ero, guided by Rupert's unerring hand, lit softly on the after-deck
of the Western King's yacht; and King Rupert, stepping on deck, lifted
from her seat Queen Teuta with her baby in her arms. It was only when
the Blue Mountain King stood amongst other men that one could realize his
enormous stature. He stood literally head and shoulders over every other
man present.

Whilst the aeroplane was giving up its burden, the Western King and his
Queen were descending from the bridge. The host and hostess, hand in
hand--after their usual fashion, as it seems--hurried forward to greet
their guests. The meeting was touching in its simplicity. The two
monarchs shook hands, and their consorts, representatives of the foremost
types of national beauty of the North and South, instinctively drew close
and kissed each other. Then the hostess Queen, moving towards the
Western King, kneeled before him with the gracious obeisance of a Blue
Mountain hostess, and kissed his hand.

Her words of greeting were:

"You are welcome, sire, to the Blue Mountains. We are grateful to you
for all you have done for Balka, and to you and Her Majesty for giving us
the honour of your presence."

The King seemed moved. Accustomed as he was to the ritual of great
occasions, the warmth and sincerity, together with the gracious humility
of this old Eastern custom, touched him, monarch though he was of a great
land and many races in the Far East. Impulsively he broke through Court
ritual, and did a thing which, I have since been told, won for him for
ever a holy place in the warm hearts of the Blue Mountaineers. Sinking
on his knee before the beautiful shroud-clad Queen, he raised her hand
and kissed it. The act was seen by all in and around the Blue Mouth, and
a mighty cheering rose, which seemed to rise and swell as it ran far and
wide up the hillsides, till it faded away on the far-off mountain-top,
where rose majestically the mighty Flagstaff bearing the standard of the
Balkan Federation.

For myself, I can never forget that wonderful scene of a nation's
enthusiasm, and the core of it is engraven on my memory. That spotless
deck, typical of all that is perfect in naval use; the King and Queen of
the greatest nation of the earth {3} received by the newest King and
Queen--a King and Queen who won empire for themselves, so that the former
subject of another King received him as a brother-monarch on a
history-making occasion, when a new world-po