272 WILD SPORTS OF THE WEST. 



turned hastily round to se who the stran e youth 

 might be who thus recalled her absent love in look and 

 voice so forcibly. Blessed Ursula ! it was he, the long- 

 lost page ! The minstrel, as he caught her eyes, 

 suddenly ceased his melody — ^the lute fell from his 

 nerveless grasp, and, overcome by feelings that could 

 not be controlled, he sank upon the bench behind him. 

 It was, indeed, young Aylmer. The well-remembered 

 features could never be forgotten, although the boy 

 had ripened into manhood — the thick down upon the 

 lip had changed to a dark moustache — and the belt 

 which once held a hunting blade supported now a 

 goodly brand. 



The strange effect of the melody upon the lady, and 

 the minstrel's sudden indisposition, could not escape 

 remark ; a startling suspicion flashed across the minds 

 of the company, and, after a painful silence of some 

 minutes, Hubert de Moore rose from his seat, and bowing 

 to the very table, thus addressed the lady of the 

 castle : 



" Wilt thou forgive the humblest but most devoted 

 of thy suitors, if he presume to remind you that the hour 

 has long since passed when your election should have 

 been made ? Far be it from me, noble dame, to seem 

 importunate ; but suspense is irksome to those that love, 

 and I and my brother nobles pray to you to signify your 

 pleasure, and end uncertainty at once." 



While De Moore was speaking, Rose Roche appeared 

 to recover her self-possession wonderfully ; her eye 

 brightened, her colour came again, and the compression 

 of her lips proved that she was nerving herself for some 

 determined effort. She rose slowly and gracefully, while 

 a dead silence pervaded the hall ; faint and tremulous 



