I shudder'd at his brow of gloom, His shadowy plaid, and sable plume! A Douglas knew the word, with fear. To change such odious theme were best,— XV. "What think I of him ?-woe the while That brought such wanderer to our isle! For Tine-man forged by fairy lore,' If court spy hath harbour'd here, What may we for the Douglas fear? 1 Archibald, the third Earl of Douglas, was so unfortunate in all his enterprises, that he acquired the epithet of TINE-MAN, because he tined, or lost, his followers in every battle which he fought. He was vanquished, as every reader must remember, in the bloody battle of Homildon-hill, near Wooler, where he himself lost an eye, and was made prisoner by Hotspur. He was no less unfortunate when allied with Percy, being wounded and taken at the battle of Shrewsbury. He was so unsuccessful in an attempt to besiege Roxburgh Castle, that it was called the Foul Raid, or disgraceful expedition. His ill fortune left him indeed at the battle of Beaugé, in France; 2 See Appendix, Note D. What for this island, deem'd of old XVI. Far up the lengthen'd lake were spied Four mann'd and masted barges grew, but it was only to return with double emphasis at the subsequent action of Vernoil, the last and most unlucky of his encounters, in which he fell, with the flower of the Scottish chivalry, then serving as auxiliaries in France, and about two thousand common soldiers, A. D. 1424. The moving picture-the effect of the sounds-and the wild character and strong peculiar nationality of the whole procession, are given with inimitable spirit and power of expression.—JEFFREY. 2 Cotton-grass. And, bearing downwards from Glengyle, Now might you see the tartans brave, And plaids and plumage dance and wave : See the proud pipers on the bow, From their loud chanters' down, and sweep The furrow'd bosom of the deep, As, rushing through the lake amain, They plied the ancient Highland strain. XVII. Ever, as on they bore, more loud 1 The pipe of the bagpipe. Then bursting bolder on the ear, The clan's shrill Gathering they could hear; Thick beat the rapid notes, as when The mustering hundreds shake the glen, With mingled outcry, shrieks, and blows; 1 The connoisseurs in pipe-music affect to discover in a well-composed pibroch, the imitative sounds of march, conflict, fight, pursuit, and all the "current of a heady fight." To this opinion Dr. Beattie has given his suffrage, in the following elegant passage:-" A pibroch is a species of tune, peculiar, I think, to the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland. It is performed on a bagpipe, and differs totally from all other music. Its rhythm is so irregular, and its notes, especially in the quick movement, so mixed and huddled together, that a stranger finds it impossible to reconcile his ear to it, so as to perceive its modulation. Some of these pibrochs, being intended to represent a battle, begin with a grave motion resembling a march; then gradually quicken into the onset; run off with noisy confusion, and turbulent rapidity, to imitate the conflict and pursuit; then swell into a few flourishes of triumphant joy; and perhaps close with the wild and slow wailings of a funeral procession.-Essay on Laughter and Ludicrous Composition, chap. iii. Note. And bursts of triumph, to declare Sunk in a moan prolong'd and low, XVIII. The war-pipes ceased; but lake and hill XIX. Buat Song. Hail to the Chief who in triumph advances! Honour'd and bless'd be the ever-green Pine! Long may the tree, in his banner that glances, Flourish, the shelter and grace of our line! |