And bid the dead your treasure keep.-P. 351.

If time did not permit the Buccaneers to lavish away their plunder in their usual debaucheries, they were wont to hide it, with many superstitious solemnities, in the desert islands and keys which they frequented. The most cruel of mankind are often the most superstitious, and these pirates are said to have had recourse to a horrid ritual in order to secure an unearthly guardian to their treasures. They killed a Negro or Spaniard, and buried him with the treasure, believing that his spirit would haunt the spot, and terrify away all

intruders.

Of Brackenbury's dismal tower.-P. 355.

This tower is situated near the north-eastern extremity of the wall which encloses Barnard Castle, and is traditionally said to have been the prison.

In Redesdale his youth had heard.-P. 358.

The inhabitants of the valleys of Tyne and Reed were, in ancient times, so inordinately addicted to depredation, that in 1564 the Incorporated Merchant-adventurers of Newcastle made a law that none born in these districts should be admitted apprentice. The inhabitants are stated to be so generally addicted to rapine, that no faith should be reposed in those proceeding from "such lewde and wicked progenitors." This regulation continued to stand unrepealed until 1771.

When Rooken-edge and Redswair high.-P. 358.

Reidswair, famed for a skirmish to which it gives name, is on the very edge of the Carter-Fell, which divides England from Scotland. The Rooken is a place upon Reed-Water.

Of old, the cavern strait and rude.-P. 364.

The banks of the Greta, below Rutherford Bridge, abound in seams of a greyish slate, which are wrought in some places to a very great depth under ground, thus forming artificial caverns, which, when the seam has been exhausted, are gradually hidden by the underwood which grows in profusion upon the romantic banks of the river.

The Baron of Ravensworth prances in pride.-P. 372.

The ruins of Ravensworth Castle stand in the North Riding of Yorkshire, about three miles from the town of Richmond, and adjoining to the waste called the Forest of Arkingarth. It belonged originally to the powerful family of Fitz-Hugh, from whom it passed to the Lords Dacre of the South.

Who at Rere-cross on Stanmore meets Allen-a-Dale.-P. 372.

This is a fragment of an old cross with its pediment, surrounded by an intrenchment, upon the very summit of the waste ridge of Stanmore. The situation of the cross, and the pains taken to defend it, seem to indicate that it was intended for a land-mark of importance.

When Denmark's Raven soared on high.-P. 373.

About the year of God 866, the Danes, under their celebrated leaders Inguar (more properly Agnar) and Hubba, sons, it is said, of the still more celebrated Regnar Lodbrog, invaded Northumberland, bringing with them the magical standard, so often mentioned in poetry, called REAFEN, or Rumfan, from its bearing the figure of a raven.

Thundering o'er Caldron and High Force.-P. 373.

The Tees rises about the skirts of Cross-Fell, and falls over the cataracts named in the text before it leaves the mountains which divide the North Riding from Cumberland. High Force is seventy. five feet in height.

Fixed on each vale a Runic name.-P. 373.

The heathen Danes have left several traces of their religion in the upper part of Teesdale. Balder-garth, which derives its name from the unfortunate son of Odin, is a tract of waste land on the very ridge of Stanmore; and a brook, which falls into the Tees near Barnard Castle, is named after the same deity. A field upon the banks of the Tees is also termed Woden-Croft, from the supreme deity of the Edda. Thorsgill, of which a description is attempted in Stanza 11., is a beautiful little brook and dell, running up behind the ruins of Eglistone Abbey. Thor was the Hercules of the Scandinavian mythology.

Who has not heard how brave O'Neale.-P. 375.

His

The O'Neale here meant, for more than one succeeded to the chieftainship during the reign of Elizabeth, was Hugh, the grandson of Con O'Neale, called Con Bacco, or the Lame. His father, Matthew O'Kelly, was illegitimate, and, being the son of a blacksmith's wife, was usually called Matthew the Blacksmith. father, nevertheless, destined his succession to him; and he was created, by Elizabeth, Baron of Dungannon. Upon the death of Con Bacco, this Matthew was slain by his brother. Hugh narrowly escaped the same fate, and was protected by the English. Shane O'Neale, his uncle, called Shane Dymas, was succeeded by Turlough Lynogh O'Neale; after whose death, Hugh having assumed the chieftainship, became nearly as formidable to the English as any by whom it had been possessed. He rebelled repeatedly, and as often made submissions, of which it was usually a condition that he should not any longer assume the title of O'Neale; in lieu of which he was created Earl of Tyrone. But this condition he never observed longer than until the pressure of superior force was withdrawn. His baffling the gallant Earl of Essex in the field, and over-reaching him in a treaty, was the induction to that nobleman's tragedy. Lord Mountjoy succeeded in finally subjugating O'Neale; but it was not till the succession of James, to whom he made personal submission, and was received with civility at court.

The Tanist he to great O'Neale.-P. 375.

