Lady of the Lake

Yet, once again, farewell, thou Minstrel harp!
 Yet, once again, forgive my feeble sway,
And little reck I of the censure sharp
May idly cavil at an idle lay.
Much have I owed thy strains on life's long way,
Through secret woes the world has never known,
When on the weary night dawned wearier day,
And bitterer was the grief devoured alone.
That I o'erlived such woes, Enchantress! is thine own.

Hark! as my lingering footsteps slow retire,
Some Spirit of the Air has waked thy string!
'Tis now a seraph bold, with touch of fire,
'Tis now the brush of Fairy's frolic wing.
Receding now, the dying numbers ring
Fainter and fainter down the rugged dell,
And now the mountain breezes scarcely bring
A wandering witch-note of the distant spell—
And now, 'tis silent all!—Enchantress, fare thee well!

NOTES

CANTO FIRST

2. witch-elm that shades Saint Fillan's spring. The well or spring of St. Fillan is on the summit of a hill near Loch Earn, some miles northeast of the scene of the poem. The reason why Scott places the 'Harp of the North' here is that St. Fillan was the favorite saint of Robert Bruce, and a relic of the saint had been borne in a shrine by a warlike abbot at the battle of Bannockburn. The word 'witch' (more properly spelled 'wych') is connected with 'wicker' and means 'bending,' 'drooping.'

10. Caledon. Caledonia, poetic name for Scotland.

29. Monan's rill. Scott takes the liberty of assigning a 'rill' to this Scottish martyr of the fourth century on his own authority, unless his editors have been at fault in failing to discover the stream indicated.

31. Glenartney's. Glen Artney or Valley of the Artney. The Artney is a small river northeast of the main scene of the poem.

33. Benvoirlich. 'Ben' is Scottish for mountain. Benvoirlich is near the western end of Glenartney.

53. Uam-Var. A mountain between Glenartney and the Braes of Doune. The name signifies 'great den,' and is derived from a rocky enclosure on the mountain-side, believed to have been used in primitive times as a toil or trap for deer. As told in Stanza IV a giant was fabled to have inhabited this den.

71. linn. This word means either 'waterfall' or 'steep ravine.' The latter is probably the meaning here.

89. Menteith. A village and district southeast of the line of lakes—Loch Katrine, Loch Achray, and Loch Vennachar—about which the main action of the poem moves.

93. Lochard. Loch Ard, a small lake south of Loch Katrine. Aberfoyle. A village east of Loch Ard.

95. Loch-Achray. See note on 89.

97. Benvenue. A mountain on the south bank of Loch Katrine.

103. Cambusmore. An estate owned by Scott's friends, the Buchanans, on the border of the Braes of Doune.

105. Benledi. A majestic mountain shutting in the horizon to the north of Loch Vennachar.

106. Bochastle's heath. The plain between Loch Vennachar and the river Teith.

112. Brigg of Turk. A romantic bridge, still in existence, between Loch Vennachar and Loch Achray.

120. dogs of black Saint Hubert's breed. A breed of dogs, usually black in color, very keen of scent and powerful in build, were kept by the abbots of St. Hubert in commemoration of their patron saint, who was a hunter.

138. whinyard. Obsolete term for sword.

145. Trossachs. A wild and beautiful defile between Loch Katrine and Loch Achray. The word signifies 'rough or bristled country.'

166. Woe worth the chase. 'Woe worth' is an exclamation, equivalent to 'alack!'

178. Round and around the sounds were cast. Notice the mimicry of the echo in the vowel sounds of the line.

196. tower ... on Shinar's plain. The Tower of Babel.

208. dewdrops sheen. What part of speech is sheen? Is this use of the word obsolete in prose?

227. frequent flung. 'Frequent' is used in the original Latin sense (Lat. frequens) of 'crowded together,' 'numerous.'

256. Unless he climb, with footing nice. Scott says: 'Until the present road was made through the romantic pass I have presumptuously attempted to describe, there was no mode of issuing out of the defile called the Trossachs, excepting by a sort of ladder, composed of the branches and roots of trees.' What is the meaning of 'nice' here? What other meanings has the word had?

313. Highland plunderers. The clans inhabiting the region about Loch Katrine were in the habit of making incursions into the neighboring Lowlands to plunder and lay waste the country. Their warlike habits were fostered by the rugged and almost inaccessible character of the country, which prevented the Lowlanders from retaliating upon them, and enabled them also to resist the royal authority.

363. snood. A ribbon worn by Scotch lassies and upon marriage replaced by the matron's 'curch' or cap. plaid. A rectangular shawl-like garment made of the checkered cloth called tartan.

438. couch was pulled. Freshly pulled heather was the most luxurious bedding known to the Highlander.

440. ptarmigan and heath-cock. These birds are a species of grouse, the one red, the other black.

460. on the visioned future bent. The gift of second-sight was universally believed in at this period in the Highlands.

504. retreat in dangerous hour. 'The Celtic chieftains, whose lives were continually exposed to peril, had usually, in the most retired spot of their domain, some place of retreat for the hour of necessity ... a tower, a cavern, or a rustic hut.' (Scott's note in edition of 1830.)

546. target. What is the connection of this word with that used in archery and gun-