'Gentlemen,' said the Bishop, 'I desire to present you to the Earl of Chester. In this house and among ourselves he is already what he will shortly be to the whole world--His Royal Highness the Earl of Chester, heir to the crown--nay--actual King of England. The day long dreamed of among us, my children--the day for which we have worked and planned--has arrived. Before us stands the Chief, willing and ready to lead the Cause in person.' They bowed profoundly. Then each one advanced in turn, took his hand, and murmured words of allegiance. The first was a tall thin young man of four-and-twenty, with eager eyes, pale face, and high narrow forehead, named Clarence Veysey. 'If you are what we hope and pray,' he said, looking him full in the face with searching gaze, 'we are your servants to the death. If you are not, God help England and the Holy Faith!' The next who stepped forward was Jack Kennion. He was a young man of his own age, of great muscular development, with square head, curly locks, and laughing eyes. He held out his hand and laughed. 'As for me,' he said, 'I have no doubt as to what you are. We have waited for you a long time, but we have you at last.' The next was Algy Dunquerque. 'I told you,' he said laughing, 'that I was ready to follow you. But I did not hope or expect to be called upon so soon. Something, of course, I knew, because I am a pupil of the Bishop, and knew how long Professor Ingleby has been working upon your mind. At last, then!' He heaved a mighty sigh of satisfaction, and then began to laugh. 'Ho, ho! Think of the flutter among the petticoats! Think of the debates in the House! Think of the excommunications!' One after the other shook hands, and then the Bishop spoke, as if interpreting the thought of all. 'This day,' he said, 'is the beginning of new things. We shall recall the grandeurs of the past, which no living man can remember. Time was when we were a mighty country, the first in the world: we had the true Religion, two thousand years old; a grand state Church; we had an ancient dynasty and a constitutional monarchy; we had a stately aristocracy always open to new families; we had an immense commerce; we had flourishing factories; we had great and loyal colonies; we had a dense and contented population; we had enormous wealth; science in every branch was advancing; there was personal freedom; every man could raise himself from the lowest to the highest rank; there was no post too high for the ambition of a clever lad. In those days Man was in command.