but might as well have cried upon the castle rock. She had passed her
word, she said, and I must be a good lad. It was impossible to burst

the door, even if it had been mannerly; it was impossible I should leap
from the window, being seven storeys above ground. All I could do was

to crane over the close and watch for their reappearance from the
stair. It was little to see, being no more than the tops of their two

heads each on a ridiculous bobbin of skirts, like to a pair of
pincushions. Nor did Catriona so much as look up for a farewell; being

prevented (as I heard afterwards) by Miss Grant, who told her folk were
never seen to less advantage than from above downward.

On the way home, as soon as I was set free, I upbraided Miss Grant with
her cruelty.

"I am sorry you was disappointed," says she demurely. "For my part I
was very pleased. You looked better than I dreaded; you looked - if it

will not make you vain - a mighty pretty young man when you appeared in
the window. You are to remember that she could not see your feet,"

says she, with the manner of one reassuring me.
"O!" cried I, "leave my feet be - they are no bigger than my

neighbours'."
"They are even smaller than some," said she, "but I speak in parables

like a Hebrew prophet."
"I marvel little they were sometimes stoned!" says I. "But, you

miserable girl, how could you do it? Why should you care to tantalise
me with a moment?"

"Love is like folk," says she; "it needs some kind of vivers."
"Oh, Barbara, let me see her properly!" I pleaded. "YOU can - you see

her when you please; let me have half an hour."
"Who is it that is managing this love affair! You! Or me?" she asked,

and as I continued to press her with my instances, fell back upon a
deadly expedient: that of imitating the tones of my voice when I

called on Catriona by name; with which, indeed, she held me in
subjection for some days to follow.

There was never the least word heard of the memorial, or none by me.
Prestongrange and his grace the Lord President may have heard of it

(for what I know) on the deafest sides of their heads; they kept it to
themselves, at least - the public was none the wiser; and in course of

time, on November 8th, and in the midst of a prodigious storm of wind
and rain, poor James of the Glens was duly hanged at Lettermore by

Ballachulish.
So there was the final upshot of my politics! Innocent men have

perished before James, and are like to keep on perishing (in spite of
all our wisdom) till the end of time. And till the end of time young

folk (who are not yet used with the duplicity of life and men) will
struggle as I did, and make heroical resolves, and take long risks; and

the course of events will push them upon the one side and go on like a
marching army. James was hanged; and here was I dwelling in the house

of Prestongrange, and grateful to him for his fatherly attention. He
was hanged; and behold! when I met Mr. Simon in the causeway, I was

fain to pull off my beaver to him like a good little boy before his
dominie. He had been hanged by fraud and violence, and the world

wagged along, and there was not a pennyweight of difference; and the
villains of that horrid plot were decent, kind, respectable fathers of

families, who went to kirk and took the sacrament!
But I had had my view of that detestable business they call politics -

I had seen it from behind, when it is all bones and blackness; and I
was cured for life of any temptations to take part in it again. A

plain, quiet, private path was that which I was ambitious to walk in,
when I might keep my head out of the way of dangers and my conscience

out of the road of temptation. For, upon a retrospect, it appeared I
had not done so grandly, after all; but with the greatest possible

amount of big speech and preparation, had accomplished nothing.
The 25th of the same month a ship was advertised to sail from Leith;

and I was suddenly recommended to make up my mails for Leyden. To
Prestongrange I could, of course, say nothing; for I had already been a

long while sorning on his house and table. But with his daughter I was
more open, bewailing my fate that I should be sent out of the country,

and assuring her, unless she should bring me to farewell with Catriona,
I would refuse at the last hour.

"Have I not given you my advice?" she asked.
"I know you have," said I, "and I know how much I am beholden to you

already, and that I am bidden to obey your orders. But you must
confess you are something too merry a lass at times to lippen to

entirely."
"I will tell you, then," said she. "Be you on board by nine o'clock

forenoon; the ship does not sail before one; keep your boat alongside;
and if you are not pleased with my farewells when I shall send them,

you can come ashore again and seek Katrine for yourself."
Since I could make no more of her, I was fain to be content with this.

The day came round at last when she and I were to separate. We had
been extremelyintimate and familiar; I was much in her debt; and what

way we were to part was a thing that put me from my sleep, like the
vails I was to give to the domestic servants. I knew she considered me

too backward, and rather desired to rise in her opinion on that head.
Besides which, after so much affection shown and (I believe) felt upon

both sides, it would have looked cold-like to be anyways stiff.
Accordingly, I got my courage up and my words ready, and the last

chance we were like to be alone, asked pretty boldly to be allowed to
salute her in farewell.

"You forget yourself strangely, Mr. Balfour," said she. "I cannot call
to mind that I have given you any right to presume on our

acquaintancy."
I stood before her like a stopped clock, and knew not what to think,

far less to say, when of a sudden she cast her arms about my neck and
kissed me with the best will in the world.

"You inimitable bairn?" she cried. "Did you think that I would let us
part like strangers? Because I can never keep my gravity at you five

minutes on end, you must not dream I do not love you very well: I am
all love and laughter, every time I cast an eye on you! And now I will

give you an advice to conclude your education, which you will have need
of before it's very long.

Never ASK womenfolk. They're bound to answer 'No'; God never made the
lass that could resist the temptation. It's supposed by divines to be

the curse of Eve: because she did not say it when the devil offered
her the apple, her daughters can say nothing else."

"Since I am so soon to lose my bonny professor," I began.
"This is gallant, indeed," says she curtseying.

"I would put the one question," I went on. "May I ask a lass to marry
to me?"

"You think you could not marry her without!" she asked. "Or else get
her to offer?"

"You see you cannot be serious," said I.
"I shall be very serious in one thing, David," said she: "I shall

always be your friend."
As I got to my horse the next morning, the four ladies were all at that

same window whence we had once looked down on Catriona, and all cried
farewell and waved their pocket napkins as I rode away. One out of the

four I knew was truly sorry; and at the thought of that, and how I had
come to the door three months ago for the first time, sorrow and

gratitude made a confusion in my mind.
PART II - FATHER AND DAUGHTER

CHAPTER XXI - THE VOYAGE INTO HOLLAND
THE ship lay at a single anchor, well outside the pier of Leith, so

that all we passengers must come to it by the means of skiffs. This
was very little trouble-some, for the reason that the day was a flat