l. 470. There are two famous sparrows in literature, the one Lesbia's sparrow, tenderly lamented by Catullus, and the other Jane Scrope's sparrow, memorialised by Skelton in the 'Boke of Phyllyp Sparowe.'
l. 475. The tears of such as Douglas are of the kind mentioned in Cowley's ' Prophet,' l. 20:—
'Words that weep, and tears that speak.'
Stanza XVII. l. 501. 'The ancient cry to make room for a dance or pageant.'— Scott,
Cp. Romeo and Juliet, i. 5. 28: 'A hall! a hall! give room,' &c.
l. 505. The tune is significant of a Scottish invasion of England. See Scott's appropriate song to the 'ancient air,' 'Monastery,' xxv. Reference is made in I Henry II, ii. 4. 368, to the head-dress of the Scottish soldiers, when Falstaff informs Prince Hal that Douglas is in England, 'and a thousand blue-caps more.'
Stanza XIX. 1. 545. Many of the houses in Old Edinburgh are built to a great height, so that the common stairs leading up among a group of them have sometimes been called 'perpendicular streets.' Pitch, meaning 'height,' is taken from hawking, the height to which a bird rose depending largely on the pitch given it.
Stanza XX. 1. 558. St. Giles's massive steeple is one of the features of Edinburgh. The ancient church, recently renovated by the munificence of the late William Chambers, is now one of the most imposing Presbyterian places of worship in Scotland.
l. 569. For bowne see above, IV. 487.
l. 571. A certain impressiveness is given by the sudden introduction of this pentameter.
Stanza XXI. Jeffrey, in reviewing 'Marmion,' fixed on this narrative of the Abbess as a passage marked by fatness and tediousness,' and could see in it‘ no sort of beauty nor elegance of diction. The answer to such criticism is that the narrative is direct and practical, and admirably suited to its purpose.
l. 585. Despiteously, despitefully. 'Despiteous' is used in 'Lay of the Last Minstrel,' V. xix. Cp. Chaucer's Man of Lawe,' 605 (Clarendon Press ed.):—
'And sey his wyf despitously yslayn.'
l. 587. 'A German general, who commanded the auxiliaries sent by the Duchess of Burgundy with Lambert Simnel. He was defeated and killed at Stokefield. The name of this German general is preserved by that of the field of battle, which is called, after him,
