Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-08-16

CONTINUED from Last Issus)
CHAPTER XIX
Am Presented TO the King
IT HEN the dreaded eth of Decem-
Der arrived, 1 hailed taxicab
and in as matter-of-fact tone
of voice as 1 could command, directed
the chaeuffeur to drive to buckingham
palace, as though 1 was paying my reg
ular morning call on the king.
Ny friends version of this incident,
1 have since heard, is that 1 seated my
self in the taxi and leaning through
the window, said: buckingham palace!
whereupon the taxi driver got down.
opened the door and exclaimed threat
eningly:
"!f you don't get out quickly and
chuck your drunken talk, I'll jolly quick
ca II a bobby, biz me, if 1 won't!"
But 1 can only give my word that
nothing of the kind occurred.
When 7 arrived at 'the palace gale.
the sentry Oil guard asked me who i was
and then let me pass at once up to the
front entrance Of the palace.
Decorated Parsonage
There 1 was met by an deliberately
uniformed and equally deliberately dec
grated parsonage. who. judging by the
long row of medals he wore, must have
seen long and distinguished service.
1 was relieved of my overcoat, hat AMI
stick and conducted up long stairway.
where L was turned over to another
functionary, who led me to the recep
ton room of Earl CrOmer, the kings
secretary.
There 1 was introduced to another
earl and duke. whose names do not
remember 1 was becoming so Devil
dered. in fact, that it is a wonder that
1 remember as much as 1 do OF this
eventful day.
1 had heard many times that before
being presented to the king a man is
coached carefully as to just how he
is to act and what he ia to say and do.
and all this time / was wondering when
this drilling would commence. 1 GER
tainly had no idea that 1 was to be
ushered into the august presence of the
king without some preliminary :nstruc-
ton.
Earl Cromer and the other noblemen
talked to me for a while and got me
to relate in brief the story of my -expe-
rience, and they appeared to be very
much interested. Perhaps they did it
only to give me confidence and as a
sort of rehearsal for the main perform
ance which was scheduled to take place
much sooner than 1 expected.
1 had barely completed my story
when the door opened and an attend
ant entered and announced:
THE king will receive Lieutenant
O'Brien!" ~ ,......
If he had announced that the kaiser
was outside with a squad of German
guards to take me back to COurtrai my
heart could not have sunk deeper.
In the Presence of the King
Earl Cromer beckoned me to follow
~ inf a large
where 1 supposed was at last to re-
ceive my coaching. but 1 observed the
earl bow to a man standing there and
realized that 1 was standing in the
presence of the king of England!
Your majesty, Leftenant OBrien!'
the earl announced and then immedl-
ately backed from the room. / believed
L would have followed right behind him
but by that time the king had me by
the hand and was congratulating me-
and he spoke so very cordially and DEM
ocraticaIly that he put me at my ease at
once.
He then asked me how 1 felt and
whether l was in condition to con-
verse. and when 1 told hing L was, ne
sa i'd he would be very much pleased 10
hear my story in detail.
Were you treated any worse by the
Germans. Leftenant," he asked, "on ac-
count of being an American? I've heard
that the Germans had threatened 10
shoot Americans serving in the BRUSH
army if they captured them CHASING
them as rnurderers because America
was a neutral country and Americans
had no right to mix in the war. Dio
YOU find that to be the case?"
I told him that l had heard similar
reports. butthat 1 did not notice any
appreciable difference in my treatment
from that accorded Britishers.