~<^. AZSj^ :■ jm* 'fixture hrrafU, it eeerrub. tooixlb vitx&e $. Wmsslvc to ber I THE LORD OF THE ISLES SIRWALTEB SCOTT. HA1IT WITH ALL His INTRODUCTIONS, AND THE EDITOR'S NOTES, ILLUSTRATED El" ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD PROM DRAW I! Y 13 1 11 K E T FO .- 1' E R A N'D JOHN Gil EDINBURGH: ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK, NORTH BRIDGE, BOOKSELLERS AND PUBLISHERS TO THE QUEEN. MDCCCLVII. CONTENTS. Page List of Illustrations 3 Notice Introduction 13 Advertisement 21 Canto 1 25 Canto II 65 Canto III 105 Canto IV 145 Canto V 101 Canto VI 235 Appendix 291 299 I. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. DESIGNED BY BIKKET FOSTER AND JOHN GILBERT, ENGRAVED ON WOOD BY J. W. WHYMPEE AND EDMUND EVANS, AND PRINTED BY R. & R. CLARK. Canto Jfbt DESIGNED BY PAGE Vignette Title to the Canto. .John Gilbert. 25 Autumn departs — but still his mantle's fold Rests on the groves of noble Somerville. Birket Foster. «27 Thy rugged halls, Artornish ! rung. Birket Foster. 30 Retired her maiden train among, Edith of Lorn received the song. John Gilbert. 34 A turret's airy head, Slender aud steep, and battled round, O'erlook'd, dark Mull ! thy mighty Sound. Birket Foster. 37 From where Mingarry, sternly placed, O'erawes the woodland and the waste. Birket Foster. 38 To where Dunstaffnage hears the raging Of Connal with his rocks engaging. Birket Foster. 39 The House of Lorn. Birket Foster. 43 Look, where beneath the castle gray His fleet unmoor from Aros baj ! Birket Foster, 44 LIST 01' ILLUSTRATIONS. Borne onward by the willing breeze, Lord Ronald's fleet swept by. And Duart board the distant swell Come down the darksome Sound. Arluniisli, on her frowning steep 'Twixt elond and ocean hung. The younger knight that maiden ban Half lifeless up the rock. DESIGNED 1!V Birket Foster. Birket Foster. Birket Foster. John Gilbert. 60 (Tanto Staemft* Vignette Title to the Canto. Through the loud hall in joyous concert pour'd, Let mirth and music sound the dirge of Care ! John Gilbert. John Gilbert. 65 He ceased, and it was silence all, Until the Minstrel waked the ball. John Gilbert. Brave Torquil from Dunvegan high, Lord of the misty bills of Skye. Birket Foster. And. lovely 'mid her wild despair, Fast Btream'd her eyes, wide flow'd her hair. John Gilbert. Twelve sandall'd monks, who relics bore, With many a torch-bearer before, Ami man] a cross behind. John Gilbert. Disown'd, deserted, and distress'd, I bless thee, and thou shalt be bless'd! JonN Gilbert. The train refused all longer staj . Embark'd, raised sail, and bore away. Birket Foster. 86 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Canto (Limb. Vignette Title to the Canto. And still they gazed with eager guess, Where, in an oriel's deep recess, The Island Prince seem'd hent to press. Dunvegan's chief — each bent the knee To Bruce in sign of fealty, They strove the livelong day and night, Nor till the dawning had a sight Of Skye's romantic shore. These are the savage wilds that lie North of Strathnardill and Dun sky c ; No human foot comes here. Coriskin call the dark lake's name, Coolin the ridge, as hards proclaim. The Maids — tall cliffs with breakers white, The Nurse — a torrent's roaring might. designed by page John Gilbert. 105 John Gilbert. 107 John Gilbert. 113 Birket Foster. 118 Birket Foster. 119 Birket Foster. 123 Birket Foster. 124 In cap and cloak of velvet green, Low seated on the ground. Deep in Strathaird's enchanted cell. The master'd felon press'd the ground, And gasp'd beneath a mortal wound, While o'er him stands the Bruce. John Gilbert. 129 Birket Foster. 13G John Gilbert. 139 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Canto fourth. DESIGNED BY VlGNETTE TlTLE TO THE CANTO. JOHS GILBERT. That dread shore, That sees grim Coolin rise, and hears Coriskin roar. Birket Foster. From Carina's tower, that, steep and gray, Like falcon-nest o'erhangs the bay. Her path by Konin's mountains dark The steersman's hand hath given. When all in vain the ocean cave Its refuge to his victims gave. And all the group of islets gay That guard famed Stafta round. Nature herself, it seem'd, would raise A Minster to her Maker's praise ! They paused not at Columha's isle, Though peal'd theLells from the holy pile. Dp Tarbat's western lake they bore. Ben-Ghoil. ''The Mountain of the Wind." Grave his grim peaks a greeting kind. And hade Loch Lanza smile. He stoop'd his head against the mast, And bitter sobs came thick and fast. Around the royal Bruce they crowd, And elasp'd his hands, and wept aloud. By her who brooks his perjured scorn, The ill requited Maid of Lorn. Etighl opposite, the mainland towers Ofmj own Turnberry courl our powers — Birket Foster. 155 Birket Foster. 157 .irket Foster. 159 Birket Foster. 160 Birket Foster. 161 Birket Foster. 163 Birket Foster. 165 Birket Foster. John Gilbert. John Gilbert. John Gilbert. Birket Foster. LIST or ILLUSTRATIONS Canto .fifth. Vignette Title to the Canto. On lair Loch Ran/a stream'd the early day. Thin wreaths of cottage-smoke are upward curl'd From the lone hamlet. When glanced upon the pavement-stone, Bemm'd and enchased, a golden ring, Bound to a scroll with silken string. HESIUNKU BY John Gilbert. Birket Foster. John Gilbert. 195 He cross'd his brow beside the stone, Where Druids erst heard victims groan. Birket Foster. 199 Wheie, rising through the woodland green, Old Brodick's gothic towers were seen. Birket Foster. 200 But though the beams of light decay, 'Twas bustle all in Brodick-Bay. Birket Foster. 201 The monk approach'd and homage paid : " And art thou come," King Robert said. John Gilbert. 204 " A torch," the Monarch cried, " "What, ho ! Now shall we Cnthbert's tidings know." John Gilbert. 212 Now ask you whence that wondrous light, Whose fairy glow beguiled their sight? Birket Foster. 215 " See yonder oak, within whose trunk Decay a darken'd cell hath sunk." Birket Foster. 221 He raised the page, where on the plain His fear had sunk him with the slain : John Gilbert. 228 And limbs were lopp'd and life blood pour'd, The cry of death and conflict roar'd. John Gilbert. 230 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS (luitto Bitty. Vignette Title to the Canto. Stirling's towers. When o'er the Gillie's hill she rode, The landscape like a furnace glow'd. North-eastward by Saint Ninian's shrine. High in his stirrups stood the King, And gave his battle-axe the swing. Her hand with gentle ease he took, \\ 'itb such a kind protecting look, High rode in cloudless blue the moon, Demayet smiled beneath her ray. See where yon barefoot Abbot stands, And blesses them with lifted hands ! Down ! down ! in headlong overthrow, Horseman and horse, the foremost go, Wild floundering on the field ! Too strong in courage and in migbt Was England yet to yield the fight. Her noblest all are here. I, with my Carrick spearmen, charge; Now, forward to the shock! Then foremost was the generous Bruce To raise his head, his helm to loose. To Cambuskennetb straight he pass. And deck (he church for solemn mass. designed by page John Gilbert. 235 Birket Foster. 237 Birket Foster. 248 Birket Foster. 251 John Gilbert. 255 John Gilbert. 257 Birket Foster. 260 John Gilbert. 265 John Gilbert. 269 John Gilbert. 271 John Gilbert. 275 JonN Gilbert. 281 Birket Foster. 285 NOTICE. The composition of " The Lord of the Isles," as we now have it in the Author's MS., seems to have been begun at Abbotsford, in the Autumn of 1814, and it ended at Edinburgh, the 16th of December. Some part of Canto I. had probably been committed to writing in a rougher form earlier in the year. The original Quarto appeared on the 2d of January 1815. It may be mentioned, that those parts of this poem which were written at Abbotsford, were composed almost all in the presence of Sir Walter Scott's family, and many in that of casual visitors also : the original cottage which he then occupied not affording him any means of retire- ment. Neither conversation nor music seemed to disturb him. INTRODUCTION. INTRODUCTION I could hardly have chosen a subject more popular in Scotland, than any thing- connected with the Brace's history, unless I had attempted that of Wallace. But 1 am decidedly of opinion, that a popular, or what is called a taking title, though well qualified to ensure the publishers against loss, and clear their shelves of the original impres- sion, is rather apt to be hazardous than otherwise to the reputation of the author. He who attempts a subject of distinguished popularity, has not the privilege of awaken- ing the enthusiasm of his audience ; on the contrary, it is already awakened, and glows, it may be, more ardently than that of the author himself. In this case, the warmth of the author is inferior to that of the party whom he addresses, who has, therefore, little chance of being, in Bayes's phrase, "elevated and surprised" by what lie lias THE I -OKI) OF THE ISLES thought of with more enthusiasm than the writer. The sense of this risk, joined to the consciousness of striving against wind and tide, made the task of composing the proposed Poem somewhat heavy and hopeless; but. like the prize-fighter in "As Yon Like it," I was to wrestle for my reputation, and not neglect any advantage. In a most agreeable pleasure-voyage, which I have tried to commemorate in the Introduction to the new edition of the "■ Pirate,"' 1 visited, in social and friendly company, the coasts and islands of Scotland, and made myself ac- quainted with the localities of which I meant to treat. But this voyage, which was in every other effect so delightful, was in its conclusion saddened by one of those strokes of fate which so often mingle themselves with our pleasures. The accomplished and excellent person who had recom- mended to me the subject for " The Lay of the Last Minstrel," and to whom I proposed to inscribe what I already suspected might be the close of my poetical labours,. was unexpectedly removed from the world, which she seemed only to have visited for purposes of kindness and benevolence. It is needless to say how the author's feel- ings, or the composition of his trifling work, were affected INTRODUCTION 15 by a circumstance which occasioned so manj tears and so much sorrow. 1 True it is, that -'The Lord of the Isles" was concluded, unwillingly and in haste, under the painful feeling of one who has a task which must be finished, rather than with the ardour of one who endeavours to perform that task well. Although the poem cannot be said to have made a favourable impression on the public, the sale of fifteen thousand copies enabled the author to retreat from the field with the honours of war. In the meantime, what was necessarily to be considered as a failure, was much reconciled to my feelings by the success attending my attempt in another species of com- position. •• Waverley " had. under strict incognito, taken its flight from the press, just before I set out upon the voyage already mentioned; it had now made its way to popularity, and the success of that work and the volumes which followed, was sufficient to have satisfied a greater appetite lor applause than I have at any time possessed. 2 1 Harriet, Duchess of Buccleuch, died 24th August 1814. Sir Walter Scott received the mournful intelligence while visiting the Giant's Causeway, and immediately returned home. -' The first edition of Waverley appeared in July lb 1 4. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. I may as well add in this place, that, being much urged by my intimate friend, now unhappily no more, William Erskine (a Scottish judge, by the title of Lord Kinedder), I agreed to write the little romantic tale called the "Bridal of Triermain;" but it was on the condition, that he should make no serious effort to disown the com- position, if report should lay it at his door. As he was more than suspected of a taste for poetry, and as I took care, in several places, to mix something which might resemble (as far as was in my power) my friend's feeling and maimer, the train easily caught, and two large editions were sold. A third being called for, Lord Kinedder became unwilling to aid any longer a deception which was going farther than he expected or desired, and the real author's name was given. Upon another occasion, I sent up another of these trifles, which, like schoolboy's kites, served to shew how the wind of popular taste was setting. The manner was supposed to be that of a rude minstrel, or Scald, in opposition to the "Bridal of Triermain," which was designed to belong rather to the Italian school. This new fugitive piece was called " Harold the Daunt- less:" and T am still astonished at my having committed INTRODUCTION. >' the gross cnor of selecting the very name which Lord Byron had made so famous. 1 It encountered rather an odd fate. My ingenious friend, Mr. James Hogg, had published, about the same time, a work called the " Poetic Mirror," containing imitations of the principal living poets. 2 There was in it a very good imitation of my own style, which bore such a resemblance to " Harold the Dauntless," that there was no discovering the original from the imita- tion ; and I believe that many who took the trouble of thinking upon the subject, were rather of opinion that my ingenious friend was the true, and not the fictitious Simon Pure. Since this period, which was in the year 1816, the Author has not been an intruder on the public by any poetical work of importance. w. s. Abbotsfokd, Apb.il 1830. 1 "Harold the Dauntless" was tirst published in a small 12] volume, December 1816. 2 Mr. Hogg's "Poetic Mirror" appeared in October J8I( : . LORD OF THE ISLES A POEM IN SIX CANTOS. ADYEfiTISEMENT, The scene of this poem lies, at first, in the Castle of Artor- uisli, on the coast of Argyleshire ; and, afterwards, in the Islands if Skye and Arran, and upon the coast of Ayrshire. Finally, it is laid near Stirling. The story opens in the spring of the year 1 307, 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 Ireland, igain to assert his claims to the Scottish crown. Many of the personages and incidents introduced are of historical celebrity. Hie authorities used are chiefly those of the venerable Lord Hailes, as well entitled to be called the restorer of Scottish listorv, as Bruce the restorer of Scottish monarchy ; and of Archdeacon Barbour, a correct edition of whose Metrical History :>f Robert Bruce x will soon, I trust, appear, under the care of my learned friend, the Rev. Dr. Jamieson. Abbotsford, 10th December 1814. 2 1 The work alluded to appeared in 1820, under the title of "The Bruce •md Wallace." 2 vols. 4to. 2 '• Here is another genuine lay of the great Minstrel, with all his characteristic faults, beauties, and irregularities. The same glow of colour- ing- — the same energy of narration — the same amplitude of description, are - ber — the :-:: ' "' - _ - - •• - "' - - L— • • • - - -"■-- ■ - '■"" " - . " " -" " ' ' • •- ■'---—.. : • ■ - " - • character. - - - - . _ „._ . . , . = great • - - • " i ■ ■ - - " -" - - '. — '.- r 1 1 - " - ' - ■ • . - - - - ' - - — ■ Is. It is - - - -- ■ - ■ - - Brace." — Edi.riJjvrif 1815 - It •• " ■ - - --rer: - • - - ADVERTISEMENT. than ourselves; we can only say. that without possessing greater beauties than its predecessors, it has certain violations of propriety, both in the language and in the composition of the story, of which the former efforts of his muse afforded neither so many nor such striking examples. " We have not now any quarrel with Mr. Scott on account of the measure which he has chosen ; still less on account of his subjects : we believe that thev are both of them not only pleasing in themselves, but well adapted to each other and to the bent of his peculiar genius. On the contrary, it i* because we admire his genius, and are partial to the subjects which he delights in. that we so much regret he should leave room for any difference of opinion respecting them, merely from not bestowing upon his publications that common degree of labour and meditation which we cannot help saving it is scarcely decorous to withhold."— Quarterly Berk'':. No. xxvi. July 1815. §§§&& -fit A' L 1 A - ^*. ^r-t**, i bUTTMN departs— but still his mantle's fold \ Rests en the groves of noble Somerville, r Beneath a shroud of russet dropp'd with gold Tweed ami Ins tributaries mingle still ; Hoarser the wind, and deeper sounds the rill, \ >'\ lingering notes of silvan music swell, 'I'lic deep-toned cushat, and the redbreast shrill And yei some tints of summer splendour tell When the broad sun sinks down on Ettrick', 1 western fell. THE LOUD OF THE ISLES CAN'] Autumn departs — from Gain's fields 1 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 i'vw ears of scatter' d grain. 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 wood's expiring lay, To note the red leaf shivering on the spray, To mark the last bright tints the mountain stain, On the waste fields to trace the gleaner's way. And moralize on mortal joy and pain? — ! 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, 1 The river Gala, famous in song, flows into tlic Tweed a few hundred yards below Abbotsford; but probably the word Gala here stands for the poet's neighbour and kinsman, mid much attached friend, John Scott, Esq. | Gala KTO i. THE LORD OF THE ISI.KS And fev as leaves that tremble, sear and dry, When wild November hath his hunk- 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 foun I. So Shalt thou list, and haply not unmoved, To a wild tale of Albyn's warrior day; In distant lands by the rough West reprove. 1. Still live some relies 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 Iona's piles, Where rest from mortal coil the Miffhty of the Isles. Till: LORD OF THE 1SI.F.S I. •• Wake, Maid of Lorn!" the Minstrels sung. Thy rugged halls, Artornish ! rung, l And the dark seas, thy towers that lave Heaved mi the beach a softer wave, As mid the tuneful choir to keep The diapason of the Peep. Lull'd were the winds on Iiminmore, And green Loch-Alline's woodland shore. As if wild woods and waves had pleasure In listing to the lovely measure. 1 See Appendix, Note A. ■asto i. THE LOKD OF THE tSLES. ■>' And ne'er tO Symphony more sweet Gave mountain echoes answer meet, Since, met from mainland and from isle, lfoss, Arran, Hay, and Argyle, Each minstrel's tributary lay Paid homage to the festal day. lMill and disliononr'd were the hard, Worthless of guerdon and regard, Deaf to the hope of minstrel fame, Or lady's smiles, his noblest aim, Who on that mom's resistless call Were silent in Artornish hall. IT. "Wake, Maid of Lorn!" 'twas thus they sun-', And yet more proud the descant rung, " Wake, Maid of Lorn ! high right is ours, To charm dull sleep from Beauty's bowers ; 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 hark ;' 1 The seal displays a taste for music, which could scarcely be expected from his habits and local predilections. They will long follow a boal in which any musical instrument is played, and even a tune simply whistled lias attractions lor them. The Dean of the [sles says of Eeiskar, a small uninhabited rock, about twelve (Scottish) miles from the Isle of Cist, that an infinite slaughter of seals takes place there. THE LORD 01' THE ISLES. To list his notes, the eagle proud Will poise him on Ben-Cailliach's cloud : Then let not Maiden's ear disdain The summons of the minstrel train. But, while our harps wild music make. Edith of Lorn, awake, awake! III. " wake, while Dawn, with dewy shine. Wakes Nature's charms to vie with thine ! She bids the mottled thrash 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," grey Ferrand cried ; ■ l Brethren, let softer spell be tried. Those notes prolonged, 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 1 ade them tell. IV. •■Wake, Maid of Lorn! the moments fly, Which vet that maiden-name allow ; THE LORD OF THE [SLES 33 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 bid 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 pibroehs play, We see the streamers' silken band. What Chieftain's praise these pibroehs 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 bad 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 array 'd. Cathleen of Ulne, 'twas thine to braid ; THE LOUD OF THE ISLES. Young Eva with meet reverence drew On the light foot the silken shoe, While on the ankle's slender round Those strings of pearl fair Bertha wound, That, bleach'd Lochryan's depths within, Seem'd dusky still on Edith's skin. But Einion, of experience old, Had weightiest task — the mantle's fold THE LOUT) OF THE ISLES, :; -' In many an artful plait she tied, To shew the form it seem'd to hide, Till on the floor descending roll'd Its waves of crimson hlent with gold. VI. ( ) ! lives there now so cold a maid. Who thus in beauty's pomp array'd, In beauty's proudest pitch of power, And concpiest won — the bridal hour — With every charm that wins the heart, By Nature given, enhanced by Art, Could 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 further vouches not my lay, Save that such lived in Britain's isle, When Lorn's bright Edith scorn'd to smile. VII. But Morag, to whose fostering care Proud Lorn had given his daughter fair. 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 — ) Grey Morag sate a space apart, In Edith's eyes to read her heart. 