‘Did the Stoney Bridge people make a disturbance?’

‘No.’

‘How many of our people?’

‘Twenty-seven.’

‘Did all the girls wear caps?’

‘Most of them.’

Jane was rather surprised at the shortness of her cousin’s answers, but she went on, as he stood before the fire, apparently in deep thought.

’Was Miss Burnet confirmed?  She is the dullest girl I ever knew, and she is older than I am.  Was she confused?’

‘She was.’

‘Did you give Mary Wright a ticket?’

‘No.’

’Then, of course, you did not give one to Ned Long.  I thought you would never succeed in making him remember which is the ninth commandment.’

‘I did not refuse him.’

‘Indeed! did he improve in a portentous manner?’

‘Not particularly.’

‘Well, you must have been more merciful than I expected.’

‘Indeed!’

’Robert, you must have lost the use of your tongue, for want of us to talk to.  I shall be affronted if you go into a brown study the first day of seeing me.’

He smiled in a constrained manner, and after a few minutes said, ’I have been considering whether this is a fit time to tell you what will give you pain.  You must tell me if you can bear it.’

‘About Lily, or the little ones?’

’No, no! only about yourself.  Your father wished me to speak to you, but I would not have done so on this first meeting, but what you have just been saying makes me think this is the best occasion.’

‘Let me know; I do not like suspense,’ said Jane, sharply.

’I think it right to tell you, Jane, that neither your father nor I thought it would be desirable for you to be confirmed at this time.’

‘Do you really mean it?’ said Jane.

’Look back on the past year, and say if you sincerely think you are fit for confirmation.’

‘As to that,’ said Jane, ’the best people are always saying that they are not fit for these things.’

’None can call themselves worthy of them; but I think the conscience of some would bear them witness that they had profited so far by their present means of grace as to give grounds for hoping that they would derive benefit from further assistance.’

‘Well, I suppose I must be very bad, since you see it,’ said Jane, in a manner rather more subdued; ’but I did not think myself worse than other people.’

‘Is a Christian called, only to be no worse than others?’

’Oh no!  I see, I mean—­pray tell me my great fault.  Pertness, I suppose—­love of gossip?’

’There must be a deeper root of evil, of which these are but the visible effects, Jane.’

‘What do you mean, Robert?’ said Jane, now seeming really impressed.