CHAPTER XXI.
RECONCILIATION.
"I am not," said the Bishop, "putting this before you as an argument.
I have lived and mixed with men long enough to know that they are usually persuaded by other things than argument, sometimes by better.
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I am merely suggesting a _modus vivendi_--shall we call it a truce of God ?--until we have all done our best against a common peril: for, as your Petition proves you to be earnest Churchmen, so I may conclude that to all of us in this room our Cathedral stands for a cherished monument of the Church, however differently we may interpret its history." He leaned forward in his chair, his gaze travelling from one to another with a winning smile.

All the petitioners were gathered before him in the Master's library.