36 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. CANTO I. Iii vain the attendants' fond appeal To Morag's skill, to Morag's zeal; She niai'k'd her child receive their care, ( 'old as the image sculptured fair, (Form of some sainted patroness,) Which cloister'd maids combine to dress; She niark'd — and knew her nursling's heart [n the vain pomp took little part. Wistful a while she gazed — then press'cl The maiden to her anxious breast In linish'd loveliness — and led To where a turret's airy head, Slender and steep, and battled round. ( tVrlook'd. dark Mull ! thy mighty Sound. ' 1 The Sound of Mull, which divides that island from the continent ol 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 chann 1. v. t deep enough to bear vessels of the largest burden, he has on his left the bold and mountainous shores of Mull ; on the right those of that district of Argyleshire, called Morven, or Morvern, 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 Donolly 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 beautiful tragedy, entitled the Family Legend. Still passing on to the northward, Artornish and Aros become visible upon the opposite shores ; and. lastly. Mingarry. and other ruins of less distinguished 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 narrowness of the channel, and in part from the number of inland lakes, out of which sally forth a number of conflicting and THE LORD OK THE ISLl'.s. Where thwarting tides, with mingled roar, Tart thy swarth hills from Morven's shore. 37 VIII. " Daughter," she said, "these seas behold, Round twice a hundred islands roll'd, From Hirt, that hears their northern roar, To the green Hay's fertile shore ; T thwarting tides, making the navigation perilous to open boats. The sudden Haws and gusts of wind which issue without a moment's warning from the mountain glens, arc equally formidable. So that in unsettled weather, a Btranger, 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 danger. 1 The number of the western isles of Scotland exceeds two hundred, of which St. Kilda is the most northerly, anciently called Hirth, or Hirt, pro- bably from "earth," being in fart the whole globe to its inhabitants, [lay, which now belongs almost entirely to Walter Campbell, Esq. of Shawfield, is THE LORD OF THE ISLES. Or mainland fittrn, where many a fcowei Owns thy hold brother's feudal power. Each on its own dark cape reclined, And listening to its own wild wind, From where Mingarry, sternly placed. O'erawes the woodland and the waste, 1 by far the most fertile of the Hebrides, and has been greatly improved under the spirited and sagacious management of the present proprietor. This was in ancient times the principal abode of the Lords of the Isles, being, if not tlic largest, the most important island of their archipelago. In Martin's time, some relics of their grandeur were yet extant. "Loch-Finlagan, about three miles in circumference, affords salmon, trout s. and eels : this lake lies in the centre of the isle. The isle Finlagan, from which this lake hath its name, is in it. It's famous for being once the court in which the great Appendix, Note i'». THE LORD 01" Till: [SLES To where Dunstaflhage hears the raging Of Connal with his rocks engaffiiisr. Mac-Donald, King of the Isles, had his residence; his houses, chapel, etc., arc now ruinous. His guards de corps, called Lucht-tach, kept guard on the lakeside nearest to the isle ; the walls of their houses are still to be seen there. The high court of judicature, consisting of fourteen, sat always here ; and there was an appeal to them from all the courts in the isles : the eleventh -liaiv of the sum in debate was due to the principal judge. There was a big .-tone of seven foot square, in which there was a deep impression made to receive the feet of Mac-Donald; for he was crowned King of the Isles standing in this stone, and swore that he would continue his vassals in the possession of their lands, and do exact 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 rehearsed a catalogue of his ancestors," etc. — Martin's Account of the Western Isles, 8vo, London, 1716, p. 210. l. 40 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. canto i. Think'st thou, amid this ample round, A single brow but thine has frown' d, To sadden this auspicious morn, That bids the daughter of high Lorn Impledge her spousal faith to wed The heir of mighty Somerled? 1 Ronald, from many a hero sprung, The fair, the valiant, and the young, Lord of the Isles, whose lofty name 2 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? 1 Somerled was thane of Argyle and Lord of the Isles about the middle of the twelfth century. He seems to Lave exercised his authority in both capacities, independent of the crown of Scotland, against which he often stood in hostility. He made various incursions upon the western lowlands during the reign of Malcolm IV., and seems to have made peace with him upon the terms of an independent prince about the year 1157. In 11 04, he resumed the war against Malcolm, and invaded Scotland with a large, but probably a tumultuary army, collected in the isles, in the mainland of Argyle- shire, and in the neighbouring provinces of Ireland. He was defeated and slain in an engagement with a very inferior force near Renfrew. His bod Gillicolane fell in the same battle. This mighty chieftain married a daughter of Olaus, King of Man. From him our genealogists deduce 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 surname of M'Dougal, as descended of his second son Dougal. That Somerled's territories upon the mainland, 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 High- land families, which we shall presently notice. Sei Appendix, Note < '. I THE LORD OF THE ISLES 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 galla-glass, No mountain den holds outcast boor, Of heart so dull, of soul so poor, But he hath flung his task aside, And claim'd this morn for holy-tide; Yet, empress of this joyful day, Edith is sad while all are gay. - ' — 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 gauds of rare device. But thou, experienced as thou art, Think'st thou with these to client the heart, That, hound in strong affection's chain. Looks for return anil looks in \ ain ? THE LORD OF THE ISLES. 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, All blinded by the league that styled Edith of Lorn, — while yet a child, She tripp'd the heath by Morag's side, — The brave Lord Ronald's destined bride. Ere yet I saw him, while afar His 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. What pilgrim sought our halls, nor told Of Ronald's deeds in battle bold ; Who touch'd the harp to heroes' praise, But his achievements swell'd the lays ? Even Morag — not a tale of fame Was hers but closed with Ronald's name. Be came! and all that Lad been told Of his high worth seem'd poor and cold, Tame, lifeless, void of energy, Unjust to Ronald and to me ! XL " Since then, what thought had Edith's he; And gave qoI plighted love its part! — THE LORD OF THE ISLES. And what requital ? cold delay — Excuse that shunn'd the spousal day. — It dawns, and Ronald is not here ! Hunts he Bentalla's nimble deer, Or loiters he in secret dell To bid some lighter love farewell, And swear, that though he may not scon A daughter of the House of Lorn, x 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. 1 See Appendix, Note I>. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. Look, where beneath the castle gray His fleet unmoor from Aros bay ! See'st not each galley's topmast bend, As on the yards the sails ascend? Biding 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. THE LORD OF THE ISLES And mark the headmost, seaward cast, Stoop to the freshening gale her mast, As if she veil'd its banner'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, Blnsh'd, sadly smiled, and thus replied : — XIII. " Sweet thought, but vain ! — No, Morag ! 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 see Our sheltering haven on their lee, Still closer to the rising wind They strive her shivering sail to bind, Si ill nearer to the shelves' dread verge At every tack her course they urge, As if they fear'd Artornish more Than adverse winds and breakers' roar." XIV. Sooth spoke the Maid. — Amid the tide The skiff she mark'd lay tossing sore, 46 THE LOUD OF THE ISLES. And shifted oft her stooping side, In weary tack from shore to shore. Yet on her destined course no more She gain'd, of forward way. Than what a minstrel may compare To the poor meed which peasants share Who toil the livelong day ; And such the risk her pilot braves, That oft, before she wore, Her boltsprit 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 seas, 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 aoble and the bold Of Island chivalry. Around their prows the ocean mars. And chafes beneath their thousand oars, Yet hears them on their way : So chafes the war-horse in his might, THE LORD OF THE ISLES. That fieldward bears some valiant knight, Champs, till both hit and hoss 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 shiminer'd fair and free ; And each proud galley, as she pass'd, To the wild cadence of the blast Gave wilder minstrelsy. THE LOUD OF THE ISLES. Full many a shrill triumphant note Saline and Scallastle hade 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 hore they on with mirth and pride, And if that labouring hauls, they spied, 'Twas with such idle eye As nobles cast on lowly boor, When, toiling in his task obscure, They pass him careless by. Lei them sweep on with heedless eyes ! But, had they known what mighty prize In thai frail vessel lay, Till: LORD OF THE ISLES. The famish'd wolf, that prowls the wold. Had scatheless pass'd the unguarded fold, Ere, drifting by these galleys hold, Unchallenged were her way ! And thou, Lord Ronald, sweep thou on, With mirth, and pride, and minstrel tone ! But hadst thou known who sail'd so nigh, Far other glance were in thine eye ! 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 leave, For them that triumph, those who grieve. With that armada gay Be laughter loud and jocund shout, And bards to cheer the wassail 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 cliff, Labour that strain'd each sinew stiff', And one sad Maiden's wail. HE LORD OF THE ISLES. XVIII. All day with fruitless strife they toil'd, With eve the ebbing currents hoil'd More fierce from strait and lake ; And midway 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. Then, too, the lights of eve were past. And louder sung the Avestern blast On rocks of Inninmore ; Kent 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 clay has broke ? Didst thou not mark the vessel reel, With quivering planks, and groaning keel, At the last billow's shock? THE LORD OF THE [SUES Yet how of better counsel tell, Though here thou see'sl poor rsahel 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." — XX. That elder Leader's- calm reply In steady voice was given, •• Tn man's most dark extremity Oft succour dawns from Heaven. Edward, trim thou the shatter'd sail, The helm lie mine, and down the gal< Let our free course he 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, THE LOUD OF THE ISLES. 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 greyhound starting from the slip To seize his flying prey. Awaked before the rushing prow, The mimic fires of ocean glow, Those lightnings of the wave ; l Wild sparkles crest the broken tides, 1 The phenomenon called by sailors Sea-fire, is one of the most beautiful and interesting which is witnessed in the Hebrides. At times the ocean appears entirely illuminated around the vessel, and a long train of lambent coruscations are perpetually bursting upon the sides of the vessel, or pursuing her wake through the darkness. These phosphoric appearances, concerning the origin of which naturalists are not agreed in opinion, seem to be called into action by the rapid motion of the ship through the water, and are pro- bably owing to the water being saturated with fish-spawn 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 the ship J watcli'd the water snakes, They moved in tracks of shining white, And when they rear'd, the elvish light Fell olF in hoary Hakes." THE LORD OF THE ISLES. 53 And flashing round, the vessel's sides With elvish lustre lave. While, far behind, their livid light To the dark billows of the night A gloomy splendour gave, It seems as if old Ocean shakes From his dark brow the lucid flakes In envious pageantry. To match the meteor light that streaks Grim Hecla's midnight sky. XXII. Nor lack'd they steadier light to keep Their course upon the darken'd deep ; — Artornish, on her frowning steep 'Twixt cloud and ocean hung, (i lanced with a thousand lights of glee, And landward far, and far to sea, Her festal radiance flung. 1 By that blithe beacons-light they steer'd, Whose lustre mingled well With the pale beam that now appear'd, 1 "The description of the vessel's approach to the castle through the tempestuous and sparkling waters, and the contrast of the gloomy aspecl ol tin- billows with the glittering splendour of Artornish, ' Twixt cloud and ocean lmng,' Bending her radiance abroad through the terrors of the night, and mingling at intervals the shouts of her revelry with (lie wilder cadence of the blast, is one nf tin- happiest instances of Mr Scott's felicity in awful and magnificent Bcenery." — Critical J!> vu w THE LORD OF THE ISLES. As the cold moon her head uprear'd Above the eastern fell. XXTIT. Thus guided, on their course they bore, Until they near'd the mainland shore, THE LORD OF THE [SLES 55 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-shout By peasants heard from cliffs on high, When Triumph, Eage, and Agony, Madden the light 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, A hundred torches play'd, Spangling the wave with lights as vain As pleasures in this vale of pain, That dazzle as they fade, 1 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, 1 " Mr Scott, we observed in the newspapers, was engaged during- last summer in a maritime expedition ; and, accordingly, the most striking- novelty in the present poem is the extent ami variety of the sea-pieces with which it abounds. One of tin- first we meet with is the picture of the distresses of tin: King's little bark, and her darkling run to the shelter of Artomish Castle." — Ediribwgh Review, 1815. 56 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. So straight, 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. 1 1 The fortress of a Hebridean chief was almost always on the sea-shore, for the facility of communication which the ocean afforded. Nothing- can he more wild than the situations which they chose, and the devices by which the architects endeavoured to defend them. Narrow stairs and arched vaults were the usual mode of access ; and the drawbridge appears at Dunstaffnage, and elsewhere, to have fallen from the gate of the building to the top of such a staircase ; so that any one advancing with hostile purpose, found himself in a state of exposed and precarious elevation, with a gulf between him and the object of his attack. These fortresses were guarded with eiptal care. The duty of the watch devolved chiefly upon an officer called the Cockman, who had the charge of challenging all who approached the castle. The very ancient family of Mac-Xiel of Barra kept this attendant at their castle about a hundred years ago. Martin gives the following account of the difficulty which attended his procuring entrance there: — "The little island Kismul lies about a quarter of a mile from the south of this Isle (Barra) ; it is the seat of Mackneil of Barra : there is a stone wall round it two storeys 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 called 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 business being to attend in the tower ; but if (says he) the constable, who then stood on the wall, will give you access, I'll ferry you over. I desired him to procure me the constable's permission, and I would reward him ; but having waited some hours for the constable's answer, and not receiving any, I was obliged to return without seeing this famous fort. Mackneil and his lady being absent, was the cause of this difficulty, and of my no1 seeing the p] ire. 1 was told Mime weeks after, that the constable was very apprehensive 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." THE LOBJD OF THE [SLES. 57 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, Pear'd lest, amidst these wildering seas. The darksome night and freshening breeze Had driven thy hark 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 hank 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 streal Again to hear away." — THE LORD OF THE ISLES. Answered 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?" — XXVI. " 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 ; 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 Ave seek, And we in other realms will speak Fair of your courtesy ; Deny — and be your niggard Hold Scom'd by the noble and the bold, Shunn'd by the pilgrim on the wold. And wanderer on the lea !" — XXVII. "Bold stranger, no — 'gainst claim like thine, No bolt revolves by hand of mine, THE LORD OF THE is 1.1 •> Though urged in tone that more express'd A monarch than a suppliant guesi . Be what ye will, Artornish Hall On this glad eve is free to all. Though ye had drawn a hostile sword 'Gainst our ally, great 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, 2 This night had been a term of truce. — Ho, vassals! give these guests your care, And shew the narrow postern stair." XXVIII. To land these two l><>ld 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 tresses shed. As the wild vine in tendrils spread, Droops from the mountain oak. Sir William Walla.,. 2 g ee Appendix, Note G THE LORD OF THE ISLES Him follow'd close that elder Lord, And in his hand a sheathed sword, Such as few arms oonld wield; But when he boun'd him to such task, Well could it cleave the strongesl casque, And rend the surest shield. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. Gl 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 straight, Where bowmen might in ambush wait, (If force or fraud should burst the gate,) To gall an entering foe. But every jealous post or ward Was now defenceless and unbarr'd, And all the passage free To one low-brow'd and vaulted room, Where squire and yoeman, page and groom, Plied their loud revelry. 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, THE LORD OF THE ISLES. 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 lu-other, as the clansman bent His sullen brow in discontent, Made brief and stern excnse ; — " Vassal, were thine the cloak of pall That decks thy Lord in bridal hall, 'Twere honour'd by her nse.'* XXXI. Proud was his tone, but calm ; his eye Had that compelling dignity, His mien that bearing haught and high, Which common spirits fear; 1 Needed nor word nor signal more, Nod, wink, and laughter, all were o'er ; Upon each other back they bore, And gazed like startled deer. Still sways their souls with that commanding- ail That dazzles, leads, yet chills the vulgar heart. What is that spell, that thus his lawless train Confess and envy, yet oppose in vain ? What should it he, that thus their faith can bind ? The power of Thought— the magic of the Mind ' Link'd with success, assumed and kept with skill That moulds another's weakness to its will ; Wields with their hands, but, still to these unknown. Makes even their mightiest deeds appear his own. Such hath it been — shall be — beneath the sun The many still must labour for the one ! Tis Nature's doom." — Btron's Corsair. THE LORD OF THE TSLES. C;5 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, With Edith there his lovely bride. And her hold 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. 1 1 "The first Canto is full of business and description, and the scenes are such as Mr. Scott's muse generally excels in. The scene between Edith and her nurse is spirited, and contains many very pleasing lines. The description of Lord Ronald's fleet, and of tbe bark endeavouring to make her way against tbe wind, more particularly of tbe last, is executed with extraordinary beauty and fidelity." — Quarterly Review. ■■- ' --^ <: ' If , ^ Canto $ctonb. ILL the bright goblet, spread the festive board '. ^ Summon the gay, the noble, and the fair! C~. - Through the loud hall in joyous concert pour'd, j Let mirth and music sound the dirge of Care! But ask thou not if Happiness be there, [f the loud laugh disguise convulsive throe, Or if the brow the bean's true livery wear ; Lift not the festal mask! — enough to know, No scene of mortal life but teems with mortal woe THE LORD OF THE IS] ES II. With Leakers' clang, with harpers' lay, With all that olden time cleem'cl gay, The Island Chieftain feasted high ; But there was in his tronbled eye A gloomy fire, and on his brow Now sudden fhish'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. Or fell but on his idle ear Like distant sounds which dreamers hear, Then would lie 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 Mark'd in brief mirth, or musing long; The vacant brow, the unlistening ear, They gave to thoughts of raptures near, And his tierce starts of sudden glee Seem'd bursts of bridegroom's ecstasy. Nor thus alone misjudged the crowd, Since lofty Lorn, suspicious, proud. I wro 11. THE LORD OT THE [SLES (n» And jealous of his honour'd line, And thai keen knight, De Argentine, (From England senl on errand high, The western league more firm to tie,) 1 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. 