some one within it, he demanded a cup of wine, which he presented to young Restalrig, who having gladly accepted this refreshment, followed him to the stables, where he was quickly accommodated by him with a horse, which carried him with such speed, that, ere morning dawned, the two remaining sons of the House of Ruthven had left their mother's house for England, in which country they were protected by its Queen during her life.

Of the life and fate of the stripling who thus magnanimously secured their safety, if this tale is not doomed to utter oblivion, the reader may chance to hear more at a future period; one of the remaining manuscripts in our possession, being a relation of the circumstances of his eventful life.

CHAPTER IX.

Know ye the land, where no pain and no sorrow
Shall darken the brow, or shall bow down the head;
Where no grief of to-day, and no thought of the morrow,

Shall reach the glad heart, or appal it with dread?—
Know ye the land of the spirits of peace,

Where the joys never lessen, the hymns never cease?
Where the friends of our bosom, here lost in the tomb,
Shall meet us again, ever freed from its gloom?

Where the hearts now divided, united shall rest,

And be heal'd of their woes in the bowers of the blest? Where the tear shall not quench the bright beam of the eye; Where hopes here destroy'd meet fruition on high;

And spirit with spirit in love only vie?

Where the morn shall arise on the night of the grave;
And the arm that chastised be extended to save?-
'Tis the home of the just-'Tis the region of Truth-
Where her children shall dwell, ever blooming in youth.-
Oh, dearer than aught to the sorrow-worn soul,
Are the dreams of that land, and the hopes of that goal!
Imitation of Lord Byron's Bride of Abydos.

We now return to Lady Agnes, whom we have of necessity left while recording the disastrous events that deprived Scotland of two of her brightest ornaments.

After leaving the Inch, she hurried home, as before related, influenced by a considerable share of curiosity, not unmixed with fear; and, on her arrival at Dame Norton's, found, to her inexpressible surprise, that the person who had warned her to retire was Euphan of the Craigs, who already awaited her there, accompanied by her son; both of whom she had been told by Laurence, on her way from Craigmillar, were departed with her aunt. But if she was surprised at their unexpected appearance, she was still more so when they informed her, that the Abbess had not yet left the country. For the vessel, overtaken by a second storm after passing St Abb's Head, was driven back; and the sailors being well acquainted with the harbour of Dunbar, (where they had lain a considerable time, for the ship to undergo some repairs, after landing the Earl's baggage at St Johnstoun,) steered her for that port, being unable to run her up the Frith of Forth.

Having once more come to land in Scotland, the Abbess prevailed on the master of the sloop not to depart again until she was ready to accompany him. Being determined to make another effort to carry Lady Agnes with her, she dispatched Father Leonard to Holyrood, supposing her niece still there, to concert measures with the Jesuit, which would enable her to join her at Dundee.

When the Father arrived at Holyrood, the Jesuit informed him of his having released Agnes from Craigmillar, (where he allowed him to believe she had been detained by the contrivance of the King and Rathsay,) and made known to him her abode at St Johnstoun, from which place her joining the Abbess at Dundee would be comparatively easy. For the Jesuit, having fulfilled his purpose of inflaming, by means of her flight from Craigmillar, the hatred and suspicion of Rathsay against Gowrie, and expecting the result of the King's vi

sit to the Earl to terminate as it did, was not unwilling to have Lady Agnes committed to the care of her aunt, now that she had become no longer necessary to his plans. He therefore informed the Father of his Majesty's intention of going immediately to Falkland, and advised the instant removal of Agnes, lest she should by any means be discovered by Rathsay or the King whilst in the neighbourhood.

ney

On receiving this information and counsel, the old man returned to Dundee as quickly as his infirmities would permit ; but, from the unusual length of the jourhe had undertaken, he was unable to proceed, and the Abbess was at length obliged to send old Euphan and her son, who did not arrive, as has been seen, owing to the delay occasioned by Father Leonard, till the day of the King's visit to St John

stoun.

Upon inquiring for Mable Norton, Euphan learned, that she had quitted her house, with the two young women who