#brought each man I had; and chief, or earl,,
Thane, Juke or dignitary, brings no more:
And with them brought I what may here be useful—
An aged eve, which, what in England, Scotland,
Spain. France, and Flanders, hath seen fifty battles,
And ta`en some jud:ment of them; a stark hand too,
Which plays as with a straw with this same mace,—
Which if a young arm here can wield more lightly,
I never more will offer word of counsel.

LENNOX.

Hear him, my lord; it is the noble SwintonHe hath had high experience.

MAXWELL.

He is noted

The wisest warrior 'twixt the Tweed and Solway— I do beseech you hear him.

JOHNSTONE.

Ay, hear the Swinton-hear stout old Sir Alan; Maxwell and Johnstone both agree for once.

REGENT.

Where's your impatience now?

Late you were all for battle, would not hear

tumomance a word—and now you gaze a na wance, in his antique armour, we were vrisen from the dead, Laring as leace's counsel for the battle. -SWINTON.

sa pruni word to speak; but he who fought Lent mir Ločen Bruce, may something guess, Can ananication with the dead,

1. WE DE WOORD ave counsell d. –Bruce had bidden y new tur barde-crder, marshall'd broadly Te de bare safe, and bidden you mark Va punts of schron archers, bearing down Ti de pe meatcw-lands which stretch beneathThe Irice was warn you, not a shaft to-day lar ani ing mark within a Scottish bosom, Fuas mar fest be order d. The callow boys, I'm are but four-foot bows, shall gall our frost, Tue aisward, and upon the rear, The shafts shall fall like death's own dare. ARL Dom bad men discharge them, find a mark This sail we be the death of slaughter'd deer, V dve into the toils, are shot at ease Ir jars and women, while they toss aloft LI xiy and la vain their branchy borns, As we -jai shake our unavailing spears. REGENT.

Isi ti net me! If their shot fall like hail, Our men have Milan coats to bear it out. SWINTON.

Ser 5 armourer temper steel on stithy That made sure fence against an English arrow; A entweb mossamer were guard as good Against a wasp-sting.

We fears a wasp-sting?

REGENT.

SWINTON.

I, my lord, fear none; Yet should a wise man brush the insect off, Or he may smart for it.

REGENT.

We ll keep the hill; it is the vantage-ground When the main battle joins.

SWINTON.

It ne'er will join, while their light archery
Can foil our spearmen and our barbed horse.
To hope Plantagenet would seek close combat
When he can conquer riskless, is to deem
Sagacious Edward simpler than a babe
In battle-knowledge. Keep the hill, my lord,
With the main body, if it is your pleasure;
But let a body of your chosen horse
Make execution on yon waspish archers.
I've done such work before, and love it well;
if 't is your pleasure to give me the leading,
The dames of Sherwood, Inglewood, and Weardale
Shall sit in widowhood and long for venison,
And long in vain. Whoe'er remembers Bannockburn. —
And when shall Scotsman, till the last loud trumpet,
Forget that stirring word!-knows that great balin
Even thus was fought and won.

LENNOX.

This is the shortest road to bandy blows;
For when the bills step forth and bows go back,
Then is the moment that our hardy spearmen,
With their strong bodies, and their stubborn hearts.
And limbs well knit by mountain exercise,

At the close tug shall foil the short-breathed southron.

SWINTON.

do not say the field will thus be won; The English host is numerous, brave, and loyal; heir monarch most accomplish'd in war's art, skill'd, resolute, and wary——

REGENT.

And if your scheme secure not victory, What does it promise us?

SWINTON.

This much at least,arkling we shall not die; the peasant's shaft, oosen'd perchance without an aim or purpose, hall not drink up the life-blood we derive rom those famed ancestors, who made their breasts his frontier's barrier for a thousand years. fe'll meet these southrons bravely hand to hand, nd eye to eye, and weapon against weapon; ach man who falls shall see the foe who strikes him. While our good blades are faithful to the hilts, nd our good hands to these good blades are faithful, low shall meet blow, and none fall unavengedWe shall not bleed alone.

REGENT.

And this is all

our wisdom hath devised!

SWINTON.

ot all; for I would pray you, noble lords
f one, among the guilty guiltiest, might),
or this one day to charm to ten hours' rest
he never-dying worm of deadly feud,
hat gnaws our vexed hearts-think no one foe
ave Edward and his host- days will remain,
y, days by far too many will remain,

old feuds or struggles for precedence;—
avenge
et this one day be Scotland's. For myself,
f there is any here may claim from me

As well may chance) a debt of blood and hatred,
My life is his to-morrow unresisting,
So he to-day will let me do the best

That my old arm may achieve for the dear country
That's mother to us both.

