narrated in the life of Virgil are of oriental extrac tion. Among such I am disposed to reckon the fol fowing whimsical account of the foundation of Na ples, containing a curious theory concerning the ori gin of the earthquakes with which it is afflicted. Virgil, who was a person of gallantry, had, it seems, carried off the daughter of a certain Solda, and was anxious to secure his prize.

"Than he thought in his mynde how he myghte mareye hyr and thought in his mynde to founde in the middes of the see a fayer towne, with great landes belongynge to it; and so he dyd by his cunnynge, and called it Napells. And the fandacyon of it was of egges, and in that towne of Napells he made a tower with iiii corners, and in the toppe he set an appell upon an yron yarde, and no man culde pull awaye that apell without he brake it; and thoroughe that yren set he a bolte, and in that bolte set he a egge. And he henge the apell by the stauke apon a cheyne, and so hangeth it styll. And when the egge styrreth, so shulde the towne of Napells quake; and whan the egge brake, then shulde the towne sinke. Whan he had made an ende, he lette call it Naples."

A merlin sat upon her wrist.-Ver. 5, p. 128. A merlin, or sparrow-hawk, was usually carried by ladies of rank, as a falcon was, in time of peace,

the constant attendant of a knight or baron. See LATHAM on Falconry-Godscroft relates, that when Mary of Lorraine was regent, she pressed the earl of Angus to admit a royal garrison into his castle of Tantallon. To this he returned no direct answer; but, as if apostrophising a goos-hawk, which sat on his wrist, and which he was feeding during the queen's speech, he exclaimed, "The devil's in this greedy glade, she will never be full." HUME's His tory of the house of Douglas, 1743, vol. ii, p. 131. Barclay complains of the common and indecent prac tice of bringing hawks and hounds into churches.

And princely peacock's gilded train-Ver. 6, p. 129. The peacock, it is well known, was considered du ring the times of chivalry, not merely as an exquisite delicacy, but as a dish of peculiar solemnity. After being roasted, it was again decorated with its plumage, and a spunge, dipt in lighted spirits of wine, was placed in its bill. When it was introduced on days of grand festival, it was the signal for the adventurous knights to take upon them vows to do some deed of chivalry "before the peacock and the ladies."

And o'er the boar-head, garnished brave.-
Ver. 6, p. 129.

The boar's head was also a usual dish of feuda

splendour. In Scotland it was sometimes surroun ded with little banners, displaying the colours and achievements of the baron, at whose board it was served. PINKERTON's History, vol. i, p. 432.

And cygnet from Saint Mary's wave.-Ver 6, p. 129 There are often flights of wild swans upon St Mary's Lake, at the head of the river Yarrow.

Smote with his gauntlet, stout Hunthill.-Ver. 7, 130.

The Rutherford's of Hunthill, were an ancient race of Border lairds, whose names occur in histo ry, sometimes as defending the frontier against the Englishe, sometimes as disturbing the peace of the country. Dickon Draw-the-sword, was son to the ancient warrior, called in tradition the Cock of Hunthill.

But bit his glove, and shook his head-Ver. 7, p. 130.

To bite the thumb, or the glove, seems not to have been considered, upon the Border, as a gesture of contempt, though so used by Shakspeare, but as a pledge of mortal revenge. It is yet remembered that a young gentleman of Teviotdale, on the morn ing after a hard drinking bout, observed that he had bitten his glove. He instantly demanded of his companion, with whom he had quarrelled? and learning

that he had had words with one of the party, insisted on instant satisfaction, asserting, that though he remembered nothing of the dispute, yet he never would have bit his glove unless he had received some unpardonable insult. He fell in the duel, which was fought near Selkirk, in 1721.

Arthur Fire-the-braes-Ver. 8, p. 181.

6

The person bearing this redoubtable nomme de guerre was an Elliot, and resided at Thorleshope, in Liddesdale. He occurs in the list of Border riders, in 1597.

Since old Buccleuch the name did gain,
When in the cleuch the buck was ta'en

Verse 8, p. 131.

A tradition preserved by Scott of Satchells, who published in 1688, A true history of the Right Honorable name of Scott, gives the following romantic origin of that name. Two brethren, natives of Galloway, having been banished from that country for a riot, or insurrection, came to Rankelburn, in Ettricke Forest, where the keeper, whose name was Brydone, received them joyfully, on account of their skill in winding the horn, and in the other mysteries of the chase. Kenneth Mac-Alpin, then king of Scotland, came soon after to hunt in the royal forest, and pur

sued a buck from Ettricke-heuch to the glen now called Buccleuch, about two miles above the junction of Rankelburn with the river Ettricke. Here the stag stood at bay, and the king and his attendants, who followed on horseback, were thrown out by the steepness of the hill and the morass. John, one of the brethren from Galloway, had followed the chase on foot; and now coming in, seized the buck by the horns, and, being a man of great strength and activity, threw him on his back, and run with this burden about a mile up the steep hill to a place called Cracra-Cross, where Kenneth had halted, and laid the buck at the sovereign's feet.*

The deer being curee'd in that place,
At his majesty's demand

Then John of Galloway ran apace,
And fetched water to his hand.
The king did wash into a dish,
And Galloway John he wot;

Froissart relates, that a knight of the household of the Compte de Foix exhibited a similar feat of strength. The hall fire had waxed low, and wood was wanted to mend it. This knight went down to the court yard, where stood an ass laden with faggots, seized on the ani mal and his burden, and carrying him up to the hall on his shoulders, tumbled him into the chimney with his heels uppermost; a humane pleasantry, much applau ded by the count and all the spectators.