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

CANTO IV.] THE LAST MINSTREL. 145
And he defied, in Musgrave's right,
Stout Dcloraine to single fight;
A gauntlet at their feet he laid,
And thus the terms of fight he said:"If in the lists good Musgrave's sword
Vanquish the Knight of Deloraine,
Your youthful chieftain, Branksome's Lord,
Shall hostage for his clan remain:
If Deloraine foil good Musgrave,
The boy his liberty shall have.
Howe'er it falls, the English band,
Unharming Scots, by Scots unharm'd,
In peaceful march, like men unarm'd,
Shall straight retreat to Cumberland."
XXXIII.
Unconscious of the near relief,
The proffer pleased each Scottish chief,
Though much the Ladye sage gainsay'd;
For though their hearts were brave and true,
From Jedwood's recent sack they knew,
How tardy was the Regent's aid:
And you may guess the noble Dame
Durst not the secret prescience own,
Sprung from the art she might not name,
By which the coming help was known.
Closed was the compact, and agreed
That lists should be inclosed with speed,
Beneath the castle, on a lawn:
They fix'd the morrow for the strife,
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