That," said he, "was the bishop; he go to bless the sea and pray God to
send the tunnies. Every spring shall be coming always the tunnies, but
if to don't bless the sea, then to be coming few tunnies; if to bless the
sea then to be coming plenty many tunnies."

"It was a beautiful procession," I said. "I knew it was the bishop; I
saw his mitre and the vestments and the gilded crosses and the smoke of
the incense in the sunlight. But do you think it is quite sportsmanlike
to pray that many tunnies may be killed?"

"Yes," said Peppino, "it is right to pray to win the battle, and we
battle the tunnies so we may pray."

"It is not quite the same thing," said I. "In battle the enemy has a
religion too and can pray against us: it may be fair if both pray
equally, especially if both have the same religion. But it is taking a
mean advantage of the poor tunnies to pray against them, for they have no
religion."

"Perhaps they have," said Peppino. "Perhaps they have Signor Vescovo
down in the sea and make a procession with tunny priests very well
dressed, and bells and banners and incense and singing, and to pray
against the death and the boiling in oil, and to escape to be eaten."

"I should like to see that procession," I said.

I knew that Peppino had sporting instincts to which I could appeal
because, a few days before, he had taken me into his room and shown me
the cups he had won. Some of them were English, for when in London he
was not occupied as a waiter without intermission; his recreation was to
retire from business occasionally for a few weeks, go into training and
appear as a champion bicyclist. So that, after my frugal chop and potato
in Holborn, I had been in the habit of giving twopence to an athlete
famous enough to have had his portrait in the illustrated papers--that
is, if his recollection of me in Holborn was not his invention; anyhow,
there were the cups.

It had come to pass by this time that Peppino and I took our meals
together and we were attended by the waiter, a native of Messina, named
Letterio. This name is given to many of the boys of Messina, and the
girls are called Letteria. It seems that when St. Paul was at Messina
the citizens gave him a congratulatory address for the Madonna; he took
it back with him and gave it to her in Jerusalem. She, in reply, sent
them a letter in Hebrew which they have now in the cathedral. At least
they have a translation of it. Or, to be exact, a tr