ame by which James
was actually distinguished in his private excursions was the Goodman
of Ballenguich; derived from a steep pass leading up to the Castle of
Stirling, so called. But the epithet would not have suited poetry, and
would besides at once, and prematurely, have announced the plot to many
of my country men, among whom the traditional stories above mentioned
are still current."

798. My spell-bound steps. The MS. has

"Thy sovereign back | to Benvenue."
Thy sovereign's steps |

800. Glaive. Sword. See on iv. 274 above.

803. Pledge of my faith, etc. The MS. has "Pledge of Fitz-James's faith,
the ring."

808. A lightening. Some eds. have "A lightning."

809. And more, etc. The MS. reads:

"And in her breast strove maiden shame;
More deep she deemed the Monarch's ire
Kindled 'gainst him, who, for her sire,
Against his Sovereign broadsword drew;
And, with a pleading, warm and true,
She craved the grace of Roderick Dhu."

813. Grace. Pardon.

825. Stained. Reddened.

829. The Graeme. Jeffrey says: "Malcolm Graeme has too insignificant
a part assigned him, considering the favor in which he is held both
by Ellen and the author; and in bringing out the shaded and imperfect
character of Roderick Dhu as a contrast to the purer virtue of his
rival, Mr. Scott seems to have fallen into the common error of making
him more interesting than him whose virtues he was intended to set off,
and converted the villain of the piece in some measure into its hero.
A modern poet, however, may perhaps be pardoned for an error of which
Milton himself is thought not to have kept clear, and for which there
seems so natural a cause in the difference between poetical and amiable
characters."

837. Warder. Guard, jailer.

841. Lockhart quotes here the following extract from a letter of Byron's
to Scott, dated July 6, 1812:

"And now, waiving myself, let me talk to you of the Prince Regent. He
ordered me to be presented to him at a ball; and after some saying,
peculiarly pleasing from royal lips, as to my own attempts, he talked to
me of you and your immoralities: he preferred you to every bard past
and present, and asked which of your works pleased me most. It was
a difficult question. I answered, I thought the Lay. He said his own
opinion was nearly similar. In speaking of the others, I told him that
I thought you more particularly the poet of princes, as they n