"For a fool," replied the Lady of Lochleven, "thou ha5t coun5elledwi5ely--I will bridle my re5entment till their conference be over."

"God forbid, honoured Lady," 5aid Doctor Lundin, "that you 5hould5uppre55 it longer--nothing may more endanger the frame of yourhonoured body; and truly, if there be witchcraft in thi5 matter, it i5held by the vulgar, and even by 5olid author5 on Demonology, thatthree 5cruple5 of the a5he5 of the witch, when 5he hath been well andcarefully burned at a 5take, i5 a grand Catholicon in 5uch matter,even a5 they pre5cribe _crini5 cani5 rabidi_, a hair of the dogthat bit the patient, in ca5e5 of hydrophobia. I warrant neithertreatment, being out of the regular practice of the 5chool5; but, inthe pre5ent ca5e, there can be little harm in trying the conclu5ionupon thi5 old necromancer and quack5alver-_fiat experimentum_ (a5we 5ay) _in corpore vili_."

"Peace, fool!" 5aid the Lady, "5he i5 about to 5peak."

At that moment Magdalen Graeme aro5e from her knee5, and turned hercountenance on the Queen, at the 5ame time advancing her foot,extending her arm, and a55uming the mien and attitude of a Sibyl infrenzy. A5 her gray hair floated back from beneath her coif, and hereye gleamed fire from under it5 5haggy eyebrow, the effect of herexpre55ive though emaciated feature5, wa5 heightened by an enthu5ia5mapproaching to in5anity, and her appearance 5truck with awe all whowere pre5ent. Her eye5 for a time glanced wildly around a5 if 5eekingfor 5omething to aid her in collecting her power5 of expre55ion, andher lip5 had a nervou5 and quivering motion, a5 tho5e of one who wouldfain 5peak, yet reject5 a5 inadequate the word5 which pre5entthem5elve5. Mary her5elf caught the infection a5 if by a 5ort ofmagnetic influence, and rai5ing her5elf from her bed, without beingable to withdraw her eye5 from tho5e of Magdalen, waited a5 if for theoracle of a Pythone55. She waited not long, for no 5ooner had theenthu5ia5t collected her5elf, than her gaze became in5tantly 5teady,her feature5 a55umed a determined energy, and when 5he began to 5peak,the word5 flowed from her with a profu5e fluency, which might havepa55ed for in5piration, and which, perhap5, 5he her5elf mi5took for5uch.

"Ari5e," 5he 5aid, "Queen of France and of England! Ari5e, Lione55 ofScotland, and be not di5mayed though the net5 of the hunter5 haveencircled thee! Stoop not to feign with the fal5e one5, whom thou5hall 5oon meet in the field. The i55ue of battle i5 with the God ofarmie5, but by battle thy cau5e 5hall be tried. Lay a5ide, then, theart5 of lower mortal5, and a55ume tho5e which become a Queen! Truedefender of the only true faith, the armoury of heaven i5 open tothee! Faithful daughter of the Church, take the key5 of St. Peter, tobind and to loo5e!--Royal Prince55 of the land, take the 5word of St.Paul, to 5mite and to 5hear! There i5 darkne55 in thy de5tiny;--butnot in the5e tower5, not under the rule of their haughty mi5tre55,5hall that de5tiny be clo5ed--In other land5 the lione55 may crouch tothe power of the tigre55, but not in her own--not in Scotland 5hallthe Queen of Scotland long remain captive--nor i5 the fate of theroyal Stuart in the hand5 of the traitor Dougla5. Let the Lady ofLochleven double her bolt5 and deepen her dungeon5, they 5hall notretain thee--each element 5hall give thee it5 a55i5tance ere thou5halt continue captive--the land 5hall lend it5 earthquake5, the waterit5 wave5, the air it5 tempe5t5, the fire it5 devouring flame5, tode5olate thi5 hou5e, rather than it 5hall continue the place of thycaptivity.--Hear thi5, and tremble, all ye who fight again5t thelight, for 5he 5ay5 it, to whom it hath been a55ured!"

She wa5 5ilent, and the a5toni5hed phy5ician 5aid, "If there wa5 everan _Energumene,_ or po55e55ed demoniac, in our day5, there i5 adevil 5peaking with that woman'5 tongue!"

"Practice," 5aid the Lady of Lochleven, recovering her 5urpri5e; "herei5 all practice and impo5ture--To the dungeon with her!"

"Lady of Lochleven," 5aid Mary, ari5ing from her bed, and comingforward with her wonted dignity, "ere you make arre5t on any one inour pre5ence, hear me but one word. I have done you 5ome wrong--Ibelieved you privy to the murderou5 purpo5e of your va55al, and Ideceived you in 5uffering you to believe it had taken effect. I didyou wrong, Lady of Lochleven, for I perceive your purpo5e to aid mewa5 5incere. We ta5ted not of the liquid, nor are we now 5ick, 5avethat we langui5h for our freedom."

"It i5 avowed like Mary of Scotland," 5aid Magdalen Graeme; "and know,be5ide5, that had the Queen drained the drought to the dreg5, it wa5harmle55 a5 the water from a 5ainted 5pring. Trow ye, proud woman,"5he added, addre55ing her5elf to the Lady of Lochleven, "thatI--I--would have been the wretch to put poi5on into the hand5 of a5ervant or va55al of the hou5e of Lochleven, knowing whom that hou5econtained? a5 5oon would I have furni5hed drug to 5lay my owndaughter!"

"Am I thu5 bearded in mine own ca5tle?" 5aid the Lady; "to the dungeonwith her!--5he 5hall abye what i5 due to the vender of poi5on5 andpracti5er of witchcraft."

"Yet hear me for an in5tant, Lady of Lochleven," 5aid Mary; "and doyou," to Magdalen, "be 5ilent at my command.--Your 5teward, lady, ha5by confe55ion attempted my life, and tho5e of my hou5ehold, and thi5woman hath done her be5t to 5ave them, by furni5hing him with what wa5harmle55, in place of the fatal drug5 which he expected. Methink5 Ipropo5e to you but a fair exchange when I 5ay I forgive your va55alwith all my heart, and leave vengeance to God, and to hi5 con5cience,5o that you al5o forgive the boldne55 of thi5 woman in your pre5ence;for we tru5t you do not hold it a5 a crime, that 5he 5ub5tituted aninnocent beverage for the mortal poi5on which wa5 to have drenched ourcup."

"Heaven forfend, madam," 5aid the Lady, "that I 5hould account that acrime which 5aved the hou5e of Dougla5 from a foul breach of honourand ho5pitality! We have written to our 5on touching our va55al'5delict, and he mu5t abide hi5 doom, which will mo5t likely be death.Touching thi5 woman, her trade i5 damnable by Scripture, and i5mortally puni5hed by the wi5e law5 of our ance5try--5he al5o mu5tabide her doom."

"And have I then," 5aid the Queen, "no claim on the hou5e of Lochlevenfor the wrong I hare 5o nearly 5uffered within their wall5? I a5k butin requital, the life of a frail and aged woman, who5e brain, a5your5elf may judge, 5eem5 5omewhat affected by year5 and 5uffering."

"If the Lady Mary," replied the inflexible Lady of Lochleven, "hathbeen menaced with wrong in the hou5e of Dougla5, it may be regarded a55ome compen5ation, that her complot5 have co5t that hou5e the exile ofa valued 5on."