1 Sir Egidius, or Giles de Argentine, was one of the most accomplished knights of the period. He had served in the wars of Henry of Luxemburg with such high reputation, that he was, in popular estimation, the third worthy of the age Those to whom fame assigned precedence over him were, Henry of Luxemburg himself, and Robert Bruce. Argentine had warred in Palestine, encountered thrice with the Saracens, and had slain two antagonists in each engagement: — an easy matter, he said, for one Christian knight to slay two Pagan dogs. His death corresponded with his high character. With Aymer de Valance, Earl of Pembroke, he was ap- pointed to attend immediately upon the person of Edward II. at Bannock burn. When the day was utterly lost they forced the king from the held. De Argentine saw the king safe from immediate danger, and then took his leave of him; "God he with you, sir," he said, "it is not my wont to fly. So Baying, he turned his horse, cried bis war-cry, plunged into the midst of the combatants, and was slain. Baston, a rhyming monk who bad been brought by Edward to celebrate his expected triumph, and who was com- pelled b_\ the victors to compose a poem on his defeat, mentions with somi feeling the death of Sir Giles de Argentine : .Xi/I/ili-: .Inji-iitin, piiii'il iin-ljitt , ilulri.1 Kijiiti. Fixscieram mentem cum U mccumbere vidi. "The first line mentions the three chief requisites of a true knight, noble birth, valour, and courteousness. Few Leonine couplets can be produced that have so much sentiment. I wish that I could have collected more ample memorials concerning a character altogether different from modern manners. Sir Giles d' Argentine was a hero of romance in real life." So observes lie- excellent Lord Hailes. THE LORD OF THE ISLES IV. She watch'd — yet fear'd to meet his glance, And he shnnn'd hers; — till when by chance They met, the point of foeman's lance Had given a milder pang ! Beneath the intolerable smart lie writhed; — then sternly mann'd his heart To play his hard but destined part, And from the table sprang. "Fill me the mighty cup!" he said, "Erst own'd by royal Somerled: 1 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 yon, brave lord, and brother mine, Of Lorn, this pledge I drink — The union of Our Honse with thine. By this fair bridal-link ! " — V. ••Let it pass round!" quoth He of Lorn, • And in good time — that winded horn Musi of the Abbol tell ; 'ldie laggard monk is come at last." Lord Ronald heard the bugle-blast, Ami on the floor at random cast, The untasted goblet fell. 1 s, e Appendix, Note E. AV i-,» ii. THE LOUD OS THE ISLES. 71 Bui when the warder in his ear Tells other news, his Hither cheer Returns like son of May, When through a thunder-cloud it beams! — Lord of two hundred isles, he seems As glad of brief delay, 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 yon, fair lords, rejoice! Here, to augment our glee, (Mine 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 presences may 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 j 1 1 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 family of a Hehridean chief. — " Every family had commonly two stewards, which, in their language, were called Marischal Tach: the first of these Bervi '1 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 pro vince to assign every man at table his seat according to his crualitj ; and tt THE LORD OF THE ISLES. CANTO II. For though the costly furs That erst had deck'd their 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, 1 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. That gave to guests unnamed, unknown, A place so near their prince's throne ; But Owen Erraught said, " For forty years a seneschal, To marshal guests in bower and hall Has been my honour'd trade. this was done without one word speaking, only by drawing a score with a white rod, which this Marischal had in his hand, before the person who was bid by him to sit down : and this was necessary to prevent disorder and con- tention ; and though the Marischal might sometimes be mistaken, the master of the family incurred no censure by such an escape ; but tins custom lias been laid aside o\ late. They had also cup-hearers, who always filled and carried the cup round the company, and he himself always drank of tin.' first draught. They had likewise purse masters, who kept their money. Both these officers bad an hereditary right to their office in writing, and each of them had a town and land tor his service : some of those rights I have seen fairly written on good parchment." — Mabtin's Western Isles. 1 Dais — the great hall table— elevated a step or two above the rest of llie room. Jeffi II. THE l.OKD OF TllF. ISLES. Worship ami birth to trie are known. By look, by beaming, ami by time, Not by rurr'd robe, or broider'd zone; And 'gainst an oaken bough I'll gage my silver wand of stale, That these three strangers oft have sate In higher place than now." — ] VIII. "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 Hashes fell, Glancing among the noble 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 elder 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. The Erst entrj of the illustrious strangers into the castle of the C the accustomed and peculiar style of th poet of chivalry THE LORD OF THE ISLES. The lady too — though closely tied The mantle veil both face and eve. Her motions' grace it could not hide, Nor could 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 epiestion'd, high and brief, If, in their voyage, aught they knew Of the rebellious Scottish crew, Who to Rath-Erin's shelter drew. With Carrick's outlaw'd Chief?' 1 It must be remembered by all who have read the Scottish history, that after he had slain Comyn at Dumfries, and asserted his right to the Scottish crown, Robert Bruce was reduced to the greatest extremity by the English and their adherents, lie was crowned at Scone by the general consent of tli.> Scottish barons, hut his authority endured but a short time. According to llic jihrase said to have been used by his wife, he was for that year "a summer king, hut not a winter one." On the 29th March 1306, he was crowned king at Scone. Upon the I9th June, in the same year, he was totally defeated at Methven, near Perth : and his most important adherents, with few exceptions, were cither executed or compelled to embrace the English interest, for safety of their lives and fortunes. After this disaster, his life was that of an 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 Kildrunimie, in Aberdeenshire, where they afterward became captives to England. From Aberdeenshire, Bruce retreated to the moun- tainous parts of Breadalbane, and approached the borders of Argyleshire. THE LOUD OF THE ISLES. "> And if, their winter's exile o'er, They harbour'd still by Ulster's s1k.iv. Or launch'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 eve With look of equal scorn; — •• Of rebels have we nought to show; But if of Royal Bruce thou'dst know, There, as mentioned in the Appendix, Note D, and more fully in Note F, be 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 afforded. With great difficulty they crossed, from Rowardennan probably, to the western banks of Lochlomond, partly in a miserable boat, and partly by swimming. The valiant and loyal Karl of Lennox, to whose territories they had now found their way, welcomed them with tears, but was unable 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 remnanl of his followers, Bruce embarked for Rath-Erin, or Rachrine, the Recina of Ptolemy, a small island, lying almost opposite to the shores of Ballycastle, on the eoast of Ireland. The islanders at first lied from their new and armed guests, but upon some explanation submitted themselves to Bruce's Sovereignty. He resided among them until the approach of spring [1306 | when he again returned to Scotland, with the desperate resolution to reconquer his kingdom, or perish in the attempt. The progress of his success, from its commencement to its completion, forms the brightest period in Scottish history. 7C THE LORD OF THE ISLES. i A.NTO II. I warn thee he lias sworn, Eve thrice three days shall come and go, His banner Scottish winds shall blow, Despite each mean or mighty foe, From England's every bill and bow, To Allaster of Lorn." 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 rhyme, 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. — "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. 2 1 ''The description of the bridal feast, in the second canto, lias several animated line.-; ; but the real power and poetry of the author do not appear to us to be called out until the occasion of the Highland quarrel which follows the feast," — Monthly Review, March 1815. - "In a very different style of excellence (from that of the first three stanzas) is the triumphant and insulting song of the bard of Lorn, com- memorating the pretended victory of his chief over Robert I '.nice, in one of their rencontres. Bruce, in truth, had been set on by some of that clan, and had extricated himself from a fearful overmatch by stupendous exertions. In the struggle, however, the broach which fastened his royal mantle had been torn off by the assailants ; and it is on the subject of this trophy that the Celtic poet pours forth this wild, rapid, and spirited strain." — Jeffrey. TUB LORD OK TUT) ISLES XL [•' THE [SIZES <'•' Thence in triumph werl thou torn. By the victor hand of Lorn ! "When the gem was won and lost, Widely was the war-cry toss'd ! Rung aloud Bendourish fell, Answer'd Douch art'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. &ong contdibcb. "Vain was then the Douglas brand, 1 Vain the Campbell's vaunted hand. 1 The gallant Sir James, called tlio Good Lord Douglas, the most faithful and valiant of Bruce's adherents, was wounded at the battle of Dairy. Sir Nigel, 01 Niel Campbell, was also in that unfortunate skirmish, lie married bfarjorie, sister to Robert Bruce, and was among his most faithful followers In a manuscript account of the house of Argyle, supplied, it would seem, as materials for Archbishop Spottiswoode's History of the Church of Scotland, I find the following passage concerning Sir Niel Campbell: — "Moreover, when all the nobles in Scotland had left King Robert after his hard success, yi t this noble knight was must faithful, and shrinked not, as it is to be seen in an indenture bearing these words: — Memorandum quod cum ul> incarna- Horn Domini L308 convt ntumfuii < / concordatum intt r nobiles viros Dominum Alexandrum de Seatoun militem et Dominum Gilbertum de Hiaye militem et Dominum Kifjcilmn ('mn}>h XIX. That awful pause the stranger maid. And Edith, seized to pray for aid. As to De Argentine sin- clung. Away her veil the stranger flung, And, lovely 'mid her wild despair. Fast streain'd her eves, wide flow'd her hair. THE LORD 01' THE ISLES. "() thou, of knighthood once the flower, Sure refuge in distressful hour. Thou, who in Judah well hast fought For our dear faith, and ofl hast soughl RenowD 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 Hush like evening's setting flame Glow'd 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 '1'lie safety of my lovely bride — My bride?" — but there the accents clung In tremor to his faltering tongue. XX. Xow rose De Argentine, to claim The prisoners in his sovereign's mono, To England's crown, who, vassals sworn, 'Gainsi their liege Lord had weapon borne 88 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. ( (Such speech, I ween, was but to hide His care their safety to provide ; For knight more true in thought and deed Then Argentine ne'er spurr'd a steed) — And Ronald, who his meaning gucss'd, Seeni'd half to sanction the request. This purpose fiery Torquil broke ; — "Somewhat we've heard of England's yoke. He said, " and, in our islands, Fame Hath whisper'd of a lawful claim, That calls the Bruce fair Scotland's Lord, Though dispossess'd by foreign sword. This craves reflection — but 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, Be sure, with no consent of mine, Sliall 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, I, em their brute rage' to swell the din ; I'llK LORD OF THE [SLES 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 ; Angels have mel him on the way. Beside the blessed martyrs' hay, And by Corumba's stone. His monks have heard their hymnings Sound from the summit of Dun-Y, To cheer his penance lone, When at each cross, on girth and wold, (Their number thrice a hundred-fold,) His prayer he made, his heads 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 OUT strife decide." XXII. Scarcely this fair accord was o'er, When through the wide revolving door The black-stoled brethren wind; Twelve sandall'd monks, who relics bore, With many a torch-bearer before, And many a cross behind. Then sunk each fierce uplifted hand And dagger bright and Hashing brand Dropp'd swiftly at the sighl : 90 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. They vanish'd from the Churchman's eye, As shooting stars, that glance and die, Dart from the vault of night. XXII T. The Abbot on the threshold stood, And in his hand the holy rood ; Back on his shoulders flow'd his hood, The torch's srlariner ray THE LORD OF THE ISLES. Show'd, in its red and flashing light, \\\< wither'd cheek and amice white, His blue eye glistening cold and bright, His tresses scant and gray. " Fair Lords," he said, "Our Lady's love. And peace be with you from above, And Benedicite ! — — But what means this? no peace is here ! Do dirks unsheathed suit bridal cheer ? Or are these naked brands A seemly show for Churchman's sight, When he comes summon'd to unite Betrothed hearts and hands?" XXIV. Then, cloaking hate with fiery zeal. Proud Lorn first answer' d the appeal ; — " Thou comest, holy Man, True sons of blessed church to greet, But little deeming here to meet A wretch, beneath the ban Of Pope and Church, for murder done Even on the sacred altar-stone ! — Well mayst thou wonder we should know Such miscreant here, nor lay him low, Or dream of greeting, peace, or truce, With excommunicated Bruce ! Yet will I grant, to cud debate, Thv sainted voice decide his fate. THE LORD OV THE ISLES 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, l 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 — ISTay, no reply ! Hence! till those rebel eyes be dry." With grief the Abbot heard and saw, Yet nought relax'd his brow of awe. 1 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 bo far, that she remained there upon trial for a twelvemonth; and the bride- groom, even after this period of cohabitation, retained an option of refusing to fulfil his engagement. It is said that a desperate feud ensued between the clans of Mac-Donald of Sleate and Mac-Leod, owing to the former chief haying availed himself 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 wedding 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. THE U>UI> OF THE LSLES XXVI. Then Argentine, in England's name, 80 highly urged his sovereign's claim, He waked a spark, that, long suppress'd, [Lad smoulder'd in Lord Ronald's breast; And now, as from the flint the fire, Flash'd forth at once his generous ire. "Enough of noble blood," he said, " By English Edward had been shed, Since matchless Wallace first had been In moek'ry crown'd with wreaths of green. 1 1 Stow gives the following curious account of the trial .and execution of this celebrated patriot :— " William Wallace, who had oft-times set Scotland in great trouble, was taken and brought to London, with great numbers of men and women wondering upon him. He was lodged in the house of William Delect, a citizen of London, in Fenchurch Street. On the morrow, being the eve of St. Bartholomew, he was brought on horseback to Westminster. John Legrave and Jeffrey, knights, the mayor, sheriffs, and aldermen of London, and many others, both on horseback and on foot, accompanying him : and in the great hall at Westminster, he being placed on the south bench, crowned with laurel, for that he had said in times past that he ought to bear a crown in that hall, as it was commonly reported; and being appeached for a traitor by Sir Peter Malorie, the king's justice, he answered, that he was never traitor to the king of England ; but for other things whereof he was accused he confessed them ; and was after headed and quartered."— S row, Chr. p. 209. There is something singularly doubtful about the mode in which Wallace was taken. That he was betrayed to the English is indubitable; and popular fame charges Sir John Menteith with the indelible infamy. " Accursed," says Arnold Blair, "be the day of nativity of John de Menteith, and may bis name be struck out of the book of life." Bui John de Menteith was all 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 observed, could not be the friend and confidant of Wallace, as tradition states him to be. The truth seems to 94 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. CANTO M. And done to death by felon hand, For guarding well his lather's land. Where's Xigel Bruce ? and De la Have. And valiant Seton — where are they? Where Somcrville. the kind and free? And Fraser, flower of chivalry? 1 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 Athole shed, To soothe the tyrant's sicken'd bed'? 2 be, that Menteith, thoroughly engaged in the English interest, pursued Wallace closely, and made him prisoner through the treachery of an attendant, whom Peter Langtoft calls Jack Short. " William Waleis is nomen that master was of tlieves, Tiding to the king is comen that robbery mischeives, Sir John of Menetest sued William so nigh, He tok hini when he ween'd least, on night, his lemaii him by, That was through treason of Jack Short his man, lie was the encheson that Sir John so him ran, Jack's brother had he slain, the Walleis that is said, The more Jack was fain to do William that braid.'' From this it would appear that the infamy of seizing Wallace, must resi 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. 1 Sec Appendix, Note H. '-' John de Strathbogie, Earl of Athole, had attempted to escape out of the kingdom, but a storm east him upon the coast, when he was taken, sent in 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 body burnt. It may surprise the reader to learn, that UANTOII. THE LOBD OF THE ISLES '■'■> Ami imisi his word, till dying day, Be noughl bul quarter, hang, and slay! — ' Thou Erown'st, De Argentine, — My gage Is prompt to prove the strife I wage." — tins was a mitigated punishment ; for in respect thai his mother was a grand daughter of King John, hy 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 extremely ill, received great ease from the news that his relative was ap- prehended. " Quo audito, ll( ■>■ - 1 nglice, etsi gravistimo morho tunc langueret, levius tamen tulit dohrem." To this singular expression the text alludes. 1 This alludes to a passage in Barbour, singularly expressive of the vin dictive spirit of Edward I. The prisoners taken at the Castle of Kildrummie had surrendered upon condition that they should be at King Edward's dis posal. " But his will," says Barbour, " was always evil toward Scottishmen." The news of the surrender of Kildrummie arrived when he was in his mortal sickness at Burgh-upon-Sands. " And when he to the death was near, The folk that at Kildromy wel- come with prisoners that they had tanc, And syne to the king are gane. And for to comfort him they tanld How they the eastell 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 look'd he angryly them to, He said, grinning, 'HANGS AND draws,' That was wonder of sic saws, That he, 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 -fast ly dooms all thin- To have mercy for his crying, Off him that, throw his felony, Into sic point had no mercy ?" There was much truth in the Leonine couplet, with which .Matthew ol Westminster concludes his encomium on the first Edward: "Seotos Edwardus, dum \i\it. suppeaitavit, Tenuit, afflixit, deprcssit, dilauiavit." 96 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. canto II. XXVII. "Nor deem," said stout Dun vegan's knight, l - That thou shalt brave alone the fight ! By saints of isle and mainland both, By Woden wild, (my grandsire's oath,) 1 Let Rome and England do their worst, Howe'er attainted or accursed, If Bruce shall e'er find friends again, Once more to brave a battle plain, If Douglas 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, Torquil' s rude thought and stubborn will Smack of the wild Norwegian still ; Nor will 1 barter Freedom's cause For England's wealth, or Rome's applause." XXVIII. The Abbot seem'd with eve severe The hardy Chieftain's speech to hear ; Then on King Robert turn'd the Monk, But twice his courage came and sunk, 1 The MacLeods, and most other distinguished Hebridean families, were oi Scandinavian extraction, and some were late or imperfect converts to Christianity. The family names of Torquil, Thormod, etc., are all Norwegian. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. Confronted with the hero's look; Twice fell his eye, his accents shook ; At length, resolved in tone and brow, Sternly he questional him — "And thou, Unhappy ! what hast thou to plead, Why I denounce not on thy deed That awful doom which 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 deafens 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, Rends Honour's scutcheon from thy hearse, Stills o'er thy bier the holy verse, 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 unhallowed, ruthless deed." — 98 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. CANTO II. 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 Comyn 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 evil 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 Bed Comyn's soul, While I the blessed cross advance, And expiate this unhappy chance, In Falestine, with sword and lance. 1 But, while content the church should know My conscience owns the debt I owe, 1 Bruce uniformly professed, and probably felt, compunction for having violated the sanctuary of the church by the slaughter of Comyn; and finally, in liis last hums, in testimony of his faith, penitence, and zeal, he requested .lames Lord Douglas to carry his heart to Jerusalem, to be there deposited in tin- Holy Sepulchre. vm.. ti. THE LOKD OF THE [SLES 99 Unto De Argentine and Lorn The name of traitor I return, Bid them defiance stern and high, And give them in their throats the lie! These brief words spoke, I speak no more. I>o what thou wilt; my shrift is o'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 undistinguish'd accents broke The awful silence ere he spoke. XXXI. u De Bruce ! I rose with purpose dread To speak my curse upon thy head, 1 1 So soon as the notice of Comyn's slaughter reached Rome, Bruce and his adherents wen- excommunicated. It was published first by the Arch- bishop of York, and renewed at different times, particularly by Lambyrton, Bishop of St. Andrews, in 1308 : but it does not appear to have answered the purpose which the English monarch expected. Indeed, tin- reasons which it may be difficult to trace, the thunders of [tome descended upon the Seottisli mountains with less effect than in more fertile countries. Probabh 1(10 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. < AMTO n. 