THE LADY OF THE LAKE. CANTO FIRST. THE CHASE. ARP of the North! that moldering long hast hung Hon the witch-elm that shades St. Fillan's 3 spring, And down the fitful breeze thy numbers flung, O minstrel Harp! still must thine accents sleep? Still must thy sweeter sounds their silence keep, Not thus, in ancient days of Caledon,1 Was thy voice mute amid the festal crowd, Aroused the fearful, or subdued the proud. 1 The poet invokes the spirit that animated the ancient Scottish minstrels, whose songs were usually accompanied by the music of the harp. 2 Called also the "wizard elm," because forked twigs from the tree were used as divining rods. 3 A Scotch abbot of the seventh century. 4 The Romans gave the name Caledonia to that part of Scotland north of the Clyde and Forth. 21 At each according pause, was heard aloud Thine ardent symphony sublime and high! Fair dames and crested chiefs attention bow'd; For still the burden of thy minstrelsy Was Knighthood's dauntless deed, and Beauty's matchless eye. Oh, wake once more! how rude soe'er the hand Yet if one heart throb higher at its sway, The wizard note has not been touch'd in vain. Then silent be no more! Enchantress, wake again! I. THE stag at eve had drunk his fill, But, when the sun his beacon red And faint, from farther distance borne, II. As Chief, who hears his warder 3 call, "To arms the foemen storm the wall," 1 St. Monan was a Scotch monk of the fourth century. The rill cannot be identified. 2 See map, p. 2. 3 For the meaning of technical terms, colloquialisms, and unusual words not to be found in a school dictionary, see Glossary at the end of volume. The antler'd monarch of the waste Sprung from his heathery 1 couch in haste. The dewdrops from his flanks he shook; That thicken'd as the chase drew nigh; III. Yell'd on the view the opening 5 pack; Close in her covert cower'd the doe, 1 The heath or heather is a small evergreen shrub very common in the Scottish Highlands. 2 The head of a stag is said to be beamed after its fourth-year horns appear. 3 "Tainted gale," i.e., the wind scented with the odor of the pursuers. 4 See map, p. 2. 66 5 A pack of hounds is said to open" when the dogs begin to bark, upon recovering the scent or catching sight of the game. The falcon, from her cairn on high, IV. Less loud the sounds of silvan war For ere that steep ascent was won, Scarce half the lessening pack was near; 4 So shrewdly on the mountain side Had the bold burst their mettle tried. V. The noble stag was pausing now 1 A confused or boisterous gathering. 3 A deep pool. 4 Severely. 2 Sight. 5 Or Monteith, a picturesque district of Scotland watered by the river Teith. And ponder'd refuge from his toil, But nearer was the copsewood gray, That waved and wept on Loch Achray, VI. 'Twere long to tell what steeds gave o'er, VII. Alone, but with unbated zeal, That horseman plied the scourge and steel; 3 1 An estate about two miles from Callander on the wooded banks of the Keltie. 2 Bridge. 3 Spur. |