blazoned sable, as before,
The towering falcon seemed to soar.
Last, twenty yeomen, two and two,
In hosen black, and jerkins blue,
With falcons broider'd on each breast,
Attended on their lord's behest.
'Tis meet that I should tell you now,
How fairly armed, and ordered how,
The soldiers of the guard,
With musquet, pike, and morion,
To welcome noble Marmion,
Stood in the Castle-yard;
Minstrels and trumpeters were there,
The gunner held his _linstock yare_,
For welcome-shot prepared--

The guards their morrice pikes advanced,
The trumpets flourished brave,
The cannon from the ramparts glanced,
And thundering welcome gave.

Two pursuivants, whom tabards deck,
With silver scutcheon round their neck,
Stood on the steps of stone,
By which you reach the Donjon gate,
And there, with herald pomp and state,
They hailed Lord Marmion.
And he, their courtesy to requite,
Gave them a chain of twelve marks weight,
All as he lighted down.' p. 29-32.

Sir Hugh the Heron then orders supper--

'Now broach ye a pipe of Malvoisie,
Bring pasties of the doe.'

--And after the repast is concluded, they have some mulled wine, and
drink good night very ceremoniously.

'Lord Marmion drank a fair good rest,
The Captain pledged his noble guest,
The cup went round among the rest.'

In the morning, again, we are informed that they had prayers, and that
knight and squire

----'broke their fast
On rich substantial repast.'
'Then came the stirrup-cup in course,' &c., &c.

And thus a whole Canto is filled up with the account of a visit and a
supper, which lead to no consequences whatever, and are not attended
with any circumstances which must not have occurred at every visit and
supper among persons of the same rank at that period. Now, we are really
at a loss to know, why the mere circumstance of a moderate antiquity
should be supposed so far to ennoble those details, as to entitle them
to a place in poetry, which certainly never could be claimed for a
description of more modern adventures. Nobody, we believe, would be bold
enough to introduce into a serious poem a description of the hussar
boots and gold epaulets of a commander in chief, and much less to
particularize the liveries and canes of his servants, or the order and
array of a grand dinner, given even to the cabinet m