So saying, with a bow to the courtiers he left the room, followed
by Kennedy.

"They mean well," he said, after they had mounted, and ridden off
at a gallop; "but it is a pity that these gentlemen, all loyal and
honourable men as they are, should surround the young king. They
suited, well enough, to the mood of his father, who was always
wanting in spirit, and was broken down, not only by the loss of
his kingdom, but by the conduct of his daughters; and, what with
that, and his devotion to religion, he was rather a monk than a
monarch. He believed--but most mistakenly--that he had a genius
for politics, and was constantly intriguing with his adherents at
home, notably Marlborough and other lords, from whom he obtained
fair words and promises of support, but nothing else. But though
he could plan, he did not possess a spark of energy, and was one
of the most undecided of men, though, like most undecided men, he
could be extremely obstinate; and, unfortunately, the more wrong
he was, the more obstinately he held to his course.

"However, all this can make no difference in our devotion to the
Stuart cause. But I hail, with satisfaction, the prospect that, in
his son, we may have one to whom we may feel personally loyal; for
there can be no doubt that men will fight with more vigour, for a
person to whom they are attached, than for an abstract idea."

"I have heard Father O'Leary say the same, sir. His opinion was
that, had the late king possessed the qualities that commanded the
personal admiration and fidelity of his followers, and excited
something like enthusiasm among the people at large, he would