I wrote “Delighted” on the telegraph form and gave it to Bates.
“It’s the Bishop,” I said to Bates.
“Yes, sir.”
“He will be here for lunch and will stop the night.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Of course his Lordship will have his usual room. Put Captain Welfare somewhere else.”
“Very well, sir.”
Having thus made my preparations as a thoughtful host, I found it was impossible to settle down to my monograph on the “Greco-Turkish Alliance of the Sixth Century.”
I went out and awaited the bishop amid the sedative influences of my pigeons.
The Right Rev. John Parminter was not only my diocesan, but for some years had been, and thank God still is, my dearest friend. He shared my interest in the Byzantine Empire, and, as I think I have mentioned, it was this which first brought us together.