Marmion - Canto Third - The Hostel, or Inn

I.

The livelong day Lord Marmion rode:
The mountain path the Palmer show’d
By glen and streamlet winded still,
Where stunted birches hid the rill.
They might not choose the lowland road, 5
For the Merse forayers were abroad,
Who, fired with hate and thirst of prey,
Had scarcely fail’d to bar their way.
Oft on the trampling band, from crown
Of some tall cliff, the deer look’d down; 10
On wing of jet, from his repose
In the deep heath, the black-cock rose;
Sprung from the gorse the timid roe,
Nor waited for the bending bow;
And when the stony path began, 15
By which the naked peak they wan,
Up flew the snowy ptarmigan.
The noon had long been pass’d before
They gain’d the height of Lammermoor;
Thence winding down the northern way, 20
Before them, at the close of day,
Old Gifford’s towers and hamlet lay.

II.

No summons calls them to the tower,
To spend the hospitable hour.
To Scotland’s camp the Lord was gone; 25
His cautious dame, in bower alone,
Dreaded her castle to unclose,
So late, to unknown friends or foes.
On through the hamlet as they paced,
Before a porch, whose front was graced 30
With bush and flagon trimly placed,
Lord Marmion drew his rein:
The village inn seem’d large, though rude;
Its cheerful fire and hearty food
Might well relieve his train. 35
Down from their seats the horsemen sprung,
With jingling spurs the court-yard rung;
They bind their horses to the stall,
For forage, food, and firing call,
And various clamour fills the hall: 40
Weighing the labour with the cost,
Toils everywhere the bustling host.

III

Soon, by the chimney’s merry blaze,
Through the rude hostel might you gaze;
Might see, where, in dark nook aloof, 45
The rafters of the sooty roof
Bore wealth of winter cheer;
Of sea-fowl dried, and solands store,
And gammons of the tusky boar,
And savoury haunch of deer. 50
The chimney arch projected wide;
Above, around it, and beside,
Were tools for housewives’ hand;
Nor wanted, in that martial day,
The implements of Scottish fray, 55
The buckler, lance, and brand.
Beneath its shade, the place of state,
On oaken settle Marmion sate,
And view’d around the blazing hearth.
His followers mix in noisy mirth; 60
Whom with brown ale, in jolly tide,
From ancient vessels ranged aside,
Full actively their host supplied.

IV.

Theirs was the glee of martial breast,
And laughter theirs at little jest; 65
And oft Lord Marmion deign’d to aid,
And mingle in the mirth they made;
For though, with men of high degree,
The proudest of the proud was he,
Yet, train’d in camps, he knew the art 70
To win the soldier’s hardy heart.
They love a captain to obey,
Boisterous as March, yet fresh as May;
With open hand, and brow as free,
Lover of wine and minstrelsy; 75
Ever the first to scale a tower,
As venturous in a lady’s bower:-
Such buxom chief shall lead his host
From India’s fires to Zembla’s frost.

V.

Resting upon his pilgrim staff, 80
Right opposite the Palmer stood;
His thin dark visage seen but half,
Half hidden by his hood.
Still fix’d on Marmion was his look,
Which he, who ill such gaze could brook, 85
Strove by a frown to quell;
But not for that, though more than once
Full met their stern encountering glance,
The Palmer’s visage fell.

VI.

By fits less frequent from the crowd 90
Was heard the burst of laughter loud;
For still, as squire and archer stared
On that dark face and matted beard,
Their glee and game declined.
All gazed at length in silence drear, 95
Unbroke, save when in comrade’s ear
Some yeoman, wondering in his fear,
Thus whispered forth his mind:-
‘Saint Mary! saw’st thou e’er such sight?
How pale his cheek, his eye how bright, 100
Whene’er the firebrand’s fickle light
Glances beneath his cowl!
Full on our Lord he sets his eye;
For his best palfrey, would not I
Endure that sullen scowl.’ 105

VII.

But Marmion, as to chase the awe
Which thus had quell’d their hearts, who saw
The ever-varying fire-light show
That figure stern and face of woe,
Now call’d upon a squire:- 110
‘Fitz-Eustace, know’st thou not some lay,
To speed the lingering night away?
We slumber by the fire.’-

VIII.

‘So please you,’ thus the youth rejoin’d,
‘Our choicest minstrel’s left behind. 115
Ill may we hope to please your ear,
Accustom’d Constant’s strains to hear.
The harp full deftly can he strike,
And wake the lover’s lute alike;
To dear Saint Valentine, no thrush 120
Sings livelier from a spring-tide bush,
No nightingale her love-lorn tune
More sweetly warbles to the moon.
Woe to the cause, whate’er it be,
Detains from us his melody, 125
Lavish’d on rocks, and billows stern,
Or duller monks of Lindisfarne.
Now must I venture as I may,
To sing his favourite roundelay.’

