olic wing.
Receding now, the dying numbers ring
Fainter and fainter down the rugged dell, 865
And now the mountain breezes scarcely bring
A wandering witch-note of the distant spell--
And now, 'tis silent all!--Enchantress, fare thee well!

NOTES

CANTO FIRST

2. =witch-elm that shades Saint Fillan's spring.= The well or spring of
St. Fillan is on the summit of a hill near Loch Earn, some miles
northeast of the scene of the poem. The reason why Scott places the
"Harp of the North" here is that St. Fillan was the favorite saint of
Robert Bruce, and a relic of the saint had been borne in a shrine by a
warlike abbot at the battle of Bannockburn. The word "witch" (more
properly spelled "wych") is connected with "wicker" and means "bending,"
"drooping."

10. =Caledon.= Caledonia, poetic name for Scotland.

29. =Monan's rill.= Scott takes the liberty of assigning a "rill" to
this Scottish martyr of the fourth century on his own authority, unless
his editors have been at fault in failing to discover the stream
indicated.

31. =Glenartney's.= Glen Artney or Valley of the Artney. The Artney is a
small river northeast of the main scene of the poem.

33. =Benvoirlich.= "Ben" is Scottish for mountain. Benvoirlich is near
the western end of Glenartney.

53. =Uam-Var.= A mountain between Glenartney and the Braes of Doune. The
name signifies "great den," and is derived from a rocky enclosure on the
mountain-side, believed to have been used in primitive times as a toil
or trap for deer. As told in Stanza IV a giant was fabled to have
inhabited this den.

71. =linn.= This word means either "waterfall" or "steep ravine." The
latter is probably the meaning here.

89. =Menteith.= A village and district southeast of the line of
lakes--Loch Katrine, Loch Achray, and Loch Vennachar--about which the
main action of the poem moves.

93. =Lochard.= Loch Ard, a small lake south of Loch Katrine.
=Aberfoyle.= A village east of Loch Ard.

95. =Loch-Achray.= See note on 89.

97. =Benvenue.= A mountain on the south bank of Loch Katrine.

103. =Cambusmore.= An estate owned by Scott's friends, the Buchanans, on
the border of the Braes of Doune.

105. =Benledi.= A majestic mountain shutting in the horizon to the north
of Loch Vennachar.

106. =Bochastle's heath.= The plain between Loch Vennachar and the river
Teith.

112. =Brigg of Turk.= A romantic bridge, still in existence, between
Loch