An accident of a similar nature had nearly happened to Jacobina. As she trotted her palfrey, rather smartly, over a piece of pretty even ground, the saddle, by reason of the slackening of the girth, suddenly tell to one side, and she had certainly come down but for the timely aid of the attentive Captain. This incident gave rise to an animated discussion, whether it was chargeable on the Bodach-glas, or on the carelessness of the stable-boy; but the problem being a very nice one, the disputants could not come to an agreement on the solution of it. The party had got beyond the limits of the wicked old fellow's influence, on their return homewards, and were already felicitating themselves on their good luck, when Jacobina discovered that she had lost her gloves. So trifling a matter, however, gave her no concern; and though she recollected that she had left them where she had sat for some time in the cave, and though the Captain obligingly offered to ride back for them, she would not allow him, She desired to leave them as an offering of gratitude to the Bodach for his forbearance while the party were in his dominions.

There was some reason to believe that the Captain had considerably advanced himself this day in the good graces of Jacobina. His rival in the meantime, however, had also enjoyed and made good use of opportunities in another quarter for promoting his views. He had arrived at Auldour soon after our departure, and had spent the forenoon in close deliberation there with the Colonel and his spouse.

Whatever had passed between him and them, we found him, on our return, in high spirits; and I remarked that he paid his respects to Maclaine apparently with less of the constrained air of rivalry which, on former occasions, he had not been altogether successful in his attempts to conceal. From this I drew an inference rather unfavourable to my friend the Captain. I had few other opportunities of making remarks till, as it verged towards a fashionable hour, the whole company assembled in the drawing-room, in expectation of dinner. My eyes were now dazzled with the finery which both ladies and gentlemen displayed, in the midst of which, my own dingy dress-suit-for my portable wardrobe was by no means copiously furnished with variety or splendour-made so very sorry an appearance that I was glad to be kept in countenance by a few casual interlopers, who, as usual, had been drawn from the road by the welcome signal of good cheer at Auldour's liberal board.

The entertainment corresponded, in elegance and sumptuousness, with the array of the company. A display of valuable plate glittered on all sides, the maitre de cuisine seemed to have spared no effort to render the fare suited to the occasion; the cellar had been laid under contribution for its most choice Madeira, claret, and champagne, the servants displayed their newest liveries, and everything bore evidence that guests of no ordinary quality that day graced the board.

Dunbreckan, of course, occupied the place of chief honour, at the right hand of the smiling hostess, who looked a dozen of years younger than she had done at breakfast. Maclaine was seated more than half-way down the table, and the contested prize, the blooming Jacobina, who never looked more lovely, was, by accident or design, placed at equal distance from both, at the opposite side; so that, in whatever way fortune might terminate the contest, neither party could well attribute his failure

to the unfavourable nature of his position, though, if there was any advantage, it evidently rested with Dunbreckan.

As the company, even when all the unbidden guests had taken their places, was, by no means, inconveniently large, I had the good luck to be so seated as to command the view of everything that went on. Fortunately, too, no troublesome dish stood before me; the lady at my left hand preferred talking to her own left-hand beau; and the unbidden. guest who elbowed me on the right-for though the ladies certainly predominated, some miscalculation had taken place in arranging them—was too much occupied with his trencher to interfere with my observations.

Dunbreckan had performed all the ceremonies of the toilet with minute attention. His mustachios, which he frequently twirled to keep them in curl, had been exquisitely tinged with a dark-coloured dye; his whiskers had received a gentle touch of the same hue; and the elegant pencil of hair which sprung from his lower lip was left of its natural auburn. His dress boasted a newer and more modish cut than any other at the table, a precious gem sparkled on his breast, and a massy gold chain depended from his neck. His air was, in every respect, suitable to his personal decorations. It betrayed no slight expression of conscious superiority, which nobody seemed inclined to dispute; and the lead in the conversation was universally conceded to him as a matter of right, which he appeared sufficiently to understand. He attempted many fine things to the ladies, which generally succeeded in calling forth the blushes of her to whom he addressed himself, and the applauding smile of all the rest. He frequently directed his discourse down the table to the attentive landlord; talked of his new stock of Cheviots; of his contemplated improvements in farming and planting; of the plan of his new grape-house, with other topics, all of self, and of an equally instructive character.

