So, by the black rood-stone,* and by holy St John, 666 "Though the bloodhound be mute, and the rush And the warder his bugle should not blow, Yet there sleepeth a priest in the chamber to the east, 666 "Oh, fear not the priest, who sleepeth to the east! And there to say mass, till three days do pass, "He turned him around, and grimly he frowned; 'He who says the mass-rite for the soul of that knight, "At the lone midnight hour, when bad spirits have power, In thy chamber will I be.' With that he was gone, and my lady left alone, And no more did I see." Then changed, I trow, was that bold Baron's brow, "Now, tell me the mien of the knight thou hast seen, "His arms shone full bright, in the beacon's red light; On his shield was a hound, in a silver leash bound, "Thou liest, thou liest, thou little foot-page, For that knight is cold, and low laid in the mould, "Yet hear but my word, my noble lord! And that lady bright, she called the knight, The bold Baron's brow then changed, I trow, 66 The grave is deep and dark-and the corpse is stiff and stark So I may not trust thy tale. * The black rood of Melrose was a crucifix of black marble, and of superior sanctity. + Eildon is a high hill, terminating in three conical summits, immediately above the town of Melrose, where are the admired ruins of a magnificent monastery. Eildon-tree is said to be the spot where Thomas the Rhymer uttered his prophecies. "Where fair Tweed flows round holy Melrose, Full three nights ago, by some secret foe, "The varying light deceived thy sight, And the wild winds drowned the name; For the Dryburgh bells ring, and the white monks do sing, For Sir Richard of Coldinghame!" He passed the court-gate, and he oped the tower grate, And he mounted the narrow stair To the bartizan-seat, where, with maids that on her wait, He found his lady fair. That lady sat in mournful mood; Looked over hill and vale; Over Tweed's fair flood, and Mertoun's wood, And all down Teviotdale. "Now hail, now hail, thou lady bright!”— What news, what news from Ancram fight? "The Ancram Moor is red with gore, And Buccleuch has charged us, evermore To watch our beacons well." The lady blushed red, but nothing she said; Nor added the Baron a word: Then she stepped down the stair to her chamber fair, In sleep the lady mourned, and the Baron tossed And oft to himself he said "The worms around him creep, and his bloody grave is deep It cannot give up the dead!" It was near the ringing of matin-bell, The night was well nigh done, When a heavy sleep on that Baron fell, On the eve of good St John. The lady looked through the chamber fair, And she was aware of a knight stood there- 66 Alas! away, away!" she cried, "For the holy Virgin's sake!" "Lady, I know who sleeps by thy side; But, lady, he will not awake. "By Eildon-tree, for long nights three, In bloody grave have I lain; The mass and the death-prayer are said for me, "By the Baron's brand, near Tweed's fair strand, And my restless sprite on the beacon's height "At our trysting place, for a certain space But I had not had power to come to thy bower, Love mastered fear-her brow she crossed; "How, Richard, hast thou sped? And art thou saved, or art thou lost?". The Vision shook his head! "Who spilleth life, shall forfeit life, That lawless love is guilt above, This awful sign receive." He laid his left palm on an oaken beam; The lady shrunk, and fainting sunk, The sable score, of fingers four, There is a Nun in Dryburgh bower, There is a Monk in Melrose tower, That Nun, who ne'er beholds the day, CADYOW CASTLE. ADDRESSED TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LADY ANNE HAMILTON. THE ruins of Cadyow, or Cadzow Castle, the ancient baronial residence of the family of Hamilton, are situated upon the precipitous banks of the river Evan, about two miles above its junction with the Clyde. The situation of the ruins, embosomed in wood, darkened by ivy and creeping shrubs, and overhanging the brawling torrent, is romantic in the highest degree. In the immediate vicinity of Cadyow is a grove of immense oaks, the remains of the Caledonian Forest, which anciently extended through the south of Scotland, from the Eastern to the Atlantic Ocean. Some of these trees measure twentyfive feet, and upwards, in circumference; and the state of decay in which they now appear, shows that they may have witnessed the rites of the Druids. The whole scenery is included in the magnificent and extensive park of the Duke of Hamilton. In this forest was long preserved the breed of the Scottish wild cattle, until their ferocity led to their extirpation, about forty years ago. Their appearance was beautiful, being milk-white, with black muzzles, horns, and hoofs. The bulls are described by ancient authors as having white manes; but those of latter days had lost that peculiarity, perhaps by intermixture with the tame breed. In detailing the death of the Regent Murray, which is made the subject of the following ballad, it would be injustice to my reader to use other words than those of Dr Robertson, whose account of that memorable event forms a beautiful piece of historical painting. "Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh was the person who committed this barbarous action. He had been condemned to death soon after the battle of Langside, as we have already related, and owed his life to the Regent's clemency. But part of his estate had been bestowed upon one of the Regent's favourites, who seized his house, and turned out his wife naked in a cold night into the open fields, where, before next morning, she became furiously mad. This injury made a deeper impression on him than the benefit he had received, and from that moment he vowed to be revenged of the Regent. Party rage strengthened and inflamed his private resentment. His kinsmen, the Hamiltons, applauded the enterprise. The maxims of that age justified the most desperate course he could take to obtain vengeance. He followed the Regent for some time, and watched for an opportunity to strike the blow. He resolved at last to wait till his enemy should arrive at Linlithgow, through which he was to pass in his way from Stirling to Edinburgh. He took his stand in a wooden gallery, which had a window towards the street-spread a feather-bed on the floor, to hinder the noise of his feet from being heard-hung up a black cloth behind him, that his shadow might not be observed from without-and, after all this preparation, calmly expected the Regent's approach, who had lodged during the night in a house not far distant. Some indistinct information of the danger which threatened him had been conveyed to the Regent, and he paid so much regard to it, that he resolved to return by the same gate through which he had entered, and to fetch a compass round the town. But, as the crowd about the gate was great, and he himself unacquainted with fear, he proceeded directly along the street; and the throng of people obliging him to move very slowly, gave the assassin time to take so true an aim, that he shot him with a single bullet through the lower part of his belly, and killed the horse of a gentleman who rode on his other side. His followers instantly endeavoured to break into the house whence the blow had come; but they found the door strongly barricaded, and before it could be forced open, Hamilton had mounted a fleet horse which stood ready for him at a back passage, and was got far beyond their reach. The Regent died the same night of his wound."-History of Scotland, Book v. The Regent died on the 23d of January 1569. Immediately after the murder, Bothwellhaugh rode to Hamilton, where he was received in triumph. WHEN princely Hamilton's abode Then, thrilling to the harp's gay sound, But Cadyow's towers, in ruins laid, For thou, from scenes of courtly pride, And mark the long-forgotten urn. The past returns-the present flies. Where with the rock's wood-covered side And feudal banners flaunt between: Where the rude torrent's brawling course And ramparts frown in battled row. Is chequering the moonlight beam. Urge the shy steed, and slack the rein. His shouting merry-men throng behind; Was fleeter than the mountain wind. The head of the family of Hamilton at this period was James, Earl of Arran, Duke of Chatelherault, in France, and first peer of the Scottish realm. In 1569, he was appointed by Queen Mary her lieutenant-general in Scotland, under the singular title of her adopted father. |