"O, dear me!" exclaimed Grace. "If you ask such things as that of me, I shall not wish to be Grand Protectress. I think, as your great philosopher said, it will be paying too dear for the whistle. Must it be in English, French, Latin, or German?"
"That must be left to the discretion of your Grand Protectresship," answered Paul, gravely.
"Please to help me, father," said she, appealing to Mr. Arbuckle.
"Whatever the Grand Protectress vouchsafes to give us shall be cherished by the order," added Paul.
Mr. Arbuckle wrote a sentence on a slip of paper, and handed it to Grace.
"Ah, here is your motto!" exclaimed she, laughing heartily.
"Please to repeat it," said Captain Shuffles.
"Vous ne pouvez pas faire un sifflet de la queue d'un cochon," added Grace, reading from the paper, which she handed to Paul, choking with mirth.
"Thanks, most excellent Grand Protectress," replied the commodore, who found it very difficult to maintain his gravity.
"It is a literal translation of the English proverb, and perhaps the idea is not expressed in similar phrase in French," said Mr. Arbuckle; "but I think it will answer very well for a motto."