Now, a few months before, King George, after his accident in France, had crossed the Channel on board the Saxonia. The fate of the ship naturally interested His Majesty, who came to see the survivors, and, as Tarkington was the only officer, he had the inestimable privilege of quite a long conversation with the King. The result of this was that a few days afterwards a regiment "somewhere in France" received a memorandum from general headquarters asking for a statement of the services of Tarkington, S. W.
The memorandum being accompanied by certain verbal comments on the subject of "a very distinguished personage" by an officer in a red-banded gold-peaked cap, the colonel wrote nice things—which he had never said to him—of Tarkington, S. W., and the sergeant-major gave details of the brilliant conduct of the quartermaster at Loos.
The London Gazette a fortnight later recapitulated these exploits in a supplement to the list of awards and honours, and Tarkington, honorary captain, M.C., meditating on his fate, found the world not such a bad place after all.
CHAPTER XI
The first encounter that the brigade had with the village was not happy.
The village looked distrustfully on the brigade, with its bare knees and its language like the rolling of a drum. The brigade found the village short of estaminets and pretty girls. The people of Hondezeele bewailed the departure of a division of London Territorials, with their soft voices and full pockets, and wherever Aurelle went they did nothing but sing the praises of these sons of their adoption.
"Your Scotchmen, we know them. We cannot understand what they say—and my little girls can speak English."
"Scotch—Promenade—no bon!" said the little girls.
"I had the general's chauffeur here," went on the old woman, "a nice boy, sir. Billy, they called him. He washed up for me, and pleasant spoken, too, and good manners. An officers' Mess? Certainly not. I can make more selling fried potatoes and beer to the boys, and even eggs, although they cost me threepence each."
"Fried potatoes, two painnies a plate, aigs and bacon, one franc," chorused the little girls.