They pass him careless by.1 Let them sweep on with heedless eyes! But, had they known what mighty prize In that frail vessel lay, The famish'd wolf, that prowls the wold, Had scatheless pass'd the unguarded fold, Ere, drifting by these galleys bold, Unchallenged were her way !2 And thou, Lord Ronald, sweep thou on, With mirth, and pride, and minstrel tone! But hadst thou known who sail'd so nigh, Far other glance were in thine eye! Far other flush were on thy brow, That, shaded by the bonnet, now Assumes but ill the blithesome cheer Of bridegroom when the bride is near! XVII. Yes, sweep they on !-We will not leave, Be laughter loud and jocund shout, With tale, romance, and lay;" For one loud busy day. Yes, sweep they on!-But with that skiff Abides the minstrel tale, Where there was dread of surge and cliff, Labor that strain'd each sinew stiff, And one sad Maiden's wail. XVIII. All day with fruitless strife they toil'd, With eve the ebbing currents boil'd More fierce from strait and lake; And midway through the channel met Conflicting tides that foam and fret, And high their mingled billows jet, As spears, that, in the battle set, Spring upward as they break. Then, too, the lights of eve were past, And louder sung the western blast On rocks of Inninmore; Rent was the sail, and strain'd the mast, And many a leak was gaping fast, And the pale steersman stood aghast, And gave the conflict o'er. XIX. "Twas then that One, whose lofty look Nor labor dull'd nor terror shook, 1 MS." As the gay nobles give the boor, When, toiling in his task obscure, Their greatness passes by." 2 MS.-" She held unchallenged way." Thus to the Leader spoke :- Didst thou not mark the vessel reel, Half dead with want and fear; Despair and death are near. XX. That elder Leader's calm reply In steady voice was given, "In man's most dark extremity Oft succor dawns from Heaven. Edward, trim thou the shatter'd sail, The helm be mine, and down the gale Let our free course be driven; For if a hope of safety rest, If not-it best beseems our worth, And, flashing round, the vessel's sides While, far behind, their livid light A gloomy splendor gave. It seems as if old Ocean shakes In envious pageantry, To match the meteor-light that streaks Grim Hecla's midnight sky. XXII. Nor lack'd they steadier light to keep Their course upon the darken'd deep;— Artornish, on her frowning steep "Twixt cloud and ocean hung, Glanced with a thousand lights of glee, And landward far, and far to sea, Her festal radiance flung.3 By that blithe beacon-light they steer'd, Above the eastern fell. XXIII. Thus guided, on their course they bore, Madden the fight and route. And deepen'd' shadow made, Far lengthen'd on the main below, Where, dancing in reflected glow, A hundred torches play'd, Spangling the wave with lights as vain As pleasures in this vale of pain, That dazzle as they fade. 1 MS.-" And, bursting round the vessel's sides, A livid lustre gave." 2 MS.-"Livid." 3" The description of the vessel's approach to the Castle through the tempestuous and sparkling waters, and the contrast of the gloomy aspect of the billows with the glittering splendor of Artornish, Twixt cloud and ocean hung,' sending her radiance abroad through the terrors of the night, and mingling at intervals the shouts of her revelry with the wilder cadence of the blast, is one of the happiest instances of Mr. Scott's felicity in awful and magnificent scenery."-Critical Review. XXIV. Beneath the Castle's sheltering lee, His bugle then the helmsman wound; From turret, rock, and bay, To light the upward way. Fear'd lest, amidst these wildering seas, XXV. "Warder," the younger stranger said, For, to ourselves, the deck's rude plank That's breathed upon by May, And for our storm-toss'd skiff we seek Answered the Warder,-" In what name Whence come, or whither bound? Or Scotland's mountain ground?”— 4 MS. "The wind, the wave, the sea-birds' cry, In melancholy concert vie." 6 MS.-"Darksome." 6" Mr. Scott, we observed in the newspapers, was engaged during last summer in a maritime expedition; and, accordingly, the most striking novelty in the present poem is the extent and variety of the sea pieces with which it abounds. One of the first we meet with is the picture of the distresses of the King's little bark, and her darkling run to the shelter of Artornish Castle."