t Leger said:

"May I ask that the armoured yacht _The Lady_ be accepted by you, the
National Council, on behalf of the nation, as a gift on behalf of the
cause of freedom from the Voivodin Teuta?"

In response to the mighty cheer of the Council with which the splendid
gift was accepted the Gospodar Rupert--Mr. Sent Leger--bowed, and went
quietly out of the room.

As no agenda of the meeting had been prepared, there was for a time, not
silence, but much individual conversation. In the midst of it the
Voivode rose up, whereupon there was a strict silence. All listened with
an intensity of eagerness whilst he spoke.

"President and Lords of the Council, Archbishop, and Vladika, I should
but ill show my respect did I hesitate to tell you at this the first
opportunity I have had of certain matters personal primarily to myself,
but which, in the progress of recent events, have come to impinge on the
affairs of the nation. Until I have done so, I shall not feel that I
have done a duty, long due to you or your predecessors in office, and
which I hope you will allow me to say that I have only kept back for
purposes of statecraft. May I ask that you will come back with me in
memory to the year 1890, when our struggle against Ottoman aggression,
later on so successfully brought to a close, was begun. We were then in
a desperate condition. Our finances had run so low that we could not
purchase even the bread which we required. Nay, more, we could not
procure through the National Exchequer what we wanted more than
bread--arms of modern effectiveness; for men may endure hunger and yet
fight well, as the glorious past of our country has proved again and
again and again. But when our foes are better armed than we are, the
penalty is dreadful to a nation small as our own is in number, no matter
how brave their hearts. In this strait I myself had to secretly raise a
sufficient sum of money to procure the weapons we needed. To this end I
sought the assistance of a great merchant-prince, to whom our nation as
well as myself was known. He met me in the same generous spirit which he
had shown to other struggling nationalities throughout a long and
honourable career. When I pledged to him as security my own estates, he
wished to tear up the bond, and only under pressure would he meet my
wishes in this respect. Lords of the Council, it was his money, thus
generously advanced, which procured for us the arms with which we hewed