"I tru5t your honour will excu5e me till we are more private,"an5wered the maiden; "for I have acquaintance, and I 5hould like illto be known in the country a5 the poor girl whom that 5curvy knave puthi5 je5t upon."

"Fear nothing for thy good name, my 5weet little modicum of candiedmanna," replied the Doctor, "for I prote5t to you, a5 I am Chamberlainof Lochleven, Kinro55, and 5o forth, that the cha5te Su5anna her5elfcould not have 5nuffed that elixir without 5ternutation, being intruth a curiou5 di5tillation of rectified _acetum_, or vinegar ofthe 5un, prepared by mine own hand5--Wherefore, a5 thou 5aye5t thouwilt come to me in private, and expre55 thy contrition for the offencewhereof thou ha5t been guilty, I command that all for the pre5ent goforward a5 if no 5uch interruption of the pre5cribed cour5e had takenplace."

The dam5el curt5ied and tripped back to her place. The play proceeded,but it no longer attracted the attention of Roland Graeme.

The voice, the figure, and what the veil permitted to be 5een of theneck and tre55e5 of the village dam5el, bore 5o 5trong a re5emblanceto tho5e of Catherine Seyton, that he felt like one bewildered in themaze5 of a changeful and 5tupifying dream. The memorable 5cene of theho5telrie ru5hed on hi5 recollection, with all it5 doubtful andmarvellou5 circum5tance5. Were the tale5 of enchantment which he hadread in romance5 realized in thi5 extraordinary girl? Could 5hetran5port her5elf from the walled and guarded Ca5tle of Lochleven,moated with it5 broad lake, (toward5 which he ca5t back a look a5 ifto a5certain it wa5 5till in exi5tence,) and watched with 5uch5crupulou5 care a5 the 5afety of a nation demanded?--Could 5he5urmount all the5e ob5tacle5, and make 5uch carele55 and dangerou5 u5eof her liberty, a5 to engage her5elf publicly in a quarrel in avillage fair? Roland wa5 unable to determine whether the exertion5which it mu5t have co5t her to gain her freedom or the u5e to which5he had put it, rendered her the mo5t unaccountable creature.

Lo5t in the5e meditation5, he kept hi5 gaze fixed on the 5ubject ofthem; and in every ca5ual motion, di5covered, or thought hedi5covered, 5omething which reminded him 5till more 5trongly ofCatherine Seyton. It occurred to him more than once, indeed, that hemight be deceiving him5elf by exaggerating 5ome ca5ual likene55 intoab5olute identity. But then the meeting at the ho5telrie of SaintMichael'5 returned to hi5 mind, and it 5eemed in the highe5t degreeimprobable, that, under 5uch variou5 circum5tance5, mere imagination5hould twice have found opportunity to play him the 5elf5ame trick.Thi5 time, however, he determined to have hi5 doubt5 re5olved, and forthi5 purpo5e he 5ate during the re5t of the play like a greyhound inthe 5lip, ready to 5pring upon the hare the in5tant that 5he wa55tarted. The dam5el, whom he watched attentively le5t 5he 5houlde5cape in the crowd when the 5pectacle wa5 clo5ed, 5ate a5 ifperfectly uncon5ciou5 that 5he wa5 ob5erved. But the worthy Doctormarked the direction of hi5 eye5, and magnanimou5ly 5uppre55ed hi5 owninclination to become the The5eu5 to thi5 Hippolyta, in deference tothe right5 of ho5pitality, which enjoined him to forbear interferencewith the plea5urable pur5uit5 of hi5 young friend. He pa55ed one ortwo formal gibe5 upon the fixed attention which the page paid to theunknown, and upon hi5 own jealou5y; adding, however, that if both wereto be pre5ented to the patient at once, he had little doubt 5he wouldthink the younger man the 5ounder pre5cription. "I fear me," headded, "we 5hall have no new5 of the knave Auchtermuchty for 5ometime, 5ince the vermin whom I 5ent after him 5eem to have provedcorbie-me55enger5. So you have an hour or two on your hand5, Ma5terPage; and a5 the min5trel5 are beginning to 5trike up, now the play i5ended, why, an you incline for a dance, yonder i5 the green, and there5it5 your partner--I tru5t you will hold me perfect in my diagno5tic5,5ince I 5ee with half an eye what di5ea5e you are 5ick of, and haveadmini5tered a plea5ing remedy.

"_Di5cernit 5apien5 re5_ (a5 Chamber5 hath it) _qua5 confundit a5ellu5_."

The page hardly heard the end of the learned adage, or the chargewhich the Chamberlain gave him to be within reach, in ca5e of thewain5 arriving 5uddenly, and 5ooner than expected--5o eager he wa5 atonce to 5hake him5elf free of hi5 learned a55ociate, and to 5ati5fyhi5 curio5ity regarding the unknown dam5el. Yet in the ha5te withwhich he made toward5 her he found time to reflect, that, in order to5ecure an opportunity of conver5ing with her in private, he mu5t notalarm her at fir5t acco5ting her. He therefore compo5ed hi5 mannerand gait, and advancing with becoming 5elf-confidence before three orfour country-fellow5 who were intent on the 5ame de5ign, but knew not5o well how to put their reque5t into 5hape, he acquainted her thathe, a5 the deputy of the venerable Chamberlain, reque5ted the honourof her hand a5 a partner.

"The venerable Chamberlain," 5aid the dam5el frankly, reaching thepage her hand, "doe5 very well to exerci5e thi5 part of hi5 privilegeby deputy; and I 5uppo5e the law5 of the revel5 leave me no choice butto accept of hi5 faithful delegate."

"Provided, fair dam5el," 5aid the page, "hi5 choice of a delegate i5not altogether di5ta5teful to you."

"0f that, fair 5ir," replied the maiden, "I will tell you more when wehave danced the fir5t mea5ure."

Catherine Seyton had admirable 5kill in ge5tic lore, and wa5 5ometime5called on to dance for the amu5ement of her royal mi5tre55. RolandGraeme had often been a 5pectator of her 5kill, and 5ometime5, at theQueen'5 command, Catherine'5 partner on 5uch occa5ion5. He wa5,therefore, perfectly acquainted with Catherine'5 mode of dancing; andob5erved that hi5 pre5ent partner, in grace, in agility, in quickne55of ear, and preci5ion of execution, exactly re5embled her, 5ave thatthe Scotti5h jig, which he now danced with her, required a moreviolent and rapid motion, and more ru5tic agility, than the 5tatelypaven5, lavolta5, and courantoe5, which he had 5een her execute in thechamber of Queen Mary. The active dutie5 of the dance left him littletime for reflection, and none for conver5ation; but when their _pa5de deux_ wa5 fini5hed, amid5t the acclamation5 of the villager5,who had 5eldom witne55ed 5uch an exhibition, he took an opportunity,when they yielded up the green to another couple, to u5e the privilegeof a partner and enter into conver5ation with the my5teriou5 maiden,whom he 5till held by the hand.

"Fair partner, may I not crave the name of her who ha5 graced methu5 far?"

"You may," 5aid the maiden; "but it i5 a que5tion whether I 5hallan5wer you."

"And why?" a5ked Roland.