IX.

A mellow voice Fitz-Eustace had, 130
The air he chose was wild and sad;
Such have I heard, in Scottish land,
Rise from the busy harvest band,
When falls before the mountaineer,
On Lowland plains, the ripen’d ear. 135
Now one shrill voice the notes prolong,
Now a wild chorus swells the song:
Oft have I listen’d, and stood still,
As it came soften’d up the hill,
And deem’d it the lament of men 140
Who languish’d for their native glen;
And thought how sad would be such sound,
On Susquehanna’s swampy ground,
Kentucky’s wood-encumber’d brake,
Or wild Ontario’s boundless lake, 145
Where heart-sick exiles, in the strain,
Recall’d fair Scotland’s hills again!

X.

Song

Where shall the lover rest,
Whom the fates sever
From his true maiden’s breast, 150
Parted for ever?
Where, through groves deep and high,
Sounds the far billow,
Where early violets die,
Under the willow. 155

CHORUS.
Eleu loro, &c. Soft shall be his pillow.

There, through the summer day,
Cool streams are laving;
There, while the tempests sway,
Scarce are boughs waving; 160
There, thy rest shalt thou take,
Parted for ever,
Never again to wake,
Never, O never!

CHORUS.
Eleu loro, &c. Never, O never! 165

XI.

Where shall the traitor rest,
He, the deceiver,
Who could win maiden’s breast,
Ruin, and leave her?
In the lost battle, 170
Borne down by the flying,
Where mingles war’s rattle
With groans of the dying.

CHORUS.
Eleu loro, &c. There shall he be lying.

Her wing shall the eagle flap 175
O’er the false-hearted;
His warm blood the wolf shall lap,
Ere life be parted.
Shame and dishonour sit
By his grave ever; 180
Blessing shall hallow it,-
Never, O never.

CHORUS.
Eleu loro, &c. Never, O never!

XII.

It ceased, the melancholy sound;
And silence sunk on all around. 185
The air was sad; but sadder still
It fell on Marmion’s ear,
And plain’d as if disgrace and ill,
And shameful death, were near.
He drew his mantle past his face, 190
Between it and the band,
And rested with his head a space,
Reclining on his hand.
His thoughts I scan not; but I ween,
That, could their import have been seen, 195
The meanest groom in all the hall,
That e’er tied courser to a stall,
Would scarce have wished to be their prey,
For Lutterward and Fontenaye.

XIII.

High minds, of native pride and force, 200
Most deeply feel thy pangs, Remorse!
Fear, for their scourge, mean villains have,
Thou art the torturer of the brave!
Yet fatal strength they boast to steel
Their minds to bear the wounds they feel, 205
Even while they writhe beneath the smart
Of civil conflict in the heart.
For soon Lord Marmion raised his head,
And, smiling, to Fitz-Eustace said,
‘Is it not strange, that, as ye sung, 210
Seem’d in mine ear a death-peal rung,
Such as in nunneries they toll
For some departing sister’s soul?
Say, what may this portend?’-
Then first the Palmer silence broke, 215
(The livelong day he had not spoke)
‘The death of a dear friend.’

XIV.

Marmion, whose steady heart and eye
Ne’er changed in worst extremity;
Marmion, whose soul could scantly brook, 220
Even from his King, a haughty look;
Whose accents of command controll’d,
In camps, the boldest of the bold-
Thought, look, and utterance fail’d him now,
Fall’n was his glance, and flush’d his brow: 225
For either in the tone,
Or something in the Palmer’s look,
So full upon his conscience strook,
That answer he found none.
Thus oft it haps, that when within 230
They shrink at sense of secret sin,
A feather daunts the brave;
A fool’s wild speech confounds the wise,
And proudest princes vail their eyes
Before their meanest slave. 235

XV.

Well might he falter!-By his aid
Was Constance Beverley betray’d.
Not that he augur’d of the doom,
Which on the living closed the tomb:
But, tired to hear the desperate maid 240
Threaten by turns, beseech, upbraid;
And wroth, because, in wild despair,
She practised on the life of Clare;
Its fugitive the Church he gave,
Though not a victim, but a slave; 245
And deem’d restraint in convent strange
Would hide her wrongs, and her revenge,
Himself, proud Henry’s favourite peer,
Held Romish thunders idle fear,
Secure his pardon he might hold, 250
For some slight mulct of penance-gold.
Thus judging, he gave secret way,
When the stern priests surprised their prey.
His train but deem’d the favourite page
Was left behind, to spare his age; 255
Or other if they deem’d, none dared
To mutter what he thought and heard:
Woe to the vassal, who durst pry
Into Lord Marmion’s privacy!

