THE EDINBURGH REVIEW, APRIL 1805. No. XI. ART. I. The Lay of the Laft Minftrel: a Poem. By Walter Scott, Efquire. 4to. pp. 318. Edinburgh, Conftable & Co. London, Longman & Co. 1805. WE E confider this poem as an attempt to transfer the refinements of modern poetry to the matter and the manner of the antient metrical romance. The author, enamoured of the lofty vifions of chivalry, and partial to the ftrains in which they were formerly embodied, feems to have employed all the refources of his genius in endeavouring to recal them to the favour and admiration of the public, and in adapting to the tafte of modern readers, a fpecies of poetry which was once the delight of the courtly, but has long ceafed to gladden any other eyes than those of the fcholar and the antiquary. This is a romance, therefore, compofed by a minstrel of the prefent day; or fuch a romance as we may fuppofe would have been written in modern times, if that ftyle of compofition had continued to be cultivated, and partaken confequently of the improvements which every branch of literature has received fince the time of its defertion. Upon this fuppofition, it was evidently Mr Scott's bufinefs to retain all that was good, and to reject all that was bad in the models upon which he was to form himself; adding, at the fame time, all the intereft and the beauty which could poffibly be af fimilated to the manner and fpirit of his original. It was his duty, therefore, to reform the rambling, obfcure, and interminable narratives of the ancient romancers,-to moderate their digreffions, to abridge or retrench their unmerciful or needlefs defcriptions, and to expunge altogether thofe feeble and profaic paffages, the rude ftupidity of which is fo apt to excite the derifion of a modern reader: at the fame time he was to rival, if VOL. VI. NO. II. A he he could, the force and vivacity of their minute and varied reprefentations--the characteristic fimplicity of their pictures of manners-the energy and concifenefs with which they frequently defcribe great events-and the lively colouring and accurate drawing by which they give the effect of reality to every scene they undertake to delineate. In executing this arduous task, he was permitted to avail himfelf of all that variety of ftyle and manner which had been sanctioned by the antient practice, and bound to embellifh his performance with all the graces of diction and verfification which could be reconciled to the fimplicity and familiarity of the minstrel's fong. With what fuccefs Mr Scott's efforts have been attended in the execution of this adventurous undertaking, our readers perhaps will be better able to judge in the fequel: but, in the mean time, we may fafely venture to affert, that he has produced a very beautiful and entertaining poem, in a ftyle which may fairly be confidered as original, and which will be allowed to afford fatisfactory evidence of the genius of the author, even though he fhould not fucceed in converting the public to his own opinion as to the interest or dignity of the fubject. We are ourselves inclined indeed to fufpect that his partiality for the strains of antiquity, has impofed a little upon the severity of his judgement. and impaired the beauty of the present imitation, by directing his attention rather to what was characteristic, than to what was unexceptionable in his orginals. Though he has fpared too many of their faults, however, he has certainly improved upon their beauties and while we can fcarcely help regretting, that the feuds of Border chieftains fhould have monopolifed as much poetry as might have ferved to immortalife the whole baronage of the empire, we are the more inclined to admire the interest and magnificence which he has contrived to communicate to a fubject fo unpromifing. Whatever may be thought of the conduct of the main ftory, the manner of introducing it must be allowed to be extremely poetical. An aged minstrel who had harped to King Charles the Good,' and learned to love his art at a time when it was honoured by all that was diftinguifhed in rank or in genius, having fallen into neglect and mifery in the evil days of the ufurpation, and the more frivolous gayeties or bitter contentions of the fucceeding reigns, is reprefented as wandering about the Border in poverty and folitude a few years after the revolution. In this fituation, he is driven, by want and wearinefs, to feek fhelter in the caftle of the Dutchefs of Buccleuch and Monmouth; and being cheered by the hofpitality of his reception, offers to fing an ancient ftrain,' relating to the old warriors of her family and and after fome fruitlefs attempts to recal the long-forgotten melody, pours forth the Lay of the Laft Minstrel,' in fix cantos, very skilfully divided by fome recurrence to his own fituation, and fome complimentary interruptions from his noble auditors. The construction of a fable feems by no means the forte of our modern poetical writers: and no great artifice, in that refpect, was to be expected, perhaps from an imitator of the ancient romancers. Mr Scott, indeed, has himself