on.'"

"Cromwell," remarked the Bishop, "applied enough whitewash to Blanford
to last it for several centuries. Indeed, we've not succeeded in
restoring all the frescoes yet."

"Nonsense, man," said Mrs. Mackintosh, "you don't see the point at all.
Now what do you take when your liver's out of order?"

"Really, madam," faltered the Bishop, thoroughly aghast at this new turn
in the conversation, "I--er--generally consult my medical adviser."

"Well, you shouldn't!" said Mrs. Mackintosh with determination. "You
should take what we call in my country a pick-me-up. Now I said to your
son: 'I'm going to be a mental and moral pick-me-up for your father.
What he needs is a new point of view. If you don't take care, he'll
fossilise, and you'll have to put him in the British Museum.'"

The Bishop's reflections during this conversation were many and varied.
What he was pleased to term his inner moral consciousness told him he
ought to be shocked at its flippancy; the rest of his mental make-up was
distinctly refreshed. Besides, a certain tension in the social
atmosphere suggested that Miss Matilda was about to go forth to battle,
so he smiled graciously, saying:

"It's certainly very considerate of you to undertake all this on my
account, but I should not like to be in any one's debt, and I hardly see
how I can repay my obligations."

"I'm just coming to that," said Mrs. Mackintosh. "I don't say that I
shouldn't be doing a Christian act by taking you in hand, but I'm free
to admit that I've a personal interest in the matter, for you're the
one man in England I most wanted to meet."

"But what can there possibly be about me--" began the Bishop.

"It isn't about you," replied his guest. "It's about Jonah."

"Josephus," broke in the harsh voice of his sister, "the bell of the
mission chapel has been ringing for some time."

The Bishop drew a long breath and formed a mighty resolve. At last he
had met a person who took an intelligent interest in Jonah, a Biblical
character to whose history he had devoted exhaustive research. It was a
golden opportunity not to be let slip. So, turning to his sister and
looking her squarely in the eyes, he replied boldly that he was quite
aware of the fact.

"If you do not go at once you'll be late," remarked that lady.

"I've not the slightest intention of going at all," said the Bishop.
"I'm talking to Mrs. Mackintosh, who is, it seems, much interested in
Jonah."

There came a sound