" said he, spreading the flags upon the
table. "This is the flag of my country," and he caressed the United
States flag affectionately. "I love it as you should love your flag.
The Union Jack is the emblem of the great British Empire, of which you
are a part. It is one of the greatest and best countries in the world
to live in. To be a British subject is something to be proud of
indeed."

"Aye," broke in Thomas, "'tis that, now."

"Yes," continued Doctor Joe, "I want you to be as proud of it as I am
that I'm a citizen of the United States, and I'm so proud of it I
wouldn't change for any other country in the world. When I reached St.
John's and saw the American flag flying over the office of the United
States Consulate, my eyes filled with tears. I hadn't seen that old
flag for years, and I stood in the street for an hour doing nothing
but look at it and think of all it represents. It makes my blood
tingle just to touch it. You chaps must feel the same toward the
British flag, for that's your flag.

"Now let me show you how the flag is made up," and Doctor Joe
proceeded to trace St. George's Cross and St. Andrew's Cross,
explaining them again as he did so. "In the year 1801 another banner
was added. This was the Banner of St. Patrick of Ireland. St.
Patrick's Cross was a red diagonal cross on a white field, and here
you see it."

Doctor Joe traced it on the flag.

"There," he went on, "you have the British flag complete. No one knows
exactly why it is called the 'Jack,' but it may have been because in
the old days, the English knights, when they went out to fight their
battles, wore a jacket over their armour with the St. George's Cross
upon it, so it would be known to what nation they belonged. This
jacket was sometimes called a 'jack' for short.

"The Union Jack did not become a complete flag as we have it to-day
until the year 1801, when St. Patrick's Cross was added to it. The
Stars and Stripes, the flag of my country, was first made in 1776,
and on June 14, 1777, it was adopted by the United States Congress as
the national emblem, so you see it is even older than the British
flag. The flags of all nations in the world have changed since 1777
excepting only the United States flag, and every American is proud of
the fact that his flag is older than the flag of any other Christian
nation in the world."

The boys, and Thomas and Margaret also, were fascinated with Doctor
Joe's brief story of the flags. They w