry -St. XXVI. p. 46. 
 When these lines were written, the author was re- 
 mote from the means of correcting his indistinct re- 
 collection concerning the individual fate of Brace's 
 followers, after the battle of Methven. Hugh de la Haye 
 and Thomas Somerville of Lintoun and Cowdally, 
 ancestor of Lord Somerville, were both made priso- 
 ners at that defeat, but neither was executed. 
 
 Sir Nigel Bruce was the younger brother of Ro- 
 bert, to whom he committed the charge of his wife 
 and daughter, Marjorie, and the defence of his strong 
 castle of Kildrummie, near the head of the Don, in 
 Aberdeenshire. Kildrummie long resisted the arms 
 of the Earls of Lancaster and Hereford, until the 
 magazine was treacherously burnt. The garrison was 
 then compelled to surrender at discretion, and Nigel 
 

 NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 
 
 Bruce, a youth remarkable for personal beau' 
 well as tor gallantly, fell into the liauds oi th« 
 lentiag Edward. He was tried by a special an 
 bion at Berwick, was eondeu in <l rod executed. 
 
 Christopher Seatouo ihared the Mine uniortunate 
 fate. He also was distinguished by penonal valour, 
 and signalized hiinseh'm the lata! battle of'Methven. 
 Robert Bruce adventured hil person in that battle, 
 like a knight ot re.' .nunud A\n, 
 
 Valence, Earl ol IVrJnoUe, but Wfj in liis tOB 
 mounted by Sir Philip Mowbray. In this emergence 
 Seatoun cani <l him* Lang- 
 
 toA mentions, Uiat in this blattle the Scottish wore 
 white surplices, or shirt;, over their armour, that those 
 f rank might DOt be known. In tins manner both 
 Bruce and SeatOtta escaped. But the latter was after- 
 wards betrayed to the English, through means, accord- 
 ing to Barbour, of one Mae-Nab, " a disciple of Judas/' 
 in whom the unfortunate knight reposed entire con- 
 fidence. There was some peculiarity respecting his 
 punishment; because, according to Matthew of West- 
 minster, he was considered not as a Scottish subject 
 but an Englishman. He was therefore taken to Dum- 
 fries, where he was tried, condemned, and executed, 
 for the murder of a soldier slain by him. His brother 
 John de Seton had the same fate at Newcastle; both 
 were considered as accomplices in the slaughter of 
 C'omyn, but in what manner they were particularly 
 accessary to that deed, does not appear. 
 
 The fate of Sir Simon Eraser, or Frizel, ancestor 
 of the family of Lovat. is dwelt upon at great length, 
 and with savage exultation, by the English historians. 
 This knight, who was renowned for personal gallan- 
 try and high deeds of chivalry, was also made prisoner, 
 after a gallant defence, in the battle of Methven. 
 Some stanzas of a ballad of the times, which for the 
 sake of rendering it intelligible, I have translated out 
 of its rude orthography, give minute particulars of his 
 fate. It was writen immediately at the period, for it 
 mentions the Earl of Athole. as not yet in custody. 1% 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 223 
 
 was first published by the indefatigable Mr. Ritson, 
 but with so many contractions and peculiarities of 
 character, as to render it illegible, excepting by anti* , 
 quaries. 
 
 This was before Saint Bartholomew's mass, 
 That Frizel was y-taken, were it more other less, 
 To Sir Thomas of Multon, gen til baroun and free, 
 And to Sir John Jose be-take tho was he 
 To hand 
 He was y-fettered wele 
 Both with iron and steel 
 
 To bringen of Scotland. 
 
 Soon after the tiding to the king come, 
 He sent him to London, with mony armed groom, 
 He came in at Newgate, I tell you it on a-plight, 
 A garland of leaves on his head y-dight 
 Of green, 
 For he should be y-know 
 Both of high and of low, 
 
 For the traitour I ween. 
 
 Y-fettered were his legs under his horses wombe, 
 Both with iron and with steel mancled were his 
 
 honds, 
 A garland of pervynk (1) set up his heved, (2) 
 Much was the power that him was bereaved, 
 In land. 
 So God me amend, 
 Little he ween'd 
 
 So to be brought in hand. 
 
 This was upon our lady's even, forsooth I understand, 
 The justices sate for the knights of Scotland, 
 
 (1) Periwinckle. (2) Head. 
 

 224 NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 
 
 Sir Thomas of Mtilton, an lunde knyghf and wise. 
 And Sir Ralph of Sandwich tliat mickle is hold in 
 price, 
 
 And Sir John Abel, 
 Moe I might tell bj 
 Both of great ;i 1 1 < I 11 
 
 T« know sooth well. 
 
 Then said the justice, that gentil is and ft*©, 
 Sir Simond Frizel the king's traitor hast thou be; 
 In water and in land that mony mighla n 
 What sayst thou thereto how will thou quite be, 
 Do say, 
 So foul he him wist, 
 Nede war on trust 
 
 For to say nay. 
 
 With fetters and with gins (1) y-hot he was to draw 
 From the Tower of London that many men might 
 
 know, 
 Tn a kiltie of Burel, a selcouth wise, 
 And a garland in his head of the new guise. 
 Through Cheape 
 Many men of England 
 For to see Symond 
 
 Thitherward can leap. 
 
 Though he earn to the gallows first he was on hung. 
 All quick beheaded that him thought long; 
 Then he was y-opened, his bowels y-brend, (2) 
 The heved to London-bridge was send 
 
 To shende. 
 So evermore mote I the, 
 Some while weened he 
 
 Thus, little to stand. (3) 
 
 (1) He was condemned to be drawn. (2) Burned. 
 
 (3) Meaning, at one time he little thought to stand 
 thus. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 225 
 
 He rideth through the city, as I tell may, 
 With gamen and with solace that was their play, 
 To London-bridge he took the way, 
 Mony was the wives child that thereon tacketh a day, (4) 
 And said, alas! 
 That he was y-born 
 And so vilely forlorn, 
 
 So fair man he was. (5) 
 
 Now standeth the heved above the tu-brigge, 
 Fast by Wallace sooth for to segge; 
 After succour of Scotland long may he pry, 
 And after help of France what halt it to lie, 
 I ween, 
 Better him were in Scotland, 
 With his axe in his hand, 
 
 To play on the green, &c. 
 
 The preceding stanzas contain probably as minute 
 •an account as can be found, of the trial and execution 
 of state criminals of the period. Superstition min- 
 gled, its horrors with those of a ferocious state policy, 
 as appears from the following singular narrative. 
 
 " The Friday next, before the assumption of Our 
 Lady, King Edward met Robert the Bruce at Saint 
 Johnstoune, in Scotland, and with his company, of 
 whicli company King Edward quelde seven thousand. 
 When Robert the Bruce saw this mischief, and gan 
 to flee, and hov'd him that men might not him find; 
 but S. Simond Frisell pursued was so sore, that he 
 turned again and abode bataille, for he was a worthy 
 knight and a bolde of bodye, and the Englishmen 
 pursuede him sore on every side, and quelde the steed 
 that Sir Simon Frisell rode upon, and then toke him 
 
 (4) viz. Saith Lack»a-day. 
 
 (5) The gallant knight, like others in the same 
 situation, was pitied by the female spectators as " a 
 proper young man." 
 
 K2 
 
226 NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 
 
 and led him to the host. And S. I n for to 
 
 ■ II give 
 you four tin < 
 
 and harness, and all ;iM d income. Tko 1 
 
 answered Thobaude of P. kinges 
 
 archer; Now, God me so belpe, it is for naught that 
 thou i dl the gold of England 1 would not 
 
 let due go without commandment of King Edward. 
 And tho 1 he was led to the king, and the king would 
 not tee him, hut com namlcd to , to his 
 
 doom in London, on Our I . And 
 
 he was \mn^ and drawn, and his head smiiun t, 
 
 i with chains of iron upon the gallows, 
 ■■d hii t at London-bridge upon a sptar, 
 
 and against Christmas th e body was burnt, far enche- 
 son (reason) that the men that keeped the body saw 
 | ag with iron crooks, running upon 
 the gallows, and horribly tormenting the body. And 
 many that them saw, anon thereafter died fbrdn ad, or 
 waxen mad. or sore sickness they had."— MS. Chroui- 
 I tie British Museum, quoted by Ritson. 
 
 Note XIV. 
 
 Was not the life of At hole shed, 
 
 To sccth the tyrant's sicken d bed?— St. XXVI. p. 46. 
 
 John de Suathbogie, Earl of Athole, had attempted 
 to escape out of the kingdom, but a storm cast him 
 upon the coast, when he was taken, sent to London, 
 and executed, with circumstances of great barbarity, 
 being first half strangled, then let down from the 
 gallows, while yet alive, barbarously dismembered, 
 and his b^dy burnt. It may surprise the reader to 
 learn, that this was a minjpltfaf' punishment; for, in 
 respect that his mother was a grand-daughter of King 
 John, by his natural son Richard, he was not drawn 
 on a sledge to execution, "that point was forgiven," 
 and he made the passage on horseback. Matthew of 
 Westminster tells us that King Edward, then ex- 
 tremely ill, received great ease from the news that 
 his relative was apprehended. "Ouo awiito, Rex An> 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 227 
 
 gUit\ etsi gravissimo mcrbo tunc languei-et; levius 
 tamen tv.lit dolorem." To this singular expression the 
 text alludes. 
 
 Note XV. 
 And must his word, at dying day, 
 Be noug/it. bat quarter, hang, and slay! 
 
 St. XXVI. p. 46. 
 This alludes to a passage in Harbour, singularly ex- 
 pressive of the vindictive spirit of Edward I. The 
 prisoners taken at the castle of Kildrummie had 
 surrendered upon condition that they should be at 
 King Edward's disposal. " But his will," says Barbour, 
 " was always evil towards Scottishmen." The news of 
 the surrender of Kildrummiearrived when he was in 
 his mortal sickness at Burgh-upon-Sands. 
 
 * And when he to the death was near, 
 The folk that at Kyldromy wer 
 Come with prisoners that they had tane, 
 And syne to the king are gane. 
 And for to comfort him they tnuld 
 How they the castell to them yauld: 
 And how they till his will were brought, 
 To do off that whatever he thought; 
 And ask'd what men should off them do. 
 Then Iook'd he angryly them to, 
 He said, grinning, " hangs and draws.'''' 
 That was wonder of sic saws, 
 That lie, that to the death was near. 
 Should answer upon sic maner; 
 Forouten moaning and mercy. 
 How might he trust on him to cry, 
 That sooth-fastly dooms all things 
 To have mercy for his crying, 
 Off him that, throw his felon)', 
 Into sic point had no mercy?" 
 
 There was much truth in the Leonine couplet, with 
 
I 
 
 223 NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 
 
 which Matthew of Westminster concludes his 
 mium on the first Edward: 
 
 " Scotos, Ed ward us, dura vi\it, swppf ditavit, 
 Tenuit, aftiixit, depressit, dilaniavit.*'— 
 
 Note XVI. 
 By Woden wild (my grandturtfi oath.) 
 
 St. XXVli. 
 The Mac-Ltods, and most other distiii^ui >lu d lit 
 biidean families, were of Scandinavian extraction, 
 and some were lutt or imperfect converts to tin is 
 tianity. The family names of Torquil, Thormod. he , 
 are all Norwegian. 
 
 Note X VI i 
 indie I thr bletted croxx advance, 
 And expiate this unhappy chancy 
 In Palestine, with swoid and lance. 
 
 St. XXIX. p. 48'. 
 Bruce uniformly professed, and probably felt, com- 
 punction for baring violated the sanctuary rf the 
 church, by the slaughter of Comyn; and finally, in his 
 last hours, in testimony of his faith, penitence, and 
 zeal, he requested James Lord Douglas to carry bis 
 heart to Jerusalem, to be there deposited in the Holy 
 Sepulchre. 
 
 Note XVIII. 
 De Bruce! I rose ivith purpose dread, 
 To speak my curse upon thy head. 
 
 St. XXXI. p. 49. 
 So soon as the notice of Comyn's slaughter reached 
 Rome, Bruce and his adherents were excommuni- 
 cated. It was published first by the Archbishop of 
 York, and renewed at different times, particularly by 
 Lambyrton, Bishop of St. Andrew's, in 1308; but it 
 does net appear to have answered the purpose w hich 
 the English monarch expected. Indeed, for reasons 
 ubjca it may be difficult to trace, the thunders ci 
 
 ; 
 
XOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 229 
 
 Rome descended upon the Scottish mountains with 
 less effect than in more fertile countries. Probably 
 the comparative poverty of the benefices occasioned 
 that fewer foreign clergy settled in Scotland, and the 
 interest of the native church-men were linked with 
 that of their country. Many of the Scottish prelates, 
 Lambyrton the primate particularly, declared for 
 Bruce, while he was yet under the ban of the church, 
 although he afterwards again changed sides. 
 
 Note XXIX. 
 
 I feel within my aged breast, 
 
 A poiver that ivill not be repress d. 
 
 St. XXXI. p. 49. 
 Bruce, like other heroes, observed omens, and one 
 is recorded by tradition. After he had retreated to one 
 of the miserable places of shelter, in which he could 
 venture to take some repose after his disasters, he lay 
 stretched upon a handful of straw, and abandoned him- 
 self to his melancholy meditations. He had now been 
 defeated four times, and was upon the point of resolv- 
 ing to abandon all hopes of further opposition to his 
 fate, and to go to the Holy Land. It chanced, his eye, 
 while he was thus pondering, was attracted by the ex- 
 ertions of a spider, who, in order to fix his web, endea- 
 voured to swing himself from one beam to another 
 above his head. Involuntarily he became interested in 
 the pertinacity with which the insect renewed his 
 exertions, after failing six times; and it occurred to 
 him that he would decide his own course according 
 to the success or failure of the spider. At the seventh 
 effort the insect gained his object, and Bruce, in like 
 manner, persevered and carried his own. Hence it has 
 been held unlucky or ungrateful, or both, in one of 
 the name of Bruce to kill a spider. 
 
 The arch-deacon of Aberdeen, instead of the abbot 
 of this tale, introduces an Irish Pythoness, who not 
 only predicted his good fortune as he left the island 
 of Rachrin, but sent her two sons along with him, to 
 ensure her own family a share in it. 
 
230 notes to oxn. 
 
 " 'I'll' n tBflU MC 
 
 Slll.Ut ,tl| [III I 
 
 , SO lb s;i ml 
 
 u k > and down, hulaiul (2) 
 
 !iut his men read) ■ 
 Hi ■ til i'!i hi n in 
 
 Ami * h. ii thai ibe him I 
 
 h till In ii fin 
 Ami r tod k. . i* til my saw, 
 
 " Foi rill >• ihow, 
 
 w OH*\( ;».irty. 
 
 "' B i.iily 
 
 u A wittei ill you ma, 
 
 " What < nd thai jroar paipoa shall ta. 
 
 hi thii land »>. none trewlj 
 " Wots tiling* to come so well as I. 
 
 pasi nov\ furth on \ i 
 
 tin harm* . and the outrage, 
 -i 1 hat In^iis> t ii has to you done; 
 ** But you wot not what kind fortune 
 " Te moii Jit y m your warring. 
 "But wyt ye well, without l\ ing, 
 44 That from ye now bare taken land, 
 * None so mighty, no so stivuthle of hand, 
 " Shall make you pass out of your country 
 " Till all to you abandoned be. 
 " Within short time ye shall be king, 
 ■ And have the land to your likeing, 
 " And overcome your foes all. 
 " But many anoyis thole ye shall, 
 " Or tliat your purpose end have tane; 
 " But ye shall thein ourdrive ilkane. 
 " And, that ye trow this sek^yrly, 
 " My two sons with you shall I 
 
 (1) Need. 
 
 (2) Abiding, 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 231 
 
 w Send to take part of your labour; 
 ' ; For I wote well they shall not fail 
 5 • To be rewarded well at right, 
 " When ye are heyit to your might." 
 
 Barbour's Bruce, Book IV.,p. 120, edited by 
 J. Pinkerton, London, 1790. 
 
 Note XX. 
 A hunted wanderer on the wild.— St. XXXII. p. 50. 
 
 This is not metaphorical. The echoes of Scotland 
 did actually 
 
 ring 
 
 With the bloodhounds that bayed for her fugitive king. 
 
 A very curious and romantic tale is told by Barbour 
 upon this subject, which may be abridged as iol- 
 lows:— 
 
 When Bruce had again got footing in Scotland in 
 the spring of 1306, he continued to be in a very weak 
 and precarious condition, gaining, indeed, occasional 
 advantages, but obliged to fly before his enemies 
 whenever they assembled in force. Upon one occa- 
 sion, while he was lying with a small party in the 
 wilds of Cumnock, in Ayrshire, Aymer de Valence, 
 Earl of Pembroke, with his inveterate foe John of 
 Lorn, came against him suddenly with eight hundred 
 highlanders, besules a large body of men at arms. 
 They brought with them a slough-dog, or blood- 
 hound, which, some say, had been once a favourite 
 with the Bruce himself, and therefore was least like- 
 ly to lose the trace. 
 
 Bruce, whose force was under four hundred men, 
 continued to make head against the cavalry, till the 
 men of Lorn had nearly cut off his retreat. Perceiv- 
 ing the danger of his situation, he acted as the cele- 
 brated and ill-requited Mina is said to have done in 
 similar circumstances. He divided his force into three 
 parts, appointed a place of rendezvous, and command- 
 ed them to retreat by different routes. But when 
 
I 
 
 rO CANTO SECOND. 
 
 John of Lorn arrived at tli they divided, 
 
 he caused the hound to be put upon tin trace; which 
 immediaU ly directed him to the pursuit ol that party 
 which Bruce headed. This, therefore. Lorn pursued 
 with his whole force, paying no attention to the 
 others. The king again subdivided his small l>ody 
 into three parts, and with the same result, for the 
 pursuers attached themselves exclusively to that 
 which lie led in person. He then caused his followers 
 to disperse, and retained only his foster-brother in his 
 company. The slough-dog followed the trace, and, 
 neglecting the others, attached himself and bis atten- 
 dants to pursuit of the king. Lorn became convinced 
 that his enemy was nearly in his power, and detach- 
 ed five of his most active followers to follow him, 
 and interrupt his flight. They did so with all the 
 agility of mountaineers. " What aid w ilt thou make," 
 aid Bruce to his single attendant, when he saw the 
 five nun gain ground on him. "The best I can,"" 
 replied his foster-brother. " Then," said Bruce," here 
 I make my stand." The five pursuers came up fast. 
 The king took three to himself, leaving the other 
 two to his foster-brother. Me slew the first who en- 
 countered him, but observing his foster-brother hard 
 pressed he sprung to his assistance, and dispatched 
 one of his assailants. Leaving him to deal with the 
 survivor, he returned upon the other two, both of 
 whom be slew before his foster-brother had dispatch- 
 ed his single antagonist. When this hard encounter 
 was over, with a courtesy, which in the whole work 
 marks Brace's character, he thanked his foster-brother 
 for his aid. " It lik* s you to say so." answer his fol- 
 lower, "but you yourself slew four of the five." 
 " True," said the king, " but onl) because I had bet- 
 ter opportunity than you. They were not apprehen- 
 sive of me when they saw me encounter three, so I 
 had a moment's time to spring to thy aid. and to re- 
 turn equally unexpectedly upon my own opponents." 
 In the meanwhile Loi n's party approached rapidly, 
 and the king and his foster-brother betook themselves 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 233 
 
 to a neighbouring wood. Here they sat down, for 
 Bruce was exhausted by fatigue, until the cry of the 
 slough-hound carne so near, that his foster-brother 
 entreated Bruce to provide for his safety by retreat-' 
 ing farther. " I have heard," answered the king, 
 " that whosoever will wade a bow-shot length down 
 a running stream, shall make the slough-hound lose 
 scent— Let us try the experiment, for were yon de- 
 vilish hound silenced, I should care little for the 
 rest." 
 
