to hurry among the dancers, looking this way and that, peering and
peeping; he has lost something."

"'Tis more probable he is looking for what he has found; 'tis thy
stairway-beau with the rose; he has retrieved it and is hot upon the
chase again. He is looking for thee.--'Tis vain my lord-devil, thou
hadst better use the time to swathe thy feet in asbestos-flax."

The music of the passacaglia floated up and Katherine drank in its
minor sweetness. Presently the dance changed into the chaconne with
its prominent bass theme, again turning to the poetic and stately
sarabande.

"Now I do see the Scot; he is by far the most homely figure anywhere,
and yet, he is graceful, and it must be a very great beauty with him.
How could the master of so great a house look so?" The music changed
into a sprightly gavotte, Katherine's ears fairly tingled with the
confusion of sound. She lay her head upon Janet's bosom as if drunk
with the surfeit of music.

"'Tis more than I could have dreamed. Didst ever see anything so
beautiful before? It seems years ago since we were within convent
walls!"

"'Twill bring thy seeming nearer if thy lord proposes a speedy return
to the cloister."

"Nay, I would not go."

"Ah, then, enjoy the present and think of moments and not cycles. Here