Sir Mungo, in the meanwhile, caught up, as usual, Nigel's last words,
or rather the sound of them, and amplified and interpreted them in his
own way. "Tolerable luck!" he repeated; "yes, truly, my lord, I am
told that you have tolerable luck, and that ye ken weel how to use
that jilting quean, Dame Fortune, like a canny douce lad, willing to
warm yourself in her smiles, without exposing yourself to her frowns.
And that is what I ca' having luck in a bag."

"Sir Mungo Malagrowther," said Lord Glenvarloch, turning towards him
seriously, "have the goodness to hear me for a moment."

"As weel as I can, my lord--as weel as I can," said Sir Mungo, shaking
his head, and pointing the finger of his left hand to his ear.

"I will try to speak very distinctly," said Nigel, arming himself with
patience. "You take me for a noted gamester; I give you my word that
you have not been rightly informed--I am none such. You owe me some
explanation, at least, respecting the source from which you have
derived such false information."

"I never heard ye were a _great_ gamester, and never thought or said
ye were such, my lord," said Sir Mungo, who found it impossible to
avoid hearing what Nigel said with peculiarly deliberate and distinct
pronunciation." I repeat it--I never heard, said, or thought that you
were a ruffling gamester,--such as they call those of the first head.
--Look you, my lord, I call _him_ a gamester, that plays with equal
stakes and equal skill, and stands by the fortune of the game, good or
bad; and I call _him_ a ruffling gamester, or ane of the first head,
who ventures frankly and deeply upon such a wager. But he, my lord,
who has the patience and prudence never to venture beyond small game,
such as, at most, might crack the Christmas-box of a grocer's
'prentice, who vies with those that have little to hazard, and who
therefore, having the larger stock, can always rook them by waiting
for his good fortune, and by rising from the game when luck leaves
him--such a one as he, my lord, I do not call a _great_ gamester, to
whatever other name he may be entitled."

"And such a mean-spirited, sordid wretch, you would infer that I am,"
replied Lord Glenvarloch; "one who fears the skilful, and preys upon
the ignorant--who avoids playing with his equals, that he may make
sure of pillaging his inferiors?--Is this what I am to understand has
been reported of me?"

"Nay, my lord, you will gain nought by speaking big with me," said Sir
Mungo, who, besides that his sarcastic humour was really supported by
a good fund of animal courage, had also full reliance on the
immunities which he had derived from the broadsword of Sir Rullion
Rattray, and the baton of the satellites employed by the Lady Cockpen.
"And for the truth of the matter," he continued, "your lordship best
knows whether you ever lost more than five pieces at a time since you
frequented Beaujeu's--whether you have not most commonly risen a
winner--and whether the brave young gallants who frequent the
ordinary--I mean those of noble rank, and means conforming--are in use
to play upon those terms?"

"My father was right," said Lord Glenvarloch, in the bitterness of his
spirit; "and his curse justly followed me when I first entered that
place. There is contamination in the air, and he whose fortune avoids
ruin, shall be blighted in his honour and reputation."

Sir Mungo, who watched his victim with the delighted yet wary eye of
an experienced angler, became now aware, that if he strained the line
on him too tightly, there was every risk of his breaking hold. In
order to give him room, therefore, to play, he protested that Lord
Glenvarloch "should not take his free speech _in malam partem_. If you
were a trifle ower sicker in your amusement, my lord, it canna be
denied that it is the safest course to prevent farther endangerment of
your somewhat dilapidated fortunes; and if ye play with your
inferiors, ye are relieved of the pain of pouching the siller of your
friends and equals; forby, that the plebeian knaves have had the
advantage, _tecum certasse_, as Ajax Telamon sayeth, _apud
Metamorphoseos_; and for the like of them to have played with ane
Scottish nobleman is an honest and honourable consideration to
compensate the loss of their stake, whilk, I dare say, moreover, maist
of the churls can weel afford."

"Be that as it may, Sir Mungo," said Nigel, "I would fain know--"

"Ay, ay," interrupted Sir Mungo; "and, as you say, who cares whether
the fat bulls of Bashan can spare it or no? gentlemen are not to limit
their sport for the like of them."

"I wish to know, Sir Mungo," said Lord Glenvarloch, "in what company
you have learned these offensive particulars respecting me?"

"Dootless--dootless, my lord," said Sir Mungo; "I have ever heard, and
have ever reported, that your lordship kept the best of company in a
private way.--There is the fine Countess of Blackchester, but I think
she stirs not much abroad since her affair with his Grace of
Buckingham; and there is the gude auld-fashioned Scottish nobleman,
Lord Huntinglen, an undeniable man of quality--it is pity but he could
keep caup and can frae his head, whilk now and then doth'minish his
reputation. And there is the gay young Lord Dalgarno, that carries the
craft of gray hairs under his curled love-locks--a fair race they are,
father, daughter, and son, all of the same honourable family. I think
we needna speak of George Heriot, honest man, when we have nobility in
question. So that is the company I have heard of your keeping, my
lord, out-taken those of the ordinary."

"My company has not, indeed, been much more extended than amongst
those you mention," said Lord Glenvarloch; "but in short--"

"To Court?" said Sir Mungo, "that was just what I was going to say--
Lord Dalgarno says he cannot prevail on ye to come to Court, and that
does ye prejudice, my lord--the king hears of you by others, when he
should see you in person--I speak in serious friendship, my lord. His
Majesty, when you were named in the circle short while since, was
heard to say, _'Jacta est alea!_--Glenvarlochides is turned dicer and
drinker.'--My Lord Dalgarno took your part, and he was e'en borne down
by the popular voice of the courtiers, who spoke of you as one who had
betaken yourself to living a town life, and risking your baron's
coronet amongst the flatcaps of the city."

"And this was publicly spoken of me," said Nigel, "and in the king's
presence?"

"Spoken openly?" repeated Sir Mungo Malagrowther; "ay, by my troth was
it--that is to say, it was whispered privately--whilk is as open
promulgation as the thing permitted; for ye may think the Court is not
like a place where men are as sib as Simmie and his brother, and roar
out their minds as if they were at an ordinary."

"A curse on the Court and the ordinary both!" cried Nigel,
impatiently.

"With all my heart," said the knight; "I have got little by a knight's
service in the Court; and the last time I was at the ordinary, I lost
four angels."

