Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1919-04-08
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dppEcCldIC oa luC oShN WIG ACuuCACo uo
by Americans before the States en-.
tered the war"
At this moment I asked him II !
was taking too much time.
"Not at all, leftenant, not at allr
he replied, most cordially. II was
extremely interested In the brief re-
port that came to me of your wonder
full escape and sent for you because
I wanted to hear the whole story first.
hand. and am very glad you were
able to come"
I had not expected to remain more
than q few minutes, as I understood
that four minutes Is considered long
audience with the king. Fifty-two
minutes elapsed before I finally left
therel
During all this time had done most
Of the talking, In response to the
kings request to tell my story. Occa-
slonally he interrupted to ask Ques-
ton about q point he wanted me to
make clear, but for the most part he
was content to play the part Of lis.
tener.
He seemed to be very keen on every.
thing and when I described some Of
the tight holes got into during my
escape he evinced his sympathy. Oc-
casionally l introduced some Of the
few humorous incidents Of my adven.
ture and In every instance he laughed
heartily.
Altogether the impression got Of
him was that he is a very genial,
gracious and alert sovereign. ! know
have felt more Ill at ease when talk
ing to a major than when speaking
to the king-but perhaps I had more
cause to.
During the whole interview we
were left entirely alone, which i'm.
pressed me as significant Of the dem
ocratic manner of the present king
of England, and certainly came
away with the utmost respect for him.
In all my conversation, I recalled
afterwards, I never addressed the
king as "Your Majesty" but used the
military "sir." AS l was British of.
fcer and he was the head Of the army,
he probably appreciated this manner
Of address more than II I had used
the usual Your Majesty" Perhaps
he attributed 1t to the fact that !
was an American. At any rate, he
didn't evince any dlspleasure at my
departure from what I understand Is
the usual form Of address.
Before left he asked me what my
plans for the future were.
"Why. sir, / hope to rejoin my
squadron at the earliest possible mo-
mentw ! replied.
mo, Leftenant," he rejoined, "that
is out Of the question. We can't risk
losing you for good by sending you
back to u part of the front opposed
by Germans, because If you were un-
fortunate enough to be captured
again they would undoubtedly shoot
you"
swell. If I can't serve in France,
sir" ! suggested, wouldn't 1t be feas,
ible for me to fly In Italy or Salon.
ica?"
NO." he replied, "that would be
almost as bad. The only thing that
l can suggest for you to do Is either
to take up Instruction. very valu-
able form Of service-or perhaps 1t
might be safe enough for you to
serve in Egypt, but just at present,
leftenant, think you have done
enough anyway"
Then he rose and shook hands with
me and wished me the best Of luck
and we both said "Good-by."
In the adjoining room l met Ear
Cromer again, and as he accompanied
me to the door seemed to be surprised
at the length Of my visit.
AS / left the palace policeman
and sentry outside came smartly to
attention. Perhaps they figured / had
been made a general.
AS / was riding back to the hotel
In a taxi I reflected on the remark.
able course Of events which In the
short space of nine months had taken
me through so much and ended up
like the finish of book, with my be-
ing received by his majesty, the
king! When I first Joined the Royal
Flying corps I never expected to see
the inside Of Buckingham palace
much less being received by the king