VII. The goblin-page, omitting still Strove now, while blood ran hot and high, Till Conrad, lord of Wolfenstein, By nature fierce, and warm with wine, away. Whom men call Diccon Draw-the-sword. But bit his glove, and shook his head.-(8) Gone was his brand, both sword and sheath; VIII. The Dwarf, who fear'd his master's eye IX. The wily page, with vengeful thought, And forms upon its breast the earl 'gan spy, Placed by a couch of Agra's silken loom, XIX. Fair all the pageant-but how passing fair And, pensive, read from tablet eburnine XX. Slow roll'd the clouds upon the lovely form, O'er my beloved master's glorious day. The gory bridal bed, the plunder'd shrine, The murder'd Surrey's blood, the tears of Geraldine! XXI. Both Scots and southern chiefs prolong Thy pride and sorrow, fair Kirkwall!—(15) XXII. And much of wild and wonderful And thus had Harold, in his youth, Learn'd many a Saga's rhyme uncouth,— Their falchions wrench'd from corpses' hold, (19) With war and wonder all on flame, XXIII. HAROLD. O listen, listen, ladies gay! No haughty feat of arms I tell; Soft is the note, and sad the lay, That mourns the lovely Rosabelle. (20) Moor, moor the barge, ye gallant crew! The blackening wave is edged with white; Last night the gifted seer did view A wet shroud swathe a ladye gay; Then stay thee, Fair, in Ravensheuch: Why cross the gloomy frith to-day?»> T is not because Lord Lindesay's heir To-night at Roslin leads the ball, But that my ladye-mother there Sits lonely in her castle-hall. 'Tis not because the ring they ride, And Lindesay at the ring rides well, But that my sire the wine will chide, If 't is not fill'd by Rosabelle.»>— O'er Roslin all that dreary night A wondrous blaze was seen to gleam; 'T was broader than the watch-fire light, And redder than the bright moon-beam. It glared on Roslin's castled rock, It ruddied all the copse-wood glen; T was seen from Dryden's groves of oak, And seen from cavern'd Hawthornden. Seem'd all on fire that chapel proud, Where Roslin's chiefs uncoffin'd lie; Each baron, for a sable shroud, Sheathed in his iron panoply. (22) ' Inch, isle. Seem'd all on fire, within, around, Blazed every rose-carved buttress fair- There are twenty of Roslin's barons bold Lie buried within that proud chapelle; Each one the holy vault doth hold But the sea holds lovely Rosabelle! And each St Clair was buried there, With candle, with book, and with knell; But the sea-caves rung, and the wild winds sung, The dirge of lovely Rosabelle. XXIV. So sweet was Harold's piteous lay, Scarce mark'd the guests the darken'd hall, Though, long before the sinking day, A wond'rous shade involved them all: It was not eddying mist or fog, Of no eclipse had sages told; And yet, as it came on apace, Each one could scarce his neighbour's face, Could scarce his own stretch'd hand behold. A secret horror check'd the feast, And chill'd the soul of every guest; Even the high dame stood half aghast, The elvish page fell to the ground, And, shuddering, mutter'd, « Found! found! found!»> XXV. Then sudden, through the darkeu'd air A flash of lightning came; So broad, so bright, so red the glare, Glanced every shield upon Full through the guests' bedazzled band It broke, with thunder long and loud, XXVI. Some heard a voice in Branksome-ball, Cry, with loud summons, «GYLBIN, COME!» (23) Just where the page had flung him down, Some saw an arm, and some a hand, His blood did freeze, his brain did burn, XXVII. The anxious crowd, with horror pale, And he a solemn sacred plight Of Michael's restless sprite. Then each, to ease his troubled breast, To some bless'd saint his prayers address'd; Some to our Ladye of the Isle; Each did his patron witness make, And monks should sing, and bells should toll, While vows were ta'en, and prayers were pray'd, "T is said the noble dame, dismay'd, Renounced for aye dark magic's aid. XXVIII. Nought of the bridal will I tell, Of penitence and prayer divine, XXIX. With naked foot, and sackcloth vest, Did every pilgrim go; The standers-by might hear unneath, Footstep, or voice, or high-drawn breath, Through all the lengthen'd row: The Isle of Man.-See Note. No lordly look, nor martial stride; Silent and slow, like ghosts, they glide And there they knelt them down : And slow up XXX. the dim aisle afar, In long procession came; The mass was sung, and prayers were said, SOLVET SECLUM IN FAVILLA; XXXI. HYMN FOR THE DEAD. That day of wrath, that dreadful day, When heaven and.earth shall pass away, What power shall be the sinner's stay? How shall he meet that dreadful day? When, shrivelling like a parched scroll, Oh! on that day, that wrathful day, HUSH'D is the harp-the Minstrel gone. And did he wander forth alone? No:-close beneath proud Newark's tower Then would he sing achievements high, And noble youths, the strain to hear, NOTES. CANTO I. Note 1. Stanza i. The feast was over in