As 1 remarked all this with deep interest, my heart began to misgive me for the fate of my poor friend Maclaine. I sighed to reflect that it was downright folly for him to contend any longer with such an antagonist; and I could not help feeling a little ruffled in spirit at the thought that five thousand a year, and a pair of black mustachios, should give one man such an enviable superiority over another.

Yet his

My observations meantime on the behaviour of the half-pay Captain himself did not tend much to reassure me. He had hitherto sat in unassuming silence, apparently much buried in his own reflections, which I was inclined to believe, were not very different from my own. personal appearance upon the whole was more than usually prepossessing. His dress, though plain and suited to his means, was disposed with taste and elegance; and though he boasted neither mustachios nor a gold chain, and his countenance beamed not with its wonted expressiveness, there was still something in his air and general aspect which challenged a comparison with any gentleman present. My impression, nevertheless, was that he seemed somewhat crest-fallen; and I feared that his despondency would defeat his only remaining chance of success by checking the usual exuberance of his wit.

A few glances at Jacobina, however, served to revive my hopes. She seemed to be the only female at the table who witnessed with an undazzled eye the imposing display of the dashing young laird of Dunbreckan, and whose cheek altered not its hue in the least by the flattering notice he

All

bestowed upon her. I believe Maclaine made the same discovery, and it seemed to have considerable influence in re-animating his spirits. along, indeed, one of more acute penetration, and more intimately acquainted with the Captain's peculiarities, might, perhaps, have perceived that, though he gave place for a little to his rival, he was neither discouraged nor disposed to relinquish the combat. He waited only till Dunbreckan had put forth his whole strength and exhausted all his address in preliminary manoeuvres, and understood perfectly how to seize his own opportunity for retaliation.

Towards the conclusion of the third course, accordingly, I perceived, with much satisfaction, that his eye began to brighten and his tongue recover its wonted powers. The notice which he acquired by some preliminary observation seemed to encourage him to further efforts, till, by degrees, the general attention was withdrawn from Dunbreckan and be stowed on him. Maclaine now began to shine in all his glory. Bursts of laughter waited on his words, and, what was a still more envied distinction, the eye of the lovely Jacobina, who was ever ready to listen to and applaud his sallies, beamed benignantly upon him.

Dunbreckan for some time struggled to maintain his ground, but his remarks, though he strove to give them their full effect by animated gestures and well placed emphasis, gained only the tribute of mute attention and general assent, while the hearty laugh of the company still went along with his rival. The mortification thus produced in the now discomfited man too manifestly betrayed itself in the forced grin with which he sometimes condescended to join in the applause bestowed upon his opponent's wit. He had no alternative, however, but to yield to the torrent which had set in so forcibly against him, and be silent, unless at any time he desired to address his conversation to the landlady. She too, seemed, from the increased dignity of her bearing, to participate in his mortification, and made several attempts to cause a diversion in his favour, but all her endeavours were unavailing.

The Cap

Such was the state of matters when the ladies withdrew. tain, having now fewer motives for persisting in his opposition, again permitted Dunbreckan to assume the ascendency, and to retain it till the continued circulation of the claret and Madeira set every tongue into a state of great activity. Every one now became too much occupied with his own joke to bestow much attention on his neighbours' pretensions; and the spacious dining-room rung for some hours with the noisy din of boisterous conviviality.

From this obstreperous scene Maclaine was the first to make his retreat. I was too deeply interested in his movements to remain long behind him, and therefore hastened to mark his reception in the drawingroom. I found the ladies engaged in a very spirited discussion on the merits of the gay laird of Dunbreckan. Jacobina was very sarcastic in her remarks. She alleged that any wit he possessed was like Samson's strength, placed in his beard; and though her mother, several aunts, and a majority of the young ladies zealously united in his defence, she would, by no means, admit that he was either handsome or accomplished, or of agreeable manners.

During this amusing dispute, Maclaine maintained for some time a strict neutrality. At length he pretended to join the party of the squire,

but sufficiently understood his cue to suffer himself to be easily overcome by his satirical antagonist. The controversy was soon interrupted by the appearance of the gentleman in question himself, who had probably felt uneasy that his rival should be thus enjoying the unmolested possession of the field.

