O, first they eated the white puddings, His sister hastened to silence his murmurs, by proposing some of the reliques of the dinner. He spoke of another bottle of wine, 'but recommended in preference a glass of brandy, which was really excellent. As no entreaties could prevail on Lovel to indue the velvet night-cap and branched morning-gown of his host, Oldbuck, who pretended to a little knowledge of the medical art, insisted on his going to bed as soon as possible, and proposed to dispatch a messenger (the indefatigable Caxon) to Fairport early in the morning, to procure him a change of clothes. This was the first intimation Miss Oldbuck had received that the young stranger was to be their guest for the night; and such was the surprise with which she was struck by a proposal so uncommon, that, had the superincumbent weight of her head-dress, such as we before described, been less preponderant, her grey locks must have started upon end, and hurl'd it from its position. « Lord haud a care astounded maiden. o' us !» exclaimed the « What's the matter now, Grizel?»> Wad ye but just speak a moment, Monkbarns?» want to get to my bed-and this poor young fellow-let a bed be made ready for him instantly. « A bed?-The Lord preserve us,» again eja culated Grizel. <<Why, what's the matter now? are there not beds and rooms enough in the house? Was it not an ancient hospitium, in which I am warranted to say, beds were nightly made down for a score of pilgrims ?» « O dear, Mônkbarns! wha kens what they might do langsyne?-but in our time-bedsaye, troth, there's beds enow sic as they are-and rooms enow too-but ye ken yoursel the beds hae na been sleepit in, Lord kens the time, nor the rooms aired. —If I had kenn'd, Mary and me might hae gane down to the manse-Miss Beckie is aye fond to see us (and sae is the minister, brother) but now, gude safe us!»---<< Is there not the Green Room, Grizel?>> << Troth is there, and it is in decent order too, though naebody has slept there since Dr Heavysterne, and». « And what?» «< And what! I'm sure ye ken yoursel what a night he had-ye wadna expose the young gentleman to the like o' that, wad ye?» Lovel interfered upon hearing this altercation, and protested he would far rather walk home than put them to the least inconvenience-that the exercise would be of service to him—that he knew the road perfectly, by night or day, to Fairport-that the storm was abating, and so forth; adding all that civility could suggest as an excuse for escaping from a hospitality which seemed more inconvenient to his host than he could possibly have anticipated. But the howling of the wind, and pattering of the rain against the windows, with his knowledge of the preceding fatigues of the evening, must have prohibited Oldbuck, even had he entertained less regard for his young friend than he really felt, from permitting him to depart. Besides, he was piqued in honour to shew that he himself was not governed by womankind—« Sit ye down, sit ye down, sit ye down, man,» he reiterated; «an ye part so, I would I might never draw a cork again, and here comes out one from a prime bottle of— strong ale-right anno domini-none of your Wassia Quassia decoctions, but brewed of Monkbarns barley-John of the Girnel never drew a better flagon to entertain a wandering minstrel, or palmer, with the freshest news from Palestine. -And to remove from your mind the slightest wish to depart, know, that if you do so, your character as a gallant knight is gone for everWhy, 'tis an adventure, man, to sleep in the Green Room at Monkbarns-Sister, pray see it got ready-And, although the bold adventurer, Heavysterne, dree'd pain and dolour in that charmed apartment, it is no reason why a gallant knight like you, nearly twice as tall, and not half so heavy, should not encounter and break the spell.»> «What! a haunted apartment I suppose?» «To be sure, to be sure every mansion in this country of the slightest antiquity has its ghosts and its haunted-chamber, and you must not suppose us worse off than our neighbours. They are going, indeed, somewhat out of fashion. I have seen the day when, if you had doubted the reality of the ghost in an old manor-house, you run the risk of being made a ghost yourself, as Hamlet says - Yes, if you had challenged the existence of Redcowl in the castle of Glenstirym, old Sir Peter Pepperbrand would have had ye out to his court-yard, made you betake yourself to your weapon, and if your trick of fence were not the better, would have sticked you like a paddock, on his own baronial middenstead. I once narrowly escaped such an affray—But Į humbled myself and apologized to Redcowl; for, even in my younger days, I was no friend to the monomachia, or duel, and would rather walk with Sir Priest than with Sir Knight, I care not who knows so much of my valour-thank God I am old now, and can indulge my irritabilities without the necessity of supporting them by cold steel.» Here Miss Oldbuck re-entered with a singularly sage expression of countenance, « Mr Lovel's bed's ready, brother--clean sheets-weel air'd -a spunk of fire in the chimney-I am sure, Mr Lovel, (addressing him,) it's no for the trouble—and I hope you will have a good night's rest-But» << You are resolved to do what you can to prevent it." « Me ?—I am sure I have said naething, Monkbarns." " My dear madam," said Lovel, «allow me to ask you the meaning of your obliging anxiety on my account?" -- Ou, Monkbarns does not like to hear of itbut he kens himsel that the room has an ill name It's weel minded that it was there auld Rab Tull the town-clerk was sleeping when he had that marvellous communication about the grand law-plea between us and the feuars at the Mussel-craig. It had cost a hantle siller, Mr Lovel; for law-pleas were no carried on without siller lang syne mair than they are now--and the Monkbarns of that day—our gudesire, Mr Lovel, as I said before--was like to be waured afore the session for want of a paper-Monkbarns there kens weel what paper it was, but I'se warrant he'll no help me out wi' my tale-but it was a paper of great significance to the plea, and we were to be waured for want o't. Aweel, the cause was to come on before the fifteen-in presence, as they ca't-and auld Rab Tull, the town-clerk, he cam ower to make a last search for the paper that was wanting, before our gudesire gaed into Edinburgh to look after his plea-so there was little time to come and gang on-He was but a doited snuffy body, Rab, as I've heard-But then he was the town-clerk of Fairport, and the Monkbarns heritors aye employed him in their law business to |