ay hae been belied in't."

"I hope they may," replied the young cavalier, musingly. Then, suddenly
recovering himself, and assuming his usual cheerfulness of manner--"And
what are the king's friends about in Scotland?" he said, slapping the
laird good-humouredly on the knee.

"Dooms little, sir," replied the laird. "They daurna cheep. Monk has
gotten his heel fairly on their necks; so that deil a ane o' them can
wag either tongue or finger. There's a wheen o' them taen to the hills
wi' Glencairn and Balcarras; but what can they do? Naething. It's a puir
thing to be in that way, sir. I had a trial o' that mysel. Tak my word
for't, that sleepin in a moss hag, or in the lee o' a whin-bush, and
leevin upon lavrocks, or raw turnips and bog-water, is nae better than
it's ca'ed."

"Well, well, laird, I hope times will mend with our poor friends in
Scotland," replied the young cavalier, to whom this picture of the
sufferings of the royalists, notwithstanding the strong tincture it
exhibited of the speaker's natural humour, seemed to give much pain. "I
hope times will mend with them yet, and that feasting and feather-beds
will make them forget the raw turnips and whin-bushes ye speak of. In
the meantime, my good friend, push round the bottle, and let us talk of
other matters; for these make me sad."

Nothing loth, the Laird of Lucky's How filled up a brimming bumper, and,
drinking "better times," sent it down after some two or three dozen that
had preceded it.

The party were now getting into high glee. The laugh, the joke, and the
bottle went merrily round, and the merriest, and apparently the most
jovial of the company, was the young gentleman whom we have hitherto
represented as expressly attaching himself to the laird, and whose name,
as the latter learned from himself, was Jones. This roysterer was the
life and soul of the company, when roystering became the order of the
evening; but his mirth was tempered with a gentleness of demeanour, and
an air of polished hilarity, if such a phrase may be permitted, as
inspired the idea of the presence of a perfect gentleman. His whole
manner, in short, was exceedingly captivating. His fancy was ready and
playful; his wit brilliant and appropriate; and the affability and
winning character of his smile irresistible. Altogether, he was a most
delightful companion, and admirably calculated to figure in such
circumstances as those in which he was now placed. How he might acquit
himse