"May I pray of you, Sir Mungo, to let me know," said Nigel, "the names
of those who thus make free with the character of one who can be but
little known to them, and who never injured any of them?"

"Have I not told you already," answered Sir Mungo, "that the king said
something to that effect--so did the Prince too;--and such being the
case, ye may take it on your corporal oath, that every man in the
circle who was not silent, sung the same song as they did."

"You said but now," replied Glenvarloch, "that Lord Dalgarno
interfered in my behalf."

"In good troth did he," answered Sir Mungo, with a sneer; "but the
young nobleman was soon borne down--by token, he had something of a
catarrh, and spoke as hoarse as a roopit raven. Poor gentleman, if he
had had his full extent of voice, he would have been as well listened
to, dootless, as in a cause of his ain, whilk no man kens better how
to plead to purpose.--And let me ask you, by the way," continued Sir
Mungo, "whether Lord Dalgarno has ever introduced your lordship to the
Prince, or the Duke of Buckingham, either of whom might soon carry
through your suit?"

"I have no claim on the favour of either the Prince or the Duke of
Buckingham," said Lord Glenvarloch.--"As you seem to have made my
affairs your study, Sir Mungo, although perhaps something
unnecessarily, you may have heard that I have petitioned my Sovereign
for payment of a debt due to my family. I cannot doubt the king's
desire to do justice, nor can I in decency employ the solicitation of
his Highness the Prince, or his Grace the Duke of Buckingham, to
obtain from his Majesty what either should be granted me as a right,
or refused altogether."

Sir Mungo twisted his whimsical features into one of his most
grotesque sneers, as he replied--

"It is a vera clear and parspicuous position of the case, my lord; and
in relying thereupon, you show an absolute and unimprovable
acquaintance with the King, Court, and mankind in general.-But whom
have we got here?--Stand up, my lord, and make way--by my word of
honour, they are the very men we spoke of--talk of the devil, and--
humph!"

It must be here premised, that, during the conversation, Lord
Glenvarloch, perhaps in the hope of shaking himself free of Sir Mungo,
had directed their walk towards the more frequented part of the Park;
while the good knight had stuck to him, being totally indifferent
which way they went, provided he could keep his talons clutched upon
his companion. They were still, however, at some distance from the
livelier part of the scene, when Sir Mungo's experienced eye noticed
the appearances which occasioned the latter part of his speech to Lord
Glenvarloch. A low respectful murmur arose among the numerous groups
of persons which occupied the lower part of the Park. They first
clustered together, with their faces turned towards Whitehall, then
fell back on either hand to give place to a splendid party of
gallants, who, advancing from the Palace, came onward through the
Park; all the other company drawing off the pathway, and standing
uncovered as they passed.

Most of these courtly gallants were dressed in the garb which the
pencil of Vandyke has made familiar even at the distance of nearly two
centuries; and which was just at this period beginning to supersede
the more fluttering and frivolous dress which had been adopted from
the French Court of Henri Quatre.

The whole train were uncovered excepting the Prince of Wales,
afterwards the most unfortunate of British monarchs, who came onward,
having his long curled auburn tresses, and his countenance, which,
even in early youth, bore a shade of anticipated melancholy, shaded by
the Spanish hat and the single ostrich feather which drooped from it.
On his right hand was Buckingham, whose commanding, and at the same
time graceful, deportment, threw almost into shade the personal
demeanour and majesty of the Prince on whom he attended. The eye,
movements, and gestures of the great courtier were so composed, so
regularly observant of all etiquette belonging to his situation, as to
form a marked and strong contrast with the forward gaiety and
frivolity by which he recommended himself to the favour of his "dear
dad and gossip," King James. A singular fate attended this
accomplished courtier, in being at once the reigning favourite of a
father and son so very opposite in manners, that, to ingratiate
himself with the youthful Prince, he was obliged to compress within
the strictest limits of respectful observance the frolicsome and free
humour which captivated his aged father.

It is true, Buckingham well knew the different dispositions both of
James and Charles, and had no difficulty in so conducting himself as
to maintain the highest post in the favour of both. It has indeed been
supposed, as we before hinted, that the duke, when he had completely
possessed himself of the affections of Charles, retained his hold in
those of the father only by the tyranny of custom; and that James,
could he have brought himself to form a vigorous resolution, was, in
the latter years of his life especially, not unlikely to have
discarded Buckingham from his counsels and favour. But if ever the
king indeed meditated such a change, he was too timid, and too much
accustomed to the influence which the duke had long exercised over
him, to summon up resolution enough for effecting such a purpose; and
at all events it is certain, that Buckingham, though surviving the
master by whom he was raised, had the rare chance to experience no
wane of the most splendid court-favour during two reigns, until it was
at once eclipsed in his blood by the dagger of his assassin Felton.

To return from this digression: The Prince, with his train, advanced,
and were near the place where Lord Glenvarloch and Sir Mungo had stood
aside, according to form, in order to give the Prince passage, and to
pay the usual marks of respect. Nigel could now remark that Lord
Dalgarno walked close behind the Duke of Buckingham, and, as he
thought, whispered something in his ear as they came onward. At any
rate, both the Prince's and Duke of Buckingham's attention seemed to
be directed by such circumstance towards Nigel, for they turned their
heads in that direction and looked at him attentively--the Prince with
a countenance, the grave, melancholy expression of which was blended
with severity; while Buckingham's looks evinced some degree of
scornful triumph. Lord Dalgarno did not seem to observe his friend,
perhaps because the sunbeams fell from the side of the walk on which
Nigel stood, obliging Malcolm to hold up his hat to screen his eyes.

As the Prince passed, Lord Glenvarloch and Sir Mungo bowed, as respect
required; and the Prince, returning their obeisance with that grave
ceremony which paid to every rank its due, but not a tittle beyond it,
signed to Sir Mungo to come forward. Commencing an apology for his
lameness as he started, which he had just completed as his hobbling
gait brought him up to the Prince, Sir Mungo lent an attentive, and,
as it seemed, an intelligent ear, to questions, asked in a tone so
low, that the knight would certainly have been deaf to them had they
been put to him by any one under the rank of Prince of Wales. After
about a minute's conversation, the Prince bestowed on Nigel the
embarrassing notice of another fixed look, touched his hat slightly to
Sir Mungo, and walked on.

