eastern extremity of Loch Lomond, derives its name from a cell or chapel, dedicated to S. Maronock, or Marnock, or Maronnan, about whose sanctity very little is now remembered."-Scott.

XIV. 4.

Bracklinn's thundering wave. "This is a beautiful cascade made by a mountain stream called the Keltie, at a place called the Bridge of Bracklinn, about a mile from the village of Callander, in Menteith."-Scott.

5. Save save (i.e. except) when.

28. Shadowy plaid, and sable plume, i.e. his dark plaid and black plume. Roderick Dhu= Roderick the Black.

XV. I. Woe the while woe be to the time.

4. For Tine-man forged, &c. "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; 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."-Scott.

5. What time at the time when. Cp. Daniel iii. 5, “What time ye hear," &c.

7. Self-unscabbarded. "The ancient warriors, whose hope and confidence rested chiefly in their blades, were accustomed to deduce omens from them, especially from such as were supposed to have been fabricated by enchanted skill, of which we have various instances in the romances and legends of the time." Scott adds the following story in illustration: "A young nobleman, of high hopes and fortune, chanced to lose his way in the town which he inhabited, the capital, if I mistake not, of a German province. He had accidentally involved himself among the narrow and winding streets of a suburb, inhabited by the lowest order of the people, and an approaching thunder-shower de termined him to ask a short refuge in the most decent habitation that was near him. He knocked at the door, which was opened by a tall

man, of a grisly and ferocious aspect, and sordid dress. The stranger was readily ushered to a chamber, where swords, scourges and machines, which seemed to be implements of torture, were suspended on the wall. One of these swords dropped from its scabbard, as the nobleman, after a moment's hesitation, crossed the threshold. His host immediately stared at him with such a marked expression, that the young man could not help demanding his name and business, and the meaning of his looking at him so fixedly. 'I am,' answered the man, 'the public executioner of this city; and the incident you have observed is a sure augury that I shall, in discharge of my duty, one day cut off your head with the weapon which has just now spontaneously unsheathed itself.' The nobleman lost no time in leaving his place of refuge; but, engaging in some of the plots of the period, was shortly after decapitated by that very man and instrument."

17. Beltane game. Beltane was the name of a Celtic festival celebrated on or about the 1st of May with bonfires and dances. Cp. Lord of the Isles, I. viii. "The shepherd lights his beltane fire." The origin of the festival, and the derivation of the name are both uncertain. 25. Canna. The Cotton-grass. Gaelic Canach.

XVI. 5. Glengyle. A glen at the west end of Loch Katrine.

7. Brianchoil. A promontory on the North shore of Loch Katrine. 8. Cast. To cast, in nautical language, means to turn a ship so as to bring the side towards the wind.

IO. Sir Roderick's banner'd pine, i.e. the banner with a picture of a pine on it. The pine, the badge of Clan Macgregor, probably originated in a play upon the name Alpine.

13. Tartans brave, i.e. gay, brightly coloured, the original meaning of 'brave.' Cp. Scotch 'Braw.' Tartan, see G.

15. Bonnets, i.e. caps, such as Highlanders wear.

18. Smoke, i.e. spray looking like smoke. 21. Their loud chanters. The chanter of a bagpipe is the pipe on which the tune is played. The 'streamers' of coloured ribbon are usually attached, not to this pipe, but to the smaller pipes called 'drones' which play one note each as a kind of accompaniment to the tune.

XVII. 8. The clan's shrill Gathering, i.e. the tune used to summon the clan to battle. "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."-Dr Beattie, quoted by Scott. II. Thick beat the rapid notes, i.e. in quick succession. Cp. 1. ii. 12: "The cry,

That thicken'd as the chase drew nigh."

XVIII. 9. Wild cadence. Cadence is properly the 'fall' of the voice at the end of a tune. It is used here for the rhythm or measure of the tune.

12. Roderick Vich Alpine, ho! iro!=O Roderick Son of Alpine. Vich mhic, vocative of Gaelic mac=son; ho! iro! are mere interjections, probably to give the time to the rowers. Alpine was a Scottish king who is said to have subdued the Picts in the ninth century. His son Kenneth MacAlpine is said to have been the first king who ruled over all Scotland. Scott says: "Besides his ordinary name and surname, which were chiefly used in the intercourse with the Lowlands, every Highland chief had an epithet expressive of his patriarchal dignity as head of the clan, and which was common to all his predecessors and successors. This name was usually a patronymic, expressive of his descent from the founder of the family. But besides this title, which belonged to his office and dignity, the chieftain had usually another peculiar to himself, which distinguished him from the chieftains of the same race. This was sometimes derived from complexion, as dhu, 'black,' or roy, 'red'; sometimes from size, as beg, 'little,' or more, 'great.' Roderick Vich Alpine Dhu therefore signifies 'Black Roderick, the descendant of Alpine.'

"The song itself is intended as an imitation of the jorrams, or boat songs of the Highlanders, which were usually composed in honour of a favourite chief. They are so adapted as to keep time with the sweep of the oars, and it is easy to distinguish between those intended to be sung to the oars of a galley, where the stroke is lengthened and doubled, as it were, and those that were timed to the rowers of an ordinary boat." XIX. 12. At Beltane, i. e. in May, see note on II. xv. 17.

