"Ourselves beheld the listed field."

Supra, line 82.

But ourselves is an improper form, made on the supposition that my-self and thyself were genitives. They are really accusatives, me-sylf, the-sylf. Self in A.-S. was an adjective, agreeing with the pronoun which it qualified in gender, number, and

case.

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the shape of the niche and position of the figure, seemed to be that of an immured

nun.

"Saint"

12. The rival merits of their saint.Another sacrifice to rhyme. should be saints.

13. Old Colwulf.-A king of Northumbria, who abdicated in 738 and retired to Holy Island, where he died. To him the Venerable Bede dedicates his "Ecclesiastical History," finished in 731.— -For his fault.-Construe thus: Colwulf built it, to dwell (there) in penitence for his fault (sins). To dwell" is infinitive of purpose. 14. Scxhelm.-Bishop of Chester-leStreet (Cumcasestre) in the middle of the tenth century.

15. To doom.-To pronounce sentence, condemn.

16. Ruth. — Pity [O. E. routhe, from rewen, to be sorry; A.-S. hreowan. Hence E. ruthless, cruel, pitiless.] 17. Style.

Title or designation.

18. Share. The present and past tenses are rather recklessly mixed up in this passage. Stood is past; share, present; deserves, present; belied and the following verbs are past, till we reach the seventeenth line, where the rhyme requires know instead of knew.

19. Ringlets rich and rare.-An example of alliteration or head-rhyme, the repetition of the same letter at the beginning of successive words.

20. But her breathing did not fail-If her breathing had failed....you might have thought a form of wax.... was there. But is equivalent to if not, and this not is cancelled by the not following: but not; but....not if. Compare: "Beshrew me, but I love her heartily." Merchant of Venice.

i.e., Curse me, if I do not love her.

25. For one minute's space successless— Without success even for one minute. 26. He knew her of broad lands the heir

lands.

27. The King.-King Henry VIII. of England.

28. Ho! shifts she thus ?-This imitation of the imperious manner of Henry would be suitable in the main narrative, but it is out of place in the mouth of an agitated maiden making her last confession.

29. Had given.-Conditional mood, for would have given. The subjunctive clause is "had fortune betrayed," &c. = if fortune had betrayed (betrayed, in the sense of delivered up, fulfilled). -Broke, in the next line, is subjunctive, for had broken.

30. The fiery Dane.--See Note 2, supra. 31. The ire of a despotic King.--A prophetic allusion to the destruction of the monasteries by Henry VIII. (A.D. 1536–39). Shakespeare has made Queen Elizabeth the subject of similar dramatic prophecies in Henry VIII., Act ii., Scene 3, line 77; Act iii., Scene 2, line 51; Act v., Scene 5, line 18. 32. Find my bones.-An idea suggested perhaps by the incident mentioned in Note 24, supra.

wone as a noun:

tell.

1. The mountain path the Palmer showed.-Supply which after path. The relative is often omitted when it is in the objective case, and when its antecedent immediately precedes the relative clause.

2. The Merse.-Lower Tweeddale-the plain between the Lammermoors and the Cheviots. It is thus a familiar name for Berwickshire. The word has the same meaning as Mercia, one of the kingdoms of the Heptarchy, viz., the domain of the marches, or border-lands. [A.-S. mearc; E. mark; Ger. mark; Fr. marque, &c.]

3. Had scarcely failed. - Conditional mood, for "would scarcely have failed." Supply the subjunctive, "if they had met them."

4. Old Gifford's towers and hamlet.-The hamlet is the village of Gifford, four miles from Haddington. Here John Knox was born in 1505. The towers are those of the Castle of Gifford, or Yester, a mile or two to the south-east of the village, an ancestral seat of the Tweeddale family. The castle is famous for a subterranean, vaulted cave, called Bo-hall, or Hobgoblin Hall, the Goblin Hall of the host's tale. Its construction has been popularly ascribed to magical power, and has been connected with the reputation as a magician of "Sir Hugh Gifford de Yester," who died in 1267.

5. Bush.-In olden times it was customary to hang out a bush-a branch of a tree, generally of ivy, the plant sacred to Bacchus as a tavern sign. "The Bush" is still a common name of English inns. The proverb quoted in the epilogue to As You Like It refers to this custom : "Good wine needs no bush,"-i.e., an inn known for its good wine needs no sign-board.

-Construe: The rafters bore store of dried sea-fowl and solands. -Solands-Solangeese, or gannets (sula bassana). The name soland, or solan, is said to be derived from the Solent, the strait between the Isle of Wight and the mainland on the west; a name formerly applied to the whole of the English Channel. In summer they frequent insular rocks in the northern seas, such as Ailsa Craig, the Bass, Lundy Isle, and migrate in winter to warmer regions. Their nests, consisting of a few sticks and sea-grasses, are exposed on the open rock. The flesh is rank and oily, but that of the young bird is in some places considered a delicacy. The Bass Rock is said to be visited annually by twenty thousand of these birds.

