109.- Douglas and Marmion.

This spirited piece is from Sir Walter Scott's poem of "Marmion" (Canto VI.).

The train from out the castle drew;

But Marmion stopped to bid adieu.

"Though something1 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;

1 something, somewhat.

2 plain, complain.

3 behest, command.

4 Tantallon's towers, Douglas's castle.

5 lists, likes, chooses.

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,
I tell thee thou'rt defied!
And if thou saidst 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!

1 Angus, or Lord Angus, the | a shrine at their castle of Bothwell title of Douglas, one of the most on the Clyde. celebrated Scottish chieftains.

2 Saint Bride of Bothwell: Saint Bride or Bridget. She was a favorite of the Douglas family, and had

3 portcullis, a sliding door. of cross timbers pointed with iron, hung over a gateway so as to be let down in a moment.

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, razed1 his plume.

The steed along the drawbridge flies,
Just as it trembled on the rise;
Nor lighter does the swallow skim
Along the smooth lake's level brim.

And when Lord Marmion reached his band,
He halts, and turns with clenchéd hand,
And shout of loud defiance pours,

And shook his gauntlet at the towers.

SCOTT.

110.- Saint Jonathan.

There's many an excellent saint, -
St. George, with a dragon and lance;
St. Patrick, so jolly and quaint;

St. Vitus, the saint of the dance;
St. Denis, the saint of the Gaul;
St. Andrew, the saint of the Scot;
But Jonathan, youngest of all,
Is the mightiest saint of the lot.

1 razed = grazed.

He wears a most serious face,
Well worthy a martyr's possessing;
But it isn't all owing to grace,

But partly to thinking and guessing.
In sooth, our American saint

Has rather a secular2 bias,

And I never have heard a complaint
Of his being excessively pious.

He's fond of financial improvement,
And is always extremely inclined
To be starting some practical movement
For mending the morals and mind.
Do you ask me what wonderful labors
St. Jonathan ever has done

To rank with his calendar neighbors ?
Just listen, a moment, to one :

8

One day when a flash in the air
Split his meetinghouse fairly asunder,
Quoth Jonathan, "Now, I declare,

They're dreadfully careless with thunder!"
So he fastened a rod to the steeple;
And now, when the lightning comes round,
He keeps it from building and people
By running it into the ground.

1 sooth = truth.

2 secular, worldly.

4 rod: the poet's allusion has reference to the lightning rod invent

8 calendar neighbors; i.e., the ed by Franklin. (See Lesson 69 of

list of saints.

this Reader.)

One morning, while taking a stroll,
He heard a lugubrious' cry,-
Like the shriek of a suffering soul, -
In a hospital standing near by;
Anon, such a terrible groan

Saluted St. Jonathan's ear,

That his bosom which wasn't of stone-
Was melted with pity to hear.

That night he invented a charm2
So potent, that folks who employ it,
In losing a leg or an arm,

Don't suffer, but rather enjoy it, —
A miracle, you must allow,

As good as the best of his brothers;
And blesséd St. Jonathan now

Is patron of cripples and mothers.

There's many an excellent saint,

St. George, with the dragon and lance;

St. Patrick, so jolly and quaint;
St. Vitus, the saint of the dance;

St. Denis, the saint of the Gaul;
St. Andrew, the saint of the Scot;
But Jonathan, youngest of all,
Is the mightiest saint of the lot.

SAXE.

1 lu-gū'bri-oŭs, mournful.

2 charm; i.e., chloroform.