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Our kin, and clan, and friends to raise.»>—(10)
XXVIII.

Fair Margaret, from the turret-head,
Heard, far below, the coursers' tread,

While loud the harness rang,

As to their seats, with clamour dread,
The ready horsemen sprang;
And trampling hoofs, and iron coats,
And leaders' voices, mingled notes,
And out! and out!
In hasty route,

The horsemen gallop'd forth;
Dispersing to the south to scout,

And east, and west, and north,

To view their coming enemies,
And warn their vassals and allies.

XXIX.

The ready page, with hurried hand, Awaked the need-fire's3 slumbering brand, And ruddy blush'd the heaven;

For a sheet of flame, from the turret high, Waved like a blood-flag on the sky,

All flaring and uneven.

And soon a score of fires, I ween,

From height, and hill, and cliff, were seen;
Each with warlike tidings fraught;
Each from each the signal caught;

Each after each they glanced to sight,

As stars arise upon the night.

They gleam'd on many a dusky tarn,4
Haunted by the lonely earn;5

On many a cairn's gray pyramid,

Where urns of mighty chiefs lie hid ; (11)

Till high Dunedin the blazes saw,

From Soltra and Dumpender Law;

Bale, beacon-fagot.

Mount for Branksome was the gathering word of the Scotts. Need-fire, beacon.

Tarn, a mountain lake.

Earn, a Scottish eagle.

Cairn, a pile of stones.

And Lothian heard the regent's order,
That all should bowne' them for the Border.

XXX.

The livelong night in Branksome rang
The ceaseless sound of steel;
The castle-bell, with backward clang,

Sent forth the larum peal;
Was frequent heard the heavy jar,
Where massy stone and iron bar
Were piled on echoing keep and tower,
To whelm the foe with deadly shower;
Was frequent heard the changing guard,
And watchword from the sleepless ward;
While, wearied by the endless din,
Blood-hound and ban-dog yell'd within.

XXXI.

The noble dame, amid the broil,

Shared the gray seneschal's high toil,
And spoke of danger with a smile;

Cheer'd the young knights, and council sage
Held with the chiefs of riper age.
No tidings of the foe were brought,
Nor of his numbers knew they aught,
Nor in what time the truce he sought.

Some said, that there were thousands ten,
And others ween'd that it was nought
But Leven Clans, or Tynedale men,
Who came to gather in black-mail;3
And Liddesdale, with small avail,

Might drive them lightly back agen.
So pass'd the anxious night away,
And welcome was the peep of day.

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As if thy waves, since Time was born, Since first they roll'd upon the Tweed, Had only heard the shepherd's reed, Nor started at the bugle-horn.

II.

Unlike the tide of human time,

Which, though it change in ceaseless flow, Retains each grief, retains each crime,

Its earliest course was doom'd to know;
And, darker as it downward bears,
Is stain'd with past and present tears.

Low as that tide has ebb'd with me,
It still reflects to Memory's eye
The hour, my brave, my only boy,

Fell by the side of great Dundee. (1)
Why, when the volleying musket play'd
Against the bloody Highland blade,
Why was not I beside him laid!-
Enough-he died the death of fame;
Enough-he died with conquering Græme!

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Now loud the heedful gate-ward cried--
« Prepare ye all for blows and blood!
Watt Tinlinn, (4) from the Liddel side,
Comes wading through the flood.
Full oft the Tynedale snatchers knock
At his lone gate, and prove the lock;
It was but last St Barnabright
They sieged him a whole summer night,
But fled at morning; well they knew,
In vain he never twang'd the yew.
Right sharp has been the evening shower,
That drove him from his Liddel tower;
And, by my faith,» the gate-ward said,
« I think 't will prove a warden-raid.»1

V.

While thus he spoke, the bold yeoman
Enter'd the echoing barbican.
He led a small and shaggy nag,、
That through a bog, from hag to hag,2
Could bound like any Bilhope stag. (5)
It bore his wife and children twain;
A half-clothed serf3 was all their train.
His wife, stout, ruddy, and dark-brow'd,
Of silver broach and bracelet proud, (6)
Laugh'd to her friends among the crowd.

An inroad commanded by the warden in person.
The broken ground in a bog.

3 Bondsman.

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Thus to the Ladye did Tinlinn show
The tidings of the English foe.

