is, however, gave James the valid excuse he required, and so he sent
a commission to the chief of the MacNabs. "His majesty," said the head
commissioner, "is entertaining the ambassadors from Spain and from
France, and likewise a legate from the Pope. If he came north, he must
at least bring with him these great noblemen with their retinues; and
while he would have been glad to visit you with some of his own men,
he could not impose upon the hospitality thus generously tendered, by
bringing also a large number of strangers and foreigners."

"Tell his majesty," replied MacNab with dignity, "that whether he
bring with him the King of Spain, the Emperor of France, or even the
Pope himself, none of these princes is, in the estimation of MacNab,
superior to James the Fifth, of Scotland. The entertainment therefore,
which the king graciously condescends to accept, is certainly good
enough for any foreigners that may accompany him, be their nobility
ever so high."

When this reply was reported to the king he first smiled and then
sighed.

"I can do nothing further," he said. "Return to MacNab and tell him
that the Pope's legate desires to visit the Priory on Loch Tay.
Tell the chief that we will take the boat along the lake on the day
arranged. Say that the foreigners are anxious to taste the venison of
the hills, and that nothing could be better than to give us a dinner
under the trees. Tell him that he need not be at any trouble to
provide us lodging, for we shall return to the Island Priory and there
sleep."

In the early morning the king and his followers, the ambassadors and
their train embarked on boats that had been brought overland for their
accommodation, and sailed from the Island Priory the length of the
beautiful lake; the numerous craft being driven through the water by
strong northern oarsmen, their wild chaunting choruses echoing back
from the picturesque mountains as they bent to their work. The evening
before, horses for the party had been led through forests, over the
hills, and along the strand, to the meeting-place at the other end of
the lake. Here they were greeted by the MacNabs, pipers and all, and
mounting the horses the gay cavalcade was led up the valley. The king
had warned their foreign Highnesses that they were not to expect in
this wilderness the niceties of Rome, Paris or Madrid, and each of the
ambassadors expressed his delight at the prospect of an outing certain
to contain so much that w