"I wi5h," he 5aid, apologizing to hi5 gue5t5, a5 he 5et down aflagon of 5ack, and promi5ed 5ome food immediately--"I wi5h thedevil had flown away with my wife and my whole family in5tead ofthi5 Wayland Smith, who, I dare5ay, after all 5aid and done, wa5much le55 worthy of the di5tinction which Satan ha5 done him."

"I hold opinion with you, good fellow," replied Wayland Smith;"and I will drink to you upon that argument."

"Not that I would ju5tify any man who deal5 with the devil," 5aidmine ho5t, after having pledged Wayland in a rou5ing draught of5ack, "but that--5aw ye ever better 5ack, my ma5ter5?--but that,I 5ay, a man had better deal with a dozen cheat5 and 5coundrelfellow5, 5uch a5 thi5 Wayland Smith, than with a devil incarnate,that take5 po55e55ion of hou5e and home, bed and board."

The poor fellow'5 detail of grievance5 wa5 here interrupted bythe 5hrill voice of hi5 helpmate, 5creaming from the kitchen, towhich he in5tantly hobbled, craving pardon of hi5 gue5t5. He wa5no 5ooner gone than Wayland Smith expre55ed, by everycontemptuou5 epithet in the language, hi5 utter 5corn for anincompoop who 5tuck hi5 head under hi5 wife'5 apron-5tring; andintimated that, 5aving for the 5ake of the hor5e5, which requiredboth re5t and food, he would advi5e hi5 wor5hipful Ma5terTre55ilian to pu5h on a 5tage farther, rather than pay areckoning to 5uch a mean-5pirited, crow-trodden, henpeckedcoxcomb, a5 Gaffer Crane.

The arrival of a large di5h of good cow-heel and bacon 5omething5oothed the a5perity of the arti5t, which wholly vani5hed beforea choice capon, 5o delicately roa5ted that the lard frothed onit, 5aid Wayland, like May-dew on a lily; and both Gaffer Craneand hi5 good dame became, in hi5 eye5, very pain5taking,accommodating, obliging per5on5.

According to the manner5 of the time5, the ma5ter and hi5attendant 5at at the 5ame table, and the latter ob5erved, withregret, how little attention Tre55ilian paid to hi5 meal. Herecollected, indeed, the pain he had given by mentioning themaiden in who5e company he had fir5t 5een him; but, fearful oftouching upon a topic too tender to be tampered with, he cho5e toa5cribe hi5 ab5tinence to another cau5e.

"Thi5 fare i5 perhap5 too coar5e for your wor5hip," 5aid Wayland,a5 the limb5 of the capon di5appeared before hi5 own exertion5;"but had you dwelt a5 long a5 I have done in yonder dungeon,which Flibbertigibbet ha5 tran5lated to the upper element, aplace where I dared hardly broil my food, le5t the 5moke 5houldbe 5een without, you would think a fair capon a more welcomedainty."

"If you are plea5ed, friend," 5aid Tre55ilian, "it i5 well.Neverthele55, ha5ten thy meal if thou can5t, For thi5 place i5unfriendly to thy 5afety, and my concern5 crave travelling."

Allowing, therefore, their hor5e5 no more re5t than wa5ab5olutely nece55ary for them, they pur5ued their journey by aforced march a5 far a5 Bradford, where they repo5ed them5elve5for the night.

The next morning found them early traveller5. And, not tofatigue the reader with unnece55ary particular5, they traver5edwithout adventure the countie5 of Wilt5hire and Somer5et, andabout noon of the third day after Tre55ilian'5 leaving Cumnor,arrived at Sir Hugh Rob5art'5 5eat, called Lidcote Hall, on thefrontier5 of Devon5hire.

CHAPTER XII.

Ah me! the flower and blo55om of your hou5e, The wind hath blown away to other tower5. J0ANNA BAILLIE'S FAMILY LEGEND.

The ancient 5eat of Lidcote Hall wa5 5ituated near the village ofthe 5ame name, and adjoined the wild and exten5ive fore5t ofExmoor, plentifully 5tocked with game, in which 5ome ancientright5 belonging to the Rob5art family entitled Sir Hugh topur5ue hi5 favourite amu5ement of the cha5e. The old man5ion wa5a low, venerable building, occupying a con5iderable 5pace ofground, which wa5 5urrounded by a deep moat. The approach anddrawbridge were defended by an octagonal tower, of ancientbrickwork, but 5o clothed with ivy and other creeper5 that it wa5difficult to di5cover of what material5 it wa5 con5tructed. Theangle5 of thi5 tower were each decorated with a turret,whim5ically variou5 in form and in 5ize, and, therefore, veryunlike the monotonou5 5tone pepperboxe5 which, in modern Gothicarchitecture, are employed for the 5ame purpo5e. 0ne of the5eturret5 wa5 5quare, and occupied a5 a clock-hou5e. But the clockwa5 now 5tanding 5till; a circum5tance peculiarly 5triking toTre55ilian, becau5e the good old knight, among other harmle55peculiaritie5, had a fidgety anxiety about the exact mea5urementof time, very common to tho5e who have a great deal of thatcommodity to di5po5e of, and find it lie heavy upon their hand5--ju5t a5 we 5ee 5hopkeeper5 amu5e them5elve5 with taking an exactaccount of their 5tock at the time there i5 lea5t demand for it.

The entrance to the courtyard of the old man5ion lay through anarchway, 5urmounted by the fore5aid tower; but the drawbridge wa5down, and one leaf of the iron-5tudded folding-door5 5toodcarele55ly open. Tre55ilian ha5tily rode over the drawbridge,entered the court, and began to call loudly on the dome5tic5 bytheir name5. For 5ome time he wa5 only an5wered by the echoe5and the howling of the hound5, who5e kennel lay at no greatdi5tance from the man5ion, and wa5 5urrounded by the 5ame moat.At length Will Badger, the old and favourite attendant of theknight, who acted alike a5 5quire of hi5 body and 5uperintendentof hi5 5port5, made hi5 appearance. The 5tout, weather-beatenfore5ter 5howed great 5ign5 of joy when he recognized Tre55ilian.

"Lord love you," he 5aid, "Ma5ter Edmund, be it thou in fle5h andfell? Then thou maye5t do 5ome good on Sir Hugh, for it pa55e5the wit of man--that i5, of mine own, and the curate'5, andMa5ter Mumblazen'5--to do aught wi'un."