"A few sentences will explain it, for I consider it unnecessary to
remind my present auditors of two great events in their respective
countries. First, with regard to England; the change of royal
succession in the Stuart line, from the branch of which James the
Second was the head, to that of Brunswick-a backward step,
originating in Elizabeth of Bohemia, the daughter of James the First,
and therefore, the aunt of James the Second. At the height of these
eventful circumstances, the offended sovereign retired with his
exemplary queen and their infant son to the continent. There the
royal boy continued to be styled, by his father's adherents, James
Prince of Wales, but in the general world was usually known by the
cognizance of the Chevalier St. George.
"This is the first link in our bracelet, noble lady!" observed the
narrator, with a smile, and then proceeded. "I now advance to my
second part, the crisis of which took place in Poland, about the same
period. At the death of the great John Sobieski, King of Poland, the
father of his people, there arose a deep-rooted conspiracy in certain
neighboring states, jealous of his late power and glorious name,
determining to undermine the accession of his family to the throne;
and they found an apt soil to work on in a corresponding feeling
ready to break out amongst some of the most influential nobles of the
realm.
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