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 controll'd, 1 I feel within mine aged breast A power that will not be repressed. 2 It prompts my voice, it swells my veins, It burns, it maddens, it constrains ! — De Bruce, thy sacrilegious blow Hath at God's altar slain thy foe : O'ermaster'd yet by high behest, I bless thee, and thou shalt be bless'd !" He spoke, and o'er the astonished throng Was silence, awful, deep, and long. XXXII. Again that light has fired his eye, Again his form swells bold and high, The broken voice of age is gone, 'Tis vigorous manhood's lofty tone : — "Thrice vancpiish'd on the battle plain. Thy followers slaughter'd, fled, or ta'en, A hunted wanderer on the wild, On foreign shores a man exil'd, 3 the comparative poverty of the benefices occasioned that fewer foreign clergy settled in Scotland ; and the interests of the native churchmen were linked with that of their country. Many of the Scottish prelates, Lamhyrton the primate particularly, declared for Bruce, while he was yet under the ban of the church, although he afterwards again changed sides. 1 See the Book of Numbers, chaps, xxiii. and xxiw 2 See Appendix, Note I. 3 See Appendix, Note K. THE LORD OK THE [SLES 101 Disown'd, deserted, and distress'd, 1 I bless thee, and thou shalt be bless'd ! Bless'd in the hall and in the field, Under the mantle as the shield. 1 " On this transcendent passage we shall only remark, that of the gloomy part of the prophecy we hear nothing more through the whole of the poem, ami though the Ahhot informs the King that he shall he ' On foreign shores a man exiled,' the poet never speaks of him hut as resident in Scotland, up to the period of the battle of Bannockburn."— Critical Review . 02 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. CANTO II. Avenger of thy country's shame, Kestorer 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 Of earliest speech, to falter Bruce. Go, then, triumphant ! sweep along Thy course, the theme of many a song ! 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 receive the exhausted Monk, As breathless in their arms he sunk. Punctual his orders to obey, The train refused all longer stay, Embark' d, raised sail, and bore away. 1 1 "The conception and execution of these stanzas constitute excellence which it would be difficult to match from any other part of the poem. The surprise is grand and perfect. Tin- monk, struck with the heroism of Robert, foregoes the intended anathema, and breaks out into a prophetic annunciation ,.l' his final triumph over all his enemies, and the veneration in which his name will be held by posterity. These stanzas, which conclude the second CAMT0 1I. THE LORD 01? THE [SLES 103 canto, derive their chief title to encomium from the emphatic Felicity of their burden, ' I bless thee, and thou sluilt be blessed . ' in which few and simple words, following, as they do, a series of predicated ills, there is an energy that instantaneously appeals to the heart, and sui pass* -. all to nothing, the results of passages less happy in their application, though more laboured and tortuous in their construction." — Critical li< m w " The story, of the second canto exhibits fewer of Mr. Scott's characteristical beauties than of his characteristical faults. The scene itself is not of a very edifying description ; nor is the want of agreeableness in the subject com- pensated by any detached merit in the details. Of the language and versifi- cation in many parts, it is hardly possible to speak favourably. The same must be said of the speeches which the different characters address to each other. The rude vehemence which they display seems to consist much more in the loudness and gesticulation with which the speakers express themselves, than in the force and energy of their sentiments, which, for the most part, are such as the barbarous chiefs, to whom they are attributed, might, without any great premeditation, either as to the thought or language, have actually uttered. To find language and sentiments proportioned to characters of such extraordinary dimensions as the agents in the poems of Homer and Milton, is indeed an admirable effort of genius; but to make such as we meet with in the epic poetry of the present day, persons often below the middle size, and never very much above it, merely speak in character, is not likely to occasion either much difficulty to the poet, or much pleasure to the reader. As an example, we might adduce the speech of stout Dunvegan's knight, stanza xxvii., which is not the less wanting in taste, because it is natural and characteristic." — Quarterly Review. --^'i -T" Canto CMrb. | AST 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 -lead Sunk <»ii the wood, the meadow, and the wold? The rye-grass shakes not on the sod-built 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 groaning hill ? 108 illK LORD OF THE LSLES II. Artornish ! such a silence sunk Upon thy halls, when that grey 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, ( Hose pour'd in many an anxious ear, The solemn stillness broke ; 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 clench'd, his head he shook, And sternly flung apart ; — •• And deem'st thou me so mean of mood. As to forget the mortal fend, And clasp the hand with blood imbrued From my dear Kinsman's heart? [g this thy rede? — a due return For ancient league and friendship sworn ! Bui well our mountain proverb shows The faith of EslesmeD ebbs and flows. Be it even so — believe, ere longj Tin: LORD OF I'lir. ISLES He thai now bears shall wreak the wrong'. Call Edith— call the Maid of Lorn ! My sister, slaves! — for further scorn, Be sine nor she nor I will stay. — Away, De Argentine, away! — We nor ally nor brother know, In Brace's friend, or England's Inc.' IV. i'.ut who the Chieftain's rage can tell, When, sought from lowest dungeon cell To highest tower the castle round, No Lady Edith was there found ! 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 sou-lit the Abbot's bark. — " Man every galley ! — fly — pursue ! The priest his treachery shall rue ! Aye, and the time shall quickly come, When we shall hear the thanks that Rome Will pay his feigned prophecy!" Such was tierce Lorn's indignant en : And ( iormac Doll in haste obey'd, Hoisted his sail, his anchor weigh'd, THE LORD OV THE [SLES (For, glad of each pretext for spoil, A pirate sworn was Cormac Doil.) 1 But < fliers, lingering-, spoke apart, — " The maid has given her maiden heart To Eonald of the Isles, And, fearful lest her brother's word Bestow her on that English Lord, She seeks Tona's piles, And wisely deems it best to dwell A votaress in the holy cell, Until these fends so fierce and fell The Abbot reconciles." As, impotent of ire, the hall Echoed to Lorn's impatient call, "My horse, my mantle, and my train ! Let none who honours Lorn remain !" — I Jourteous, but stern, a bold request To Bruce De Argentine express'd. "Lord Earl," he said, — "I cannot chuse But yield such title to the Bruce, Though name and earldom both arc gone. 1 A sort of persons common in the isles, as may be easily believed, until the introduction of civil polity. Witness the Dean of the Isles' account of Ronay. "At the north end of Eaarsay, be half myle of sea frae it. layes ane ile callil Ronay, maire thru a myle in lengthe, full of wood and heddir, with ane havein for heiland galeys in the middis of it, and tlic same havein is guid for fostering of thieves, ruggairs and reivairs, till a nail, upon the peilling and spulzeing of poor pepill. Tins ile perteins to M'Gillychallan ofRaarsay by force, and to the bishope of the iles be heritage." — Sib Donald Monro's Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1805, p. 22. THE LOUD OF THE ISLES Since he braced rebel's armour on — But, Karl or Serf — rude phrase was thine Of late, and launch'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 tight : And 1 will say, as still I've said. Though by ambition far misled, Thou art a noble knight." — VI. ••And [," the princely Bruce replied, "Might term it stain on knighthood's pride. That the bright sword of Argentine Should in a tyrant's quarrel shine; lint, for your brave request, Be sure the hononr'd pledge you gave In every battle-field shall wave Upon my helmet-crest ; Believe, that if my hasty tongue llatli done thine honour causeless wrong. It shall be w.dl redress'd. Not dearer to my sold was glove, Bestow'd in youth by lady's love, Than this which thou hast given ! Thus, then, my noble foe I greel ; THE \X)KD 01' THE [SEES. CANTO in. Health and high fortune till we meet, And then — what pleases Heaven." VII. Thus parted they — for now, with sound Like waves roll'd hack 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 tendence led Chieftain and knight to bower and bed, And beads were told, and aves said, And soon they sunk away IiiIm such sleep, as wont to shed ( >blivion on the weary head, After a -toilsome day. VIII. Bui soon uproused, the monarch cried To Edward slumbering bv his side, THE LORD or Till: LSLES '• Awake, or sleep for aye ! Even now there jarr'd a secret door — A taper lighl gleams on the floor — Up, Edward, up, 1 say ! Some one glides in like midnight ghost — Nay, strike not! 'tis our noble Host." Advancing then his taper's frame, Ronald stept forth, and with him came Dnnvegan's chief — each bent the knee To Bruce in sign of fealty, 114 THE LORD 01 THE ISLES. CANTO III. And proffer'd him his sword, And hail'd him, in «*i monarch's style, As king of mainland and of isle. And Scotland's rightful lord. "And 0," 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 1 strove against thy claim, Paid homage just and true?" — "Alas! dear youth, the unhappy time,'' Answer'd the Bruce, "must hear 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. 1 I have followed the vulgar and inaccurate tradition, that Bruce fought against Wallace, ami the array of Scotland, at the fatal battle of Falkirk. The story, which seems to have no better authority than that of Blind Harry, bears, that having made much slaughter during the engagement, he sat down to dine with the conquerors without washing the filthy witness from his hands. " Easting he was, and had been in great need, Blooded were all his weapons and his weed ; Southeron lords scom'd him in terms rude, And said, Behold yon Scot eats his own blood. " Then rued he sore, for reason bad be know a That blood and land alike should be his own; With them he long was, ere he got away, linl contrail' Scots lie fought not from that day." 'I be accounf given li_\ most of our historians, of the conversation between Bruce and Wallace over the Canon river, is equally apocryphal. There is CANTO 111. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. LlO IX. They proffer'd aid, by arms and might, To repossess him in his right ; But well their counsels must he weigh'd, Ere hanners raised and musters made, For English hire and Lorn's intrigues Bound many chiefs in southern leagues. In answer, Bruce his purpose hold 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 tempest toss'cl, Our barks dispersed, our purpose cross'd, 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 grandson of the competitor, with whom he has been sometimes confounded. Lord Hailes has well described, and in some degree apologized for, the earlier part of his life.— " His grandfather, the competitor, had patiently acquiesced 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 partisan of Edward, and the vicegerent of Baliol, he Beems to have forgotten or stilled his pretensions to the crown. But his character developed itself by degrees, and in maimer age became firm and Consistent." — Aniuds of Scotland, p. 290, quarto, London, 1770. 116 THE LOUD OE THE ISLES CANTO Ilfl Mine own, a hostile sail to slum, Far from her destined course had run. When that wise will which masters ours, Compell'd us to your friendly towers." X. Then Torquil spoke : " The time craves speed ! We must not linger in our deed, But instant pray onr Sovereign Liege, To shun the perils of a siege. The vengeful Lorn, with all his powers. Lies hut too near Artornish towers, And England's light-armed vessels ride, Xnt distant far, the waves of Clyde, Prompt at these tidings to unmoor, And sweep each strait and guard each shore. Then, till this fresh alarm pass hy, Secret and safe my Liege must lie In the far hounds of friendly Skye, Torquil thy pilot and thy guide." — "Not so, brave Chieftain," Ronald cried; " Myself will on my Sovereign wait, Ami raise in arms the men of Sleate, Whilst thou, renown'd where chiefs debate, Shalt sway their suuls by counsel sage, And awe them by thy locks of age." — — "And if my words in weight shall fail, This ponderous sword shall turn the scale." — canto ill. THE LOED OF THE ISLES. XL "The scheme," said Bruce, "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 need to cheer her and defend, And muster up each scatter'd friend." — Here seem'd it as Lord Ronald's ear Would other counsel giadlier hear ; But, all achieved as soon as plann'd, Both harks, in secret arm'd and mann'd, From out the haven bore ; On different voyage forth they ply, This fur the coast of winged Skye, And that for Erin's shore. XII. With Bruce and Ronald hides the tale. To favouring winds they gave the sail, Till Mull's dark headlands scarce they knew, And Ardnamurchan'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 livelong day and night, Nor till the dawning had a sight, I >f skve's romantic shore. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. CANTO 111. 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 Scavigh 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 j 1 No human foot comes here, And, milieu these adverse breezes blow. If my good Liege love hunter's bow, 1 Sou Appendix, Note I,. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. t:::i What hinders that on land we go, And strike a mountain-deer? Allan, my page, shall with us wend; A Imiw lull deftly can he bend, And, if we meet a herd, may send A shaft shall mend our cheer." THE LORD OF THE I I Then each took bow and bolts in hand. Their row-boat launch'd and leapt to land, And left their skirl' and train, Where a wild stream, with headlong shock, < tame 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 lead ; 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 sul 'lime 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 eve has known canto in. THE LOED OK THE ISLES. 1-1 A scene so stem as that dread hike With its dark ledge of barren st< ne. 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. 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, Xor 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. 1 1 The Quarterly Reviewer says, "This picture of barren desolation is admirably touched ; " and if the opinion of Mr. Turner be worth anything, •■Xn words could have given a truer picture of this, one of the wildest of Nature's landscapes." Mr. Turner adds, however, that hi' dissents in one particular; hut for on> or two I nit- "I' grass he must have broken his neck, having slipped when trying to attain the best position for taking the view which embellishes this volume. rill. LOKD 01 THE ISLES. c 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 fled 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, Vet trembling like the Druid's stone On its precarious base. The evening mists, with ceaseless change, Xow clothed the mountains' lofty range, Now left their foreheads hare, And round the skirts their mantle 1'url'd. Or on the sable waters curl'd, Or on the eddying breezes whirl'd, Dispersed in middle air. And oft, condensed, at once they lower, When, brief and tierce, the mountain shower Pours like a torrent down. And when return the sun's glad 1 'earns, Whiten'd with foam a thousand streams Leap from the mountain's crow a. T1IK l,OKI> OP Tlil [SLE! M ' :■' XVI. "This lake," said Bruce, "whose barriers drear Are precipices sharp and sheer, Yielding no track for gnat or deer, Save the black shelves we tread, Bow term you it s 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 shivered head?" — "Coriskin call the dark lake's name, Coolin the ridge, as bards proclaim, the lord of the isles. CANTO 111. From old Cuehullin, chief of fame. But bards, familiar in our isles Rather with Nature's frowns than smiles. Full oft their careless humours please By sportive names from scenes like these. I would old Torquil were to show Ilis maidens with their breasts of snow, Or that my noble Liege were nigh To here 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. - ' XVII. Ajiswer'd the Brace, "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 lade, 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 placed, His soul a rock, his heart a waste'? 1 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 he? But late you said No steps these desert regions tread?" — XVIII. "So said I — and believed in sooth, ' ; Ronald replied, " I spoke the truth. 1 " He who ascends to mountain-tops, shall find The loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds and snow : He who surpasses or subdues mankind, Must look down on the hate of those below. Though high above the sun of glory glow, And far beneath the earth and ocean spread, Round him are icy rocks, and loudly blow Contending trin[icsts on his naked head, And thus reward the toils which to those suimnils led.' ChUde Harold, < !a THE LORD OF THE [SLES Vet now I 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 let it be ; I've faced worse odds than five to three — — But the pour page can little aid ; Then he ottr battle thus array'd, If our free passage they contest ; Cope thon 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 fall. But islesmen soon to soldiers grow. Allan has sword as well as how. And were my Monarch's order given, Two shafts should make our number even."— •■ Xo ! not to save my life !" he said ; " 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:' 1 See Appendix, Note M. They moved with half-resolved pace, And bent on earth each gloomy face. The foremost two were fair array'd, With brogue and bonnet, trews and plaid, 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 Truce ; " In deserts when they meet, Men pass not as in peaceful street.' Still, at his stern command, they stood, And proffered 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." — •• ll' from the sea. where lies your bark?" — •■ Ten fathom deep in ocean dark ! TIE LORD OF THE ISLES. C. Wreck'd yesternight : but we are men. Who little sense of peril ken. The shades come down — the day is shut — Will y.m go with us to our hut?" — •• ( >ur vessel waits us in the bay ; Thanks for your proffer — have good-day." — •• Was that your galley, then, which rode Not far from shore when evening glow'd?"— .. i t wa s." — '"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 re 1 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 ; •• Nor rests there light enough to show If this their tale be true or no. The men seem bred of churlish kind. Vet mellow nuts have hardest rind ; We will go with them — 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. — THE LORD OF THE [SLES Show us the path o'er crag and stone, And we will follow yon; — lead on." XXII. They reach'd the dreary cabin, made Of sails against a rock display'd, And there, on entering, found A slender boy, whose form and mien 111 suited with such savage scene, 130 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. CA In cap and cloak of velvet green, Low scaled on the ground. His garb was such as minstrels wear, Dark was his hue, and dark Ids hair, His youthful cheek was marr'd by cave, His eyes in sorrow drown 'd. "Whence this poor hoy?" — 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 neck with blushes burn'd XXIII. "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 move 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's shroud, Makes blither melody." — " Hath he, then, sense of spoken sound?" "Aye; so his mother bade us know, THE LORD OF THE ISLES A crone in our late shipwreck drown'd, And hence the silly stripling's woe. More of the youth I cannoi say, Our captive but 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 turu'd his head, And one quick glance to Ronald sued. 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 lire ; 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 hist. 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. Tims, for our separate use, good friend. We'll hold this hut's remoter end."— "A churlish vow," the eldest said. •• And hard, methinks, to ho obey'd* 132 THE LORD 01 THE ISLES How say you, if, to wreak the scorn That pays our kindness harsh return. We should refuse to share our meal"?" — " Then say we, that our swords are steel ! And our vow "binds us not to last, 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 cpiarters 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 eyebrows shagg'd and gray. TlIK LORD OF THE ISLES 133 The younger, too, who seem'd his sou. Ead that dark look the timid shun ; The half-clad serfs behind them sale. And SCOwl'd a glare 'twixt fear and hah — Till all, as darkness onward crept. Couch'd down, and seem'd to sleep, or slept. Nor he, that boy, whose powerless tongue Must trust his eyes to wail his wrong, A longer watch of sorrow made. But stretch'd his limbs to slumber hud. 