More hills and valleys, up and down, And a river now and then." "And what comes next?" "A lonely moor And gray clouds sailing slow before "And then?" "Dark rocks and yellow sand, And a moaning sea beside." "And then?" "More sea, more sea, more land, And rivers deep and wide." "And then?" "Oh, rock and mountain and vale, Rivers and fields and men, Over and over repeat the tale, And round to your home again." Moor, a bleak, barren highland; beat'en way, road worn by many travelers. STUDY HELPS What question is asked of the traveler? Who asks it, and why? What questions follow, and what answer in each case? (In thinking about what the poem means, it may be that the traveler is one who knows life, and the child is one who does not. The answers may show that there are joys and dangers and loneliness and gloom and sorrows in life. The words "over and over repeat the tale" may mean that these experiences are repeated again and again. Can you tell which scenes may represent the joys of life? which the dangers? and so on? Such a selection is called an allegory, that is, a description of one thing in terms of another. Here "life" is pictured as a "journey.") THE GOODMAN OF BALLENGIECH SIR WALTER SCOTT I. THE KING OF KIPPEN James the Fifth had a custom of going about the country disguised as a private person, in order that he might hear complaints which might not otherwise reach his ears, and, perhaps, that he might enjoy amusement which he could not have partaken of in his avowed royal character. When James traveled in disguise he used a name which was known only to some of his principal nobility and attendants. He was called the Goodman (the tenant, that is) of Ballengiech. Ballengiech is a steep pass which leads down behind the castle of Stirling. Once upon a time, when the court was feasting in Stirling, the king sent for some venison from the neighboring hills. The deer were killed and put on horses' backs to be transported to Stirling. Unluckily they had to pass the castle gates of Arnpryor, belonging to a chief of the Buchanans, who chanced to have a considerable number of guests with him. It was late, and the company were rather short of victuals, though they had more than enough of liquor. The chief, seeing so much fat venison passing his door, seized on it; and to the expostulations of the keepers, who told him it belonged to King James, he answered insolently that if James were king in Scotland, he, Buchanan, was king in Kippen, being the name of the district in which the castle of Arnpryor lay. On hearing what had happened, the king got on horseback and rode instantly from Stirling to Buchanan's house, where he found a strong, fierce-looking Highlander, with an ax on his shoulder, standing sentinel at the door. This grim warder refused the king admittance, saying that the laird of Arnpryor was at dinner and would not be disturbed. "Yet go up to the company, my good friend," said the king, "and tell him that the Goodman of Ballengiech is come to feast with the King of Kippen." The porter went grumbling into the house and told his master that there was a fellow with a red beard at the gate, who called himself the Goodman of Ballengiech, who said he was come to dine with the King of Kippen. he knew that the king was come in person, and hastened down to kneel at James's feet and to ask forgiveness for his insolent behavior. But the king, who only meant to give him a fright, forgave him freely, and, going into the castle, feasted on his own venison which Buchanan had intercepted. Buchanan of Arnpryor was ever afterwards called the King of Kippen. As soon as Buchanan heard these words, A vowed', declared openly; Băl'len giech (gek), this name means "windy pass"; Stirling (stûr'ling), a city on the Forth River in Scotland, where there was a royal castle; Arn'pry'or (ärn'pri'er); Bu chan'ans (Bu kǎn'ans), menibers of a Scottish clan; ex pos'tu la'tions, protests; keep'ers, officers who have control of the grounds and game of an estate; in'so lent ly, in an impudent manner; ward'er (wôr'der), guardian, sentinel; in ter cept'ed (in ter sept'ed), seized on the way. STUDY HELPS What do you learn of James from the first paragraph? Tell the story of the venison. What did Buchanan say to the protest of the keepers? H. JOHN HOWIESON Upon another occasion, King James, being alone and in disguise, fell into a quarrel with some gypsies, or other vagrants, and was assaulted by four or five of them. This chanced to be very near the bridge of Cramond; so that the king got on the bridge, which, as it was high and narrow, enabled him to defend himself with his sword against the number of persons by whom he was attacked. There was a poor man threshing corn in a barn near by, who came out on hearing the noise of the scuffle and, seeing one man defending himself against numbers, gallantly took the king's part with his flail, to such good purpose that the gypsies were obliged to fly. The husbandman then took the king into the barn, brought him a towel and water to wash the blood from his face and hands, and finally walked with him a little way towards Edinburgh, in case he should be again attacked. On the way, the king asked his companion what and who he was. The laborer answered that his name was John Howieson, and that he was a bondsman on the farm of Braehead, near Cramond, which belonged to the King of Scotland. James then asked the poor man if there was any wish in the world which he would particularly desire should be gratified; and honest John confessed he should think himself the happiest man in Scotland were he but proprietor of the farm on which he wrought as a laborer. He then asked the king in turn who he was, and James replied, as usual, that he was the Goodman of Ballengiech, a poor man who had a small appointment about the palace; but he added that, if John Howieson would come to see him on the next Sunday, he would endeavor to repay his manful |