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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.

By that blithe beacon-light they steer'd,
Whose lustre mingled well
With the pale beam that now appeared,
As the cold moon her head uprear'd,
Above the eastern fell.

XXIII.

Thus guided, on their course they bore, Until they near'd the mainland shore, When frequent on the hollow blast Wild shouts of merriment were cast, And wind and wave and sea-birds' cry With wassail sounds in concert vie, Like funeral shrieks with revelry,

Or like the battle-shout

By peasants heard from cliffs on high,
When Triumph, Rage, and Agony,

Madden the fight and route.

Now nearer yet, through mist and storm Dimly arose the Castle's form,

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.

XXIV.

Beneath the Castle's sheltering lec,
They staid their course in quiet sea.
Hewn in the rock, a passage there,
Sought the dark fortress by a stair,

So straight, so high, so steep,
With peasant's staff one valiant hand
Might well the dizzy pass have mann'd,
'Gainst hundreds arm'd with spear and brand,
And plunged them in the deep.
His bugle then the helmsman wound;
Loud answer'd every echo round,

From turret, rock, and bay,
The postern's hinges crash and groan,
And soon the warder's cresset shone
On those rude steps of slippery stone,

To light the upward way.
"Thrice welcome, hely Sire!" he said:
"Full long the spousal train have staid,

And, vex'd at thy delay,

Fear'd lest, amidst these wildering seas,
The darksome night and freshening brecze
Had driven thy bark astray."

XXV.

"Warder," the young stranger said, "Thine erring guess some mirth had made. In mirthful hour; but nights like these, When the rough winds wake western seas, Brook not of glee. We crave some aid And needful shelter for this maid

Until the break of day;

For, to ourselves, the deck's rude plank
Is easy as the mossy bank

That's breathed upon by May.

And for our storm-toss'd skiff we seek
Short shelter in this leeward creek,
Prompt when the dawn the east shall streak
Again to bear away."

Answered the Warder,-"In what name
Assert ye hospitable claim?

Whence come, or whither bound?
Hath Erin seen your parting sails?
Or come ye on Norweyan gales?
And seek ye England's fertile vales,

Or Scotland's mountain ground?”

XXVI

"Warriors-for other title none
For some brief space we list to own,
Bound by a vow-warriors are we;
In strife by land, and storm by sea,

We have been known to fame;
And these brief words have import dear,
When sounded in a noble ear,

To harbour safe, and friendly cheer,
That gives us rightful claim.
Grant us the trivial boon we seek,
And we in other realms will speak
Fair of your courtesy;
Deny-and be your niggard Hold
Scorn'd by the noble and the bold,
Shunn'd by the pilgrim on the wold,
And wanderer on the lea!"-

XXVII.

"Bold stranger, no-'gainst claim like thine,
No bolt revolves by hand of mine,
Though urged in tone that more express'd
A monarch than a suppliant guest.
Be what ye will, Artonish Hall
On this glad eve is free to all.
Though ye had drawn a hostile sword
'Gainst our ally, great England's Lord,
Or mail upon your shoulders borne,
To battle with the Lord of Lorn,
Or, outlaw'd, dwelt by greenwood tree
With the fierce Knight of Ellerslie,
Or aided even the murderous strife,
When Comyn fell beneath the knife
Of that fell homicide The Bruce,
This night had been a term of truce.-
Ho, vassals! give these guests your care,
And show the narrow postern stair.'

XXVIII.

To land these two bold brethren leapt,
(The weary crew their vessel kept.)
And, lighted by the torches flare,
That seaward flung their smoky glare,
The younger knight that maiden bare
Half lifeless up the rock;

On his strong shoulder lean'd her head,
And down her long dark tresses shed,
As the wild vine in tendrils spread,

Droops from the mountain oak. Ikim follow'd close that elder Lord, And in his hand a sheathed sword,

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.

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But crowded on to stare,
As men of courtesy untaught,
Till fiery Edward roughly caught,
From one the foremost there,

His chequer'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 honour'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,
Nod, wink, and laughter, all were o'er;
Upon each other back they bore,

And gazed like startled deer.
But now appear'd the Seneschal,
Commission'd by his lord to call
The strangers to the Barons hall,
Where feasted fair and free
That Island Prince in nuptial tide,
With Edith there his lovely bride,
And her bold brother by her side,
And many a chief, the flower and pride

Of Western land and sea.

