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nery around him suggested nothing but objects of horror. In this situstion he revolved in his mind the question proposed; and whatever was impressed upon him by his exalted imagination passed for inspiration,

NOTE II.

that huge cliff whose ample verge

Tradition calls the Hero's Targe.

A rock so named in the forest of Glenfinlas, is said to have afforded refuge to an outlaw, who was supplied with provisions by a woman, who lowered them down from the brink of the precipice above. His water ha procured for himself, by letting down a flagon tied to a string, into the black pool beneath the fall.

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NOTE HI..

Which spills the foremost foeman's life,

That party conquers in the strife.

It is said that the Highlanders under Montrose were so deeply embued with this notion, that on the morning of the battle of Tippermoor, they murdered a defenceless herdsman, whom they found in the fields, merely to secure to their party the advantage of having first shed blood.

NOTE IV.

Why sounds yon stroke on beech and oak,

Our moonlight circle's screen?

Or who comes here to chase the deer,

. Beloved of our elfin queen?

Fairies, if not positively malevolent, are capricious and easily offended. They are, like other proprietors of forests, peculiarly jealous of their rights of vert and venison. This jealousy was an attribute of the Duergar or dwarfs; to many of whose distinctions the fairies seem to have succeeded. NOTE V. <

Or who may dare on wold to wear
The fairies' fatal green.

The Daonie Shi', or Men of Peace, were supposed to take offence when any mortals ventured to assume their favourite colour. Indeed, green is held in Scotland to be unlucky to particular tribes and counties. The Caithness men, who hold this belief, allege as a reason, that their bands wore that colour when they were cut off at the battle of Flodden. Green is also disliked by those of the name of Ogilvy, and is held fatal to the whole clan of Grahame. An aged gentleman of that name, when his horse fell in a fox-chase, accounted for it by observing, that the whip-cord attached to his lash was of this unlucky colour.

NOTE VI.

For thou wert christen'd man.

The elves were supposed greatly to envy the privileges acquired by Christian initiation, and they gave to those mortals who had fallen into their power, a certain precedence, founded upon this distinction.

NOTE VII.

Though space and law the stag we lend,

Who ever reck'd where how, or when,

The prowling fox was trapped and slain?

St. John actually used this illustration in confuting the plea of law proposed for the unfortunate Eari of Strafford: "It was true, we give laws to hares and deer, because they are beasts of chase; but it was never accounted either cruelty or foul play, to knock foxes or wolves on the head as they can be found, because they are beasts of prey."

NOTES TO CANTO FIFTH.

NOTE I.

Not then claim'd sovereignty his due,
While Albany, with feeble hand,

Held borrow'd truncheon of command.

There is scarcely a more disorde.ly period in Scottish history than that

which succeeded the battle of Flodden, and occupied the minority of James V. Feuds of ancient standing broke out like old wounds; and every quarrel among the independent nobility, which occurred daily, and almost hourly, gave rise to fresh bloodshed.

NOTE II.

-I only meant

To show the reed on which you leant,
Deeming this path you might pursue

Without a pass from Roderick Dhu.

This incident, like some other passages in the poem, illustrative of the character of the ancient Gael, is not imaginary, but borrowed from fact. The Highlanders, with the inconsistency of most nations in the same state, were alternately capable of great exertions of generosity, and of cruel revenge and perfidy, NOTE III.

On Bochastle the mouldering lines,

Where Rome, the empress of the world,

Of yore her eagle wings unfurled.

The torrent which discharges itself from Loch Vennachar, the lowest and eastmost of the three lakes which form the scenery adjoining to the Trosachs, sweeps through a flat, and extensive moor, called Buchaste. Upon a small eminence, called the Dun of Bochastle,, and, indeed, on the plain itself, are some entrenchments which have been thought Roman. There is, adjacent to Callender, a sweet villa, the residence of Captain Fairfoul, entitled the Roman Camp.

NOTE IV.

See, here, all vantageless I stand,

Armed, like thyself, with single brand.

The duellists of former times did not always stand upon those punctilios respecting equality of arms which are now judged essential to fair combat. It is true, that in formal combats in the lists, the parties were, by the judges of the field, put as nearly as possible in the same circumstances. But in private duel it was often otherwise.

NOTE V.

Ill fared it then with Roderick Dhu,

That on the field his targe he threw.

