muneration on our hostess, and enjoining secrecy as to what had passed, Lady Agnes soon found herself seated with Alice in the boat of Nicol Partan, the bow being occupied by Laurence; and was, after a short time, landed on the shore of Fife, at a spot less frequented by passengers than the common landing places; whence, travelling sometimes on foot, and sometimes on horseback, they at length, on the third day, reached St Johnstoun, where it had been settled by the Jesuit, that Lady Agnes was to take up her abode in the house of the stepmother of Alice, where she was most respectfully, as well as kindly and hospitably received; passing among the neighbours of Dame Norton as a distant relation of Alice, who, being in delicate health, had come thither for a change of air. The repose which Lady Agnes enjoyed in this neat and comfortable cottage, would have been complete, but for the suspense she suffered with regard to what might be the determination of her uncle on his arrival, respecting her future prospects, and the dread she experienced lest Rathsay should by any means discover the place of her retreat. This last fear operated so forcibly on her for a short time after her arrival at St Johnstoun, as to keep her a prisoner within doors. She was, however, soon prevailed on, by the entreaties of Alice and her step-mother, to indulge herself in short walks, which, from perceiving that her changed attire prevented her from being an object of curiosity, she was emboldened gradually to extend to the beautiful environs of the town. For so completely were both mistress and maid metamorphosed by their coarse woollen dress, and their faces concealed by their tartan screens, that they at length feared no discovery. In these strolls, Agnes had several times seen Gowrie, and her steps were frequently directed to the South Inch, in the neigh bourhood of his residence; for the sentiment which possessed the heart of the for lorn Agnes, occupied it, in defiance of reason, to the exclusion of every other, save devotion, with which it mingled. Nor could Alice be insensible to the different expression of her countenance when she chanced to see him, even at a distance, and when her tardy feet were forced to retread the homeward path without having caught a glimpse of him. The present residence of Lady Agnes, though soothing to her feelings, was, however, highly dangerous to her resolves; for the praises of the Earl, which daily sounded in her ears, and the occasional sight of him, joined with a secret conviction that the shade of sadness which she observed to overcast his brow, was occasioned by sorrow for her absence, served to fill her mind with gratified feelings, to make her shrink from too severe a scrutiny of her sentiments, and even shudder at the idea of being removed from a place where she was surrounded by these perilous indulgences, and to prepare her mind in some measure for that discovery of her sentiments which took place in the shieling on her return from a garden, which lay on the opposite side of the Tay, where she had purchased two small baskets of fruit, one of which, to suit her appearance, was carried by her, when first seen in the boat by Gowrie. CHAPTER II. -All the jolly chase is here, Hawks are whistling, horns are knelling. SCOTT. As the time approached which the Jesuit anticipated would enable him to accomplish the principal object of his mission to Scotland, he became daily more anxious for its completion. All things appeared to favour his cruel and crafty design; and he was half tempted to think that the circumstance of the King's having so opportunely discovered the locket, had been directed by some over-ruling power to facilitate the execution of his intentions. Nor did he pause to consider, that, if such agency were in |