English Narrative Poems Part 28

[55] 110. =Boddle=; farthing.

[56] 116. =Brent=; brought.

[57] 117. =Strathspeys.= The strathspey was a Scottish dance.

[58] 119. =Winnock-bunker=; window-seat.

[59] 121. =Towzie tyke=; s.h.a.ggy dog.

[60] 123. =Gart them skirl=; made them shriek.

[61] 124. =Dirl=; ring.

[62] 127. =Cantrip slight=; magic charm.

[63] 134. =Gab=; throat.

[64] 147. =Cleekit=; took hold.

[65] 148. =Carlin=; witch.

[66] 149. =Coost her duddies=; threw off her clothes.

[67] 150. =Linket=; tripped.

[68] 150. =Sark=; s.h.i.+rt.

[69] 151. =Queans=; young women.

[70] 153. =Crees.h.i.+e flannen=; greasy flannel.

[71] 154. =Seventeen-hunder linen=; fine linen. Technical weaving terms were familiar to the hand-loom workers of Burns's district.

[72] 157. =Hurdies=; hips.

[73] 158. =Burdies=; maidens.

[74] 159. =Beldams=; hags.

[75] 160. =Rigwoodie=; ancient.

[76] 160. =Spean=; wean.

[77] 161. =Crummock=; a short staff.

[78] 163. =Brawlie=; perfectly.

[79] 164. =Walie=; large.

[80] 165. =Core=; corps.

[81] 169. =Bear=; barley.

[82] 171. =Cutty-sark=; short s.h.i.+rt.

[83] 171. =Paisley harn=; a coa.r.s.e cloth, made in Paisley, a Scotch town famous for its cloth-making industry.

[84] 174. =Vauntie=; proud.

[85] 176. =Coft=; bought.

[86] 181. =Lap and flang=; leapt and capered.

[87] 184. =E'en=; eyes.

[88] 185. =Fidged fu' fain=; fidgeted with eagerness.

[89] 186. =Hotched=; jerked his arm while playing the bagpipe.

[90] 187. =Syne=; then.

[91] 188. =Tint=; lost.

[92] 193. =Fyke=; fret.

[93] 194. =Byke=; hive.

[94] 200. =Eldritch=; unearthly.

[95] 201. =Fairin'=; reward.

[96] 208. According to an old superst.i.tion, witches are unable to pursue their victims over running water. Compare the story of the Headless Horseman in Irving's _The Legend of Sleepy Hollow_.

[97] 213. =Ettle=; aim.

WALTER SCOTT

Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1771, of an old Border family. Up to the age of four he was rather feeble, an attack of fever having left him with a shrunken right leg. This disability, though it did not prevent his becoming a strong, st.u.r.dy man, still gave him ample leisure for wide reading while he was young. In high school and at the University of Edinburgh he was not known as a scholar, though he was popular with his companions, especially as a storyteller. In obedience to his father's wishes he took up law and toiled unenthusiastically at this profession for some years. Some trips of his into the Scotch Highlands led him to make a collection of old ballads, published in _Border Minstrelsy_ (1802). From this time on he devoted himself exclusively to literature. His first important original poem, _The Lay of the Last Minstrel_, came out in 1805, followed by _Marmion_ (1808), _The Lady of the Lake_ (1810), _The Vision of Don Roderick_ (1811), and others of less merit. He had about this time become a silent partner in the printing firm of Ballantyne Brothers, contributing largely to the capital. In 1812 he purchased a farm on the river Tweed and built the famous house Abbotsford. The estate was an unprofitable investment, as it led him into extravagances apparently justified by an increasing income but really based on a false optimism.

In 1814 Scott wrote _Waverley_, the first of the long series of novels which made him distinguished as a prose-writer. From this time on his major work was in prose. He recognized without envy that Byron was beating him on his own ground in poetry, and accordingly changed to a field where success was surer. He was apparently prospering financially when, in 1827, the firm of which he was a member went into bankruptcy, largely because of poor business management, and he was left shouldered with a debt of about $600,000. Undaunted he set to work at the age of fifty-five to satisfy his creditors, and book after book poured from his pen until in four years he had paid off $270,000. The effort, however, was too much for his health; he broke down, and, after a short visit to Italy, died at Abbotsford in 1832.

Scott's character was almost wholly admirable. He was manly, courageous, faithful, and generous. Always popular, he was a lavish entertainer in his prosperous days. He did his work cheerfully and bore up without complaint against misfortune and suffering such as few men are called upon to endure.

As a poet he was fluent, vigorous, and spirited, but usually paid little attention to form and polish. He made no effort to become a careful writer; but this is sometimes compensated for by a certain robustness which most of his verses possess. His poetical genius is best shown in narrative, where the movement is rapid and the action full of exciting moments. If his poems lack intense pa.s.sion and deep meditation, they are at least picturesque and interesting.

J. G. Lockhart, Scott's son-in-law, is the author of the most complete biography. A good shorter life is that by R. H. Hutton in the English Men of Letters Series.