Poetry > Lady of the lake

298
THE LADY OF THE LAKE.
Canto VI
“ For thee, rash youth, no suppliant sues,
From thee may Vengeance claim her dues,
Who, nurtured underneath our smile,
Hast paid our care by treacherous wile,
And sought, amid thy faithful clan,
A refuge for an outlaw’d man,
Dishonouring thus thy loyal name.—
Fetters and warder for the Grseme !”
His chain of gold the King unstrung,
The links o’er Malcolm’s neck he flung,
Then gently drew the glittering band,
And laid the clasp on Ellen's hand.1
1 f “ And now, waving myself, let me talk to you of the
Prince Regent. He ordered me to be presented to him at a
ball} and after some sayings peculiarly pleasing from royal
lips, as to my own attempts, he talked to me of you and your
immortalities : he preferred you to every bard past and present,
and asked which of your works pleased me most. It was a dif¬
ficult 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 never appeared more fascinating than in ‘ Marmion ’ and
the ‘ Lady of the Lake.’ He was pleased to coincide, and to
dwell on the description of your James’s as no less royal than
poetical. He spoke alternately of Homer and yourself, and
seemed well acquainted with both," &c.—Letter from Lord Byron
to Sir Walter Scott, July 6, 1812. Byron’S Life and Works, vol.
ii. p. 15(5.]