"It is even as I suspected, my lord," said Sir Mungo, with an air
which he designed to be melancholy and sympathetic, but which, in
fact, resembled the grin of an ape when he has mouthed a scalding
chestnut--"Ye have back-friends, my lord, that is, unfriends--or, to
be plain, enemies--about the person of the Prince."

"I am sorry to hear it," said Nigel; "but I would I knew what they
accuse me of."

"Ye shall hear, my lord," said Sir Mungo, "the Prince's vera words--
'Sir Mungo,' said he, 'I rejoice to see you, and am glad your
rheumatic troubles permit you to come hither for exercise.'--I bowed,
as in duty bound--ye might remark, my lord, that I did so, whilk
formed the first branch of our conversation.--His Highness then
demanded of me, 'if he with whom I stood, was the young Lord
Glenvarloch.' I answered, 'that you were such, for his Highness's
service;' whilk was the second branch.--Thirdly, his Highness,
resuming the argument, said, that 'truly he had been told so,'
(meaning that he had been told you were that personage,) 'but that he
could not believe, that the heir of that noble and decayed house could
be leading an idle, scandalous, and precarious life, in the eating-
houses and taverns of London, while the king's drums were beating, and
colours flying in Germany in the cause of the Palatine, his son-in-
law.'--I could, your lordship is aware, do nothing but make an
obeisance; and a gracious 'Give ye good-day, Sir Mungo Malagrowther,'
licensed me to fall back to your lordship. And now, my lord, if your
business or pleasure calls you to the ordinary, or anywhere in the
direction of the city--why, have with you; for, dootless, ye will
think ye have tarried lang enough in the Park, as they will likely
turn at the head of the walk, and return this way--and you have a
broad hint, I think, not to cross the Prince's presence in a hurry."

"_You_ may stay or go as you please, Sir Mungo," said Nigel, with an
expression of calm, but deep resentment; "but, for my own part, my
resolution is taken. I will quit this public walk for pleasure of no
man--still less will I quit it like one unworthy to be seen in places
of public resort. I trust that the Prince and his retinue will return
this way as you expect; for I will abide, Sir Mungo, and beard them."

"Beard them!" exclaimed Sir Mungo, in the extremity of surprise,--
"Beard the Prince of Wales--the heir-apparent of the kingdoms!--By my
saul, you shall beard him yourself then."

Accordingly, he was about to leave Nigel very hastily, when some
unwonted touch of good-natured interest in his youth and experience,
seemed suddenly to soften his habitual cynicism.

"The devil is in me for an auld fule!" said Sir Mungo; "but I must
needs concern mysell--I that owe so little either to fortune or my
fellow-creatures, must, I say, needs concern mysell--with this
springald, whom I will warrant to be as obstinate as a pig possessed
with a devil, for it's the cast of his family; and yet I maun e'en
fling away some sound advice on him.--My dainty young Lord
Glenvarloch, understand me distinctly, for this is no bairn's-play.
When the Prince said sae much to me as I have repeated to you, it was
equivalent to a command not to appear in his presence; wherefore take
an auld man's advice that wishes you weel, and maybe a wee thing
better than he has reason to wish ony body. Jouk, and let the jaw gae
by, like a canny bairn--gang hame to your lodgings, keep your foot
frae taverns, and your fingers frae the dice-box; compound your
affairs quietly wi' some ane that has better favour than yours about
Court, and you will get a round spell of money to carry you to
Germany, or elsewhere, to push your fortune. It was a fortunate
soldier that made your family four or five hundred years syne, and, if
you are brave and fortunate, you may find the way to repair it. But,
take my word for it, that in this Court you will never thrive."

When Sir Mungo had completed his exhortation, in which there was more
of sincere sympathy with another's situation, than he had been
heretofore known to express in behalf of any one, Lord Glenvarloch
replied, "I am obliged to you, Sir Mungo--you have spoken, I think,
with sincerity, and I thank you. But in return for your good advice, I
heartily entreat you to leave me; I observe the Prince and his train
are returning down the walk, and you may prejudice yourself, but
cannot help me, by remaining with me."

"And that is true,"--said Sir Mungo; "yet, were I ten years younger, I
would be tempted to stand by you, and gie them the meeting. But at
threescore and upward, men's courage turns cauldrife; and they that
canna win a living, must not endanger the small sustenance of their
age. I wish you weel through, my lord, but it is an unequal fight." So
saying, he turned and limped away; often looking back, however, as if
his natural spirit, even in its present subdued state, aided by his
love of contradiction and of debate, rendered him unwilling to adopt
the course necessary for his own security.

Thus abandoned by his companion, whose departure he graced with better
thoughts of him than those which he bestowed on his appearance, Nigel
remained with his arms folded, and reclining against a solitary tree
which overhung the path, making up his mind to encounter a moment
which he expected to be critical of his fate. But he was mistaken in
supposing that the Prince of Wales would either address him, or admit
him to expostulation, in such a public place as the Park. He did not
remain unnoticed, however, for, when he made a respectful but haughty
obeisance, intimating in look and manner that he was possessed of, and
undaunted by, the unfavourable opinion which the Prince had so lately
expressed, Charles returned his reverence with such a frown, as is
only given by those whose frown is authority and decision. The train
passed on, the Duke of Buckingham not even appearing to see Lord
Glenvarloch; while Lord Dalgarno, though no longer incommoded by the
sunbeams, kept his eyes, which had perhaps been dazzled by their
former splendour, bent upon the ground.

Lord Glenvarloch had difficulty to restrain an indignation, to which,
in the circumstances, it would have been madness to have given vent.
He started from his reclining posture, and followed the Prince's train
so as to keep them distinctly in sight; which was very easy, as they
walked slowly. Nigel observed them keep their road towards the Palace,
where the Prince turned at the gate and bowed to the noblemen in
attendance, in token of dismissing them, and entered the Palace,
accompanied only by the Duke of Buckingham, and one or two of his
equerries. The rest of the train, having returned in
 all dutiful humility the farewell of the Prince, began to disperse
themselves through the Park.

All this was carefully noticed by Lord Glenvarloch, who, as he
adjusted his cloak, and drew his sword-belt round so as to bring the
hilt closer to his hand, muttered--"Dalgarno shall explain all this to
me, for it is evident that he is in the secret!"




