e," said the prince, who,
like all weak minds, loved any extremity better than a protracted
struggle. "Exterminate with fire and sword; ravage the land till there
be neither food for man nor beast; let neither noble nor serf remain,
and then, perchance, we shall hear no more of Scotland. On my faith, I
am sick of the word."

"Not so the king, my royal lord," returned his companion. "See how
eagerly he talks to my lords of Pembroke and Hereford. We shall have our
sovereign yet again at our head."

And it was even as he said. The king, with that strong self-command
which disease alone could in any way cause to fail, now conquering alike
his bitter disappointment and the fury it engendered, turned his whole
thought and energy towards obtaining the downfall of his insolent
opponents at one stroke; and for that purpose, summoning around him the
brave companions of former campaigns, and other officers of state, he
retired with them to his private closet to deliberate more at length on
the extraordinary news they had received, and the best means of nipping
the rebellion in the bud.

CHAPTER VII.

The evening of this eventful day found the Scottish earls seated
together in a small apartment of one of the buildings adjoining the
royal palace, which in the solemn seasons we have enumerated was always
crowded with guests, who were there feasted and maintained at the king's
expense during the whole of their stay. Inconveniences in their private
quarters were little heeded by the nobles, who seldom found themselves
there, save for the purpose of a few hours sleep, and served but to
enhance by contrast the lavish richness and luxury which surrounded them
in the palace and presence of their king; but to the Earls of Buchan and
Fife the inconveniences of their quarters very materially increased the
irritability and annoyance of their present situation. Fife had
stretched himself on two chairs, and leaning his elbows on the broad
shelf formed by the small casement, cast many wistful glances on the
street below, through which richly-attired gallants, both on foot and
horseback, were continually passing. He was one of those frivolous
little minds with whom the present is all in all, caring little for the
past, and still less for the future. It was no marvel, therefore, that
he preferred the utter abandonment of his distracted country for the
luxury and ease attending the court and camp of Edward, to the great
dangers and litt