orts, as indeed his element lay
in such gossipred, some words passed betwixt him and me on the subject;
and, as I think, he left me with the purpose of visiting Henry Smith,
for he broke off from the morrice dancers, promising, as it seems, to
meet them, as your honour has said, at the sign of the Griffin, in order
to conclude the evening. But what he actually did, I know not, as I
never again saw him in life."

"It is enough," said Sir Patrick, "and agrees with all that we have
heard. Now, worthy sirs, we next find our poor fellow citizen environed
by a set of revellers and maskers who had assembled in the High Street,
by whom he was shamefully ill treated, being compelled to kneel down
in the street, and there to quaff huge quantities of liquor against
his inclination, until at length he escaped from them by flight.
This violence was accomplished with drawn swords, loud shouts, and
imprecations, so as to attract the attention of several persons, who,
alarmed by the tumult, looked out from their windows, as well as of one
or two passengers, who, keeping aloof from the light of the torches,
lest they also had been maltreated, beheld the usage which our fellow
citizen received in the High Street of the burgh. And although these
revellers were disguised, and used vizards, yet their disguises were
well known, being a set of quaint masking habits prepared some weeks
ago by command of Sir John Ramorny, Master of the Horse to his Royal
Highness the Duke of Rothsay, Prince Royal of Scotland."

A low groan went through the assembly.

"Yes, so it is, brave burghers," continued Sir Patrick; "our inquiries
have led us into conclusions both melancholy and terrible. But as no one
can regret the point at which they seem likely to arrive more than I do,
so no man living can dread its consequences less. It is even so, various
artisans employed upon the articles have described the dresses prepared
for Sir John Ramorny's mask as being exactly similar to those of the
men by whom Oliver Proudfute was observed to be maltreated. And one
mechanic, being Wingfield the feather dresser, who saw the revellers
when they had our fellow citizen within their hands, remarked that they
wore the cinctures and coronals of painted feathers which he himself had
made by the order of the Prince's master of horse.

"After the moment of his escape from these revellers, we lose all trace
of Oliver' but we can prove that the maskers went to Sir John Ramorny's