CHAPTER XVI


  Give way--give way--I must and will have justice.
  And tell me not of privilege and place;
  Where I am injured, there I'll sue redress.
  Look to it, every one who bars my access;
  I have a heart to feel the injury,
  A hand to night myself, and, by my honour,
  That hand shall grasp what grey-beard Law denies me.
                                _The Chamberlain._

It was not long ere Nigel discovered Lord Dalgarno advancing towards
him in the company of another young man of quality of the Prince's
train; and as they directed their course towards the south-eastern
corner of the Park, he concluded they were about to go to Lord
Huntinglen's. They stopped, however, and turned up another path
leading to the north; and Lord Glenvarloch conceived that this change
of direction was owing to their having seen him, and their desire to
avoid him.

Nigel followed them without hesitation by a path which, winding around
a thicket of shrubs and trees, once more conducted him to the less
frequented part of the Park. He observed which side of the thicket was
taken by Lord Dalgarno and his companion, and he himself, walking
hastily round the other verge, was thus enabled to meet them face to
face.

"Good-morrow, my Lord Dalgarno," said Lord Glenvarloch, sternly.

"Ha! my friend Nigel," answered Lord Dalgarno, in his usual careless
and indifferent tone, "my friend Nigel, with business on his brow?--
but you must wait till we meet at Beaujeu's at noon--Sir Ewes
Haldimund and I are at present engaged in the Prince's service."

"If you were engaged in the king's, my lord," said Lord Glenvarloch,
"you must stand and answer me."

"Hey-day!" said Lord Dalgarno, with an air of great astonishment,
"what passion is this? Why, Nigel, this is King Cambyses' vein!--You
have frequented the theatres too much lately--Away with this folly,
man; go, dine upon soup and salad, drink succory-water to cool your
blood, go to bed at sun-down, and defy those foul fiends, Wrath and
Misconstruction."

"I have had misconstruction enough among you," said Glenvarloch, in
the same tone of determined displeasure, "and from you, my Lord
Dalgarno, in particular, and all under the mask of friendship."

"Here is a proper business!"--said Dalgarno, turning as if to appeal
to Sir Ewes Haldimund; "do you see this angry ruffler, Sir Ewes? A
month since, he dared not have looked one of yonder sheep in the face,
and now he is a prince of roisterers, a plucker of pigeons, a
controller of players and poets--and in gratitude for my having shown
him the way to the eminent character which he holds upon town, he
comes hither to quarrel with his best friend, if not his only one of
decent station."

"I renounce such hollow friendship, my lord," said Lord Glenvarloch;
"I disclaim the character which, even to my very face, you labour to
fix upon me, and ere we part I will call you to a reckoning for it."

"My lords both," interrupted Sir Ewes Haldimund, "let me remind you
that the Royal Park is no place to quarrel in."

"I will make my quarrel good," said Nigel, who did not know, or in his
passion might not have recollected, the privileges
 of the place, "wherever I find my enemy."

"You shall find quarelling enough," replied Lord Dalgarno, calmly, "so
soon as you assign a sufficient cause for it. Sir Ewes Haldimund, who
knows the Court, will warrant you that I am not backward on such
occasions.--But of what is it that you now complain, after having
experienced nothing save kindness from me and my family?"

"Of your family I complain not," replied Lord Glenvarloch; "they have
done for me all they could, more, far more, than I could have
expected; but you, my lord, have suffered me, while you called me your
friend, to be traduced, where a word of your mouth would have placed
my character in its true colours--and hence the injurious message
which I just now received from the Prince of Wales. To permit the
misrepresentation of a friend, my lord, is to share in the slander."

"You have been misinformed, my Lord Glenvarloch," said Sir Ewes
Haldimund; "I have myself often heard Lord Dalgarno defend your
character, and regret that your exclusive attachment to the pleasures
of a London life prevented your paying your duty regularly to the King
and Prince."

"While he himself," said Lord Glenvarloch, "dissuaded me from
presenting myself at Court."

"I will cut this matter short," said Lord Dalgarno, with haughty
coldness. "You seem to have conceived, my lord, that you and I were
Pylades and Orestes--a second edition of Damon and Pythias--Theseus
and Pirithoiis at the least. You are mistaken, and have given the name
of friendship to what, on my part, was mere good-nature and compassion
for a raw and ignorant countryman, joined to the cumbersome charge
which my father gave me respecting you. Your character, my lord, is of
no one's drawing, but of your own making. I introduced you where, as
in all such places, there was good and indifferent company to be met
with--your habits, or taste, made you prefer the worse. Your holy
horror at the sight of dice and cards degenerated into the cautious
resolution to play only at those times, and with such persons, as
might ensure your rising a winner--no man can long do so, and continue
to be held a gentleman. Such is the reputation you have made for
yourself, and you have no right to be angry that I do not contradict
in society what yourself know to be true. Let us pass on, my lord; and
if you want further explanation, seek some other time and fitter
place."

"No time can be better than the present," said Lord Glenvarloch, whose
resentment was now excited to the uttermost by the cold-blooded and
insulting manner, in which Dalgarno vindicated himself,--"no place
fitter than the place where we now stand. Those of my house have ever
avenged insult, at the moment, and on the spot, where it was offered,
were it at the foot of the throne.--Lord Dalgarno, you are a villain!
draw and defend yourself." At the same moment he unsheathed his
rapier.

"Are you mad?" said Lord Dalgarno, stepping back; "we are in the
precincts of the Court."

"The better," answered Lord Glenvarloch; "I will cleanse them from a
calumniator and a coward." He then pressed on Lord Dalgarno, and
struck him with the flat of the sword.

The fray had now attracted attention, and the cry went round, "Keep
the peace--keep the peace--swords drawn in the Park!--What, ho!
guards!--keepers--yeomen--rangers!" and a number of people came
rushing to the spot from all sides.

Lord Dalgarno, who had half drawn his sword on receiving the blow,
returned it to his scabbard when he observed the crowd thicken, and,
taking Sir Ewes Haldimund by the arm, walked hastily away, only saying
to Lord Glenvarloch as they left him, "You shall dearly abye this
insult--we will meet again."

