er, and silver and gold;
and one from the State of Ruritania, in silver and red-and-green enamel,
smaller than the others.

"Come now, William," said Lady Franks, "you must try them all on. You
must try them all on together, and let us see how you look."

The little, frail old man, with his strange old man's blue eyes and his
old man's perpetual laugh, swelled out his chest and said:

"What, am I to appear in all my vanities?" And he laughed shortly.

"Of course you are. We want to see you," said the white girl.

"Indeed we do! We shouldn't mind all appearing in such vanities--what,
Lady Franks!" boomed the Colonel.

"I should think not," replied his hostess. "When a man has honours
conferred on him, it shows a poor spirit if he isn't proud of them."

"Of course I am proud of them!" said Sir William. "Well then, come and
have them pinned on. I think it's wonderful to have got so much in one
life-time--wonderful," said Lady Franks.

"Oh, Sir William is a wonderful man," said the Colonel. "Well--we won't
say so before him. But let us look at him in his orders."

Arthur, always ready on these occasions, had taken the large and shining
British star from its box, and drew near to Sir William, who stood
swelling his chest, pleased, proud, and a little wistful.

"This one first, Sir," said Arthur.

Sir William stood very still, half tremulous, like a man undergoing an
operation.

"And it goes just here--the level of the heart. This is where it goes."
And carefully he pinned the large, radiating ornament on the black
velvet dinner-jacket of the old man.

"That is the first--and very becoming," said Lady Franks.

"Oh, very becoming! Very becoming!" said the tall wife of the Major--she
was a handsome young woman of the tall, frail type.

"Do you think so, my dear?" said the old man, with his eternal smile:
the curious smile of old people when they are dead.

"Not only becoming, Sir," said the Major, bending his tall, slim figure
forwards. "But a reassuring sign that a nation knows how to distinguish
her valuable men."

"Quite!" said Lady Franks. "I think it is a very great honour to have
got it. The king was most gracious, too-- Now the other. That goes
beside it--the Italian--"

Sir William stood there undergoing the operation of the pinning-on. The
Italian star being somewhat smaller than the British, there was a
slight question as to where exactly it should be placed. However, Arthur
decided it: and the o