London, the entire population from king to navvies had galloped to worship under him, and the conclusion was that Zenith and New York would be sensible to do likewise.
Elmer thoughtfully saw to it that he should be invited also. He had Bishop Toomis write to his Wesleyan colleagues, he had Rigg and William Dollinger Styles write to their Nonconformist business acquaintances in London, and a month before he sailed he was bidden to address the celebrated Brompton Road Chapel, so that he went off in a glow not only of adventure but of message-bearing.
Dr. Elmer Gantry was walking the deck of the Scythia, a bright, confident, manly figure in a blue suit, a yachting cap, and white canvas shoes, swinging his arms and beaming pastorally on his fellow athletic maniacs.
He stopped at the deck chairs of a little old couple—a delicate blue-veined old lady, and her husband, with thin hands and a thin white beard.
"Well, you folks seem to be standing the trip pretty good—for old folks!" he roared.
"Yes, thank you very much," said the old lady.
He patted her knee, and boomed, "If there's anything I can do to make things nice and comfy for you, mother, you just holler! Don't be afraid to call on me. I haven't advertised the fact—kind of fun to travel what they call incognito—but fact is, I'm a minister of the gospel, even if I am a husky guy, and it's my pleasure as well as my duty to help folks anyway I can. Say, don't you think it's just about the loveliest thing about this ocean traveling, the way folks have the leisure to get together and exchange ideas? Have you crossed before?"
"Oh, yes, but I don't think I ever shall again," said the old lady.
"That's right—that's right! Tell you how I feel about it, mother." Elmer patted her hand. "We're Americans, and while it's a fine thing to go abroad maybe once or twice—there's nothing so broadening as travel, is there!—still, in America we've got a standard of decency and efficiency that these poor old European countries don't know anything about, and in the long run the good old U. S. A. is the place where you'll find
