us all good."

Mr. Badcock coughed. "Oh, sir," he protested, "I couldn't! I reelly
couldn't. You'll excuse me, but I hold very strong opinions on
unlicensed preaching." He hesitated; then suddenly his brow cleared.
"But I can read you one, sir. _Reading_ one is altogether another
matter."

"You have a book of sermons on board?"

"Before starting, sir, happening to cast my eye over the book-case in
the bedroom . . . a volume of Dr. South's, sir, if you'll excuse my
liberty in borrowing it."

He ran and fetched the volume, while we disposed ourselves to listen.

"Where shall I begin, sir?"

"Wherever you please. The book belongs to my brother Gervase.
For myself I have not even a bowing acquaintance with the good
Doctor."

"The first sermon, sir, is upon Human Perfection."

"It should have been the last, surely?"

"Not so, sir; for it starts with Adam in the Garden of Eden."

"Let us hear, then."

Mr. Badcock cleared his throat and read:

"The image of God in man is that universal rectitude of all the
faculties of the soul, by which they stand apt and disposed to
their respective offices and operations."

"Hold a moment," interrupted my father, whose habit of commenting
aloud in church had often disconcerted Mr. Grylls. "Are you quite
sure, Mr. Badcock, that we are not starting with the Doctor's
peroration?"

"This is the first page, sir."

"Then the Doctor himself began at the wrong end. Prosper, will you
take a look astern and report me how many boats are coming?"

"Three, sir," said I. "The third has just pushed off from the ship."

"Thank you. Proceed, Mr. Badcock."

"And first for its noblest faculty, the understanding. It was
then sublime, clear, and aspiring, and as it were the soul's
upper region, lofty and serene, free from the vapours and
disturbances of the inferior affections. . . . Like the sun it
had both light and agility; it knew no rest but in motion; no
quiet but in activity. . . . It did arbitrate upon the several
reports of sense, and all the varieties of imagination; not
like a drowsy judge, only hearing, but also directing their
verdict. In sum, it was vegete quick and lively; open as the
day, untainted as the morning, full of the innocence and
sprightliness of youth; it gave the soul a bright and a full
view into all things."

"A fine piece of prose," remarked Mr. Fett as Mr.