"
This humble boon was granted. The minstrel was led to the room
of state where sat the noble-hearted Duchess with her ladies, and
there began his lay. You must read The Lay itself to learn about
William of Deloraine, the Goblin Page, the Lady Margaret, and
Lord Canstoun, and all the rest. The meter in which Scott wrote
was taken from Coleridge's Christabel. For, though it was not
yet published, it had long been in manuscript, and Scott had
heard part of it repeated by a friend.
The Lay of the Last Minstrel was a success. From henceforth
Scott was an author. But he had no need to write for money, as
money came to him in other ways. So none of the struggles of a
rising author fell to his lot. His career was simply a
triumphant march. And good-natured, courteous, happy-hearted
Scott took his triumphs joyously.
Other poems followed The Lay, the best being Marmion and The Lady
of the Lake. Scott's son-in-law says, "The Lay is, I should say,
generally considered as the most natural and original, Marmion as
the most powerful and splendid, The Lady of the Lake as the most
interesting, romantic, picturesque, and graceful of his great
poems.
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