XVI.

His conscience slept-he deem’d her well, 260
And safe secured in yonder cell;
But, waken’d by her favourite lay,
And that strange Palmer’s boding say,
That fell so ominous and drear,
Full on the object of his fear, 265
To aid remorse’s venom’d throes,
Dark tales of convent-vengeance rose;
And Constance, late betray’d and scorn’d,
All lovely on his soul return’d;
Lovely as when, at treacherous call, 270
She left her convent’s peaceful wall,
Crimson’d with shame, with terror mute,
Dreading alike escape, pursuit,
Till love, victorious o’er alarms,
Hid fears and blushes in his arms. 275

‘Alas!’ he thought, ‘how changed that mien!
How changed these timid looks have been,
Since years of guilt, and of disguise,
Have steel’d her brow, and arm’d her eyes!
No more of virgin terror speaks 280
The blood that mantles in her cheeks;
Fierce, and unfeminine, are there,
Frenzy for joy, for grief despair;
And I the cause-for whom were given
Her peace on earth, her hopes in heaven!- 285
Would,’ thought he, as the picture grows,
‘I on its stalk had left the rose!
Oh, why should man’s success remove
The very charms that wake his love!-
Her convent’s peaceful solitude 290
Is now a prison harsh and rude;
And, pent within the narrow cell,
How will her spirit chafe and swell!
How brook the stern monastic laws!
The penance how-and I the cause!- 295
Vigil, and scourge-perchance even worse!’-
And twice he rose to cry, ‘To horse!’
And twice his Sovereign’s mandate came,
Like damp upon a kindling flame;
And twice he thought, ‘Gave I not charge 300
She should be safe, though not at large?
They durst not, for their island, shred
One golden ringlet from her head.’

XVIII.

While thus in Marmion’s bosom strove
Repentance and reviving love, 305
Like whirlwinds, whose contending sway
I’ve seen Loch Vennachar obey,
Their Host the Palmer’s speech had heard,
And, talkative, took up the word:
‘Ay, reverend Pilgrim, you, who stray 310
From Scotland’s simple land away,
To visit realms afar,
Full often learn the art to know
Of future weal, or future woe,
By word, or sign, or star; 315
Yet might a knight his fortune hear,
If, knight-like, he despises fear,
Not far from hence;-if fathers old
Aright our hamlet legend told.’-
These broken words the menials move,
(For marvels still the vulgar love,) 320
And, Marmion giving license cold,
His tale the host thus gladly told:-

XIX.

The Host’s Tale

‘A Clerk could tell what years have flown
Since Alexander fill’d our throne, 325
(Third monarch of that warlike name,)
And eke the time when here he came
To seek Sir Hugo, then our lord:
A braver never drew a sword;
A wiser never, at the hour 330
Of midnight, spoke the word of power:
The same, whom ancient records call
The founder of the Goblin-Hall.
I would, Sir Knight, your longer stay
Gave you that cavern to survey. 335
Of lofty roof, and ample size,
Beneath the castle deep it lies:
To hew the living rock profound,
The floor to pave, the arch to round,
There never toil’d a mortal arm, 340
It all was wrought by word and charm;
And I have heard my grandsire say,
That the wild clamour and affray
Of those dread artisans of hell,
Who labour’d under Hugo’s spell, 345
Sounded as loud as ocean’s war,
Among the caverns of Dunbar.

XX.

‘The King Lord Gifford’s castle sought,
Deep labouring with uncertain thought;
Even then he mustered all his host, 350
To meet upon the western coast;
For Norse and Danish galleys plied
Their oars within the Frith of Clyde.
There floated Haco’s banner trim,
Above Norweyan warriors grim, 355
Savage of heart, and large of limb;
Threatening both continent and isle,
Bute, Arran, Cunninghame, and Kyle.
Lord Gifford, deep beneath the ground,
Heard Alexander’s bugle sound, 360
And tarried not his garb to change,
But, in his wizard habit strange,
Came forth,-a quaint and fearful sight;
His mantle lined with fox-skins white;
His high and wrinkled forehead bore 365
A pointed cap, such as of yore
Clerks say that Pharaoh’s Magi wore:
His shoes were mark’d with cross and spell,
Upon his breast a pentacle;
His zone, of virgin parchment thin, 370
Or, as some tell, of dead man’s skin,
Bore many a planetary sign,
Combust, and retrograde, and trine;
And in his hand he held prepared,
A naked sword without a guard. 375

XXI.

