'Who shall account for the fascination exercised by some women upon all who approach their sphere? The peculiar power of the rattlesnake, whose eye is said to lure the conscious victim unresistingly to its doom, and the attractive properties possessed by certain bodies, and by them used with equal recklessness and cruelty, are two arrangements of Nature which make me believe in mesmerism.'
'Well—to-morrow I quit this place without beat of drum!' exclaimed Roland.
'For Edinburgh?'
'Yes—to the Club.'
'And then?'
'For Egypt. There I shall live every day of my life as if there were no to-morrow.'
'Nonsense!' said Jack. 'You'll get over all this in time—a hit in the wing, that is all!'
Old Johnnie Buckle, who had forebodings in the matter of Roland's departure, had tears in his eyes as he drove him in the drag to the railway station next morning, and as he wrung his hand at parting he said—showing that he knew precisely of the double trouble that had fallen on the young Laird:
'Better twa skaiths than ae sorrow, Maister Roland,' meaning that losses can be repaired, but grief may break the heart; 'and mind ye, sir,' he added, as the train started, 'a' the keys o' the country dinna hang at ae man's belt, and ye'll wear your ain bannet yet!'
And on this bouleversement we need scarcely refer to the emotions of those who loved Roland best.