NOTES ON WALLACE.

NOTES ON WALLACE.NOTES ON THE FIRST BOOK.

His forbearis, quha likis till wndrestand,Ofhalelynage, and trew lyne of Scotland, &c.—V. 21.

His forbearis, quha likis till wndrestand,

Ofhalelynage, and trew lyne of Scotland, &c.—V. 21.

Ofauldlinnage, &c. Edit. 1594;olde, 1620;old, 1648, 1673, and 1714.

Go reid thefyrstrycht lyne of the fyrst Stewart.MS.—V. 34.

But both the rhyme and sense point out the word in Roman characters as an error of the copier. It also disagrees with all the copies I have seen, except that of 1714.

Till hald of hym thetoun.—V. 64. MS.

This is obviously another error, and opposed to all the copies.

And thar he gatymageof Scotland swne.MS.—V. 116.

It ishomagein all the copies, except that of Perth.

And Bruce, out of Scotland.—V. 134.

All the copies before that of 1714 connect this with v. 140;—

That office than he brukyt bot schort tyme.

The editor of the first edition I have seen might have overlooked the six intervening lines, by fixing his eye on the conclusion of v. 134, which closes with the same words as that of v. 140—of Scotland. But the sense requires these lines; as noofficewas given to Bruce, but merely his heritage.

Schir Ranald knew weill a mar quiet sted,Quhar Wilyham mycht he bettir fra thair fede,With his wncle Wallas ofRicardtoun,Schir Richard hecht, that gud knycht off renoun.—V. 353.

Schir Ranald knew weill a mar quiet sted,

Quhar Wilyham mycht he bettir fra thair fede,

With his wncle Wallas ofRicardtoun,

Schir Richard hecht, that gud knycht off renoun.—V. 353.

“Riccartoun is evidently a corruption of Richardtoun. It is generally supposed to have been so called from a Sir Richard Wallace, who lived in the vicinity of the village, and who is said to have been uncle to the celebrated patriot, Sir William Wallace. Of his house no vestige now remains; the place, however, where it stood is well known. The village of Riccartoun is within one English mile of the market-place of Kilmarnock.” V. Riccartoun, Stat. Acc. V. 117.

And with the swerdawkwarthe him gawe.—V. 407.

In Edit. 1594,—aneackwartstraik him gaif.

This is followed by subsequent editions. The line, as it stands in MS., is both clumsy and nonsensical. But perhaps Blind Harry used this for athwart; as it occurs in the same sense, II. 109.

Went till his eyme, and tauld him of thisdrede. MS.—V. 437.

Of thedeid, Edit. 1594. Of thedeed, Edit. 1620.

This is more in character, than to suppose that Wallace, after so chivalrous an achievement, should run to his uncle, and tell him in what terror he was for the vengeance of the English. The term here used, indeed, seems to reduplicate on the phrase which occurs v. 434, “this worthi werk.”

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