ked you two hundred, and
this you found difficult. And yet you expect a two-thousand-dollar
preacher."

"Well, his preaching was not his only fault," said Macfarren. "He was
totally unsuited to our people. He was a man of no breeding, no
manners, and in this town we need a man--"

"Wait a moment, Mr. Macfarren. You can put up with his preaching?"

"Yes."

"Did he visit his people?"

"Yes, goodness knows, he did that enough."

"Was his character good?"

"Oh, certainly."

"Then I understand you to say that as a preacher he was passable, as a
pastor and as a man all that could be desired?"

"Oh, yes, certainly. But he was--well, if you have met him you must
know what I mean. In short, he was uncouth and boorish in his manners."

The Superintendent drew himself up, and his voice began to burr in a
way that his friends would have recognized as dangerous.

"Boorish, Mr. Macfarren? Let me tell you, sir, that he is a Highland
gentleman, the son of a Highland gentlewoman, and boorishness is
impossible to him."

"Well, that may be too strong, Doctor, but you do not understand our
society here. We have a large number of people of good family from the
old country and from the East, and in order to reach them we require a
man who has moved in good society."

"Well, sir," said the Superintendent, "Jesus Christ would not have
suited your society here, for He was a man of very humble birth, and
moved in very low circles." And without further word he turned from
Macfarren to greet Father Mike, who had entered the store.

"Delighted to see you again, Bishop," said Father Mike. "We are always
glad to see you even though you are outside the pale."

"Depends upon which pale you mean, Father Mike," said the
Superintendent, shaking him warmly by the hand.

"True, sir. And I, for one, refuse to narrow its limits to those of any
existing organization."

"Your principles do you credit, sir," said the Superintendent, giving
his hand an extra shake. "They are truly Scriptural, truly modern, and
truly Western."

"But, Doctor, I want to ask you, if I may without impertinence, why did
you do so great an injury to our community as to remove your missionary
from us?"

"Ah, you consider that a loss, Father Mike?"

"Undoubtedly, sir. A great and serious loss. He was a high type of a
man. I will quote as expressing my opinions, the words of a gentleman
whose judgment would, I suppose, be considered in this community as
final on