hought the young Scotchman, as he stood
watching them with admiring eyes.

"The first is our Lady Mary, about to wed the Dauphin of France,"
answered his cousin. "You must, as a loyal Scot, be introduced to her.
Perchance if you are inclined to take service at court you may obtain a
post, though his Majesty King Henry does not generally bestow such
without an ample equivalent."

"My taste does not lead me to covet such an honour," said Nigel. "I
should soon weary of having to dress in fine clothes and spend my time
in idleness, waiting in ante-chambers, or dangling after the lords and
ladies of the court. Pardon me, sweet cousin, for saying so. I came to
France to seek for more stirring employment than such a life could
afford. I will do my _devoir_ to our young queen, and must then proceed
on my journey to find the admiral. Had it not been for the packet of
letters with which I was entrusted, as also for the sake of seeing you,
I should not have come to Paris at all. But tell me, who are her
Majesty's attendants? There is one whose countenance, were I long to
gaze at it, would, I am sure, become indelibly fixed on my heart. What
a sweet face! How full of expression, and yet how modest and gentle!"

"They are my two sister Maries, Mary Beaton and Mary Carmichael [see
Note]; but it is neither of them you speak of. I see now; the damsel
you describe is Constance de Tourville, whose father, by-the-by, is a
friend of Coligny's. The admiral, I am informed, is staying with the
count at this very time, and when I tell Constance who you are, she
will, I am sure, find an excuse for despatching an attendant with you to
her father. I can without difficulty make you known to her, as the
etiquette of the court is not very rigid, or I should not have been
allowed to wander about the gardens with a gallant young gentleman like
yourself, albeit you claim to be my cousin and an old playmate."

"I see several gentlemen among the fair damsels, so I conclude that my
presence is not altogether an irregularity," said Nigel.

"They are privileged persons, however," said Mary Seton. "That sickly
youth who has just joined the queen and is awkwardly endeavouring to
make himself agreeable is her affianced husband, the Dauphin. For my
part I would rather not be a queen than be compelled to wed so miserable
an object; but I am talking treason. Here comes one of the queen's
uncles, the Duke de Guise--that tall, dark, ill-favoured