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XX.

That elder leader's calm reply
In steady voice was given,
<< In man's most dark extremity

Oft succour dawns from heaven.
Edward, trim thou the shatter'd sail,
The helm be mine, and down the gale
Let our free course be driven;
So shall we 'scape the western bay,
The hostile fleet, the unequal fray,
So safely hold our vessel's way,
Beneath the castle wall;

For if a hope of safety rest,
'Tis on the sacred name of guest,
Who seeks for shelter, storm-distress'd,
Within a chieftain's hall.

If not-it best beseems our worth,
Our name, our right, our lofty birth,
By noble hands to fall.»>-

XXI.

The helm, to his strong arm consign'd,
Gave the reefd sail to meet the wind,
And on her alter'd way,

Fierce-bounding, forward sprung the ship,
Like greyhound starting from the slip,
To seize his flying prey.
Awaked before the rushing prow,
The mimic fires of ocean glow,

Those lightnings of the wave; (9)
Wild sparkles crest the broken tides,
And, flashing round, the vessel's sides

With elvish lustre lave,

While, far behind, their livid light
To the dark billows of the night
A gloomy splendour gave.

It seems as if old Ocean shakes
From his dark brow the livid flakes

In envious pageantry,

To match the meteor light that streaks
Grim Hecla's midnight sky.

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 appear'd, 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 main-land 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 rout.

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, An 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 lee,
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. (10)
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, holy 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 breeze
Had driven thy bark astray.»—

XXV.

<< Warder,» the younger 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.»>—
Answer'd 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?»-
« 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.»-

XXVI.

«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, Artornish 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 green-wood 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,>»>—

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And, comrades, gaze not on the maid,
And on these men who ask our aid,
As if ye ne'er had seen

A damsel tired of midnight bark,
Or wanderers of a moulding stark,
And bearing martial mien.»-
But not for Eachin's reproof
Would page or vassal stand aloof,
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, 'T were honour'd by her use.»

XXX.

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 baron's 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.

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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 ecstasy.
Nor thus alone misjudged the crowd,
Since lofty Lorn, suspicious, proud,
And jealous of his honour'd line,
And that keen knight, De Argentine (1)
(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 her's;-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. (2)
Fiil 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.

VI.

« Brother of Lorn,» with hurried voice He said, and you, fair lords, rejoice!

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Here, to augment our glee,
Come wandering knights from travel far,
Well proved, they say, in strife of war,
And tempest on the sea.-

Ho! give them at your board such place
As best their presences may grace,

And bid them welcome free!»-
With solemn step, and silver wand,
The seneschal the presence scann'd

Of these strange guests; (3) and well he knew How to assign their rank its due;

For, though the costly furs

That erst had deck'd their caps were torn,
And their gay robes were over-worn,

And soil'd their gilded spurs,

Yet such a high commanding grace
Was in their mien and in their face,
As suited best the princely dais,

And royal canopy;

And there he marshall'd them their place, First of that company.

VII.

Then lords and ladies spake aside,
And
angry looks the error chide,
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 e'en now
Scann'd the gay presence o'er,

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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? (4)
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?

That

X.

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'd 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 BROACH OF LORN. (5)
Whence the broach of burning gold,
That clasps the chieftain's mantle-fold,
Wrought and chased with rare device,
Studded fair with gems of price, (6)
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,

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«Vain was then the Douglas brand,
Vain the Campbell's vaunted hand, (7)
Vain Kirkpatrick's bloody dirk,
Making sure of murder's work; (8)
Barendown fled fast away,
Fled the fiery De la Haye, (9)
When this broach, 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 chafe thee for a menial's song?-
Well hast thou framed, old man, thy straius,
To praise the hand that pays thy pains; (10)
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.

room, where he found a lady, newly delivered of an in-Howell in his own house, after the manner he had