A decent-looking elderly man, who observed that Lord Glenvarloch
remained on the spot, taking compassion on his youthful appearance,
said to him, "Are you aware that this is a Star-Chamber business,
young gentleman, and that it may cost you your right hand?--Shift for
yourself before the keepers or constables come up--Get into
Whitefriars or somewhere, for sanctuary and concealment, till you can
make friends or quit the city."

The advice was not to be neglected. Lord Glenvarloch made hastily
towards the issue from the Park by Saint James's Palace, then Saint
James's Hospital. The hubbub increased behind him; and several peace-
officers of the Royal Household came up to apprehend the delinquent.
Fortunately for Nigel, a popular edition of the cause of the affray
had gone abroad. It was said that one of the Duke of Buckingham's
companions had insulted a stranger gentleman from the country, and
that the stranger had cudgelled him soundly. A favourite, or the
companion of a favourite, is always odious to John Bull, who has,
besides, a partiality to those disputants who proceed, as lawyers term
it, _par wye du fait_, and both prejudices were in Nigel's favour. The
officers, therefore, who came to apprehend him, could learn from the
spectators no particulars of his appearance, or information concerning
the road he had taken; so that, for the moment, he escaped being
arrested.

What Lord Glenvarloch heard among the crowd as he passed along, was
sufficient to satisfy him, that in his impatient passion he had placed
himself in a predicament of considerable danger.
 He was no stranger to the severe and arbitrary proceedings of the
Court of Star-Chamber, especially in cases of breach of privilege,
which made it the terror of all men; and it was no farther back than
the Queen's time that the punishment of mutilation had been actually
awarded and executed, for some offence of the same kind which he had
just committed. He had also the comfortable reflection, that, by his
violent quarrel with Lord Dalgarno, he must now forfeit the friendship
and good offices of that nobleman's father and sister, almost the only
persons of consideration in whom he could claim any interest; while
all the evil reports which had been put in circulation concerning his
character, were certain to weigh heavily against him, in a case where
much must necessarily depend on the reputation of the accused. To a
youthful imagination, the idea of such a punishment as mutilation
seems more ghastly than death itself; and every word which he
overheard among the groups which he met, mingled with, or overtook and
passed, announced this as the penalty of his offence. He dreaded to
increase his pace for fear of attracting suspicion, and more than once
saw the ranger's officers so near him, that his wrist tingled as if
already under the blade of the dismembering knife. At length he got
out of the Park, and had a little more leisure to consider what he was
next to do.

Whitefriars, adjacent to the Temple, then well known by the cant name
of Alsatia, had at this time, and for nearly a century afterwards, the
privilege of a sanctuary, unless against the writ of the Lord Chief
Justice, or of the Lords of the Privy-Council. Indeed, as the place
abounded with desperadoes of every description,--bankrupt citizens,
ruined gamesters, irreclaimable prodigals, desperate duellists,
bravoes, homicides, and debauched profligates of every description,
all leagued together to maintain the immunities of their asylum,--it
was both difficult and unsafe for the officers of the law to execute
warrants emanating even from the highest authority, amongst men whose
safety was inconsistent with warrants or authority of any kind. This
Lord Glenvarloch well knew; and odious as the place of refuge was, it
seemed the only one where, for a space at least, he might be concealed
and secure from the immediate grasp of the law, until he should have
leisure to provide better for his safety, or to get this unpleasant
matter in some shape accommodated.

Meanwhile, as Nigel walked hastily forward towards the place of
sanctuary, he bitterly blamed himself for suffering Lord Dalgarno to
lead him into the haunts of dissipation; and no less accused his
intemperate heat of passion, which now had driven him for refuge into
the purlieus of profane and avowed vice and debauchery.

"Dalgarno spoke but too truly in that," were his bitter reflections;
"I have made myself an evil reputation by acting on his insidious
counsels, and neglecting the wholesome admonitions which ought to have
claimed implicit obedience from me, and which recommended abstinence
even from the slightest approach of evil. But if I escape from the
perilous labyrinth in which folly and inexperience, as well as violent
passions, have involved me, I will find some noble way of redeeming
the lustre of a name which was never sullied until I bore it."

As Lord Glenvarloch formed these prudent resolutions, he entered the
Temple Walks, whence a gate at that time opened into Whitefriars, by
which, as by the more private passage, he proposed to betake himself
to the sanctuary. As he approached the entrance to that den of infamy,
from which his mind recoiled even while in the act of taking shelter
there, his pace slackened, while the steep and broken stairs reminded
him of the _facilis_ descensus Averni, and rendered him doubtful
whether it were not better to brave the worst which could befall him
in the public haunts of honourable men, than to evade punishment by
secluding himself in those of avowed vice and profligacy.

As Nigel hesitated, a young gentleman of the Temple advanced towards
him, whom he had often seen, and sometimes conversed with, at the
ordinary, where he was a frequent and welcome guest, being a wild
young gallant, indifferently well provided with money, who spent at
the theatres and other gay places of public resort, the time which his
father supposed he was employing in the study of the law. But Reginald
Lowestoffe, such was the young Templar's name, was of opinion that
little law was necessary to enable him to spend the revenues of the
paternal acres which were to devolve upon him at his father's demose,
and therefore gave himself no trouble to acquire more of that science
than might be imbibed along with the learned air of the region in
which he had his chambers. In other respects, he was one of the wits
of the place, read Ovid and Martial, aimed at quick repartee and pun,
(often very far fetched,) danced, fenced, played at tennis, and
performed sundry tunes on the fiddle and French horn, to the great
annoyance of old Counsellor Barratter, who lived in the chambers
immediately below him. Such was Reginald Lowes-toffe, shrewd, alert,
and well-acquainted with the town through all its recesses, but in a
sort of disrespectable way. This gallant, now approaching the Lord
Glenvarloch, saluted him by name and title, and asked if his lordship
designed for the Chevalier's this day, observing it was near noon, and
the woodcock would be on the board before they could reach the
ordinary.

"I do not go there to-day," answered Lord Glenvarloch. "Which way,
then, my lord?" said the young Templar, who was perhaps not undesirous
to parade a part at least of the street in company with a lord, though
but a Scottish one.

"I--I--" said Nigel, desiring to avail himself of this young man's
local knowledge, yet unwilling and ashamed to acknowledge his
intention to take refuge in so disreputable a quarter, or to describe
the situation in which he stood--"I have some curiosity to see
Whitefriars."

