She bowed her graceful head, at the same time upholding, with hands of charming form and whiteness, the three great iron keys of the castle of Thrave. "And in the name of good St. Bryde, and of gentle mercy, sweet lady, we accept of them," said the king, handing them to his master of the ordnance; "and once again we pledge our royal word for the promised terms--life, liberty, and fortune--to all who have withstood our cannon here in Thrave. But rise, madam," added the king, "it ill becomes a gentleman to receive a lady thus." With one hand he raised her, and with the other lifted up her long black veil,--for James II. was not devoid of that admiration of beauty, which was one of the chief characteristics of his chivalrous family. "MURIELLE!" exclaimed Sir Patrick Gray, starting forward on beholding her face. "Your long-lost wife?" said James, with surprise. "My wedded wife--Oh, Murielle----" "Then to your wardship, Sir Patrick, I must consign this rebel Douglas, but on one condition----" "Oh name it, your majesty!" said Gray, who was almost speechless with emotion. "That you keep her for life, either at court or in your tower of Foulis," replied the king, laughing, as he placed Murielle's hand in that of Gray, amid murmurs of applause and satisfaction, in which all the knights, nobles, and even the grim old chancellor joined. Murielle Douglas was beautiful as ever; but the pure breeze of early autumn that came down the vale of the Dee, the exciting scene, and the great presence in which she stood, alike failed to impart a red tinge to her pale cheek, and even her rosebud lip had lost its usual carnation hue. In short, poor Murielle had evidently suffered much in mind and body; for the years of blight and anxiety she had spent in gloomy Thrave had not been without a natural influence upon a spirit so timid and gentle; and now, as she wept upon her husband's breast, she neither heard nor heeded the acclamations which rose from the king's camp, with the roar of culverins from Knockcannon and the Carlinwark, as they greeted the appearance of the royal standard which Sir John Romanno hoisted on the great keep of Thrave, the now humbled stronghold of her forefathers, the mighty lords of Galloway. EPILOGUE. Not long after these events the new earl of Douglas was reconciled to James II., and though both parties were insincere--their mutual injuries being too deep and too recent--there was peace in the kingdom for a time. Inspired by a sentiment of revenge for the death of their chief in Thrave, the MacLellans long refused to lay aside their swords, and for years continued to commit such dreadful outrages upon the Douglases and their adherents that James outlawed the new laird of Bombie and all his followers; but during his reign they re-won their possessions in the following remarkable manner.