Marmion Part 32

line 194. 'Sir William Rae of St. Catherine's, Bart., subsequently Lord Advocate of Scotland, was a distinguished member of the volunteer corps to which Sir Walter Scott belonged; and he, the Poet, Mr. Skene, Mr. Mackenzie, and a few other friends, had formed themselves into a little semi-military club, the meetings of which were held at their family supper tables in rotation.'--LOCKHART.

line 195. 'The late Sir William Forbes of Pitsligo, Bart., son of the author of the "Life of Beattie."'--LOCKHART.

line 196. The Mimosa pudica, or sensitive plant. See Sh.e.l.ley's poem on the subject:--

'The Sensitive Plant was the earliest Upgathered into the bosom of rest; A sweet child weary of its delight, The feeblest and yet the favourite, Cradled within the embrace of night.'

line 200. Cp. 'L'Allegro,' 31, 'Sport that wrinkled Care derides.'

line 206. See King Lear, iii. 4. 138, where Edgar, as Poor Tom, says that he has had 'three suits to his back, six s.h.i.+rts to his body, horse to ride, and weapon to wear.'

CANTO FOURTH.

line 31. 'ALIAS "Will o' the Wisp." This personage is a strolling demon or esprit follet, who, once upon a time, got admittance into a monastery as a scullion, and played the monks many pranks. He was also a sort of Robin Goodfellow, and Jack o' Lanthern. It is in allusion to this mischievous demon that Milton's clown speaks,--

"She was pinched, and pulled, she said, And he by FRIAR'S LANTHERN led."

'"The History of Friar Rush" is of extreme rarity, and, for some time, even the existence of such a book was doubted, although it is expressly alluded to by Reginald Scot, in his "Discovery of Witchcraft." I have perused a copy in the valuable library of my friend Mr. Heber; and I observe, from Mr. Beloe's "Anecdotes of Literature," that there is one in the excellent collection of the Marquis of Stafford.'--SCOTT.

It may be added, on the authority of Keightley, that Friar Rush 'haunted houses, not fields, and was never the same with Jack-o'- the-Lanthorn.' See note on Milton's 'L'Allegro,' 104, in Clarendon Press edition, also Preface to Midsummer Night's Dream in same series.

Stanza IV. line 69. Humbie and Saltoun are adjoining parishes in S.

W. of Haddingtons.h.i.+re. To this day there is a charm in the remote rural character of the district. There are, about Humble in particular, wooded glades that might well represent the remains of the scene witnessed by Marmion and his troopers. East and West Saltoun are two decayed villages, about five miles S. W. of the county town. Between them is Saltoun Hall, the seat of the Fletchers.

line 91. 'William Caxton, the earliest English printer, was born in Kent, A. D. 1412, and died 1401. Wynken de Worde was his next successor in the production of those

"Rare volumes, dark with tarnished gold,"

which are now the delight of bibliomaniacs.'--LOCKHART.

Stanza VI. line 119. The four heraldic terms used are for the colours--red, silver, gold, and blue.

line 120, The King-at-arms was superintendent of the heralds.

Stanza VII. line 133. Sir David Lyndsay's exposure of ecclesiastical abuses in his various satires, especially in his 'Complaynts' and his Dialog, 'powerfully forwarded the movement that culminated in the Reformation. It would, however, be a mistake to consider him an avowed Protestant reformer. He was concerned about the existing wrongs both of Church and State, and thought of rectifying these without revolutionary measures.

line 135. The cap of the Lion King' was of scarlet velvet turned up with ermine.'

lines 141-4. The double tressure was an ornamental tracing round the s.h.i.+eld, at a fixed distance from the border. As to the fleur-de-lis (flower of the lily, emblem of France) Scott quotes Boethius and Buchanan as saying that it was 'first a.s.sumed by Achaius, king of Scotland, contemporary of Charlemagne, and founder of, the celebrated League with France.' Historical evidence, however, would seem to show that 'the lion is first seen on the seal of Alexander II, and the tressure on that of Alexander III.' This is the heraldic description of the arms of Scotland: 'Or, a lion rampant gules, armed and langued azure, within a double tressure flory counterflory of fleur-de-lis of the second.' The supporters are 'two unicorns argent maned and unguled, or gorged with open crowns.' The crest is 'a lion sejant affronte gules crowned or,' &c. The adoption of the thistle as the national Scottish emblem is wrapt in obscurity, although an early poet attributes it to a suggestion of Venus.

