"Then the second," declared François, "shall be that of Scotland,—blue."
"Very well; but the third?"
"How would yellow do?"
"Oh, no; that is the color of Spain. Green would be better."
"That is the color of the Guises," said the king.
"Very well, Monsieur; is that a reason for excluding it?"
"No, indeed; but will these three colors harmonize well?"
"Well thought of!" cried Mary Stuart. "Let us take red, the color of Switzerland; it will be in a measure a reminder of their country to the poor fellows."
"An idea as kind as your heart, Mary," the king responded. "There! that momentous affair has come to a glorious conclusion. Ouf! we have had enough trouble with it; fortunately, more serious matters do not give us so much. And your dear uncles, Mary, are so willing to relieve me of all the burden of government! it is delightful! They do the writing, and I have only to sign my name, sometimes without even reading; so that my crown placed upon my royal couch would serve quite as well as I, if the whim should seize me to take a journey."
"Do you not feel sure, Sire," asked Mary, "that my uncles will never have aught at heart save your interest and that of France?"