no means--for soothing no time; so in his impatience
he snatched the dwarf up from the ground, and bearing him along,
notwithstanding his entreaties and his fear, reached nearly to the
pavilion pointed out as that of the Queen. In approaching it, however,
the Scot observed there was a small guard of soldiers sitting on the
ground, who had been concealed from him by the intervening tents.
Wondering that the clash of his own armour had not yet attracted
their attention, and supposing that his motions might, on the present
occasion, require to be conducted with secrecy, he placed the little
panting guide upon the ground to recover his breath, and point out what
was next to be done. Nectabanus was both frightened and angry; but he
had felt himself as completely in the power of the robust knight as an
owl in the claws of an eagle, and therefore cared not to provoke him to
any further display of his strength.

He made no complaints, therefore, of the usage he had received; but,
turning amongst the labyrinth of tents, he led the knight in silence
to the opposite side of the pavilion, which thus screened them from
the observation of the warders, who seemed either too negligent or too
sleepy to discharge their duty with much accuracy. Arrived there, the
dwarf raised the under part of the canvas from the ground, and made
signs to Sir Kenneth that he should introduce himself to the inside of
the tent, by creeping under it. The knight hesitated. There seemed an
indecorum in thus privately introducing himself into a pavilion pitched,
doubtless, for the accommodation of noble ladies; but he recalled
to remembrance the assured tokens which the dwarf had exhibited, and
concluded that it was not for him to dispute his lady's pleasure.

He stooped accordingly, crept beneath the canvas enclosure of the tent,
and heard the dwarf whisper from without, "Remain here until I call
thee."

CHAPTER XIII.

You talk of Gaiety and Innocence!
The moment when the fatal fruit was eaten,
They parted ne'er to meet again; and Malice
Has ever since been playmate to light Gaiety,
From the first moment when the smiling infant
Destroys the flower or butterfly he toys with,
To the last chuckle of the dying miser,
Who on his deathbed laughs his last to hear
His wealthy neighbour has become a bankrupt.
OLD PLAY.

Sir Kenneth was left for some minutes alone and in darkness. Here was
another inter