'"
"And have ye not earned the title, John, by ruthless deeds and bitter
animosity? I could kiss the baubles ye show me, if they were a thousand
times less splendid, had they been laid upon your breast by the hands of
your lawful prince; but now they appear to my eyes as indelible blots
upon your attainted name. As for your associates, I have heard of them;
and it seemeth that a queen might be better employed than encouraging by
her smiles the disloyal subjects of other monarchs, though even her
enemies. God only knows when His pleasure may suffer a spirit of
disaffection to rise up among the people of her own nation, and then the
thought that she has encouraged rebellion may prove both bitter and
unwelcome."
"That the royal and lovely Antoinette has deigned to repay my services
with a small portion of her gracious approbation is not among the least
of my boasts," returned the Pilot, in affected humility, while secret
pride was manifested even in his lofty attitude. "But venture not a
syllable in her dispraise, for you know not whom you censure. She is
less distinguished by her illustrious birth and elevated station, than
by her virtues and loveliness. She lives the first of her sex in Europe
--the daughter of an emperor, the consort of the most powerful king, and
the smiling and beloved patroness of a nation who worship at her feet.
Her life is above all reproach, as it is above all earthly punishment,
were she so lost as to merit it; and it has been the will of Providence
to place her far beyond the reach of all human misfortunes.
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