line 153. Scott mentions Chalmers's edition of Lyndsay's works, published in 1806. More recent and very satisfactory editions are those of Dr. David Laing, (1) a library edition in three volumes, and (2) a popular edition in two. Lyndsay was born about 1490 and died about 1555. The Mount was his estate, near Cupar-Fife. 'I am uncertain,' says Scott, 'if I abuse poetic license, by introducing Sir David Lindesay in the character of Lion-Herald, sixteen years before he obtained that office. At any rate, I am not the first who has been guilty of that anachronism; for the author of "Flodden Field" despatches Dallamount, which can mean n.o.body but Sir David de la Mont, to France on the message of defiance from James IV to Henry VIII. It was often an office imposed on the Lion King-at-arms, to receive foreign amba.s.sadors; and Lindesay himself did this honour to Sir Ralph Sadler, in 1539-40. Indeed, the oath of the Lion, in its first article, bears reference to his frequent employment upon royal messages and emba.s.sies. The office of heralds, in feudal times, being held of the utmost importance, the inauguration of the Kings- at-arms, who presided over their colleges, was proportionally solemn. In fact, it was the mimicry of a royal coronation, except that the unction was made with wine instead of oil. In Scotland, a namesake and kinsman of Sir David Lindesay, inaugurated in 1502, "was crowned by King James with the ancient crown of Scotland, which was used before the Scottish Kings a.s.sumed a close Crown;" and, on occasion of the same solemnity, dined at the King's table, wearing the crown. It is probable that the coronation of his predecessor was not less solemn. So sacred was the herald's office, that, in 1515, Lord Drummond was by Parliament declared guilty of treason, and his lands forfeited, because he had struck, with his fist, the Lion King-at-arms, when he reproved him for his follies. Nor was he restored, but at the Lion's earnest solicitation.'

Stanza X. line 194. 'A large ruinous castle on the banks of the Tyne, about ten miles from Edinburgh. As indicated in the text, it was built at different times, and with a very differing regard to splendour and accommodation. The oldest part of the building is a narrow keep, or tower, such as formed the mansion of a lesser Scottish baron; but so many additions have been made to it, that there is now a large courtyard, surrounded by buildings of different ages. The eastern front of the court is raised above a portico, and decorated with entablatures, bearing anchors. All the stones of this front are cut into diamond facets, the angular projections of which have an uncommonly rich appearance. The inside of this part of the building appears to have contained a gallery of great length, and uncommon elegance. Access was given to it by a magnificent stair- case, now quite destroyed. The soffits are ornamented with twining cordage and rosettes: and the whole seems to have been far more splendid than was usual in Scottish castles. The castle belonged originally to the Chancellor, Sir William Crichton, and probably owed to him its first enlargement, as well as its being taken by the Earl of Douglas, who imputed to Crichton's counsels the death of his predecessor, Earl William, beheaded in Edinburgh Castle, with his brother, in 1440. It is said to have been totally demolished on that occasion; but the present state of the ruin shows the contrary. In 1483 it was garrisoned by Lord Crichton, then its proprietor, against King James III, whose displeasure he had incurred by seducing his sister Margaret, in revenge, it is said, for the Monarch having dishonoured his bed. From the Crichton family the castle pa.s.sed to that of the Hepburns, Earls Bothwell; and when the forfeitures of Stewart, the last Earl Bothwell, were divided, the barony and cattle of Crichton fell to the share of the Earl of Buccleuch. They were afterwards the property of the Pringles of Clifton, and are now that of Sir John Callander, Baronet. It were to be wished the proprietor would take a little pains to preserve those splendid remains of antiquity, which are at present used as a fold for sheep, and wintering cattle; although, perhaps, there are very few ruins in Scotland which display so well the style and beauty of castle-architecture.'--SCOTT.

The ruin is now carefully protected, visitors being admitted on application at Crichtoun Manse adjoining.

Stanza XI. line 232. 'The castle of Crichton has a dungeon vault, called the Ma.s.sy More. The epithet, which is not uncommonly applied to the prisons of other old castles in Scotland, is of Saracenic origin. It occurs twice in the "Epistolae Itineriae" of Tollius.

