THE PARTING OF MARMION AND DOUGLAS

SIR WALTER SCOTT

Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) was born in Edinburgh. On account of lameness, he could not run and play with other boys; so gathering them about him, he recited stories from the Scottish ballads in Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry. He was educated for the profession of law, but adopted that of letters. In addition to history and poetry, he wrote twenty-nine novels, all of which show the love of romance which had been fostered by his reading when a boy. At the age of fifty-four, when a publishing firm with which he was connected failed, he honorably set himself to work to pay the debts. He nearly achieved the heroic task, but died from the long strain of unremitting toil.

The poem Marmion, from which this selection was taken, was published in 1808. The Lay of the Last Minstrel, The Lady of the Lake, and Marmion form his best poetic works. See also:

Halleck's New English Literature, pp. 374-398, 444, 445.

Lockhart's Life of Scott.

[At the period of this story, the relations between England and Scotland were strained. Marmion has been sent by the king of England, Henry VIII, as envoy to the court of Scotland to complain of the depredations of the Scotch on the border between the two countries, and to warn James II not to interfere with Henry's continental affairs. Douglas at the command of his sovereign has been Marmion's host during his stay in Scotland. This particular incident begins with the departure of Marmion from Douglas's castle. The poem, Marmion, ends with the battle of Flodden Field (1513), one of the greatest disasters in Scotch history, for the English completely routed the Scotch, slaying their king and almost exterminating their nobility.]

THE train from out the castle drew,
But Marmion stopped to bid adieu :

"Though something I might plain," he said, "Of cold respect to stranger guest, Sent hither by your king's behest,

While in Tantallon's towers I stayed;
Part we in friendship from your land,
And, noble earl, receive my hand."
But Douglas round him drew his cloak,
Folded his arms, and thus he spoke:
"My manors, halls, and bowers shall still
Be open, at my sovereign's will,
To each one whom he lists, howe'er
Unmeet to be the owner's peer.

My castles are my king's alone,
From turret to foundation stone
The hand of Douglas is his own,
And never shall in friendly grasp
The hand of such as Marmion clasp."

Burned Marmion's swarthy cheek like fire,
And shook his very frame for ire,

And "This to me!" he said,
"An 'twere not for thy hoary beard,
Such hand as Marmion's had not spared
To cleave the Douglas head!
And, first, I tell thee, haughty peer,
He, who does England's message here,
Although the meanest in her state,
May well, proud Angus, be thy mate:
And, Douglas, more I tell thee here,
Even in thy pitch of pride,
Here, in thy hold, thy vassals near
(Nay, never look upon your lord,
And lay your hands upon your sword),
I tell thee, thou'rt defied!

And if thou said'st, I am not peer

To any lord in Scotland here,
Lowland or Highland, far or near,
Lord Angus, thou hast lied!"—

On the earl's cheek the flush of rage
O'ercame the ashen hue of age:

Fierce he broke forth,

"And dar'st thou then

To beard the lion in his den,

The Douglas in his hall?

And hop'st thou hence unscathed to go? -
No, by Saint Bride of Bothwell, no! -
Up drawbridge, grooms - what, warder, ho!
Let the portcullis fall.”

Lord Marmion turned, well was his need,
And dashed the rowels in his steed,
Like arrow through the archway sprung,
The ponderous grate behind him rung:
To pass there was such scanty room,
The bars, descending, razed his plume.

The steed along the drawbridge flies,
Just as it trembled on the rise;
Not lighter does the swallow skim
Along the smooth lake's level brim:

And when Lord Marmion reached his band,

He halts, and turns with clinched hand,

And shout of loud defiance pours,

And shook his gauntlet at the towers.

"Horse! horse!" the Douglas cried, "and chase!"

But soon he reined his fury's pace;

"A royal messenger he came, Though most unworthy of the name. Saint Mary mend my fiery mood!

Old age ne'er cools the Douglas blood,
I thought to slay him where he stood.
'Tis pity of him, too," he cried,
"Bold can he speak, and fairly ride,
I warrant him a warrior tried."
With this his mandate he recalls,
And slowly seeks his castle halls.

STUDY HINTS

What are the most noticeable qualities of this selection? Note how not one unnecessary word is used to give a graphic idea of the quarrel. What kind of host has Douglas shown himself? Do you think Marmion acted nobly in offering his hand to Douglas? Marmion's indignation at Douglas's refusal was for two reasons. What are they? What thought makes Douglas calm down? Suppose a deaf man had been present at this interview, how would he have known it was a quarrel? What words show this? Which man shows to better advantage in this quarrel? Memorize at least one stanza.

SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL READINGS

The Lady of the Lake, Canto I, "The Chase." Sir Walter Scott.
Gathering Song of Donald Dhu. Sir Walter Scott.

Lullaby of an Infant Chief. Sir Walter Scott.
Bruce to his Men at Bannockburn. Robert Burns.

The Ballad of Chevy Chase (Reliques). Thomas Percy.

Robin Hood and Allan-a-Dale. Thomas Percy.

The Pipes at Lucknow. John G. Whittier.

The Battle of Blenheim. Robert Southey.

THE ESCAPE FROM THE TOWER

CHARLES READE

Charles Reade (1814-1884), the English novelist, was born in Oxfordshire. He wrote several novels of which the best was The Cloister and the Hearth (1861), from which this episode is taken. This novel is a careful and fascinating study of fifteenth-century life. See also: Charles Reade, Dramatist, Novelist, Journalist, by Charles L. Reade and the Reverend Compton Reade.

[Gerard is the son of a Tergouw (a town twelve miles from Rotterdam) merchant, who intends him to become a priest. He falls in love, however, with Margaret Brandt, the daughter of a poor scholar, and gives up his church career. This so enrages his father that he thrusts Gerard into prison. His faithful friend Martin, and Margaret Brandt, devise a plan to rescue him.]

GERARD was taken up several flights of stairs and thrust into a small room lighted only by a narrow window with a vertical iron bar. The whole furniture was a huge oak chest. Imprisonment in that age was one of the highroads to death, for it implied cold, unbroken solitude, torture, starvation, and often poison. Gerard felt that he was in the hands of an enemy. And he kneeled down and commended his soul to God.

Presently he rose and sprang at the iron bar of the window, and clutched it. This enabled him to look out by pressing his knees against the wall. Falling back somewhat heavily, he wrenched the rusty iron bar, held only by rusty nails, away from the stonework just as Ghysbrecht Van Swieten,