8. Nor wanted-Nor were there want

9. Whom with brown ale, &c.-Construe: Whom in jolly tide their host supplied full actively with brown ale (drawn) from ancient vessels ranged aside-i.e., side by side. In jolly tide means during their mirth.

10. Full--Very. Full, as an adverb of intensity, is common in English poetry from Chaucer downwards; e.g., "Ful wel sche sang the servisë divyne, Entuned in hire nose ful semely;

And Frensch sche spok ful faire and fetysly."

Prologue to Canterbury Tales, lines 122-5. "Full many a flower is born to blush unseen."-Gray.

"Full well they laughed," &c.-Goldsmith. 11. As.-For so as, or as if.

12. Our choicest minstrel.-Constance de Beverley, who had attended Marmion in the disguise of a page.

13. The harp, &c.-The "harp" is the emblem of the minstrel, the "lute" of the lover. Constant was equally ("alike ") skilled in martial and in love songs.

14. Sadder.-An adverb, for sadlier. 15. Plained. Was plaintive or sorrowful.

16. A space. The objective of duration. Construe: And rested for a space (a considerable time) with his head reclining on his hand.

17. Ye. For you, as a singular pronoun in the nominative case. Ben Jonson says that ye is used in the singular "for reverence' sake;" and so it was in and before his time; but this principle cannot account for the present example. It is more likely to be due to the colloquial pronunciation of you as ye which prevails, especially in the Scottish Lowlands. This is not unknown in English; for example, in the familiar How d'ye do?"

18. Seemed in mine ear a death-peal rung. It seemed that a death-peal rung in mine ear. It is a common superstition amongst the peasantry of Scotland that a singing or tinkling in the ears announces some friend's demise.

19. Marmion.-Objective case. In apposition with him in the second line following.

20. Strook. Struck. A form invented to suit the rhyme. The Sc. past of "strike" is straik.

21. Wakened qualifies remorse in line 155. Construe the sentence thus: But dark tales of convent-vengeance rose to aid the venomed throes of remorse, (which was) wakened by her favourite lay, and that strange Palmer's boding say, that fell so ominous and drear, full on the object of his fear.

root as clergy (Lat. clerus, a lot, Matthias having been chosen by lot), because in the Middle Ages the clerics or clergy were the only learned men.

26. Alexander-That is, Alexander III. of Scotland, who reigned from 1249-1263. 27. See Note 4, supra.

28. Haco.-King of Norway. He invaded Scotland, and was defeated at Largs, on the coast of Ayrshire, in 1263.

29. Savage of heart, and large of limb. Examples of the genitive of reference. Savage in respect of heart, and large in respect of limb.

30. The gift of Coeur-de-Lion's hand. The sword must have been given by Richard Coeur-de-Lion to William the Lion of Scotland, the only Scottish King who was his contemporary; unless, indeed, it is an anachronism.

=

31. Tide what tide-Happen whatever may happen. A concessive clause though what tide may tide; though anything may happen. [A.-S. tidan, to betide, happen, from tid, time.]

32. Fell Edward-Cruel Edward: Edward I. of England, surnamed Longshanks, the conqueror of Wallace and oppressor of Scotland.

33. Largs.-See Note 28, supra.

34. Wallace wight.-William Wallace, the knight of Ellerslie, who maintained the independence of Scotland for so many years against Edward I., until he was betrayed into his hands and executed in 1305. Perhaps apt alliteration" suggested the addition to his name of the epithet wight, which here means strong, manly, heroic. See also Canto VI., line 375.

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35. Quaighs.- Wooden drinking cups, composed, like a cask, of staves. [Gael. cuach, a cup or bowl.]

36. Me.The dative of advantage: Saddle the steed for me.

37. Yode.--Went. [O. E. yod; A.-S. eóde, past tense of gan, gangan, to go.] 38. Selle. Saddle. [Fr. selle, Lat. sella, a seat.]

39. The falcon crest was soiled with clay. -A noun clause. Supply that before

it.

1. Free of heart-Free as to heart. A genitive of reference.

2. Bevis.-Marmion's steed.

3. Ruth.-Pity. See Note 16, Canto II. 4. Who would seem-Who was determined to seem.

(318)

7

5. Friar Rush.-Jack o' lanthorn, or Will o' the wisp. So says Scott in his note; but Mr. Keightley points out, in his "Fairy Mythology," that Scott has here confounded two distinct spirits-Jack o' lanthorn, the frequenter of fields and morasses, with Friar Rush, the plague of houses, who, as Scott says, once upon a time got admission into a monastery as a scullion, and played the monks many pranks." But Scott erred in good company; for Milton, in 'L'Allegro," uses the expression, "By friar's lantern led."

6. The Palmer showing forth the way.Nominative absolute.

15. I listened, ere I left the place. This also is loosely expressed. It implies that, after listening, he did leave the place, which is not true. The meaning is, that believing the sound to be the echo of his own blast, he was on the point of leaving, but first waited to listen.

16. I view. Another example of a present tense introduced awkwardly between two past tenses-"could trust," and "I trembled."

