Editor's Preface

'Eleven years we now may tell,Since we have known each other well;Since, riding side by side, our handFirst drew the voluntary brand.'

'Still kind, as is thy wont, attend,And in the minstrel spare the friend,Though wild as cloud, as stream, as gale,Flow forth, flow unrestrain'd, my Tale!'

'Groom fought like noble, squire like knight,As fearlessly and well.'

"Drink, weary pilgrim, drink, and prayFor the kind soul of Sibyl Grey," &c.

'Atque ita mentitur, sic veris falsa remiscet,Primo ne medium, medio ne discrepet imum'—

'And think'st thou, Scott! by vain conceit perchance,On public taste to foist thy stale romance.Though Murray with his Miller may combineTo yield thy muse just half-a-crown per line?No! when the sons of song descend to trade,Their bays are sear, their former laurels fade.'