The Abbot

cups that f

velry an

lord tax'

and doub

INE AN

training of an eyas, or young hawk, which he himself, at the imminent risk of neck and limbs, had taken from the celebrated eyry in the neighborhood, called Gledscraig. As he was by no means

ted its castings also for these two days! Think'st thou I ventured my neck to bring the bird down from the crag, that thou shouldst spoil him by thy neglect?" And to add force to his remonstran

urite in his department, jealous and conceited of his skill, as masters of the game usually are; for the rest of his character he was a jester and a parcel poet, (qualities which by no means abated his natural conce

sistant. "Hey, hey, my Lady's page," said he, stepping between his own boy and Roland, "fair and softly, an it like your

bird is cast away between you. I found the careless lurdane feeding him with unwashed flesh, and she an eyas." [Footnote: Th

I say that the eyas should have her meat unwashed, until she becomes a brancher-'twere the ready way to

nothing but drink and sleep," retorted the page, "and leaves th

my Lady's page so busy a man that he must take me up short?-and am I of false English blood?-I marvel what blood thou art-neither Englander nor Scot-fi

owards him, he would sheath the blade in his bowels. The noise was now so great, that more than one of the household came in, and amongst others the major-domo, a grave personage, already mentioned, whose gold chain and white wand intimated his authority. At the appearance of this dignitary, the strife was for the present appeased. He embraced, however, so favourable an opportunity, to read Roland Graeme a shrewd lecture on the impropriety of

ider if daggers, are to be drawn on us for every idle word, and whether we are to live in a we

him to reply in furious or in contemptuous language, returned his dagger into his scabbard, looked disdainfully around upon th

id the falconer, "if this cock-sparrow

the grooms, "because the tail of his worship's geldi

will stick nothing to call an honest woman slut and quea

y," was the general result, "there will be no

abroad, in wood and field, in hall and bower, as the saying is. Our Lady, my benison upon her, is also a noble person of long descent, and rightful heir of this place and barony, and she also loves her will; as for that matter, show me the woman who doth not. Now, she hath favoured, doth favour, and will favour, this jack-an-ape,-for what good part about him I

h," said Roland's adversary, the falconer; "marry, if he crack not a rope

as'twere my finger betwixt the bark and the tree, on account of a pragmatical youngster, whom, nevertheless, I would willingly see whipped forth of the barony? Have patience, and this boil will break without our meddling. I have been in service since

this little upstart?-I will try titles with him first, I promise you.-I fancy, Master Wingate, for

which it cannot be spoken without breeding mischief and inconvenience to myself or my fellow-servants; for the tongue of a tale-bearer breaketh bones as well as Jeddart-staff."

low-servants," said Lilias; "and I trust you mean not

d I see the time fitting, I would, with right good-w

laid. If my mistress does not ask me what is the matter below stairs before she be t

at is, she had the corners of her mouth turned down, her eyes raised up, her lips pressed as fast together as if they had been sewed up, to prevent her babbling, an

e, Mrs. Lilias was obdurate to all inquiries, sighed, turned her eyes up higher yet to heaven, hoped for the best, but had nothing particular to communicate. All this, as was most natural and proper, only stimulated the Lady's curiosity; neither was

es the quean mean?-if you speak not plain out, you s

se, to "unbuckle her mail," "if you bid me speak out the truth, you must not be move

Lady, turning pale as as

ot been ready help; but may be, it is your Ladyship's pleasure that this y

ou are saucy-tell the master of th

s presence, speaking as a word in season to him on the way, "I have

ence, and presently after stood in the presence of the Lady of Avenel, with a look of great respect for his la

omestics of Sir Halbert Glendinning draw the dagger on each other, as in a cavern of thieve

asche, [Footnote: Easter.] if some rule be not taken with this youth-not but the youth is a fair youth," he added, correcting himself, "a

t yours, who should have taught him better di

ss, to bear it-only I submit to your consideration, that unless I nailed his weapon to the scabbard, I c

u grow all of you too wise for me, during your lord's long and repeated absences. I would to God his a

ight well hope, that after so many years' duty, you would do their service more justice than to distrust their gray hairs, because

ese matters himself-leave me, I say, Wingate, without saying more of it. I know you are honest, and I

