James.
His Majesty summoned a dinner party, a rare but magnificent event, and
the chief of the house of Hauteville appeared among the chosen
vassals. This visit did the young Duke good; and a few more might have
permanently cured the conceit which the present one momentarily calmed.
His Grace saw the plate, and was filled with envy; his Grace listened to
his Majesty, and was filled with admiration. O, father of thy people! if
thou wouldst but look a little oftener on thy younger sons, their morals
and their manners might be alike improved.
His Majesty, in the course of the evening, with his usual good-nature,
signalled out for his notice the youngest, and not the least
distinguished, of his guests. He complimented the young Duke on the
accession to the ornaments of his court, and said, with a smile, that
he had heard of conquests in foreign ones. The Duke accounted for his
slight successes by reminding his Majesty that he had the honour of
being his godson, and this he said in a slight and easy way, not smart
or quick, or as a repartee to the royal observation; for 'it is not
decorous to bandy compliments with your Sovereign.
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