claim  the  privilege  of  croaking  in  my  own  corner
here,  without  uniting  my  throat  to  the  grand  cho-
rus of  the  marsh.  Ni  quito  Rey,  ni  pongo  Rey, — ■
I  neither  make  king  nor  mar  king,  as  Sancho  says,
but  pray  heartily  for  our  own  sovereign,  pay  scot
and  lot,  and  grumble  at  the  exciseman.  But  here
comes  the  ewe-milk  cheese  in  good  time ;  it  is  a
better  digestive  than  politics."

When  dinner  was  over,  and  the  decanters  placed
on  the  table,  Mr.  Oldbuck  proposed  the  king's
health  in  a  bumper,  which  was  readily  acceded  to
both  by  Lovel  and  the  baronet,  the  Jacobitism  of
the  latter  being  now  a  sort  of  speculative  opinion
merely,  —  the  shadow  of  a  shade.
After  the  ladies  had  left  the  apartment,  the  land-
lord and  Sir  Arthur  entered  into  several  exquisite
discussions,  in  which  the  younger  guest,  either  on
account  of  the  abstruse  erudition  which  they  in-
volved, or  for  some  other  reason,  took  but  a  slender
share,  till  at  length  he  was  suddenly  started  out  of
a  profound  reverie  by  an  unexpected  appeal  to  his
judgment.
"  I  will  stand  by  what  Mr.  Lovel  says ;  he  was
born  in  the  North  of  England,  and  may  know  the
very  spot."

Sir  Arthur  thought  it  unlikely  that  so  young  a
gentleman  should  have  paid  much  attention  to  mat-
ters of  that  sort.
"  I  am  avised  of  the  contrary,"  said  Oldbuck.
"  How  say  you,  Mr.  Lovel  ?  Speak  up,  for  your  own
credit,  man."

Lovel  was  obliged  to  confess  himself  in  the  ridi-
culous situation  of  one  alike  ignorant  of  the  subject
of  conversation  and  controversy  which  had  engaged
the  company  for  an  hour.
