"Lud!" she remarked, holding it at arms length from her, "'Tis vastly flattering. I scarce recognize myself."
"I swear on my honor, that it fails to do you full justice."
She continued to study it, paying but little heed to his remark. It was a water-colored portrait done on ivory of the most delicate workmanship and design, set in a fine gold case, delicately engraved, the whole presenting an appearance of beauty, richly colored. She turned it over and saw the letters J.A.M.A. interlaced over the triplet:
"Hours fly; flowers die; New days, new ways, Pass by. Love stays."
"It is very pretty," was her only comment.
"Hast no one told thee how well thou might appear in a ball gown?"
"Nor what an impression thou wouldst make at court?"
"No. Much as I would have been pleased to. I know only Versailles."
So she thought he must be a French nobleman, who like Lafayette had incurred the royal displeasure by running away from court to fit out a vessel at his own expense in the hope of furthering the cause of the Colonists. The great impulse given to the hopes of the disheartened population by the chivalrous exploit of the latter, the sensation produced both by his departure from Europe and by his appearance in this country, might behold a glorious repetition in the person of this unknown visitor.
"It was magnanimous of His Majesty to take our cause to his heart. We can never fail in our gratitude."
"It is only natural for man to resist oppression. It has been written that it is only the meek who should possess the land."
"An ideal which is often badly shattered by the selfish ambitions and perverse passions of godless men."
"And your fellow patriots are of the same form of worship?"
"I scarce know. We have no method of compiling our numbers, not even our total population."
"Surely there must be a great percentage, if one considers the influx from France and England, not to mention Ireland, whence many fled from persecution."
"I once heard Father Farmer say that there must be over seven thousand Catholics in Pennsylvania, while Maryland has about fifteen thousand. Whatever there remain are much scattered, except of course New York with its thousand."
"I never dreamt they were so numerous! So great is the spirit of intolerance, that the wonder is that a single Catholic would remain in the Colonies."