 Lorn in the meanwhile advanced, and found the 
 bodies of his slain vassals, over whom he made his 
 moan, and threatened the most deadly vengeance. 
 Then he followed the hound to the side of the brook, 
 down which the king had waded a great way. Here 
 the hound was at fault, and John of Lorn, after long 
 attempting in vain to recover BruCe's trace, relin- 
 quished the pursuit. 
 
 "Others," says Barbour, "affirm, that upon this 
 occasion the king's life w 7 as saved by an excellent 
 archer who accompanied him, and who perceiving 
 they would be finally taken by means of the blood- 
 hound, hid himself in a thicket, and shot him with an 
 arrow. In which way," adds the metrical biographer, 
 " this escape happened I am uncertain, but at that 
 brook the king escaped from his pursuers." 
 
 " When the chasers rallied were, 
 And John of Lome had met them there, 
 He told Sir Aymer all the case, 
 How that the king escaped was, 
 And how that he his five men slew, 
 And syne to the wood him drew. 
 When Sir Aymer heard this, in haste, 
 He sained him for the wonder: 
 And said, " He is greatly to prise; 
 " For I know none that living is, 
 " That at mischief can help him so: 
 " I trow he should be hard to slay, 
 
.234 NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 
 
 " And he were bodyn (1) evenly." 
 On this wise spake Sir Ayraery** 
 
 Barbour's Bruce, p. 188. 
 
 The English historians agree with Barbour as to 
 the mode in which the English pursued Bruce and 
 his followers, and the dexterity with which he evaded 
 them. The following is the testimony of Harding, a 
 great enemy to the Scottish nation: 
 
 ■ The King Edward with host hym sought full-gore, 
 But aye he fled into woodes and strayte forest, 
 And slew his men at staytes and dangers those, 
 And at inarreys and mires was ay full prest 
 Englishmen to kyll without any rest; 
 In the mountaynes ami cragges he slew ay where, 
 And in the nyght bis foes he frayed full sore. 
 
 The King Edward with homes and houndes him 
 
 sought, 
 With men on fote, through marris, mosse, and myre, 
 Through wodes also, and mountains (wher thei. 
 
 fought,) 
 And euer the Kyng Edward hight men great hyre, 
 Hym for to take and by myght conquere; 
 But thei might hym not gctte by force ne by train, 
 He satte by the fyre when thei were in the rain. 
 
 Hardy-rig's Chronicle^. 303, 4. 
 
 Peter Langtoft has also a passage concerning the 
 extremities to which King Robert was reduced, which 
 he entitles 
 
 De Roberto Bras etfuga circum circa Jit* 
 " And well I understood that the King Robyn 
 Has drunken of that blood the drink of Dan Waryn. 
 
 (l) Matched. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SECOND. 235 
 
 Dan Waryn he les towns that he held, 
 With he made a res, and niisberying of scheld. 
 Sithen into the forest he gede naked and wode, 
 Also a wild beast, eat of the grass that stood. 
 Thus Dan Waryn in his book men read, 
 God give the King Robyn, that all his kind so speed. 
 Sir Robynet the Brus he durst none abide, 
 That they made him restus, bath in moor and wood- 
 side, 
 To while he made his train, and did umwhile out- 
 rage." 
 
 Peter Langtoffs Chronicle, vol. U.,p. 336, 
 octavo, London, 1810. 
 
KOTES TO CANTO THIRD. 
 
 Note I. 
 For, glad 9/ each 'netcxt for spoil, 
 A pirate twum was Csrnme Potf.* St IV. p. 57. 
 
 A sort of persons common in the isles, as may be 
 easily bettered, until the introduction of civil polity. 
 "Witness the Dean of the Isles' account of Ronay. 
 u At the north end oi Kaarsay, he half inyle of sea 
 frae it, la>es ane ile eallit Honay, niair then a inyle 
 in lengthr, lull of uuod and heddir, with ane havin for 
 heiland gale>s in the middii of it, and the same have- 
 in is guid for fostering of theives, ruggairs, and rei- 
 vairs, till a nail, upon the peilling and spulzeing of 
 poor pepill. This ile perteins to M'Gillychallan of 
 Raarsay by force, and to the bithope of the iles be 
 heritage."— Sir Donald Monro's Description of the 
 Western Islands of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1805, p. 22. 
 
 Note II. 
 " Alas! dear youth, the unhappy time" 
 Answered the Bruce, " must bear the crime, 
 Since, guiltier far than you, 
 
 Even P' *he paused; for Falkirk's woes 
 
 Upon his conscious soul arose, St. VII. p. 60. 
 
 I have followed the vulgar and inaccurate tradi- 
 tion, that Bruce fought against Wallace, and the ar- 
 ray of Scotland, at the fatal battle of Falkirk. The 
 story, which seems to have no better authority than 
 that of Blind Harry, bears, tliat having made much 
 slaughter during the engagement, he sat down to dine 
 with the conquerors without washing the filthy wit- 
 ness from his hands. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO THIRD. 037 
 
 Fasting he was, &nd had been in great need, 
 Blooded were all his weapons and his weed; 
 Southeron lords scorn'd him in terms rude, 
 And said, Behold yon Scot eats his own blood. 
 
 Then rued he sore, for reason bad be known, 
 That blood and land alike should be his own; 
 With them he long was, ere he got away, 
 But contrair Scots, he fought not from that day. 
 
 The account given by most of our historians, of the 
 conversation between Bruce and Wallace over the 
 Carron river, is equally apocrypha V 
 
 There is full evidence that Bruce was not at that 
 time on the English side, nor present at the battle of 
 Falkirk; nay, that he acted as a guardian of Scotland, 
 along with John Comyn, in the name of BalioL, and 
 in opposition to the English. He was the grand-son of 
 the competitor, with whom he has been sometimes 
 confounded. Lord Kailes has well described, and in 
 some degree apologized for, the earlier part of his 
 life. 
 
 " His grandfather, the competitor, had patiently ac- 
 quiesced in the award of Edward. His father yielding 
 to the times, had served under the English banners. 
 But young Bruce had more ambition, and a more 
 restless spirit. In his earlier years, he acted upon no 
 regular plan. By turns the partizan of Edward, and 
 the vicegerent of Balio!, he seems to have forgotten 
 or stifled his pretensions to the crown. But his cha- 
 racter developed itself by degrees, and in maturer 
 age became firm and consistent."— Annals of Scotland, 
 p. 290, quarto, London, 1776. 
 
 Note III. 
 
 These are the savage xvilds that He 
 
 North of Strathnardill and Dunskye.—St. XI. p, 63. 
 
 The extraordinary piece of scenery which I have 
 here attempted to describe, is, I think, unparalleled in 
 any part of Scotland, at least in any which I have 
 
038 NOTES TO CANTO THIRD. 
 
 happerud to visit. It lit s just upon the frontier ol* 
 the Lain! ol Mae-Li od's country, which is ilu n abouts 
 divided from the tstat* of Mr. Ma< blister 01 Stiath- 
 Aird, tilled StnthnmidiQ »>> the Dean of *e Me* 
 The following account of it is extracted from a jour- 
 nal kept doling a tour thou I ids:— 
 
 " 'i lie w est. ro coast of Skye is highly romantic, 
 
 and at the same lime dispk of vegetation 
 
 tower grounds to which we have hitherto been 
 
 strangers. We passed three nuVwatoi lochs, or deep 
 
 embeyinents called Loch Bracadale, Loch Einort, and 
 
 Loch , aid BtboOt 11 o'clock Opened Loch Slavig. 
 
 We wen now under the western termination of the 
 high ridge of mountains called Cuillen, or Quillin, or 
 Coolin, whose wiathtr-beaten and strrated peaks we 
 had admired at a distance from Dunvegan. l'hey sunk 
 ben upon the sea, but with the same bold and per- 
 emptory aspect which their distant appearance in- 
 dicated. 
 
 " They appeared to consist of precipitous sheets of 
 naked rock,do\\ n which the torn nts were leaping in a 
 hundred tines of foam. The tops of the ridge, apparent- 
 ly inaccessible to human toot, were rent and split into 
 the most tremendous pinnacles. Towards the base of 
 these bare and precipitous crags, the ground, enriched 
 by the soil washed down from them, is comparatively 
 verdant and productive. Where we passed within the 
 small isle of Soa. we entered Loch Slavig, under the 
 shoulder of one of these grisly mountains, and ob- 
 served that the opposite side of the loch was of a 
 milder character, the mountains being softened down 
 into steep green declivities. From the bottom of the 
 bay advanced a headland of high rocks, which divid- 
 ed its depth into two recesses, from each of which a 
 brook issued. Here it had been intimated to us w r e 
 ■would find some romantic scenery, but we were un- 
 certain up which inlet we should proceed in search 
 of it. We chose, against our better judgment, the south- 
 erly dip of the bay, where we saw a house which 
 might afford us information. We found, upon enqui- 
 ry, that there is a lake adjoining to each branch of 
 
NOTES TO CANTO THIRD. 239 
 
 the bay, and walked a couple of miles to see that 
 near the farm-house, merely because the honest high- 
 lander seemed jealous of the honour of his own loch, 
 though we were speedily convinced it was not that 
 which we were recommended to examine. It had no 
 particular merit excepting from its neighbourhood to 
 a very high cliff or precipitous mountain, otherwise 
 the sheet of water had nothing differing from any 
 ordinary low-country lake. We returned and reim- 
 barked in our boat, for our guide shook his head at 
 our proposal to climb over the peninsula, or rocky 
 head-land which divided the two lakes. In rowing 
 round the head-land, we were surprised at the infinite 
 number of sea-fowl, then busy apparently with a 
 shoal of fish. 
 
 " Arrived at the depth of the bay, we found that 
 the discharge from this second lake forms a sort of 
 water-fall, or rather a rapid stream, which rushes 
 down to the sea with great fury and precipitation. 
 Round this place were assembled hundreds of trouts 
 and salmon, struggling to get up into the fresh water: 
 with a net we might have had twenty salmon at a 
 haul; and a sailor, with no better than a crooked pin, 
 caught a dish of trouts during our absence. Advancing 
 up this huddling and riotous brook, we found our- 
 selves in a most extraordinary scene; we lost sight of 
 the sea almost immediately after we had climbed 
 over a low ridge of crags, and were surrounded by 
 mountains of naked rock, of the boldest and most 
 precipitous character. The ground on which we 
 walked was the margin of a lake, which seemed to 
 have sustained the constant ravage oi torrents from 
 these rude neighbours. The shores consisted of huge 
 strata of naked granite, here and there intermixed 
 with bogs, and heaps of gravel and sand piled in the 
 empty water-courses. Vegetation there was little or 
 none, and the mountains rose so perpendicularly 
 from the water-edge, that Borrowdale, or even Glen- 
 coe, is a jest to them. We proceeded a mile and a half 
 
J40 NOTES TO CANTO THIRD. 
 
 Up li.; 
 
 iwo miles long, half a mile broad, 
 t d. of extreme depth. The rutiiky vapours which en- 
 veloped the mountain ridges, obi 
 
 i thousand v.u icd shapes, changing the ii drapery into 
 it of formi, and off all 
 
 together! it is true, the mist made us pa> the penalty 
 by some heav) anddown-i from 1 1 » < - frer 
 
 quency of which, a Highland boy, whom we brought 
 the farm, told us, the lake was popularly calkd 
 the Water-kettle. The proper aaaac is Loch Corris- 
 kin, from the deep corrie, or hollow, in the moun- 
 illin, which affords the basin for this 
 wonderful six . t of water, it li as exquisite ■ lavage 
 scene m Loch Katrine is a saene ofromantk beauty. 
 . having peneti distinctly to obs< rve 
 
 the termination ol the lake, under an inn 
 pice. which lis* -s abruptly from the water, we returned 
 and often stopped to admire the ravages which it 
 must have made in B all human 
 
 witnesses were driven to places of more shell I 
 st cuiitx . Stones, or rather la and fragment! 
 
 of locks o! a con, poiite kind, perfectly different from 
 Bala of the hike, were scattered upon the bare- 
 rocky beach, in the strangest and most precarious 
 situations, as if abandoned by the torrents which liad 
 borne them down from above. Some lay loose and 
 tottering upon the ledges of the natural rook, with so 
 little security, that the slightest push moved them, 
 though their weight might exceed many tuns. These 
 detached rocks, or stones, were chiefly what is called 
 pi ur. ib*pudding stones The bare rocks, which formed 
 flic shore of the lake, were a species of granite. The 
 opposite side of the lake seemed quite pathless and 
 inaccessible, as a huge mountain, one of the detached 
 ridges of the Cuillin hills, sinks in a profound and 
 perpendicular precipice down to the water. On the 
 left-hand side, which we traversed, rose an higher 
 and equally inaccessible mountain, the top of which 
 
BOTES TO CANTO THIRD. 241 
 
 strongly resembled the shivered crater of an exhausted 
 volcano. I never saw a spot in which there was less 
 appearance of vegetation of any kind. The eye rested 
 en nothing but barren and naked crags, and the rocks 
 on which we walked by the side of the loch, were as 
 bare as the pavements of Cheapside. There are one 
 or two small islets in the loch, which seem to bear 
 juniper, or some such low bushy shrub. Upon the 
 whole, though I have seen many scenes of more ex- 
 tensive desolation. I never witnessed any in which it 
 pressed more deeply upon the eye and the heart, than 
 at Loch Corisken; at the same time that its grandeur 
 elevated and redeemed it from the wild and dreary 
 character of utter barrenness." 
 
 Note IV. 
 
 Men xvere they all of evil mien, 
 
 Dozvn-look'd, umoilling to be seen.— St. XIX. p. 68. 
 The story of Brace's meeting the banditti is copied, 
 with such alterations as the fictitious narrative ren- 
 dered necessary, from a striking incident in the 
 monarch's history, told by Barbour, and which I will 
 give in the words of the hero's biographer, only rao= 
 demising the orthography. It is the sequel to the 
 adventure of the blood-hound, narrated in Note XIX. 
 upon Canto II. It will be remembered that the nar- 
 rative broke otf, leaving the Bruce escaped from his 
 pursuers, but worn out with fatigue, and having no 
 other attendant but his foster-brother* 
 
 And the good king held forth his way, 
 Betwixt him and his man, while they 
 Passed out through the forest were; 
 Syne in the moor they entered there. 
 It was both high, and long, and broad; 
 And or they half it passed had, 
 They saw on side three men coming, 
 Like to light men, and wavering. 
 L 
 
242 NOTES TO CANTO THIRD. 
 
 Swords they had, and axes also; 
 
 And one of them, upon his hals (I) 
 
 A inekill bounden weather bore 
 
 The meet the king, and halted (2) him there. 
 
 And the king them their haulsiug yauld; (3) 
 
 And asked whether they would? 
 
 They said, Robert the Bruce they sought; 
 
 For meet with him giil'that they might, 
 
 Their duelling with him would they m 
 
 The king sa d, " Gilt" that ye will see. 
 
 Hold furth your way with me, 
 
 And 1 shall make you soon him see." 
 
 They perceived, by his speaking, 
 
 That he was the seJ King. 
 
 And changed countenance, and late; (5) 
 
 And held nought in the Ant >tate. 
 
 For they were foes to the king, 
 
 And thought to cone into skulking; 
 
 And dwell with him, while that they saw 
 
 Their point, and bring him thereof da* 
 
 They granted till his speech forthy, (7) 
 
 But the king, that was witty, 
 
 Perceived well, by there having, 
 
 That they loved him nothing. 
 
 And said, " Fellows you must all three, 
 
 Further acquaint till that we be, 
 
 All be your selvtn furth go. 
 
 And on the same wish we two 
 
 Shall follow behind, well near." 
 
 Quoth they, ' Sir it is no mister (8) 
 
 To trow in us any ill 5 
 
 " None do V' said he; " but I will 
 
 That ye go forth thus, while we 
 
 Better with other knowen be." 
 
 (1) Neek. (2) Saluted. 
 
 (3) Returned their salute. (4) Make. 
 
 (5) Gesture or manner. (6) Kill him. 
 
 \f) Therefore. (8) There is no needr 
 
 ; 
 
NOTES TO CANTO THIRD. 243 
 
 " We grant," they said," since ye will so." 
 
 And forth upon their gate gan go. 
 
 Thus went they till the night was near, 
 
 And then the foremost coming were 
 
 Till a waste husband-house; (I) and there 
 
 They slew the weather that they bear, 
 
 And struck fire to roast their meat; 
 
 And asked the king if he would eat, 
 
 And rest him till the meat was dight. 
 
 The king, that hungry was, 1 hight, 
 
 Assented to their speech in hy, 
 
 But he said he would anerly (2) 
 
 At a fire, and they all three 
 
 On no wise with them together be. 
 
 In the end of the house they should ma 5 
 
 Another fire: and they did sua 
 
 They drew them in the house end, 
 
 And half the weather till him send. 
 
 And they roasted in haste their meat, 
 
 And fell right freshly for to eat. 
 
 For the king well long fasted bad; 
 
 And had right much travel made: 
 
 Therefore he eat full egrely. 
 
 And when he had eaten hastily, 
 
 He had to sleep so mekill will, 
 
 That he might set no let theretilL 
 
 Tor when the wames (3 ) filled are, 
 
 Men worthys (4) heavy evermore; 
 
 And to sleep draws heavyness. 
 
 The king, that all for-travelled (5) was» 
 
 Saw that him worthyt sleep need was; 
 
 Till his fostyr-brother he says, 
 
 44 May I trust in thee, me to wake, 
 
 Till I a little sleeping take?" 
 
 ' Ya, sir,' he said, ■ till I may dree.' (6) 
 
 The king then winked a little way, 
 
 (1) Husbandman's house, cottage. (2) Alone. 
 
