at,' cried Jean, in an access of feeling. ''Tis hame, and
it's hame to see sic a sonsie Scots face--and it minds me of my blessed
father.'

It was true that Margaret and Eleanor both were thorough Scotswomen, and
with the expressive features, the auburn colouring, and tall figures of
their father; but there was for the rest a melancholy contrast between
them, for while Elleen had the eager, hopeful, lively healthfulness of
early youth, giving a glow to her countenance and animation to the lithe
but scarcely-formed figure, Margaret, with the same original mould,
had the pallor and puffiness of ill-health in her complexion, and a
largeness of growth more unsatisfactory than leanness, and though her
face was lighted up and her eyes sparkled with the joy of meeting her
sisters, there were lines about the brow and round the mouth ill suited
to her age, which was little over twenty years.

CHAPTER 7. THE MINSTREL KING'S COURT

'Where throngs of knights and barons bold,
In weeds of peace, high triumphs hold,
With store of ladies, whose bright eyes
Rain influence, and judge the prize
Of wit or arms, while both contend
To win her grace whom all commend.'--L'Allegro.

The whole of the two Courts had to be received in the capital of
Lorraine in full state under the beautiful old gateway, but as mediaeval
pageants are wearisome matters this may be passed over, though it was
exceptionally beautiful and poetic, owing to the influence of
King Rene's taste, and it perfectly dazzled the two Scottish
princesses--though, to tell the truth, they were somewhat disappointed
in the personal appearance of their entertainers, who did not come up to
their notion of royalty. Their father had been a stately and magnificent
man; their mother a beautiful woman. Henry VI. was a tall, well-made,
handsome man, with Plantagenet fairness and regularity of feature and a
sweetness all his own; but both these kings were, like all the house of
Valois, small men with insignificant features and sallow complexions.
Rene, indeed, had a distinction about him that compensated for want of
beauty, and Charles had a good-natured, easy, indolent look and gracious
smile that gave him an undefinable air of royalty. Rene's daughters
were both very lovely, but their beauty came from the other side of the
house, with the blood of Charles the Great, through their mother, the
heiress of Lorraine.

There was a curious contra