"To Amientieres on the Lys," exclaimed the Frenchman, seizing the hands of the Major as the latter paused again; "to Armentieres, ten miles west of Lisle, and there you left them, after adding to your generosity by bestowing sufficient to inter his brother in the Protestant church of that town, and to convey himself to his native France. Oh! Monsieur, I am that Frenchman, and here, from my heart, from my soul, I thank you," and half kneeling, the stranger kissed the hand of the Major. "You!" exclaimed the latter; "by Jove I am right glad to see you. Here at Crail, too, in the East Neuk o' Fife--'t is a strange chance; and what in heaven's name seek ye here? 'T is a perilous time for a foreigner--still more, a Frenchman, to tread on Scottish ground. The war, the intrigues with St. Germains, the Popish plots, and the devil only knows what more, make travelling here more than a little dangerous." "Monsieur, I know all that; the days are changed since the Scot was at home in France, and the Frenchman at home in Scotland, for so the old laws of Stuart and Bourbon made them. A few words will tell who I am, and what I seek here. Excuse my reluctance to reveal myself before, for now you have a claim upon me. Oh! believe me, I knew not that I addressed the generous chevalier who, in that hour of despair, redeemed my life (and more than my life), my honour, from the scourge, and enabled me to lay the head of my poor brother with reverence in the grave. You have heard of M. Henri Lemercier?" "What! the great swordsman and fencer--that noble master of the science of defence, with the fame of whose skill and valour all Europe is ringing?" "I am he of whom Monsieur is pleased to speak so highly." "Your hand again, sir; zounds; but I dearly love this gallant science myself, and have even won me a little name as a handler of the rapier. There is but one man whom Europe calls your equal, Monsieur Lemercier." "My superior, you mean, for I have many equals," replied the Frenchman, modestly. "You, doubtless, mean----" "Sir William Hope, of Hopetoun." "Ah! Mon Dieu, yes, he has indeed a great name in Europe as a fencer and master of arms, either with double or single falchion, case of falchions, back-sword and dagger, pistol or quarter staff; and it is the fame of his skill and prowess in these weapons, and the reputation he has earned by his books on fencing, that hath brought me to-day to this remote part of Scotland." "Zounds!" said the Major, shaking back the long powdered curls of his Ramilies wig, and looking remarkably grave; "you cannot mean to have a bout with Sir William. He hath a sure hand and a steady eye; I would rather stand a platoon than be once covered by his pistol." "Monsieur, I have no enmity to this Sir William Hope, nor am I envious of his great name as a fencer. Ma foi! the world is quite wide enough for us both; but here lies my secret. I love Mademoiselle Athalie, the niece of Madame de Livry----"