title fell
casually from the lips of a blacksmith, one day, in a village; was caught up as
a happy thought and tossed from mouth to mouth with a laugh and an affirmative
vote; in ten days it had swept the kingdom, and was become as familiar as the
king's name. I was never known by any other designation afterward, whether in
the nation's talk or in grave debate upon matters of state at the council board
of the sovereign. This title, translated into modern speech, would be THE BOSS.
Elected by the nation. That suited me. And it was a pretty high title. There
were very few THE'S, and I was one of them. If you spoke of the duke, or the
earl, or the bishop, how could anybody tell which one you meant? But if you
spoke of The King or The Queen or The Boss, it was different.
    Well, I liked the king, and as king I respected him - respected the office;
at least respected it as much as I was capable of respecting any unearned
supremacy; but as men I looked down upon him and his nobles - privately. And he
and they liked me, and respected my office; but as an animal, without birth or
sham title, they looked down upon me - and were not particularly private about
it, either. I didn't charge for my opinion about them, and they didn't charge
for their opinion about me: the account was square, the books balanced,
everybody was satisfied.
 

                                   Chapter 9

                                 The Tournament

They were always having grand tournaments there at Camelot; and very stirring,
and picturesque and ridiculous human bull-fights they were, too, but just a
little wearisome to the practical mind. However, I was generally on hand - for
two reasons: a man must not himself aloof from the things which his friends and
his community have at heart if he would be liked - especially a statesman; and
both as business man and statesman I wanted to study the tournament and see if I
couldn't invent an improvement on it. That reminds me to remark, in passing,
that the very first official thing I did, in my administration - and it was on
the very first day of it, too - was to start a patent office; for I knew that a
country without a patent office and good patent laws was just a crab, and
couldn't travel any way but sideways or backwards.
    Things ran along, a tournament nearly every week; and now and then the boys
used to