XXIX.
Full well the conscious maiden guess’d
He probed the weakness of her breast;
But, with that consciousness, there came
A lightening of her fears for Græme,
And more she deem’d the Monarch’s ire
Kindled ’gainst him, who, for her sire,
Rebellious broadsword boldly drew;
And, to her generous feeling true,
She craved the grace of Roderick Dhu.
“Forbear thy suit:—the King of kings
Alone can stay life’s parting wings.
I know his heart, I know his hand,
Have shared his cheer, and proved his brand;—
My fairest earldom would I give
To bid Clan-Alpine’s Chieftain live!—
Hast thou no other boon to crave?
No other captive friend to save?”
Blushing, she turn’d her from the King,
And to the Douglas gave the ring,
As if she wish’d her sire to speak
The suit that stain’d her glowing cheek.—
“Nay, then, my pledge has lost its force,
And stubborn Justice holds her course.—
Malcolm, come forth!”—and, at the word,
Down kneel’d the Græme to Scotland’s Lord.
“For thee, rash youth, no suppliant sues,
From thee may Vengeance claim her dues,
Who, nurtured underneath our smile,
Hast paid our care by treacherous wile,
And sought, amid thy faithful clan,
A refuge for an outlaw’d man,
Dishonoring thus thy loyal name.—
Fetters and warder for the Græme!”—
His chain of gold the King unstrung,
The links o’er Malcolm’s neck he flung,
Then gently drew the glittering band,
And laid the clasp on Ellen’s hand.
Harp of the North, farewell! The hills grow dark,
On purple peaks a deeper shade descending;
In twilight copse the glowworm lights her spark,
The deer, half seen, are to the covert wending.
Resume thy wizard elm! the fountain lending,
And the wild breeze, thy wilder minstrelsy;
Thy numbers sweet with Nature’s vespers blending,
With distant echo from the fold and lea,
And herd-boy’s evening pipe, and hum of housing[362] bee.
Yet, once again, farewell, thou Minstrel Harp!
Yet, once again, forgive my feeble sway!
And little reck I of the censure sharp
May idly cavil at an idle lay.
Much have I owed thy strains on life’s long way,
Through secret woes the world has never known,
When on the weary night dawn’d wearier day,
And bitterer was the grief devour’d alone.
That I o’erlived such woes, Enchantress! is thine own.
Hark! as my lingering footsteps slow retire,
Some Spirit of the Air has waked thy string!
’Tis now a seraph bold, with touch of fire—
’Tis now the brush of Fairy’s frolic wing.
Receding now, the dying numbers ring
Fainter and fainter down the rugged dell,
And now the mountain breezes scarcely bring
A wandering witch note of the distant spell—
And now, ’tis silent all!—Enchantress, fare thee well!
[GLOSSARY.]
Arcade. A series of arches supported by columns or piers, either open or backed by masonry.
Augury. 1. The art or practice of foretelling events. 2. An omen or prediction.
Barret cap. A kind of cap or head gear formerly worn by soldiers.
Battlement. A wall or rampart around the top of a castle, with openings to look through and annoy the enemy.
Black-jack. A capacious drinking cup or can formerly made of waxed leather.
Bracken. Large coarse fern.
Bulwark. A rampart; a fortification.
Carpet knight. A person knighted on some other ground than that of military service; a knight who has not known the hardships of war.
Close. To grapple; to come to close quarters in fight.
Coif. A kind of cap worn by Scottish matrons.
Crest. 1. The plume or decoration on the top of a helmet. 2. The device over a coat of arms. 3. The ridge of the neck of a horse or dog.
Dicer. A gamester.
Drawbridge. A bridge at the entrance of a castle, which, when lowered by chains, gave access across the moat or ditch surrounding the structure.
Embossed. (A technical hunting term.) Flecked or spotted with foam.
Favor. Something which was bestowed as a token of good will or of love, as a glove or a knot of ribbon, to be worn habitually by a knight-errant.
Feint. (A technical fencing term.) A seeming aim at one part when it is intended to strike another.
Feudal. Pertaining to that political form in which there was a chain of persons holding land of one another on condition of performing certain services. Every man in the chain was bound to his immediate superior, held land from him, took oath of allegiance to him, and became his man.
Flourish. A trumpet call; a fanfare or prelude by one or more trumpets performed on the approach of any person of distinction.
Frontlet. The front of a stag’s head; the horns.
Guard. In fencing, a position of passive defense.
Halberd. A long-handled weapon armed with a steel point, and having a crosspiece of steel with a cutting edge.
Henchman. A groom; an attendant or follower.
Jack. An upper garment of leather, worn for defense by common soldiers. It was sometimes strengthened by small pieces of metal stitched into it.
Jennet. A small Spanish horse.
Ken. Sight; knowledge.
Law. “To give law” to a stag is to allow it a start of a certain distance or time before the hounds are slipped, the object being to insure a long chase.
Mew. A cage for hawks while mewing or moulting: hence an inclosure, a place of confinement.
Pass. (A term in fencing.) To thrust with a sword.
Pennon. A swallow-tailed flag or streamer.
Poleax. An ax fixed to a pole or handle. It was formerly used by mounted soldiers.
Prime. In the Roman Catholic Church the first canonical hour of prayer, six o’clock in the morning, generally the first quarter of the day.
Quarterstaff. A stout staff used as a weapon of defense. In using it, one hand was placed in the middle, and the other halfway between the middle and the end.
Signet. 1. A seal. 2. A ring containing a signet or private seal.
Slip. To let slip; to loose hands from the noose; to be sent in pursuit of game.
Squire. An attendant upon a knight.
Stirrup cup. A cup of wine drunk on parting from a friend on horseback.
Store. (An obsolete adjective.) Accumulated; stored up.
Strath. A valley of considerable size, through which a river flows.
Targe. Target-shield.
Tine-man. An officer of the forest, who had the nocturnal care of vert and venison.
Troll. 1. A song the parts of which are sung in succession; a round. 2. To sing in the manner of a catch or round, also in a full, jovial voice.
Vair. The skin of the squirrel, much used in the fourteenth century as fur for garments.
Vantage coign. A position of advantage for observing or operating.
Ward. A guarding or defensive position or motion in fencing.
Warder. One who wards or keeps.
Whinyard. A short sword or knife.
[SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY.]
The Lady of the Lake is usually read in the first year of the high school course, and it is with this fact in mind that the following suggestions have been made. It is an excellent book with which to begin the study of the ordinary forms of poetry, of plot structure, and the simpler problems of description. For this reason in the exercises that follow the emphasis has been placed on these topics.