The individual who now advanced towards our heroine and her lover, was a very young Cavalier of distinguished appearance, and of elegant gait and carriage. His countenance, though marked with features strong almost to harshness, was nevertheless engaging, from its lively play of expression and general character of humour and vivacity, which his jet black eyes and brown complexion contributed to heighten. He wore the dress of the order of the Garter, the mantle being of its original colour, of rich celestial blue, and the surcoat and humerale of crimson, while, unlike all around him, he retained on his head the cap of black velvet. With an easy step and nonchalante air, he sauntered towards the Lady Katharine Wentworth and accosted her.

"Fairest Lady Katharine! I entreat the favour of your most sweet partnership in the dance."

"That, sir Knight! I have already done," said Lyndesay, "and the Lady Katharine Wentworth was about to honour me."

"Hush!" said the almost inaudible voice of the young lady. Whilst her courtly suitor, nothing

doubting, and as if totally unconscious of Lyndesay's remark, offered her his hand to conduct her to the circle. She immediately conceded it; but before she could indicate to Albert by a look the state of her feelings on this interruption, our hero impetuously proceeded,—

"But one instant, so please you, Sir!—This ends not here. Though a stranger within this courtly hall, I am a gentleman, and demand to know who is he that has insulted me, and, I might have added, this lady too, but that she seems to tolerate it, for to ask, without unbonneting, the favour of a lady's hand, betokens but strange courtesy."

The young man turned, and for the first time eyed the stranger who thus addressed him, pausing a few moments, as if to take an accurate observation of his rival's person. During this survey, which Lyndesay endured with some signs of scorn and impatience, the expression of the younger Cavalier, far from denoting hostility, was rather that of amused curiosity, which gave place, however, to an aspect of profound gravity, as at

length he gracefully doffed his cap, and offering to our hero a deep and formal reverence, said as he did so,

"Sir stranger! I thank you for the hint, and am fain to acknowledge that, in contending for the claims of beauty to universal homage, your sense of the rights of prerogative was clearer than my own. In order to gratify your natural anxiety to know whom you have benefited by so important a lesson, I have the honour to inform you, that in these parts men generally call me Charles Stuart, Prince of Wales-very much at your service!"

Astonished, but neither staggered nor confused, Lyndesay offered an apology. "I crave your Royal Highness's pardon," said he, "for the mistake into which my ignorance of your Highness's person has led me. Disrespect to any of your Royal house were, indeed, the farthest possible from my thoughts."

66

Enough, enough, my good friend,” replied the Prince. "The fault was my own, not yours, as I ought to have sent the proposal by a page.

In your place, I myself should have acted exactly as you did. To say the truth, you find me here in Oxford, in the best possible training, and thankful for any information that may be afforded me. I have been submitting to discipline ever since I came here. The other day, with a laudable anxiety to dissipate the clouds of ignorance, which, in this celebrated seat of learning, ought to exhale of themselves, I requested the loan of a volume from the Bodleian. Of course it was against the rules to lend one, and my messenger was desired duly to inform the Prince of Wales that if his Royal Highness wished to examine the work, he must proceed to the library. So as the mountain would not come to Rome, Rome was fain to go to the mountain. But this was a joke compared with that dire ceremony, in which his Highness, after four hours and forty-five minutes of excruciating torture, under Greek orations, and Latin addresses, underwent, in the hands of the allpowerful Doctors and Deans, Proctors and Masters, the awful infliction of a degree.-But, fair lady!

the dance is commencing. By the bye, young gentleman, it would be but fair that having carried off your intended partner, I should provide you with another. Here, Killigrew!" continued he, "seek out some fair demoiselle yet unprovided with a Cavalier, and present to her this gallant cavalier, yet unprovided with a demoiselle. And now, Katerina bella, eccomi!"

Having good-naturedly talked away, as he believed, any small remains of embarrassment which the preceding circumstances might have left, the Prince took the hand of his lovely partner, and led her away; Albert soon losing sight of them, as they traversed the crowded hall to reach the circle now cleared for the dance.

Though sufficiently acquainted with court etiquette, to be aware that the royal request was equivalent to a command, Lyndesay was unreasonable enough to feel some resentment against Katherine, because she had not transgressed the ceremonial on this occasion, and that in favour of a suit so coldly urged as his own. "She gladly