fant. He was commanded by his attendants to say seene in the French warres, and consumed with fire such prayers by her bed-side as were fitting for a per- his barnes and his out houses. Whilst he was thus asson not expected to survive a mortal disorder. He ven- saulting the hall, which Howell ap Rys and many oth r tured to remonstrate, and observe that her safe delivery people kept, being a very strong house, he was shot warranted better hopes. But he was sternly com- out of a crevice of the house, through the sight of his manded to obey the orders first given, and with diffi- beaver into the head, and slayne out-right, being otherculty recollected himself sufficiently to acquit himself wise armed at all points. Notwithstanding his death, of the task imposed on him. He was then again hur- the assault of the house was continued with great veheried into the chair; but, as they conducted him down mence, the doores fired with great burthens of straw; stairs, he heard the report of a pistol. He was safely besides this, the smoake of the out-houses and barnes' conducted home; a purse of gold was forced upon him; not farre distant annoyed greatly the defendants, for i but he was warned, at the same time, that the least al- that most of them lay under boordes and benches upon lusion to this dark transaction would cost him his life. the floore, in the hall, the better to avoyd the smoake. ! He betook himself to rest, and, after long and broken During this scene of confusion onely the old man, musing, fell into a deep sleep. From this he was Howell ap Rys, never stooped, but stood valiantly in awakened by his servant, with the dismal news, that a the middest of the floore, armed with a gleve in his = fire of uncommon fury had broken out in the house of hand, and called into them, and bid them arise like ****, near the head of the Canongate, and that it was men, for shame, for he had knowne there as greate a totally consumed; with the shocking addition, that the smoke in that hall upon Christmas even.' In the end, daughter of the proprietor, a young lady eminent for seeing the house could no longer defend them, being beauty and accomplishments, had perished in the flames. overlayed with a multitude, upon parley betweene The clergyman had his suspicions, but to have made them, Howell ap Rys was content to yeald himself prithem public would have availed nothing. He was ti-soner to Morris ap John ap Meredith, John ap Meredith's | mid; the family was of the first distinction; above eldest sonne, soe as he would swear unto him to brug all, the deed was done, and could not be amended. him safe to Carnarvon Castle, to abide the triall of uk | Time wore away, however, and with it his terrors. He law for the death of Graff ap John ap Grouw, who was ¦ became unhappy at being the solitary depositary of this cosen-german removed to the said Howell ap Rys, and fearful mystery, and mentioned it to some of his bre- of the very same house he was of. Which MorTIS thren, through whom the anecdote acquired a sort of ap John ap Meredith undertaking, did put a guard publicity. The divine, however, had been long dead, and about the said Howell of his trustiest friends and serthe story in some degree forgotten, when a fire broke vants, who kept and defended him from the rage of his out again on the very same spot where the house of **** kindred, and especially of Owen ap John ap Meredith, had formerly stood, and which was now occupied by his brother, who was very eager against him. buildings of an inferior description. When the flames passed by leisure thence like a campe to Carnarvon, were at their height, the tumult, which usually attends the whole countrie being assembled, Howell his friends such a scene, was suddenly suspended by an unex- posted a horseback from one place or other by the pected apparition. A beautiful female, in a night-way, who brought word that he was come thither safe, dress, extremely rich, but at least half a century old, for they were in great fear lest he should be murthered, i appeared in the very midst of the fire, and uttered and that Morris ap John ap Meredith could not be able these tremendous words in her vernacular idiom: to defend him, neither durst any of Howell's friends be «< Anes burned; twice burned; the third time I'll scare there, for fear of the kindred. In the end, being dehyou all!» The belief in this story was formerly so vered by Morris ap Jolin ap Meredith to the constabie strong, that on a fire breaking out, and seeming to ap- of Carnarvon Castle, and there kept safely in ward unproach the fatal spot, there was a good deal of anxiety til the assises, it fell out by law that the burning of testified lest the apparition should make good her de-Howell's houses, and assaulting him in his owne house, was a more haynous offence in Morris ap John ap Meredith and the rest, than the death of Graff ap Jolia ap Gronw in Howell, who did it in his own defence. whereupon Morris ap John ар Meredith, with thirty-tive more, were indicted of felony, as appeareth by the copie of the indictment, which I had from the records » Sir JOHN WYNNE'S History of the Gwydir Family, Lond. 1770, 8vo. p. 116.

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Note 11. Stanza xxxiii.

As thick a smoke these hearths have given
At Hallowtide or Christmas even.

Such an exhortation was, in similar circumstances, actually given to his followers by a Welch chieftain: Enmity did continue betweene Howell ap Rys ap Howell Vaughan and the sonnes of John ap Meredith. After the death of Evan ap Robert, Griffith ap Gronw (cozen-german to John ap Meredith's sonnes of Gwynfryn, who had long served in France and had charge there), comeing home to live in the countrey, it happened that a servant of his, comeing to fish in Stymllyn, his fish was taken away, and the fellow beaten by Howell ap Rys his servants, and by his commandment. Griffith John Grow took the matter in such dudgeon that he challenged Howell ap Rys to the field, which he refusing, assembling his cosins John ap Meredith's sonnes and his friends together, assaulted

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CANTO VI.

Note 1. Stanza xxi.

O'er Hexham's altar bung my glove

They

This custom among the Redesdale and Tynedale ber derers is mentioned in the interesting life of Bn ! Gilpin, where some account is given of these wild dis

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