ent. 'Thank you, Cecil; I
seem to have brought you here to wait upon me.'

'Oh, it's such fun!' said Cecil delightedly. A thoroughly well-arranged
meal would not have given him half the pleasure that this queer little
bachelor lunch did.

Before it was over, his spirits were such as entirely to satisfy his
host; and Mrs. Keeling, when she came to clear away, was gratified to
find that her home-made gingerbread had by no means been despised,
though she had been a little offended in the interval by water being
rung for. What could Mr. Yorke be thinking of, to let the little
gentleman drink water, when there was cowslip wine and raspberry vinegar
of her own making in the house, supposing that ordinary wine or beer
were thought too strong for him?

But Cecil had affirmed that he always drank water at home, and wished
for nothing else, and Mr. Yorke knew better than to try to lead him to
other tastes. He liked Cecil's bringing-up altogether--the hardiness and
the good sense of it, and the kindness that was never spoiling; and
could sympathize the more with the boy, under the cloud which had come
between him and his father, because he knew how happy the relations
between them had been till now. He was ready to talk about school and
cricket, and his own younger brothers, and anything that seemed to
interest him; and was rather startled when, as they sat together after
lunch in a queer little arbour at the end of the garden, Cecil suddenly
said, 'Do you think a person can help being miserable when they are
punished for a fault they haven't done?'

'I think it is a great trial,' he answered after a moment's reflection.
'But surely they would have more reason to be miserable if they _had_
committed the fault.'

Cecil pondered over this a minute; then he said, 'But how is it _just_
that they should be punished for what they haven't done?'

'Why, I suppose the person punishing thinks they have done it.'

'Yes, the person,' said Cecil,--and there he hesitated,--'I mean,' he
said at last, not irreverently, but in a low, earnest tone, 'why are
things like _this let_ happen?'

Mr. Yorke could only guess what 'this' was, and did not seek to have it
explained, not wishing to make himself a judge of anything that lay
between Cecil and his father.

'You mean, why is disgrace allowed to come upon a person which they
cannot feel they have deserved? I don't think we can always tell why--I
think we must be content to trust and submi