sea, I landed at the Fastcastle near to Eyemouth at eight hours of the morning. And glad indeed was I that morning when I jumped on to the jetty, and ran up the steps leading to the keep, which, as many know, are cut from the rock, and not easy to be found.

I was glad what else should I be? I had the yearning for my native land which is common to my race; and I had no great heart to remain in the service I had kept for the greater part of ten years. Monsieur was gone; the Poor Frog of the Queen of England was dead of a fever. The Prince of Orange was dead, by the bullet of Balthasar Gérard, a mean fanatic and hired assassin. For this Prince lived at a time not yet distant when money and patents of nobility were given for the doing of murder. The Pope, for whom my Pastors have many injurious words, naming him Antichrist and that Man of Sin, offered his rewards openlyeven as he might send the crier about for a lost dog. But when the English Harry, or the Queen his daughter, had a mind to the removal of a troublesome person, they handled the matter with some decency through the medium of an ambas

sador or envoy, though they paid not

somely as the Pope.

as hand

When the Prince fell, the life of the cause in the States seemed to die; and to none was this so much due as to the termagant who misgoverned England. Surely there was scarce an evil thing done either in the Low Countries or my native Scotland, which she had not laboured to bring about. Her ambassadors came to Edinburgh with instructions to make it impossible to govern the country, to set one interest against another, and to lie to all-to King, Council, Ministers, Nobility, and Barons. Nobody should know this better than I; but, if the commonty had known the truth, I fairly believe that they would have flayed the English ambassador alive in the Grassmarket, and sent his skin to his mistress. This and much more might they have done at that time with impunity; for if the Queen of England feared nothing else, she did fear a war with the Scots.

I left a service which had been kind to me; and I had heard from those who had the best reasons for knowing that I was returning to a land "where nane was in account but he that could either kill or reve

his neighbour." Well, I could kill and reve with the best of them-in a good cause, be it said. It was my trade.

In the keen morning air I ran quickly up the steps leading from the jetty; so that I was forced to stay for breath before I had compassed half of the distance. In faith, an evil place. The cliffs, which are very high on this coast, go down almost sheer into the sea. At one part, where a point juts out into the North Sea, there is a platform half-way down the cliff, which is reached from the jetty below by a flight of steps cut out of the rock. On this platform stands Fastcastle, and half-way up the steps to it on this May morning stood I, panting for breath and looking down upon the many-coloured sea.

As I stood, my head swimming somewhat with the exertion of running after being cramped in the boat, the voice as of one singing came up to me out of the sea. It came dimly, as from a great distance; if so I may say, it struggled to me; but the words were not the less plain to be heard, and what I heard and remember was somewhat to the following purpose:

"Five fathom deep,

Beneath the keep,

Not forgotten, not forgiving ;
Better to be loose and living

Upon the sea

Than bide with me."

Now, it may be that I was in some measure oppressed by the weird aspect of the place. But there is no Scotsman who does not know the meaning of "loose and living" as well as he knows the name of Douglas. So it came to pass that I, who have never rejected these messages of God, went down the steps more quickly than I came up, and stopped the disembarkation of my baggage, resolved that on no consideration would I land at the Fastcastle.

I had no sooner done this than one came down from the castle, whom I believed to be the Laird of Lundygrange, the keeper or owner of the place; but as I never saw him before or afterwards, I cannot speak of this with certainty. I had reason to believe that this man would both allow me to land and assist me with horses for my journey to Edinburgh; but now I was no longer willing to trust him.

"I believe I have the pleasure to welcome to my

poor castle the Colonel Andrew Eviot," said he, saluting me with much courtesy.

"Excuse me, Laird," I replied; "I am but simple Capitaine, and great as is the pleasure of seeing you and your hospitable castle, I am sorry my business requires that I should push on to Edinburgh without delay. Indeed, I trust you will furnish me with horses to transport myself and my servants."

"Impossible; quite impossible. Horses are at the moment the most expensive and most valuable possession a man can have in Scotland. They are hardly come by, and I have not enough for my own service. You had better stay a few days with me and look about you—the coast is very fine and the air bracing."

"Nay," said I, after thanking him profusely for his offer of hospitality; "if I may not ride, I must walk:" and I looked resolute, for I would compel him to show his hand. Whereupon he gazed somewhat sadly and sympathetically at me, and said

"You had better stay; believe me, sir, the air of Edinburgh may not be good for you just now."

'Good or bad, I'm going to test it."

Nay, nay," he returned irritably, "it is the King's