a long narrow table,
which, placed in the recess of the large casement we have mentioned,
had formed a sort of barrier on the lady's side, against the adventurous
gallant. The Duke went hastily to remove it as he spoke; but, attentive
to all his motions, his visitor instantly darted through the half-open
window. Buckingham uttered a cry of horror and surprise, having no
doubt, at first, that she had precipitated herself from a height of at
least fourteen feet; for so far the window was distant from the ground.
But when he sprung to the spot, he perceived, to his astonishment, that
she had effected her descent with equal agility and safety.

The outside of this stately mansion was decorated with a quantity of
carving, in the mixed state, betwixt the Gothic and Grecian styles,
which marks the age of Elizabeth and her successor; and though the
feat seemed a surprising one, the projections of these ornaments were
sufficient to afford footing to a creature so light and active, even in
her hasty descent.

Inflamed alike by mortification and curiosity, Buckingham at first
entertained some thought of following her by the same dangerous route,
and had actually got upon the sill of the window for that purpose; and
was contemplating what might be his next safe movement, when, from
a neighbouring thicket of shrubs, amongst which his visitor had
disappeared, he heard her chant a verse of a comic song, then much in
fashion, concerning a despairing lover who had recourse to a precipice--

"But when he came near,
Beholding how steep
The sides did appear,
And the bottom how deep;
Though his suit was rejected,
He sadly reflected,
That a lover forsaken
A new love may get;
But a neck that's once broken
Can never be set."

The Duke could not help laughing, though much against his will, at the
resemblance which the verses bore to his own absurd situation, and,
stepping back into the apartment, desisted from an attempt which might
have proved dangerous as well as ridiculous. He called his attendants,
and contented himself with watching the little thicket, unwilling to
think that a female, who had thrown herself in a great measure into his
way, meant absolutely to mortify him by a retreat.

That question was determined in an instant. A form, wrapped in a mantle,
with a slouched hat and shadowy plume, issued from the bushes, and was
lost in a moment amongst the ruins of ancient and of modern buildings,
wi