17. Affright. The use of "affright" as a noun is, to say the least, unusual.

18. Like what I saw-In the same manner as "what I saw" could blast their sight. The use of "like" for as is colloSee Note 20,

Strook.-Struck.

19. Canto III.

8. For-Since.

9. Crichtoun Castle.-A large ruinous castle, of different dates and styles of architecture, on the banks of the Tyne, about eleven miles from Edinburgh. It was originally founded by Sir William Crichton, Chancellor of Scotland, guardian of James II., A. D. 1437.

10. The Borough-moor.-The Borough or Common Moor of Edinburgh was of very great extent, reaching from the southern walls of the city to the bottom of Braid Hills. It was anciently a forest; and in that state was so great a nuisance that the inhabitants of Edinburgh had permission granted them of building wooden galleries, projecting over the street, in order to encourage them to consume the timber which they seem to have done very effectually. When James IV. mustered the array of the kingdom there in 1513, the Borough-moor was, according to Hawthornden, "a field, spacious and delightful, by the shade of many stately and aged oaks." 11. To prize-To value, or appreciate. 12. He marked not, &c.-For that "he marked not," after so pale."

13. Wold.-A weald, or open country; literally a forest. [A.-S. weald; Ger. wald.]

14. It might be.-For, it might have been; after the past tense was. Scott did not adhere to the niceties of grammar in his poetry, when the structure of his verse made it expedient to sacrifice them.

20. A face could never be mistook. Supply which after face.

21. So grimly and so ghast.—“Grimly" is an adverb, and "ghast" an adjective. We must suppose the former to relate to the verb 'stare," and the latter to the noun "glare."

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22. Bowne.--Make ready. "Busk and boun" occurs frequently in old ballads. applied to the marshalling of forcesarray and prepare. [O. E. and Sc. bown, adj., ready; Ic. to boun, to prepare; old Norse búiun.]

23. Dun-Edin. The Gaelic name of Edinburgh. Properly the Castle of Edin, or Edwin. Dun, and the Saxon heork, or herg, have the same meaning—a fortified height.

24. Hills of Braid.-The Braid Hills lie about a mile and a half to the south of Edinburgh. Blackford Hill is an eminence nearer the city.

25. And all the steep slope down, &c.— A vivid description of the picturesque outline of the Old Town of Edinburgh, the main artery of which covers with irregular buildings the ridge extending from the Castle on the west to Holyrood on the east. This continuous line of streets, extending to upwards of a mile, bears in its successive portions the names of the Castle Hill, the Lawnmarket, the High Street, and the Canongate.

26. Rolled. A participle, qualifying Frith (of Forth).

27. Demi-volte.-The sudden start or bound of a charger pricked by a spur. [Fr. demi, half, and volte, a turn or bound; Lat. volvo, I turn.]

2. The Borderer and the Mountaineer.— The clansmen both of the Borders and of the Highlands were noted freebooters, and the honest burghers of the capital did not feel quite ease in their proximity.

9. English fair.-See Note 6, supra. 10. Margaret.-In 1502, James married Margaret of England, the daughter of Henry VII. and sister of Henry VIII. This marriage afterwards led (1603) to the union of the English and Scottish Crowns. 11. Lithgow's bower.- The ruins of Linlithgow Palace stand on the southern bank

wede,

The pilours diden businesse and cure." Knightes Tale, line 148. 4. Holy-Rood.-The Abbey was founded by David I. in 1128. It originally comprised a suite of apartments for royal guests. The Palace, or House, as it was generally called, dates from 1528; but the greater part of the present building belongs to the time of Charles II.

5. Lists. See Note 18, Canto I.

6. From fair to fair-From lady to lady. An adjective, used as a noun, is generally accompanied by the article. It also usually names either an abstract principle, as the good, for goodness, or the good, for good people. Cowper, however, uses the adjective substantively in the singular :

7. The pressure of his iron belt.-James had been forced, while still a youth, to go into the field with the lords in rebellion against his father. He was present at the battle of Sauchieburn (18th June 1488), in fleeing from which James III. was slain. One of the forms of penance which James IV. imposed upon himself for this crime was the wearing for the rest of his life an iron girdle, to the weight of which he added certain ounces every year. This passage well describes the character of James as a mixture of earnest devotion and gaiety approaching to license.

8. The fair Queen of France.-Anne of Brittany, wife of Louis XII. of France,

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Com

'Sir Toby. What is thy excellence in a galliard, knight?

Sir And. 'Faith, I can cut a caper.' Twelfth Night, Act i., Scene 3, line 128. 15. 'Twere better by far-Conditional mood, for it would have been better. The subjunctive is implied in the infinitive, "To have matched" if we had matched.

16. Scaur.-Scar, a cliff. [Sc. scaur.] 17. Common to each home.-Not strictly logical: it should be, common to both homes.

18. My tale attend Attend (imperative) to my tale. Attend, in the sense of listen, is usually intransitive. Shakespeare uses listen in like manner as a transitive verb:

And now, Octavius,
Listen great things.'

Julius Cæsar, Act iv., Scene 1. 19. Though I must speak.-That I must speak would have been more correct. Con