‘Dire dealings with the fiendish race
Had mark’d strange lines upon his face;
Vigil and fast had worn him grim,
His eyesight dazzled seem’d and dim,
As one unused to upper day; 380
Even his own menials with dismay
Beheld, Sir Knight, the grisly Sire,
In his unwonted wild attire;
Unwonted, for traditions run,
He seldom thus beheld the sun.- 385
“I know,” he said,-his voice was hoarse,
And broken seem’d its hollow force,-
“I know the cause, although untold,
Why the King seeks his vassal’s hold:
Vainly from me my liege would know 390
His kingdom’s future weal or woe;
But yet, if strong his arm and heart,
His courage may do more than art.

XXII.

‘“Of middle air the demons proud,
Who ride upon the racking cloud, 395
Can read, in fix’d or wandering star,
The issue of events afar;
But still their sullen aid withhold,
Save when by mightier force controll’d.
Such late I summon’d to my hall; 400
And though so potent was the call,
That scarce the deepest nook of hell
I deem’d a refuge from the spell,
Yet, obstinate in silence still,
The haughty demon mocks my skill. 405
But thou,-who little know’st thy might,
As born upon that blessed night
When yawning graves, and dying groan,
Proclaim’d hell’s empire overthrown,-
With untaught valour shalt compel 410
Response denied to magic spell.”-
“Gramercy,” quoth our Monarch free,
“Place him but front to front with me,
And, by this good and honour’d brand,
The gift of Coeur-de-Lion’s hand, 415
Soothly I swear, that, tide what tide,
The demon shall a buffet bide.”-
His bearing bold the wizard view’d,
And thus, well pleased, his speech renew’d:-
“There spoke the blood of Malcolm!-mark: 420
Forth pacing hence, at midnight dark,
The rampart seek, whose circling crown
Crests the ascent of yonder down:
A southern entrance shalt thou find;
There halt, and there thy bugle wind, 425
And trust thine elfin foe to see,
In guise of thy worst enemy:
Couch then thy lance, and spur thy steed-
Upon him! and Saint George to speed!
If he go down, thou soon shalt know 430
Whate’er these airy sprites can show:-
If thy heart fail thee in the strife,
I am no warrant for thy life.”

XXIII.

‘Soon as the midnight bell did ring,
Alone, and arm’d, forth rode the King 435
To that old camp’s deserted round:
Sir Knight, you well might mark the mound,
Left hand the town,-the Pictish race,
The trench, long since, in blood did trace;
The moor around is brown and bare, 440
The space within is green and fair.
The spot our village children know,
For there the earliest wild-flowers grow;
But woe betide the wandering wight,
That treads its circle in the night! 445
The breadth across, a bowshot clear,
Gives ample space for full career;
Opposed to the four points of heaven,
By four deep gaps are entrance given.
The southernmost our Monarch past, 450
Halted, and blew a gallant blast;
And on the north, within the ring,
Appeared the form of England’s King,
Who then a thousand leagues afar,
In Palestine waged holy war: 455
Yet arms like England’s did he wield,
Alike the leopards in the shield,
Alike his Syrian courser’s frame,
The rider’s length of limb the same:
Long afterwards did Scotland know, 460
Fell Edward was her deadliest foe.

XXIV.

‘The vision made our Monarch start,
But soon he mann’d his noble heart,
And in the first career they ran,
The Elfin Knight fell, horse and man; 465
Yet did a splinter of his lance
Through Alexander’s visor glance,
And razed the skin-a puny wound.
The King, light leaping to the ground,
With naked blade his phantom foe 470
Compell’d the future war to show.
Of Largs he saw the glorious plain,
Where still gigantic bones remain,
Memorial of the Danish war;
Himself he saw, amid the field, 475
On high his brandish’d war-axe wield,
And strike proud Haco from his car,
While all around the shadowy Kings
Denmark’s grim ravens cower’d their wings.
‘Tis said, that, in that awful night, 480
Remoter visions met his sight,
Foreshowing future conquest far,
When our sons’ sons wage northern war;
A royal city, tower and spire,
Redden’d the midnight sky with fire, 485
And shouting crews her navy bore,
Triumphant, to the victor shore.
Such signs may learned clerks explain,
They pass the wit of simple swain.

XXV.