ving been silenced in a second attempt

er occasion, in the family. "I would," he said, "honoured Lady, that you had deigned to be ruled by me in the outset of this matter, sith it is easy to stem evil in the fountain, but hard to struggle against it in the stream. You, honoured madam, (a word which I do not use

ve made this youth a page-is there aught in my doin

d arrogance, it passes my knowledge to discover. But I blame you more directly for having taken little care to guard him against the perils of his condition, or to tame and humble a spirit naturally haughty, overbearing, and impatient. You have brought into your bower a lion's cub; delighted with the beauty of his fur,

r orphan lad more than others of his class, I scarce think the error merited such severe censure; and if stricter discipline were required to keep his fiery temper in order, it ought, I think, to be considered, that I am a woman, and that if I have erred in this matter, it becomes

om your service, madam

a man of humanity, bid me turn away an unprotected creature against whom m

eal-here he is but a makebate, and a stumbling-block of offence. The youth has snatches of sense and of intelligence, though he lacks industry. I will myself give him letters commendatory to Olearius Schinderhausen, a learned professor at the

the meanwhile, I trust to your remonstrances with this wild boy and with the family, for restraining these violent and unseemly jealous

th God's blessing, so wrestle with the demon of wrath and violence, which hath entered into my lit

nel, bore for text the well-known words, "He who striketh with the sword shall perish by the sword," and was a singular mixture of good sense and powerful oratory with pedantry and bad taste. He enlarged a good deal on the word striketh, which he assured his hearers comprehended blows given with the point as well as with the edge, and more generally, shooting with hand-gun, cross-bow, or long-bow, thrusting with a lance, or doing any thing whatever by which death might be occasioned to the adversary. In the same manner, he proved satisfactorily, that the word sword comprehended all descriptions, whether backsword or basket-hilt, cut-and-thrust or rapier, falchion, or scimitar. "But if," he continued, with still greater animation, "the text includeth in its anathema those who strike with any of those weapons which man hath devised for the exercise of his open hostility, still more doth it comprehend such as from their form and size are devised rather for the gratification of privy malice by treachery, than for the destruction of an enemy prepared and standing upon his defence. Such," he proceeded, looking sternly at the place where the page was seated on a cushion at the feet of his mistress, and

thunders at the head of the unpopular favourite, and the weapon which they considered as a badge of affectation and finery. Mrs. Lilias crested and drew up her head with all the deep-felt pride of gratified resentment; while the steward, observing a strict neutrality of aspect, fixed his eye

sembled inhabitants of the little world in which he lived. His brow grew red, his lip grew pale, he set his teeth, he clenched his hand, and then with mechanical readiness grasped the weapon of which the clergyman had given so hideous a character; and at

ften shows itself to our frail eyes in the garments of light! What is our earthly honour? Pride, and pride only-What our earthly gifts and graces? Pride and vanity. Voyagers speak of Indian men who deck themselves with shells, and anoint themselves with pigments, and boast of their attire as we do of our miserable carnal advantages-Pride could draw down the morning-star from Heaven even to the verge of the pit-Pride and self-opinion kindled the flaming sword which waves us off from Paradise-Pride made Adam mortal, and a weary wanderer on the face of the earth, which he had else been at this day the immortal lord of-Pride brought amongst us sin, and doubles every sin it has brought. It is the outpost which the devil and the flesh most stubbornly maintain against the assaults of grace; and until it be subdued, and its barriers levelled with the very earth, there is more hope of a fool than of the sinner. Rend, then, from your bosoms this accursed shoot of the fatal apple; tear it up by the roots, though it be twisted with the chords of your life. Profit by the example of the miserable sinner that has passed from

ng exhortation to his hearers to seek divine

greatly qualify in the minds of many the exhortations of the preacher to charity and to humility. And, in fact, the expression of their countenances much resembled the satisfied triumphant air of a set of ch

ntameable as his enemies had represented him to possess. And yet so far as he had been under her own eye, she had seen no more of that fiery spirit than appeared to her to become his years and his vivacity. This opinion might be founded in some degree on partiality; in some degree, too, it might be owing to the kindness and indulgence which she had always extended to him; but still she thought it impossible that she could be totally mistaken in the estimate she had formed of his character. The extreme of violence is scarce consistent with a course of continued hypocrisy, (although Lilias charitably hinted, that in some instances they were happily uni

ert her page while her page could be rationally protected; and, with a view of asce