The National Register.
London, England, 1813-01-31 00:00:00

THE NATION

JAN. 31..

REVIEW OF LITERATURE.

ROKE3Y - BY WALTER SCOTT, ESQ.

Literary novelties, in the absence of those great events
which influence the condition and the existence of king-
doms, may afford, we conceive, no unpicasing occupation
to the mljority of our readers. Many will torn with feel-
ing; of relief and .swisfaction, fr om the consideration of actual
distress and real horrors, to ponder on those relations of ;
mimic misery which the pen of the poet has adorned. These
we congratulate on the appearance of Mr. SCOTT'S new
poem, and for these we shall endeavour to give a short
sketch of the story it delineates, and shall over our opinion
on those more peculiar beauties, or blemishes, which dis-
tinguish the pet fortnance.
The date of the events described is immediately subse-
quent to the battle of Marston Moor, in which CROMWELL,
and the Parliamentary forces, defeated the troops of
CH ARLES. RoKEn' espouted the Royal, arid W YCLIFFE
the Commons' cause. Their contiguous estietes (Rokeby of
the one, and Barnard Castle of the other) were situated an
the Tees. At these places, and the adjacent countty, the
sanes of the poem are laid.
Ossva srct. Is kr.. was awaiting with anxious impa-
tience the event of the harae o( Marston Moor, when the
silence of night was broken by the arrival of a stranger at
his castle. Ills anxiety, however, concerning the batt',e,
was far short of that ‘vhich he felt for the fate of his kinsman
MoitT II A whose (Lath, sin the fight, he had bat barously
provided for by means of this stranger—
On whose swart hr ow and callous face
Sun worse than apathy had place ;
Fot evil pasAons, loog,
Had plunr;hed them with impression strong.
Ail 0.4 gives gloss to sin, ail gay
Light folly, past with }oath away,
But rooted stoud, in 11141)110(1(1's hour,
The weeds of vice without their
This assassin, BERT AM, a buccaneer, brave and fearless,
had served under .Mo RT HAM in Mexico and Peru, had
thrice saved his life, and now destroyed it ; because, sur-
rounded by priests, MORTH AM, melancholy and supersti-
tious, forgot, and disdained the soldier to whom he was in-
debted. The deed done, WYCLIF FL and BERT!: A M con-
sider the division of the spoil, and agree that the former, as
vassal to the Crown, shall succeed to the estates of the de-
ceased, whilst the other shall receive all
nose spoils of Indian seas and mines
Warded in Mullin A M CaVe 114 dark,
Ingot of gold and dia.nond walk.
Chalice anti plate from diurches hornP,
And beats from shrinking beauty torn :
Each suing of pear!, each silver bar,
And all the wealth of western war.
With that distrust, which naturally subsists amongst thoie
associated in vill.tiny, BERTRAM insists upon setting out im-
mediately to take possession of the spoil, accompanied by
Wycs.tErE himsel—or his only son W ILFILID, a melan-
choly gentle youth, soft and contemplative, t stranger to
the crimes of his father ; and held by him, whilst et he had
other sons, in much contempt for his tmwarlike and stu-
T Ssist the ambitious schemes of his

AI, REGISTER.

73

Yet all 51.,tiLiti she gave,
In pity ft) her gentiv sinve:
e•teein, 'tid fair reg4rd
And prahc—iiie poet's best reward !
So stood WrLialD'S suit, when the espousal of different fac-
tions divided the two families. In one of his usual midnight
meditations of love, 1w is surprised by his father, and sent
to accompany the rugged BERTRAM iu search of the bidden

treasure.
Journeying to the Castle of MORTIIANI, their way. lay
through a w(:od,' which the superstitious et edulitv of the
county had assigned to departed spit its. BERT RA NI, from
his education, his habits, and his crimes, alive 4o unearthly
terrors, is twice crossed by a figure—whether phantom or
reality. Desperate even in his fear's, he resolves to follow
it. Hu overleaps ravines in the pursuit, surmounts preci-
pices, treads almost impervious brakes—and is rejoiced by
his more peaceable companion, but not until he arrives at
Mo TI! A M'S deserted Ilk incoherent language
conveys that the tot in which he had seen was MORTIIA M'S-
and that himself was his murderer. WILFRID, in hotror,
draws his swot-a- on the self-convicted assassin: and is only
saved from destruction in the unequal combat by the inter-
position of the same li4urc. BERT It AM retreats to the wood—
and Mo II A NI, retiring, enjoins secrecy to WI LF RID COW •t
cerning his existence. A party of WYCLIFF E's ()Bowers.
headed by their Lord, arrive on the spot at this juncture.
REDwas a O'N EA LE, no KEBY'S page, who had been
charged with a mission to Barnard Ca.tle, is one of the train.
Enraged at the stipinenesi of ‘V-vc.I.IFFE when infotmed of
BERT R A m's crime, he incites the fillowers, and himself
leads them, to seal ch the wood for the murderer. The In-
dian arts of BER l RAM teach him to elude detection. When
all is still, he leaves his lurking place, and falls in with one
whom at titi.t he takes fur an enemy, but, at length, discovers
to be a dismissed follower of ItoKE KY, now inhabiting with
a band of rufliAns, a neighbouring cave. GUY DENZIL
BERI RANI, in his adverse fortune, to become the
leader of the patty. He accepts the offer, in the hope of
heaping more certain vengeance on W YCLIFF Ep WILE RID,
and HEDMOND.
At Marston Moor, in the mean time, fortune declares
against the Royal Paity, and ItoKEBY is lodged a prisoner
in Barnard Castle. MATILDA, in company with WILFRID
and ti ELI MOND, concerts a plan for joining her father in
captivitv—and conveying a treasure which MORT RAM,
her uncle, had consigned to her care, to a place of safety.
Her gt ief for her father's mischance, and her dread of \Vv.
cLi 1.• FE'S I aparit v of power and wealth, increase her distress
at the thought of parting with her lover REDMOND. They
had grown up tog;eller frAn childhood. For ()NEALE,
when his _grandfather's lands in Ireland, had been seized by
hostile neighbours, was sent by him to ROKEDY, (who,
with Mor.-rnA NI, had formely received from their family
the most hospitable kindness) to follow fortune under that
leader's aw.pices In conference with her friend and her
lover, NiATILD A takes occr,sion to relate the history of
MORT HA NI, she had received from him when en-
trusted with his treasure. AloaTHAm in love with a lady.
who di&red f orn hint in religion and country, wedded
her secretly, and brought her to his castle. For a few short
months they enjoyed the extleme of happiness, unknown to

dious disposition. To assist the ambitious 6c:ileum) vi u,a i monms
parent, 311 but one dear. friend. T!iis man becomes enamoured of •
WitrulD must love and woo the bright the ad y, and is repulsed in his presumptuous addresses. En.
MATILDA, brit of RoLisv's knight. raged, lie eitd:.avours to excite MoaT H AM'S jealousy. The
To love her was an easy ht•st,
The secret empress of Ins breast ; hdy is observed stealing in the evening's gloom to a lone
To woo her was a harder task wood. MoRT HA M, inst;Ocd by his traiterons friend,
To one that durst not hope or wit : seizes his cross-bow--4olluws her steps—Surprises her hang-