The poetical works of Sir Walter Scott, with memoir of the author.

CANTO I.] ROKEBY. 33
When Oswald changed the torch's place,
Anxious that on the soldier's face 1
Its partial lustre might be thrown,
To show his looks, yet hide his own.
His guest, the while, laid slow aside
The ponderous cloak of tough bull's hide,
And to the torch glanced broad and clear
The corselet of a cuirassier;
Then from his brows the casque he drew,
And from the dank plume dash'd the dew,
From gloves of mail relieved his hands,2
And spread them to the kindling brands,
And, turning to the genial board,3
Without a health, or pledge, or word
Of meet and social reverence said,
Deeply he drank, and fiercely fed; 4
As free from ceremony's sway,
As famish'd wolf that tears his prey.
VII.
With deep impatience, tinged with fear,
His host beheld him gorge his cheer;
1 [MS.-" That fell upon the stranger's face."]
2 [MS. "hefreed his hands."]
3 [MS.-" Then turn'd to the replenish'd board."]
4 [" The description of Bertram which follows, is highly
picturesque; and the rude air of conscious superiority with
which he treats his employer, prepares the reader to enter into
the full spirit of his character. These, and many other little
circumstances which none but a poetical mind could have
conceived, give great relief to the stronger touches with which
this excellent sketch is completed."- Critical Review.]
VOL. IV. 3