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41
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OS
18
by R. E. Giirvitx
The eyeglasses, the letter, and the ulti
matum lay on the general's table. He
picked up the letter and tried to read the
finely written lines, but they danced and
swam before his eyes. Ruefully, he
reached for the glasses and put them on.
They were new and slipped slightly to
the bridge of his nose. He would have to
memorize any parts of the letter he wished
to read to his officers. It wouldn't do for
them to see him wearing glasses. He
smiled at his vanity and began reading.
His friends urged patience. They knew
that the army was restless that two years
had passed since their last victory had .
neutralized the enemy and. that a peace
treaty had not yet been signed. They real-.
ized that the army had not been paid and
that families of men who had fallen were
destitute. They were trying, they wrote,
but he must give them more time.
He thought, "Time, my friends, is no
longer mine to give." His officers' ulti
matum lay before him. He picked it up
and examined it again. "Be our king" was
v its sum and substance. It urged him to
lead them away to another country or to
let them march on the capitol and give
him the throne at bayonet point.
He had argued with them had pointed
out that they had sworn to defend their
government and that they couldn't desert
it in times of crisis."When he felt his argu
' merits failing, he had used the love and
respect they had for him to gain extra
time to plead their case before the govern
ment. This was the answer.
He rose and walked to the tent flap.
Peering through it, he could see the car
penters putting the final touches on the
meeting hall he had ordered built.
The moment it was finished, his officers
would gather and wait for his decision.
There would be no more time left.
His eyes took in the tents scattered over
the neighboring hiHs, and a thrill of pride
shot through him. His rag-tail, pick-up
army, he thought. How they had fought!
It was unthinkable that men like these
should ask to be ruled. His own anger
rose at the government delays that had re
duced them to this state. Deep within him
he struggled against the nagging tempta-
tion to accept the crown they offered.
"I'd rule them wisely," he thought.
Startled at the turn of his thoughts, he
spoke the next words aloud. "It would be
a betrayal a betrayal of everything."
He could see the carpenters picking up
their tools. The building was finished.
From all parts of the encampment men
began to drift toward the clearing. Hard
bitten bearded veterans, untried recruits,
wounded men on crutches, gunners, cooks,
engineers each of the. skills and trades
that keep an army functioning was repre-
Family Weekly, February 22, 1959
e man writ
sented outside that fateful meeting hall.
There was a holiday air about the gath
ering, and they cheered the officers as
they arrived and entered the building.
The youngest of his lieutenants came to
tell him that the officers were assembled.
He rose slowly and gathered his notes
from the table. He looked at the words
he had scribbled and prayed that they
were the right ones.
The troops were a black field in front
of him, and they shouted greetings as
he walked through their ranks.
"There goes our first king!" a grizzled
corporal shouted. A cheer went up.
The officers rose as he entered the hall.
He walked to the lectern and stood there
silently surveying them. A single word
from him would start them marching
a march which wouldn't end until he was
crowned king!
He began to talk, clenching and un
clenching his hand. "Do not lessen the
dignity and sully the glory you have
hitherto maintained," he said.
They knew he was turning them down,
and an angry murmur swept through the
crowd. Some of the young officers jumped
to their feet.
He raised his voice. "You will," he said,
"by the dignity of your conduct afford oc
casion for posterity to say, when speak
ing of the glorious example you have
exhibited to mankind, 'Had this day been
wanting, the world had never seen the last
stage of perfection to which human nature
is capable of attaining'."
He had summed up his entire appeal in
the last statement, and the angry voices
had still not quieted. Perhaps, he thought,
if he read them some of the letters he had
received. He reached into his pocket and
brought forth the latest. His eyes blurred
and he dug into the pocket for his glasses
and put them on.
The murmuring stopped. In all parts of
the hall, men were suddenly struck silent.
They realized, quite suddenly, that the
man they had thought of as granite and
iron was flesh and blood. The suffering,
the privations of the last cruel years had
left their stamp on him. The long service
showed suddenly in lines they had never
noticed, in the slight bend to the proud
back, in the veined hands.
He pointed apologetically to the glasses.
"Gentlemen," he said, "I have grown gray
in your service and now find myself grow
ing blind."
He put away the letters, stepped down
from the dais, and started for the exit. His
officers formed a solid rank behind him
a rank which would not falter again.
And as he crossed the threshold, Gen
eral George Washington had still another
meeting this time with history as Presi
dent, not king, of the United States.