« Belted Will Howard (7) is marching here, And hot Lord Dacre, (S) with many a spear, And all the German hackbut-men,' (9)

Who have long lain at Askerten.
They cross'd the Liddel at curfew hour,
And burnt my little lonely tower;

The fiend receive their souls therefor!
It had not been burnt this year and more.
Barn-yard and dwelling, blazing bright,
Served to guide me on my flight;
But I was chased the livelong night.
Black John of Akeshaw, and Fergus Græme,
Full fast upon my traces came,
Until I turn'd at Priesthaugh Scrogg,
And shot their horses in the bog,
Slew Fergus with my lance outright—
I had him long at high despite,

He drove my cows last Fastern's night.»>

VII.

Now weary scouts from Liddesdale,
Fast hurrying in, confirm'd the tale;
As far as they could judge by ken,

Three hours would bring to Teviot's strand Three thousand armed Englishmen.

Meanwhile, full many a warlike band, From Teviot, Aill, and Ettrick shade, Came in, their chief's defence to aid. There was saddling and mounting in haste, There was pricking o'er moor and lea, He that was last at the trysting-place Was but lightly held of his gay ladye.

VIII.

From fair St Mary's silver wave,

From dreary Gamescleugh's dusky height, His ready lances Thirlestane brave

Array'd beneath a banner bright. (10)
The tressured fleur-de-luce he claims
To wreathe his shield, since royal James,
Encamp'd by Fala's mossy wave,
The proud distinction grateful gave,
For faith 'mid feudal jars;
What time, save Thirlestane alone,
Of Scotland's stubborn barons none

Would march to southern wars:
And hence, in fair remembrance worn,
Yon sheaf of spears his crest has borne:
Hence his high motto shines reveal'd--
« Ready, aye ready,»> for the field.

Musketeers.

IX.

An aged knight, to danger steel'd,

With many a moss-trooper, came on; And azure in a golden field,

The stars and crescent graced his shield,

Without the bend of Murdieston. (11) Wide lay his lands round Oakwood tower, And wide round haunted Castle-Ower; High over Borthwick's mountain-flood His wood-embosom'd mansion stood; In the dark glen, so deep below, The herds of plunder'd England low, His bold retainers' daily food,

And bought with danger, blows, and blood.
Marauding chief! his sole delight

The moon-light raid, the morning fight;
Not even the Flower of Yarrow's charins,
In youth, might tame his rage for arms;
And still, in age, he spurn'd at rest,
And still his brows the helmet press'd,
Albeit the blanched locks below
Were white as Dinlay's spotless suow:
Five stately warriors drew the sword
Before their father's band;

A braver knight than Harden's lord
Ne'er belted on a brand.

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The vassals were warlike, and fierce, and rude;
High of heart, and haughty of word,
Little they reck'd of a tame liege-lord.
The earl to fair Eskdale came,

Homage and seignory to claim:

Of Gilbert the Galliard a heriot he sought,

Saying, «Give thy best steed, as a vassal ought.»
<< Dear to me is my bonny white steed,
Oft has he help'd me at pinch of need;
Lord and earl though thou be, I trow,
I can rein Bucksfoot better than thou.»-

Word on word gave fuel to fire,

Till so highly blazed the Beattisons' ire,
But that the earl his flight had ta'en,
The vassals there their lord had slain.
Sore he plied both whip and spur,

As he urged his steed through Eskdale muir;
And it fell down a weary weight,

Just on the threshold of Branksome gate.

XI.

The earl was a wrathful man to see,
Full fain avenged would he be.
In haste to Branksome's lord he spoke,
Saying-« Take these traitors to thy yoke;
For a cast of hawks, and a purse of gold,
All Eskdale I'll sell thee, to have and hold:

The feudal superior, in certain cases, was entitled to the Lest horse of the vassal, in name of ileriot, or Herezeld.

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Beshrew thy heart, of the Beattisons' clan
If thou leavest on Esk a landed man;
But spare Woodkerrick's lands alone,
For he lent me his horse to escape upon.»-
A glad man then was Branksome bold,
Down he flung him the purse of gold;
To Eskdale soon he spurr'd amain,
And with him five hundred riders has ta'en.
He left his merry-men in the mist of the hill,
And bade them hold them close and still;
And alone he wended to the plain,

To meet with the Galliard and all his train.
To Gilbert the Galliard thus he said :-

Know thou me for thy liege-lord and head; Deal not with me as with Morton tame, For Scotts play best at the roughest game. Give me in peace my heriot due, Thy bonny white steed, or thou shalt rue. If my horn I three times wind,

Eskdale shall long have the sound in mind.»

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And the third blast rang with such a din,

That the echoes answer'd from Pentoun-linn,
And all his riders came lightly in.

