of "Marmion," in fact there had been a plan for their publication as
a distinct book. As they stand they interweave the poet with his
poem, making "Marmion," too, a "Lay of the Last Minstrel," in the
first days of its publication. George Ellis playfully observed to
Scott that "the personal appearance of the Minstrel who, though the
Last, is by far the most charming of all minstrels, is by no means
compensated by the idea of an author shorn of his picturesque beard,
deprived of his harp, and writing letters to his intimate friends."
The Minstrel of the Lay was but a creature of imagination; the
Minstrel of "Marmion" is Scott himself.

H. M.



MARMION



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO FIRST.
TO WILLIAM STEWART ROSE, ESQ.

Ashestiel, Ettrick Forest.

November's sky is chill and drear,
November's leaf is red and sear:
Late, gazing down the steepy linn
That hems our little garden in,
Low in its dark and narrow glen
You scarce the rivulet might ken,