18. Menteith and Breadalbane. Menteith is the valley of the Teith; Breadalbane is the name of the district between Loch Lomond and the north of Loch Tay.

XX. I. Glen Fruin. A valley at the southern end of Loch Lomond. The ruins of the Castle of Bannochar or Benuchara stand at the entrance of the Glen. Glen Luss and Ross-dhu are in the same district. In a note Scott gives an account of a ferocious contest which took place in Glen Fruin between the Macgregors and the Colquhouns

in 1602, about seventy years after this time. The victory of the Macgregors was followed by such barbarities that the widows of the slaughtered Colquhouns appeared before James VI. (afterwards James I. of England) at Stirling, bearing the bloody shirts of their husbands; and a determined attempt was made by government to destroy or break up the Macgregor clan, whose very name was for a time proscribed. 8. Leven-glen. The glen connecting the south of Loch Lomond with the Clyde.

13. The rose-bud that, &c., i.e. Ellen, for whose marriage with Roderick the song expresses a wish. The wish is rather out of harmony with the general character of the song.

XXII. 12. An hero's eye that weep'd. As the h of hero is aspirated the usual form would be 'a hero.' 'Weep'd' is a form coined by Scott for the sake of rhyme.

XXIII. I. Allan, with wistful look, &c. The contrast between Roderick's triumphant landing and Douglas' almost unnoticed return reminds him of his master's changed condition.

15. Percy's Norman pennon. The flag of Earl Percy was captured by the Earl of Douglas in 1388. The battle of Otterbourne, celebrated in the Ballad of Chevy Chase, grew out of the attempt of Hotspur to recover it. The House of Angus, founded by a younger brother of the Earl, succeeded to the possessions of the older branch when it became extinct under James III.

22. The waned crescent own'd my might. The incident referred to is the attempt of the Laird of Buccleuch, in 1526, to take the young king from the guardianship of the Earl of Angus which resulted in the defeat of Buccleuch by Angus at the battle of Melrose. The arms of the Scotts of Buccleuch were a star of six points between two crescents. Cp. Lay of the Last Minstrel, 1. xix. 16:

"Exalt the Crescent and the Star."

24. Blantyre. A priory on the bank of the Clyde opposite Bothwell Castle.

31. Out-beggars all I lost, i.e. makes all I lost seem worthless by comparison.

XXIV. 12. Though unhooded. Hawks were usually carried with hoods over their heads to prevent them from seeing. They were 'unhooded' before being let loose on the prey.

XXV. 3. Belted plaid, i.e. plaid thrown over the shoulder and fastened round the waist with a belt.

8. Ptarmigan in snow. See note on I. xxii. 10.

13.

Wing'd with fear.

"Fear added wings to his feet." Virgil.

15. Ben Lomond. The highest of the mountains on the shores of Loch Lomond; nearly 3200 feet high.

16. not a sob, &c., i.e. without panting or getting out of breath. Cp. 1. vii. 5, "every gasp with sobs he drew."

XXVI. II. Glenfinlas. The valley on the west of Ben-Ledi, the entrance to which is between Loch Achray and Vennachar. It is the scene of Scott's Poem, Glenfinlas; or Lord Ronald's Coronach.

14. Though still a royal ward, i.e. Malcolm was under age and so under the guardianship of the king. He would be liable to the confiscation of his estate for assisting or communicating with an outlaw.

20.

Strath-Endrick. The valley drained by a stream called the Endrick, which flows into Loch Lomond on the south-east. Near the mouth of the Endrick is Buchanan Castle, the seat of the Duke of Montrose, the head of one branch of the Grahams.

XXVII. 12. Banquet made, i. e. finished.

XXVIII. II. The King's vindictive pride. "In 1529, James V. made a convention at Edinburgh for the purpose of considering the best mode of quelling the Border robbers, who, during the license of his minority, and the troubles which followed, had committed many exorbitances. Accordingly, he assembled a flying army of ten thousand men, consisting of his principal nobility and their followers, who were directed to bring their hawks and dogs with them, that the monarch might refresh himself with sport during the intervals of military execution. With this array he swept through Ettrick Forest, where he hanged, over the gate of his own castle, Piers Cockburn of Henderland, who had prepared, according to tradition, a feast for his reception. He caused Adam Scott of Tushielaw also to be executed, who was distinguished by the title of King of the Border. But the most noted victim of justice, during that expedition, was John Armstrong of Gilnockie, famous in Scottish song, who, confiding in his own supposed innocence, met the king, with a retinue of thirty-six persons, all of whom were hanged at Carlenrig, near the source of the Teviot. The effect of this severity was such, that, as the vulgar expressed it, 'the rushbush kept the cow,' and 'thereafter was great peace and rest a long time, wherethrough the king had great profit; for he had ten thousand sheep going in the Ettrick Forest in keeping by Andrew Bell, who made the King as good count of them as they had gone in the bounds of Fife.'-Pitscottie's History, p. 153."-Scott.