 <3) Bellies. (4) Becomes. (5) Fatigued. (6) Endure. 
 
24 4 NOTES TO CANTO THIRD. 
 
 And sleeped not full entirely; 
 
 But glanced up oft sud<u nl) , 
 
 For ho had dr. ad of these three men, 
 
 r i hat at tin- t'other fire wen then. 
 
 That they his foes were be ww: 
 
 There/ore he sleeped, as fowl! on twist. (1) 
 
 The king sleeped but a little than, 
 
 When sic sleep fell on his man, 
 
 That he might not hold up his eye, 
 
 But ft- 11 in deep and routed high. 
 
 Now is the king in great perille: 
 
 For ileep be so a little while. 
 
 He shall be dead, fbrouten dreid, 
 
 For the three traitors took good heed, 
 
 That he on sleep was, and his man: 
 
 In full great haste they raise up than, 
 
 And drew their swords hastily; 
 
 And went towards the king in hy, 
 
 When that they saw bin sleep sua, 
 
 And sleeping thought they would him slay. 
 
 The king upbiinked hastily, 
 
 And saw his man sleeping him by, 
 
 And saw coming the t'other three. 
 
 Quickly on foot got he; 
 
 And drew his sword out, and them met. 
 
 And as he went his foot he set 
 
 Upon his man well heavily. 
 
 He wakened, and rose dizzely, 
 
 For the sleep mastered him so, 
 
 That or he got up ane o' tho 
 
 That came for to slay the king, 
 
 Gave him a stroke in his rising, 
 
 So that he might help him no more. 
 
 The king so strai.ly stad (2) was there, 
 
 That he was never yet so stad. 
 
 No were the arming (3) that he had, 
 
 (1) Bird on bough. (2) So securely situated. 
 
 f 3) Had it not been for the armour he wore. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO THIRD. 245 
 
 He had been dead, forouten mair. 
 But not forthy (1) on such manner 
 He helped him. in that bargain, (2) 
 That the three traitors he has slain, 
 Through God's grace, and his manhood. 
 His foster-brother there was dead. 
 Then was he wondre will off way ne, (3) 
 When he saw him left alone. 
 His fostyr-brother lamented he, 
 And waiyet (4) ail the t'other three. 
 And syne his way took him alone, 
 And right toward his tryst (h) is gone. 
 
 The Bruce, Book VIL, line 105. 
 
 Note V. 
 And mermaid's alabaster grot, 
 Who bathes her limbs in sunless well, 
 Deep in Strathaird's enchanted cell, 
 
 St. XXVIII. p. 76. 
 Imagination can hardly conceive any thing more 
 beautiful than the extraordinary grotto, discovered 
 not many years since upon the estate of Alexander 
 Mac-Allister, Esq., of Strathaird. It has since been 
 much and deservedly celebrated, and a full account 
 of its beauties has been published by Dr. Mac-Leay 
 of Oban. The general impression may perhaps be 
 gathered from the following extract from a journal 
 already quoted, which, written under the feelings of 
 the moment, is likely to be more accurate than any 
 attempt to recollect the impressions then received. 
 
 " The first entrance to this celebrated cave is rude 
 and unpromising; but the light of the torches with 
 which we were provided, was soon reflected from the 
 roof, floor, and walls, which seem as if they were 
 
 (I) Nevertheless. (2) Fray or dispute. 
 
 (3) Much afflicted. (4) Cursed. 
 
 (5) The place of rendezvous appointed for bis soldier?. 
 
246 NOTES TO CANTO THIRD. 
 
 sheeted with marble, partly smooth, partly rough with 
 frost-work and rustic ornament*, tnd partly teeming 
 to be wrought into statuary. The Beot fbrmi a steep 
 :tnd difficult ascent, and might be fancifully compar- 
 • (I to a iheet of water, which, while it rushed whiten- 
 ing and rosining down a declivit), had l>een sud- 
 denly incited and consolidated by the spell of an 
 enchanter. Upon attaining the summit of this ascent, 
 Che caw open* who a splendid gallery, adorned with 
 the most daazling crystallizations, and finally des- 
 cends with rapidity to the brink of a pool, of the 
 most limpid water, about four or five janis broad. 
 Then opms hi yond this pool a portal arch, formed 
 by two columns of white spar, with beautiful chasing 
 upon the sides, which promises a continuation of the 
 cave. One of our sailors swam across, for there is no 
 other mode of passing, and informed us (as indeed 
 we partly saw by the light he carried,) that the en- 
 cliantment of ^accalistcr's cave terminates with thi* 
 portal, a little beyond which there was only a rude 
 cavern, speedily choked with stones and earth. But 
 the pool on the brink of which we stood, surrounded 
 by the most fanciful mouldings, in a substance re- 
 sembling white marble, and distinguished by the 
 depth and purity of its waters, might have been the 
 bathing grotto of a naiad. The groupes of combined 
 figures projecting, or embossed, by which the pool is 
 surrounded, are exquisitely elegant and fanciful. A 
 statuary might catch beautiful hints from the singu- 
 lar and ro.uantic disposition of these stalactites. 
 There is scarce a form, or groupe, on which active 
 fancy may not trace figures or grotesque ornaments, 
 which have been gradually moulded in this cavern 
 by the dropping of the calcareous water hardening 
 into petrifactions. Many of those fine groupes have 
 been injured by the senseless rage of appropriation 
 of recent tourists, and the grotto has lost, (I am in- 
 formed) through the smoke of torches, something of 
 that vivid silver tint which was originally one of its 
 
 
 
NOTES TO CANTO THIRD. 247 
 
 chief distinctions. But enough of beauty remains to 
 compensate for all that may be lost."— Mr. Mac-Allis- 
 ter of Strathaird, has, with great propriety, built up 
 the exterior entrance to this cave, in order that 
 strangers may enter properly attended by a guide, 
 to prevent any repetition of the wanton and selfish 
 injury which this singular scene has already sus- 
 tained. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FOURTH. 
 
 Note L 
 
 Tet to no genie nfetiJUk wrong*, 
 
 fear wttneti with n,<- Heaven, //chugs 
 
 My /.—St. IV. p. 85. 
 
 The generosity which does justice to the character 
 of an enemy, often marks Bruee's sentiments, as re- 
 corded by the faitliful Baibour. He seldom mentions 
 a fallen enemy without pra.sing such good qualities 
 as he might possess. I will only take one instance. 
 Shortly after Bruce landed in Carrick, in 1306, Sir 
 Ingram Bell, the English governor of Ayr, engaged 
 a wealthy yeoman, who had hitherto been a follower 
 ot Bruce, to undertake the task of assassinating him. 
 The king learned this treachery, as he is said to 
 have done other secrets of the enemy, by means of a 
 female with whom he had an intrigue. Shortly after 
 he was possessed of this information, Bruce, resorting 
 to a small thicket at a distance from his men, with 
 only a single page to attend him, met the traitor, ac- 
 companied by two of his sons. They approached 
 him with their wonted familiarity, but Bruce, ta- 
 king his page's bow and arrow, commanded them to 
 keep at a distance. As they still pressed forward with 
 professions of zeal for his person and service, he, af- 
 ter a second warning; shot the father with the arrow, 
 and being assaulted successively by the two sons, dis- 
 patched first one, who was armed with an axe, then 
 as the other charged him with a spear, avoided 
 the thrust, struck the head from the spear, and cleft 
 the skull of the assassin with a blow of his two-hand 
 ed sword. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FOURTH. 249 
 
 " He rushed down of blood all red, 
 And when the king saw they were dead, 
 All three lying, he wiped his brand. 
 With that his boy come fast running, 
 And said ' Our lord might lowyt* be, 
 1 That granteth you might and powestet 
 4 To fell the feliony and the pride, 
 1 Of three in so little tide.' 
 The king said, ' So our Lord me see, 
 1 They had been worthy men all three^ 
 « Had they not been full of treason: 
 * But that made their confusion.' V 
 
 Barbour's Bruce, Book V, p. !#■?■ 
 
 Note II. 
 Such hate ivas his on Sohvay's sh'ctnd, 
 When vengeance clenched his palsied hand. 
 That pointed yet to Scotland's land.St. IV. p. 86. 
 To establish his dominion in Scotland had been a 
 favourite object of Edward's ambition, and nothing 
 could exceed the pertinacity with which he pursued it, 
 unless his inveterate resentment against the insur- 
 gents, who so frequeutty broke the English yoke 
 when he deemed it most iirmly riveted. After the bat= 
 ties of Falkirk and Methven,and the dreadful exam- 
 ples which he had made of Wallace and other champi- 
 ons of national independence, he probably concluded 
 every chance of insurrection was completely annihi> 
 lated. This was in 13C6, when Brace, as we have 
 seen, was utterly expelied from Scotland. Yet, in the 
 conclusion of the same year, Bruce was again in arms 
 and formidable; and in 1307, Edward, though exhaust- 
 ed by a long and wasting malady, put himself at the 
 head of the army destined to destroy him utterly. 
 This was, perhaps, partly in consequence of a vow 
 which he had taken upon him, with all the pomp of 
 chivalry, upon the day in which he dubbed his son p. 
 
 * Lauded. t Power. 
 
 L2 
 
250 NOTES TO CANTO FOURTH. 
 
 knight, for which see a subsequent note. But even 
 his spirit of vengeance was unable to restore his < \- 
 hausted strength. He readied Burgh-upon-Sands, a 
 petty village of Cumberland, on the shores of the 
 Solway Firth, and there, on the 6th July, 1307, ex- 
 pired in sight of the detested and devoted country of 
 Scotland. His dying injunctions to his son required 
 him to continue the Scottish war. and never to recall 
 Gaveston. Edward II. disobeyed both charges. Yet 
 more to mark his animosity, the dying monarch or- 
 dered his bones to l>e carried with the invading army. 
 Froissart, who probably had the authority of eye-wit- 
 nesses> has given us the following account of this re- 
 markable charge : 
 
 "In the said forest, the old King Robert of Scot- 
 land dyd kepe hymselfe, whan Kyng Edward the 
 F\rst conquered nygh all Scotland; for he was so of- 
 ten chased, that uone durst loge him in castell, nor 
 j'ortresse, for feare of the sayd kyng. 
 
 " And ever whan the king was returned into Ing- 
 land, than he would gather together agayn his peo- 
 ple, and conquere townes, castells, and fortresses, 
 iuste to Berwick, some by battle, and some by fair 
 speech and love: and when the said King Edward 
 heard thereof, than would he assemble his power, and 
 wyn the realme of Scotland again; thus the chance 
 went between these two forsaid kings. It was shewed 
 me, how that this King Robert wan and lost his 
 realme V. times. So this continued till the said King 
 Edward died at Berwick: and when he saw that he 
 should die, he called before him his eldest son, who 
 was king after him, and there, before all the barones, 
 he caused him to swear, that as soon as he were dead, 
 that he should take his body, and boyle it in a caul- 
 dron, till the flesh departed clean from the bones, and 
 than to bury the flesh, and keep still the bones; and 
 that as often as the Scott* should re bell against him, 
 he should assemble the people against them, and cary 
 with him the bones of his father; for he believed ve- 
 rily, that if they had his bones with them, that the 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FOURTH. 251 
 
 Scotts should never attain any victory against them. 
 The which thing was not accomplished, for when the 
 king died, his son carried him to London."— Berners 1 
 Froissarfs Chronicle, London 1812, pp. 39, 40. 
 
 Edward's commands were not obeyed, for he was 
 interred in Westminster-Abbey, with the appropriate 
 inscription:—" Edwardus primus, Scotornm malleus, 
 hie est. Pactum Serva." Yet some steps seem to have 
 been taken towards rendering his body capable of 
 occasional transportation, for it was exquisitely em- 
 balmed, as was ascertained when his tomb was open- 
 ed some years ago. Edward II. judged wisely in not 
 carrying the dead body of his father into Scotland, 
 since he would not obey his living councils. 
 
 It ought to be observed, that though the order of 
 the incidents is reversed in the poem, yet, in point 
 of historical accuracy, Bruce had landed in Scotland 
 and obtained some successes of consequence, before 
 the death of Edward I. 
 
 Note III. 
 
 Carina's toxver, that, steep and grey, 
 
 Like falcon-nest overhangs the bay.— St, VIII. p. 89. 
 The little island of Canna, or Cannay, adjoins to 
 those of Rum and Muick, with which it forms one 
 parish. In a pretty bay opening towards the east, 
 there is a lofty and slender rock, detached from the 
 shore. Upon the summit are the ruins of a very small 
 tower, scarcely accessible by a steep and precipitous 
 path. Here it is said one of the kings, or Lords of the 
 Isles, confined a beautiful lady, of whom he was jea- 
 lous. I he ruins are of course haunted by her restless 
 spirit and many romantic stories are told by the aged 
 people of the island, concerning her fate in life, and 
 her appearances after death. 
 
 Note IV. 
 And Ro mil's mountains dark have sent 
 
 Their hunters to the »}. ore.— St. IX. p. 90. 
 Renin (popularly called Rum, a name which a poet 
 
252 NOTES TO CANTO FOURTH. 
 
 may be pardoned for avoiding if possible,) is a very 
 rough and mountainous island, adjacent to those of 
 Eigg and Cannay. There is almost no arable ground 
 Upon it, so that, except in the plenty of the deer, 
 which of course are now Heart] extirpated, it still de- 
 serves the description bestowed by the archdean of 
 the Isles. 
 
 " Rnnin, sixteen myle north-wast from the lie of 
 toll, l\i s aue ile callit Ronin lie, of sixteen myle 
 lang, and six in bredlhe in the narrowest, ane forest 
 of heigh mountains, and abundance of little deire in 
 it, quhilk deir Mill never be slanc dounew ith, but the 
 principal saittis man be in the height of the hill, be- 
 cause the deir will be callit up wart ay be the tail* 
 'hell, or without tynchel they will pass upwart per- 
 force. In this ile w ill be gotten about Britane als 
 nanv wild nests upon the plane mure as men pleasis 
 to gadder, and yet by resson the fowls lies few to start 
 them except deir. This iyle lyes from the west to the 
 eist in lenth, and pertains to M'Kenabrey of Colla. 
 Many Solan geese are in this ile.'"— Monro's Dcscrip- 
 Hon of the Western Isles, p. 18. 
 
 Note V. 
 On Sc oreigg next a warning light 
 Summon* tf the warriors to t/iejighl; 
 A numerous race, ere stern MacLeod 
 O'er their bleak shores in vengeance strode. 
 
 St. IX. p. 90. 
 These, and the following lines of the stanza, refer 
 to a dreadful tale of feudal vengeance, of which un- 
 fortunately there are reliques that still attest the 
 truth. Scoor-Eigg is a high peak in the centre of the 
 small isle of Eigg, or Egg. It is well known to mine- 
 ralogists, as affording many interesting specimens, 
 and to others whom chance or curiosity may lead to 
 the island, for the astonishing view of the main-land 
 and neighbouring isles, which it commands. I will 
 again avail myself of the journal I have quoted. 
 " 26?// August, 1814.— At seven this morning we 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FOURTH. 253 
 
 were in the sound which divides the isle of Rum 
 from that of Egg-. The latter, although hilly and 
 rocky, and traversed by a remarkably high and bar- 
 ren ridge, called Scoor-Rigg, has, in point of soil, a 
 much more promising appearance. Southward of 
 both, lies the Isle of Muich, or Muck, a low and fer- 
 tile island, and though the least, yet probably the 
 most valuable of the three. We manned the boat, and 
 rowed along the shore of Egg in quest of a cavern, 
 which had been the memorable scene of a horrid 
 feudal vengeance. We had rounded more than half 
 the island, admiring the entrance of many a bold 
 natural cave, which its rocks exhibited, without find- 
 ing that which we sought, until we procured a guide. 
 Nor, indeed, was it surprising that it should have 
 escaped the search of strangers, as there are no out- 
 ward indications more than might distinguish the 
 entrance of a fox-earth. This noted cave has a very 
 narrow opening, through which ont- can hardly creep 
 on his knees and hands. It rises steep and lofty within, 
 and runs into the bowels of the rock to the depth of 
 255 measured feet; the height at the entrance may 
 be about three feet but rises within to eighteen or 
 twenty, and the breadth may vary in the same pro- 
 portion. The rude and stony bottom of tnis cave is 
 strewed with the bones of men, women, and children, 
 the sad reiiques of the ancient inhabitants of the 
 island, 200 in number, who were slain on the follow- 
 ing occasion:— The Mac-Donalds of the Isle of Egg, a 
 people dependent on Clan-Ranald, had done some 
 injury to the Laird of Macleod. The tradition of the 
 isle says, that it was by a personal attack on the 
 chieftain, in which his back was broken. But that of 
 the other isles bears, more probably, that the injury 
 was offered to two or three of the Mac-Leods, who, 
 landing upon Eigg, and using some freedom with the 
 young women, were seized by the islanders, bound 
 hand and foot, and turned adrift in a boat, which the 
 winds and waves safely conducted to Skye. To avenge 
 the offence given, Mac-Leod sailed with such a body 
 
254, NOTES TO CANTO FOURTH. 
 
 of men, as rendered resistance hopeless. The natives, 
 fearing his vengeance, conceal* -d themselves in this 
 capern, and. ; after a strict search, the Mac-Leods went 
 
 ud their galleys after doing what mischief they 
 eould, concluding the inhabitants had left the isle, 
 and betaken themselves to the Long Island, or some 
 of Clan-Ronald's other possessions. But next morning 
 they espied from the vessels a man upon the island, 
 and immediately landing again, they traced his rc- 
 
 by the marks of his footsteps, a light snow 
 being unhappih on the ground. Mac-Leod then sur- 
 rounded the cavern, summoned the subterranean 
 garrison, and demanded that the individuals who had 
 offended him should be delivered up to him. This 
 was peremptorily refused. The chieftain then caused 
 his people to divert the course of a rill of water, 
 which, falling over the entrance of the cave, would 
 have prevented his purposed vengeance. He then 
 kindled at the entrance of the cavern a huge fire, 
 composed of turf and fern, and maintained it with 
 unrelenting assiduity, until all within were destroyed 
 by suffocation. The date of this dreadful deed must 
 have been recent, if one can judge from the freih 
 appearance of those reliques, I brought off, in spite 
 of the prejudice of our sailors, a skull from among 
 the numerous specimens of mortality which the 
 cavern affordtd. Before reimbarking we visited 
 another cave, opening to the sea, but of a character 
 entirely different, being a large open vault as high 
 as that of a cathedral, and running back a great way 
 into the rock at the same height. The height and 
 width of the opening gives ample light to the whole. 
 Here, after 1745, when the catholic priests were 
 scarcely tolerated, the priest of Eigg used to perform 
 the Roman catholic service, most of the islanders 
 being of that persuasion. A huge ledge of rocks rising 
 about half way up one side of the vault, served for 
 altar and pulpit, and the appearance of a priest and 
 Highland congregation in such an extraordinary 
 place of worship, might have engaged the pencil of 
 Salvator." 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FOURTH. 255 
 
 Note VI. 
 — — the group of islets gay 
 
 That guard famed Staffa round* 
 
 St. X. p. 91. 
 