"What! your lordship is for a frolic into Alsatia?" said Lowestoffe-"-
Have with you, my lord--you cannot have a better guide to the infernal
regions than myself. I promise you there are bona-robas to be found
there--good wine too, ay, and good fellows to drink it with, though
somewhat suffering under the frowns of Fortune. But your lordship will
pardon me--you are the last of our acquaintance to whom I would have
proposed such a voyage of discovery."

"I am obliged to you, Master Lowestoffe, for the good opinion you have
expressed in the observation," said Lord Glenvarloch; "but my present
circumstances may render even a residence of a day or two in the
sanctuary a matter of necessity."

"Indeed!" said Lowestoffe, in a tone of great surprise; "I thought
your lordship had always taken care not to risk any considerable
stake--I beg pardon, but if the bones have proved perfidious, I know
just so much law as that a peer's person is sacred from arrest; and
for mere impecuniosity, my lord, better shift can be made elsewhere
than in Whitefriars, where all are devouring each other for very
poverty."

"My misfortune has no connexion with want of money," said Nigel.

"Why, then, I suppose," said Lowestoffe, "you have been tilting, my
lord, and have pinked your man; in which case, and with a purse
reasonably furnished, you may lie perdu in Whitefriars for a
twelvemonth--Marry, but you must be entered and received as a member
of their worshipful society, my lord, and a frank burgher of Alsatia--
so far you must condescend; there will be neither peace nor safety for
you else."

"My fault is not in a degree so deadly, Master Lowestoffe," answered
Lord Glenvarloch, "as you seem to conjecture--I have stricken a
gentleman in the Park, that is all."

"By my hand, my lord, and you had better have struck your sword
through him at Barns Elms," said the Templar. "Strike within the verge
of the Court! You will find that a weighty dependence upon your hands,
especially if your party be of rank and have favour."

"I will be plain with you, Master Lowestoffe," said Nigel, "since I
have gone thus far. The person I struck was Lord Dalgarno, whom you
have seen at Beaujeu's."

"A follower and favourite of the Duke of Buckingham!--It is a most
unhappy chance, my lord; but my heart was formed in England, and
cannot bear to see a young nobleman borne down, as you are like to be.
We converse here greatly too open for your circumstances. The Templars
would suffer no bailiff to execute a writ, and no gentleman to be
arrested for a duel, within their precincts; but in such a matter
between Lord Dalgarno and your lordship, there might be a party on
either side. You must away with me instantly to my poor chambers here,
hard by, and undergo some little change of dress, ere you take
sanctuary; for else you will have the whole rascal rout of the Friars
about you, like crows upon a falcon that strays into their rookery. We
must have you arrayed something more like the natives of Alsatia, or
there will be no life there for you."

While Lowestoffe spoke, he pulled Lord Glenvarloch along with him into
his chambers, where he had a handsome library, filled with all the
poems and play-books which were then in fashion. The Templar then
dispatched a boy, who waited upon him, to procure a dish or two from
the next cook's shop; "and this," he said, "must be your lordship's
dinner, with a glass of old sack, of which my grandmother (the heavens
requite her!) sent me a dozen bottles, with charge to use the liquor
only with clarified whey, when I felt my breast ache with over study.
Marry, we will drink the good lady's health in it, if it is your
lordship's pleasure, and you shall see how we poor students eke out
our mutton-commons in the hall."

The outward door of the chambers was barred so soon as the boy had re-
entered with the food; the boy was ordered to keep close watch, and
admit no one; and Lowestoffe, by example and precept, pressed his
noble guest to partake of his hospitality. His frank and forward
manners, though much differing from the courtly ease of Lord Dalgarno,
were calculated to make a favourable impression; and Lord Glenvarloch,
though his experience of Dalgarno's perfidy had taught him to be
cautious of reposing faith in friendly professions, could not avoid
testifying his gratitude to the young Templar, who seemed so anxious
for his safety and accommodation.

"You may spare your gratitude any great sense of obligation, my lord,"
said the Templar. "No doubt I am willing to be of use to any gentleman
that has cause to sing _Fortune my foe_, and particularly proud to
serve your lordship's turn; but I have also an old grudge, to speak
Heaven's truth, at your opposite, Lord Dalgarno."

"May I ask on what account, Master Lowestoffe?" said Lord Glenvarloch.

"O, my lord," replied the Templar, "it was for a hap that chanced
after you left the ordinary, one evening about three weeks since--at
least I think you were not by, as your lordship always left us before
deep play began--I mean no offence, but such was your lordship's
custom--when there were words between Lord Dalgarno and me concerning
a certain game at gleek, and a certain mournival of aces held by his
lordship, which went for eight--tib, which went for fifteen--twenty-
three in all. Now I held king and queen, being three--a natural
towser, making fifteen--and tiddy, nineteen. We vied the ruff, and
revied, as your lordship may suppose, till the stake was equal to half
my yearly exhibition, fifty as fair yellow canary birds as e'er
chirped in the bottom of a green silk purse. Well, my lord, I gained
the cards, and lo you! it pleases his lordship to say that we played
without tiddy; and as the rest stood by and backed him, and especially
the sharking Frenchman, why, I was obliged to lose more than I shall
gain all the season.--So judge if I have not a crow to pluck with his
lordship. Was it ever heard there was a game at gleek at the ordinary
before, without counting tiddy?--marry quep upon his lordship!--Every
man who comes there with his purse in his hand, is as free to make new
laws as he, I hope, since touch pot touch penny makes every man
equal."

As Master Lowestoffe ran over this jargon of the gaming-table, Lord
Glenvarloch was both ashamed and mortified, and felt a severe pang of
aristocratic pride, when he concluded in the sweeping clause that the
dice, like the grave, levelled those distinguishing points of society,
to which Nigel's early prejudices clung perhaps but too fondly. It was
impossible, however, to object any thing to the learned reasoning of
the young Templar, and therefore Nigel was contented to turn the
conversation, by making some inquiries respecting the present state of
White-friars. There also his host was at home.

"You know, my lord," said Master Lowestoffe, "that we Templars are a
power and a dominion within ourselves, and I am proud to say that I
hold some rank in our republic--was treasurer to the Lord of Misrule
last year, and am at this present moment in nomination for that
dignity myself. In such circumstances, we are under the necessity of
maintaining an amicable intercourse with our neighbours of Alsatia,
even as the Christian States find themselves often, in mere policy,
obliged to make alliance with the Grand Turk, or the Barbary States."

