Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1869-11-25

O0 TIE . lst or Itecef0peF, 1oNS, 2uothSF
| old manwa. sitting in one OF the masnif-
Gently grand saloons ofthe palace ofSt Ger
mains, such only - the munifcence of a
Louis XIV could furnish for the comfort
of fallen brother king aud exile.
This old man had jus. lost crown and
kingdom on the north side of the English
channel, and had Just come to ST. Germans
to ask his royal brother, Louis of France,
for aid to get them back again, and Lou
is XIV had undertaken to restore james
II. of England to the throne of his ances-
tors with all the zeal and enersy conso-
nant with his peculiar sympathy for fallen
absolutism, and the imperative necessity
which the political combinations cfEurope
required of him. Two others sat with him,
one was middle aged man with thin wa
fer like lips, sleepy grey eye like a
hawk. aud pug nose. This was Count
Melfort, commonly called in English his
tory, "Melfort the apostate.
The other was skinned. smooth
faced, long faxen ringlettel youth whose
resemblance to lady Castlemaine. pro-
claimed him at once to be the kings nat
ural son, the Duke of Berwick. They
| were all three seated at table looking
over a map, which covered the entire face
! of the table. The old man who was seat
/ ed between the two others was dressed in
! brown velvet coat cut according to the
fashion of the times. On his head he wore
flowing black horse tail wig, around his
neck stiff white cravat, one third Of
which was hid by the creases of his fab
| by cheeks and plethoric neck. He wore
also short brooches and long silk stock
ings of the same color as his coat, and
gold shoe buckles set with brllliants.
Melfort was dressed in similar style,
but the color of his clothes was black 1.
With the zeal Of convert he wore rath-
er large gold cross at one of his button
| holes.
Berwick reioiced in the more brilliant
scarlet. He was chief of King James per-
sonal staff and bore military commission.
| The map was that Of the English Amerl-
can Colonies on the Atlantic coast.
Here said the old man putting his
| finger down on a certain spot on the face
of the map, "must be the central, radia-
ting point of our transatlantic operations
civil and military. THIS port is over one
hundred miles from the Atlantic coast,
while It's water communications are tru-
" oceanic. The harbor Of this port is
large enough and deep enough to float
the whole navy of Europe, and so pro-
tected by its terrain condguration, that
skiff could ride out tempest in it,-in n
word, it is the port of St. Marys, the capt.
tai of colonial Maryland. 1t was my faith
er's and mothers colonial pet as you may
infer from the name Of the colony-terrae
Marie an glicised. Its historical antecedents
are unique and peculiar. 1t has ever been
the most favored of our Atlantic ports By
the Buccaneers, whose taste In such mat
ters none can dispute. 1t was for some
little commercial favors shown by my
father, brother and ourself. to these men
of one virtue, thousand crimes, that
tho house of Stuart has been so long and
deeply cursed by the Puritan writer's and
demagogues of the Geneva school But
| in the providence Of God, the bread we cast
on the waters will now be returned to US
| fourfold. These men are devoted to US.
| We will bless their swords and give them
name, as Odin did the Longibardi. We
will recognize them as power, welcome
them into the famil Y ofnatons. they will be
our privateers and bring us gold, gold to
feed and clothe our soldiers, gold to buy
those Judas, who will sell one king for
one price and betray another for tro,
gold that will enter the council chamber
of royalty, the senate, the forum the
church, gold the mammon of the Princes
of this world. But enough of this. | was
wandering from the spot to which | wish
to call your attention. was there, Saint
! Mary's, once when on a maritime tour as
high admiral of England, and if the rnsl
contents of our realm had let US alone zen
years longer, until tho Prince of Wales
could have assumed the burdens of gov
ernment. think | should have abdica-
ted nv crown OF thorns and gone to live
with the Jesuit Fathers Of Saint Inigoe's,
who have q mission :here at tbs mouth Of
the Saint Mary's river, where | could at
least have said my prayers in peace. Br.t
Gods will be done, kings have their Own
work to do and their own souls to save
| Here the old man brushed tear from
his eye and began rolling up the map.