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 lust : 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 feci she fell. Nor less when, placed in princely selle, she glanced on him with favouring eye-. Ai Wbodstocke when he won the prize. Nor, fair in joy, in sorrow fair. In pride of place as 'mid despair. THE LORD OF THE ISLE-- CANTO Hi. Must she alone engross his rare. His thoughts I*' 1 1 is betrothed bride. To Edith, turn — how decide, When here bis love and heart are given. And there his faith stands plight to Heaven ! No drowsy ward 'tis bis 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. 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. Xo 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: rHE LOUD OT THE ISLES. Then watch'd the page — to Qeedful 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'd pine; Then gazed awhile, where silent laid Their hosts were shrouded by the plaid. 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 lie of his mother's tower. His little sisters' greenwood Lower, How there the Easter-gambols pass, And of Dan Joseph's lengthen'd mass. But still before his weary eye In rays prolong'd the blazes die — Again he roused him — on the lake I.ook'd forth, where now the twilight-flake Of pale cold dawn began to wake. On Coolin's cliffs the mist lay fniTd, 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 slumbrous sound — he turn'd To tales at which his youth had burn'd, 136 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. 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. 1 Thither in fancy rapt he flies, And on his sight the vaults arise; 1 Imagination can hardly conceive anything more beautiful than the ctraordinary 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 lias been published by I>r. Mac-Leay of Oban. The general impression may perhaps be gathered from the following extract from a journal, 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 till'. LORD OF THE fSLES That hut's dark walls he sees no more. His foot is (Mi the marble floor, And o'er his head the dazzling spars Gleam like a firmament of stars ! is rude and unpromising; but the light of the torches, with which we were provided, was soon reflected from the root', flour, and walls, which seem as i! they were sheeted with marble, partly smooth, partly rough with frost-work and rustic ornaments, and partly seeming to be wrought into statuary. The floor forms a steep and difficult ascent, and might he fancifully compared to a sheet of water, which, while it rushed whitening and foaming down a declivity, had been suddenly arrested and consolidated by the spell of an enchanter. Upon attaining the summit of this ascent, the cave opens into a splendid gallery, adorned with the most dazzling crystallizations, and finally descends with rapidity to the brink of a pool, of the most limpid water, about four or five yards broad. There opens beyond 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 enchantment of Maccalister's cave terminates with this 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 resembling white marble, and distinguished by the depth ami purity of its waters, might have been the bathing grotto of a naiad. The groups ol combined figures projecting, or embossed, by which the pool is surrounded. are exquisitely elegant and fanciful. A statuary might catch beautiful bints from the singular and romantic disposition of those stalactites. There is ire a form, or group, on which active fancy may mil trace figures or grot sque ornaments, which have been gradually moulded in this cavern 1 \ the dropping of the calcareous water hardening into petrifactions. Main of those fine groups have been injured by the senseless rage of appropriation of recent tourists: and the grotto has lost (I am informed), through the smoke of torches, something of that vivid silver tint which was originally one ol' its chief distinction-. But enough of beauty remains to com] I D ate lor all that may be lost." — Mr. Mac-Allister of Strathaird has, with great propriety built up the exterior entrance to this cave, in order that strangers ni.o enti i properly attended by a guide, to prevent any repetition of the wanton and selfish injury which this singular s< en.' has aln adj sustained 138 THE LOUD OF THE ISLES. CANTO HI; — 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, . . . Murmurs his master's name, . . . and dies ! l 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 cross'd the murderer's path, And venged young Allan well ! The spatter'd brain and bubbling blood Hiss'd on the half-extinguish'd 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 overthrown. But while Lord Ronald's dagger drank The life-blood from his panting flank, 1 ■• Young Allan's turn (to watch) comes last, which gives the poet the opportunity of marking, in the most natural and happy manner, that insen- sible transition from the reality of waking thoughts, to the fanciful visions of slumber, and that delusive power of the imagination which so blends the confines of these separate states, as to deceive and sport with the efforts even of determined vigilance." — British Critic, February 1815. THE LORD OF THE [SLES. The Father-ruffian of the band Behind him rears a coward hancl ! — for a moment's aid, Till Bruce, who deals no double blow, 1 Dash to the earth another foe, Ahove his comrade laid! — skull, On witnessing the disinterment ofBruce's remains a1 Dunfermline, in ' says Sir Walter, "many people shed tears; for there was the wasted which once was the head that thought so wisely and boldly for his 140 THE LORD OF THE [SLES canto hi. 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 knife, Against offenceless stranger's life?" — "No stranger thou!" with accent fell, Murmur'd the wretch ; " I know thee well ; And know thee for the foeman sworn Of my high chief, the mighty Lorn." — " 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 Mood runs cold . . . No more 1 know than I have told. We found him in a bark we soughl With different purpose . . . and I thought Fate cut him short ; in blood and broil, As he had lived, died Cormac Doil. country's deliverance; ami there was the dry bone, which had once been the sturdy arm that killed Sir Henry le Bohun, between the two annii s, ai a single blow, on the evening before the battle of Bannockhurn."— Tales of a Grandfather. First Series, vol. i. p. 255. canto in. I'lIK LORD OF THE ISLES. 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 elasps 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. • v 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 ( >f wayward lot like mine ; A landless prince, whose wandering life Is but one scene of blood and strife — Vet 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 ; Conic, wend we hence — the day lias broke. 142 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. CANTO in. 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 hade sad farewell To Allan :— " Who shall tell this tale," He said, " in halls 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 captive moves behind. " Tbis canto is full of beauties ; the first part of it, containing the con- ference of the cbiefs in Brace's chamber, might perhaps have been abridged, because the discussion of a mere matter of business is unsuited for poetry ; Lut the remainder of the canto is unobjectionable; the scenery in which it is laid excites the imagination; ami the cave scene affords many opportunities for the poet, of which Mr. Send has very successfully availed himself. The canto 111 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. I 13 description of Allan's watch is particularly pleasing; indeed, the manner in which ho is made to tall asleep, mingling the scenes of which be was thinking, with the scene around him, and then mingling with his dreams, the captive's sudden scream, is, we think, among the must happy passages of the whole poem." — Quart, rly ll< vu vo. "We scarcely know whether we could have selected a passage from the poem that will more fairly illustrate its general merits and pervading blemishes than the one which we have just quoted (stanzas xxxi. ami x.wii.) The same happy mixture of moral remark and vivid painting of dramatic situations, frequently occurs, and is as frequently debased by prosaic expres sions and couplets, and by every variety of ungrammatical license, or even barbarism. Our readers, in short, will immediately here discover the power- ful band that has so often presented them with descriptions calculated a1 once tu exalt and animate their thoughts, and to lower and deaden the language which is their vehicle; but, as we have before observed again and again, we believe, Mr. Scott is inaccessible even to the mildest ami the most just reproof on this subject. We really believe that he cannot write correct English ; and we therefore dismiss him as an incurable, witli un- feigned compassion for this one fault, and with the highest admiration of his many redeeming virtues." — Monthly Review. £4fW • URfH THE LORD OF THE ISLES. And see, brave Ronald, — See him darl 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 lie 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 — 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 gallant band, Waits but thy coming and command To waft them o'er to Carrick strand. There are blithe news! — but mark the cloy Edward, the deadliest of our foes. As with his host he northward pass'd, Hath on the Borders breathed his last." IV. Still stood the Bruce — his steady cheek Was little wont his joy to speak, But then his colour rose ; 150 THE LOUD OF THE ISLES. CANTO IV. " Now, Scotland ! shortly shalt 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; 1 I took my knighthood at his hand, 1 The generosity which does justice to the character of an enemy, often marks Bruce's sentiments, as recorded by the faithful Barbour. He seldom mentions a fallen enemy without praising such good qualities as he might possess. I shall 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 of 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 infor- mation, Bruce, resorting to a small thicket at a distance from his men, with only a single page to attend him, met the traitor, accompanied by two of his sons. They approached him witli their wonted familiarity, but Bruce, taking 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 ser- vice, he, after a second warning, shot the father with the arrow ; and being assaulted successively by the two sons, despatched 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-handed sword. " 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 came fast running, And said, ' Our lord might lowyt i be, ■ Lauded. That granted you might and poweste 3 - Pawn-. To fell the felony and the pride, Of three in so little tide.' The king said, ' So our lord me see, They have been worthy men all three, Had they not been full of treason : But that made their confusion."'— Bakboue's Bruce, b. v. p. 152. ShftTRANGEK I if e'er thine anient step hath traced - The northern realms of ancienl Caledon, Where the proud Queen of Wilderness hath placed, Ep By lake and cataract, her lonely throne ; Sublime but sad delight thy soul hath known, ^"■' Gazing on pathless glen and mountain high, t Listing where from the cliffs the torrents thrown Mingle their erlx.es with the eagle's cry, \ud with the sounding lake, and with the moaning sky. 1 2 148 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. CANTO IV. 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 ami mean ; Glad sight, its curling wreath of smoke to spy, Glad sound, its cock's blithe carol would have been, Or children whooping wild beneath the willows green. Such arc the scenes, where savage grandeur wakes An awful thrill that softens into sighs ; Such feelings rouse them by dim Kannoch'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 Coriskin roar. ' II. Through such wild scenes the champion pass'd, When bold halloo and bugle-blast Upon the breeze came loud and fast, "There," said the Bruce, "rung Edward's horn ! What can have caused such brief return ? 1 " That Mr. Scott can occasionally clothe the grandeur "I' his thought in the majesty of expression, unohscured with the jargon of antiquated ballads, and unencumbered by the awkwardness of rugged expression, or harsh involution, we can with pleasure acknowledge ; a liner specimen cannot perhaps he exhibited than in this passage." — Dritixli Critic. THE LOUD OF THE ISLES. 151 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 hounds of mortal fate. And dies not with the dead ! Such hate was his on Solway's strand, When vengeance clench'd his palsied hand. That pointed yet to Scotland's land, 1 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 hade his bones to Scotland's coast Be home 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! - 1 See Appendix, Note N 152 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. CANTO IV. V. "Let women, Edward, war with words, With curses monks, hut men with swords : Nor doubt of living foes, to sate Deepest revenge and deadliest hate. 1 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 Eonald share our course, Or stay to raise his island force?" — " Come weal, come woe, by Brace's side," 1 " The Bruce was, unquestionably, of a temper never surpassed for its humanity, munificence, and nobleness ; yet, to represent him sorrowing over the death of the first Plantagenet, after the repeated and tremendous ills indicted by that man on Scotland— the patriot Wallace murdered by his order, as well as the royal race of Wales, ami the very brothers of Tbe Bruce, slaughtered by his command — to represent the just and generous Piobert, we repeat, feeling an instant's compassion for the sudden fate of a miscreant like this, is, we are compelled to say it, so monstrous, and in a Scottish poet, so unnatural a violation of truth and decency, not to say patriotism, that we are really astonished that the author could have conceived the idea, much more that he could suffer bis pen to record it. This wretched abasement on tbe part of Tbe Bruce, is further heightened by the King's half-reprehension of Prince Edward's noble and stern expression of undying hatred against his country's spoiler, and bis family's assassin." — Critical "Review. I ill. LORD 01 THE IS I - Replied the chief, "will Ronald bide. And since two galleys yonder ride, Be mine, so please my liege, dismiss'd To wake to arms the clans of Hist, And all who hear the Minche's roar, On the Long Island's lonely shore. The nearer Isles, with slight delay. Ourselves may summon in our way ; \nd soon on Arran's shore shall meet, With Torquil's aid, a gallant fleet, [f aught avails their Chieftain's hesi Among the islesmen of the west." VI. 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 sal de lake pass'd slow, — Fil scene I'm' such a sighi 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 < loolin gave, \ [54 THE LOUD OF THE ISLES C Till high upon his misty side Languish'd the mournful notes, and died. For never sounds, by mortal made, Attain'd his high and haggard head. That echoes but the tempest's moan. Or the deep thunder's rending groan. VII. Merrily, merrily hounds the hark, She hounds before the gale, The mountain breeze from Ben-na-darch Is joyous in her sail ! With fluttering sound like laughter hoarse, The cords and canvas strain, The waves, divided by her force. In rippling eddies chased her course, As if they laugh'd again. N'oi down the breeze more blithely Hew. Skimming the wave, the light sea -mew. Than the gay galley bore Her course upon that favouring wind. \nd Coolin's cresl has sunk behind, And Slapin's cavern'd shore. 'Twas then that warlike signals wake Dunscaith's dark lowers and Eisord's lake, And soon, from Cavilgamch's head. I hick wreaths of eddying smoke were spread: A summons these of war ami wrath To the brave clans of Sleal and Strath, Ami. ready at the sight, I HE LORD 01>' THE Each warrior to his weapons sprung, And targe upon his shoulder flung, Impatient tor the fight. Mac-Kinnon's chief in warfare gray. Had charge to muster their array, And guide their harks to Brodick-Bay. VIII. Signal of Ronald's high command, A beacon gleam'd o'er sea and land, From ('anna's tower, that, sleep and gray, Like falcon-nest o'erhangs the bay. 1 1 The little island el' Canna, or Cannay, adjoins to those of Rum and Muick, with which it forms one parish. In a pretty bay opening toward the east there is a lofty and slender rocs .Marl,,., 1 , from the shore. Opon 156 MJf LORD OF THE ISLES. canto iv Seek nol 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 lei 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, how with their Chieftain came In ancient times, a foreign dame To yonder turret gray. 1 Stern was her Lord's suspicious mind. Who in so rude a jail confined So soft and fair a thrall ! And ofl when moon on ocean slepl That lovely lady sate and wepl Upon the castle wall, And turn'd her eye to southern climes. And thought perchance of happier limes. And touch'd her lute by fits, and sung Wild ditties in her native tongue tin 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 Lord of the tsles, confined a beautiful lady, of whom he was jealous. The ruins arc 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. 1 "The stanzas which follow are, we think, touchingly beautiful, and breathe a sweet and melancholy tenderness, perfectly suitable to the sad tale which they record." — Critical Review. And still, when on the cliff and ba\ Placid and pale the moonbeams play, And every breeze is mnte, Upon the lone Hebridean's ear Steals a strange pleasure mix'd with fear, While from that cliff he seems to hear The murmur of a lute, And sounds, as of a captive lone, Thai mourns her woes in tongue unknowi Strange Is the tale — bul all too long Already hath it staid the song — Yet who may pass them by, 'That crag and towel' in ruins gray, Xor to their hapless tenant pay The tribute of a sigh ! IX. Merrily, merrily hounds the hark O'er the broad ocean driven, Ber path by Ronin's mountain's dark The steersman's band hath given. 158 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. \inl Pionin's mountains dark have sent Their hunters to the shore, 1 And each his ashen bow unbent, And gave his pastime o'er, And at the Island Lord's command, For hunting spear took warrior's brand. On Scooreigg next a warning light Summon'd her warriors to the fight ; A numerous race, ere stern Macleod O'er their bleak shores in vengeance strode, 2 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 ! 1 Ronin (popularly called Rum, a name which a poet 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 nearly ex- tirpated, it still deserves the description bestowed by the archdean of the Mes, ■• Ronin, sixteen myle north-wast from the ile of Coll, lyes ane ile i allil Ronin Tie, of sixteen myle long, and six in bredthe in the narrowest, ane forest of heigh mountains, and abundance of little deir in it, quhilk deir will never he slane dounewith, hut the principal saittis man be in the height of the hill, because die deir will he callit upwarl ay he the tainchell, or without tyncliel they will pass upwart perforce. In this ile will he gotten about Britane als many wild nests upon the plane mure as men pleasis to gadder, and yel bj resson the fowls hes few \<< start them except deir. Tin's ile lyes from the west to the eist in lenth, ami pertains to M'Kenabrey of Colla. Many solan geese are in this ile." — Moitro's Description of the Western TsU s, p. is. 2 See Appendix, Note < ». The warrior threat, the infant's plain, The mother's screams, were heard in vain The vengeful Chief maintains his lives. Till in the vault a trihe expires! The bones which strew that cavern's gloo Too well attest their dismal doom. Merrily, merrily goes the hark 1 On 1 reeze from the northward free. 1 "And so also ' merrily, merrily goes the bard,' in a succession o! mem ,hich, like Dogberry's tediousness, lie finds il in bis hearl to uholK and entirely on us, through page after page, or wave after wave ol his voyage. We could almosi l- tempted to believi thai l.- sva on lie return from Skye when he wrote this portion of his poem ; from Skye tin lepositorj ol the 'mightj cupof royal Somi rled - wi U - ol Rori< Mori i ,mnarativel\ modern 'horn' and that, as l>- says himself -l' a mi THE LOUD OF THE LSLES So shoots through the morning sky the lark Or the swan through the summer sea. The shores of Mull on the eastward lay, And Ulva dark and Colonsay, And all the group of islets gay That guard famed Staffa round. 1 Then all unknown its columns rose, Where dark and undisturb'd repose The cormorant had found, who celebrated the hospitalities of Dunvegan-castle in that island, it is pretty plain, that when this tribute of poetical praise was bestowed, the horn of Rorie More had not been inactive.'" — Monthly Review. See Appendix, Note I-:. 1 "Of the prominent beauties which abound in the poem, the must icenl •• ■ consider to be the description of the celebrated cave of Fingal, which is conceived in a mighty mind, and is expressed in a strain if poetry, clear, simple, and sublime." British Critic. THE LORD OF THE tSLES 161 r Anr speed on errand to my love ; For well I wot thou wilt not tell The temple where my wishes dwell." XVII. Bruce interposed, — ''Gay Edward, no. This is no youth to hold thy how. 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 lonely couch, and lonely meals? THE LORD OF THE ISLES. CJ Fitter by far in yon calm cell To tend our sister Isabel, With father Angustin to share The peaceful change of convent prayer, Than wander wild adventures through, With such a reckless guide as yon." — "Thanks, brother!" Edward answer'd gay, " For the high laud thy words convey ! But we may learn some future day, It* thou or I can this poor boy Protect the best, or best employ. "Meanwhile, our vessel nears the strand ; Launch we the boat, and seek the land." XVIII. To land King Robert lightly sprung, And thrice aloud his bugle rung With note prolong'd 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 greenwood bounds ••It is the foe!" cried Boyd, who came In breathless haste with eye on flame, — •• It is the foe ! — Each valiant lord Fling by his bow, and grasp his sword !"