The poetical works of Sir Walter Scott ... Notes & life of the author.

CANTO Vt. ROtERB;.499
And look'd as if the noose were tied,
And I the priest who left his side.
This scroll for Mortham Wycliffe gave,
Whom I must seek by Greta's wave;
Or in the hut where chief he hides,
WhereThorsgill'sforester resides.
(Thence ohanc'd it wand'ring in the glade,
That he descried our ambuscade)
I was dismiss'd as evening fell,
And reach'd but now this rocky cell.-"
"' Give Oswald's letter."-Bertram read,
And tore it fiercely, shred by shred; —
" All lies and villany! to blind
His noble kinsman's generous mind,
And train him on from day to day,
Till he can. take his life away.And now, declare thy purpose, youth,
Nor dare to answer, save the truth;
If aught I mark of Denzil's art,
I'll tear fhe secret from thy heartl" —
XVIII'It needs not. I renounce," he said,
My tutor and his deadly trade.
Fix'd was my purpose to declare
To Mortham, Redmond is his heir;
To tell him in what risk he stands,
And yield these tokens to his hands.
Fix'd was my purpose to atone,
Far as I may, the evil done;
And fix'd it rests-if I survive
This night, and leave this cave alive.""' And Denzil?"-" Letthemply the rack
Ev'n till his joints and sinews crack!
If Oswald tear him limb from limb,
What ruth can Denzil claim from him,
Whose thoughtless youth he led astray,
And damn'd to this unhallow'd way?
He school'd me, faith and vows were vain:
Now let my master reap his gain."" True," answer'd Bertram, "'tis his meed;
There's retribution in the deed.
But thou-thou art not for our course,
last fear, hast pity, hast remorse;
And he, with us the gale who braves,
Must heave such cargo to the waves,
Or lag with overloaded prore,
While barks unburden'd reach the shore,"