At the time,
around him in their stalls, sat the Knights of the Thistle, chanters
sung, and bells tolled. The monarch in sackcloth, and wearing the
painful iron belt which constantly reminded him of his father's death,
was kneeling in prayer, when there appeared the loved disciple, John,
who in these words warned the King against warfare:
"'Sir King, to warn thee not to war--
Woe waits on thine array;
James Stuart, doubly warn'd, beware,
God keep thee as he may!'
"When the King raised his head, the monitor had vanished.
"'The Marshal and myself had cast
To stop him as he outward pass'd;
But, lighter than the whirlwind's blast,
He vanish'd from our eyes,
Like sunbeam on the billow cast
That glances but, and dies.'"
While telling the strange story, Sir David had not marked in the dim
twilight the pallor that had overspread the countenance of Marmion, who,
after a pause, said:
"Three days ago, I had judged your tale a myth, but since crossing the
Tweed, I have seen that which makes me credit the miracle you relate."
He hesitated, and evidently wished his remark unmade, but pressed by the
strong impulse that prompts man to reveal a secret to some listening
ear, he told of the midnight ride and the tilt with the elfin knight at
Gifford's Court.
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