■ — ••Not so," replied the good Lord James, "Thai blast no English bugle claims. canto iv. I'lIF, LORD OF THE [SLES. U6 Oft have I 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 Eanza's margin spring ; That blast was winded by the King!" 1 1 The passage in Barbour, describing the landing of Bruce, and his being recognised by Douglas and those of his followers who had preceded him, by the sound of his horn, is in the original singularly simple and affecting. — The king arrived in Arran with thirty-three small row-boats. He interrogated a female if there had arrived any warlike men of late in that country. " Surely, sir," she replied, " I can tell you of many who lately came hither, discomfited the English governor, and blockaded his castle of Brodick. They maintain themselves in a wood at no great distance." The king, truly conceiving that this must be Douglas 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 his horn on high ; And gert his men that were him by, Hold them still, and all privy j And syne again his home blew he. James of Dowglas heard him blow, And at the last alone gan know, And said, ' Soothly yon is the king ; 1 know long while since his blowing.' The third time therewithal! he blew. And then Sir Robert Hoid it knew ; And said, ' Yon is the king, but dread, Go we forth till him, better Bpeed.' Thru went they till the king in hye, And liini inclined courteously. And blithly welcomed them the king, And was joyful of their meeting, And kissed them ; and speared ' syne ' Asked. How they had land in hunting? And they him told all, but lesing - ^Without lying Syne laud they Cud of their meeting. Syne with the king till his harbouvyc Hi hi both joyfW inn! jolly." Babboi e's Bruce, Book \. p. L15, I Hi. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. XIX. Fast to their mates the tidings spread, And fast to shore the warriors sped. Bursting from glen and greenwood tree, High waked their loyal juhilee ! MJj 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 hair, Whose swords and axes bore a stain From life-blood of the red-hair'd Dane ; THE LORD OF THE ISLES Ami boys, whose hands scarce brook'd to wield The heavy sword or 1 tossy shield . Men too were there, that bore the scars Impress'*! in Albyn's woful 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, Closehurn's dreaded Knight ; The Lindsay, fiery, fierce, and light ; The Heir of murder'd De la Haye, And Boyd the grave, and Seton gay. Around their King regain'd they press'd, Wept, shouted, clasp'd him to their breast. And young and old, and serf and lord, And he who ne'er unsheathed a sword, And he in many a peril tried, Alike resolved the brunt to hide. 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'd shield Fly dazzling o'er the battle field ! Such transports wake, severe and high, Amid the pealing conquest-cry ; Scarce Less, w hen, after battle lost. Muster the remnants of a host. 17G THE LORD OF THE ISLES And as each comrade's name they tell, 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 found, If not on martial Britain's ground? And who, when waked with note of Are. Love niore than they the British lyre ? Know ye not, — hearts to honour dear ! That joy, deep-thrilling, stern, severe, At which the heartstrings vibrate high, And wake the fountains of the eye ? x And blame ye. then, the Bruce, if trace Of tear is on his manly face. When, scanty relics of the train That hail'd at Scone his early reign. This patriot hand around him hung, 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 lie turn'd, And dash'd away the tear he scorn'd. 2 "Ours arc the tears, though few, sincerely Bhed, When Ocean shrouds and sepulchres our dead. For us, even banquets fond regret supply In the red cup that crowns our memory : And the brief epitaph in danger's day. When those who win ai length divide the prey, And cry, Remembrance saddening o'er each brew. How had the brave who fell exulted now!" Byron's Corsair. THE LORD OF THE [SLES 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, "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 ; 2 The kind, and yet fiery character of Edward Bruce, is well painted by Barbour, in the account of his behaviour after the battle of Bannockburn. Sir Walter Boss, one of the very few Scottish nobles who fell in that battle, was so dearly beloved by Edward, that he wished the victory had been lost, so Boss had lived. " Out-taken Mm, men has not seen Winn- he for any men made moaning." And here the venerable Archdeacon intimates a piece of scandal. Sir Edward Bruce, it seems, loved Boss's Bister, par amours, to the neglect of bis own lady, sister to David de Strathbogie, Earl of Atbole. This criminal passion had evil consequences ; for, in resentment of the affront done to bis sister, Atli-.l,. attacked the guard which Brace had left -at Cambuskenneth, during the battle of Bannockburn, to protect his magazine of provisions, and slew Sir William Keith the commander. For which treason he was forfeited. In like manner, when in a sally from Carrickfergus, Neil Fleming, and the guards whom he commanded, had fallen, after the protracted resistance which saved the rest of Edward Brace's army, he made such moan as sur- prised bis followers : " Sic moan lie made men had ferly,' ' Wonder. For lie was not customable Won! for to moan men any thing, Nor would not bear men make moaning." Such an- the nice traits of character so often lost in general history. 178 THE LORD OP THE ISLES. canto IV. His errand, as he Lade me tell, Is with the Lady Isabel." The princess rose, — for on her knee Low loent she told her rosary, — a " Let him by thee his purpose teach ; I may not give a stranger speech." — " Saint Bride forfend, thon royal Maid !" The portress cross'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, man by, bold, and tall, Built like a castle's battled wall, 1 " Mr Scott, we have said, contradicts himself. How will he explain the following facts to his reader's satisfaction ? The third canto informs us that Isabel accompanies Edward to Ireland, there to remain till the termina- tion of the war; and in the fourth canto, the second day after her departure, we discover the princess counting her heads and reading homilies in the Cloister of St. Bride, in the Island of Arran ! We humbly beseech the ' Mighty Minstrel' to clear up this matter." — Critical Review. THE LORD OF THE JSLES. 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 lias 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 grief, Of sympathy, redress, relief — That glance, if guilty, would I dread More than the doom that spoke me dead!"- u 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, Heaven ! how long delay' d !— Haste, Mona, 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 ; — •'Ami this is thine. |»>«>r Isabel ! — 180 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. That pallet-couch, and naked wall, For room of state, and hed of pall ; For costly rohes and jewels rare, A string of heads and zone of hair ; And for the trumpet's sprightly call To sport or banquet, grove or hall, The hell's grim voice divides thy care, 'Twixt hours of penitence and prayer! — ill for thee, my royal claim From the First David's sainted name ! woe for thee, that while he sought His right, thy brother feebly fought!" — XXIV. " Now lay these vain regrets aside, And be the unshaken Bruce !" she cried. " For more I glory to have shared The woes thy venturous spirit 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 drive in 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 fixed on heaven alone ; CANTO IV. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. 1M Nor e'er shall earthly prospects win My heart to this vain world of sin." — XXV. " 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 blush's passing dye, — Like the last beam of evening thrown On a white cloud, — just seen and gone. 1 Soon with calm cheek and steady eye, The princess made composed reply : — " 1 guess my brother's meaning well ; For not so silent is the cell, 1 " We would bow with veneration to the powerful and rugged genius of Scott. We would style him above all others, Horner and Shakspeare excepted, the Poet of Nature — of Nature in all her varied beauties, in all her wildest haunts. No appearance, however minute, in the scenes around him, escapes his penetrating eye ; they are all marked with the nicest discrimination : are introduced with the happiest effect. Hence, in his similes, both the genius ami the judgment of the poet are peculiarly conspicuous; his accurate observation of the appearances of nature, which others have neglected, imparts an originality to those allusions, of which the reader immediately recognises the aptness and propriety; and only wonders that what must have been so often witnessed, should have been so uniformly passed unregarded by. Such is the simile applied to the transient Mush observed by Bruce en the countenance of Isabel upon his mention of Ronald." — British Critic. 182 THE LORD OF TILE ISLES. 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,) I 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 Bruce'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 Augustin the chaplain's cell, And wait on thee, my Isabel. — Mind not his tears; I've seen them How, As in the thaw dissolves the snow. Tis a kind youth, but fanciful, Unfit against the tide to pull, THE LORD OF THE 1SI.1.S 183 And those that with the Bruce would sail, Must learn to strive with stream and gale. — But forward, gentle Isabel — My answer for Lord Ronald tell." — 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 troth 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, 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, And dare the worst the foe might do, Rather than, like a knight untrue, Leave to pursuers merciless A woman in her last distress. — 184 THE LORD OF THE ISLES CANTO IV. And wilt thou now deny thine aid To an oppress'd and injured maid, 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 hosom move Ere taught to set its hopes above, Fd 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, This incident, which illustrates so happily the chivalrous 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 king- dom. Bruce 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.i 1 Haste. ' It is the layndar,2 sir,' say ane, a Eaundrt ss. ' That her child-ill 3 right now has ta'en : 3 Child-led. And must leave now behind us here. Therefore she makes an evil cheer.'* *Stop. The king said, 'Certes,* it were pity 5 Certainly. That she in that point left should be, For eertes I trow there is no man That he no will rue" a woman than.' 6 Tity. His hosts all there arrested he, And gert? a tent soon stint it B be, : ( aused. $ Pitched. 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 fare," ordained he. '■' Morn!. This was a full great courtesy, That swilk a king and so mighty, Gert his men dwell on this manner, But for a poor lavender." Harbour's Bruce. Book xvi. pp. 39, 40. THE LORD OF THE [SLES By her who brooks his perjured seom, The ill-requited Maid of Lorn!"' XXVIII. With sudden impulse forward spiuiiL; The page, and on her Deck lie hung ; Then, recollected instantly, His head he stoop'd, ami benl his knee, •_' B 186 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. Kiss'd twice the hand of Isabel, Arose, and sudden left the cell. — The princess, loosen'd from his hold, Blush'.d angry at 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 Lorn. But think, — not long the time has been, That thou wert wont to sigh unseen, And wouldst 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 ! ! 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, 1 well believe," she said, Even so would Edward's pari 1»' play'd. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. Kindly in heart, in word severe, A foe to thought, and grief, and fear. Be holds his humour uncontroll'd ; Bui thou art of another mould. Say then to Ronald, as 1 say. Unless before my feet he lay The ring- which bound the faith lie swore, By Edith freely yielded o'er, He moves his snit 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. " host to the world," King Roberl sa When he had left the royal maid, " Lost to the world by lot severe. what a gem lies buried here, Nipp'd by misfortune's erne! frost, The buds of fair affection lost ! — Bui what have I with love to do? Far sterner cares my lot pursue. — Pent in this isle we may mil lie. Nor would it long our wants supply. Righl opposite, the mainland lowers Ill: LORD OF THE ISLES. Of my own Turnberry court our powers — — Might not my father's headsman hoar. Cuthbert, who dwells upon the shore, Kindle a signal-flame, to show The time propitious for the blow? It shall he so — some friend shall bear ( >ur 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 he mine T<« wreak thy wrongs in battle-line, To raise my victor-head, and see Thy hills, thy dales, thy people free, That glance of hliss is all I crave, THE LORD 01 THE [SLES I s '.' 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.' 1 "The fourth canto cannot be very greatly praised. It contains, indeed, many pleasing passages: but the merit which they possess is too much detached from the general interest of the poem. The only business is Bruce's arrival at the isle of Arran. The voyage is certainly described with spirit : but the remainder of the canto is rather tedious, ami might, without any considerable inconvenience, have been left a good deal to the reader's imagination. Mr. Scott ought to reserve, as much as possible, the interlocu- tory parts of his narrative, for occasions which admit of high and animated sentiment, or the display of powerful emotions, because this is almost the onlj poetical beauty of which speeches are susceptible. But to fill up three fourths of a canto with a lover's asking a brother in a quiet and friendlj manner for permission to address his sister in marriage, and a brother's asking his sister whether she has any objections, is. we think, somewhat injudicious.'' — Quarterly Review. 1 1 ¥ J n mmp. m *y*z Canto Jfifflr. (jTjsj^ fair Liicli-liiuiza-stivaniM the early day " Thin wreaths of cottage-smoke arc upward From the lone hamlet, which her inland bi And circling mountains sever from the woi Sra And there the fisherman his sail unfurl' d, The goat-herd drove his kids to steep Ben-Gl Before the but the dame her spindle twirl'd, Courting the sunbeam as she plied her toil, For, wake where'er be may, Man wakes to i are a] • •I'd id coil. THE LORD OF THE ISLES CAN But other duties call'd each convent maid. Roused by the summons of the moss-grown hell ; 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 Isahel has knelt in lonely prayer : The sunbeam, through the narrow lattice, fell Upon the snowy neck and long dark hair, As stoop'd her gentle head in meek devotion there, IT. She raised her eyes, that duty done, Wnen glanced upon the pavement-stone, Gemm'd and enchased, a golden ring, Bound to a scroll with silken string, With few brief words inscribed to tell, "This for the Lady Isahel."' Within, the writing farther bore, — "'Twas with this ring his plight lie swore. With this his promise I restore ; To her who can the heart command, Well may I yield the plighted hand. And ! for better fortune born, Grudge not a passing sigh to mourn ETer who was Edith once of Lorn'." (hie single Bash of glad surprise .Insl glanced from Isabel's dark eyes, Bui vauish'd in the blush of shame, That, as iis penance, instant came. 'Ill' l.uKD 01 Till LSJ i - L95 •■ ( ) thought unworthy of my rate ! Selfish, ungenerous, mean, and base, A moment's throb of joy to own, That rose upon her hopes o'erthrown! — Thou pledge of vows too well believed, Of man Lngrate and maid deceived, Think not thy lustre here shall gain Another heart to hope in vain ! THE LOUD OF THE 1SLLS. 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. III. Xext rose the thought, — its owner far, How came it here through holt and bar? — But the dim lattice is ajar. — She looks abroad — the morning dew A light short step had hrush'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 — 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 — 1 pray'd him pass To chapel where they said the mass; But like an arrow he shot by, And tears seciii'd bursting from his eye." TilK LORD OK THE LSLES IV. The truth at once on Isabel, As darted by a sunbeam fell. — "'Tis Edith's self! — her speechless woe, Her form, her looks, the secret show! — Instant, good Mona, to the bay, And to my roya] brother say, 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 day has left our coast ? My old eyes saw them from the tower. At eve they couch'd in greenwood 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 dewdrops from their hair. And toss their armed crests aloft, Such matins theirs!" — "Good mother, soft — Where does my brother bend his way'?" — "As I 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. " — "If such their purpose, deep the need," Said anxious [sabel, " of speed ! Call Father Augustine, good dame. The nun obev'd, the Lather came. THE LOUD 01' THE ISJJ - V. "Kind Father, hie without delay. Across the hills to Brodick-Bay. This message to the Bruce he given ; T pray him, by his hopes of Heaven. That, till he speak with me, he stay ! Or. if his haste brook no delay. That he deliver, on my suit. Into thy charge that stripling mute. Thus prays his sister Isabel, For causes more than she may tell — Away good Father! — ami take heed. That life and death are on thy speed." His cowl the good old priest did on. Took his piked staff and sandall'd shoon, And like a palmer bent by eld, < I'er moss and moor his journey held. VI. Heavy and dull the foot of age, And rugged was the pilgrimage ; But none was there beside, whose care Might such important message hear. 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 tumuli cast. Dashing to foam their waters dun, Ami sparkling in the summer sun. Bound his grey head the wild curlew THE r,OKT> OF THE ISLES. 199 In many a fearless circle flew. O'er chasms he pass'd, where fractures wid< Craved wary eye and ample stride; 1 He cross'd his brow beside the stone, Where Druids erst heard victims groan, And at the cairns upon the wild, ■ The interior of the island of Arvan ahounds with beautiful highland scenery. The hills, being very rocky and precipitous, afford some cataracts of greal height, though of inconsiderable breadth. There is one pass over the river Machrai, renowned for the dilemma of a \ r woman, who, I" ing tempted by the narrowness of the ravine to step ai ross, succeeded in making the firsi movement, bui tool? frighi when it became necessary to move the other foot, and remained in a posture equally ludicrous and dangerous, until some chance passenger assisted her to extricate herself. Il is said she remained there some hours. THE LORD 01' THE ISLES. ( >Vr many a heathen hero piled, 1 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 shade, And at the stream his thirst allay'd. 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, Dous-las had Avon them by the sword. 2 p^SBI THE LORD OF TUT. ISLES The sun that sunk behind the isle, Now tinged them with a parting smile. VII. But though the beams of light decay, 'Twas hustle all in Brodick- Bay. 1 The isle of Arran, like those of Man and Anglesea, abounds with many relics 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 Druidical, and the cairns or sepulchral piles. within which are usually found urns enclosing ashes. Much doubt neces- Barily rests upon tin- history of such monuments, nor is it possible to consider tin m as exclusively Celtic, or Druidical. Bymucb the finest circles of stand- ing stones, excepting Stonehenge, are those of Stenhouso, .if Stennis, in the island of Pomona, the principal isle of the Orcadcs. These, of course, are neither Celtic nor Druidical; and we are assured that manj circles of the kind oceiir both in Sweden and Norway. 2 Brodick, or Brathwick Castle, in the isle of Arran, is an ancient fortress. 202 THE U>RD OF THE ISLES. CANTO V. The Brace's followers crowd the shore, And boats and barges some unmoor, Some raise the sail, some seize the oar; Their eyes oft tnrn'd, where glimmer'd far What might have seem'd an early star On heaven's blue arch, save that its light Was all too flickering, tierce, 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 ste[»s now press the sands. And now amid a scene he stands. near an open roadstead called Brodick-Bay, and not far distant from a toler- able harbour, closed in by the island of Lamlash. Tins important place had been assailed a short time before Brace's arrival in the island. James Lord Douglas, who accompanied Brace to his retreat in Rachrine, seems, in the spring of 1306, to have tired of his abode there, and set out accordingly, in the phrase of the times, to see what adventure (rod 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 provisions, and nearly took the castle itself. Indeed, that they actually diil so, has been generally averred by historians, although it does not appear from tin- narrative of Harbour. On the contrary, it would seem that they look shelter within a fortification of the ancient inhabitants, a rampart called 7',.,' f f/weeddale, mar the water of Line, lie chanced to lic.tr some persons in a farm-house saj "thi devil." Concluding Conn tliis hardy expression, that the bouse contained warlike guests, In- immediately assailed ii. and had the g I fortune to make prisoners 'II as Randolph, afterwards the famous Earl ol Murray, and Alexander Stuart, Lord Bonkle. Both were then in the English interest, and had come into thai country with the purpose of driving out Douelas. The\ afterwards ranked anion- Brace's most zealous adherents. