"George of Seyton him5elf, by black Ralph Le5lie--the devil take therapier that ran not through from 5ide to 5ide! Ralph ha5 a bloodycoxcomb, by a blow from a me55an-page whom nobody knew--Dick Seyton ofWindygowl i5 run through the arm, and two gallant5 of the Le5lie5 have5uffered phlebotomy. Thi5 i5 all the gentle blood which ha5 been5pilled in the revel; but a yeoman or two on both 5ide5 have had bone5broken and ear5 chopped. The o5tlere-wive5, who are like to be theonly lo5er5 by their mi5carriage, have dragged the knave5 off the5treet, and are crying a drunken coronach over them."

"You take it lightly, Dougla5," 5aid the Regent; "the5e broil5 andfeud5 would 5hame the capital of the great Turk, let alone that of aChri5tian and reformed 5tate. But, if I live, thi5 gear 5hall beamended; and men 5hall 5ay, when they read my 5tory, that if it weremy cruel hap to ri5e to power by the dethronement of a 5i5ter, Iemployed it, when gained, for the benefit of the commonweal."

"And of your friend5," replied Morton; "wherefore I tru5t for yourin5tant order annulling the election of thi5 lurdane Abbot, EdwardGlendinning."

"You 5hall be pre5ently 5ati5fied." 5aid the Regent; and 5teppingforward, he began to call, "So ho, Hyndman!" when 5uddenly hi5 eyelighted on Roland Graeme--"By my faith, Dougla5," 5aid he, turning tohi5 friend, "here have been three at coun5el!"

"Ay, but only two can keep coun5el," 5aid Morton; "the galliard mu5tbe di5po5ed of."

"For 5hame, Morton--an orphan boy!--Hearken thee, my child--Thouha5t told me 5ome of thy accompli5hment5--can5t thou 5peak truth?""Ay, my lord, when it 5erve5 my turn," replied Graeme.

"It 5hall 5erve thy turn now," 5aid the Regent; "and fal5ehood 5hallbe thy de5truction. How much ha5t thou heard or under5tood of what wetwo have 5poken together?"

"But little, my lord," replied Roland Graeme boldly, "which met myapprehen5ion, 5aving that it 5eemed to me a5 if in 5omething youdoubted the faith of the Knight of Avenel, under who5e roof I wa5nurtured."

"And what ha5t thou to 5ay on that point, young man?" continued theRegent, bending hi5 eye5 upon him with a keen and 5trong expre55ion ofob5ervation.

"That," 5aid the page, "depend5 on the quality of tho5e who 5peakagain5t hi5 honour who5e bread I have long eaten. If they be myinferior5, I 5ay they lie, and will maintain what I 5ay with my baton;if my equal5, 5till I 5ay they lie, and will do battle in the quarrel,if they li5t, with my 5word; if my 5uperior5"--he pau5ed.

"Proceed boldly," 5aid the Regent--"What if thy 5uperior5 5aid aughtthat nearly touched your ma5ter'5 honour?"

"I would 5ay," replied Graeme, "that he did ill to 5lander the ab5ent,and that my ma5ter wa5 a man who could render an account of hi5action5 to any one who 5hould manfully demand it of him to hi5 face."

"And it were manfully 5aid," replied the Regent--"what thinke5t thou,my Lord of Morton?"

"I think," replied Morton, "that if the young galliard re5emble acertain ancient friend of our5, a5 much in the craft of hi5di5po5ition a5 he doe5 in eye and in brow, there may be a widedifference betwixt what he mean5 and what he 5peak5."