A round target of light wood, covered with strong leather, and studded with brass or iron, was a necessary part of a Highlander's equipment. In charging regular troops, they received the thrust of the bayo ier in this buckler, twisted it aside, and used the broadsword against the encumbered soldier.

NOTE VI.

For, train'd abroad his arms to wield,

Fitz-James's blade was sword and shield.

The use of defensive armour, and particularly of the buckler or target, was general in Queen Elizabeth's time, although that of the single rapier seems to have been occasionally practised much earlier.

NOTE VII.

The burghers hold their sports to-day.

Every burgh of Scotland, of the least note, but more especially the considerable towns, had their solemn play, or festival, when feats of archery were exhibited, and prizes distributed to those who excelled in wrestling, hurling the bar, and other gymnastic exercises of the period.

NOTES TO CANTO SIXTH.

NOTE I.

These drew not for their fields the sword,

Like tenants of a feudal lord,

Nor own'd the patriarchal claim

Of chieftain in their leader's name.

The Scottish armies consisted chiefly of the nobility and barons, with

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their vassals, who held lands under them, for military service by themselves and their tenants. The patriarchal influence exercised by heads of clans in the Highlands and Borders was of a different nature, and some times at variance with feudal principles. It flowed from the Patria Potestas, exercised by the cheftain as representing the original father of the whole name, and was often obeyed in contradiction to the feudal superior.

NOTE II

Thou now hast glee-maiden and harp; > Get thee an ape, and trudge the land, The leader of a juggler band.

The jongleurs, or jugglers, as we learn from the elaborate work of the late Mr. Strutt, on the Sports and Pastimes of the People of England, used to call in the aid of various assistants, to render these performances as captivating as possible. The glee-maiden was a necessary attendant. Her duty was tumbling and dancing; and, therefore, the Anglo-Saxon version of Saint Mark's Gospel states Herodias to have vaulted or tumbled before King Herod.

NOTE III..

That stirring air which peals on high,

O'er Dermid's race our victory.

Strike it.

There are several instances, at least in tradition, of persons so much attached to particular tunes, as to require to hear them on their deathbed. Such an anecdote is mentioned by the late Mr. Riddel of Glenriddel, in his collection of Border tunes, respecting an air called the Dandling of the Bairns," for which a certain Gallovidian laird is said to have evinced this strong mark of partiality.

NOTE IV.

Battle of Beal' an Duine.

A skirmish actually took place at a pass thus called in the Trosachs, and closed with the remarkable incident mentioned in the text. It was greatly posterior in date to the reign of James V.

NOTE V.

And Snowdoun's knight is Scotland's king.

This discovery will probably remind the reader of the beautiful Arabian tale of Il Bondocani. Yet the incident is not borrowed from that elegant story, but from Scottish tradition. James V., of whom we are trea ing, was a monarch whose good and benevolent intentions often rendered his romantic freaks venial, if not respectable, since, from his anxious attention to the interests of the lower and most oppressed class of his subjects, he was, as we have seen, popularly termed the King of the Commons. For the purpose of seeing that justice was regular y administered, and frequently from the less justifiable motive of gallantry, he used to traverse the vicinage of his several palaces in various disguises.

NOTE VI.
Stirling's tower

Of yore the name of Snowdoun claims.

William of Worcester, who wrote about the middle of the fifteenth century, calls Stirling Castle, Snowdoun.

INTRODUCTION.

NOTE I.

And Cattraeth's vales with voice of triumph rung,

And mystic Merlin harp'd, and grey-hair'd Llywarch sung. This locality may startle those who do not recollect, that much of the ancient poetry preserved in Wales, refers less to the history of the prin cipality to which that name is now limited, than to events which hap. pened in the North-west of England and South-west of Scotland, where the Britons for a long time made a stand against the Saxons. The battle of Cattraeth, lamented by the celebrated Aneurin, is supposed by the learned Dr. Leyden to have been fought on the skirts of Ettrick Forest.

NOTE II.

where the lingering fays renew their ring,

By milk-maid seen beneath the hawthorn hoar,

Or round the marge of Minchmore's haunted spring.

A belief in the existence and nocturnal revels of the fairies stili lingers among the vulgar in Selkirkshire. A copious fountain upon the ridge of Minchmore, called the Cheesewell, is supposed to be sacred to these fanciful spirits, and it was cus omary to propitiate them by throwing in something upon passing it. A pin was the usual oblation, and the ceremony is still sometimes practised, though rather in jest than earnest.