"Carcer subterraneus, sive, ut Mauri appellant, MAZMORRA," p. 147; and again, "Coguntur omnes Captivi sub noctem in ergastula subterranea, quae Turcae Algezerani vocant MAZMORRAS," p. 243. The same word applies to the dungeons of the ancient Moorish castles in Spain, and serves to show from what nation the Gothic style of castle building was originally derived.'--SCOTT.

See further, Sir W. Scott's 'Provincial Antiquities,' vol. i.

Stanza XII. line 249. 'He was the second Earl of Bothwell, and fell in the field of Flodden, where, according to an ancient English poet, he distinguished himself by a furious attempt to retrieve the day:--

"Then on the Scottish part, right proud, The Earl of Bothwell then out brast, And stepping forth, with stomach good, Into the enemies' throng he thrast; And BOTHWELL! BOTHWELL! cried bold, To cause his souldiers to ensue, But there he caught a wellcome cold, The Englishmen straight down him threw.

Thus Haburn through his hardy heart His fatal fine in conflict found,"&c.

FLODDEN FIELD, a Poem; edited by H. Weber. Edin.

1808.'--SCOTT.

line 254. 'Adam was grandfather to James, Earl of Bothwell, too well known in the history of Queen Mary.'--SCOTT.

Stanza XIII. line 260. The Borough-moor extended from Edinburgh south to the Braid Hills.

Stanza XIV. line 280. Scott quotes from Lindsay of Pitscottie the story of the apparition seen at Linlithgow by James IV, when undergoing his annual penance for having taken the field against his father. Some of the younger men about the Court had devised what they felt might be an impressive warning to the King against going to war, and their show of supernatural interference was well managed. Lindsay's narrative proceeds thus:--

'The King came to Lithgow, where he happened to be for the time at the Council, very sad and dolorous, making his devotion to G.o.d, to send him good chance and fortune in his voyage. In this meantime, there came a man, clad in a blue gown, in at the kirk door, and belted about him in a roll of linen-cloth; a pair of brotikings1 on his feet, to the great of his legs; with all other hose and clothes conform thereto; but he had nothing on his head, but syde2 red yellow hair behind, and on his haffets3, which wan down to his shoulders; but his forehead was bald and bare. He seemed to be a man of two-and-fifty years, with a great pike-staff in his hand, and came first forward among the lords, crying and speiring4 for the King, saying, he desired to speak with him. While, at the last, he came where the King was sitting in the desk, at his prayers, but when he saw the King, he made him little reverence or salutation, but leaned down groffling on the desk before him, and said to him in this manner, as after follows: "Sir King, my mother hath sent me to you, desiring you not to pa.s.s, at this time, where thou art purposed; for if thou does, thou wilt not fare well in thy journey, nor none that pa.s.seth with thee. Further, she bade thee mell5 with no woman, nor use their counsel, nor let them touch thy body, nor thou theirs; for, if thou do it, thou wilt be confounded and brought to shame."

-------------------------------------------------------- buskins1 long2 cheeks3 asking4 meddle5 --------------------------------------------------------

'By this man had spoken thir words unto the King's grace, the evening-song was near done, and the King paused on thir words, studying to give him an answer; but, in the meantime, before the King's eyes, and in the presence of all the lords that were about him for the time, this man vanished away, and could no ways be seen nor comprehended, but vanished away as he had been a blink of the sun, or a whip of the whirlwind, and could no more be seen. I heard say. Sir David Lindesay, Lyon-herauld, and John Inglis the marshal, who were, at that time, young men, and special servants to the King's grace, were standing presently beside the King, who thought to have laid hands on this man, that they might have speired further tidings at him: But all for nought; they could not touch him; for he vanished away betwixt them, and was no more seen.'

Buchanan, in more elegant, though not more impressive language, tells the same story, and quotes the personal information of our Sir David Lindesay: 'In iis, (i.e. qui propius ast.i.terant) fuit David Lindesius, Monta.n.u.s, h.o.m.o spectatae fidei et probitatis, nec a literarum studiis alienus, et cujus totius vitae tenor longissime a mentiendo aberat; a quo nisi ego haec uti tradidi, pro certis accep.i.s.sem, ut vulgatam vanis rumoribus fabulam omissurus eram."-- Lib. xiii. The King's throne, in St. Catherine's aisle, which he had constructed for himself, with twelve stalls for the Knights Companions of the Order of the Thistle, is still shown as the place where the apparition was seen. I know not by what means St. Andrew got the credit of having been the celebrated monitor of James IV; for the expression in Lindesay's narrative, "My mother has sent me,"

could only be used by St. John, the adopted son of the Virgin Mary.