 It would be unpardonable to detain the reader 
 upon a wonder so often described, and yet so incapa- 
 ble of being understood by description. This palace 
 of Neptune is even grander upon a second than the 
 first view— the stupendous columns which form the 
 sides of the cave, the depth and strength of the tide 
 which rolls its deep and heavy swell up to the ex- 
 tremity of the vault— the variety of tints formed by 
 white, crimson, and yellow stalactites, or petrifac- 
 tions, which occupy the vacancies between the base 
 of the broken pillars which form the roof, and inter- 
 sect them with a rich, curious, and variegated chas- 
 ing, occupying each interstice— the corresponding 
 variety below water, where the ocean rolls over a 
 dark-red or violet-coloured rock, from which, as from 
 a base, the basaltic columns arise — the tremendous 
 noise of the swelling tide, mingling with the deep- 
 toned echoes of the vault,— are circumstances else- 
 where unparalleled. 
 
 Nothing can be more interesting than the varied 
 appearance of the little archipelago of islets, of which 
 StafFa is the most remarkable. This group, called in 
 Gaelic Tresharnish, affords a thousand varied views 
 to the voyager, as they appear in different positions 
 with reference to his course. The variety of their 
 shape contributes much to the beauty of these effects. 
 
 Note VII. 
 Scenes sung by him who sings no more! 
 
 St. XI. p. 92. 
 The ballad, entitled * Macphail of Colonsay, and 
 the Mermaid of Corrievrekin," was composed by John 
 Leyden, from a tradition which he found while mak- 
 ing a tour through the Hebrides about 1801, soon be- 
 fore his fatal departure for India, where, after having 
 made farther progress in oriental literature than any 
 
) HBS TO C ANTO FOURTH. 
 
 man of letters who had embraced these stiulii s, h< 
 died a martyr to Ms /<a! far knowledge, in the 
 ^bnd of Java, immediately after the landing of our 
 Area near Batavia, in September, 1811. 
 
 Note VIII. 
 1 >(> Torbcti w t Mt t rn hike, they bore, 
 
 dragged their bark the Liihmns o'er. 
 
 St. XII. p. 
 
 The peninsula of Can tire is joined to South Knap 
 dale hy B very narrow isthmus, formed by thf ■ 
 and eastern Loch of Tarbat. These two sal 
 lakes, or ba)s, encroach so far upon the land, and the 
 extremities come so near to each other, that lb 
 not above a mile of land to divide them. 
 
 M It is nut long," says Pennani, ■ since vessels of 
 nine or ten tons were drawn by horses out of the 
 weet loch into that of the east, to avoid the dangers 
 of the Mull of Cantyre, so dreaded and so little known 
 was the navigation round that promontory. It is the 
 opinion of many, that these little isthmuses, so fre- 
 quently styled Tarbat in North Britain, took their 
 name from the above circumstance; Tarruing, signi- 
 fying to draw, and Bata, a boat. This too might l>e 
 called, by way of pre-eminence, the Tarbat, from a 
 very singular circumstance related by Torfceus. When 
 Magnus, the bare-footed King of Norway, obtained 
 from Donald-bane of Scotland the cession of the west- 
 ern isles, or all those places that could be surrounded 
 In a boat, he added to them the peninsula of Cantyre 
 by this fraud: he placed himself in the stern of a 
 boat, held the rudder, was drawn over this narrow 
 track, and by this species of navigation wrested the 
 country from his brother monarch."— Pennant's Scot- 
 land, London, 1790, p. 190. 
 
 But that Bruce also made this passage, although at 
 a period two or three years later than in the poem, 
 appears from the evidence of Barbour, who mentions 
 ajso the effect produced upon the minds of the Highlan- 
 ders, from the prophecies current amongst them. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FOURTH. 957 
 
 M But to King Robert will we gang", 
 
 That we have left unspoken of lang. 
 
 When he had convoyed to the sea 
 
 His brother Edward, and his menyie, 
 
 And other men of great noblay, 
 
 To Tarbart they held their way, 
 
 In galleys ordained for their fare, 
 
 But them worth (1) draw their ships there 
 
 And a mile was betwixt the seas, 
 
 But that was lompnyt (2) all with trees. 
 
 The king his ships these gert (S) draw 
 
 And for the wind couth (4) stoutly blaw 
 
 Upon their back, as they would ga, 
 
 He gert men rops and masts ta, 
 
 And set them in the ships high, 
 
 And sails to the tops tye; 
 
 And gert men gang thereby drawing* 
 
 The wind them helpYl that was blowing, 
 
 So that, in iittie space, 
 
 Their fleet all over drawn was. 
 
 And when they that in the isles were, 
 
 Heard tell how the king had there, 
 
 Gart (5) his ships with sails go 
 
 Out over betwixt Tarbat two, 
 
 They were abaysit (6) so utterly. 
 
 For they wist, through old prophecy, 
 
 That he that should gar (7) ships so 
 
 Betwixt the seas with sails go, 
 
 Should win the isles so till hand, 
 
 That none with strength should him withstand, 
 
 Therefore they come all to the king. 
 
 Was none withstood his bidding, 
 
 (1) Were obliged to. (2) Supposed entangled, 
 (3) Caused. (4) Could. (S) Caused. 
 
 fp) Confounded, (7) Make, 
 
258 NOTES TO CANTO FOURTH. 
 
 Owtakyn (8) Johnc of Lome alanc. 
 But will soon alter was he taen; 
 And present right to the kin:;. 
 And they there were of his leading, 
 That till the king had broken fay, 00 
 "Were all d.-ad, and destroyed away." 
 
 Barbour's Bruce, vol. HI. Book XV. pp. 14, 15. 
 
 Note IX. 
 The sun, ere yet he sunk behind 
 B,'n-yli<>i'r- >he Mountain of tin: H'ind," 
 Gave his grim peaks a greeting kind, 
 
 And bade Loeh-Ranx/i smile.— St. XIII. p. 03. 
 
 Loch Ranza is a Ixautiful bay, on the northern ex- 
 tremity of Anan, opening towards East Tarbat Loch. 
 It is well described by Pennant. 
 
 " The approach was magnificent: a fine bay in 
 front, about a mile deep; having a ruined castle 
 near the lower end, on a low far projecting neck of 
 land, that forms another harbour, with a narrow pas- 
 sage; but within has three fathom of water, even at 
 the lowest ebb. Beyond is a 1 ittle plain watered by a 
 stream, and inhabited by the people of a small village. 
 The whole is environed with a theatre of mountains; 
 and in the back-ground the serrated crags of Grianan- 
 Athol soar above.'— Pennants Tour to the Western 
 Isles, p. 191, 2. 
 
 Ben-Ghaoil, " the mountain of the winds," is gene- 
 rally known by its English, and less poetical name, 
 of Goatfield. 
 
 Note X. 
 Each to Loch-Ranza's margin spring; 
 That blast ivas winded by the King! 
 
 St. XVIII. p. 98. 
 The passage in Barbour, describing the landing of 
 Bruce, and his being recognized by Douglas and those 
 
 (8) Escaped. (9) Faith. 
 
 , 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FOURTH. 259 
 
 of his followers, who had preceded him, by the sound 
 of his horn, ;s in the original singularly simple and 
 affecting.— Thr- king arrived in Arran with thirty- 
 three small row-boats. He interrogated a female if 
 there had armed any warlike men of late in that 
 country. v; Surely, sir," she replied, '• I can tell you 
 of many who lately came hither, discomfited the En- 
 glish governor, and blockaded his castle of Brodick. 
 They maintain themselves in a wood at no great dis- 
 tance." The king, truly conceiving that this must 
 be Dougias and his followers, who had lately set forth 
 to try their fortune in Arran, desired the woman to 
 conduct him to the wood. She obeyed. 
 
 ■ The king then blew T his horn on high; 
 And gert his men that were him by, 
 Hold them still, and all privy; 
 And syne again his home blew he. 
 James of Dow glas heard him blow, 
 And at the last alone gan know. 
 And said, k Sooth ly yon is the king; 
 ' I know long while since his blowing/ 
 The third time therewithall he blew, 
 And tnen Sir Robert Boid it knew; 
 And said, ' Yon is the king but dread, 
 ' Go we forth till him, better speed.' 
 Then went they till the king in hye, 
 And him inclined courteously, 
 And blithly welcomed them the king, 
 And was joyful of their meeting, 
 And kissed them; and speared (1) syne 
 How they had fared in hunting? 
 And they him told all, but lesing: (2) 
 Syne laud they God of their meeting. 
 Syne with the king till his harbourye 
 Went both joyful and jolly." 
 
 Barbour's Bruce, Book IV., p. 115, 16. 
 
 (1) Asked. (2) Without lying. 
 
260 NOTES TO CANTO FOURTH. 
 
 Note XL 
 -his brother blwrnted, 
 
 But shared the weakness, white ashamed. 
 With haughty laugh his head he tia-ifd, 
 
 may the tear he icerfftL fit. XX. p. 100. 
 
 1 lie kind, anil yet tier\ charaeu r of Edward Bruce, 
 
 U pointed by Barbour, in th< account oi' his be- 
 
 haviour after the battle of Bannock burn. Sir Walter 
 
 Ross, one of the v. ry few Scoltish nobles who Tell in 
 
 '. vrly Ik loved by Edward, tint hi 
 
 d the victory bad bem lost, so How had lived. 
 
 Out-taken him, men has not seen 
 "Where he for any men made moaning. 
 
 And here the v< nerabfe arch-deacon intimates l i 
 wdal. Sir Edward Br loved Ross's 
 
 tier amoure, 1<> Che negl ect of his own lady, sis- 
 ter to David de Stratabogie, Karl of Athole. This 
 eriminal passion had evil consequences; for in resent- 
 of the affront done to his sister, Athole attacked 
 the guard which Bruce had left at Cambtiskenneth, 
 during; the battle of Bannockburn, to protect his ma- 
 gazine of provisions, and slew Sir William Keith the 
 commander. For which treason he was forfeited. 
 
 In like manner, when in a sally from Carrick-fer- 
 gus, Xeil Fleming, and the guards whom he command- 
 ed, had fallen, after a protracted resistance, which 
 saved the rest of Edward Bruce's army, he made such 
 moan as surprised his followers: 
 
 " Sic moan he made men had ferly, (1) 
 
 For he was not customably 
 
 Wont for to moan men any thing, 
 
 Nor would not hear men make moaning."— 
 
 Such are the nice traits of character so often lost in 
 general history. 
 
 (i) Wonder. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FOURTH. 261 
 
 Note XII. 
 
 Thou heard' 'st a wretched female plain, 
 In agony of travail-pain, 
 And thou didst bid thy little band 
 Upon the instant turn and stand.— St. XXVII. p. 105. 
 This incident, which illustrates so happily the chi- 
 valrous generosity of Brace's character, is one of the 
 many simple and natural traits recorded by Barbour. 
 It occurred during the expedition which Bruce made 
 to Ireland, to support the pretensions of his brother 
 Edward to the throne of that kingdom. Brace was 
 about to retreat, and his host was arrayed for moving. 
 
 " The king has heard a woman cry, 
 He asked, what that was in hy. (1) 
 1 It is the layndar (2) sir,' sai ane, 
 4 That her child-ill (3) right now has ta'en: 
 ' And must leave now behind us here. 
 ' Therefore she makes an evil cheer.' (4) 
 The king said, ' Certes, (5) it were pity 
 ' That she in that point left should be, 
 
 * For certes I trow there is no man 
 
 • That he no will rue (6) a woman than.' 
 His host all there arested he, 
 
 And gert a tent soon stintit (7) be, 
 And gert her gang in hastily, 
 And other women to be her by. 
 While she was delivered he bade; 
 And syne forth on his ways rade. 
 And how she forth should carried be, 
 Or he forth fure, (8) ordained he. 
 This was a full great courtesy, 
 That swilk a king and so mighty, 
 Gert his men dwell on this maner, 
 But for a poor lavender." 
 
 Barbour' 's Bruce, Book XV L pp, 39, 40. 
 
 (1) Haste. (2) Laundress. (3) Child-bedi 
 
 (4) Stop. (5) Certainly. (6) Pity. 
 
 (7) Pitehed. (8.) Moved. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIFTH. 
 
 Note I. 
 O'er chasm* he pasted, where fi^eture* i 
 Craved wary eye and ample stride*— &L VI. p. 115. 
 The Ulterior ol flit* island of Arran abounds with 
 beautiful highland scenery. The hills, being very 
 rocky mid precipitous, afford some cataract-, of great 
 height, though of inconsiderable breadth. There is 
 one pass over the river Machrai, renowned for the 
 dilemma of a poor woman, who, being tempted by 
 the narrowness of the ravine to step across, succet ded 
 in making the first movement, but took fright when 
 it became necessary to move the other foot, and re- 
 mained in a posture equally ludicrous and danger- 
 ous, until some chance passenger assisted her to 
 extricate herself. It is said she remained there for 
 hours. 
 
 Note II. 
 
 He cross'' d his brorv beside the stone, 
 
 Where Druids erst tward victims groan* 
 
 And at the cairns upon tlie wild, 
 
 O'er many a heathen hero piled.— St. VI. p. 115. 
 The isle of Arran, like those of Man and Anglesea, 
 abounds with many reliques of heathen, and probably 
 druidical, superstition. There are high erect columns 
 of unhewn stone, the most early of all monuments, 
 the circles of rude stones, commonly entitled druidi- 
 cal, and the cairns, or sepulchral piles, within which 
 are usually found urns inclosing ashes. Much doubt 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIFTH. 263 
 
 necessarily rests upon the history of such monu- 
 ments, nor is it possible to consider them as exclu- 
 sively Celtic, or druidical. By much the finest circles 
 of standing stones, excepting Stonehenge.are those of 
 of Stenhouse, or Stennis, in the island of Pomona, 
 the principal isle of the Orcades. These, of course, 
 are neither Celtic nor druidical, and we are assured 
 that many circles of the kind occur both in Sweden 
 and Norway. 
 
 Note III. 
 
 Old Brodick's gothic towers ivere seen. 
 
 From Hastings late, their English Lord, 
 
 Douglas had icon them by the sivord. 
 
 St. VI. p. 116. 
 Brodick or B rath wick castle, in the Isle of Arran, 
 is an ancient fortress, near an open road-stead called 
 Brodick bay, and not distant far from a tolerable 
 harbour, closed in by the island of Lamlash. This 
 important place had been assailed a short time before 
 Bruce's arrival in the island. James Lord Douglas, 
 who accompanied Bruce to his retreat in Rachrine, 
 seems, in the spring of 1306. to hare tired of his 
 abode there, and set out accordingly, in the phrase of 
 the thues, to see what adventure God would send 
 him. Sir Robert Boyd accompanied him, and his 
 knowledge of the localities of Arran appears to have 
 directed his course thither. They landed in the island 
 privately, and appear to have laid an ambush for Sir 
 John Hastings, the English governor of Brodwick, 
 and surprised a considerable supply of arms and pro- 
 visions, and nearly took the castle itself. ] ndeed, that 
 they actually did so, has been generally averred by 
 historians, although it does not appear from the nar- 
 rative of Barbour. On the contrary, it would seem 
 that they took shelter within a fortification of the 
 ancient inhabitants, a rampart called Torr an Schkm. 
 When they were joined by Bruce, it seems probable 
 that they had gained Brodick castle. At least tradi- 
 
j61 * M TO CANTO FIFTH. 
 
 tion says, that from • rita of the tower lie 
 
 «w lb ■ supposed signal lire on Turnberry-nook. 
 
 The castle is now much modernised, but hai a dig- 
 nified appearance, being- surroujKled by flourishing 
 plantations. 
 
 IV. 
 Oft. too, with unaccustomed tars, 
 Akmguagc much unmeH he //nvrv.— St. VII. p. 117. 
 
 Barbour with great limp 
 from which it would seem that the vice of profane 
 IW« aiing. afterwards too general among the Scottish 
 nation, was, at this tune, confim d 10 military 
 As Douglas, after Bruce's f -turn to Scotland, wai 
 roving about the mountainous country oi" Tweed* 
 dale, m ar the water of Line, he r tinted to I" U 
 persons in a farm house say * tht ifiitffV Concluding, 
 from this hardy expression, that the house contained 
 warlike guests, he immediately assadrd it, and had 
 the good fortune to make prisoners Thomas Ran- 
 dolph, afterwardi the Baami Eari a# Murray, and 
 Alexander Stuart, Lord ftaflkh* Both were then in 
 the English interest, and had come into that country 
 With the purpose of driving out Douglas. 1 hey after- 
 ranked among Bruce s most zealous adherents. 
 
 Note V. 
 For, sec' the ruddy rigfmi tnadc, 
 That Clifford^ with his M e rr jp H Uffl ell, 
 
 Guard* carelc9*ly o>/r father's /uill.— St. IX. p. US. 
 The remarkable circumstances by which Bruce 
 nduced to enter Scotland, under the false idea 
 that a signal-fire was lighted upon the shore near his 
 maternal castle of Turnberry— the disappointment 
 which4ie met with, and the train of success which 
 arose out that very disappointment, are too curious 
 to be passed over unnoticed. The following is the 
 narrative of Barbour. The introduction is a favoura- 
 ble specimen o/ his style, winch seems to be in some 
 degree the model of that of Gawaiu Douglas:— 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIFTH. 065 
 
 This was in ver (1) when winter tide, 
 
 With his blasts hideous to bide, 
 
 Was overdriven: and birds smaD, 
 
 As turtle, and the nightingale, 
 
 Begouth (2) right sarioily (3) to sing; 
 
 And for to make in their singing 
 
 Sweet notes, and sounds ser, (4) 
 
 And melodies pleasant to hear. 
 
 And trees began to ma (5) 
 
 Burgeans, (6) and bright blooms alsua, 
 
 To win the belying (7) o f ' their head, 
 
 That wicked winter bad them revid, (8) 
 
 And all grasses began to spring. 
 
 Into that time the noble king, 
 
 With his fleet and a few mengye, (9) 
 
 Three hundred I trow they might be, 
 
 Is to the sea, out of Arane, 
 
 A little fbrouth (K-) even gone. 
 
 They rowed fast, with ail their might, 
 
 Till that upon them fell the night, 
 
 That wax myrk (11) upon great maner, 
 
 So that they wist not where they were. 
 