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. And closer yel bis hauberk tied, And loosen'd in its sheath bis 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 1 have to tell,"— And spoke the hesi of Isabel. llll. l,i >RD OK THE ISLES — "Now by Saint Giles," the monarch cried •• This moves me much ! — this morning tide 1 sent the stripling to Saint Bride, With my commandment there to hide'." — — "Thither he came the portress show'd, But there, my Liege, made brief abode."— IX. "'Twas I," said Edward, "found employ Of nobler import for the boy. Dee}) pondering in my anxious mind, A fitting messenger to find, To bear thy written mandate o'er To Cuthbert on the Carrick shove, I chanced, at 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. 1 told my purpose, and his eyes Flash'd joyful at the glad surprise. II,. 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." — ' A.ppcudix, Note Q THE LORD 01' THE ISL1 S. X. •• O wild of thought, and hard of heart '. " Answer'd the Monarch, "on a parr ( )f such deep danger to employ A mute, an orphan, and a boy Tnt'it for flight, unfit for strife. Without a tongue to plead for life ! Now, were my right restored by Eeaven, Edward, my crown I would have given. Ere, thrust on such adventure wild. 1 peril'd thus the helpless child." — — 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 headsman's cell. Where all thy squires arc- 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 Bui it is done — Embark with speed! — (iood Father, say to [sal el How this unhappy chance befell; If well we thrive on yonder shore. Soon shall my care her page restore. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. Our greeting to our sister bear, Ami think of us in muss and prayer." — XL ■• Aye!" — said the Priest, "while this poo Can chalice raise or cross command, While my old voice lias accents' use, Can Augustine forget the Bruce!" Then to his side Lord Ronald press'd, And whisper'd, "Bear thou this request, That when by Bruce's side 1 fight, For Scotland's crown and freedom's right, The princess grace her knight to hear Some token of her favouring care; It shall be shown where England's best May shrink to see it on my crest. And for the hoy — since weightier care For royal Bruce the times prepare, The helpless youth is Ronald's charge, His conch my plaid, his fence my targe." lie ceased; for many an eager hand Had urged the barges from the strand. '['heir number was a score and ten, They bore thrice threescore chosen men. Willi such small force did Bruce at hist The die for death or empire cast ! XII. Now on the darkening main afloat, Ready and niann'd rocks every boal : >08 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. Beneath their oars the ocean's might Was dash'd fo 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 -Tides each bark; "0 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 Ins path he drew. He turn'd his blessings to renew, Ofl turn'd, till on the darken'd coasl All traces of their course were losi ; 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 ply their task with glee. While hands that knightly lances bore Impatient aid the labouring oar. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. The half-faced moon shone dim and pale, And glanced againsl the whiten'd sad ; But on that ruddy beacon-light Eacdi steersman kept the helm aright, And oft, for such 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 far. Dark-red the heaven above it glow'd, Dark red the sea beneath it flow'd, Red rose the rocks on ocean's brim, In blood-red light her islets swim ; 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 halt" the land the lustre came. "Now, good my Liege, and brother sage, What think ye of mine elfin page?" — "Row on !" the noble King replied, "We'll learn the truth whate'er betide; Yet sure the beadsman and the child Could ne'er have waked that beacon wild." 2 E THE LORD O [SLES XIV. With that the boats approach'd the land. But 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 alar. 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 and dusky light His comrade's face each warrior saw, Nor marvell'd it was pale with awe. Then high in air the beams were lost. And darkness sunk upon the coast. — Ronald to Heaven a prayer address'd, And Douglas cross'd his dauntless breast; ••Saint James proteel us!" Lennox cried, Bui 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 sure?" — ••Hush !" said the Bruce; "we soon shall If this he sorcerer's empty show, THE LORD OT THE ISLES. Or stratagem of southern foe. The moon shines out — upon the sand Let every leader ranis his band." XV. Faintly the moon's pale beams supplj 'I'll. it 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. U A torch," the Monarch cried, "What. Ii Now shall we Cuthbert's tidings know." Bui evil news the letters bare, The Clifford's force was strong and wan', Augmented, too, that very morn, By mountaineers who came with Lorn. Long harrow'd by oppressor's hand, Courage and faith had tied the land, And over Carriek, dark and deep, Had sunk dejection's iron sleep. — ( luthberl had seen that lieaeoii-lhune. Unwitting from what source it came. Doubtful of perilous event. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. Edward's mute messenger lie sent, It' 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 greenwood bough, Ill l: LORD OF THE ISLES. And take the chance which fate may send To living our enterprise to end, Or shall we turn us to the main As exiles, and embark again?" — Answer'd fierce Edward, " Hap what may. In Carrick, < 'arriek's Lord must stay. 1 would not minstrels told the tale, Wild-fire or meteor made us quail." Answer'd the Douglas, " If my Liege, May win yon walls by storm or siege, '['hen were each brave and patriot heart Kindled of new for loyal part." — Answer'd Lord Ronald, " ^NTot for shame Would I that aged Torquil came, And found, for all our empty boast, Without a blow we fled the coast. 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 hide !" So Boyd and Have 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 niav shelter well." 21 I THE LORD OF THE [SUES XVII. Now ask you whence that wondrous light, Whose fairy glow beguiled their sight ? — It ne'er was known 1 — yet grey-hair'd eld A superstitious credence held. That never did a mortal hand Wake its broad glare on Carrick strand : Nay, and that on the self-same night When Bruce cross'd o'er, still gleams the light. 1 The following are the words of an ingenious correspondent, to whom I am obliged for much information respecting Turnbeny and its neighbourhood. " The only tradition now remembered of the landing of Robert the Bruce in ( larrick, relates to the fire seen by him from the Isle of Arran. It is still generally reported, and religiously believed by many, tbat this fire was really the work of supernatural power, unassisted 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 castle; ami 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 the place where the fire is said to have appeared, being called the Bogle's Brae, beyond the remembrance of man. In support of this curious belief, it is said that the practice of burning heath for the improvement of land was then unknown; that a spunkie (Jack o' lanthorn) could not have been seen across the breadth of the Forth of Clyde, between Ayrshire and Arran ; and that the courier of Bruce was his kinsman, and never suspected of treachery.'' — Letter from Mr. Joseph Train, of Newton Stewart, author of an ingenious Collection of Poems, illustrative of many indent Traditions in Galloway and Ayrshire, Edinburgh, L814. [Mr. Train made a journej into A \ i -hire at Sir Walter Scott's request, on purpose to ■ dl.it accurate information for the notes to this poem ; and the reader will find more of the fruits of his labours in the Appendix, Note It. This is the same gentleman whose friendly assistance is so often acknowledged in the Notes and Introductions of the Waverley Novels.] :ilK LORD OF THE [SLES Yearly it gleams o'er mount and moor, And glittering wave and crimson'd shore But whether beam celestial, lenl By heaven to aid the King's descent, Or fire hell-kindled from beneath, To lure him to defeat and death, Or were it lnii some meteor strange, Of such as oft through midnight range. 216 THE LOUD OF THE LSLES. 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 Gaelic '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 ? ( Sheer thee, and still that throbbing heart ; From Ronald's guard thou shalt not part." — ! 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 ! canto v. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. 21' XIX. The barrier of that iron shore, The rock's steep ledge, is now climbed o'er ; And from the castle's distant wall, From tower to tower the warders 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 silvan reign, (Seek not the scene — the axe, the plough, The boor's dull fence, have marr'd it now,) 1 1 The Castle of Turnberry, on the coast of Ayrshire, was the property of Robert Bruce, in right of his mother. Lord Hailes mentions the following remarkable circumstance concerning the mode in which he became proprietor of it : — " Martha, Countess of Carrick in her own right, the wife of Robert Bruce, Lord of Annandale, bare him a son, afterwards Robert I. (11th July, 1274.) The circumstances of her marriage 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 few days after she married him, without the knowledge of the relations of either party, and without the requisite consent of the king. The king instantly seized her castle ond whole estates: She afterwards atoned by a line for her feudal delinquency. Little did Alexander foresee, that, from this union, the restorer of the Scottish monarchy was to arise." — Annals <>f Scotland, vol. ii. p. 180. The 6ame obliging correspondent, whom i have quoted in the preceding Qot me the following account of the present state of the ruins of Turnberry : — "Turnberry Point is a rock projecting into the sea; the top of it i-, about eighteen feet above high water mark. Upon this rock was built the castle. There is about twenty-five 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 sixty feet, and the breadth forty-five: It was surrounded \ not distinguished by many passages of extraordinary merit ; as it is. however, lull of business, ami comparatively free from those long rhyming dialogues which are so frequent in the poem, it is upon the whole spirited and pleasing. The scene in which Ronald is described shelter in- Edith under his plaid, lor the love which he bears to [sabel, is we think, more poetically conceived than any other in the whole poem, and contains some touches of great pathos and beauty." — Quarterly !:<<■,< n- UK LORD OF THE [SLES XXII. Thus strangely left, long sobb'd and w'epl The page, till, wearied out, he slept — THE LORD 01- THE LSLES A rough voice waked his dream — "Nay, hew Here by this thicket pass'd the deer — Beneath that oak old Ryno staid — What have we here? — a Scottish plaid, And in its folds a stripling laid? — Come forth ! thy name and business tell ! — ■ What, silent? — then I guess thee well, The spy that sought old Cuthbert's cell, Wafted from Arran yester morn — Come, comrades, we will straight return. Our Lord may choose the rack should teach To this young lurcher use of speech. Thy bow-string, till I Mud him fast." — "Nay, but he weeps and stands aghast : Unbound well lead him, fear it not ; "lis a fair stripling, though a Scot." The hunters to the castle sped, And there the hapless captive led. XXIII. Stout Clifford in the castle-court Prepared 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 howl'd around. To Amadine, Lorn's well-known word Replying to that Southern Lord, Mix'd with this clanging din, might seem THE LORD OF THE ISLES. 223 The phantasm of a fever'd dream. The tone upon his ringing cars Came like the sounds which fancy hears, When in rude waves or roaring winds Some words of woe the muser finds, Until more loudly and more near, Their speech arrests the page's ear. XXIV. "And was she 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. 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 coast — 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!" THE LORD OF THE ISLES. XXV Lord Clifford now the captive spied ; — "Whom, Herbert, hast thou there'?'' he cried. " A spy we seized within the Chase, A 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 clames 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, And give Clan-Colla's dirge thy breath, As they convey him to his death." — "0 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 will he keep his purpose still, In sight of that last closing ill, THE LORD OT THE ISLES. 225 When 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 greenwood Chase they bend, And now their march has ghastly end ! That old and shatter' d oak beneath, They destine for the place of death. — What thoughts are his, while all in vain His eye for aid explores the plain? What thoughts, while, with a dizzy ear, lie hears the death-prayer mutter'd near? And must he die such death accurst, Or will that bosom-secret hurst? Cold on his brow breaks terror's dew, 1 lis trembling lips are livid blue ; The agony of parting life Has nought to match that moment's strife! XXVII. But other witnesses are nigh, Who mock at fear, ami death defy! Soon as the dire lament was play'd, It waked the lurking ambuscade. 226 THE LORD OF THE ISLES CA 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 fliers and their hold : A spear above the copse display'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. Bush 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." XXVIII. Like war-horse eager to rush on, Compell'd to wait the signal blown, Eid, and scarce hid, by greenwood bough, Trembling with rage, stands Ronald now, And in his grasp his sword gleams blue, THE LORD OF THE ISLES 227 Soon to be died 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 mistimed and mutter'd prayer The victim for his fate prepare. — Whal glances o'er the greenwood shade? The spear that marks the anodmscade ! — •• Xow, noble Chief! I leave thee loose; Upon them, Ronald!" said the Bruce. XXIX. "The Bruce, the Bruce!" to well-known cry His native rocks and woods reply. "The Bruce, the Bruce!" in thai 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 ! Half-arm'd, surprised, on every side Hemm'd in, hew'd down, they bled and die. I. Deep in the ring the Bruce engaged, And tierce Clan-Colla's broadsword raged! Full SOOn the few who fought were sped, THE LORD OF THE ISLES 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 The castle left, and none return. ->Tr -%; XXX. Not on their flight press'd Ronald's brand, A gentler duty claim'd his hand. Ee raised the page, where on the plain His fear had sunk him with the slain : And twice, that mom. surprise well near Betray'* I the secret kept by fear; Once, when, with life returning, came To the hoy's lip Lord Ronald's name, And hardly recollection drown'd THE LORD OF THE [SLES 229 The accents in a murmuring sound; And once, when scarce lie could resisl The Chieftain's care to loose the vest, Drawn tightly o'er his labouring breast. But then the Brace'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 ; Such was his wonted reckless mood, Yet desperate valour oft made good, Even by its daring, venture rude, Where prudence might have fail'd. 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 a hundred foes. Loud came the cry, "The Bruce, the Bruce!" Xo hope or in defence or truce, Fresh combatants pour in ; Mad with success, and drunk with -'ore. 230 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. They drive the straggling 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 tearful was the din ! The startling horses plunged and thin Clamour'cl the dogs till turrets rung, Nor sunk the fearful cry, WTO V. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. 231 Till not a foeman was there found Alive, save those who on the ground Groan'd in their agony V XXXIT. The valiant Clifford is no more ; 2 On Ronald's broadsword stream'd bis gore. But better hap had he of Lorn, Who, by the foeman backward home. Yet gain'd with slender train the port, Where lay his hark 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 shoul From turret and from tower 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 ! 1 The concluding stanza of "The Siege of Corinth" contains an obvious, though, no doubt, an unconscious imitation of the preceding nine lines, magnificently expanded through an extent of about thirty couplets: — " All the living tilings that heard Thai deadly earth-shock disappeared; The wild birds devi ; the wild dogs fled, And howling h ft the imhuried (lend; The camels from their keepers broke; The distant steer forsook the yoke — The nearer steed plunged o'er the plain, And bun< his girth, and tore his rein,'' &c. - In point oi fact, i llifford fell al Bannockburn. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. XXXIII. The Bruce hath won his father's hall I 1 — " Welcome, brave friends and comrades al Welcome to mirth and joy ! The first, the last, is welcome here, From lord and chieftain, prince and peer, To this poor speechless hoy. Great God! once more my sire's abode Is mine — behold the floor I trode In tottering infancy ! And there the vaulted arch, whose sound Echoed my joyous shout and bound In boyhood, and that rung around To youth's unthinking glee ! first, to thee, all-gracious Heaven, Then to my friends, my thanks be given ! "— He paused a space, his brow he cross' d — Then on the board his sword he toss'd, Yet steaming hot; with Southern gore From hilt to point 'twas crimson'cl o'er. XXXIV. "Bring here,'' he said, "the mazers four My noble fathers loved of yore. 2 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 nunc. See Appendix, Note R. - See Appendix, Note S. canto v. CHE LORD 01' THE ISLES. To hold both lands and life at nought) Until her freedom shall he 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 ; A 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! 2 1 As soon as it was known in Kyle, says ancient tradition, that Robert Bruce had landed in Carrick, with the intention of recovering the crown of Scotland, the Laird of Oraigie, and forty-eight men in his immediate neigh- bourhood, declared in favour of their legitimate prince. Bruce granted them a tract of land, still retained by the freemen of Newton to this day. The original charter was lost when the pestilence was raging at Ayr: hut it was renewed by one of the Jameses, and is dated at Faulkland. The freemen of Newton were formerly officers by rotation. The Provost of Ayr at one time was a freeman of Newton, and it happened to 1m- his turn, while provost in Ayr, to he officer in Newton, both of which offices he discharged at the same time. 2 The forest of Selkirk, or Ettrick, at this period, occupied all the district which retains that denomination, and embraced the neighbouring dales of Tweeddale, and at least the Upper Ward of Clydesdale. All that trad was probably as waste as it is mountainous, and covered with tin- remains of the ancient Caledonian Forest, which is supposed to have stretched from Cheviot Hill-- as far as Hamilton, and in have comprehended even a pari of Ayrshire. At ih- fatal battle of Falkirk, sir John Stewart of Bonkill, brother to the 234 THE LORD OF THE ISLES CAMTO V. 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!" Steward of Scotland, commanded the archers of Selkirk Forest, who fell around the dead body of their leader. The English historians have com- memorated the tall and Btately 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 engagement. " The glance of the mom had sparkled bright On their plumage green and then- 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, And the tired forester is laid Ear. far from the clustering greenwood shade ! Sore ha\ e they toil'd— they are fallen asleep, And their slumber is heavy, and dull, and deep ' When over then- bones the grass shall wave, When the wild winds over their tombs shall rave, Memory shall lean on their graves, and tell How Selkirk's hunters bold around old Stewart fell '. " Wallace, or the Fight of Falkirk [by Miss Holfoed], Loud., 4to, 1S09, pp. 170, 1. v4 T €m\k Sfcft. j who, that shared them, ever shall forget KsS The emotions of the spirit-rousing time, When breathless in the mart the couriers i Early and late, at evening and at prime ; ■ When the loud cannon and the merry chime Hail'd news on news, as Held on field was woi When Hope, long doubtful, soar'd at length subli And our glad eyes, awake as day begun, atch'd Joy's broad banner rise, to meet the rising i 238 THE LORD OF THE ISLES < iNTO Vf. 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 woe, 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 hail'd the Despot's fall, and peace and liberty ! Such news o'er Scotland's hills triumphant rode, When 'gainst the invaders turned the battle's scale, When Bruce's banner had victorious flow'd O'er Loudon's mountain, and in Ury's vale ; l When English blood oft deluged Douglas-dale, 2 And fiery Edward routed stout St. John, 3 1 The first important advantage gained by Bruce, after landing at Turn- berry, was over Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, the same by whom he had been defeated near Methveu. They met, as has been said, by appoint- ment, at Loudonhill, in the west of Scotland. Pembroke sustained a defeat : and from that time Bruce was at the head of a considerable flying army. Yet be was subsequently obliged to retreat into Aberdeenshire, ami was there assailed by Comyn, Earl of Buchan, desirous to avenge the death of bis relative, the Red Comyn, and supported by a body of English troops under Philip de Moubray. Bruce was ill at the time of a scrofulous 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 bis spirits restored his health. 