thing would so please our good friends, the French, who have an
immense curiosity regarding _Le Grand Vasanton_, and it will give me an
opportunity to instruct them as to our spirit.'

"He went to his desk and took from a drawer a cross of jeweled gold on
a long necklace of silver--a gift from the King--and put it over my
head so that the cross shone upon my breast.

"'That is for the faith of our people,' he declared. 'The guests will
assemble on the grounds of the Count late in the afternoon. You will
ride among them on a white horse. A beautiful maiden in a white robe
held at the waist with a golden girdle will receive you. She will be
Human Liberty. You will dismount and kneel and kiss her hand. Then
the Prime Minister of France will give to each a blessing and to you a
sword and a purse. You will hold them up and say:

"'"For these things I promise you the friendship of my people and their
prosperity."

"'You will kiss the sword and hang it beside your own and pass the
purse to me and then I shall have something to say.'

"So it was all done, but with thrilling details, of which no suspicion
had come to me. I had not dreamed, for instance, that the King and
Queen would be present and that the enthusiasm would be so great. You
will be able to judge of my surprise when, riding my white horse
through the cheering crowd, throwing flowers in my way, I came suddenly
upon Margaret Hare in the white robe of Human Liberty. Now facing me
after these years of trial, her spirit was equal to her part. She was
like unto the angel I had seen in my dreams. The noble look of her
face thrilled me. It was not so easy to maintain the calm dignity of
Washington in that moment. I wanted to lift her in my arms and hold
her there, as you may well believe, but, alas, I was Washington! I
dismounted and fell upon one knee before her and kissed her hand not
too fervently, I would have you know, in spite of my temptation. She
stood erect, although tears were streaming down her cheeks and her dear
hand trembled when it rested on my brow and she could only whisper the
words:

"'May the God of your fathers aid and keep you.'

"The undercurrent of restrained emotion in this little scene went out
to that crowd, which represented the wealth, beauty and chivalry of
France. I suppose that some of them thought it a bit of good acting.
These people love the drama as no others love it. I suspect that many
of the friends of Frank