it was the cheapest material there was for male
attire--manufactured material, you understand.

We slipped away an hour before dawn, and by
broad sun-up had made eight or ten miles, and were
in the midst of a sparsely settled country. I had a
pretty heavy knapsack; it was laden with provisions
--provisions for the king to taper down on, till he
could take to the coarse fare of the country without
damage.

I found a comfortable seat for the king by the road-
side, and then gave him a morsel or two to stay his
stomach with. Then I said I would find some water
for him, and strolled away. Part of my project was
to get out of sight and sit down and rest a little
myself. It had always been my custom to stand
when in his presence; even at the council board,
except upon those rare occasions when the sitting was
a very long one, extending over hours; then I had a
trifling little backless thing which was like a reversed
culvert and was as comfortable as the toothache. I
didn't want to break him in suddenly, but do it by
degrees. We should have to sit together now when
in company, or people would notice; but it would
not be good politics for me to be playing equality
with him when there was no necessity for it.

I found the water some three hundred yards away,
and had been resting about twenty minutes, when
I heard voices. That is all right, I thought--peasants
going to work; nobody else likely to be stirring this
early. But the next moment these comers jingled
into sight around a turn of the road--smartly clad
people of quality, with luggage-mules and servants in

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