444. And chorus wild, etc. The Ms. has “The chorus to the chieftain’s fame.”
476. Weeped. The form is used for the rhyme. Cf. note on i. 500 above.
477. Nor while, etc. The Ms. reads:
“Nor while on Ellen’s
faltering tongue
Her filial greetings
eager hung,
Marked not that awe
(affection’s proof)
Still held yon gentle
youth aloof;
No! not till Douglas
named his name,
Although the youth was
Malcolm Graeme.
Then with flushed cheek
and downcast eye,
Their greeting was confused
and shy.”
495. Bothwell. See on 141 above.
497. Percy’s Norman pennon. Taken in the raid which led to the battle of Otterburn, in Northumberland, in the year 1388, and which forms the theme of the ballads of Chevy Chase.
501. My pomp. My triumphal procession; the original meaning of pomp.
504. Crescent. The badge of the Buccleuch family (Miss Yonge).
506. Blantyre. A priory, the ruins of which are still to be seen on a height above the Clyde, opposite Bothwell Castle.
521. The dogs, etc. The Ms. has “The dogs with whimpering notes repaid.”
525. Unhooded. The falcon was carried on the wrist, with its head covered, or hooded, until the prey was seen, when it was unhooded for flight. Cf. vi. 665 below.
526. Trust. Believe me.
527. Like fabled Goddess. The Ms. has “Like fabled huntress;” referring of course to Diana.
534. Stature fair. The reading of the 1st ed. and that of 1821; “stature tall” in most of the other eds.
541. The ptarmigan. A white bird.
543. Menteith. See on i. 89 above.
548. Ben Lomond. This is much the highest (3192 feet) of the mountains on the shores of Loch Lomond. The following lines on the ascent were scratched upon the window-pane of the old inn at Tarbet a hundred years or more ago:
“Trust not at first
a quick adventurous pace;
Six miles its top points
gradual from its base;
Up the high rise with
panting haste I past,
And gained the long
laborious steep at last;
More prudent thou—when
once you pass the deep,
With cautious steps
and slow ascend the steep.”
549. Not a sob. That is, without panting, or getting out of breath, like the degenerate modern tourist.
574. Glenfinlas. A wooded valley between Ben-an and Benledi, the entrance to which is between Lochs Achray and Vennachar. It is the scene of Scott’s ballad, Glenfinlas, or Lord Ronald’s Coronach. A mile from the entrance are the falls of the Hero’s Targe. See iv. 84 below.
577. Still a royal ward. Still under age, with the king for guardian.
583. Strath-Endrick. A valley to the southeast of Loch Lomond, drained by Endrick Water.