Then had you seen a gallant shock,

When saddles were emptied, and lances broke!
For each scornful word the Galliard had said,
A Beattison on the field was laid.

His own good sword the chieftain drew,
And he bore the Galliard through and through;
Where the Beattison's blood mix'd with the rill,
The Galliard's Haugh, men call it still.

The Scotts have scatter'd the Beattison clan,
In Eskdale they left but one landed man.
The valley of Eske, from the mouth to the source,
Was lost and won for that bonny white horse.

XIII.
Whitslade the Hawk, and Headshaw came,
And warriors more than I may name;
From Yarrow-cleugh to Hindhaugh-swair,
From Woodhouselie to Chester-glen,
Troop'd man and horse, and bow and spear;
Their gathering word was Bellenden, (13)
And better hearts o'er Border sod

To siege or rescue never rode.
The Ladye mark'd the aids come in,

And high her heart of pride arose ;
She bade her youthful son attend,
That he might know his father's friend,
And learn to face his foes.
«The boy is ripe to look on war;
I saw him draw a cross-bow stiff,
And his true arrow struck afar

The raven's nest upon the cliff;

The red cross, on a southern breast,

Is broader than the raven's nest;

Thou, Whitslade, shalt teach him his weapon to wield,

And o'er him hold his father's shield.»

XIV.

Well may you think, the wily page
Cared not to face the Ladye sage.
He counterfeited childish fear,

And shriek'd, and shed full many a tear,
And moan'd and plain'd in manner wild.
The attendants to the Ladye told,
Some fairy sure had changed the child,
That wont to be so free and bold.
Then wrathful was the noble dame;
She blush'd blood-red for very shame;
«Hence! ere the clan his faintness view;
Hence with the weakling to Buccleuch!-
Watt Tinlinn, thou shalt be his guide
To Rangleburn's lonely side.-
Sure some fell fiend has cursed our line,
That coward should e'er be son of mine!»-

XV.

A heavy task Watt Tinlinn had
To guide the counterfeited lad.
Soon as the palfrey felt the weight
Of that ill-omen'd elfish freight,

He bolted, sprung, and rear'd amain,
Nor heeded bit, not curb, nor rein.
It cost Watt Tinlinn mickle toil
To drive him but a Scottish mile;

But, as a shallow brook they cross'd,
The elf, amid the running stream,
His figure changed, like form in dream,

And fled, and shouted, «Lost! lost! lost!»>
Full fast the urchin ran and laugh'd,
But faster still a cloth-yard shaft
Whistled from startled Tinlinn's yew,'

And pierced his shoulder through and through.
Although the imp might not be slain,
And though the wound soon heal'd again,

Yet, as he ran, he yell'd for pain;

And Watt of Tinlinn, much aghast,

Rode back to Branksome fiery fast.

XVI..

Soon on the hill's steep verge he stood,
That looks o'er Branksome's towers and wood;
And martial murmurs, from below,
Proclaim'd the approaching southern foe.
Through the dark wood, in mingled tone,
Were Border-pipes and bugles blown;
The coursers' neighing he could ken,
And measured tread of marching men,
While broke at times the solemn hum,
The Almayn's sullen kettle-drum;
And banners tall, of crimson sheen,

Above the copse appear;

And, glistening through the hawthorns green, Shine helm, and shield, and spear.

XVII.

Light forayers, first, to view the ground, Spurr'd their fleet coursers loosely round;

Behind, in close array, and fast,

The Kendal archers, all in green, Obedient to the bugle blast,

Advancing from the wood were seen. To back and guard the archer band, Lord Dacre's bill-men were at hand: A hardy race, on Irthing bred, With kirtles white, and crosses red, Array'd beneath the banner tall, That stream'd o'er Acre's conquer'd wall; And minstrels, as they march'd in order, Play'd «Noble Lord Dacre, he dwells on the Border.>>

XVIII.

Behind the English bill and bow,
The mercenaries, firm and slow,
Moved on to fight, in dark array,

By Conrad led of Wolfenstein,
Who brought the band from distant Rhine,
And sold their blood for foreign pay;

The
camp their home, their law the sword,
They knew no country, own'd no lord. (14)
They were not arm'd like England's sons,
But bore the levin-darting guns;

Buff coats, all frounced and 'broidered o'er,
And morsing-horns and scarfs they wore;
Each better knee was bared, to aid

The warriors in the escalade;

And, as they marched, in rugged tongue,
Sounds of Teutonic feuds they sung.

