The old general blushed scarlet and then grew very pale. The occasion referred to was when the regiment was leaving Edinburgh for the East; he had urged the men to behave soberly and with propriety during their last days in the castle, that all might parade and march forth in perfect order; and nobly did they all respond to the appeal, all save one, his son, who came flushed from some late entertainment to the parade in the early morning, to the great dismay of Sir Piers. A court-martial would have ruined his prospects for life; yet he was put under arrest, and, some example being necessary, it appeared in orders thus: 'Lieutenant Montgomerie, of the Grenadiers, will in future do duty with one of the battalion companies.' This was in the days before the Crimea, when to be attached to a flank company was equally advantageous and honourable. 'True, Mr. Fotheringhame; the offender was my own son Piers,' said the general with much emotion, yet more irritation at the reminiscence; 'but this affair of Captain Falconer took place in the face of the city, as one may say; so let the arrest and charge take their course!' How the drum for mess jarred on Cecil's ear when he heard it now! Instead of dining at that jovial table, and sharing in the happiness of its social circle, he had his solitary repast brought to him in covered dishes on a salver, the repast he had neither the appetite nor zest to eat, and which he would rather not have seen nor faced, save for acting a part before his servant, Tom Atkins, a sympathetic fellow, however, who could not help thinking that had _he_ been seen groggy in public, how much more easily he would have got over it than his luckless captain. The sweetest and the saddest hours must pass away inexorably, and so the sad hours passed with Cecil Falconer. Day follows day and night follows night--is not human life made up of these?--but nothing lasts for ever, thank God, was his thought, and the end, be it ever so bitter, comes at last. But bitter as those of Marah seemed now the waters of his life! He felt that Mary and he were parted for ever; that she could be his love no more, and that the day-dream of her could be dreamt over never again! About this time he received a kind and earnest letter of condolence from old Mr. John Balderstone, who had conceived a great friendship for him at Eaglescraig; but the terms of it served to irritate Cecil, as they too plainly hinted, 'from what Mr. Hew had reported, that on the night in question he had been exhilarated a little too much, perhaps.' He tore and tossed it away with a malediction; yet old John Balderstone meant well and kindly. Hew's satisfaction at the progress of events was too great for concealment.