That week seemed to fly by. At its expiration the Prince duly presented himself to receive the nation’s reply to his proposition. Never was a vote more solemnly taken than that which decided the issue at stake. It was not a unanimous vote; but that the Prince should fight this battle of his country was decided by an overwhelming majority. The subject had been rigorously excluded from the French Parliament until it was formally laid before it in official despatches from England, but naturally it had been well discussed in every other gathering, small or large, of the French people. There was, therefore, little need of delay; but a week was asked and given before a final answer was decided upon. At length it was sent, and the whole world knew that the quarrel of two great nations was to be decided by two of their greatest sons. A request was sent in that the number should be augmented, and that ten persons on each side should fight, but that was overruled, and the two nations proceeded to fix the date of the most memorable duel that had ever been fought. The Prince asked for a week, but the French proposed that it should be a month, in order to give each man time to become perfect in the use of the sword; for both the Prince and his antagonist declared the sword to be the only weapon for the occasion. It had been easy to find a man in chivalrous France. Indeed, there were so many volunteers that it was necessary to decide the matter by lot. And, strangely enough, the lot fell to Bayard, a descendant of the noble man whom even to-day France delights to honour. The two young men spent the month in strict retirement, each setting his own affairs in order. There was a great wish that the Prince might be seen by the people, but this he refused. Also the date on which he would set out on his journey was kept a secret; for there was a fear that the populace would prevent by force the consummation of the idea. It had been settled that the fight was to be on French soil, and in some spot as far as possible removed from human habitations. It was to take place in the morning of a day, the date of which, with all other details, was settled by the two nations.