tance," said the
clergyman, nursing his hat and smiling at the company. (He, too,
occasionally shared Mrs. Partington's wonder as to the object of all
this; but he, too, submitted to it as part of the system.) "People come
and go so quickly, you know--"

"Very pleased to see a clergyman," said the Major smoothly. "No
objection to smoke, sir, I presume?" He indicated his pipe.

"Not at all," said the clergyman. "In fact, I smoke myself; and if Mrs.
Partington will allow me--" He produced a small pink and gilded packet
of Cinderellas. (I think he thought it brought him vaguely nearer the
people to smoke Cinderellas.)

"Oh! no objection at all, sir," put in Mrs. Partington, still a little
grimly. (She was still secretly resenting being called upon at half-past
six. You were usually considered immune from this kind of thing after
five o'clock.)

"So I thought I must just look in and catch you one evening," explained
the clergyman once more, "and tell you that we're your friends here--the
clergy, you know--and about the church and all that."

He was an extremely conscientious young man--this Mr. Parham-Carter--an
old Etonian, of course, and now in his first curacy. It was all pretty
bewildering to him, too, this great and splendid establishment, the
glorious church by Bodley, with the Magnificat in Gothic lettering below
the roof, the well-built and furnished clergy-house, the ladies' house,
the zeal, the self-devotion, the parochial machinery, the Band of
Hope, the men's and boys' clubs, and, above all, the furious
district-visiting. Of course, it produced results, it kept up the
standards of decency and civilization and ideals; it was a weight in the
balances on the side of right and good living; the clubs kept men from
the public-house to some extent, and made it possible for boys to grow
up with some chance on their side. Yet he wondered, in fits of
despondency, whether there were not something wrong somewhere.... But he
accepted it: it was the approved method, and he himself was a learner,
not a teacher.

"Very kind of you, sir," said the Major, replacing his feet on the
mantelshelf. "And at what time are the services on Sunday?"

The clergyman jumped. He was not accustomed to that sort of question.

"I ..." he began.

"I'm a strong Churchman, sir," said the Major. "And even if I were not,
one must set an example, you know. I may be narrow-minded, but I'm
particular about all that sort of thing. I shall be wi