VI.

Dight (A.S., dihtan, to set in order). Past participle

meaning, ready, prepared.

Bay. Old F., abbayer, to bark like a dog.

St. George's red cross

(F., croix; L., crux, a cross) The English standard. St. George was the patron saint of England, as St. Andrew of Scotland, and St. Patrick of Ireland.

Beacon. A.S., beacen, a sign.

Force. F., force; L., fortis, strong.

Guile. F., guille, deceit.

Scroop or Howard or Percy's powers. The armies led by these English border lords.

Warkworth or Naworth or merry Carlisle. These were fortresses in Cumberland, the respective seats of the noblemen mentioned above. The suffix, -worth, signifies a fortified place, A.S., weardian, to guard. Carlisle comes from caer, a fortified place, Luil, a contraction of Luguvallum, the Roman name of the town.

Class Notes.

VII.

Such is the custom of Branksome Hall

Many a valiant knight is here;
But he, the Chieftain of them all,
His sword hangs rusting on the wall,
Beside his broken spear.

Bards long shall tell

How Lord Walter fell!

When startled burghers fled, afar,

The furies of the Border war;

When the streets of high Dunedin

Saw lances gleam, and falchions redden,
And heard the slogan's deadly yell-
Then the chief of Branksome fell.

Class Notes.

55

60

VII.

Valiant. F., vaillant; L., valeo, I am strong.
Chieftain. F., chef; L., caput, a head.

Rust. A.S., rost, red,

Startled. Germ., sturzen, to move suddenly.
Burghers. A.S., burh, a borough.
Furies. L., furo, I rage.

Streets (L., stratum, a pavement; sterno, I strew); i.e., the people in the streets. This is an example of a figure of speech called METONYMY, which exchanges one name for another expressing a kindred idea. It puts

(a) The container for the thing contained; as in the poem.

(b) The sign for the thing signified; as, He mustered more bayonets than sabres; i. e., more infantry than cavalry.

(c) The cause for the effect; as, The foaming grape of France.

(d) The effect for the cause; as, Grey hairs; i. e., old age.

Dunedin. Edinburgh. A.S., dun, a hill, edin, contracted from Edwin; beorh also means a hill. Thus, both Dunedin and Edinburgh signify Edwin's hill.

Lances. L., lancea, a lance.

Falchions (F., fauchon, a small scythe; L., faux, sickle). Short crooked swords.

Slogan (Corruption of Gael., sluagh-ghairm, a soldier's cry). The war-cry or gathering word of a border clan. The slogan of Branksome is mentioned in the old ballad of Jamie Telfer of the Fair Dodhead:

"The Scotts they rade, the Scotts they ran,

Sae starkly and sae steadilie!

And aye the ower-word of the thrang

Was, 'Rise for Branksome readilie.'

Yell. A.S., gellan, to cry out.

D

VIII.

Can piety the discord heal,

Or stanch the death-feud's enmity?
Can Christian lore, can patriot zeal,
Can love of blessed charity?
No! vainly to each holy shrine,

In mutual pilgrimage, they drew;
Implored, in vain, the grace divine,

65

70

For chiefs their own red falchions slew ;

While Cessford owns the rule of Car,

While Ettrick boasts the line of Scott, The slaughter'd chiefs, the mortal jar, The havoc of the feudal war,

Shall never, never be forgot!

75

Pilgrimage. (F., pelerin; L., peregrinus, a foreigner; per, through, ager, a land). In mutual pilgrimage, The Kerrs, Kers, or Carrs were a very powerful Border family at enmity with the Scotts of Buccleuch. To quell the feud, they, in 1526, mutually entered into a bond, agreeing to perform the four principal pilgrimages of Scotland, for the good of the souls of those on the opposite side who had been killed during the struggle.

Class Notes.

VIII.

Piety. L., pietas, filial affection.

[the heart.

Discord. L., discordia, discord; dis-, asunder, cor,

Heal. A.S., hael, whole.

Stanch, or Staunch (Old F., estancher, to stop the flow of a liquid). Stop, put an end to.

Feud. A.S., fehdhe; fian, to hate.

Enmity. L., inimicitia, unfriendliness.
Lore. A.S., lár, teaching.

Patriot. L., patria, one's native country.

Zeal. G., zelos, ardour.

Bless. A.S., bletsian, to make holy.

[dear.

Charity. F., charité; L., caritas, great love; carus,
Holy. A.S., halig, holy; hael, whole, sound.
Shrine (A.S., scrin; L., scrinium, a cabinet).

A

case or place where sacred things are deposited ; a decorated tomb; an altar erected in honour of some saint, to whom prayers were offered and vows were made.

Mutual. L., mutuus, equal on both sides.

[weep.

Implored. L., imploro, I ask with tears; ploro, I Grace. L., gratia, favour.

Divine. L., divus, a god.

For chiefs, etc. In behalf of the chiefs whom they themselves had killed with their blood-stained swords.

Cessford, Ettrick. The respective ancestral homes of the Carrs and the Scotts. Cessford was about three miles from the Cheviot hills; Ettrick about ten miles from Selkirk.

Boasts. Welsh, bostiaw, to brag.

Slaughtered. A.S., slaege, slaughter.

Mortal (L., mortalis, mortal; morior, I die). Re

Jar. A quarrel, a feud.

Havoc. Welsh, hafog, destruction.

[sulting in death.

Feudal (A.S., feoh, money or cattle). Feudal war. War between the owners of large estates.