 For they no needle had. na stone; 
 
 But rowed always intill one, 
 
 Steereing al time upon the fire, 
 
 That they saw burning light and schyr. (12) 
 
 It was but auentur (13) them led: 
 
 And they in short time so them sped, 
 
 That at the fire arrived they, 
 
 And went to land but more delay. 
 
 And Cuthbert, that has seen the lire, 
 
 Was full of anger, and of ire; 
 
 For he durst not do it away; 
 
 And was also doubting aye 
 
 (1) Spring. (2) Began. (3) Loftily. (4) Several. 
 (5) Make. (6) Buds. (7) Covering. (8) Bereaved* 
 (9) Men. (10) Before. (11) Dark. (12) Clear. 
 
 (13} Adventure. 
 
 M 
 
266 NOTES TO CANTO FIFTH. 
 
 That his lord should pass to sea, 
 Therefore their coming- waited he: 
 And met them at their ariving. 
 He was well soon brought to the king, 
 That speared at him how he had done. 
 And he with sore heart told him soon, 
 How that he found none well loving 
 But all were foes, that he found. 
 And that the Lord the Persy, 
 With near three hundred in company, 
 Was in the castle there betide, 
 Fwllfiled of dispite and podfi> 
 ilj.r more than two parti of his rout 
 Were harboured in the town without; 
 14 And despite you more sir king, 
 " Than men may despite ony thing-." 
 Than said the king, in full great ire, 
 " Traitor, why made you the fire?" 
 " A! Sir,"' said he, " so God me seei 
 " The fire was never made by me. 
 "No, or the night, I wist it not; 
 ■ But fra I wist it, well I thought 
 " That ye, and wholly your menzie 
 •• In hy (l) should put you to the sea. 
 M Forth I come to meet you here, 
 " To tell perils that may appear. 10 
 The king was of his speech angry, 
 And asked his priye men, in hy, (2) 
 What at them thought was best to do. 
 Sir Edward first answered thereto, 
 His brother that was so hardy. 
 And said; " I say you sekyrly 
 " There shall no peril, that may be, 
 " Drive me eftsoons (3) to the sea. 
 " Mine adventure here take will I, 
 " Whether it be easeful or angry." 
 * Brother,' he said, * since you will sua, 
 
 ']) Haste. (2) Haste. (3) Soon after. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIFTH. ^67 
 
 i It is good that we same ta, 
 *Disease or ease, or pain or play. 
 
 * After as God will us purvay. (4) 
 
 4 And since men say that the Persy 
 
 * Mine heritage will occupy; 
 
 * And his menyie so near us lies, 
 
 * That us despites many ways; 
 
 ' Go we, and venge (f>) some of the dispite. 
 
 * And that may we have done as tite; (6) 
 ' For they lie traistly, (7) but dreading 
 
 * Of us, or of our here coming. 
 
 * And though we sleeping slew them all, 
 ' Reproof thereof no man shall. 
 
 * For warior no force should ma, 
 
 * Whether he might ourcome his fa 
 
 4 Through strength, or through subtility; 
 fc But that good faith ay holden be.' 
 
 Note VI. 
 
 Now ask you whence that woncVroas light, 
 Whose fairy glow beguiled their sight?— 
 
 It ne'er was known St. XVII. p. 125. 
 
 The following are the words of an ingenious corres- 
 pondent, to whom I am obliged for much information 
 respecting Turnberry and its neighbourhood. " The 
 only tradition now remembered of the landing of 
 Robert the Bruce in Carriek, relates to the fire seen 
 by him from the Isle of Arran. It is still generally re- 
 ported, and religiously believed by many, that this 
 fire was really ithe work of supernatural power, unas- 
 sisted by the hand of any mortal being; and it is said, 
 that for several centuries, the flame rose yearly on the 
 same hour of the same night of the year, on which 
 the king first saw it from the turrets of Brodick cas- 
 tle; and some go so far as to say, that if the exact 
 time were known, it would be still seen. That this 
 superstitious notion is very ancient, is evident from 
 
 (4) Prepare. (5) Avenge. (6) Snatched. (7) Trostily. 
 
^68 NOTES TO CANTO FIFTH. 
 
 the place where the fire is said to have appeared, 
 being called the Bogles' Brae, beyond the remem- 
 brance oi' man. In support of this curious belief, it is 
 said that the practice of burning heath for the im- 
 provement of land was then unknown; that a spunkie 
 (Jack o' lanthoru) could not have been seen across the 
 breadth o! the Forth of Clyde. In i re and 
 
 Arran, and that the courier of Bruce was his kinsman, 
 and never suspected of treachery. , "— Letter from Mr. 
 Joseph Train, of Newton Stuart, author of an ingeni- 
 ous Collection of Poems, ill strative of many ancient 
 Traditions in Galloway and Ayrshire, Edinburgh, 
 1814. 
 
 Note VII. 
 The* ma in 
 
 Left for tif .— St. XIX. p. 127. 
 
 The castle of Turnberry, on the coast of Ayrshire, 
 was the property of Robert Bruce, in the right of his 
 mother. L . d Hailes mentions the following remark- 
 able circumstance concerning the mode in which he 
 bt came proprietor of it:—*" Martha, Countess of Car- 
 rick in her own right, the wife of Robert Bruce, 
 Lord of Annatidale, bare him a son, afterwards Ro- 
 bert I. (11th July, 1274). The circumstances of her 
 marrii.ge were singular: Happening to meet Robert 
 Bruce in her domains, she became enamoured of him, 
 and with some violence led him to her castle of 
 Turnberry. A lew days after she married him, with- 
 out the knowledge of the relations of either party, 
 and without the requisite consent of the king. The 
 king instantly seized her castle and whole estates: She 
 afterwards atoned by a fine for her feudal delinquen- 
 cy. Little did Alexander foresee, that, from this, 
 union the restorer of the Scottish monarchy was to 
 arise."-— Annuls of Scotland, vol. II. p. 180. 
 
 The same obliging correspondent, whom I have 
 quoted in the preceding note, gives me the following 
 account of the present state of the ruins of Turn- 
 berry:—" Turnberry Point is a rock projecting into 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIFTH. 269 
 
 the sea; the top of it is about IS feet above high- 
 water mark. Upon this rock was built the castle. 
 There is about 25 feet high of the wall next to the 
 sea yet standing. Upon the land-side the wall is only 
 about four feet high; the length has been 6° feet, 
 and the breadth 45: it was surrounded by a ditch, but 
 that is now nearly filled up. The top of the ruin, 
 rising between 40 and 50 feet above the water, has a 
 majestic appearance from the sea. There is not much 
 local tradition in the vicinity connected with Bruce 
 or his history. In front, however, of the rock, upon 
 which stands Culzean Castle, is the mouth of a ro- 
 mantic cavern, called the Cove of Colean, in which 
 it is said Bruce and his followers concealed them- 
 selves immediately after landing, till they arranged 
 matters for their farther enterprises. Burma mentions 
 it in the poem of Halloween. The only place to the 
 south of Turnberry worth mentioning, with refer- 
 ence to Bruee's history, is the Weary Nuik, a little 
 romantic green hill, where he and his party are said 
 to have rested, after assaulting the castle." 
 
 Around the castle of Turnberry was a level plain 
 of about two miles in extent, forming the castle park. 
 There could be nothing, 1 am informed, more beau- 
 tiful than the copse-wood and verdure of this exten- 
 sive meadow, before it was invaded by the plough- 
 share. 
 
 Note VIII. 
 
 The Bruce hath won his fathers hall! 
 
 St. XXXIII. p. 137. 
 I have followed the flattering and pleasing tradi- 
 tion, that the Bruce, after his descent upon the coast- 
 of Ayrshire, actually gained possession of his mater* 
 nal castle. But the tradition is not accurate. The fact 
 is, that he was only strong enough to alarm and drive 
 in the out-posts of the English garrison, then com- 
 manded, not by Clifford, as assumed in the text, but 
 by Percy. Neither was Clifford slain upon this occa- 
 sion, though he had several skirmishes with Bruce. 
 
270 NOTES TO CANTO FIFTH. 
 
 He fell afterwards in the battle of Bannoekbuni. 
 Bruce, alter alarming the castle of Turn!>erry, and 
 surprising tome part o! tin 7 garrison, who were quar- 
 tered without the walls of the fortress, rt treated into 
 the mountainous part of Carrick. and there made 
 himself so strong, that the English were obliged to 
 evacuate Turnberry, and at length the castle of Ayr. 
 Many of his benefactions and rojal gifts attest his 
 attach raent to the hereditary followers of his house, 
 in this part of the country. 
 
 It is generally known, that P.ruce, in consequence 
 of his distresses after the battle of Methven, was af- 
 f. etui by a scorbutic disorder, which was then called 
 a leprosy. It is said be experienced benefit from the 
 use of a medicinal spring, about a mile north of the 
 town of Ayr, called from that circumstance King's 
 Ease. The following is the tradition of the country, 
 collected by Mr. Train:—* 1 After Robert ascended the 
 throne, he founded the priory of Dominican monks, 
 every one of whom was under the obligation of put- 
 ting up to Heaven a prayer once every week-day, and 
 twice in holy-days, for the recovery ol the king; and 
 after his death, these masses were continued for the 
 saving of his soul. The ruins of this old monastery 
 are now nearly level with the ground. Robert like- 
 wise caused houses to be built round the well of 
 King's Ease, for eight lepers, and allowed eight bolls 
 of oatmeal, and 28/. Scotch money, j>er annum, to 
 each person. These donations were laid upon the 
 lands of Fullarton, and are now payable by the Duke 
 of Portland. The farm of Sheils, in the neighbourhood 
 of Ayr, has to give, if required, a certain quantity of 
 straw for the lepers' beds, and so much to thatch 
 their houses annually. Each leprous person had a 
 drinking-hom provided him by the king, which con- 
 tinued to be hereditary in the house to which it wa3 
 first granted. One of those identical horns, of very 
 curious workmanship, was in the possession of the 
 late Colonel Fullarton of that ilk." 
 
 My correspondent proceeds to mention some enri- 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIFTH. 271 
 
 ous remnants of antiquity respecting this foundation. 
 " In compliment to Sir William Wallace, the great 
 deliverer of his country, King Robert Bruce invested 
 the descendants of that hero with the right of placing 
 all the lepers upon the establisment of King's Ease. 
 This patronage continued in the family of Craigie, 
 till it was sold along with the lands of the late Sir 
 Thomas Wallace. The burgh of Ayr then purchased 
 the right of applying the donations of King's Ease to 
 the support of the poor-house of Ayr. The lepers' 
 charter stone was a basaltic block, exactly the shape of 
 a sheep's kidney, and weighing an Ayrshire boll of 
 meal. The surface of this stone being as smooth as 
 glass, there was not any other way of lifting it 
 than by turning the hollow to the ground, then ex- 
 tending the arms along each side of the stone, and 
 clasping the hands in the cavity. Young lads were 
 always considered as deserving to be ranked among 
 men, when they could lift the blue stone of King's 
 Ease. It always lay beside the well, till a few years 
 ago, when some English dragoons encamped at that 
 place wantonly broke it, since which the fragments 
 have been kept by the freemen of Prestwick in a 
 place of security. There is one of these charter-stones 
 at the village of Old Daily, in Carrick, which has be- 
 come more celebrated by the following event, which 
 happened only a very few years ago:— The village of 
 New Daily being now larger than the old place of the 
 same name, the inhabitants insisted that the charter* 
 stone should be removed from the old town to the 
 new, but the people of Old Daily were unwilling to 
 part with their ancient right. Demands and remon- 
 strances were made on each side without effect, till at 
 last man, woman, and child, of both villages, marched 
 out, and by one desperate engagement, put an end to 
 a war, the commencement of which no person then 
 living remembered. Justice and victory, n this in- 
 stance, being of the same party, the villagers of the 
 old town of Daily now enjoy the pleasure of keeping 
 the blue-stane unmolested. Ideal privileges are often 
 
272 NOTES TO CANTO Fl 
 
 attache (1 to some of I | man 
 
 mist one of ill 
 lie !-> ■npnoM d not liable la 
 
 ittle, ii ii imagined, Ik- poinded as long m 
 they an- fastened to th< 
 
 used m tyiuboli t<» doable die right of 
 nig land, before th< 
 became general in Scotland, is, I think, exceedingly 
 probable. The charter-ctone of In II kept 
 
 frith p n ■ frame, and hooped with iron, 
 
 at iii< market-plaee of that town, it is eafled l>> the 
 
 inhahitants of that district ( 'l.ich na Couddin. i think 
 
 it is rerj likely that Caiejr hai mentioned thh 
 in 1 1 i > poem of Craig Phaderiek. This is only a con- 
 tact) thai work, win 
 
 famous marble chair was allowed to it-main at Scoon, 
 it was consiih red as the eharteroCojM of the kingdom 
 of Scotland. 
 
 Not.> IX. 
 * Briiix here? f°i' r < 
 
 My mUlr fit has loved of 'i/o/v.'"— Si. XXXIV. p. 138. 
 '• Thete mazers were large drinking cups, or gob- 
 Jets. Mention of them occurs in a curious inventory 
 of the treaiure and jewels i i hich will be 
 
 published, with other curious documents of antiquity, 
 by my friend, Mr. Thomas Thomson, D. Register of 
 Scotland, under the title of " A collection of In- 
 ventories, and other Records of the Royal Wardrobe, 
 Jewel-House, &c." I copy the passage, in which men- 
 tion is made of (he mazers, and also of a habiliment, 
 •.-ailed "King Robert Bruce's serk,'' i. e. shirt, mean- 
 ing, perhaps, his shirt of mail; although no other 
 arms are mentioned in the inventory. It might have 
 been a relique of more sanctified description, a pe- 
 nance shirt perhaps. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIFTH. 27o 
 
 Ex tract from u Inventare ofane Parte of the Gold and 
 Silver cunyeit and uncunyeit, Jowellis, and uther 
 Stuff 'pei-teining to Umquhile oure Soverane Lords 
 Fader, that he had in Depois the Tyme of his Deceis, 
 and that come to the Handis of oure Soverane Lord 
 that now is. M.CCCC.LXXXVIII." 
 
 Memorandum fundin in a bandit kist like a gardevi- 
 ant (1), in the fyrst the grete chenye (2) of Gold, 
 eontenand sevin score sex linkis. 
 
 Item, thre platis of silver* 
 
 Item, tueif salfatis. (3) 
 
 Item, fyftene discheis (4) ouregilt. 
 
 Item, a grete gilt plate. 
 
 Item, twa grete bassingis (5) ouregilt. 
 
 Item, four Masaris, called King Robert the Bj'ocis, with 
 a cover. 
 
 Item, a grete cok maid of silver. 
 
 Item, the hede of silver ofane of the coveris ofmasar. 
 
 Item, a fare diaile. (6) 
 
 Item, twa kasis of knyffis. (7) 
 
 Item, a pare of auld kniffis. 
 
 Item, takin be the smyth that opinnit the lokkis, in 
 gold fourty demyis. 
 
 Item, in Inglys grotis (8) xxiiii li. and the 
 
 said silver given again to the takaris of hym. 
 
 Item, ressavit in the cioissat of Davidis tour, ane haly 
 water-fat of silver, twa boxis, a cageat tume, a glas 
 with rois-water, a dosoune of torchis, King Robert 
 ' Brucis Serk. 
 
 (1) Gard-vin, or wine-cooler. (2) Chain. 
 
 (3) Salt-cellars, anciently the object of much curious 
 
 workmanship. (4) Dishes. 
 
 (5) Basons. (6) Dial. (7) Cases of knives. 
 (3) English groats. 
 
 M 2 
 
274 NOTES TO C A.NTO FIF TH. 
 
 The real use of the antiquarian's studies is, to bring 
 the minute information which he collects to bear up- 
 on points of history. For example, in the inventor}' I 
 have just quoted, the re is given the eonttnts of the 
 black ifcwf, or chest, belonging to James III., which 
 Mas his strong l>ox, and contained a quantity of trea- 
 sure in money and jewels, surpassing what might 
 have been at the period expected of " poor Scotland's 
 gear." This il td authenticate! a striking 
 
 passage in the history o!" the house of Douglas, by 
 Home of Godscroft. The last earl of Douglas, (of the 
 elder branch,) had ken reduced to monastic seclu- 
 sion, in the abbey o< Lindores, by James II. James 
 III., in his distresses, would willingly have recalled 
 him to public life, and made him his lieutenant. 
 " But he," says Godscroft, u laden with years and old 
 
 tnd weary of troubles, refused, saying, Sir, you 
 have keept mee, and your black coffer in Sterling, too 
 ion;.:, neither of us can doe you any good: I, because 
 my friends have forsaken me, and my followers and 
 dependers are fallen from me, betaking themselves 
 to other masters; and your black trunk is too farre 
 from you. and jour enemies are between you and it: 
 or (as others say) because there was ilk it a sort of 
 black coyne, that the king had caused to be coyned 
 by the advice of his courtiers; which moneyes (saith 
 he) sir, if you had put out at the first, the people 
 
 I have taken it; and if you had employed mee 
 in due time, I might have done you service. Butnow 
 thi r is none that will take notice of me, nor meddle 
 with your money."— Hume's History of the House of 
 Douglas, fol. Edin. 1644, p. 206. 
 
 Note X. 
 Arouse old friends, and gather new. 
 
 St. XXXIV. p. 138. 
 As soon as it was known in Kyle, says ancient tra- 
 dition, that Robert Bruce had landed in Carrick, 
 with the intention of recovering the crown of Scot- 
 land, the Laird of Craigie, and forty-eight men in his 
 
NOTES TO CANTO FIFTH. 275 
 
 immediate neighbourhood, declared in favour of their 
 legitimate prince. Bruce granted them a tract of land, 
 stiil retained by the freemen of Newton to this day. 
 The original charter was lost when the pestilence 
 was raging at Ayr; but it was renewed by one of the 
 Jameses, and is dated at Faulkland. The freemen of 
 Newton were formerly officers by rotation. The pro- 
 vost of Ayr at one time was a freeman of Newton, 
 and it happened to be his turn, while provost in Ayr, 
 to be officer in Newton, both of which offices he dis- 
 charged at the same time. 
 
 Note XI. 
 Let Ettrick*s archers sharp their darts, 
 The fairest forms, the truest hearts! 
 
