75. Burden. Alluding to the burden, or chorus, of a song. Cf. ii. 392 above. The MS. has "jest" for joke; and in the next line "And rude oaths vented by the rest."78. Trent. the English river of that name. Cf. 231 below.
84. That day. Modifying cut shore, not grieved.
87. A merry catch, I troll. Cf. Shakespeare, Temp, iii. 2. 126:
"will you troll the catch," etc.
88. Buxom. Lively, brisk; as in Hen. V. iii. 6. 27: "of buxom valour," etc. Its original sense was yielding, obedient; as in F. Q. i. 11. 37: "the buxome aire" (see also Milton, P. L. ii.
842); and Id. iii. 2. 23: "Of them that to him buxome are and prone." For the derivation, see Wb.
90. Poule. Paul; an old spelling, found in Chaucer and other writers. The measure of the song is anapestic (that is, with the accent on every third syllable), with modifications.
92. Black-jack. A kind of pitcher made of leather. Taylor quotes Old Mortality, chap. viii.: "The large black-jack filled with very small beer."93. Sack. A name applied to Spanish and Canary wines in general; but sometimes the particular kind was specified. Cf. 2Hen. IV. iv. 3. 104: "good sherris-sack" (that is, sherry wine);and Herrick, Poems:
"thy isles shall lack Grapes, before Herrick leaves Canarie sack."95. Upsees. "Bacchanalian interjection, borrowed from the Dutch" (Scott). Nares criticises Scott for using the word as a noun. It is generally found in the phrases "upsee Dutch" and "upsee Freeze" (the same thing, Frise being = Dutch), which appear to mean "in the Dutch fashion." Cf. Ben Jonson, Alchemist, iv. 6:
"I do not like the dullness of your eye, It hath a heavy east, 't is upsee Dutch;"that is, looks like intoxication. See also Beaumont and Fletcher, Beggar's Bush, iv. 4: "The bowl ... which must be upsey English, strong, lusty, London beer."98. Kerchief. See on iii. 495 above.
100. Gillian. A common old English name (according to Coles and others, a corruption of Juliana), often contracted into Gill of Jill, and used as a familiar term for a woman, as Jack was for a man. The two are often associated; as in the proverbs "Every Jack must have his Jill," and "A good Jack makes a good Jill."103. Placket. Explained by some as = stomacher; by others as =petticoat, or the slit or opening in those garments. Cf. Wb. It is often used figuratively for woman, as here. Placket and pot =women and wine.
104. Lurch. Rob. Cf. Shakespeare, Cor. ii. 2. 105: "He lurch'd all swords of the garland;" that is, robbed them all of the prize.
112. The drum. The 1st ed. has "your drum."116. Plaid. For the rhyme, see on i. 363 above.
124. Store of blood. Plenty of blood. Cf. Milton, L'Allegro, 121: "With store of ladies," etc. See also on the adjective, i.
548 above.
127. Reward thy toil. The MS. goes on thus:
"Get thee an ape, and then at once Thou mayst renounce the warder's lance, And trudge through borough and through land, The leader of a juggler band."Scott has the following note here: "The jongleurs, or jugglers, as we learn from the elaborate work of the late Mr. Strutt, on the sports and pastimes of the people of England, used to call in the aid of various assistants, to render these performances as captivating as possible. The glee-maiden was a necessary attendant. Her duty was tumbling and dancing; and therefore the Anglo-Saxon version of Saint Mark's Gospel states Herodias to have vaulted or tumbled before King Herod. In Scotland these poor creatures seem, even at a late period, to have been bondswomen to their masters, as appears from a case reported by Fountainhall: 'Reid the mountebank pursues Scot of Harden and his lady for stealing away from him a little girl, called the tumbling-lassie, that dance upon his stage; and he claimed damages, and produced a contract, whereby he bought her from her mother for ?0 Scots. But we have no slaves in Scotland, and mothers cannot sell their bairns; and physicians attested the employment of tumbling would kill her; and her joints were now grown stiff, and she declined to return; though she was at least a 'prentice, and so could not run away from her master; yet some cited Moses's law, that if a servant shelter himself with thee against his master's cruelty, thou shalt surely not deliver him up. The Lords, renitente cancellario, assoilzied Harden on the 27th of January (1687)' (Fountainhall's Decisions, vol. i. p.
439)."
136. Purvey. Provide. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. v. 12. 10: "He all things did purvay which for them needfull weare."147. Bertram, etc. The MS. has "Bertram | his || such | violence withstood."
152. The tartan screen. That is, the tartan which she had drawn over her head as a veil.
155. The savage soldiery, etc. The MS. has "While the rude soldiery, amazed;" and in 164 below, "Should Ellen Douglas suffer wrong."167. I shame me. I shame myself, I am ashamed. The very was formerly used intransitively in this sense. Cf. Shakespeare, R. of L. 1143: "As shaming any eye should thee behold;" A. Y. L. iv.
3. 136: "I do not shame to tell you what I was," etc.
170. Needwood. A royal forest in Staffordshire.
171. Poor Rose, etc. The MS. reads:
"'My Rose,'--he wiped his iron eye and brow,--'Poor Rose,--if Rose be living now.'"
178. Part. Act; used for the rhyme. The expression is not unlike "do the part of an honest man" (Much Ado, ii. 1. 172), or "act the part," as we should now put it.
183. Tullibardine. The name of an old seat of the Murray family, about twenty miles from Stirling.
199. Errant damosel. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 1. 19: "Th' adventure of the Errant damozell."
209. Given by the Monarch, etc. The MS. has "The Monarch gave to James Fitz-James."218. Bower. Chamber. See on i. 217 above.
222. Permit I marshal you the way. Permit that I conduct you thither.
233. The vacant purse, etc. The MS. reads:
"The silken purse shall serve for me, And in my barret-cap shall flee""--a forced rhyme which the poet did well to get rid of.
234. Barret-cap. Cloth cap. Cf. the Lay, iii. 216:
"Old England's sign, St. George's cross, His barret-cap did grace."He puts the purse in his cap as a favor. See on iv. 686 above.