"It is a custom amongst all the Irish, that, presently after the death of one of their chiefe lords or captaines, they doe presently assemble themselves to a place generally appointed and knowne unto them, to choose another in his stead; where they do nominate and elect, for the most part, not the eldest sonne, nor any of the children of the lord deceased, but the next to him in blood,-that is, the eldest and worthiest, as commonly the next brother unto him, if he have any, or the next cousin, or so forth, as any is elder in that kindred or sept; and then next to him doe they choose the next of the blood to be Tanist, who shall next succeed him in the said captainry, if he live thereunto." The Tanist, therefore, of O'Neale, was the heir-apparent of his power.-Spenser.

His plaited hair in elf-locks spread.-P. 376.

The ancient Irish dress was (the bonnet excepted) very similar to that of the Scottish Highlanders. The want of a covering on the head was supplied by the mode of plaiting and arranging their hair, which was called the glibbe.

With wild majestic port and tone.-P. 376.

The Irish chiefs, in their intercourse with the English, and with each other, were wont to assume the language and style of inde pendent royalty.

His foster-father was his guide.-P. 377.

There was no tie more sacred among the Irish than that which connected the foster-father, as well as the nurse herself, with the child they brought up.

Great Nial of the Pledges Nine.-P. 379.

Niell Naighvallach, or Of the Nine Hostages, is said to have been monarch of all Ireland, during the end of the fourth or beginning of the fifth century. He exercised a predatory warfare on the coast of England and Bretagne, or Armorica; and from the latter country brought off the celebrated Saint Patrick, a youth of sixteen, among other captives, whom he transported to Ireland. Neal derived his epithet from nine nations or tribes, whom he held under his subjection, and from whom he took hostages.

Shane Dymas wild, and Geraldine.-P. 379.

Shane Dymas, or John the Wanton, held the title and power of O'Neale in the earlier part of Elizabeth's reign, against whom he rebelled repeatedly. The O'Neales were closely allied with the powerful and warlike family of Geraldine; for Henry Owen O'Neale married the daughter of Thomas Earl of Kildare, and their son Con More married his cousin-german, a daughter of Gerald Earl of Kildare. This Con More cursed any of his posterity who should learn the English language, sow corn, or build houses, so as to invite the English to settle in their country. Others ascribe this anathema to his son Con Bacco.

In that old time to chivalry.-P. 380.

Originally the order of chivalry embraced three ranks:-1. The Page; 2. The Squire; 3. The Knight;-a gradation which seems to have been imitated in the mystery of free-masonry. But before the reign of Charles I., the custom of serving as a squire had fallen into disuse, though the order of the page was still, to a certain degree, in observance. This state of servitude was so far from inferring anything degrading, that it was considered as the regular school for acquiring every quality necessary for future distinction.

The ancient Hall before him lay.-P. 389.

The ancient castle of Rokeby stood exactly upon the site of the present mansion, by which a part of its walls is enclosed. It is surrounded by a profusion of fine wood, and the park in which it stands is adorned by the junction of the Greta and of the Tees.

Nought know'st thou of the Felon Sow.-P. 393.

The ancient minstrels had a comic as well as a serious strain of romance. The comic romance was a sort of parody upon the usual subjects of minstrel poetry. One of the very best of these mock romances, and which has no small portion of comic humour, is the Hunting of the Felon Sow of Rokeby by the Friars of Richmond.

The Filea of O'Neale was he.-P. 393.

The Filea, or Ollamh Re Dan, was the proper bard, or, as the name literally implies, poet. Each chieftain of distinction had one or more in his service, whose office was usually hereditary.

Ah, Clandeboy! thy kindly floor.-P. 394.

Clandeboy is a district of Ulster, formerly possessed by the sept of the O'Neales; and Slieve-Donard, a romantic mountain in the same province. The clan was ruined after Tyrone's great rebellion, and their places of abode laid desolate.

On Marwood-chase and Toller Hill.-P. 395.

Marwood-chase is the old park, extending along the Durham side of the Tees, attached to Barnard Castle. Toller Hill is an eminence on the Yorkshire side of the river, commanding a superb view of the ruins.

And Scotland's vaunted Hawthornden.-P. 396. Drummond of Hawthornden was in the zenith of his reputation as a poet during the civil wars. He died in 1649.

MacCurtin's harp should charm no more.-P. 396.

MacCurtin, hereditary Ollamh of North Munster, and Filea to Donough, Earl of Thomond and President of Munster. This nobleman was amongst those who were prevailed upon to join Elizabeth's forces.

O'er Hexham's altar hung my glove.-P. 420.

This custom among the Redesdale and Tynedale Borderers is mentioned in the interesting Life of Bernard Gilpin, where some account is given of these wild districts, which it was the custom of that excellent man regularly to visit.

A horseman armed, at headlong speed.-P. 426.

This, and what follows, is taken from a real achievement of Major Robert Philipson, called, from his desperate and adventurous courage, Robin the Devil.

THE LORD OF THE ISLES.

Thy rugged halls, Artornish ! rung.-P. 432.