Here pause we, gentles, for a space; And, if our tale hath won your grace, Grant us brief patience, and again We will renew the minstrel strain.

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With beakers' clang, with harpers lay,
With all that olden time deem'd gay.
The Island Chieftain feasted high;
But there was in his troubled eye
A gloomy fire, and on his brow
Now sudden flush'd, and faded now,
Emotions such as draw their birth
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.
Then would he rouse him, and employ
Each art to aid the clamorous joy,
And call for pledge and lay,

And, for brief space, of all the crowd,
As he was loudest of the loud,
Seem gayest of the gay.

III.

Yet nought amiss the bridal throng Mark'd in brief mirth, or musing long; The vacant brow, the unlistening ear, They gave to thoughts of raptures near,

And his fierce starts of sudden glee
Seem'd bursts of bridegroom's ecstacy.
Nor thus alone misjudged the crowd,
Since lofty Lorn, suspicious, proud,
And jealous of his honour'd line,
And that keen knight, De Argentine,
(From England sent on errand high,
The western league more firm to tie,)
Both deem'd in Ronald's mood to find
A lover's transport-troubled mind.
But one sad heart, one tearful eye,
Pierced deeper through the mystery,
And watch'd with agony and fear,
Her wayward bridegroom's varied cheer.

IV.

She watch'd-yet fear'd to meet his glance,
And he shunn'd hers;-till when by chance
They met, the point of foeman's lance
Had given a milder pang!

Beneath the intolerable smart

He writhed-then sternly mann'd his heart
To play his hard but destined part,
And from the table sprang.

"Fill me the mighty cup!" he said,
"Erst own'd by royal Somerled:
Fill it, till on the studded brim,
In burning gold the bubbles swim,
And every gem of varied shine
Glow doubly bright in rosy wine!
To you, brave lord, and brother mine,
Of Lorn, this pledge I drink-
The union of Our House with thine,
By this fair bridal-link!'

V.

"Let it pass round!" quoth He of Lorn,
"And in good time-that winded horn
Must of the Abbot tell;

The laggard monk is come at last."
Lord Ronald heard the bugle-blast,
And on the floor at random cast,
The untasted goblet fell.

But when the warder in his ear
Tells other news, his blither cheer
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,
When, from the gibbet or the wheel,
Respited for a day.

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That gave to guests unnamed, unknown,
A place so near their prince's throne:
But Owen Erraught said,
"For forty years a seneschal,
To marshal guests in bower and hall
Has been my honour'd trade.
Worship and birth to me are known,
By look, by bearing, and by tone,
Not by furr'd robe or broider'd zone;
And 'gainst an oaken bough
I'll gage my silver wand of state,

That these three strangers oft have sate
In higher place than now."

VIII.

"I, too," the aged Ferrand said, "Am qualified by minstrel trade

Of rank and place to tell;

Mark'd ye the younger stranger's eye,
My mates, how quick, how keen, how high,
How fierce its flashes fell,

Glancing among the noble rout
As if to seek the noblest out,
Because the owner might not brook
On any save his peers to look ?

And yet it moves me more,
That steady, calm, majestic brow,
With which the elder chief even now
Scann'd the gay presence o'er,
Like being of superior kind,
In whose high-toned impartial mind
Degrees of mortal rank and state
Seem objects of indifferent weight.
The lady too-though closely tied

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 Lour'd on the haughty front of Lorn. From underneath his brows of pride, The stranger guests he sternly eyed, And whisper'd closely what the ear Of Argentine alone might hear:

Then question'd, high and brief, If, in their voyage, aught they knew Of the rebellious Scottish crew, Who to Rath-Erin's shelter drew,

With Carrick's outlaw'd Chief? And if, their winter's exile o'er, They harbour'd still by Ulster's shore, Or launch'd their galleys on the main, To vex their native land again?

X.

That younger stranger, fierce and high,
At once confronts the Chieftain's eye
With look of equal scorn;-
"Of rebels have we nought to show;
But if of Royal Bruce thou'dst know,
I warn thee he has sworn,

Ere thrice three days shall come and go,
His banner Scottish winds shall blow,
Despite each mean or mighty foe,
From England's every bill and bow,

To Allaster of Lorn."