The whole story is so well attested, that we have only the choice between a miracle or an imposture. Mr. Pinkerton plausibly argues, from the caution against incontinence, that the Queen was privy to the scheme of those who had recourse to this expedient, to deter King James from his impolitic war.'

Stanza XV. line 287. 'In Scotland there are about twenty palaces, castles, and remains, or sites of such,

"Where SCOTIA'S kings of other years"

had their royal home.

'Linlithgow, distinguished by the combined strength and beauty of its situation, must have been early selected as a royal residence.

David, who bought the t.i.tle of saint by his liberality to the Church, refers several of his charters to his town of Linlithgow; and in that of Holyrood expressly bestows on the new monastery all the skins of the rams, ewes, and lambs, belonging to his castle of Linlitcu, which shall die during the year....The convenience afforded for the sport of falconry, which was so great a favourite during the feudal ages, was probably one cause of the attachment of the ancient Scottish monarchs to Linlithgow and its fine lake. The sport of hunting was also followed with success in the neighbourhood, from which circ.u.mstance it probably arises that the ancient arms of the city represent a black greyhound b.i.t.c.h tied to a tree....The situation of Linlithgow Palace is eminently beautiful.

It stands on a promontory of some elevation, which advances almost into the midst of the lake. The form is that of a square court, composed of buildings of four storeys high, with towers at the angles. The fronts with the square, and the windows, are highly ornamented, and the size of the rooms, as well as the width and character of the staircases, are upon a magnificent scale. One banquet-room is ninety-four feet long, thirty feet wide, and thirty- three feet high, with a gallery for music. The King's wardrobe, or dressing-room, looking to the west, projects over the walls, so as to have a delicious prospect on three aides, and is one of the most enviable boudoirs we have ever seen.'--SIR WALTER SCOTT'S Provincial Antiquities.--Prose Works, vol. vii. p. 382.

line 288. With 'jovial June' cp. Gavin Douglas's 'joyous moneth tyme of June,' in prologue to the 13th AEneid, 'ekit to Virgill be Maphaeus Vegius,' and the description of the month in Lyndsay's 'Dreme,' as:--

'Weill bordourit with dasyis of delyte.'

line 291. 'I am glad of an opportunity to describe the cry of the deer by another word than BRAYING, although the latter has been sanctified by the use of the Scottish metrical translation of the Psalms. BELL seems to be an abbreviation of bellow. This silvan sound conveyed great delight to our ancestors, chiefly, I suppose, from a.s.sociation. A gentle knight in the reign of Henry VIII, Sir Thomas Wortley, built Wantley Lodge, in Wancliffe Forest, for the pleasure (as an ancient inscription testifies) of "listening to the hart's BELL"'--SCOTT.

line 298. Sauchie-burn, where James III fell, was fought 18 June, 1488., 'James IV,' says Scott, 'after the battle pa.s.sed to Stirling, and hearing the monks of the chapel-royal deploring the death of his father, he was seized with deep remorse, which manifested itself in severe penances.' See below, note on V. ix.

line 300. 'When the King saw his own banner displayed against him, and his son in the faction of his enemies, he lost the little courage he ever possessed, fled out of the field, fell from his horse as it started at a woman and water-pitcher, and was slain, it was not well understood by whom.'--SCOTT.

Stanza XVI. line 312. In the church of St. Michael, adjoining the palace.

line 316. The earliest known mention of the thistle as the national badge is in the inventory of the effects of James III, Thistles were inscribed on the coins of the next four reigns, and they were accompanied in the reign of James VI for the first time by the motto Nemo me impune lacessit. James II of Great Britain formally inaugurated the Order of the Thistle on 29 May, 1687, but it was not till the reign of Anne, 31 Dec. 1703, that it became a fully defined legal inst.i.tution. The Order is also known as the Order of St.

Andrew.--See CHAMBERS'S Encyclopedia.

line 318. It was natural and fit that Lyndsay should be present. It is more than likely that he had a leading hand in the enterprise. As tutor to the young Prince, it had been a recognised part of his duty to amuse him by various disguises; and he was likewise the first Scottish poet with an adequate dramatic sense.