NOTE III. verse spontaneous.

The flexibility of the Italian and Spanish languages, and perhaps the liveliness of their genius, renders these countries distinguished for the talent of improvisation, which is found even among the lowest of the people. It is mentioned by Baretti and other travellers.

NOTES ON THE VISION.

NOTE I.

For fair Florinda's plundered charms to pay.

Almost all the Spanish historians, as well as the voice of tradition, ascribe the invasion of the Moors to the forcible violation committed by Roderick upon Florinda, called by the Moors, Caba, or Cava. She was the daughter of Count Julian, one of the Gothic monarch's principal lieutenants, who, when the crime was perpetrated, was engaged in the defence of Ceuta against the Moors. In his indignation at the ingratitude of his sovereign, and the dishonour of his daughter, Count Julian forgot the duties of a Christian and a patriot, and forming an alliance with Musa, then the caliph's lieutenant in Africa, he countenanced the invasion of Spain by a body of Saracens and Africans, commanded by the celebrated Tarik; the issue of which was the defeat and death of Roderick, and the occupation of almost the whole 'peninsula by the Moors.

NOTE II.

And guide me, Priest, to that mysterious room,

Where, if aught true in old tradition be,

His nation's future fate a Spanish King shall see.

The transition of an incident from history to tradition, and from tradition to fable and romance, becoming more marvellous at each step

from its original simplicity, is not ill exemplified in the account of the "Fated Chamber" of Don Roderick, as given by his namesake, the historian of Toledo, contrasted with subsequent and more romanties accounts of the same subterranean discovery.

About the term of the expulsion of the Moors from Granada, we find, in the "Historia Verdadera del Rey Don Roderigo," a pretended translation from the Arabic of the sage Alcayde Abulcacim Tarif Abentarique, a legend which puts to shame the modesty of the historian Roderick, with his chest and prophetic picture. The custom of ascribing a pretended Moorish original to these legendary histories, is ridiculed by Cervantes, who affects to translate the History of the Knight of the Woeful Figure, from the Arabic of the sage Cid Hamet Benengeli.

NOTE III.

the Teebir war-cry, and the Lelles yell,

The tecbir (derived from the words Alla acbar, God is most mighty,> was the original war-ery of the Saracens. It is celebrated by Hughes In the siege of Damascus: We heard the Tecbir; so these Arabs call

Their shout of onset, when with loud appeal

They challenge heaven, as if demanding conquest.

The Zelte, well known to the Christians during the crusades, is the shout of Alla illa Alla, the Mahomedan confession of faith. It is twice ased in poetry by my friend Mr. W. Stuart Rose, in the romance of Partenopex, and in the Crusade of St. Lewis.

NOTE IV.

By Heaven, the Moors prevail !-the Christians yield -
Their coward leader gives for flight the sign!
The sceptred craven mounts to quit the field-

Is not yon steed Orelia ?-Yes, 'tis mine!

Count Julian, the father of the injured Florinda, with the connivance and assistance of Oppas, Archbishop of Toledo, invited, in 713, the Sareens into Spain. A considerable army arrived under the command of Tarik, or Tarif, who bequeathed the well-known name of Gibraltar (Gibel al Tarik) to the place of his landing. He was joined by Count Julia, Davaged Andalusia, and took Seville. In 714, they returned with a still greater force, and Roderick marched into Andalusia at the head of a great army to give them battle.

NOTE V.

When for the light Bolero ready stand,

The Mozo blithe with gay Muchacha met.

The Bolero is a very light and active dance, much practised by the Spaniards, in which castanets are always used. Mozo and Muchacha are equivalent to our phrase of lad and lass.

NOTE VI.

While trumpets rung, and heralds cried, "Castile."

The heralds at the coronation of a Spanish monarch proclaim his name three times, and repeat the word "Castilla !" three times, which, with all other ceremonies, was carefully copied in the mock inauguration of Joseph Buonaparte.

NOTE VII.

High blazed the war, and long, and far, and wide.

Those who were disposed to believe that mere virtue and energy are able of themselves to work forth the salvation of an oppressed people, surprised in a moment of confidence, deprived of their officers, armies and fortresses, who had every means of resistance to seek in the very moment when they were to be made use of, and whom the numerous treasons among the higher orders deprived of confidence in

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