"I should have imagined you gentlemen of the Temple more independent
of your neighbours," said Lord Glenvarloch.

"You do us something too much honour, my lord," said the Templar; "the
Alsatians and we have some common enemies, and we have, under the
rose, some common friends. We are in the use of blocking all bailiffs
out of our bounds, and we are powerfully aided by our neighbours, who
tolerate not a rag belonging to them within theirs. Moreover the
Alsatians have--I beg you to understand me--the power of protecting or
distressing our friends, male or female, who may be obliged to seek
sanctuary within their bounds. In short, the two communities serve
each other, though the league is between states of unequal quality,
and I may myself say, that I have treated of sundry weighty affairs,
and have been a negotiator well approved on both sides.--But hark--
hark--what is that?"

The sound by which Master Lowestoffe was interrupted, was that of a
distant horn, winded loud and keenly, and followed by a faint and
remote huzza.

"There is something doing," said Lowestoffe, "in the Whitefriars at
this moment. That is the signal when their privileges are invaded by
tipstaff or bailiff; and at the blast of the horn they all swarm out
to the rescue, as bees when their hive is disturbed.--Jump, Jim," he
said, calling out to the attendant, "and see what they are doing in
Alsatia.--That bastard of a boy," he continued, as the lad, accustomed
to the precipitate haste of his master, tumbled rather than ran out of
the apartment, and so down stairs, "is worth gold in this quarter--he
serves six masters--four of them in distinct Numbers, and you would
think him present like a fairy at the mere wish of him that for the
time most needs his attendance. No scout in Oxford, no gip in
Cambridge, ever matched him in speed and intelligence. He knows the
step of a dun from that of a client, when it reaches the very bottom
of the staircase; can tell the trip of a pretty wench from the step of
a bencher, when at the upper end of the court; and is, take him all in
all--But I see your lordship is anxious--May I press another cup of my
kind grandmother's cordial, or will you allow me to show you my
wardrobe, and act as your valet or groom of the chamber?"

Lord Glenvarloch hesitated not to acknowledge that he was painfully
sensible of his present situation, and anxious to do what must needs
be done for his extrication.

The good-natured and thoughtless young Templar readily acquiesced, and
led the way into his little bedroom, where, from bandboxes,
portmanteaus, mail-trunks, not forgetting an old walnut-tree wardrobe,
he began to select the articles which he thought best suited
effectually to disguise his guest in venturing into the lawless and
turbulent society of Alsatia.




CHAPTER XVII


 Come hither, young one,--Mark me! Thou art now
 'Mongst men o' the sword, that live by reputation
 More than by constant income--Single-suited
 They are, I grant you; yet each single suit
 Maintains, on the rough guess, a thousand followers--
 And they be men, who, hazarding their all,
 Needful apparel, necessary income,
 And human body, and immortal soul,
 Do in the very deed but hazard nothing--
 So strictly is that ALL bound in reversion;
 Clothes to the broker, income to the usurer,
 And body to disease, and soul to the foul fiend;
 Who laughs to see Soldadoes and Fooladoes,
 Play better than himself his game on earth.
                                        _The Mohocks._

"Your lordship," said Reginald Lowestoffe, "must be content to
exchange your decent and court-beseeming rapier, which I will retain
in safe keeping, for this broadsword, with an hundredweight of rusty
iron about the hilt, and to wear these huge-paned slops, instead of
your civil and moderate hose. We allow no cloak, for your ruffian
always walks in _cuerpo_; and the tarnished doublet of bald velvet,
with its discoloured embroidery, and--I grieve to speak it--a few
stains from the blood of the grape, will best suit the garb of a
roaring boy. I will leave you to change your suit for an instant, till
I can help to truss you."

Lowestoffe retired, while slowly, and with hesitation, Nigel obeyed
his instructions. He felt displeasure and disgust at the scoundrelly
disguise which he was under the necessity of assuming; but when he
considered the bloody consequences which law attached to his rash act
of violence, the easy and indifferent temper of James, the prejudices
of his son, the overbearing influence of the Duke of Buckingham, which
was sure to be thrown into the scale against him; and, above all, when
he reflected that he must now look upon the active, assiduous, and
insinuating Lord Dalgarno, as a bitter enemy, reason told him he was
in a situation of peril which authorised all honest means, even the
most unseemly in outward appearance, to extricate himself from so
dangerous a predicament.

While he was changing his dress, and musing on these particulars, his
friendly host re-entered the sleeping apartment--"Zounds!" he said,
"my lord, it was well you went not straight into that same Alsatia of
ours at the time you proposed, for the hawks have stooped upon it.
Here is Jem come back with tidings, that he saw a pursuivant there
with a privy-council warrant, and half a score of yeomen assistants,
armed to the teeth, and the horn which we heard was sounded to call
out the posse of the Friars. Indeed, when old Duke Hildebrod saw that
the quest was after some one of whom he knew nothing, he permitted,
out of courtesy, the man-catcher to search through his dominions,
quite certain that they would take little by their motions; for Duke
Hildebrod is a most judicious potentate.--Go back, you bastard, and
bring us word when all is quiet."

"And who may Duke Hildebrod be?" said Lord Glenvarloch.

"Nouns! my lord," said the Templar, "have you lived so long on the
town, and never heard of the valiant, and as wise and politic as
valiant, Duke Hildebrod, grand protector of the liberties of Alsatia?
I thought the man had never whirled a die but was familiar with his
fame."

"Yet I have never heard of him, Master Lowestoffe," said Lord
Glenvarloch; "or, what is the same thing, I have paid no attention to
aught that may have passed in conversation respecting him."

"Why, then," said Lowestoffe--"but, first, let me have the honour of
trussing you. Now, observe, I have left several of the points untied,
of set purpose; and if it please you to let a small portion of your
shirt be seen betwixt your doublet and the band of your upper stock,
it will have so much the more rakish effect, and will attract you
respect in Alsatia, where linen is something scarce. Now, I tie some
of the points carefully asquint, for your ruffianly gallant never
appears too accurately trussed--so."

