Scott's Lady of the Lake. Walter Scott
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Called also the “wizard elm,” because forked twigs from the tree were used as divining rods.
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A Scotch abbot of the seventh century.
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The Romans gave the name Caledonia to that part of Scotland north of the Clyde and Forth.
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St. Monan was a Scotch monk of the fourth century. The rill cannot be identified.
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For the meaning of technical terms, colloquialisms, and unusual words not to be found in a school dictionary, see
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The heath or heather is a small ever-green shrub very common in the Scottish Highlands.
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The head of a stag is said to be beamed after its fourth-year horns appear.
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“Tainted gale,” i.e., the wind scented with the odor of the pursuers.
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A pack of hounds is said to "open" when the dogs begin to bark, upon recovering the scent or catching sight of the game.
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A confused or boisterous gathering.
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Sight.
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A deep pool.
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Severely.
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Or Monteith, a picturesque district of Scotland watered by the river Teith.
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An estate about two miles from Callander on the wooded banks of the Keltie.
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Bridge.
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Spur.
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Thicket; underbrush.
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The trunk of a tree.
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Ben Venue.
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“Turn to bay,” i.e., to face an antagonist, when escape is no longer possible.
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“The Trosachs” is the name now applied to the valley between Lochs Katrine and Achray.
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Echoed back their barks or chidings.
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In.
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The river which flows through Paris, France.
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Be to (from the old verb
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“Hied his way,” i.e., hastened.
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“The western waves,” etc., i.e., the horizontal rays of the setting sun.
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Isolated.
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The Tower of Babel (see Gen. xi. 1-9).
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The many-storied tower-like temples of the Chinese and Hindoos are called “pagodas.” About each story there is a balcony decorated with pendants or numerous projecting points or crests.
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Bright.
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Kind; bountiful.
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The trembling poplar, so called from the trembling of its leaves, which move with the slightest impulse of the air.
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Careful.
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A bushy shrub common in western Europe.
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Used adverbially.
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“Little Mountain,” east of Loch Katrine.
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The first canonical hour of the day in the Catholic Church, beginning properly at midnight. Here referring to the striking of the hour by the "cloister" bell.
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“Drop a bead,” i.e., say a prayer. The rosary used by Catholics is a string of beads by which count may be kept of the prayers recited.
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Happen; befall.
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(
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The Graces were in classic mythology three lovely sisters who attended Apollo and Venus.
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A band used by Scottish maidens to bind the hair.
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(
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Boat.
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Trim or arrange.
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Of wisdom.
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Need of food.
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Bewildered.
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Heather, of which the Highlanders’ rude couches were made.
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(
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Lake.
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Crucifix or cross of Christ.
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“Vision’d future,” i.e., visions of the future.
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Lincoln green is a kind of cloth made in Lincoln.
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“Fair degree,” i.e., high rank.
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Wandering.
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True.
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“High emprise,” i.e., dangerous adventures.
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“Idæan vine,” i.e., a translation of the Latin name of the red whortleberry,
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Which could.
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Small shield.
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Hangings used to decorate the walls of a room.
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Endure.
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Ferragus and Ascabart were two giants of romantic fable. The former appears in Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso; the latter in the History of Bevis of Hampton. His effigy may be seen guarding the gate at Southampton.
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Dame Margaret was Roderick Dhu’s mother, but had acted as mother to Ellen, and held a higher place in her affections than the ties of blood would warrant.
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Bitterest.
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An old name of Stirling Castle.
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Fitz means “son” in Norman French.
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“By the misfortunes of the earlier Jameses and the internal feuds of the Scottish chiefs, the kingly power had become little more than a name.”
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Knows.
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A half-brother of James V. (James Fitz-James).
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Hilly or undulating land.
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Refreshing.
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The Highlanders’ battle air, played upon the bagpipes.
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Untilled land.
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A kind of heron said to utter a loud and peculiar booming note.
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(
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A mail