-Edinburgh Review, 1815. * See Appendix, Note K. 8 MS.-"That young leader." XXVI. "Warriors-for-other title none We have been known to fame; And these brief words have import dear, That gives us rightful claim. Fair of your courtesy; Deny-and be your niggard Hold And wanderer on the lea !"— XXVII. "Bold stranger, no-'gainst claim like thine, Be what ye will, Artornish Hall Such as few arms could wield; But when he boun'd him to such task, Well could it cleave the strongest casque, And rend the surest shield.* XXIX. The raised portcullis' arch they pass, The entrance long and low," To one low-brow'd and vaulted room, XXX. And "Rest ye here," the Warder bade, "Till to our Lord your suit is said.— And, comrades, gaze not on the maid, And on these men who ask our aid, As if ye ne'er had seen A damsel tired of midnight bark, Or wanderers of a moulding stark, And bearing martial mien." But not for Eachin's reproof Would page or vassal stand aloof, But crowded on to stare, As men of courtesy untaught, Till fiery Edward roughly caught, From one the foremost there,' His checker'd plaid, and in its shroud, To hide her from the vulgar crowd, Involved his sister fair. His brother, as the clansman bent His sullen brow in discontent, Made brief and stern excuse ;"Vassal, were thine the cloak of pall That decks thy Lord in bridal hall, "Twere honor'd by her use." XXXI. Proud was his tone, but calm; his eye Had that compelling dignity, His mien that bearing haught and high, Which common spirits fear! Needed nor word nor signal more, • MS.-" Or warlike men of moulding stark." 7 MS.-"Till that hot Edward fiercely caught From one, the boldest there." 8"Still sways their souls with that commanding art That dazzles, leads, yet chills the vulgar heart. What is that spell, that thus his lawless train Confess and envy, yet oppose in vain ? From deeper source than festal mirth. By fits he paused, and harper's strain And jester's tale went round in vain, Or fell but on his idle ear Like distant sounds which dreamers hear. And call for pledge and lay, III. Yet naught amiss the bridal throng tains many very pleasing lines. The description of Lord Ronald's fleet, and of the bark endeavoring to make her way against the wind, more particularly of the last, is executed with extraordinary beauty and fidelity."-Quarterly Review. 3" Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness."-Proverbs, xiv. 13. 4 MS.-"and give birth To jest, to wassail, and to mirth." MS.-"Would seem the loudest of the loud, And gayest of the gay.' MS." Since Lorn, the proudest of the proud." 7 MS." And since the keen De Argentine." 8 See Appendix, Note L. 9 lbid. Note M. "Let it pass round!" quoth He of Lorn, The laggard monk is come at last." But when the warder in his ear Returns like sun of May, When through a thunder-cloud it beams!— Lord of two hundred isles, he seems As glad of brief delay, As some poor criminal might feel, VI. "Brother of Lorn," with hurried voice He said, "and you, fair lords, rejoice! Here, to augment our glee, Come wandering knights from travel far, Well proved, they say, in strife of war, And tempest on the sea.Ho! give them at your board such place As best their presences may grace,1 And bid them welcome free!" With solemn step, and silver wand, The Seneschal the presence scann'd Of these strange guests; and well he knew How to assign their rank its due ;3 For though the costly furs That erst had deck'd their caps were torn, Yet such a high commanding grace And royal canopy; And there he marshall'd them their place, First of that company. VII. Then lords and ladies spake aside, I'll gage my silver wand of state, In higher place than now." VIII. "I, too," the aged Ferrand said, “Am qualified by minstrel trade 6 Of rank and place to tell ;- And yet it moves me more, The mantle veil both face and eye, Her motions' grace it could not hide, Nor could her form's fair symmetry." IX. Suspicious doubt and lordly scorn Then question'd, high and brief, |