“Perfectly wonderful.  You remember how we were both insulted and hooted at Burslem, only because we were strangers!  Well, now, in all the time that we were away we never heard one uncivil word.  Not only they were civil, and so beautifully courteous to us, but they were so kindly among themselves, and it is all because they take their Christianity without any isms.”

That wicked puss!  She knew how Robert Cassall hated the fights of the sects, and she played on him, without in the least letting him suspect what she was doing.  He snorted satisfaction.  “That’s good! that’s good!  No isms.  And you say they’ve dropped drink?”

“Entirely, uncle, and all through the preaching without any isms.  It is such a blessed, beautiful thing to think that hundreds of men who used to make themselves and every one about them wretched, are now calm, happy fellows.  And they do not cant, uncle.  All of them know each other’s failings, and they are gentle and forgiving to each other.”

“What a precious lot of saints—­much too good to live, I should fancy.”

“Don’t sneer, you graceless.  Yes it’s quite true.  Do you know, dear, the Early Christian movement is being repeated on the sea.”

“Umph.  Early Christians!  The later Christians have made a pretty mess of it.  Now, just give me, without any waste words, all you have to say about this hospital business.  Don’t bring in preachee-preachee any more.”

“Very good, dear.  Stop me if I go wrong.  I’m going round about.  You know, you crabby dear, you wouldn’t neglect an old dog or an old pony after it had served you.  You wouldn’t say, ’Oh, Ponto had his tripe and biscuit, and Bob had his hay;’ you would take care of them.  Now wouldn’t you?  Of course you would.  And these fishers get their wages, but still they give their lives for your convenience just as the dog and the pony do.”

“Yes, yes.  But come to the hospital ship.  You dance round as if you were a light-weight boxer sparring for breath.”

“Hus-s-sh!  I won’t have it.  The fishermen, then, are constantly being dreadfully hurt:  I don’t mean by such things as toothache, though many hundreds of them have to go sleepless for days, until they are worn out with pain;—­I mean really serious, violent hurts.  Why, we were not allowed to see several of the men who came to Dr. Ferrier for treatment.  The wounds were too shocking.  Nearly eight thousand of them are already relieved in various ways every year.  Just fancy.  And I assure you I wonder very much that there are no more.”

“What sort of hurts?”