Buckingham--"Ye are demented, Steenie, to risk a' those precious stanes
with which ye are bedecked on the skill with which ye can yield a frail
lance. We may say unto you now in the words of the poet--

'Pendebant ter ti gemmata monilia collo;'

but wha shall say frae whose round throat those gemmed collars and
glittering ouches will hang a week hence, if ye be worsted? Think of
that, my dear dog."

"Your Majesty need be under no apprehension," replied Buckingham. "I
shall win and wear his Excellency's diamond clasp. And now, perhaps, the
Count will make us acquainted with the name and title of my puissant
adversary, on whose address he so much relies. Our relative chances of
success will then be more apparent. If, however, any motives for secrecy
exist, I will not press the inquiry, but leave the disclosure to a more
convenient season."

"_Nunc est narrandi tempus_," rejoined the King. "No time like the
present. We are anxious to ken wha the hero may be."

"I will not keep your Majesty a moment in suspense," said De Gondomar.
"The young knight whom I design to select as the Marquis's opponent, and
whom I am sure will feel grateful for having such means of honourable
distinction afforded him, is present at the banquet."

"Here!" exclaimed James, looking round. "To whom do you refer, Count? It
cannot be Sir Gilbert Gerrard, or Sir Henry Rich; for--without saying
aught in disparagement of their prowess--neither of them is a match for
Buckingham! Ah! save us! We hae it. Ye mean Sir Jocelyn Mounchensey."