The amusement of cards, in which the evening was chiefly consumed, left little room for any important manœuvre. After supper, Dunbreckan was the first to move that the ladies should honour them with a song. As usual, in such cases, all were full of excuses; and when these were no longer tenable, those who urged them insisted that the gentlemen should set them the example. He who made the first motion was strongly pressed to lead the way; but he begged to be excused on the ground that he had a bad voice, adding at the same time that he thought most vocal performers of the male sex absolutely intolerable, especially where the more mellow tones of a feminine voice could be obtained.

If this remark was intended by the squire to discourage the efforts of his rival, whose vocal powers were well known, he woefully overshot his mark; for the ladies universally agreed that the observation was too severe, and in order to give it an unanswerable refutation, they all beset Maclaine to favour them with a specimen of his attainments. Dunbreckan attempted some apology, protested that he meant no disparagement of the Captain's powers, and expressed an earnest desire to hear him. Maclaine thus urged, had no choice left but compliance. He therefore struck up, after having stipulated that, to make amends for his own harsh notes, the ladies should all unite in the chorus of his song, which soon appeared to be a "fine new" one, of his own composition, set to a favourite Gaelic air. He afterwards favoured me with a copy of it, which I shall take the liberty here to insert, partly because I myself had the honour of being mentioned in it, and also because it seemed considerably to affect its author's own prospects:

Air-Faillirin, illirin, &c.

O some love Madeira, and some love Champagne,
And some love to hunt the fleet stag on the plain,
O some love an old song, and some love a new,
But I love the maid with the eyes softly blue.

Faillirin, illirin, &c.

There's Wooddroof, my friend, who takes wondrous delight,
In searching for wild flowers from morning to night;

But long will he range over mountain and grove,

Ere he meet with a flower to match with my love.
Faillirin, illirin, &c.

Cousin Norman delights to hoard up, with care,
In's cabinet minerals precious and rare;

But long will good Norman collect and explore,
Ere a gem he find like the maid I adore.
Faillirin, illirin, &c.

What kingdom of nature can furnish a hue,
To equal the charms of her eyes' lovely blue?
O vainly of Flora a match shalt thou seek,
For the lilly and roses blend on her cheek.
Faillirin, illirin, &c.

My life was a dream, till the thrice happy day,

When her shafts, aim'd in sport, soon made me their prey;
Her chains, heavenly temper'd, encompass my heart,
With a power that can ne'er be equall'd by art.
Faillirin, illirin, &c.

Whatever may be the reader's opinion regarding the poetical merits of this composition, it was received with very flattering applause by those who first sat in judgment upon it. Many of them rapturously encored it; but the performer's modesty would not allow him to comply. Dunbreckan was obliged to go along with the tide, though the compliments, which he found himself called on to bestow, seemed to cost him a considerable effort, and were uttered with but indifferent grace.

Maclaine's triumph, in fact, seemed now complete. The worthy landlord himself, though he could not fail to perceive the drift of the poetical Captain's muse, was so overcome with his feelings of admiration that he Crasped Maclaine's hand, and, shaking it cordially, called for a general bumper to compliment his performances as a poet and a vocalist, and to wish him all success in his addresses to the subject of his song.

Perhaps it is nearly as difficult for a partial parent to hear, without emotion, a daughter's charms celebrated in flattering strains, as for the bc-rhymed beauty herself to preserve her bosom free from all predilection for the man who thus feels himself inspired in her praise. I persuaded myself, therefore, that I read in the old gentleman's delighted eye a full approval of the poet's suit; and though his more calculating helpmate testified her satisfaction in less rapturous terms, I no longer felt any inclination to despair of my meritorious friend's success.

Mrs Mackenzie, indeed, in complimenting the Captain, betrayed such constraint in her air and manner as seemed to render her sincerity more than doubtful. Yet she endeavoured to make a virtue of necessity, and to pass the matter off with her best grace. She expressed some curiosity to know the name of the fair nymph so much indebted to his muse, and remarked that she could scarcely persuade herself that she was then in the company, otherwise she must have long ago betrayed herself by her blushes.

In fact, though I had watched Jacobina's looks with as close attention as politeness would permit during her admirer's performance, I could not detect the slightest variation in her colour, and I was rather at a loss whether to admire her self-possession or to believe that, as her mother pretended, she did not understand herself as the heroine of the song.

Maclaine having thus broken the ice, several of the ladies were prevailed on to follow; but none else of the gentlemen could be induced to hazard his reputation on a field where the proudest laurels had been already gathered. That the other sex, however, might bear their part in promoting the hilarity of the evening, the ladies passed a unanimous vote