And each Saint Clair was buried there With candle, with book, and with knell;But the sea-caves rung, and the wild winds sung The dirge of lovely Rosabelle.
Sir Walter Scott.
Author.-SIR WALTER Scour (1771-1832), the greatest of Scottish novelists and one of the greatest of Scottish poets, was born at Edinburgh. Nearly all of his works deal with history, his chief poems being-The Lay of the Last Minstrel, Marmion, The Lady of the Lake, Rokeby, The Lord of the Isles; his chief prose works Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian, lranhoe, and Quentin Durward. He wrote also a History of Scotland and Tales of a Grandfather. "Scott exalted and purified the novel, and made Scotland known throughout the world."General Notes.-The poem is written in ballad measure; note that lines of four and three stresses alternate. It was Scott"s custom to begem his longer poems, which are rhymed chronicles, with songs and ballads. This one comes in " The Lay of the Last Minstrel" and is supposed to be sung by young Harold from the northern isles, the "bard of brave St. Clair." St. Clair is now Sinclair. Ravensheuch, now a ruin, is in Fifeshire on the north shore of the Firth of Forth ( "the stormy firth"), and Roslinis on the south side. Dryden is near Edinburgh, Hawthornden is a glen on the Esk, near Roslin. Riding the ring meant tilting with the lance at a small suspended ring. An inch is an island. The sacristy is the part of a church where robes and books are kept; the pale is the railing round the altar. A pinnet is a peak or pinnacle of a building. Look up any other hard words in a dictionary, and the places on a map. Why would the song be addressed to ladies? What motive induced Rosabelle to tempt the stormy firth? What was the light that glowed over Roslin? Compare " fearful lights that never beacon save when kings and heroes die"(Aytoun). Why "chapelle" instead of chapel? Name other tragic Poems- "A chieftain to the Highlands bound, " "Harry Dale the Drover," etc. Write the story of Rosabelle in prose, making her father or her lover tell it.
LESSON 7
mR. WINklE ON SkATES
On Christmas morning, Mr. Wardle invited Mr. Pickwick, Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Tupman, Mr. Winkle, and his other guests to go down to the pond.
"You skate, of course, Winkle?" said Mr. Wardle.
"Ye-s; oh, yes!" resplied Mr. Winkle. "I-I-am rather out of practice.""Oh, do skate, Mr. Winkle," said Arabella. "I like to see it so much.""Oh, it is so graceful," said another young lady.
A third young lady said it was "elegant," and a fourth expressed her opinion that it was "swanlike.""I should be very happy, I am sure," said Mr. Winkle, reddening; "but I have no skates."This objection was at once overruled. Trundle had a couple of pairs, and the fat boy announced that there were half a dozen more downstairs; whereat Mr. Winkle expressed exquisite delight and looked exquisitely uncomfortable.
Mr. Wardle led the way to a pretty large sheet of ice; and, the fat boy and Mr. Weller having shovelled and swept away the snow which had fallen on it during the night, Mr.
Bob Sawyer adjusted his skates with a dexterity which to Mr. Winkle was perfectly marvellous, and described circles with his left leg, and cut figures of eight, and inscribed upon the ice, without once stopping for breath, a great many other pleasant and astonishing devices, to the excessive satisfaction of Mr. Pickwick, Mr. Tupman, and the ladies, which reached a pitch of positive enthusiasm when Mr. Wardle and Benjamin Allen, assisted by Bob Sawyer, performed some mystic evolutions which they called a reel.
All this time, Mr. Winkle, with his face and hands blue with the cold, had been forcing a gimlet into the soles of his shoes, and putting his skates on, with the points behind, and getting the straps into a very complicated state, with the assistance of Mr. Snodgrass, who knew rather less about skates than a Hindu. At length however, with the assistance of Mr. Weller, the unfortunate skates were firmly screwed and buckled on, and Mr. Winkle was raised to his feet.
" Now then, sir," said Sam, in an encouraging tone, "off vith you, and show "em how to do it.""Stop, Sam, stop!" said Mr. Winkle, trembling violently and clutching hold of Sam"s arms with the grasp of a drowning man. "How slippery, it is, Sam !""Not an uncommon thing upon ice, sir," replied Mr. Weller. "Hold up, sir !"This last observation of Mr. Weller"s bore reference to a demonstration Mr. Winkle made at the instant of a franticdesire to throw his feet in the air, and dash the back of his head on the ice.
"These-these-are very awkward skates; aren"t they, Sam?" inquired Mr. Winkle, staggering.
"I"m afeerd there"s an orkard gen"l"m"n in "em, sir," replied Sam.
"Now, Winkle," cried Mr. Pickwick, quite unconscious that there was anything the matter, "come; the ladies are all anxiety.""Yes, yes," replied Mr. Winkle, with a ghastly smile. "I"m coining.""Just a-goin" to begin," said Sam, endeavouring to disengage himself. "Now, sir, start off!""Stop an instant, Sam," gasped Mr. Winkle, clinging most affectionately to Mr. Weller. "I find I have a couple of coats at home that I don"t want, Sam. You may have them, Sam.""Thank "ee, sir," replied Mr. Weller.
"Never mind touching your hat, Sam," said Mr. Winkle, hastily. "You needn"t take your hand away to do that. I meant to have given you five shillings this morning for a Christmas- box, Sam. I"ll give it to you this afternoon, Sam.""You"re very good, sir," replied Mr. Weller.
"Just hold me at first, Sam, will you?"said Mr. Winkle. "There-that"s right. I shall soon get into the way of it, Sam. Not too fast, Sam; not too fast !"Mr. Winkle, stooping forward, with his body half doubledup, was being assisted over the ice by Mr. Weller in a very singular and unswanlike manner, when Mr. Pickwick most innocently shouted from the bank : " Sam !""Sir?"
"Here. I want you."
