right and left
as he swept with disdainful eye the now silent throng.

Then, to use the good old grandmotherly term, a pin might have been
heard to drop, as Francis pressed forward till close up to where Henry
stood, and before the English monarch could recover from his surprise
his visitor had laid his hands lightly upon his shoulders and kissed his
cheeks.

It was all done in the most courtly way, and only as one of the grandest
gentlemen in Europe could at such a time have given the salute, while
its reception was as marked and English as it was the reverse of
friendly. For the King was so utterly taken aback by this change in the
state of affairs that for a few moments he could not speak. When he did
find words they were of the gruffest and most matter-of-fact that an
Englishman could vent.

"So then," he cried, "you have come back?"

"Yes, my brother," replied Francis, and his voice sounded musical and
soft, as the gesture he made was graceful and easy. "I, the King of
France, have come back to you, my brother of England, to ask your pardon
for my mad folly and grave mistake. See here," he continued, after a
slight pause, and he once more looked round the tables at the glittering
courtiers, while he held out fully in the light the scintillating ruby
that had attracted him to the English shores. "I am no believer in
magic or the dark art, but there must be something strange and fateful
in this stone, magnetic perhaps, but he what it will, it led me here,
knowing as I did the history of its loss; and now I have brought it back
to its rightful owner, to its proper resting-place. It is yours, my
brother of England, won in the far back past on the battlefield. I for
the moment have held it once again in this right hand. Sire, I return
it now, asking once more your forgiveness of the past, your renewed
hospitality to a sick man for the night."

He ceased speaking, as Henry made a snatch and caught the jewel from his
hand, when, light as the action was, it was sufficient to make his now
exhausted visitor stagger. He would have fallen but for the King's
strong arm, which saved him, and helped him to the seat Henry had just
vacated.

"Quick, here!" he shouted. "Wine for my brother of France!"

There was a quick movement, but Henry's hand was the first to snatch one
of the silver flagons from the table and hold it to the fainting King's
lips, as he drank with avidity, uttered a sigh, and then rose with a
s