342. Spears, pikes, and axes. The 1st ed. and that of 1821 have Spears,
but all the recent ones misprint "Spear." The "Globe" ed. has "Spear,
spikes," etc.
343. Tartans. The checkered woollen cloth so much worn in Scotland.
Curiously enough, the name is not Gaelic but French. See Jamieson or Wb.
Brave. Fine, beautiful; the same word as the Scottish braw. Cf.
Shakespeare, Sonn. 12. 2: "And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;"
Ham. ii. 2. 312: "This brave o'erhanging firmament," etc. It is often
used of dress, as also is bravery (= finery); as in T. of S. iv. 3. 57:
"With scarfs and fans and double change of bravery." See also Spenser,
Mother Hubberds Tale, 858: "Which oft maintain'd his masters braverie"
(that is, dressed as well as his master).
351. Chanters. The pipes of the bagpipes, to which long ribbons were
attached.
357. The sounds. Misprinted "the sound" in the ed. of 1821, and all the
more recent eds. that we have seen. Cf. 363 below.
363. Those thrilling sounds, etc. Scott says here: "The connoisseurs in
pipe-music affect to discover in a well-composed pibroch, the imitative
sounds of march, conflict, flight, pursuit, and all the 'current of a
heady fight.' To this opinion Dr. Beattie has given his suffrage,
in that following elegant passage:--'A pibroch is a species of tune,
peculiar, I think, to the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland. It
is performed on a bagpipe, and differs totally from all other music. Its
rhythm is so irregular, and its notes, especially in the quick movement,
so mixed and huddled together, that a stranger finds it impossible to
reconcile his ear to it, so as to perceive its modulation. Some of
these pibrochs, being intended to represent a battle, begin with a grave
motion, resembling a march; then gradually quicken into the onset;
run off with noisy confusion, and turbulent rapidity, to imitate the
conflict and pursuit; then swell into a few flourishes of triumphant
joy; and perhaps close with the wild and slow wailings of a funeral
procession' (Essay on Laughter and Ludicrious Composition, chap. iii.
note)."
367. Hurrying. Referring to their, or rather to the them implied in that
word.
392. The burden bore. That is, sustained the burden, or chorus, of the
song. Cf. Shakespeare, Temp. i. 2. 381: "And, sweet sprites, the burden
bear."
399. Hail to the Chief, etc. The metre of the song is dactylic; the
accents being on the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th syllables. It is little
used in English. Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade and Longfellow's
Skeleton in Armor are familiar examples of it.
405. Bourgeon. Bud. Cf. Fairfax, Tasso, vii. 76: When first on trees
bourgeon the blossoms soft;" and Tennyson, In Memoriam, 115:
"Now burgeons every maze of quick
About the flowering squares," etc.
408. Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu. "Besides his ordinary name and surname,
which were chiefly used in the intercourse with the Lowlands, every
Highland chief had an epithet expressive of his patriarchal dignity
as head of the clan, and which was common to all his predecessors and
successors, as Pharaoh to the kings of Egypt, or Arsaces to those of
Parthia. This name was usually a patronymic, expressive of his descent
from the founder of the family. Thus the Duke of Argyll is called
MacCallum More, or the son of Colin the Great. Sometimes, however, it
is derived from armorial distinctions, or the memory of some great feat;
thus Lord Seaforth, as chief of the Mackenzies, or Clan-Kennet, bears
the epithet of Caber-fae, or Buck's Head, as representative of Colin
Fitzgerald, founder of the family, who saved the Scottish king, when
endangered by a stag. But besides this title, which belonged to his
office and dignity, the chieftain had usually another peculiar to
himself, which distinguished him from the chieftains of the same race.
This was sometimes derived from complexion, as dhu or roy; sometimes
from size, as beg or more; at other times, from some peculiar exploit,
or from some peculiarity of habit or appearance. The line of the text
therefore signifies,
Black Roderick, the descendant of Alpine.
"The song itself is intended as an imitation of the jorrams, or boat
songs, of the Highlanders, which were usually composed in honor of a
favorite chief. They are so adapted as to keep time with the sweep of
the oars, and it is easy to distinguish between those intended to
be sung to the oars of a galley, where the stroke is lengthened and
doubled, as it were, and those which were timed to the rowers of an
ordinary boat" (Scott).