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

144 THE LORD OF THE ISLES. [CANTO IV.
Like falcon-nest o'erhangs the bay.1
Seek not the giddy craig to climb,
To view the turret scathed by time;
It is a task of doubt and fear
To aught but goat or mountain-deer.
But rest thee on the silver beach,
And let the aged herdsman teach
His tale of former day;
His cur's wild clamour he shall chide,
And for thy seat by ocean's side,
His varied plaid display;
Then tell, how with their Chieftain came,
In ancient times, a foreign dame
To yonder 2 turret gray.3
Stern was her Lord's suspicious mind,
Who in so rude a jail confined
1 The little island of Canna, or Cannay, adjoins to those
of Rum and Muick, with which it forms one parish. In a
pretty bay opening towards the east, there is a lofty and slender rock detached from the shore, Upon the summit are the
ruins of a very small tower, scarcely accessible by a steep
and precipitous path. Here it is said one of the kings, or
Lord of the Isles, confined a beautiful lady, of whom he was
jealous. The ruins are of course haunted by her restless
spirit, and many romantic stories are told by the aged people
of the island concerning her fate in life, and her appearances
after death.
2 [MS. —" To Canna's turret gray."]
3 [", The stanzas which follow are, we think, touchingly
beautiful, and breathe a sweet and melancholy tenderness,
perfectly suitable to the sad tale which they record."- Critical Review.]