[GORDON shows much emotion during this and
the preceding speech of SWINTON.

You task me justly, and I crave his pardon,

[Bows to the REGENT. His and these noble lords'; and pray them all Bear witness to my words.-Ye noble presence, Here I remit unto the Knight of Swinton All bitter memory of my father's slaughter, All thoughts of malice, hatred, and revenge; By no base fear or composition moved, But by the thought, that in our country's battle All hearts should be as one. I do forgive him As freely as I pray to be forgiven, And once more kneel to him to sue for knighthood. SWINTON (affected, and drawing his sword). Alas! brave youth, 't is I should kneel to you, And, tendering thee the hilt of the fell sword That made thee fatherless, bid thee use the point After thine own discretion. For thy boonTrumpets be ready-In the holiest name, And in Our Lady's and Saint Andrew's name,

[Touching his shoulder with the sword. I dub thee Knight! Arise, Sir Adam Gordon! Be faithful, brave, and O be fortunate, Should this ill hour permit!

cry, «Lar

[The trumpets sound; the Heralds
gesse!» and the Attendants shout, «A
Gordon! A Gordon !»
REGENT.

Beggars and flatterers! Peace, peace, I say!
We'll to the standard; knights shall there be made
Who will with better reason crave your clamour.

LENNOX.

What of Swinton's counsel ?
Here's Maxwell and myself think it worth noting.
REGENT (with concentrated indignation).
Let the best knight, and let the sagest leader--
So Gordon quotes the man who slew his father,-
With his old pedigree and heavy mace,

Essay the adventure if it pleases him,

With his fair threescore horse. As for ourselves, We will not peril aught upon the measure.

GORDON.

Lord Regent, you mistake; for if Sir Alan

VIPONT to GORDON).

[Exit LENNOX.

Then change the phrase, and say, that while we live,
Gordon shall be my son.-If thou art fatherless,
Am I not childless too? Bethink thee, Gordon,
Our death-feud was not like the household fire,
Which the poor peasant hides among its embers,
To smoulder on, and wait a time for waking.
Ours was the conflagration of the forest,
Which, in its fury, spares nor sprout nor stem,
Hoar oak, nor sapling-not to be extinguish'd,
Till Heaven, in mercy, sends down ali her waters.
But, once subdued, its flame is quench'd for ever:
And Spring shall hide the track of devastation,
With foliage and with flowers.-Give me thy hand.

An ancient friend-A most notorious knave, Whose throat I've destined to the dodder'd oak Before my castle, these ten months and more. Was it not you, who drove from Simprim-mains, And Swinton-quarter, sixty head of cattle?

HOB.

What then? if now I lead your sixty lances Upon the English flank, where they ll find spoil Is worth six hundred beeves?

SWINTON.

Why, thou canst do it, knave. I would not trust ther
With one poor bullock; yet would risk my life,
And all my followers, on thine honest guidance.

FOR.

SWINTON

Bravely, bravely

GOLDON.

[Looks as if towards the Scottish Army.

KING EDWARD.

Answer, proud abbot; is my chaplain's soul, If thou knowest aught on 't, in the evil place?

CHANDOS.

My liege, the Yorkshire men have gain'd the meadow. I see the pennon green of merry Sherwood.

KING EDWARD.

Then give the signal instant! We have lost But too much time already.

ABBOT.

My liege, your holy chaplain's blessed soul

KING EDWARD.

To hell with it, and thee! Is this a time
To speak of monks and chaplains?

[Flourish of Trumpets, answered by a distant sound
of Bugles.

See, Chandos, Percy-Ha, Saint George! Saint Edward'
See it descending now, the fatal hail-shower,

The storm of England's wrath-sure, swift, resistless,
Which no mail-coat can brook.—Brave English hearts"
How close they shoot together!-as one eye
Had aim'd five thousand shafts-as if one hand
Had loosed five thousand bow-strings!

PERCY.

The thick volley Darkens the air, and hides the sun from us.

KING EDWARD.

It falls on those shall see the sun no more.
The winged, the resistless plague is with them.
How their vex'd host is reeling to and fro,
Like the chafed whale with fifty lances in him!
They do not see, and cannot shun the wound.
The storm is viewless, as death's sable wing,
Unerring as his scythe.