Scott's fondness for archaisms makes him add his L'Envoy in the
manner of early English and Scottish poets. See e.g. Spenser's
'Shepherd's Calendar' and the 'Phoenix' of James VI.
line 4. Rede, 'used generally for TALE or DISCOURSE.'--SCOTT.
line 6. Cp. William Morris's introduction to 'Earthly Paradise,'
where the poet calls himself
'The idle singer of an empty day.'
line 17. This hearty wish is uttered, no doubt, with certain
reminiscences of the author's own school days. His youthful spirit,
and his genial sympathy with the young, are prominent features in
the character of Sir Walter Scott.
Footnotes:
{1} Lockhart quotes:--'He resumed the bishopric of Lindisfarne,
which, owing to bad health, he again relinquished within less than
three months before his death.'--RAINE'S St. Cuthbert.
{2} See, on this curious subject, the Essay on Fairies, in the
"Border Minstrelsy," vol. ii, under the fourth head; also Jackson on
Unbelief, p. 175. Chaucer calls Pluto the "King of Faerie"; and
Dunbar names him, "Pluto, that elrich incubus." If he was not
actually the devil, he must be considered as the "prince of the
power of the air." The most curious instance of these surviving
classical superstitions is that of the Germans, concerning the Hill
of Venus, into which she attempts to entice all gallant knights, and
detains them there in a sort of Fools' Paradise.
{3} See Pennant's Tour in Wales.
{4} 'First Edition--Mr. Brydone has been many years dead. 1825.'
{5} '"Lesquels Escossois descendirent la montaigne in bonne ordre,
en la maniere que marchent Its Allemans, sans parler, ne faire aucun
bruit"--Gazette of the Battle, PINKERTON'S History, Appendix, vol.
ii. p. 456.'