MARMION1 AND DOUGLAS.

THE train 2 from out the castle drew,
But Marmion stopp'd to bid adieu :

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Though something I might plain,” 3 he said,
"Of cold respect to stranger guest,

Sent thither by your king's behest,*
While in Tantallon's 5 towers I stay'd,
Part we in friendship from your land,
And, noble Earl, receive my hand."

But Douglas round him drew his cloak,
Folded his arms, and thus he spoke :

1 Marmion: the name of an imaginary English hero who died fighting in the great battle of Flodden, in the war between Scotland and England, 1513. See note 1, p. 98. Douglas was the name of a noble Scotch family of great wealth and influence. Marmion goes as an ambassador from the king of England to the Scottish sovereign. He makes his journey before hostilities break out between the two countries; his object being to learn

"Why through all Scotland, near and far,
Their king is mustering troops for war."

(Marmion, Canto I. xx.)

At the request of King James of Scotland, Lord Douglas receives Marmion as his guest at Tantallon Castle. The extract represents the English knight on the point of bidding adieu to his host.

2 The train: the troops of Marmion.

3 Plain: complain.

4 Behest: command.

5 Tantallon's towers: Tantallon Castle, the principal stronghold of the Douglas family in the east of Scotland, was built on a rocky promontory overlooking the German Ocean, or North Sea. It was situated about two miles from North Berwick, just at the entrance of the Firth of Forth.

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My manors,1 halls and bowers 2 shall still
Be open, at my sovereign's will,

To each one whom he lists, howe'er
Unmeet to be the owner's peer.5
My castles are my king's alone
From turret to foundation-stone;
The hand of Douglas is his own,
And never shall in friendly grasp
The hand of such as Marmion clasp."
Burn'd Marmion's swarthy cheek like fire,
And shook his very frame for ire,
And, "This to me!" he said;

"An 'twere not for thy hoary beard,
Such hand as Marmion's had not spared
To cleave the Douglas' head!

And, first, I tell thee, haughty Peer,5
He who does England's message here,
Although the meanest in her State,
May well, proud Angus, be thy mate:
And, Douglas, more I tell thee here
Even in thy pitch of pride,8

Here in thy hold,9 thy vassals near,
(Nay, never look upon your lord,

And lay your hands upon your sword,10)

1 Man'ors: the estates of a lord or person of rank.

2 Bowers: chambers.

3 Lists: chooses.

4 Unmeet: unfit.

5 Peer: equal; but in second instance, lord.

6 Turret: a small tower, usually rising above a larger one as a look-out station; hence, the topmost tower.

7 Angus: Douglas was earl of Angus.

8 Pitch of pride: here, apparently, equivalent to lofty castle.

9 Hold: stronghold.

10 This speech in parenthesis is addressed to the vassals or dependents of Douglas.

I tell thee, thou'rt defied!
And, if thou said'st I am not peer
To any lord in Scotland here,
Lowland or Highland, far or near,
Lord Angus, thou hast lied!"

On the Earl's cheek the flush of rage
O'ercame the ashen hue of age;

Fierce he broke forth, "And darest thou then

To beard the lion in his den,

The Douglas in his hall?

And hopest thou hence unscathed1 to go?
No, by Saint Bride 2 of Bothwell, no!

Up drawbridge,3 grooms, 4-what, Warder, ho!
Let the portcullis 5 fall."

Lord Marmion turn'd, — well was his need!
And dash'd the rowels6 in his steed,
Like arrow through the archway sprung;
The ponderous gate' behind him rung:
To pass there was such scanty room,
The bars, descending, razed his plume.

The steed along the drawbridge flies,
Just as it trembled on the rise;

1 Unscathed: unharmed.

2 Saint Bride of Bothwell: Bothwell is on the Clyde a short distance above Glasgow; here there is an old church which may have been dedicated to St. Bride (or Bridget) of Ireland, as many churches were throughout the British Isles.

3 Drawbridge: a bridge over the moat or ditch in front of the main entrance of the castle. It was raised and lowered by chains.

4 Grooms: servants.

5 Portcullis: a strong, heavy grating sliding in a vertical groove. When let down, it barred entrance to the castle.

6 Rowels: spurs. 7 Gate: the portcullis.

8 Razed here, grazed.

Not lighter does the swallow skim
Along the smooth lake's level brim;

And, when Lord Marmion reach'd his band,
He halts, and turns with clenched hand,
And shout of loud defiance pours,

And shook his gauntlet1 at the towers.

SIR WALTER SCOTT.

1 Gauntlet: a glove plated with steel, and coming up so as to protect the lower arm.

SCOTLAND'S MAIDEN MARTYR.1

A TROOP of soldiers waited at the door,
A crowd of people gather'd in the street,
Aloof a little from them sabres gleam'd,
And flash'd into their faces. Then the door
Was open'd, and two women meekly stepp'd
Into the sunshine of the sweet May-noon,
Out of the prison. One was weak and old,
A woman full of tears and full of woes;

1 In 1638 Charles I. endeavored to compel the Church of Scotland, which was strongly Presbyterian, to use the service-book of the Episcopal Church of England.

The people of all classes rose against those who were sent to enforce the king's will, and signed a covenant or solemn oath to maintain their own national church and furthermore to require others to accept it.

When Charles II. came to the throne he ordered the Covenant to be burned, and an act was passed ordering all persons to refuse and condemn it as an unlawful oath.

Those who persisted in maintaining the Covenant were now regarded by the government as rebels and were treated with frightful severity. All religious meetings of the Covenanters were denounced under pain of death. These extreme measures provoked insurrection and almost civil war.

John Graham, better known as Claverhouse, was especially cruel in his persecution of those who refused to renounce the Covenant.

In 1685 two women were tied to stakes and drowned in the rising tide at Solway Firth, in the southwest of Scotland, for persisting in holding to the Covenant. One was Margaret M'Lauchlan, who was advanced in years; and the other Margaret Wilson, a girl of eighteen.

Burton in his History of Scotland (Vol. VII.) coolly remarks that "these ferocities" were limited to a small corner of the southwest of Scotland, and that "there was not much sympathy with the sufferers in other parts of the country."