"Arrange it as you will, sir," said Nigel; "but let me hear at least
something of the conditions of the unhappy district into which, with
other wretches, I am compelled to retreat."

"Why, my lord," replied the Templar, "our neighbouring state of
Alsatia, which the law calls the Sanctuary of White-friars, has had
its mutations and revolutions like greater kingdoms; and, being in
some sort a lawless, arbitrary government, it follows, of course, that
these have been more frequent than our own better regulated
commonwealth of the Templars, that of Gray's Inn, and other similar
associations, have had the fortune to witness. Our traditions and
records speak of twenty revolutions within the last twelve years, in
which the aforesaid state has repeatedly changed from absolute
despotism to republicanism, not forgetting the intermediate stages of
oligarchy, limited monarchy, and even gynocracy; for I myself remember
Alsatia governed for nearly nine months by an old fish-woman. 'I hen
it fell under the dominion of a broken attorney, who was dethroned by
a reformado captain, who, proving tyrannical, was deposed by a
hedgeparson, who was succeeded, upon resignation of his power, by Duke
Jacob Hildebrod, of that name the first, whom Heaven long preserve."

"And is this potentate's government," said Lord Glenvarloch, forcing
himself to take some interest in the conversation, "of a despotic
character?"

"Pardon me, my lord," said the Templar; "this said sovereign is too
wise to incur, like many of his predecessors, the odium of wielding so
important an authority by his own sole will. He has established a
council of state, who regularly meet for their morning's draught at
seven o'clock; convene a second time at eleven for their _ante-
meridiem_, or whet; and, assembling in solemn conclave at the hour of
two afternoon, for the purpose of consulting for the good of the
commonwealth, are so prodigal of their labour in the service of the
state, that they seldom separate before midnight. Into this worthy
senate, composed partly of Duke Hildebrod's predecessors in his high
office, whom he has associated with him to prevent the envy attending
sovereign and sole authority, I must presently introduce your
lordship, that they may admit you to the immunities of the Friars, and
assign you a place of residence."

"Does their authority extend to such regulation?" said Lord
Glenvarloch.

"The council account it a main point of their privileges, my lord,"
answered Lowestoffe; "and, in fact, it is one of the most powerful
means by which they support their authority. For when Duke Ilildebrod
and his senate find a topping householder in the Friars becomes
discontented and factious, it is but assigning him, for a lodger, some
fat bankrupt, or new lesidenter, whose circumstances require refuge,
and whose purse can pay for it, and the malecontent becomes as
tractable as a lamb. As for the poorer refugees, they let them shift
as they can; but the registration of their names in the Duke's entry-
book, and the payment of garnish conforming to their circumstances, is
never dispensed with; and the Friars would be a very unsafe residence
for the stranger who should dispute these points of jurisdiction."

"Well, Master Lowestoffe," said Lord Glenvarloch, "I must be
controlled by the circumstances which dictate to me this state of
concealment--of course, I am desirous not to betray my name and rank."

"It will be highly advisable, my lord," said Lowestoffe; "and is a
case thus provided for in the statutes of the republic, or monarchy,
or whatsoever you call it.--He who desires that no questions shall be
asked him concerning his name, cause of refuge, and the like, may
escape the usual interrogations upon payment of double the garnish
otherwise belonging to his condition. Complying with this essential
stipulation, your lordship may register yourself as King of Bantam if
you will, for not a question will be asked of you.--But here comes our
scout, with news of peace and tranquillity. Now, I will go with your
lordship myself, and present you to the council of Alsatia, with all
the influence which I have over them as an office-bearer in the
Temple, which is not slight; for they have come halting off upon all
occasions when we have taken part against them, and that they well
know. The time is propitious, for as the council is now met in
Alsatia, so the Temple walks are quiet. Now, my lord, throw your cloak
about you, to hide your present exterior. You shall give it to the boy
at the foot of the stairs that go down to the Sanctuary; and as the
ballad says that Queen Eleanor sunk at Charing Cross and rose at
Queenhithe, so you shall sink a nobleman in the Temple Gardens, and
rise an Alsatian at Whitefriars."

They went out accordingly, attended by the little scout, traversed the
gardens, descended the stairs, and at the bottom the young Templar
exclaimed,--"And now let us sing, with Ovid,

'In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas--'

Off, off, ye lendings!" he continued, in the same vein. "Via, the
curtain that shadowed Borgia!--But how now, my lord?" he continued,
when he observed Lord Glenvarloch was really distressed at the
degrading change in his situation, "I trust you are not offended at my
rattling folly? I would but reconcile you to your present
circumstances, and give you the tone of this strange place. Come,
cheer up; I trust it will only be your residence for a very few days."

Nigel was only able to press his hand, and reply in a whisper, "I am
sensible of your kindness. I know I must drink the cup which my own
folly has filled for me. Pardon me, that, at the first taste, I feel
its bitterness."

Reginald Lowestoffe was bustlingly officious and good-natured; but,
used to live a scrambling, rakish course of life himself, he had not
the least idea of the extent of Lord Glenvarloch's mental sufferings,
and thought of his temporary concealment as if it were merely the
trick of a wanton boy, who plays at hide-and-seek with his tutor. With
the appearance of the place, too, he was familiar--but on his
companion it produced a deep sensation.

The ancient Sanctuary at Whitefriars lay considerably lower than the
elevated terraces and gardens of the Temple, and was therefore
generally involved in the damps and fogs arising from the Thames. The
brick buildings by which it was occupied, crowded closely on each
other, for, in a place so rarely privileged, every foot of ground was
valuable; but, erected in many cases by persons whose funds were
inadequate to their speculations, the houses were generally
insufficient, and exhibited the lamentable signs of having become
ruinous while they were yet new. The wailing of children, the scolding
of their mothers, the miserable exhibition of ragged linens hung from
the windows to dry, spoke the wants and distresses of the wretched
inhabitants; while the sounds of complaint were mocked and overwhelmed
in the riotous shouts, oaths, profane songs, and boisterous laughter,
that issued from the alehouses and taverns, which, as the signs
indicated, were equal in number to all the other houses; and, that the
full character of the place might be evident, several faded, tinselled
and painted females, looked boldly at the strangers from their open
lattices, or more modestly seemed busied with the cracked flower-pots,
filled with mignonette and rosemary, which were disposed in front of
the windows, to the great risk of the passengers.