 St. XXXIV. p. 138. 
 The forest of Selkirk, or Ettrick, at this period occu- 
 pied all the district which retains that denomination* 
 and embraced the neighbouring dales of Tweeddale, 
 and at least the upper ward of Clidesdale. All that 
 tract was probably as waste as it is mountainous, and 
 covered with the remains of the ancient Caledonian 
 forest, which is supposed to have stretched from Che- 
 viot Hills as far as Hamilton, and to have compre- 
 hended even a part of Ayrshire. At the fatal battle 
 of Falkirk, Sir John Stewart of Bonkill, brother to 
 the steward of Scotland, commanded the archers of 
 Selkirk, who fell around the dead body of their lea- 
 der. The English historians have commemorated the 
 tall and stately persons, as well as the unswerving 
 faith of these foresters. Nor has their interesting fall 
 escaped the notice of an elegant modern poetess, 
 whose subject led her to treat of that calamitous en- 
 gagement. 
 
 w The glance of the morn had sparkled bright 
 On their plumage green and their actons light: 
 The bugle was strung at each hunter's side, 
 As they had been bound to the chase to ride; 
 But the bugle is mute, and the shafts are spent. 
 The arm unnerved and the bow unbent, 
 
276 NOTES TO CANTO FIFTH. 
 
 And the tired forester is laid 
 Far, far from the clustering greenwood shade: 
 Sore have they toiPd— they are fallen asleep, 
 And their slumber is heavy, and dull, and deep! 
 "When over their bones the grass shall wave, 
 When the wild winds over their tombs shall rave, 
 "Memory shall lean on their graves, and tell 
 Row Selkirk's hunters bold around old Stewart fell!' 
 Wallace, or the Fight of I'nlkirk. 
 ' i. 1309, jtfj. 170,1. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 Note I. 
 When Bruce's banner had victorious fiovfd 
 O'er Loudoun'' s mountain, and in Urifs dale, 
 
 St. I. p. 144, 
 The first important advantage gained by Bruce, 
 after landing at Turnberry, was over Aymer de 
 Valence, Earl of Pembroke, the same by whom he 
 had been defeated near Methven. They met, as has 
 been said, by appointment, at Loudounhill, in the 
 west of Scotland. Pembroke sustained a defeat, and 
 from that time Bruce was at the head of a considera- 
 ble flying army. Yet he was subsequently obliged to 
 retreat into Aberdeenshire, and was there assailed by 
 Comyn, Earl of Buchan, desirous to avenge the death 
 of his relative, the Red Comyn, and supported by a 
 body of English troops under Philip de Moubray. 
 Bruce was ill at the time of a scrophulous disorder, 
 but took horse to meet his enemies, although obliged 
 to be supported on either side. He was victorious, 
 and it is said that the agitation of his spirits restored 
 his health. 
 
 Note II, 
 JVIien English blood oft deluged Douglas-dale. 
 
 St. I. p. 144. 
 The " good Lord James of Douglas," during these 
 commotions, often took from the English his own 
 castle of Douglas, but being unable to garrison it. 
 contented himself with destroying the fortifications^ 
 and retiring into the mountains, As a reward to his 
 
Opg NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 patriotism, it is said to have been prophesied, that 
 how often soever Douglas ' be destroyed, 
 
 it should always agasn write uioffe magnificent from 
 its ruins. Upon one of th. se occasion* lie used fcar'ul 
 cruelly, causing all the store o r " provisions which the 
 English hot' luifl up in his castle, to be heaped to- 
 gether, bursting the wine and beer-casks among the 
 wheat and floor, slaughtering the cattle upon the 
 same spot, and upon the top of the whole, cutting 
 the throats of the English prisoners. This pleasantry 
 of the '* good Lord James" is commemorated under 
 the name of the Douglafi Lar'kr. A more phasing 
 tale of chivalry is recorded by Godscroft. " By this 
 means, and such other exploits, he so affrighted the 
 enemy, that it was counn-d a matter of great j«o- 
 pardie to keep this castle, which began to be called 
 the athenturotis (or hazardous) castle of Douglas; 
 whereupon Sir John Walton being in suit of an En- 
 glish lady, she wrote to him, that when he had kept 
 the adventurous castle of Douglas seven years, then 
 he might think himself worth} to be a suitor to her. 
 Upon this occasion Walton took upon him the keep- 
 ing of it, and succeeded to Thruswall, but he ran 
 the same fortune with the rest that were before him. 
 For Sir James, having first dressed an ambuscado 
 near unto the place, he made fourteen of his men 
 take so many sacks, and fill them with grass, as 
 though it lrad been corn, which they carried in the 
 way to Lanark, the chief market town in that county: 
 ~,o hoping to draw forth the captain by that bait, and 
 either to take him or the castle, or both. Neither was 
 this expectation frustrated, for the captain did bite, 
 and came forth to have taken this victual (as he sup- 
 posed.) But ere he could reach these carriers, Sir 
 James, with his company, had gotten between the 
 castle and him; and these disguised carriers, seeing 
 the captain following after them, did quickly cast off 
 their sacks, mounted themselves on horseback, and 
 met the captain with a sharp encounter, being so 
 much the more amazed, as it was unlooked for; 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 279 
 
 wherefore, when he saw these carriers metamor- 
 phosed'mto warriors, and ready to assault him, fear- 
 ing that which was, that there was some train laid 
 for them, he turned about to have retired to his cas- 
 tle, but there he also met with his enemies; between 
 which two companies he and his whole followers 
 were slain, so that none escaped: the captain after- 
 wards being searched, they found (as it is reported) 
 his mistress's letter about him."— Hume's History of 
 the House of Douglas, fol. pp. 29. 30. 
 
 Note III. 
 And fiery Edxvard routed stout St. John. 
 
 St. I. p. 344. 
 " John de St. John, with 1500 horsemen, had ad- 
 vanced to oppose the inroad of the Scots. By a forced 
 march he endeavoured to surprise them, but intelli- 
 gence of his motions was timeously received. The 
 courage of Edward Bruce, approaching to temerity, 
 frequently enabled him to atchieve what men of 
 more judicious valour would never have attempted. 
 He ordered the infantry, and the meaner sort of his 
 army, to entrench themselves in strong narrow 
 ground. He himself, with fifty horsemen well har- 
 nessed, issued forth under cover of a thick mist, sur- 
 prised the English on their march, attacked and 
 dispersed them/'— Dalrijuiple's Annals of Scotland, 
 quarto, Edinburgh, V779.p. 25. 
 
 Note IV. 
 JFJien Randolph's war-cry snvelVd the southern gale. 
 St. I. p. 144. 
 Thomas Randolph, Bruce's sister's son, a renowned 
 Scottish chief, vy^s in the early part of his life not 
 more remarkable for consistency than Bruce himself. 
 He espoused his uncle's party when Bruce first as- 
 sumed the crown, and was made prisoner at the fatal 
 battle of Methven, in which his relative's hopes ap- 
 peared to be ruined. Randolph accordingly not only 
 submitted to $he English, but took an active part 
 
280 NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 against Bruce, appeared in arms against him, and in 
 the skirmish where be WU so close 1} pursued by the 
 blood-hound, it is said his nephew took his standard 
 tviih his own hand. But Randolph was afterwards 
 made prisoner by Douglas in l'w eeddale, (see p. 264.) 
 and brought before King Robert. Some harsh lan- 
 guage was exchanged between the- uncle and nephew, 
 and the latter was committed for a time to clov cu>- 
 tody. Afterwards, however, they were reconciled, and 
 Randolph was created Karl of Moray about 1312. 
 After this period he eminently distinguished hi 
 first by the surprise of Edinburgh Castle, and after- 
 wards by many similar enterprises, conducted with 
 equal courage and ability. 
 
 Note V. 
 
 Sterling's tvivcrs, 
 
 Beleaguered by King Roltert^ [anvcrs, 
 
 And the ij took term of truce. — St. IV. p. 146. 
 When a long train of success, actively improved by 
 Robert Bruce, had made him master of almost all 
 Scotland, Sterling Castle continued to hold out. The 
 eare of the blockade was committed by the king to 
 his brother Edward, who concluded a treaty with Sir 
 Philip Mow bray, the governor, that he should surren- 
 der the lbrtress, if it were not succoured by the King 
 of England before St John the Baptist's day. The king 
 severely blamed his brother for the impolicy of a 
 treaty, which gave time to the King of England to 
 advance to the relief of the castle with all his assem- 
 Jed forces, and obliged himself either to meet them 
 in battle with an inferior force, or to retreat with dis- 
 honour. " Let all England come,"' answered the reck- 
 less Edward, " we will fight them were they more." 
 The consequence was, of course, that each kingdom 
 mustered its strength for the expected battle; and as 
 the space agreed upon reached from Lent to Mid- 
 summer, full time was allowed for that purpose. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 281 
 
 Note VI. 
 To summon prince and peer, 
 At Benvick-bounds to meet their liege.— St. IV. p. 225. 
 There is printed in Rymer's Fcedera the summons 
 issued upon this occasion to the sheriff of York, and he 
 mentions eighteen other persons to whom similar or- 
 dinances were issued. It seems to respect the infantry 
 alone, for it is entitled, De beditibus ad rescussum 
 Castri de Strijvelin a Scotis obsessi, properare facien- 
 dis. This circumstance is also clear from the reason- 
 ing of the writ, which states: *' We have understood 
 that our Scottish enemies and rebels are endeavour- 
 ing to collect as strong a force as possible of infantry, 
 in strong and marshy grounds, where the approach of 
 cavalry would be difficult, between us and the castle 
 of Sterling."— It then sets forth Mowbray's agreement 
 to surrender the castle, if not relieved before St. John 
 the Baptist's day, and the king's determination, with 
 divine grace, to raise the seige. " Therefore," the 
 summons further bears, " to remove our said enemies 
 and rebels from such places as above-mentioned, it is 
 necessary for us to have a strong force of infantry fit 
 for arms." And accordingly the sheriff of York is 
 commanded to equip and send forth a body of four 
 thousand infantry, to be assembled at Werk, upon the 
 tenth day of June first, under pain of the royal dis- 
 pleasure, &e. 
 
 Note VII. 
 
 And Cambria, but of late subdued, 
 
 Sent f oi-th tier mountain-multitude.— St. IV. p. 146. 
 Edward the First, with the usual policy of a con- 
 queror, employed the Welch, whom he had subdued, to 
 assist him in his Scottish wars, for which their habits, 
 as mountaineers, particularly fitted them. But this 
 policy was not without its risks. Previous to the 
 battle of Falkirk, the Welch quarrelled with the Eng- 
 lish men-at-arms, and after bloodshed on both parts, 
 separated themselves from his army, and the feud be- 
 tween them, at so dangerous and critical a juncture, 
 
282 NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 was reconciled with difficulty. Edward II. followed 
 his father's example in this particular and with no 
 bettor success. They could not be brought to exert 
 themselves in the cause of their conquerers. But they 
 had an indifferent reward for their forbearance. 
 Without arms, and clad only in scanty dresses of 
 linen cloth, they appeared naked in the eyes even of 
 the Scottish peasantry; and after the rout of Ban- 
 nockburn, were massacred by them in great numbers, 
 as they retired in confusion towards their own coun* 
 try. They were under the command of Sir Maurice 
 de Berl.ly. 
 
 Note VIII. 
 And Connoght pour' d from waste and wood 
 Her hundred tribes, whose sceptre rude 
 Dark Eth O'Connor sway* d\— St. IV. p. 146. 
 There is in the Fcedera an invitation to Eth O'Con- 
 nor, chief of the Itish of Connaught, setting forth 
 that the king was about to move against his Scottish 
 rebels, and therefore requesting the attendance of all 
 the force he could muster, either commanded by him- 
 self in person, or by some nobleman of his race. These 
 auxiliaries were to be commanded by Richard de 
 Burgh, Earl of Ulster. Similar mandates were issued 
 to the following Irish chiefs, whose names may asto- 
 nish the unlearned, and amuse the antiquary. 
 
 " Eth O Donnuld, Duci Hibernicorum de Tyconil; 
 Demod O Kahan. Duci Hibernicorum de Fernetrew; 
 Doneval O Neel, Duci Hibernicorum de Tryowyn; 
 Neel Macbreen, Duci Hibernicorum de Kynallewan; 
 Eth. Offyn, Duci Hibernicorum de Turtery; 
 Admely Mac Anegus, Duci Hibernicorum de One- 
 
 hagh; 
 Neel O Hanlan, Duci Hibernicorum de Erthere; 
 Bien Mac Mahun, Duci Hibernicorum de Uriel; 
 Lauercagh Mac Wyr, Duci Hibernicorum de Loug- 
 
 herin; 
 Gillys O Hailly, Duci Hibernicorum de Bresfeny; 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 283 
 
 Geffrey O Fergy, Duci Hibernicorum de Montirag- 
 
 wil; 
 Felyn O Honoghur, Duci Hibernicorum de Connach; 
 Donethuth O Bien, Duci Hibernicorum de Toth- 
 
 mund; 
 Dermod Mac Arthy, Duci Hibernicorum de Dessem* 
 
 ound; 
 Denenol Carbragh; 
 Maur. Kenenagh Mac Murgh; 
 Murghugh O Bryn; 
 David O Totbvill; 
 Dermod O Touoghur, DofFaly; 
 Fyn O Dymsy; 
 
 Souethuth Mac Gillephatrick; 
 Leyssagh O Mortb; 
 
 Gilbertus Ekeliy, Duci Hibernicorum de Omauy; 
 Mac Ethelau; 
 
 Omalan Helyn, Duci Hibernicorum Midie." 
 Runner's Acta Republica, vol, III, pp. 476, 477. 
 
 Note IX. 
 . Their chief, Fitz-Louis.— St. IX. p. 150. 
 Fitz-Louis, or Mac-Louis, otherwise called Fullar- 
 ton, is a family of ancient descent in the Isle of 
 Arran, They are said to be of French origin, as the 
 name intimates. They attached themselves to Bruce 
 upon his first landing; and Fergus Mac-Louis, or Ful- 
 larton, received from the grateful monarch a charter, 
 dated 26th November, in the second year of his reign. 
 (1307.) for the lands of Kilmichel, and others, which 
 still remain in this very ancient and respectable 
 family. 
 
 Note X. 
 In battles four beneath the eye, 
 The forces of King Robert lie.— St. X. p. 150. 
 The arrangements adopted by King Robert for the 
 decisive battle of Bannock-burn, are given very dis- 
 tinctly by Barbour, and form an edifying lesson to 
 tacticians. Yet, till commented upon by Lord Hailes, 
 
284 NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 this important passage of history lias been gene rally 
 arul strangely misunderstood by historians. 1 will here 
 endeavour to detail it fully. 
 
 Two days before the battle, Bruce selected the field 
 of action, and took post there with his arm), consist- 
 ing ol about 30.((;(. disciplined men, and about half 
 the number of disorderly attendants upon the camp. 
 The pound was called the New Park of Stirling; it 
 was partly open, and partly broken by copses of wood 
 and marshy ground. He divided his regular forces 
 into four division*. Tan e <> ti.. k occupied a front 
 line, separated from each other, jet sufficiently near 
 for the purposes of communication. The fourth divi- 
 sion formed a reserve. The line extended in a north- 
 easterU direction from the brook of Bannock, which 
 is so rugged and broken js to aover the right flank 
 effectually, to the village of Saint Ninian's, probably 
 in the line of the prew nt road from Stilling to 
 Kilsyth. Edward Bruce commanded the right wing, 
 which was strengthened by a strong body of cavalry 
 under Keith, the mareschal of Scotland, to whom was 
 committed the important charge of attacking the 
 English archers; Douglas, and the young Steward of 
 Scotland, led the central wing; and Thomas Ran- 
 dolph, Earl of Moray, the left wing. The king him- 
 self commanded the fourth division, which lay in re- 
 serve behind the others. The royal standard was 
 pitched, according to tradition, in a stone, having a 
 round hole for its reception, and thence called the 
 Bore-stone. It is still shown on the top of a small 
 eminence, called Broek's-brae, to the south-west of 
 St. Ninian's. His main body thus disposed, King 
 Robert sent the followers of the camp, fifteen thou- 
 sand and upwards in number, to the eminence in rear 
 of his army, called from that circumstance the Gillies' 
 (i. e. the servants') Hill, 
 
 The military advantages of this position were obvi- 
 vious. The Scottish left flank, protected by the brook 
 of Bannock, could not be turned; or, if that attempt 
 were made, a movement by the reserve might have 
 
SOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 285 
 
 covered it: Again, the English could not pass the 
 Scottish army, and more towards Stirling, without 
 exposing their flank to be attacked while in march. 
 
 If, on the other hand, the Scottish line had been 
 drawn up east and west, and facing to the southward, 
 as affirmed by Buchanan, and adopted by Mr. Nimmo, 
 the author of the History of Stirlingshire, there ap- 
 pears nothing to have prevented the English ap- 
 proaching upon the earse, or level ground, from Fal- 
 kirk, either from turning the Scottish left flank, or 
 from passing their position, if they preferred it, with- 
 out corning to an action, and moving on to the relief 
 of Stirling. And the Gillies-Hill, if this less probable 
 hypothesis be adopted, would be Situated, not in the 
 rear, as allowed by all the historians, but upon the 
 left flank of Brace's army. The only objection to the 
 hypothesis above laid down is, that the left flank of 
 Bruce's army was thereby exposed to a sally from the 
 garrison of Stirling. But, jtrst t ie garrison were 
 bound to neutrality by terms of Mowbray's treaty; 
 and Barbour even seems to censure, as a breach of 
 faitli, some secret assistance which they rendered their 
 countrymen upon the eve of battle, in placing tem- 
 porary bridges of doors and spars over the pools of 
 water in the carse, to enable them to advance to the 
 charge. (1) 2dly. Had this not been the case, the 
 strength of the garrison was probably not sufficient 
 to- excite apprehension. 3dly. The adverse hypothesis 
 leaves the rear of the Scottish army as much exposed 
 to the Stirling garrison, as the left flank would be in 
 the case supposed. 
 
 It only remains to notice the nature of the ground 
 in front of Bruce's line of battle. Being part of a 
 
 (1) An assistance, which (by the way) could not have 
 been rendered, had not the English approached from 
 the south-east; since, had their march been due north 
 the whole Scottish army must have been between 
 them and the garrison. 
 
286 NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 park, or chase, it was consick rably interrupted with 
 trees, and an extensive marsh, still visible, in some 
 places rendered inaccessible, and in all of difficult 
 approach. More to the northward, where the natural 
 impediments were fewer. Bruce fortified his position 
 against cavalry, by digging a number of pits so close 
 together, says Barbour, as to resemble the cells in a 
 honey comb. They were a foot in breath, and be- 
 tween two and three feet d^cp. many' rows of them 
 being placed one behind the other. They were slight- 
 ly covered with brushwood and green soda, so as not 
 to be obvious to an impetuous enemy. 
 
 All the Scottish army were on oot, excepting a 
 select body of cavalry stationed with Edward Bruce 
 on the right wing, under the immediate command of 
 Sir Robt it Keith, the Marshal of Scotland, who were 
 destined for the important service of charging and 
 dispersing the English archers. 
 
 Thu* judiciously posted, in a situation fortified 
 both by art and nature, Bruce awaited the attack of 
 the English. 
 
 Note XI. 
 Beyond, the Southern host appear s.—St. X. p. 151. 
 Upon 23d June, 1314, the alarm reached the Scot- 
 tish army of the approach of the enemy. Douglas and 
 the Marshal were sent to reconnoitre with the body 
 of cavalry. 
 
