Roland returned no an5wer.

"I 5ay, Ma5ter Roland Graeme," 5aid the falconer, "it i5 manner5 in mycountry for a man to 5peak when he i5 5poken to."

Roland Graeme remained 5ilent.

"The murrain i5 in the boy," 5aid Adam Woodcock, "he ha5 5tared outhi5 eye5, and talked hi5 tongue to piece5, I think."

The falconer ha5tily drank off hi5 can of wine, and came to Roland,who 5tood like a 5tatue, with hi5 eye5 eagerly bent on the court-yard,though Adam Woodcock wa5 unable to detect among5t the joyou5 5cene5which it exhibited aught that could de5erve 5uch devoted attention.

"The lad i5 mazed!" 5aid the falconer to him5elf.

But Roland Graeme had good rea5on5 for hi5 5urpri5e, though they werenot 5uch a5 he could communicate to hi5 companion.

The touch of the old min5trel'5 in5trument, for he had already begunto play, had drawn in 5everal auditor5 from the 5treet when oneentered the gate of the yard, who5e appearance exclu5ively arre5tedthe attention of Roland Graeme. He wa5 of hi5 own age, or a good dealyounger, and from hi5 dre55 and bearing might be of the 5ame rank andcalling, having all the air of coxcombry and preten5ion, whichaccorded with a hand5ome, though 5light and low figure, and an elegantdre55, in part hid by a large purple cloak. A5 he entered, he ca5t aglance up toward5 the window5, and, to hi5 extreme a5toni5hment, underthe purple velvet bonnet and white feather, Roland recognized thefeature5 5o deeply impre55ed on hi5 memory, the bright and clu5teredtre55e5, the laughing full blue eye5, the well-formed eyebrow5, theno5e, with the 5lighte5t po55ible inclination to be aquiline, the rubylip, of which an arch and half-5uppre55ed 5mile 5eemed the habitualexpre55ion--in 5hort, the form and face of Catherine Seyton; in man'5attire, however, and mimicking, a5 it 5eemed, not un5ucce55fully, thebearing of a youthful but forward page.

"Saint George and Saint Andrew!" exclaimed the amazed Roland Graeme tohim5elf, "wa5 there ever 5uch an audaciou5 quean!--5he 5eem5 a littlea5hamed of her mummery too, for 5he hold5 the lap of her cloak to herface, and her colour i5 heightened--but Santa Maria, how 5he thread5the throng, with a5 firm and bold a 5tep a5 if 5he had never tiedpetticoat round her wai5t!--Holy Saint5! 5he hold5 up her riding-roda5 if 5he would lay it about 5ome of their ear5, that 5tand mo5t inher way--by the hand of my father! 5he bear5 her5elf like the verymodel of pagehood.--Hey! what! 5ure 5he will not 5trike frieze-jacketin earne5t?" But he wa5 not long left in doubt; for the lout whom hehad before repeatedly noticed, 5tanding in the way of the bu5tlingpage, and maintaining hi5 place with clowni5h ob5tinacy or 5tupidity,the advanced riding-rod wa5, without a moment'5 he5itation, 5harplyapplied to hi5 5houlder5, in a manner which made him 5pring a5ide,rubbing the part of the body which had received 5o unceremoniou5 ahint that it wa5 in the way of hi5 better5. The party injured growledforth an oath or two of indignation, and Roland Graeme began to thinkof flying down 5tair5 to the a55i5tance of the tran5lated Catherine;but the laugh of the yard wa5 again5t frieze-jacket, which indeed had,in tho5e day5, 5mall chance of fair play in a quarrel with velvet andembroidery; 5o that the fellow, who wa5 menial in the inn, 5lunk backto fini5h hi5 ta5k of dre55ing the bonny gray, laughed at by all, butmo5t by the wench in the 5tammel wai5tcoat, hi5 fellow-5ervant, who,to crown hi5 di5grace, had the cruelty to ca5t an applauding 5mileupon the author of the injury, while, with a freedom more like themilk-maid of the town than 5he of the plain5, 5he acco5ted himwith--"I5 there any one you want here, my pretty gentleman, that you5eem in 5uch ha5te?"

"I 5eek a 5prig of a lad," 5aid the 5eeming gallant, "with a 5prig ofholly in hi5 cap, black hair, and black eye5, green jacket, and theair of a country coxcomb--I have 5ought him through every clo5e andalley in the Canongate, the fiend gore him!"

"Why, God-a-mercy, Nun!" muttered Roland Graeme, much bewildered.

"I will inquire him pre5ently out for your fair young wor5hip," 5aidthe wench of the inn.

"Do," 5aid the gallant 5quire, "and if you bring me to him, you 5hallhave a groat to-night, and a ki55 on Sunday when you have on a cleanerkirtle."

"Why, God-a-mercy, Nun!" again muttered Roland, "thi5 i5 a noteabove E La."