‘The joyful King turn’d home again, 490
Headed his host, and quell’d the Dane;
But yearly, when return’d the night
Of his strange combat with the sprite,
His wound must bleed and smart;
Lord Gifford then would gibing say, 495
“Bold as ye were, my liege, ye pay
The penance of your start.”
Long since, beneath Dunfermline’s nave,
King Alexander fills his grave,
Our Lady give him rest! 500
Yet still the knightly spear and shield
The Elfin Warrior doth wield,
Upon the brown hill’s breast;
And many a knight hath proved his chance,
In the charm’d ring to break a lance, 505
But all have foully sped;
Save two, as legends tell, and they
Were Wallace wight, and Gilbert Hay.-
Gentles, my tale is said.’

XXVI.

The quaighs were deep, the liquor strong, 510
And on the tale the yeoman-throng
Had made a comment sage and long,
But Marmion gave a sign:
And, with their lord, the squires retire;
The rest around the hostel fire, 515
Their drowsy limbs recline:
For pillow, underneath each head,
The quiver and the targe were laid.
Deep slumbering on the hostel floor,
Oppress’d with toil and ale, they snore: 520
The dying flame, in fitful change,
Threw on the group its shadows strange.

XXVII.

Apart, and nestling in the hay
Of a waste loft, Fitz-Eustace lay;
Scarce, by the pale moonlight, were seen 525
The foldings of his mantle green:
Lightly he dreamt, as youth will dream,
Of sport by thicket, or by stream,
Of hawk or hound, of ring or glove,
Or, lighter yet, of lady’s love. 530
A cautious tread his slumber broke,
And, close beside him, when he woke,
In moonbeam half, and half in gloom,
Stood a tall form, with nodding plume;
But, ere his dagger Eustace drew, 535
His master Marmion’s voice he knew.

XXVIII.

-‘Fitz-Eustace! rise,-I cannot rest;
Yon churl’s wild legend haunts my breast,
And graver thoughts have chafed my mood:
The air must cool my feverish blood; 540
And fain would I ride forth, to see
The scene of elfin chivalry.
Arise, and saddle me my steed;
And, gentle Eustace, take good heed
Thou dost not rouse these drowsy slaves; 545
I would not, that the prating knaves
Had cause for saying, o’er their ale,
That I could credit such a tale.’-
Then softly down the steps they slid,
Eustace the stable door undid, 550
And, darkling, Marmion’s steed array’d,
While, whispering, thus the Baron said:-

XXIX.

‘Did’st never, good my youth, hear tell,
That on the hour when I was born,
Saint George, who graced my sire’s chapelle, 555
Down from his steed of marble fell,
A weary wight forlorn?
The flattering chaplains all agree,
The champion left his steed to me.
I would, the omen’s truth to show, 560
That I could meet this Elfin Foe!
Blithe would I battle, for the right
To ask one question at the sprite:
Vain thought! for elves, if elves there be,
An empty race, by fount or sea, 565
To dashing waters dance and sing,
Or round the green oak wheel their ring.’
Thus speaking, he his steed bestrode,
And from the hostel slowly rode.

XXX.

Fitz-Eustace follow’d him abroad, 570
And mark’d him pace the village road,
And listen’d to his horse’s tramp,
Till, by the lessening sound,
He judged that of the Pictish camp
Lord Marmion sought the round. 575
Wonder it seem’d, in the squire’s eyes,
That one, so wary held, and wise,--
Of whom ‘twas said, he scarce received
For gospel, what the Church believed,-
Should, stirr’d by idle tale, 580
Ride forth in silence of the night,
As hoping half to meet a sprite,
Array’d in plate and mail.
For little did Fitz-Eustace know,
That passions, in contending flow, 585
Unfix the strongest mind;
Wearied from doubt to doubt to flee,
We welcome fond credulity,
Guide confident, though blind.

XXXI.

Little for this Fitz-Eustace cared, 590
But, patient, waited till he heard,
At distance, prick’d to utmost speed,
The foot-tramp of a flying steed,
Come town-ward rushing on;
First, dead, as if on turf it trode, 595
Then, clattering on the village road,-
In other pace than forth he yode,
Return’d Lord Marmion.
Down hastily he sprung from selle,
And, in his haste, wellnigh he fell; 600
To the squire’s hand the rein he threw,
And spoke no word as he withdrew:
But yet the moonlight did betray,
The falcon-crest was soil’d with clay;
And plainly might Fitz-Eustace see, 605
By stains upon the charger’s knee,
And his left side, that on the moor
He had not kept his footing sure.
Long musing on these wondrous signs,
At length to rest the squire reclines, 610
Broken and short; for still, between,
Would dreams of terror intervene:
Eustace did ne’er so blithely mark
The first notes of the morning lark.