 " And soon the great host have they seen, 
 Where shields shining were so sheen, 
 And bacinets burnished bright, 
 That gave against the sun great light. 
 They saw so fele (1) brawdyne (2) baners, 
 Standards and pennons and spears. 
 And so fele knights upon steeds, 
 All flaming in their weeds. 
 
 (1) Many. (2) Displayed. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 287" 
 
 And so fele bataills, (l) and so broad, 
 And too so great room as they rode, 
 That the maist host, and the stoutest 
 Of Christendom, and the greatest, 
 Should be abaysit (2) for to see 
 Their foes into such quantity." 
 
 The Bruce, vol II. p. 151. 
 
 The two Scottish commanders were cautions in the 
 account which they brought back to their camp. To 
 the king in private they told the formidable state of 
 the enemy; but in public reported that the English 
 were indeed a numerous host, but ill commanded 
 and worse disciplined. + 
 
 Note XII. 
 With these the valiant of the Isles 
 Beneath their chieftains ranked their files. 
 
 St. XL p. 151. 
 The men of Argyle, the islanders, and the High- 
 landers, in general, were ranked in the rear. They 
 must have been numerous, for Bruce had reconciled 
 himself with almost all their chieftains, excepting 
 the obnoxious Mac-Dougals of Lorn. The following 
 deed, containing the submission of the potent Earl of 
 Ross to the king, was never before published. It is 
 dated in the third year of Robert's reign, that is 1309. 
 
 Obligacio Comitis Rossensis per Homagium Fidelita- 
 
 tern et Scriptum. 
 Universis christi fldelibus ad quorum noticiam pre- 
 sentes litere peruenerint Willielmus Comes de Ross 
 salutem in domino sempitemam. Quia magnificus 
 princeps Dominus Robertus dei gracia Rex Scotto- 
 rum Dominus meus ex innata sibi bonitate, inspira- 
 taque clemencia, et gracia speciali remisit michi pure 
 rancorem animi sui, et relaxauit ae condonauit michi 
 
 (l) Battalions. (2) Alarmed. 
 
288 NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 omnimodas transgressiones sen ofFejnsa9 contra ipsum 
 et suos per me et meos vique ad confeccionem liura* 
 rum presencium perpetratas: Et terras meas et Gene* 
 menta mea omnia graciose concessit. Et me nichllo- 
 minus de terra de Dingwal et femcroskry infra 
 comitatum de Sutherland de benigna liberalitate sua 
 heriditarie infeodare curauit. Ego tan tan i principis 
 beneuoleneiam efficaciter attendt us. et pro tot graciis 
 michi factis, vicem sibi gratitudinis meis pro viribus 
 
 de cttero digue vite cupiens exhibere, 
 
 subicio etobiigo me et heredts meos et homines meos 
 
 vniuersos dicto Domino meo Regi per omnia 
 
 - - erga suaiii regiam dignitatem, quod 
 
 erimus de cetero fideles sibi et heredibus suis et fidele 
 
 sibi seruicmm auxuiliujn et concilium -..-. 
 
 contra omnes homines et feminas qui 
 
 vivere poterint aut mori, et super h Ego Williel- 
 
 mus pro me hominibus meis vniuersis 
 
 dicto domino meo Regi manibus homagium 
 
 sponte feci et super dei ewangelia sacramentum pre- 
 
 stiti In quorum omnium testimonium 
 
 sigillum meum, et sigilla Hugonis filii mei et heredis 
 et Johannis filii mei vna cum sigillis venerabilium 
 palrum Dominorum Dauid et Thome Moraviensis et 
 Rosensis dei gracia episcoporum presentibus literis- 
 sunt appensa. Acta scripta et data apud Aldern in 
 Morauia vltimo die mensis Octobris, Anno Regni 
 dicti domini nostri Regis Roberti Tertio. Testibus 
 venerabilibus patribus supradictis, Domino Bernardo 
 Cancellario Regis, Dominis Willielmo de Haya, Jo- 
 hanne de Striuelyn, Willielmo Wysman, Johanne 
 de Ffenton, Dauid de Berkeley, et Walter© de 
 Berkeley militibus, magistro Waltero Heroc, Decano 
 ecclesie Morauie, magistro Willielmo de Creswel 
 eiusdem ecclesie precentore et multis aliis nobilibus 
 clericis et laicis dictis die et loco congregatis. 
 
 The copy of this curious document was supplied by 
 my friend, Mr. Thomson, Deputy Register of Scot- 
 land, whose researches into our ancient records are 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 289 
 
 daily throwing new and important light upon the 
 history of the country. 
 
 Note XIII. 
 The Monarch rode along the van.— St. XIII. p. 153. 
 The English vanguard, commanded by the Earls 
 of Gloucester and Hereford, came in sight of the 
 Scottish army upon the evening of the 23d of June. 
 Bruce was then riding upon a little palfrey, in front 
 of his foremost line, putting his host in order. It was 
 then that the personal encounter took place betwixt 
 him and Sir Henry de Bohim, a gallant English 
 knight, the issue of which had a great effect upon 
 the spirits of both armies. It thus recorded by Bar* 
 hour:— 
 
 * And when Glosyter and Herfurd were, 
 With their battle approaching near, 
 Before them all their come riding, 
 With helm on head, and spear in hand, 
 Sir Henry the Boune, the worthy, 
 That was a wight knight, and a hardy; 
 And to the Earl of il* rfurd cousin; 
 Armed in arms good and fine; 
 Come on a steed, a bow-shot nere, 
 Before all other that there were. 
 And knew the king, for that he saw 
 Him so range his men on row; 
 And by the crown, that was set 
 Also upon his bassenet. 
 And towards him he went on haste. 
 And the king so apertly 
 Saw him come, forth all his feres (1) 
 In hy (2) till him the horse he steers. 
 And when Sir Henry saw the king 
 Come on, forouting abaysing, (3) 
 
 (l) Comrades, (2) Haste. (3) Without sbjjnkin£. 
 
 N 
 
J90 NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 Till him be rode- in full great hy. (1) 
 He thought that he should well lightly 
 "Win hin), ami have him at his will, 
 Since be him baaed saw so ill. 
 Spi' nt (2) 1M1 j mine intill a ling. (3) 
 
 i» (I the noW 
 And he, that in his stirrup 
 With the axe, that was hard and good, 
 With so gnat mayn (4) reached him a dint, 
 That n< ithi r hat no beta might stynt, 
 The Ik wy (5) dusche, (fi) that he him gave, 
 
 I'h.: i ! til the harness clave. 
 
 The- hand-axe shaft rrusehyt (7) in tow; 
 And he down to yird gan go 
 
 Ml f'atlynys, (8, for him billed might. 
 
 Fhil was the firtt stroke of the light." 
 
 Barbour's Bruce, vol. II. p. 122. 
 
 The Scottish leaders remonstrated with the king 
 upon his temerity. He only answered, ** I have 
 broken my good bottle-axe."— The English vanguard 
 retreated after witnessing this single combat. Proba- 
 bly their generals did not think it advisable to hazard 
 an attack, while its unfavourable issue remained upon 
 their minds. 
 
 Note XIV. 
 " What train of dust, with trumpet-sound 
 And glimmering spears, is ivttctling round 
 
 Our leftward Jlank.-' St. XVIII. p. 157. 
 
 While the van of the English army advanced, a 
 detached body attempted to relieve Stirling. Lord 
 Hailes gives the following account of this manoeuvre 
 and the result, which is accompanied by circum- 
 stances highly characteristic of the chivalrous man- 
 ners of the age, and displays that generosity which 
 
 (1) Haste. (2) Spurred. (3) Line. (4) Moan. 
 (5) Heavy. (o) Clash. (7) Broken. (8) Flat. 
 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 291 
 
 reconciles us even to their ferocity upon other occa- 
 sions. 
 
 Bruce had enjoined Randolph, who commanded 
 the left wing of his army, to be vigilant in prevent- 
 ing any advanced parties of the English from throw- 
 ing succours into the castle of Stirling. 
 
 tt Eight hundred horsemen, commanded by Sir Ro- 
 bert Clifford, were detached from the English army; 
 they made a circuit by the low grounds to the. east, 
 and approached the castle. The king perceived their 
 motions, and coming up to Randolph, angrily ex- 
 claimed, "Thoughtless man! you have suffered the 
 enemy to pass." Randolph hasted to repair his fault, 
 or perish. As he advanced, the English cavalry 
 wheeled to attack him. Randolph drew up his troops 
 in a circular form, with their spears resting on the 
 ground, and protended on every side. At the first on- 
 set wSir William Daynecourt, an English commander 
 of distinguished note, was slain. The enemy, far su- 
 perior in numbers to Randolph, environed him, and 
 pressed hard on his little band. Douglas saw his 
 jeopardy, and requested the king's permission to go 
 and succour him " You shall not move from your 
 ground," cried the king; " let Randolph extrieate 
 himself as he best may. I will not alter my order of 
 battle, and lose the advantage of my position." " In 
 truth," replied Douglas, w I cannot stand by and see 
 Randolph perish; and, therefore, with your leave, I 
 must aid him." The king unwillingly consented, and 
 
 i Douglas flew to the assistance of his friend. While ap- 
 proaching, he perceived that the English were falling 
 into disorder, and that the perseverance of Randolph 
 had prevailed over their impetuous courage. ' w Halt," 
 cried Douglas, ' those brave men have repulsed the 
 enemy; let us not diminish their glory by sharing it." 
 
 ; —Dalrymple 's Annals of Scotland, 4to, Edinburgh^ 
 1779, pp. 44, 45. 
 
 Two large stones erected at the north end of the 
 village of Newhouse, about a quarter of a mile from 
 t&e south part of Stirling, ascertain the place of this 
 
292 
 
 NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 memorable skirmish. The circumstance tends, were 
 confirmation necessary, to support the opinion of 
 Lord Hailes, that the Scottish line had Stirling on its 
 left flank. It will be remembered, that Randolph 
 commanded infantry, Dayneeourt cavalry. Suppos- 
 ing, therefore, according to the vulgar hypothesis, 
 that the Scottish line was drawn up, lacing to the 
 south, in tin? line of the brook of Bannock, and con- 
 Mtiy that Randolph was stationed with his left 
 flank resting upon Milntown bog, it is morally im- 
 possible that his infantry moving from that position, 
 with whatever celerity, could cut off from Stirling a 
 body of cavalry who had already passed St. Ninians, 
 (1) or, in other words, were already 'between them 
 and the town. Whereas, supposing Randolph's left to 
 have approached St. Ninians, the short movement to 
 Newhouse could easily be executed, so as to intercept 
 the English in the manner described. 
 
 Note XV. 
 Responsive fr m the Scottish host, 
 Pipe-dang and bugle-sound -were tossed. 
 
 St. XX. p. 159. 
 There is an old tradition, that the well-known Scot- 
 tish tune of '• Hey, tutti ta ; .tti," was Bruce's march at 
 the battle of Bannockburn. The late Mr. Ritson, no 
 granter of propositions, doubts whether the Scots had 
 any martial music, quotes Froissart's account of each 
 soldier in the host bearing a little horn, on which, at 
 the onset, they would make such a horrible noise, as 
 if all the devils of hell had been among them. He ob- 
 serves, that these horns are the only music mentioned 
 by Barbour, and concludes, that it must remain a 
 a moot point whether Bruce's army were cheered by 
 the sound even of a solitary bagpipe.— Historical 
 Essay, prefixed to Riston's Scottish Songs. 
 
 (1) Barbour says expressly, they avoided the New 
 Park, (where Bruce's army lay) and held " well neatb 
 the Kirk," which can only mean St, Ninjans. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 293 
 
 It may be observed in passing, that the Scottish of 
 this period certainly observed some musical cadence, 
 even in winding their horns, since Bruce was at once 
 recognised by his followers from his mode of blowing. 
 See Note X. on Canto IV. 
 
 But the tradition, true or false, has been the means 
 of securing to Scotland one of the finest lyrics in the 
 language, the celebrated war-song of Bruce,— 
 
 Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled. 
 
 Note XVI. 
 Now onward, and in open view, 
 T/w countless ranks of England drerv. 
 
 St. XXI. p. 160. 
 Upon the 24th of June, the English army advanced 
 to the attack. The narrowness of the Scottish front, 
 and the nature of the ground, did not permit them 
 to have the full advantage of their numbers, nor is it 
 very easy to find out what was their proposed order 
 of battle. The vanguard, however, appeared a distinct 
 body, consisting of archers and spearman on foot, and 
 commanded, as already said, by the Earls of Glouces- 
 ter and Hereford. Barbour, in one place, mentions 
 that they formed nine battles, or divisions; but from 
 the following passage, it appears that there was no 
 room or space for them to extend themselves, so that, 
 except the vanguard, the whole army appeared tP 
 form one solid and compact body: 
 
 " The English men, on either party, 
 That as angels shone brightly; 
 Were not arrayed on such manner: 
 For all their battles samyn (1) were 
 In a schiltrum. (2) But whether it was 
 Through the great straitness of the place 
 
 (1) Together. 
 (2) Schiltrum.— -This word has been variously' limit- 
 ed or extended in its signification. In general, it 
 
094 NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 That they were in to bide fighting; 
 Or that it v.. -, (l) 
 
 1 wete not But in a nc!i< li 
 
 hi a: id some; 
 Out ta'en th< i rfy, (2) 
 
 Thai right with a g 
 Be thei i seiwyn, arrayed ■ 
 Who had been by, might have seen there 
 
 ■ 
 On breadth, * g shield, 
 
 Ami ;. any a burnished bright armour, 
 A j id many man of great valour, 
 
 seen; 
 And many a brght banner and sheen." 
 
 Mtr % 4 Bruce, vol. II. p. 
 
 Note XVII. 
 See 7r here yon bare-foot Abbot 
 And Vases them with lifted hmi'lu— St. XXI. p. 
 
 " Maurice, abt>o; o; InchafFray, placing himself on 
 an eminence, celebrated mass in sight of the Si 
 army. He then passed along the front, bare-footed, 
 
 seems to imply a large body of men drawn up very 
 closely together. But it has been limited to imply a 
 round or circular body of men so drawn up. I cannot 
 understand it with this limitation in the present case. 
 The schiltrum of the Scottish array at Falkirk, was 
 undoubtedly of a circular form, in order to resist the 
 attacks of English cavalry, on whatever quarter they 
 might be charged. But it does not appear how, or 
 why, the English advancing to the attack at Ban- 
 nockburn, should have arrayed themselves in a circu- 
 lar form. It seems more probable, that, by Schiltrum 
 in the present case, Barbour means to express an irre- 
 gular mass into which the English army was com- 
 pressed by the unwieldiness of its numbers, and the 
 carelessness or ignorance of its leaders. 
 
 (1) Frightening. (2) Alone v 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 295 
 
 and bearing; a crucifix in his hands, and exhorting the 
 Scots in few and forcible words, to combat for their 
 rights and their liberty. The Scots kneeled down. 
 *' They yield," cried Edward; " See, they implore 
 mercy." " They do," answered Ingelram de Umfra- 
 ville, " but not ours. On that field they will be victo- 
 rious, or die "—Annals of Scotland, vol. II, p, 47. 
 
 Note XVIII. 
 
 " Forth, Marshal, on the peasant foe! 
 
 We'll tame the terrors oftlieir bow, 
 
 And cut the bowstring loose.'"— St. XXII. p. 162. 
 The English archers commenced the attack with 
 their usual bravery and dexterity. But against a force, 
 whose importance he had learned by fatal experience, 
 Bruce was provided. A small but select body of ca- 
 valry were detached from the right, under command 
 of Sir Robert Keith. They rounded, as I conceive, the 
 the marsh called Milntown bog, and keeping the firm 
 ground, charged the left flank and rear of the En* 
 glish archers. As the bowmen had no spears, nor long 
 weapons, fit to defend themselves against horse, they 
 were instantly thrown into disorder, and spread 
 through the whole English army a confusion, from 
 which they never fairly recovered. 
 
 " The English archers shot so fast, 
 That might their shot have any last; 
 It had been hard to Scottis men. 
 But King Robert, that well gan ken, (1) 
 That their shot right hard and grievious 
 Ordained, forouth (2) the assembly, 
 His Marschall, with a great menzie, 
 Five hundred armed into steel, 
 That on light horse were horsed well, 
 
 (1) Know. (2) Disjoined from the main body. 
 
2Q6 NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 For to pryk (1) among the archers, 
 And to assail them with their spears, 
 That they no leisure have till shoot. 
 This marischell that I of mute, (2) 
 That Sir Robert of Keith was called, 
 As I befor here has you told, 
 When he saw the battles so 
 Assembled, and together go, 
 And saw the archers shoot stoutly; 
 With all them of his company, 
 In haste upon them gan he ride, 
 And ovcrtooke them at a side; (3) 
 And rushed among them so rudely, 
 Sticking them so dispiteously, 
 And in such fusion (4) bearing downe 
 And slaying them, foroutin ransoun: (5) 
 That they them scalyt (6) euerilkane, (7) 
 And from that time forth there was na 
 That assembled shot to ma (8) 
 When Scotts archers saw that they sua 
 Were rebutyt, (9) they wax hardy, 
 And with all their might shot eagrely 
 Among the horsemen that there rode; 
 And wounds wide to them they made, 
 And slew of them a full great deal." 
 
 Barbour \? Bruce, pp. 147, 8. 
 
 Although the success of this manoeuvre was evi- 
 dent, it is very remarkable that the Scottish generals 
 do not appear to have profited by the lesson. Almost 
 every subsequent battle which they lost against En- 
 gland, was decided by the archers, to whom the close 
 and compact array of the Scottish phalanx afforded 
 
 (1) Spur. (2) That I speak of. 
 
 (3) Set upon their flank. (4) Numbers. 
 
 (5) Ransom. (6) Dispersed. (7) Every one. 
 (8) Make. (9) Driven back. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 297 
 
 an exposed and unresisting mark. The bloody battle 
 of Halidown-hill, fought scarce twenty years after- 
 ward, was so completely gained by the archers, that 
 the English are said to have lost only one knight, one 
 esquire, and a few foot-soldiers. At the battle of 
 Neville's Cross, in 1346, where David II. was defeat- 
 ed and made prisoner, John de Graham observing 
 the loss which the Scots sustained from the English 
 bowmen, offered to charge and disperse them, if a 
 hundred men at arms were put under his command. 
 <; But, to confess the truth," says Fordun, '• he could 
 not procure a single horseman for the service pro- 
 posed." Of such little use is experience in war, 
 where its results are opposed by habit or prejudice. 
 
 Note XIX. 
 Each braggart churl could boast before, 
 Txvelve Scottish lives his baldric bore! 
 