Kindled the mountain Chieftain's ire,
But Ronald quench the rising fire;
"Brother, it better suits the time

To chase the night with Ferrand's rhyme,
Than wake, 'midst mirth and wine, the jars
That flow from these unhappy wars."
Content," said Lorn; and spoke apart
With Ferrand, master of his art,
Then whisper'd Argentine.-
"The lay, I named will carry smart
To these bold strangers' haughty heart,
If right this guess of mine."
He ceased, and it was silence all,
Until the minstrel waked the hall.

XI.

THE BROOCH OF LORN.
"Whence the brooch of burning gold,
That clasps the Chieftain's mantle-fold,
Wrought and chased with rare device,
Studded fair with gems of price,

On the varied tartans beaming,

As, through night's pale rainbow gleaming, Fainter now, now seen afar,

Fitful shines the northern star?

"Gem! ne'er wrought on Highland mountain, Did the fairy of the fountain,

Or the mermaid of the wave,
Frame thee in some coral cave?

Did, in Iceland's darksome mine,
Dwarf's swart hands thy metal twine?
Or, mortal-moulded, comest thou here,
From England's love, or France's fear?

XII.

SONG CONTINUED. "No!-thy splendours nothing tell, Foreign art or faery spell. Moulded thou for monarch's use, By the overweening Bruce, When the royal robe he tied O'er a heart of wrath and pride; Thence in triumph wert thou torn, By the victor hand of Lorn! "When the gem was won and lost, Widely was the war-cry tossed! Rung aloud Bendourish fell, Answer'd Douchart's sounding dell, Fled the deer from wild Teyndrum, When the homicide, o'ercome, Hardly 'scaped, with scathe and scorn, Left the pledge with conquering Lorn!

XIII.

SONG CONCLUDED. "Vain was then the Douglas brand, Vain the Campbell's vaunted hand, Vain Kirkpatrick's bloody dirk, Making sure of murder's work; Barendown fled fast away, Fled the fiery De la Haye, When this brooch, triumphant borne, Beam'd upon the breast of Lorn. "Farthest fled its former Lord, Left his men to brand and cord, Bloody brand of Highland steel, English gibbet, axe, and wheel. Let him fly from coast to coast, Dogg'd by Comyn's vengeful ghost, While his spoils, in triumph worn, Long shall grace victorious Lorn!"

XIV.

As glares the tiger on his foes,
Hemm'd in by hunters, spears, and bows,
And, ere he bounds upon the ring,
Selects the object of his spring,-

Now on the bard, now on his Lord,

So Edward glared and grasp'd his sword-
But stern his brother spoke,-"Be still.
What! art thou yet so wild of will,
After high deeds and sufferings long,

To chase thee for a menial's song?

Well hast thou framed, Old Man, thy strains,
To praise the hand that pays thy pains!
Yet something might thy song have told
Of Lorn's three vassals, true and bold,
Who rent their Lord from Bruce's hold,
As underneath his knee he lay,
And died to save him in the fray.
I've heard the Bruce's cloak and clasp
Was clench'd within their dying grasp,
What time a hundred foemen more
Rush'd in, and back the victor bore,

But crowded on to stare,
As men of courtesy untaught,
Till fiery Edward roughly caught,
From one the foremost there,
His chequer'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 honour'd by her use."

And his fierce starts of sudden glee
Seem'd bursts of bridegroom's ecstacy.
Nor thus alone misjudged the crowd,
Since lofty Lorn, suspicious, proud,
And jealous of his honour'd line,
And that keen knight, De Argentine,
(From England sent on errand high,
The western league more firm to tie,)
Both deem'd in Ronald's mood to find
A lover's transport-troubled mind.
But one sad heart, one tearful eye,
Pierced deeper through the mystery,
And watch'd with agony and fear,
Her wayward bridegroom's varied cheer.

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That gave to guests unnamed, mkwwn.
A place so near their prince's firme:
But Owen Erranght said,
"For forty years a seneschal
To marshal guests in bower and hal
Has been my honour'd trade
Worship and birth to me are know
By look, by bearing, and by some
Not by furr'd robe or heater fare:
And 'gainst an oaken buyi

I'll gage my silver want té ICIDE.
That these three strangers i LOVE SIE
In higher place than now.*

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