Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and they ran; 45 There was racing and chasing on Cannobie Lee, But the lost bride of Netherby ne'er did So daring in love, and so dauntless in war, SIR WALTER SCOTT. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY How many unaccented syllables are there in a line of this poem to one accented? Does this give the poem a swift or a slow movement? Can you feel, as you read it aloud, any sound suggesting that of a galloping horse? If you can get it, read Browning's How they brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix, and compare it with this. Which makes you think the more of a galloping horse? Why did not the bridegroom or the bride's father stop Lochinvar? Why did Lochinvar say, "There are maidens in Scotland more lovely by far," etc.? What did he mean by, "Love swells like the Solway, but ebbs like its tide"? How would Lochinvar thrive today? What other poems by Sir Walter Scott have you read? Would this story have been as good if written in prose? Why? Find out all you can about Sir Walter Scott and write a story of his life. Sir Walter Scott, 1771-1832, who wrote The Lay of the Last Minstrel from which this selection is taken, is Scotland's favorite author. He wrote many poems, including the Lady of the Lake, and many novels, including Ivanhoe. KING SOLOMON AND THE HOOPOES In the days of King Solomon, the son of David, who, by the virtue of his cabalistic 1 seal, reigned supreme over genii2 as well as men, and who could speak the languages of animals of all kinds, all created beings were subservient 3 to his will. Now when the king wanted to travel, he made use, for his conveyance,1 of a carpet of a square form. This carpet had the property of extending itself to a sufficient size to carry a whole army, with the tents and 1 1 Cabalistic, magical. 3 Subservient, obedient. 2 Genii, spirits having great powers. *Conveyance, carriage. baggage; but at other times it could be reduced so as to be only large enough for the support of the royal throne, and of those ministers whose duty it was to attend upon the person of the sovereign. Four genii of the air then took the four corners of the carpet, and carried it with its contents wherever King Solomon desired. Once the king was on a journey in the air, carried upon his throne of ivory over the various nations of the earth. The rays of the sun poured down upon his head, and he had nothing to protect him from its heat. The fiery beams were beginning to scorch his neck and shoulders, when he saw a flock of vultures flying past. 66 "O vultures!" cried King Solomon, "come and fly between me and the sun, and make a shadow with your wings to protect me, for its rays are scorching my neck and face." But the vultures answered, and said: "We are flying to the north, and your face is turned towards the south. We desire to continue on our way; and be it known unto thee, O king! that we will not turn back on our flight, neither will we fly above thy throne to protect thee from the sun, although its rays may be scorching thy neck and face." Then King Solomon lifted up his voice, and said, "Cursed be ye, O vultures! and because you will not obey the commands of your lord, who rules over the whole world, the feathers of your necks shall fall off; and the heat of the sun, and the coldness of the winter, and the keenness of the wind, and the beating of the rain, shall fall upon your rebellious necks, which shall not be protected with feathers like the necks of other birds. And whereas ye have hitherto fared delicately, henceforward ye shall eat carrion and feed upon offal1; and your race shall be impure until the end of the world." And it was done unto the vultures as King Solomon had said. Now it fell out that there was a flock of hoopoes 2 flying past; and the king cried out to them, and said, "O hoopoes! come and fly between me and the sun, that I may be 1 Offal, waste, garbage. 2 Hoopoe, a small bird having a beautiful crest. protected from its rays by the shadow of your wings." Whereupon the king of the hoopoes answered, and said, "O king, we are but little fowls, and we are not able to afford much shade; but we will gather our nation together, and by our numbers we will make up for our small size." So the hoopoes gathered together, and, flying in a cloud over the throne of the king, they sheltered him from the rays of the sun. When the journey was over, and King Solomon sat upon his golden throne, in his palace of ivory, whereof the doors were emerald, and the windows of diamonds, larger even than the diamond of Jemshid, he commanded that the king of the hoopoes should stand before his feet. Now," said King Solomon, “for the service that thou and thy race have rendered, and the obedience thou hast shown to the King, thy lord and master, what shall be done unto thee, O hoopoe? and what shall be given to the hoopoes of thy race for a memorial and a reward ? Now the king of the hoopoes was confused |