ound, he addressed the astonished audience as follows:--

[Illustration: My Good Friends, 'favete Linguis']

"My good friends, _favete linguis_--To give you information, I must first,
according to logicians, be possessed of it myself; and, therefore, with
your leaves, I will retire into the library to examine these papers--Sir
Arthur and Miss Wardour will have the goodness to step into the
parlour--Mr. Sweepclean, secede paulisper, or, in your own language,
grant us a supersedere of diligence for five minutes--Hector, draw off
your forces, and make your bear-garden flourish elsewhere--and, finally,
be all of good cheer till my return, which will be instanter."

The contents of the packet were indeed so little expected, that the
Antiquary might be pardoned, first his ecstasy, and next his desire of
delaying to communicate the intelligence they conveyed, until it was
arranged and digested in his own mind.

Within the envelope was a letter addressed to Jonathan Oldbuck, Esq. of
Monkbarns, of the following purport:--

"Dear Sir,--To you, as my father's proved and valued friend, I venture to
address myself, being detained here by military duty of a very pressing
nature. You must by this time be acquainted with the entangled state of
our affairs; and I know it will give you great pleasure to learn, that
I am as fortunately as unexpectedly placed in a situation to give
effectual assistance for extricating them. I understand Sir Arthur is
threatened with severe measures by persons who acted formerly as his
agents; and, by advice of a creditable man of business here, I have
procured the enclosed writing, which I understand will stop their
proceedings until their claim shall be legally discussed, and brought
down to its proper amount. I also enclose bills to the amount of one
thousand pounds to pay any other pressing demands, and request of your
friendship to apply them according to your discretion. You will be
surprised I give you this trouble, when it would seem more natural to
address my father directly in his own affairs. But I have yet had no
assurance that his eyes are opened to the character of a person against
whom you have often, I know, warned him, and whose baneful influence
has been the occasion of these distresses. And as I owe the means of
relieving Sir Arthur to the generosity of a matchless friend, it is my
duty to take the most certain measures for the supplies being devoted
to the purpose for which they were