infinuated, that he confidered the story as an object of very fubordinate importance, and that he was lefs folicitous to deliver a regular narrative, than to connect such a series of incidents as might enable him to introduce the manners he had undertaken to delineate, and the imagery with which they were affociated. Though the conception of the fable is, probably from thefe caufes, exceedingly defective, it seems neceffary to lay a fhort sketch of it before our readers, both for the gratification of their curiofity, and to facilitate the application of the remarks we may be afterwards tempted to offer. Lord Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch, the Lord of Brankfome, was flain in a skirmish with the Cars about the middle of the fixteenth century. He left a daughter of matchlefs beauty, an infant fon, and a high-minded dame of a widow, who, though a very virtuous and devout perfon, was privately addicted to the study of magic, in which the had been initiated by her father. Cranstoun their neighbour was at feud with the whole clan of Scott, but had fallen defperately in love with the daughter, who returned his paffion with equal fincerity and ardour, though withheld, by her duty to her mother, from uniting her destiny with his. The poem opens with a defcription of the warlike establishment of Brankfome-hall; and the firft incident which occurs, is a dialogue between the fpirits of the adjoining mountain and river, who, after confulting the ftars, declare that no good fortune can ever blefs the manfion till pride be quelled, and love be free. The lady, whofe forbidden ftudies had taught her to understand the language of thofe fpeakers, overhears this converfation, and vows, if poffible, to retain her purpose in spite of it. She calls a gallant knight of her train, therefore, and directs him to ride immediately to the abbey of Melrofe, and there to ask, from the monk of St Mary's aifle, the mighty book that was hid in the tomb of the wizard Michael Scott. The remainder of the first canto is occupied with the night journey of the warrior. When he delivers his meffage, the monk appears filled with confternation and terror, but leads him at laft through many galleries and chapels to the fpot where the wizard was interred, and, after A 2 after fome account of his life and character, the warrior heaves up the tomb-ftone, and is dazzled by the ftreaming fplendour of an ever-burning lamp, which illuminates the fepulchre of the enchanter. With trembling hand he takes the book from the fide of the deccafed, and hurries home with it in his bofom. In the mean time, Lord Cranstoun and the lovely Margaret have met at dawn in the woods adjacent to the castle, and are repeating their vows of true love, when they are startled by the approach of a horfeman. The lady retreats, and the lover advancing, finds it to be the messenger from Brankfome, with whom, as an hereditary enemy, he thinks it neceffary to enter immediately into combat. The poor knight, fatigued with his nocturnal adventures, is difmounted at the firft fhock, and falls defperately wounded to the ground, while Lord Cranstoun, relenting towards the kinfman of his beloved, directs his page to attend him to the caftle, and gallops home before any alarm can be given. Lord Cranftoun's page is fomething unearthly. It is a little mishapen dwarf, whom he found one day when he was hunting, in a folitary glen, and took home with him. It never fpeaks, except now and then to cry Loft! loft! loft and is on the whole a hateful, malicious little urchin, with no one good quality but his un-' accountable attachment and fidelity to his mafter. This perfonage, on approaching the wounded Borderer, difcovers the mighty book in his bofom, which he finds fome difficulty in opening, and has fcarcely had time to read a single spell in it, when he is ftruck down by an invifible hand, and the clafps of the magic volume fhut fuddenly more closely than ever. This one fpell, however, enables him to practife every kind of illufion. He lays the wounded knight on his horfe, and leads him into the caftle, while the warders fee nothing but a wain of hay. He throws him down, unperceived, at the door of the lady's chamber, and turns to make good his retreat. In paffing through the court, however, he fees the young heir of Buccleuch at play, and, affuming the form of one of his companions, tempts him to go out with him to the woods, where, as foon as they pafs a rivulet, he refumes his own fhape, and bounds away. The bewildered child is met by two English archers, who make prize of him, and carry him off, while the goblin page returns to the castle, and perfonates the young baron, to the great annoyance of the whole inhabitants. The lady finds the wounded knight, and eagerly employs charms for his recovery, that the may learn the ftory of his difafter. The lovely Margaret, in the mean time, is fitting on her turret, gazing on the western star, and mufing on the fcenes of the morning, when the difcovers the blazing beacons that announce the approach of an English enemy. The alarm is imme diately |
