hers, stealing under cover of the noise made by the music and the dancers, like the rill under a load of snow, conveyed to her the delightful intelligence that he was still alive and her lover, and that he was come thus late, when the days of peril seemed past, and under happier auspices than before, to claim her affections. When the dancers next arose upon the floor he respectfully presented his hand, and led her, nothing loth, into the midst of the splendid assemblage, where Lord -, bustling about as master of the ceremonies, assigned them an honourable place, in spite of the surprised looks and reprobatory winks of not a few matrons as well as young ladies. The handsome and well-matched pair acquitted themselves to the admiration of the whole assemblage, except the censorious and the envious; and when they sat down together upon the same seats from which they had risen, the speculation excited among the whole throng by the unexpected appearance of such a pair was beyond all precedent in the annals of gossip.

Not long after, supper was announced, and the company left the dancing-room in order to go down stairs to the apartment where that meal was laid out. A ludicrous circumstance now occurred, which we shall relate, rather because it formed a part of the story as told by our informant, than from any connection it has with the main incident.

Sir Robert had all this time been so earnestly engaged in the genealogical discussion alluded to, that, interesting as the word supper always is on such occasions to those not given to dancing alone, he did not hear it. It was not till all were gone that he and the old spectacled lady discovered at what stage of the proceedings they were arrived. Recollecting his old-fashioned politeness, however, in proper time, the venerable antiquary made his congé, and offered his hand to the tall, stiff, and rigidlooking dame, in order to escort her, more majorum, down stairs. Sir Robert was a man somewhat of the shortest, and, moreover of the fattest, while a gouty foot, carefully swaddled, gave an infirm and tottering air to

his whole person. As they moved along, the two antiques would have reminded one of Sancho Panza leading the distressed old spectacled duenna through the dark labyrinths of the duke's castle. Thus they went along the room, down the earl's narrow spiral stair, and through an ill-lighted passage, he cringing and limping as gouty men are wont, and she sailing along erect and dignified after the manner of an old maid of 1750, who had seen good company at the hunters' balls in Holyroodhouse. Now it so happened that a servant, or, as some editions have it, a baker, had set down a small fruit pasty, contained in an oval dish, in a dark corner of the passage, intending immediately to return from the supper-room, to which he had carried some other dishes, in order to rescue it from that dangerous situation-to which, indeed, he had been compelled to consign it on finding that his hands were already over-engaged. Before he returned, as ill-luck would have it, Sir Robert's gouty and clouty foot alighted full in the middle of the pasty, and stuck in it up to the ankle-perfectly unconscious, however, in its swaddlings of having so shod itself, so that the good baronet walked on with it into the room. What was his surprise, and what the mirth of the company, and what the indignation of the old duenna, on finding that she shared in the ridicule of her esquire, may perhaps be imagined, but cannot be adequately described. Suffice it to say, that the whole assemblage were so delighted with the amusing incident that not one face exhibited anything of gloom during the subsequent part of the evening; and even the young ladies were tempted to forget and forgive the good fortune of Miss Lindsay, in having to all appearance so completely secured a first-rate lover.

Our tale now draws to a conclusion, and may be summed up in a few words. William Douglas soon settled in business as a writer to the Signet, and found no obstacle on the part of either his parent or his mistress in uniting himself to that amiable young lady. It was known to a few, and suspected by more, that, under the decent habit he now wore, was concealed the

very person who knocked down two of Gardner's dragoons in the Luckenbooths, and braved all Edinburgh to single combat. But he was never molested on this account; and he therefore continued to practise in the Court of Session for upwards of half a century, with the success and with the credit of a respectable citizen.

JACQUES CALLOT.

I.

