"Captain, I am very happy to meet you."

They served tea--served it to the king, the queen, the general of the
American army, and other important people. There was cake besides tea,
and it was not easy to drink tea and eat cake standing. The telephone
girl insisted that General Pershing must sit down. The king was
standing, and of course, General Pershing continued to do the same.

"Will you sit down?" said another girl to the king. "There are plenty
of chairs."

That girl had done her job in France--a job of which many a man might
have been proud--and on her left breast she wore a military medal for
valor. The king touched the medal, smiled at her, and said he was glad
there were plenty of chairs, for he knew places where there were not.

But General Pershing and his cake still bothered the little Illinois
girl, who went back at him again and asked him to sit down and enjoy his
cake. The king indicated to the general to be seated.

No one but General Pershing would have known what to do between the rule
to stand when a king stands and the rule to obey the order of the king.
He gracefully placed his plate on the side of a table, half seated
himself on it, which was a compromise, and went on enjoying himself.
The king sat down.

If any one had told that girl the sacredness of the convention she had
ignored, she would have suffered as keenly as I had suffered in my
youth. It was such a simple thing to learn; yet who in the middle of a