"It was freely offered to you this morning, though."
"No, it was rammed down our throats, so I didn't quite catch the flavour."
"You mean, the parade was compulsory."
"Yes; if it had been left to our choice the only men absent would have been the cook and the herder, but your performance this morning disagreed with us. We called it an insult to Pater-Noster, and any man who took part in that would have been thrashed within an inch of his life."
"I think you were right," said the Curate. "Believe me, Mr. La Mancha, I shall never, so long as I live, forget this lesson. The next service shall be free."
"Then we shall read you the second lesson, Padre."
"Which is?"
"That we haven't had a chance of going to church for months. Hand round the hat and I promise you there won't be any buttons. Another thing, cover your reading-desk with the Union Jack and there'll be no whispering."
"Why?"
"Because a year after the Rebellion, when we had memorial church-parades for the dead, the order was, 'Side arms and the flag on the table.' The boys will remember."