The ruins of the castle of Artornish are situated upon a promontory on the Morven, or mainland side of the Sound of Mull, a name given to the deep arm of the sea which divides that island from the continent. The situation is wild and romantic in the highest degree, having on the one hand a high and precipitous chain of rocks overhanging the sea, and on the other the narrow entrance to the beautiful salt-water lake called Loch-Alline, which is in many places finely fringed with copse-wood. The ruins of Artornish are not now very considerable, and consist chiefly of the remains of an old keep, or tower, with fragments of outward defences. But, in former days, it was a place of great consequence, being one of the principal strongholds which the Lords of the Isles, during the period of their stormy independence, possessed upon the mainland of Argyleshire. The castle of Artornish is almost opposite to the bay of Aros, in the island of Mull, where there was another castle, the occasional residence of the Lord of the Isles.

Rude Heiskar's seal through surges dark.-P. 432.

Seals display a taste for music, and will long follow a boat in which any musical instrument is played; and even a tune simply whistled has attractions for them.

O'erlooked, dark Mull! thy mighty Sound.-P. 434.

The Sound of Mull, which divides that island from the continent of Scotland, is one of the most striking scenes which the Hebrides afford to the traveller. Sailing from Oban to Aros, or Tobermory, through a narrow channel, yet deep enough to bear vessels of the largest burden, he has on his left the bold and mountainous shores of Mull; on the right those of that district of Argyleshire called Morven or Morvern, successively indented by deep salt-water lochs, running up many miles inland. To the south-eastward rises a prodigious range of mountains, among which Ben Cruachan is pre-eminent; and to the north-east is the no less huge and pictur esque range of the Ardnamurchan Hills. Many ruinous castles, situated generally upon cliffs overhanging the ocean, add interest to the scene.

From where Mingarry, sternly placed.-P. 435.

The castle of Mingarry is situated on the sea coast of the district of Ardnamurchan. The ruins, which are tolerably entire, are surrounded by a very high wall, forming a kind of polygon, for the

purpose of adapting itself to the projecting angles of a precipice overhanging the sea, on which the castle stands. It was anciently the residence of the Maclans, a clan of MacDonalds, descended from Ian, or John, a grandson of Ángus Og, Lord of the Isles.

The Heir of mighty Somerled.-P. 435.

Somerled was Thane of Argyle and Lord of the Isles about the middle of the twelfth century. He seems to have exercised his authority in both capacities independent of the crown of Scotland, against which he often stood in hostility. He made various incursions upon the western Lowlands during the reign of Malcolm IV., and seems to have made peace with him upon the terms of an inde pendent prince, about the year 1157. In 1164 he resumed the war against Malcolm, and invaded Scotland with a large, but probably a tumultuary army, collected in the isles, in the mainland of Argyleshire, and in the neighbouring provinces of Ireland. He was defeated and slain in an engagement with a very inferior force, near Renfrew. His son Gillicolane fell in the same battle. This mighty chieftain married a daughter of Olaus, king of Man. From him our genealogists deduce two dynasties, distinguished in the stormy history of the middle ages; the Lords of the Isles, descended from his elder son, Ronald; and the Lords of Lorn, who took their surname of MacDougal, as descended of his second son, Dougal.

Lord of the Isles, whose lofty name.-P. 435.

The representative of this independent principality was, at the period of the poem, Angus, called Angus Og; but the name has been, euphoniæ gratia, exchanged for that of Ronald, which frequently occurs in the genealogy. Angus was a protector of Robert Bruce, whom he received in his castle of Dunaverty, during the time of his greatest distress.

A daughter of the House of Lorn.-P. 436.

The house of Lorn was, like that of the Lords of the Isles, descended from a son of Somerled, slain at Renfrew, in 1164. This son obtained the succession of his mainland territories, comprehending the greater part of the three districts of Lorn, in Argyleshire; and the possessors of such extensive authority of course might rather be considered as petty princes than feudal barons. They assumed the patronymic appellation of MacDougal, by which they are distinguished in the history of the middle ages.

Those lightnings of the wave.-P. 440.

The phenomenon called by sailors Sea-fire, is one of the most beautiful and interesting which is witnessed in the Hebrides; at times the ocean appears entirely illuminated around the vessel, and a long train of lambent coruscations are perpetually bursting upon the sides of the vessel, or pursuing her wake through the darkness. Sought the dark fortress by a stair.-P. 441.

The fortress of a Hebridean chief was almost always on the seashore, for the facility of communication which the ocean afforded. Nothing can be more wild than the situations which they chose, and the devices by which the architects endeavoured to defend them. Narrow stairs and arched vaults were the usual mode of access, and the drawbridge appears at Dunstaffnage, and elsewhere, to have fallen from the gate of the building to the top of such a staircase. These fortresses were guarded with equal care. The duty of the watch devolved chiefly upon an officer called the Cockman.

And that keen knight, De Argentine.-P. 445.

Sir Egidius, or Giles de Argentine, was one of the most accomplished knights of the period. He had served in the wars of Henry of Luxemburg with such high reputation, that he was, in popular estimation, the third worthy of the age.