Page:Minnie's Bishop and Other Stories (1915).djvu/22

 friend Bessie Langworthy's husband has one, and he's only a canon."

The bishop, smiling apologetically, followed her out of the drawing-room.

"Here we are," she said, opening a door for him. "I hope you'll find it comfortable. I dare say now that you'd like to meditate a little over your sermon."

"Do I preach while I'm here?" The bishop asked the question in a tone of surprise.

"No," said Minnie. "Not unless you particularly want to. We shan't ask you to. As a matter of fact, we none of us like sermons. But you will have to preach again some time, I suppose."

"Yes; but not for a few weeks."

"Still, you'll naturally want to meditate over your sermon whenever it has to be preached. You can't meditate too much beforehand. Bessie Langworthy's husband always went to his sanctum after tea to meditate over his sermon."

She paused for an instant and then winked at the bishop. He started violently.

"My own impression is," she added, "that he generally went to sleep."

Her eye lit on the five volumes of Paley as she spoke.

"Dear me," she said, "I thought I had those books cleared away! You don't want them, do you?"