men had
got out of the cab, and were asking some questions of the servant at the
door.

'These must be your friends of the Folk-Lore,' Ericson said.

'Why--God bless me--I suppose so! Never heard of such promptness. Will
you excuse me a moment? Can you wait? Are you pressed for time? It may
not be they, you know, after all.'

'Oh, yes, I'll wait; I am in no breathless hurry.'

Then Sarrasin went over and accosted the two men. Evidently they were
the men he had guessed them to be, for there was much bowing and shaking
of hands and apparently cordial and effusive talk. Then the whole trio
advanced towards Ericson. He saw that one of the men was big,
fair-haired, and large-bearded, and that he wore moony spectacles, which
gave him something of the look of Mr. Pickwick grown tall. The other man
was slim and closely shaven, except for a yellowish moustache. There was
nothing very striking about either of them.

'Excellency,' the good Sarrasin said, in his courtliest and yet simplest
tones, 'I ask permission to present to you two distinguished American
scholars--Professor Flick of Denver and Sacramento, and Mr. Andrew J.
Copping of Omaha. These gentlemen will be proud to have the honour of
meeting the patriot Dictator of Gloria, whose fame is world-renowned.'

'Excellency,' said Professor Flick, 'I am proud to meet you.'

'Excellency,' said Mr. Andrew J. Copping, 'I am proud to meet you.'

'Gentlemen,' Ericson said, 'I am very glad to meet you both. I have been
in your country--indeed, I have been all over it.'

'And yet it is a pretty big country, sir,' the Professor observed, with
a good-natured smile, as that of a man who kindly calls attention to the
fact that one has made himself responsible for rather a large order.

'It is, indeed,' Ericson assented, without thought of disputation; 'but
I have been in most of its regions. My own interests, of course, are in
South America, as you would know.'

'As we know now, sir,' the Professor replied, 'as we know now,
Excellency. I am ashamed to say that we specialists have a way of
getting absorbed right up in our own topics, and my friend and I know
hardly anything of politics or foreign affairs. Why, Mr. Sarrasin,' and
here the Professor suddenly turned to Sarrasin, as if he had something
to say that would specially interest him above all other men, 'do you
know, sir, that I sometimes fail to remember who is the existing
President of the United States?'

'Well, I a