in everything
that was going on.

He went over, several times, to Saint Germain. At first, the
king's counsellors looked but coldly upon him, and he would have
ceased to come there, had it not been for the unaffected pleasure
shown by the king at his visits. In time, however, two of the
principal men at the little court requested him to have a
conversation with them, before going into the king's chamber.

"You will understand, Mr. Kennedy," one of them said, when they
had seated themselves in a quiet spot in the garden; "that we,
standing in the position of His Majesty's counsellors, are in a
position of great responsibility. His Majesty, as we admit is but
natural, chafes over the inaction to which he is condemned by
circumstances; and is apt, at times, to express his desire for
action in terms which, if they came to the ears of King Louis, as
we have every reason to believe is sometimes the case, would do
him and the cause serious injury. Naturally, we should be glad for
him to have companions of his own age, but it behoves us to be
most careful that such companionship should not add to our
difficulties in this direction; and we should view with
satisfaction a friendship between the young king and one who, like
yourself, is nearly of his own age and, as we can see, full of
spirit and energy. In these matters the king is deficient; but it
would be better that he should, for the present, remain as he is,
rather than that he should, in acquiring more manly habits, grow
still more impatient and discontented with his position.

"We have naturally taken some little trouble in finding out how
you stand in your regiment, and we hear nothing but good of you.
You are much liked by your comrades, pay the greatest attention to
your military exercises, and are regarded as one who will, some
day, do much credit to the regiment; and we feel that, in most
respects, your influence could not but be advantageous to the
young king; but the good that this might do him would be more than
balanced, were you to render him still more impatient than he is
for action. You may well suppose that we, exiles as we have been
for so many years from our country, are not less impatient than he
for the day of action; but we know that such action must depend
upon the King of France, and not upon ourselves. We would gladly
risk all, in an effort to place him on the throne of England, to
repair past injustices and cruel wrongs; but, were we to move
w