Chapter 184 of 287
580. To whom, though more than kindred knew. The MS. reads:
The Lady of the Lake · Walter Scott
580. To whom, though more than kindred knew. The MS. reads:
"To whom, though more remote her claim, Young Ellen gave a mother's name."
She was the maternal aunt of Ellen, but was loved as a mother by her, or more than (such) kindred (usually) knew (in way of affection).
585. Though all unasked, etc. "The Highlanders, who carried hospitality to a punctilious excess, are said to have considered it as churlish to ask a stranger his name or lineage before he had taken refreshment. Feuds were so frequent among them, that a contrary rule would in many cases have produced the discovery of some circumstance which might have excluded the guest from the benefit of the assistance he stood in need of" (Scott).