In a spacious apartment of one of the oldest houses in Nancy, in Lorraine-such as served at that time (1603) for kitchen, parlour, and workroom to persons of respectability-a family was seated opposite to an open window breathing the balmy air of a spring forenoon. Behind them several female servants were employed in spinning and needlework, while on the outside of the window, which opened into a wide street, so little frequented that tufts of grass might be seen here and there growing in it, a pedler with his pack on his back was standing, finishing a story, which, to judge by the extreme attention with which it was listened to, must have been very interesting. The interior of the room was in accordance with the simplicity of those days. A large pot was boiling over the fire, shewing that the family had not yet dined; indeed the clock which hung from the whitewashed wall pointed to the early hour of eleven. At the lower end of the room a long oaken table was already laid. A kneading-trough for bread, a large chest curiously carved, a dresser filled with pewter utensils, some benches, and several wooden chairs, completed the furniture of this apartment.

When the pedler had ceased speaking, the soft, clear voice of a child broke the general silence by exclaiming, 'What then?'

At the same moment a little dark head peeped from behind the shoulder of a young woman, and immediately withdrew, blushing at what he had done, and at seeing every eye turned towards him.

"That child will be fond of travels,' said a man apparently about forty years of age, whose dress denoted him to be a herald-at-arms of that time.

'Oh, it is because Petrus is speaking about Italy,' said the child with joy sparkling in his eyes.

'Would you like to go to Italy, Jacques ?' asked an old man who, from occupying a more elevated seat than the rest, and from the great respect with which every word he said was received, appeared to be the head of the family.

To see Italy, grandfather,' exclaimed Jacques, whose expressive countenance reflected every feeling of his mind to see Italy I would give'—

Here the child stopped, as if endeavouring to find a word sufficiently expressive, or as if he were considering the magnitude of the sacrifice he was willing to make to obtain the object of his anxiety.

'Well, what would you give, Jacques?' asked another boy, who seemed a few years older, in a sneering manner. You, François, would be the first thing, just to go as far as Florence !' replied the boy without hesitation.

'He is a little fool,' said his mother, shrugging her shoulders.

"With the exception of giving your brother to gratify your fancy, Jacques,' resumed the old man in a tone of gentle reproach, I rather approve of your wish. Florence is such a beautiful city! It is a long time since I saw it -the year 1543-when I was an officer of police attached to the bodyguard of the Duke of Lorraine; but I retain a very pleasing remembrance of it.'

"The museum has been greatly enriched since then, Master Claude Callot,' said the pedler. I saw two new Titians of great beauty, a picture by Horace Vecelli, the son of Titian, very remarkable the connoisseurs say'

Just then the clock having struck three-quarters after eleven, the servants, who had been bending over their work, rose up quickly : one ran to the pot of soup, another to the table, a third to the dresser, a fourth to the well to draw water, while an old servant, with a jug in his hand, slowly bent his steps towards the cellar.

Before the first stroke of twelve was heard, a wooden platter and spoon and a pewter mug had been placed for cach person; at the second stroke, the soup was placed smoking on the table; at the third, every one stood up.

'Come in, Master Petrus, and partake of our mid-day meal,' said the old man, addressing himself to the pedler, and accompanying his verbal invitation with a gracious gesture of his hand.

'I could not make so bold, Seignior Claude,' said Petrus modestly.

'No ceremony, neighbour,' replied Claude Callot.

A poor travelling hawker to sit down with people of rank!' said Petrus, yet not without throwing a furtive glance at the soup, with which his nostrils were already most agreeably regaled, and at the dishes of meat and vegetables which adorned the table.

A noble of yesterday, as I am, should not look down upon an honest man from father to son, Petrus,' replied Claude Callot. 'Come in, then, neighbour, and take your place beside my son Jean.'

The Callots had, in fact, been first ennobled in the person of Claude Callot by Charles II., in consideration of services he had performed in the army, and particularly on one occasion, when he gave ostensible proofs of his fidelity and courage. His son, Jean Callot, was married to Renée Bruneault, and was herald-at-arms of Lorraine and Barois.

The venerable Claude Callot sat at the upper end of the table, having his son on his right hand and his daughter-in-law on his left; Petrus sat next to Jean Callot; and François, the elder of the two boys, placed himself beside his mother, taking care, however, to leave an empty space between them. The servants sat at the