678. The Links of Forth. The windings of the Forth between Stirling and
Alloa.

679. Stirling's porch. The gate of Stirling Castle.

683. Blench. Start, shrink.

685. Heat. Misprinted "heart" in many eds.

690. From pathless glen. The MS. has "from hill and glen."

692. There are who have. For the ellipsis, cf. Shakespeare, Temp. ii. 1.
262: "There be that can rule Naples," etc. See also iii. 10 below.

694. That beetled o'er. Cf. Hamlet, i. 4. 71:

"the dreadful summit of the cliff That beetles o'er his
base into the sea."

696. Their dangerous dream. The MS. has "their desperate dream."

702. Battled. Battlemented; as in vi. 7 below.

703. It waved. That it waved; an ellipsis very common in Elizabethan and
earlier English. Cf. 789 below.

708. Astound. Astounded. This contraction of the participle (here used
for the sake of the rhyme) was formerly not uncommon in verbs ending in
d and t. Thus in Shakespeare we find the participles bloat (Ham. iii. 4.
182), enshield (M. for M. ii. 4. 80), taint (1 Hen. VI. v. 3. 183), etc.

710. Crossing. Conflicting.

716. Ere. The 1st ed. misprints "e'er."

731. Level. Aim; formerly a technical term. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 286:
"The foeman may with as great aim level at the edge of a penknife," etc.

747. Nighted. Benighted. It is to be regarded as a contraction of that
word; like lated for belated in Macbeth, iii. 3. 6, etc. Nighted (=
dark, black) in Hamlet, i. 2. 68 ("thy nighted colour") is an adjective
formed from the noun night.

757. Checkered shroud. Tartain plaid. The original meaning of shroud
(see Wb.) was garment.

763. Parting. Departing. See on 94 above.

768. So deep, etc. According to Lockhart, the MS. reads:

"The deep-toned anguish of despair
Flushed, in fierce jealousy, to air;"

but we suspect that "Flushed" should be "Flashed."

774. So lately. At the "Beltane game" (319 above).

781. Thus as they strove, etc. The MS. reads:

"Thus, as they strove, each better hand
Grasped for the dagger or the brand."

786. I hold, etc. Scott has the following note on the last page of the
1st ed.: "The author has to apologize for the inadvertent appropriation
of a whole line from the tragedy of Douglas: 'I hold the first who
strikes my foe.'"

789. His daughter's hand, etc. For the ellipsis of that, see on 703
above. Deemed is often misprinted "doomed."

791. Sullen an