"Beyond this you know now that of which I was in partial ignorance: how
he had, through the skill and devotion of your new Admiral, wrought
destruction on a hecatomb of our malignant foes. You who have received
for the nation the splendid gift of the little warship, which already
represents a new era in naval armament, can understand the great-souled
generosity of the man who has restored the vast possessions of my House. On our way hither from Ilsin, Rupert Sent Leger made known to me the
terms of the trust of his noble uncle, Roger Melton, and--believe me that
he did so generously, with a joy that transcended my own--restored to the
last male of the Vissarion race the whole inheritance of a noble line. "And now, my Lords of the Council, I come to another matter, in which I
find myself in something of a difficulty, for I am aware that in certain
ways you actually know more of it than even I myself do. It is regarding
the marriage of my daughter to Rupert Sent Leger. It is known to me that
the matter has been brought before you by the Archbishop, who, as
guardian of my daughter during my absence on the service of the nation,
wished to obtain your sanction, as till my return he held her safety in
trust. This was so, not from any merit of mine, but because she, in her
own person, had undertaken for the service of our nation a task of almost
incredible difficulty. My Lords, were she child of another father, I
should extol to the skies her bravery, her self-devotion, her loyalty to
the land she loves. Why, then, should I hesitate to speak of her deeds
in fitting terms, since it is my duty, my glory, to hold them in higher
honour than can any in this land? I shall not shame her--or even
myself--by being silent when such a duty urges me to speak, as Voivode,
as trusted envoy of our nation, as father. Ages hence loyal men and
women of our Land of the Blue Mountains will sing her deeds in song and
tell them in story. Her name, Teuta, already sacred in these regions,
where it was held by a great Queen, and honoured by all men, will
hereafter be held as a symbol and type of woman's devotion. Oh, my
Lords, we pass along the path of life, the best of us but a little time
marching in the sunlight between gloom and gloom, and it is during that
march that we must be judged for the future. This brave woman has won
knightly spurs as well as any Paladin of old. So is it meet that ere she
might mate with one worthy of her you, who hold in your hands the safety
and honour of the State, should give your approval. To you was it given
to sit in judgment on the worth of this gallant Englisher, now my son. You judged him then, before you had seen his valour, his strength, and
skill exercised on behalf of a national cause. You judged wisely, oh, my
brothers, and out of a grateful heart I thank you one and all for it. Well has he justified your trust by his later acts. When, in obedience
to the summons of the Vladika, he put the nation in a blaze and ranged
our boundaries with a ring of steel, he did so unknowing that what was
dearest to him in the world was at stake. He saved my daughter's honour
and happiness, and won her safety by an act of valour that outvies any
told in history. He took my daughter with him to bring me out from the
Silent Tower on the wings of the air, when earth had for me no
possibility of freedom--I, that had even then in my possession the
documents involving other nations which the Soldan would fain have
purchased with the half of his empire. "Henceforth to me, Lords of the Council, this brave man must ever be as a
son of my heart, and I trust that in his name grandsons of my own may
keep in bright honour the name which in glorious days of old my fathers
made illustrious. Did I know how adequately to thank you for your
interest in my child, I would yield up to you my very soul in thanks." The speech of the Voivode was received with the honour of the Blue
Mountains--the drawing and raising of handjars. FROM RUPERT'S JOURNAL. _July_ 14, 1907. For nearly a week we waited for some message from Constantinople, fully
expecting either a declaration of war, or else some inquiry so couched as
to make war an inevitable result. The National Council remained on at
Vissarion as the guests of the Voivode, to whom, in accordance with my
uncle's will, I had prepared to re-transfer all his estates. He was, by
the way, unwilling at first to accept, and it was only when I showed him
Uncle Roger's letter, and made him read the Deed of Transfer prepared in
anticipation by Mr. Trent, that he allowed me to persuade him. Finally
he said:

"As you, my good friends, have so arranged, I must accept, be it only in
honour to the wishes of the dead. But remember, I only do so but for the
present, reserving to myself the freedom to withdraw later if I so
desire." But Constantinople was silent. The whole nefarious scheme was one of the
"put-up jobs" which are part of the dirty work of a certain order of
statecraft--to be accepted if successful; to be denied in case of
failure. The matter stood thus: Turkey had thrown the dice--and lost. Her men
were dead; her ship was forfeit. It was only some ten days after the
warship was left derelict with every living thing--that is, everything
that had been living--with its neck broken, as Rooke informed me, when he
brought the ship down the creek, and housed it in the dock behind the
armoured gates--that we saw an item in _The Roma_ copied from _The
Constantinople Journal_ of July 9:

    "LOSS OF AN OTTOMAN IRONCLAD WITH ALL HANDS. "News has been received at Constantinople of the total loss, with all
    hands, of one of the newest and finest warships in the Turkish
    fleet--_The Mahmoud_, Captain Ali Ali--which foundered in a storm on
    the night of July 5, some distance off Cabrera, in the Balearic
    Isles. There were no survivors, and no wreckage was discovered by
    the ships which went in relief--the _Pera_ and the _Mustapha_--or
    reported from anywhere along the shores of the islands, of which
    exhaustive search was made. _The Mahmoud_ was double-manned, as she
    carried a full extra crew sent on an educational cruise on the most
    perfectly scientifically equipped warship on service in the
    Mediterranean waters." When the Voivode and I talked over the matter, he said:

"After all, Turkey is a shrewd Power. She certainly seems to know when
she is beaten, and does not intend to make a bad thing seem worse in the
eyes of the world." Well, 'tis a bad wind that blows good to nobody. As _The Mahmoud_ was
lost off the Balearics, it cannot have been her that put the marauders on
shore and trained her big guns on Ilsin. We take it, therefore, that the
latter must have been a pirate, and as we have taken her derelict in our
waters, she is now ours in all ways. Anyhow, she is ours, and is the
first ship of her class in the navy of the Blue Mountains.