 St. XXIV. p. 163. 
 Roger Ascham quotes a similar Scottish proverb, 
 u whereby they give the whole praise of shooting 
 honestly to Englishmen, saying thus, that every En- 
 glish archer beareth under his girdle twenty-four 
 Scottes." Indeed Toxophilus says before, and truly 
 of the Scottish nation, " The Scottes surely be good 
 men of wane in theyre owne feates as can be; but as 
 for shootinge, they can neither use it to any profite, 
 nor yet challenge it for any praise."— Works of As- 
 chain, edited by Bemiet, Ato.p t 112. 
 
 It is said, I trust incorrectly, by an ancient English 
 historian, that the " good Lord James of Douglas" 
 dreaded the superiority of the English archers so 
 much, that when he made any of them prisoner, he 
 gave him the option of losing the fore-finger of his 
 right hand, or his right eye, either species of mutila- 
 tion rendering him incapable to use the bow. I have 
 mislaid the reference to this singular passage. 
 N2 
 
298 NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 Note XX. 
 
 Doivn! down! in headlong overthrow. 
 Horseman and horsey the foremost go. 
 
 St. XXIV. p. 164. 
 It is generally alleged by historians, that the En- 
 Men-at-arms fell into the hidden snare which 
 Kruce had prepared Tor them. Barbour does not 
 mention the circumstance. According to his account, 
 Randolph, seeing the slaufchter made by the cavalry 
 on the iit;lit wing av.ong the archers, advanced coU- 
 msly against the main body of the English, and 
 I into close combat with them. Douglas and 
 . who commanded the Scottish centre, led 
 their division also to the charge, and the battle 
 becoming general along the whole line, was obsti- 
 maintained on both sides for a long space of 
 the Scottish archers doing great execution 
 among the English men-at-arms, after the bowmen 
 of England were dispersed. 
 
 Note XXI. 
 
 And steeds that shriek in agony. —St. XXIV. p. 164. 
 
 I have been told that this line requires an explana- 
 tory note; and, indeed, those who witness the silent 
 patience with which horses submit to the most cruel 
 , may be permitted to doubt, that, in moments 
 of sudden or intolerable anguish, they utter a most 
 .melancholy cry. Lord Erskine, in a speech made in 
 the House of Lords, upon a bill for enforcing huma- 
 nity towards animals, noticed this remarkable fact, 
 in language which I will not mutilate by attempting 
 to repeat it. It w r as my fortune, upon one occasion, 
 'o hear a horse, in a moment of agony, utter a thril- 
 ling scream, which I still consider the most metaft- 
 x holv sound I ever heard. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 299 
 
 Note XXII. 
 Lord of the Isles, my trust in thee 
 Isjirm as Ailsa-rock; 
 Rush on vrith Highland sword and targe, 
 I, rvith my Carrick spearman, charge. 
 
 St. xxvni. p. 16 r. 
 
 When the engagement between the main bodies 
 had lasted some time, Bruce made a decisive move- 
 ment, by bringing up the Scottish reserve. It is tra- 
 ditionally said, that at this crisis, he addressed the 
 Lord of the Isles in a phrase used as a motto by some 
 of his descendants, " My trust is constant in thee." 
 Barbour intimates, that the reserve " assembled on 
 one field,'' that is, in the same line with the Scottish 
 forces already engaged, which leads Lord Kailes to 
 conjecture, that the Scottish ranks must have been 
 much thinned by slaughter, since, in that circum- 
 scribed ground, there was room for the reserve to 
 fall into the line. But the advance of the Scottish 
 cavalry must have contributed a good deal to form 
 the vacancy occupied by the reserve. 
 
 Note XX II I. 
 To arms they Jlexv,— axe, club, or spear,- 
 And mimic ensigns Ivgh they rear.— St* XXX. p. 15S„ 
 The followers of the Scottish camp observed, from 
 the Gillies-hill in the rear, the impression produced 
 upon the English array by the bringing up the Scott- 
 ish reserve, and, prompted by the enthusiasm of the 
 moment, or the desire of plunder-, assumed, in a tu- 
 multuary manner, such arms as they found nearest, 
 fastened sheets to tent-poles and lances, and showed 
 themselves like a new army advancing to battle. 
 
 ** Yeomen and swanys, (1) and pitaill, (2) 
 That in the Park yemet victual (3) 
 
 (l) Swains. (2) Rabble. (3) Kept the provisions* 
 
300 
 
 NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 Were left; when they wist bat Using (1 
 
 That their lords with full fighting 
 
 On their foes assembled were] 
 
 One of their selwyn (.-) that >\ere there 
 
 Captain of them all they made* 
 
 And sheets, that were some dale (6) braid. 
 
 They fattened instead of banners, 
 
 Upon long trees and spears. 
 
 And said that they would see the fight, 
 
 And help their Lords at their might. 
 
 "When ere-— till all assented 
 
 In a rout assembled er, (7) 
 
 Fifteen thousand they were or ma. 
 
 And than in great haste gan they go, 
 
 With their banners, all in a route, 
 
 As they had men been slyve (a) and stoutc. 
 
 They came with all that assembly, 
 
 Right till they might the battle see; 
 
 Than all at once they gave a cry, 
 
 4k Slay! Slay! Upon them hastily!" 
 
 Bar boar's Bruce, vol. II. Book XIII. pp. 153, 4. 
 
 The unexpected apparition, of what seemed a new 
 army, completed the confusion which already pre- 
 vailed among the English, who fled in every direction, 
 and were pursued with immense slaughter. 1'he 
 brook of Bannock, according to Barbour, was so cho- 
 ked with the bodies of men and horses, that it mighfc 
 have been passed dry-shod. The followers of the 
 Scottish camp fell upon the disheartened fugitives, 
 and added to the confusion and slaughter. Many were 
 driven into the Forth, and perished there, which, by 
 the way, could hardly have happened, had the armies 
 been drawn up east and west, since in that case, to 
 get at the river, the English fugitives must have fled 
 through the victorious army. About a mile from the 
 
 (4) Lying 
 (7) Are. 
 
 (5) Selves. 
 (8) Stiff. 
 
 (6) Somewhat. 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 301 
 
 field of battle is a place called the Bloody Folds. Here 
 the Earl of Gloucester is said to have made a stand, 
 and died gallantly at the head of his own military 
 tenants and vassals. He was much regretted by both 
 sides, and it is said the Scottish would gladly have 
 saved his life, but, neglecting to wear his surcoat 
 with armorial bearings over his armour, he fell un- 
 known, after his horse had been stabbed with spears. 
 Sir Marmaduke Twenge, an English knight, con- 
 trived to conceal himself during the fury of the pur- 
 suit, and when it was somewhat slackened, approach- 
 ed King Robert. u Whose prisoner are you, Sir Mar- 
 maduke?" said Bruce, to whom he was personally 
 known. " Yours, sir," answered the knight. " I re- 
 ceive you," answered the king, and treating him 
 with the utmost courtesy, loaded him with gifts, and 
 dismissed him without ransom. The other prisoners 
 were all well treated. There might be policy in this, 
 as Bruce would naturally wish to acquire the good 
 opinion of the English barons, who were at this time 
 at great variance with their king. But it also well ac- 
 cords with his high chivalrous character. 
 
 Note XXIV. 
 O / give their hapless prince his due.— 
 
 St. XXXI. p. 169. 
 Edward II., according to the best authorities, shew- 
 ed, hi the fatal field of Bannockburn, personal gal- 
 lantly not unworthy of his great sire and greater 
 son. He remained on the fieid till forced away by the 
 Eari of Pembroke, when all was lost. He then rode 
 to the castle of Stirling, and demanded admittance; 
 but the governor remonstrating upon the imprud- 
 ence of shutting himself up in that fortress, which 
 must so soon surrender, he assembled around his per- 
 son five hundred men-at-arms, and, avoiding the field 
 of battle and the victorious army, fled towards Lin- 
 lithgow, pursued by Douglas with about sixty horse. 
 They were augmented by Sir Lawrence Aberaethy 
 with twenty more, whom Douglas met in tb.3 Tor* 
 
302 NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 wood upon their way to join the English army, and 
 whom he easily persuaded to desert the defeated 
 monarch, arid to assist in the pursuit. They hung up- 
 on Edward's flight as far as Dunbar, too few in num- 
 ber to assail him with effect, but enough to harass his 
 retreat so constantly, that whoever fell an instant 
 behind, was instantly slain, or made prisoner. Ed- 
 ward's ignominious flight terminated at Dunbar, 
 where the Karl of March, who still proftssed alle- 
 giance to him, " received him fall gently." From 
 thence, the monarch of so great an empire, and the 
 late commander of so gallant and numerous an army, 
 escaped to Bam borough in a fishing vess- I. 
 
 Bruce, as will appear from the following docu- 
 ment, lost no time in directing the thunders of par- 
 liamentary censure against such part of his subjects 
 as did not return to their natural allegiance after the 
 battle o. Bannockburu. 
 
 APUD MONASTERIUM DE CAMBUSKENNETIT, 
 
 VI DIE NOYEWBHJ, M,CCC,XIV. 
 
 Judicium Reclditum apud Kambuskinet contra Pintle* 
 illos qui tunc fuerunt contra Jidem et pacem Domini 
 Begi*. 
 
 Anno gracie millesimo tricentesimo quarto decimo 
 sexto die Novembris tenente parliamentum suum 
 Excellentissimo principe domino Roberto Dei gracia 
 Rege Scottorum Illustri inmonasterio de Cambusky- 
 neth concordaturn fuit finaliter Judicatum Lac super] 
 hoc statutum de.Consilio et Assensu Episcoporum et 
 eeterorum Prelatorum Comitum Baronum et aliorum 
 nobilium regni Scocie nee non et tocius communita- 
 tis regni predicti quod omnes qui contra fidem et 
 pacem dicti domini regis in bello sue alibi mortui 
 sunt [vel qui die] to die ad pacem ejus et fidem non 
 venerant licet sepius vocati et legitime expectati 
 iuissent de terris et tenements et omni alio statu 
 infra regnum Scocie perpetuo sint exheredati et ha- 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 3Q3 
 
 beantur de cetero tanquam inimici Regis et Regni 
 ab omni vendieacione juris hereditaria vel juris a!- 
 terius eujuscunque in posterum pro se et beredibus 
 suis in perpetuum privati Ad perpetuam igitur rei 
 memoriam et evicjentem probacionein bujus Judicii 
 et Statuti sigilla Episcoporum et aliorum Prelatorura 
 nee non et covnitum Baronum ae eeterorum nobilium 
 dieti Regni presenti ordinaeioni Judicio et statut© 
 sunt appensa. 
 
 Sigillum Domini Regis 
 Sigillum Willelnii Episcopi Sancti Andree 
 Sigillum Roberti Episcopi Glascuensis 
 Sigillum TVillelmi Episcopi Dunkeldemi* 
 
 - - - Episcopi -------- 
 
 - - - Episcopi -------- 
 
 - - - Episcopi -.-----.. 
 Sigillum Alani Episcopi Sodorensis 
 Sigillum Johannis Episcopi Breebynensis 
 Sigillum Andree Episcopi Ergadiensis 
 Sigillum Ferchardi Episcopi Cathanensis 
 Sigillum Abbatis de Scona 
 
 Sigillum Abbatis de Calco 
 Sigillum Abbatis de Abirbrothok 
 Sigillum Abbatis de Sancta Cruce 
 Sigillum Abbatis de Londoris 
 Sigillum Abbatis de Newbotill 
 Sigillum Abbatis de Cupro 
 Sigillum Abbatis de Paslet 
 Sigillum Abbatis de Dunfermelyn 
 Sigillum Abbatis de Lincluden 
 Sigillum Abbatis de Insula Missarum 
 Sigillum Abbatis de Sancto Columba 
 Sigillum Abbatis de Deer 
 Sigillum Abbatis de Duke Corde 
 Sigillum Prioris de Coldinghame 
 Sigillum Prioris de Rostynot 
 Sigillum Prioris Sancti Andree 
 Sigillum Prioris de Pettinwem 
 Sigillum Prioris de Insula de Loehlevin 
 
:>04 
 
 NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 Sigillum Benetcalli Soocie 
 
 Sigillum Willelini Comitis de Ros 
 
 Sigillum Gilbert! tie la Haya ConstabifTarii Scocie 
 Sigillum Roberti de Reth Mariscalli Scocie 
 Sigillum Hngonii de Roi 
 
 Sigillum Jacobi de Dllgku 
 Sigillum Johannii de Sancto Claro 
 Sigillum Thome de Ros 
 
 [una Alt \andri de Settone 
 Sigillum Walteri Haliburtmie 
 
 n David is de Hal lour 
 Sigillum Duncani de Wallays 
 Sigillum Thome de Dischingtone 
 Sigillum Andree de Moravia 
 Sigillum Archibaldi de Betun 
 SigUlom Ranulphi de Lyill 
 Sigillum Mateoiui de Balfour 
 Sigillum Normanni de Lesley 
 Sigillum Nigelli de Campo bello 
 Sigillum Morui de Musco Campo 
 
 Note XVII. 
 fer/ff 1 De Argentine alone. 
 Through Nhthuis church t/tese torches shone y 
 And rose the death-prayer's awful tone.— 
 
 SU XXXV. p. 172. 
 The remarkable circumstances attending the death 
 of De Argentine have been already noticed, (p. 202.) 
 Besides this renowned warrior, there fell many repre- 
 sentatives of the noblest houses in England, which 
 never sustained a more bloody and disastrous defeat. 
 Barbour says that two hundred pairs of gilded spurs 
 were taken from the field of battle; and that some 
 were left the author can bear witness, who has in his 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 305 
 
 possession a curious antique spur, dug up in the 
 morass not long since. 
 
 ■ It was forsooth a great ferlie, 
 To see sarayn (1) sa fele dead lie. 
 Two hundred spurs that were reid, (2) 
 Where taen of knights that were dead." 
 
 I am now to take my leave of Barbour, not with- 
 out a sincere wish that the public may encourage the 
 undertaking of my friend, Dr. Jamieson, who has 
 issued proposals for publishing an accurate edition of 
 his poem, and of Blind Harry's Wallace. The only 
 good edition of The Bruce was published by Mr. 
 Pinkerton, in 3 vols., in 179C; and. the learned editor 
 having had no personal access to consult the manu- 
 script, it is not without errors; and it has besides be- 
 come scarce. Of Wallace there is no tolerable edition; 
 yet these two poems do no small honour to the early 
 state of Scottish poetry, and The Bruce is justly re- 
 garded as containing authentic historical tacts. 
 
 The following list of the slain at Bannock-bum, 
 extracted from the continuator of Trivet's Annals, 
 will show the extent of the national calamity. 
 
 LIST OF THE SLAIN. 
 
 Barons and Knight Bannerets. 
 Gilbert de Clare, Earl of iSgidius de Argenteyne, 
 
 Gloucester, Edmund Comyn, 
 
 Robert de Clifford, John Lovel (the rich.) 
 
 Payan Tybetot, Edmond de Hastynge, 
 
 William le Maresebal, Milo de Staph ton, 
 
 John Comyn, Simon Ward, 
 
 William de Vescey, Robert de Felton, 
 
 John de Montfort, Michael Poyning, 
 
 Nicolas de Hasteleigh, Edmund Maulley. 
 
 William Dayncourt, 
 
 (1) Together. (2) Red, or gilded. 
 
506 
 
 NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 
 
 Henry de Boun, 
 Thomas de Ufford, 
 John de EUingff Me, 
 • ohn de Hareourt, 
 Walter de Hakelm, 
 Philip de Courienay, 
 
 Knight** 
 
 Hngo de Scales, 
 Radulph de Beauchamp, 
 John de Peiibrigge, 
 Wkh thirty-three other- 
 
 of the same rank, not 
 
 named. 
 
 PRISONERS. 
 
 Barons and Baronets, 
 Henry de Boun, Earl of Walter de Beauchamp. 
 
 Here ford, 
 Lord John GifiTard, 
 "William de Latimer, 
 Maurice de Berkley, 
 Ingelram de U.nfraville, 
 Marmaduke de Twenge, 
 John de Wylelone, 
 Robert de Man lee, 
 Henry Fitz-Hugh, 
 Thomas de Gray, 
 
 Kr;i t 
 Thomas de Berkely, 
 
 The son of Roger Tyrrel, 
 
 Ansehr de Maresehal, 
 
 Giles de Beauchamp, 
 
 John Cyfrewast, 
 
 John Bluwet, 
 
 Roger Corbet, 
 
 Gilbert de Boun, 
 
 Bartholomew de Enefield, 
 Thomas de Ferrers, 
 
 Richard de Charon, 
 John de Wevelmton, 
 Robert de Nevil, 
 .John de Segrave, 
 Gilbert Pteche, 
 John de Clavering, 
 Antony de Luey, 
 Radulph de Camys, 
 John de Evere, 
 Andrew de Abremhyrr. 
 
 'Ms. 
 
 Henry de Wileton, 
 Baldwin de Frevill, 
 John de Clivedon, (1) 
 Adomar la Zouche, 
 John de Merewode, 
 John Maufe, (2) 
 Thomas & Odo Lele Erce- 
 
 dekene, 
 Robert Beaupel,(theson,) 
 John Mautravers, (son.) 
 
 (l) Supposed Clinton. 
 
 (2) Maule\ 
 
NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH. 307 
 
 Knights. 
 Radulph & Thomas Bot- William and William Gif- 
 
 tetort, fard, & thirty-four other 
 
 John and Nicolas deKing- knights, not named by 
 
 stone, (brothers,) the historian. 
 
 William Lovel, 
 
 And in sum, there were there slain, along with the 
 Earl of Gloucester, forty-two barons and bannerets. 
 The number of earls, barons, and bannerets made 
 captive, was twenty-two, and sixty-eight knights. 
 Many clerks and esquires were also there slain or 
 taken. Roger de Northburge, keeper of the king's 
 signet, (Cu-stos Targicc Domini Regis,) was made priso- 
 ner with his two clerks Roger de Wakenfelde and 
 Thomas de Switon, upon which the king caused a 
 seal to be made, and entitled it his privy seal, to dis- 
 tinguish the same from the signet so lost. The Earl 
 of Hereford was exchanged against Bruce's Queen, 
 who had been detained in captivity ever since the 
 year 1306. The Targia, or signet, was restored to 
 England through the intercession of Ralph de Mon- 
 thermer, ancestor of Lord Moira, who is said to have 
 found favour in the eyes of the Scottish king.— Con- 
 tinuation of Trivet's Annals, Hall's edit* Oxford, 1712, 
 vol. II., p. 14. 
 
 Such were the immediate consequences of the field 
 of Bannockburn. Its more remote effects, in com- 
 pletely establishing the national independence of 
 Scotland, afford a boundless field for speculation. 
 
 THE END, 
 
Ifoses Tlioi; 
 
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