ly in the morning. Prime is properly the first
canonical hour of prayer, or 6 a.m. For its looser use here, cf. F. Q.
ii. 9. 25: "at evening and at prime."

712. Stayed. Supported; not to be printed "staid," as in some editions.

716. Within, etc. The MS. reads:

"Within 't was brilliant all, and bright
The vision glowed on Ellen's sight."

726. Presence. Presence-chamber. Cf. Rich. II. i. 3. 289:

"Suppose the singing birds musicians,
The grass whereon thou tread'st the presence strew'd"

(that is, strewn with rushes); Hen. VIII. iii. 1. 17:

"the two great cardinals
Wait in the presence," etc.

727. For him, etc. The MS. reads: "For him who owned this royal state."

737. Sheen. Bright. See on i. 208 above.

740. And Snowdoun's Knight is Scotland's King. Scott says: "This
discovery will probably remind the reader of the beautiful Arabian tale
of Il Bondocani. Yet the incident is not borrowed from that elegant
story, but from Scottish tradition. James V., of whom we are treating,
was a monarch whose good and benevolent intentions often rendered his
romantic freaks venial, if not respectable, since, from his anxious
attention to the interests of the lower and most oppressed class of
his subjects, he was, as we have seen, popularly termed the King of
the Commons. For the purpose of seeing that justice was regularly
administered, and frequently from the less justifiable motive of
gallantry, he used to traverse the vicinage of his several palaces
in various disguises. The two excellent comic songs entitled The
Gaberlunzie Man and We'll gae nae mair a roving are said to have been
founded upon the success of his amorous adventures when travelling in
the disguise of a beggar. The latter is perhaps the best comic ballad in
any language.

"Another adventure, which had nearly cost James his life, is said to
have taken place at the village of Cramond, near Edinburgh, where he had
rendered his addresses acceptable to a pretty girl of the lower rank.
Four or five persons, whether relations or lovers of his mistress
is uncertain, beset the disguised monarch as he returned from his
rendezvous. Naturally gallant, and an admirable master of his weapon,
the King took post on the high and narrow bridge over the Almond river,
and defended himself bravely with his sword. A peasant who was thrashing
in a neighboring barn came out upon the noise, and, whether moved by
compassion or by na