Branksome tower. subject to such egregious inconvenience. When the bargain was completed, he drily remarked, that the cattle in Cumberland were as good as those of Teviotdale; and proceeded to commence a system of reprisals upon the English, which was regularly pursued by his successors. In the next reign, James II, granted to Sir Walter Scott of Branksome, and to Sir David, his son, the remaining half of the barony of Branksome, to be held in blanch for the payment of a red rose. The cause assigned for the grant is, their brave and faithful exertions in favour of the king against the house of Douglas, with whom James had been recently tugging for the throne of Scotland. This charter is dated the 2d February, 1443; and, in the same month, part of the barony of Langholm, and many lands in Lanarkshire, were conferred upon Sir Walter and his son by the same monarch. After the period of the exchange with Sir Thomas Inglis, Branksome became the principal seat of the Buccleuch family. The castle was enlarged and strengthened by Sir David Scott, the grandson of Sir William, its first possessor. But, in 1570-1, the vengeance of Elizabeth, provoked by the inroads of Buccleuch, and his attachment to the cause of Queen Mary, destroyed the castle, and laid waste the lands of Branksome. In the same year the castle was repaired, and enlarged by Sir Walter Scott, its brave possessor; but the work was not completed until after his death, in 1574, when the widow finished the building. This Around a appears from the following inscription. stone, bearing the arms of Scott of Buccleuch, appears the following legend: « SIR W. SCOTT OF BRANXHEIM KNYT YOE OF SIR WILLIAM SCOTT OF KIRKURD KNYT BEGAN YE WORK UPON YE 24 OF MARCH 1571 ZIER QUHA DEPARTIT AT GOD'S PLEISOUR YE 17 APRIL 1574. On a similar compartment are sculptured the arms of Douglas, with this inscription, « DAME MARGARET DOUGLAS HIS SPOUS COMPLEITIT THE FORSAID WORK IN OCTOBER 1576. Over an arched door is inscribed the following moral verse :— THARFORE. SERVE. GOD. KXIP. VEIL. TE. ROD. TRY. FAME. SAL. Is the reign of James I, Sir William Scott of Buceleuch, chief of the clan bearing that name, exchanged, with Sir Thomas Inglis of Manor, the estate of Murdiestone, in Lanarkshire, for one half of the barony of Branksome, or Branxholm, lying upon the Teviot, about three miles above Hawick. He was probably induced to this transaction from the vicinity of Brank-IN. some to the extensive domain which he possessed in Ettrick Forest and in Teviotdale. In the former district he held by occupancy the estate of Buccleuch,2 SIR and much of the forest land on the river Ettrick. In Teviotdale he enjoyed the barony of Eckford, by a grant from Robert II, to his ancestor, Walter Scott of Kirkurd, for the apprehending of Gilbert Ridderford, confirmed by Robert III, 3d May, 1424. Tradition imputes the exchange betwixt Scott and Inglis to a conversation, in which the latter, a man it would appear, of a mild and forbearing nature, complained much of the injuries which he was exposed to from the English Borderers, who frequently plundered his lands of BrankSir William Scott instantly offered him the estate of Murdiestoue, in exchange for that which was some. Branxholm is the proper name of the barony; but Branksome has been adopted, as suitable to the pronunciation, and more proper for poetry. There are no vestiges of any building at Buccleuch, except the site of a chapel, where, according to a tradition current in the time of Scott of Satchells, many of the ancient barons of Buccleuch lie baried. There is also said to have been a mill near this solitary spot; an extraordinary circumstance, as little or no corn grows within several miles of Buccleuch. Satchells says it was used to grind corn for the hounds of the chieftain. NOCHT. DECAY. WALTER SCorr OF BRANIHOLM KNIGHT. MARGARET DOUG- Branksome Castle continued to be the principal seat of the Buccleuch family, while security was any object in their choice of a mansion. It has since been the residence of the commissioners, or chamberlains, of the family. From the various alterations which the building has undergone, it is not only greatly restricted in its dimensions, but retains little of the castellated form, if we except one square tower of massy thickness, the only part of the original building which now remains. The whole forms a handsome modern residence, lately inhabited by my deceased friend, Adam Ogilvy, Esq. of Hartwoodmyres, Commissioner of his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch. The extent of the ancient edifice can still be traced by some vestiges of its foundation, and its strength is obvious from the situation, on a steep bank surrounded by the Teviot, and flanked by a deep ravine, formed by a precipitous brook. It was anciently surrounded by wood, as appears from the survey of Roxburghshire, |