XIX,

But louder still the clamour grew,

And louder still the minstrels blew,
When from beneath the green-wood tree
Rode forth Lord Howard's chivalry;
His men-at-arms, with glaive and spear,
Brought up the battle's glittering rear.
There many a youthful knight, full keen
To gain his spurs, in arms was seen;
With favour in his crest, or glove,
Memorial of his ladye-love.

So rode they forth in fair array,
Till full their lengthen'd lines display;
Then call'd a halt, and made a stand,
And cried, «< St George for merry England!»

XX.

Now every English eye, intent,

On Branksome's armed towers was bent:
So near they were, that they might know
The straining harsh of each cross-bow;
On battlement and bartizan
Gleam'd axe, and spear, and partisan;
Falcon and culver,2 on each tower,
Stood prompt their deadly hail to shower;
And flashing armour frequent broke
From eddying whirls of sable smoke,
Where, upon tower and turret-head,
The seething pitch and molten lead
Reek'd, like a witch's cauldron red.
While yet they gaze, the bridges fall,
The wicket opes, and from the wall
Rides forth the hoary seneschal.

1 Powder-flasks.

2 Ancient pieces of artillery,

XXI.

Armed he rode, all save the head,

His white beard o'er his breast-plate spread;
Unbroke by age, erect his seat,

He ruled his eager courser's gait;
Forced him, with chasten'd fire, to prance,
And, high curvetting, slow advance:
In sign of truce, his better hand
Display'd a peeled willow wand;
His squire, attending in the rear,

Bore high a gauntlet on a spear. (15)
When they espied him riding out,
Lord Howard and Lord Dacre stout
Sped to the front of their
array,

To hear what this old knight should say.

XXII.

«Ye English warden lords, of you
Demands the Ladye of Buccleuch,
Why, 'gainst the truce of Border-tide,
In hostile guise ye dare to ride,
With Kendal bow, and Gilsland brand,
And all yon mercenary band,
Upon the bounds of fair Scotland?
My Ladye redes you, swith return;
And, if but one poor straw you burn,
Or do our towers so much molest,
As scare one swallow from her nest,
St Mary! but we'll light a brand,

Shall warm your hearths in Cumberland.»

XXIII.

A wrathful man was Dacre's lord,

But calmer Howard took the word :

་་

May 't please thy dame, Sir Seneschal,

To seck the castle's outward wall,

Our pursuivant-at-arms shall show,

Both why we came, and when we go.»—
The message sped, the noble dame
To the wall's outward circle came;
Each chief around lean'd on his
spear,
To see the pursuivant appear.
All in Lord Howard's livery dress'd,
The lion argent deck'd his breast;
He led a boy of blooming hae—
O sight to meet a mother's view!
It was the heir of great Buccleuch.
Obeisance meet the herald made,
And thus his master's will he said:

XXIV.

«< It irks, high dame, my noble lords,
'Gainst ladye fair to draw their swords;
But yet they may not tamely see,
All through the western wardenry,
Your law-contemning kinsmen ride,
And burn and spoil the Border side;
And ill bescems your rank and birth
To make your towers a flemen's-firth.'
We claim from thee William of Deloraine,

That he may suffer march-treason pain;2 (16)
It was but last St Cuthbert's even
He prick'd to Stapleton on Leven,

An asylum for outlaws.

2 Border treason.

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Will cleanse him, by oath, of march-treason stain, (17)

Or else he will the combat take

'Gainst Musgrave, for his honour's sake.

No knight in Cumberland so good,

But William may count with him kin and blood.
Knighthood he took of Douglas` sword, (18)
When English blood swell'd Ancram ford; (19)
And but that Lord Dacre's steed was wight,
And bore him ably in the flight,
Himself had seen him dubb'd a knight.
For the young heir of Branksome's line,
God be his aid, and God be mine;
Through me no friend shall meet his doom;
Here, while I live, no foe finds room.
Then, if thy lords their purpose urge,
Take our defiance loud and high:

Our slogan is their lyke-wake3 dirge,

Our moat the grave where they shall lie.»

XXVII.

Proud she look'd round, applause to claim-
Then lighten'd Thirlestane's eye of flame,
His bugle Wat of Harden blew;
Pensils and pennons wide were flung,
To heaven the Border slogan rung,

<< St Mary for the young Buccleuch!» The English war-cry answer'd wide,

And forward bent each southern spear; Each Kendal archer made a stride,

And drew the bow-string to his ear; Each minstrel's war-note loud was blown;But, ere a gray-goose shaft had flown, A horseman gallop'd from the rear.

1 Plundered.

2 Note of assault.

3 Lyke-wake, the watching a corpse previous to interment.

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