The Thoughts Of Living At St. Germains In The Same Palace
With Mademoiselle Charlotta So Transported Him, That He Scarce
Knew what
he said; and the thanks he gave the prince were expressed with such
hyperboles of gratitude, as made
His highness think he had a higher idea
of the employment than it indeed deserved; but the baron who knew the
motive, and could not help smiling within himself, to prevent any other
from suspecting it, however, told the prince, that it was not to be
wondered at that he testified so high a satisfaction, since he was now
to serve a family he had by nature a strong attachment to, and at the
same time continue in a country he liked much better than his own.
Horatio by this time having a little recovered himself, and sensible he
had gone rather too far, seconded what the baron had said, and no more
observations were made on it.
That same evening, the prince having made it his request, was Horatio
permitted to kiss the hand of the Chevalier St. George, and the ensuing
day took possession of the apartment appropriated to the office
bestowed on him.
After having received the congratulations of a whole court, who
testified a great deal of satisfaction in having him among them, and
paid his compliments in a particular manner to mademoiselle Charlotta,
he took abundance of pleasure in viewing all the apartments of a palace
famous for the birth of one of the greatest monarchs of the age, and for
being the asylum of the distrest royal family of England: when his
attendance on his master gave him leisure, he frequently passed many
hours together in a closet, where he was told the late king James used
to retire every day to pray for the prosperity of that people who had
abjur'd him. Young as Horatio was, and gay by nature, he sometimes loved
to indulge the most serious meditations; and this place, as well as the
condition of those he served, remonstrating to him the instability of
all human greatness, he made this general reflection, that there was
nothing truly valuable but virtue, because the owner could be deprived
of that only by himself, and not by either the fraud or force of others.
Indeed the behaviour of all the persons who composed this court could
not but inspire those who saw it with sentiments of the nature I have
described: the queen herself, tho' of too great a soul to shew any marks
of repining at her fate, was never seen to smile: even the Chevalier St.
George and princess had both of them a very serious air, which denoted
they had reflections more befitting their condition than their years;
and those about them being most of them persons who had left the
greatest part of their fortunes as well as kindred either in England,
Scotland or Ireland, had their own misfortunes as well as that of the
royal cause to lament, and therefore could not but wear a dejection in
their countenances:
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