556. Her billows, etc. The 1st ed. has “Her billow reared his snowy crest,” and “its” for they in the next line.
564. It tinged, etc. The Ms. has “It tinged the boats and lake with flame.”
Lines 561-568 are interpolated in the Ms. on a slip of paper.
565. Duncraggan’s widowed dame. Cf. iii. 428 fol. above.
567. A naked dirk. The 1st ed. has “Her husband’s dirk.”
592. Chime. Music. Cf. iv. 524 above.
595. Varied his look, etc. The Ms. has “Glowed in his look, as swelled the song;” and in 600,
“his | glazing | eye.” | fiery |
602. Thus, motionless, etc. Cf. the Introduction to Rob Roy; “Rob Roy, while on his death-bed, learned that a person, with whom he was at enmity, proposed to visit him. ’Raise me from my bed,’ said the invalid; ’throw my plaid around me, and bring me my claymore, dirk, and pistols: it shall never be said that a foeman saw Rob Roy MacGregor defenceless and unarmed.’ His foeman, conjectured to be one of the MacLarens, entered and paid his compliments, inquiring after the health of his formidable neighbor. Rob Roy maintained a cold, haughty civility during their short conference; and so soon as he had left the house, ‘Now,’ he said, ’all is over—let the piper play Ha til mi tulidh’ [we return no more], and he is said to have expired before the dirge was finished.”
605. Grim and still. Originally “stern and still.” In a note to the printer, sent with the final stanzas, Scott writes: “I send the grand finale, and so exit the Lady of the Lake from the head she has tormented for six months. In canto vi. stanza 21,— stern and still, read grim and still; sternly occurs four lines higher. For a similar reason, stanza 24,—dun deer read fleet deer.”
608. And art thou, etc. The Ms. has “‘And art thou gone,’ the Minstrel said.”
609. Foeman’s. Misprinted “foeman’s” in some eds.
610. Breadalbane. See on ii. 416 above.
614. The shelter, etc. The Ms. has “The mightiest of a mighty line.”
631. Even she. That is, Ellen.
638. Storied. Referring to the scenes depicted on the painted glass. Cf. Milton, Il Penseroso, 159: “And storied windows, richly dight.” The change of tense in fall is of course for the rhyme; but we might expect “lighten” for lightened.
643. The banquet, etc. The Ms. reads:
“The banquet gay, the
chamber’s pride,
Scarce drew one curious
glance aside;”
and in 653, “earnest on his game.”
665. Of perch and hood. That is, of enforced idleness. See on ii. 525 above. In some eds. this song is printed without any division into stanzas.
670. Forest. The 1st ed. and that of 1821 have “forests,” but we suspect that Scott wrote forest.