2 See Appendix, Note T. 3 "John de St. John, with 15,000 horsemen, had advanced to oppose the inroad of the Scots. By a 1'oreed march be endeavoured to surprise them, but intelligence of bis motions was timeously received. The courage of Edward Bruce, approaching to temerity, frequently enabled him to achieve what men of more judicious valour would never Lave attempted. He ordered canto VI. LORD OF THE ISLES When Randolph's war-cry swell'd the southern gale. 1 And many a fortress, town, and tower, was won, And fame still sounded forth fresh duo. Is 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 wea Dim veil and woollen scapulare, And reft thy locks of dark brown hair, That stern and rigid vow, the infantry, and the meaner sort of his army, to intrench themselves in Strong narrow ground. He himself, with fifty horsemen well harnessed, issued forth under cover of a thick mist, surprised the English on their march, attacked and dispersed them."— Dalrymi-le's A nnah of Scotland, quarto. Edinburgh, 177'J, p. 25. 1 Thomas Randolph, Brace's sister's sun, a renowned Scottish chief, was in the early part of his life not more remarkable for consistency than Bruce himself. He espoused his uncle's party when Bruce first assumed the crown, and was made prisonei at the fatal tattle of Methven, in which his relative's topes appeared to be ruined. Randolph accordingly not only submitted to the English, but took an active part against Brace, appeared in arms si him, and in the skirmish where he was so closely pursued by th bloodhound, it is said his nephew took his standard with his own hand. Bui Randolph was afterwards made prisoner by Douglas in Tweeddale. and brought before King Robert. Some harsh language was exchanged between the uncle and nephew, and the latter was committed for a time to custody. Afterwards, however, they were reconciled, and Randolph was I Earl of Moray about 1312. After this period he eminently die languished himself, first by the surprise of Edinburgh Ca rwards by many similai at inducted with equal coura ability. 240 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. 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 Brace's fame, The brave Lord Ronald's praises came. III. Believe, his father's castle won, And his bold enterprise begun, That Bruce's earliest cares restore The speechless page to Arran's sin ire : 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'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. THE LORD OF THE ISLES 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 lowers. Beleaguer'd by King Robert's powers; And they took term of truce, 1 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, At Berwick-hounds to meet their Liege, 2 1 When a Ion-- train of success, actively improved by Robert Bruce, had made him master of almost all Scotland, Stirling < 'astir continued to hold out. The care of the blockade was committed by the kin-- to his brother Edward, who concluded a treaty with Sir Philip Mowbray, the governor, that he should surrender the fortress, if it were not succoured by the King of England before St. John the Baptist's day. The King severely blamed hi- 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 assembled forces, and obliged himself cither to meet them in battle with an inferior fmve, or 1«. retreal with dishonour. " Let all England come," answered the reckless 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 Midsummer, full time was allowed for that purpose. 2 There is printed in Rymer's Fcedera the summons issurd upon ihis ion to the sheriff of York ; and he mentions eighteen other persona to 242 THE LORD OK THE ISLES. CANTO VI. 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-blasl Forth marshall'd for the held; 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 fame! 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, 1 whom similar ordinances were issued, It seems to respect the infantry alone, for it is entitled. De peditibus ad recussum Oastri de Stryvelin a Scotis obsessi, properarefacu ndis. This circumstance is also clear from the reason ing of the writ, which states : " We have understood that our Scottish enemies and rebels are endeavouring to collect as strong a force as possible of infantrj in strong and marshy grounds, wdiere the approach of cavalry would be difficult, between us and the castle of Stirling."— It then sets forth Mow- bray's agreement to surrender the castle, if not relievi d bi fore St. John the Baptist's day, and the king's determination, with divine grace, to raise the siege. '' 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 assembli d at Werk, upon the tenth day of June first, under pain of the royal displeasure, &c. 1 Edward the First, with the usual policy of a conqueror, employed the Welsh, whom he had subdued, to assist him in his Scottish wars, for which their habits, as mountaineers, particularly fitted them. But this policy was u ,i withoul its risks. Previous to the battle of Falkirk, the Welsh quarrelled And Connoght pour'd from waste and wood Her hundred tribes, whose sceptre rude Dark Eth O'Connor sway'd. 1 V. Right to devoted ( Jaledon The storm of war rolls slowly on, With menace deep and dread ; So the dark clouds, with gathering power, Suspend awhile the threaten'd shower, Till every peak and summit lower Round the pale pilgrim's head. Not with such pilgrim's startled eve King Robert mark'd the tempest nigh ! Resolved the brunt to hide, 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. who may tell the sons of fame, That at King Robert's bidding came, with the English men-at-arms, and after bloodshed on both parts, separated themselves from bis army, ami the feud between them, at so dangerous and critical a juncture, was reconciled with difficulty. Edward [I. followed his example in this particular, an I with no better success. They could a. »! be brought to exert themselves in the cause of their conquerors. But they had an indifferenf reward for their forbearance. Without anus. an. I clal only in scanty dresses of linen cloth, they appeared naked in the eyes even of the Scottish peasant^ ; an. I after the roui of Bannockbum, were massacred by them in great numbers, as they retired in confusion towards their own country. They were undei command of Sir Maurice de Berkeley. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. To battle for the right ! From Cheviot to the shores of Ross, From Solway-Sands to Marshall' 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, Tims 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; GrO 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 [sabel, THE LORD OF THE ISLES To think upon that better right, And keep the faith his promise plight- 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 he said ! — The good King Robert would engage Edith once more Ins 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; Dunstaffnage had the monarch ta'en, And. Lorn had own'd King Rohert'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 : THE LORD OF THE ISLES. This ample righl 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 ! 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, howe'er the maiden strive, Must with reviving hope revive! A thousand sofl excuses came, To plead his cause 'gainst virgin shame. axto vi THE LOHD OF THE IS] ES '- •' Pledged by their sires in earliesl youth, lie had lu-r plighted faith and truth — Then, 'twas her Liege's strict conn And she, beneath his royal haul 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 — But once to see him more! — nor blame Her wish — to hear him name her name ! — Then, to hear hack to solitude The thought, he had his falsehood rued ! Bnt Isabel, who long had seen Her pallid cheek and pensive mien, And well herself the cause might know, Though innocent, of Edith's woe, Joy'd, generous, that revolving time Gave means to expiate the crime. High glow'd her bosom as she said, "Well shall her sufferings he repaid !" Now came the parting hour — a hand From Arran's mountains left the land : Their chief, Fitz-Louis, 1 had the care 1 Fitz-Louis, or .Mac-Louis, otherwise called Fullarton, is a family oi 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 Brsi landing; and Fergus Mac-Louis, or Fullarton, received from the grateful monarch a charter, dated 26tb November, in the second year of his reign (1307), for the lands ofKilmichel, and others, which still remain in this rerj ancient and respei table family. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. 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 Gillie's-hill she rode. The landscape like a furnace glow'd, Ami far as e'er the eye was borne, The lances waved like autumn-coin. In battles four beneath their eye, The forces of King Robert lie. 1 And one below the hill was laid, Reserved for rescue and for aid; 1 See Appendix, Note V. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. Ami three, advanced, form'd vaward-line, 'Twixt Bannock's brook and Ninian's shrin< Detach'd was each, yel each so nigh As well might mutual aid supply. Beyond, the Southern host appears, 1 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, Glaives, lances, bills, and banners gleam ; And where the heaven join'd with the hill, Was distant armour flashing still, So wide, so iar, the boundless host Seem'd in the blue horizon lost. 1 Upon the 23d June 1314, the alarm reached the Scottish army of the approach of the enemy. Douglas and the Marshal were sent to reconnoitre with a body of cavalry : "And Boon Hie greit host have thej seen; Where shields shining were so sheen, Ami basinets burnished bright, That gave against the snn great light They saw so fele* brawdinc 2 banners, ' Kany. 2 Displayed. Standards and pennons and spears, Anil so tVle knights upon steeds, All flaming in their weeds. \ i ill s i tele bataills, and so broad, And too so great room as they rode, That the maist host, and the stoutest Of Christendom, and the greatest, should lie abaysit tor to see Their toes into sueli quantity." The Bruce, vol. ii. p. 111. The two Scottish commanders were cautious in the account which they brought back to their ramp. To the king in private they told the formidable tate of the enemy: hut in public reported that the English were indeed a numerous host, but ill commanded and worse disciplined. •_' K THE LORD OF THE ISLES. XL 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, 1 In many a plaided hand. There, in the centre, proudly raised, The Brace'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 U ! unseen for three long years, Dear was the garb of mountaineers To the fair Maid of Lorn ! For one she 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 1 See Appendix, Note W. HE LORD OF THE ISLES 251 XII. 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 hand of archers fierce, though few : The men of Nith and Annan's vale. And the hold 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 .;, iHx/ THE LORD 01' THE ISLES. 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 And deep ravine, protects their flank. Behind them, screen'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 glanct Thus fair divided by the King, Centre, and right, and left-ward wing, Composed his front ; nor distant far Way strong reserve to aid the war. And 't was 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, 1 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 vet on war-horse wight, But, till more near the shock of fight, Reining a palfrey low and light. 1 Sec Appendix, Note X. THE LORD 01' THE ISLES 253 A diadem of gold was set Above his bright steel basinet, And clasp'd within its glittering- twine 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. XIV, ( ) gay, yet fearful to behold, Flashing with steel and rough with gold, And bristled o'er with 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 tlash'd at sight of shield and lance THE LORD OF THE ISLES. C " Know'st thou," he said, " De Argentine, Yon knight who marshals thus their line?" — " The tokens on his helmet tell The Bruce, my Liege : I know him well." — " 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, I 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 Bonne. 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 eyelid scarce had time to wink, Till: LORD OF THE ISLES. 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 palfry 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 Ms 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 tielmel i rash'd like hazel-nut ; 256 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. The axe-shaft, with its brazen clasp, Was shivev'd to the gauntlet grasp. Spring's from the blow the startled horse, Props to the plain the lifeless corse ; — First of that fatal field, how soon. How sudden, fell the fierce De Boune ! 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 hack 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, W'h'd' to the seeming page he drew, ( Hearing war's terrors from his eye. THE LORD 01 THE ISLES Her hand with gentle ease he took, With such a kind protecting look, As to a wreak and timid boy Might speak, that elder brother's cave 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, And sends thee here in doubtful hour. But soon we are beyond her power; For on this chosen battle-plain, Victor or vanquish'd I remain. Do thou to yonder hill repair ; The followers of our host arc there, 258 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. CAS And all who may not weapons hear. — Fitz-Louis, have him in thy care. — Joyful we meet, if all go well ; If not, in Arran's holy cell Thon must take part with Isahel ; 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. " What train of dust, with trumpet-sound And glimmering spears, is wheeling round Our leftward flank?" 1 — 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, " My wreath shall bloom, or life shall fade.- Follow, my household !" — And they go Like lightning on the advancing foe. "My Liege," said noble Douglas then, 1 See Appendix, Note Y. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. "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 he may ; I will not weaken mine array." Then loudly rose the conflict- cry, And Dongdas's brave heart swell'd high, — " My Liege," he said, " 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. — " See, see ! the routed Southern fly ! The Earl 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, 260 THE LORD OP THE ISLES. CANTO VI. I Demayet smiled beneath her ray ; Old Stirling's towers arose in light, And, twined in links of silver bright. Her winding river lay. 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 ! CAXTO VI. LORD OF THE ISLES. 261 P.ut now, from England's host, the crj Thou hear'st of wassail revelry, While from the Scottish legions pass The murmurVl 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. ! 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, 1 1 There is an old tradition, thai the well-known Scottish tune of "Hej t nt i i taitti," was Brace's march at the battle of Bannockburn. The late Mr. Ritson, no granter of propositions, doubts whether the Scots bad 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 bell had been among them, Ee observes, thai these boms are the only music mentioned bj Barbour, and concludes thai ii musl remain a moot point whether Brace's armj were cheered bj the sound even of a solitarj bagpipe. — Historical Essay prefixed to Bit son's Scottish Songs, It maj be 262 THE LOED OF THE ISLES. CANTO VI. His breast and brow each soldier cross'd, And started from the ground ; Arm'd and array'd for instant fight, Eose archer, spearman, squire, and knight, And in the pomp of battle bright The dread battalia frown'd. 1 XXI. Now onward, and in open view, The countless ranks of England drew, 2 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 bis way ! observed in passing, that the Scottish of this period certainly observed some musical cadence, even in winding their horns, since Bruce was at once recog- nised 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 Burns, — " Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled." 1 " Although Mr. Scott retains that necessary and characteristic portion of his peculiar and well-known manner, he is free, we think, from any faulty Bell-imitation ; and the battle of Bannockburn will remain for ever as a monu- ment of the fertile poetical powers of a writer, who had before so greatly excelled in this species of description." — Monthly Revieio. " The battle, we think, is not comparable to the battle in Marmion, though nothing can be finer than the scene of contrasted repose and thoughtful anxiety by which it is introduced, (stanzas xix. xx. xxi.)" — Jeffrey. 2 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 spearmen on foot, and commanded, as already said, h\ the Earls of Gloucester and Hereford. Barbour, in one CANTO VI. THE LORD OF THE ISLES. 2G3 In front the gallant archers trode, The men-at-arms behind them rode, And midmost of the phalanx broad The Monarch held his sway. place, mentions that they formed nine battles, or divisions ; hut 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 to form one solid and compact body :— " The English men, on cither party, That as angels shone brightly, Were not arrayed on such mannei : For all their battles samyn 1 were In a schiltrum. 2 But whether it was Through the great straitness of the place That they were in, to bide fighting j Or that it was for abaysing ; 3 I wete not. But in a schiltrum It seemed they were all and some j Out ta'en the vaward anerly.* That right with a great company, Be them selwyn, arrayed were. Who had been by, might have seen there That folk ourtake a meikle feild On breadth, where many a shining shield, And many a burnished bright armour, And many a man of great valour, Might in that great scliiltrum be seen : And many a bright banner and sheen." Barbour's Bruce, vol. ii. p. 137. i Together. 8 Schiltrum.— This word has been variously limited or extended in its signification. In general, it 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 army at Falkirk was undoubtedly of a circular form, in order to resist the attacks of the English cavalry, on whatever quarter they might be charged. But it does not appeal how, or why. the English, advancing to the attack at Bannockbum, should have arrayed themselves in a circular form. It seems more probable, that, by Schiltrum in the present case, Barbour means to express an irregular mass into which the English army was compressed bj the unwieldinesB of its numbers, and the carelessness or ignorance of its leaders. 3 Frightening. * Alone. 2CA THE LORD OF THE ISLES. CANTO VI. 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 kneel'd."— "Aye ! — but they bend to other powers, And other pardon sue than ours ! See where yon bare-foot Abbot stands, And Messes them with lifted hands! 1 Upon the spot where they have kneel'd. These men will die, or win the held." — 1 " Maurice, Abbot of Inchaffray, placing himself on an eminence, celebrated mass in sight of the Scottish army. He then passed along the front, bare-footed, 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 Umfraville, ' but not ours. On that field they will be victorious, or die.'"— Annate of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 47. Till: LOUD OV THE [SLES, — "Then prove we it' 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 hows. 266 THE LORD OF THE ISLES 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 ami as fast, Forth whistling came the grey-goose wing As the wild hailstones pelt and ring Adown December's blast. Nor mountain targe of tough 1 mil-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 ;— — 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-lire from the moss; The shield hangs down on every breast, Each ready lance is in the rest, THE LORD OF THE ISLES 267 And loud shouts Edward Bruce, — '• Forth, Marshal, on the peasant foe ! We'll tame the terrors of their bow, And cut the bow-string loose!" 1 XXIII. Then sours 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 ? < )r 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, Compell'd to flight they scatter wide. — Let stags of Sherwood leap for glee, And hound the deer of Dallom-Lee ! The broken hows of Bannock's shore Shall in the greenwood ring no more! Round Wakefield's merry may-pole now, The maids may twine the summer hough, May northward look with longing glance, 1 See Appendix, Note X 268 TI1K LORD OF THE ISLE:-. CANTO VI. For those that wont to lead the dance, For the blithe archers look in vain ! Broken, dispersed, in flight o'erta'en, Pierced through, trod 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! 1 Fitter to plunder chase or park, Than make a manly foe their mark. — Forward, each gentleman 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, I Roger Ascham quotes a similar Scottish proverb, "whereby they give the whole praise of shooting honestly to Englishmen, saying thus, 'thai every English archer beareth under Ins girdle twenty-four Scottes.' Indeed Toxophilus says before, and truly of the Scottish nation. 'The Scottes surelj he good men of warre in theyre owne feates. as can be : but as for shootinge thej can ueither use it to any profite, nor yet challenge it for any praise.'" - Works of Ascham, edited by Bennet, 4to, i>. 110. II is said. I trust incorrectly, by an ancient English historian, that the . good Lord .lames of Douglas" dreaded the superiority of the English archers so much, that when he made any o\' Uiem prisoner, he gave him the option of losing the forefinger of his rigid hand, or his right eye, either species of mutilation rendering him incapable i" use the bow. 1 have mislaid the reference I" this singular p THE LOKD OT THE [SLES 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 I -aimers spread, 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, 270 THE LORD Or THE ISLES. CANTO VI. Wild floundering on the field ! ' The first are in destruction's germ'. Their followers wildly o'er them urge ; — The knightly helm and shield, The mail, the acton, and the spear, Strong hand, high heart, are useless here ! Loud from the mass confused the cry < >f