"Did he, or did he not, ask your advice?"
"Yes, he did. But--"
"Did you advise him to take the course which he afterwards followed?"
"No, on my honour, Archdeacon, I did not. I did not know what his personal trouble was. I did not ask him and he did not tell me. We talked of generalities--"
"Had you heard, before he came to you, gossip about my son?"
"I had heard some silly talk--"
"Very well, then."
"But you shall listen to me, Archdeacon. I scarcely knew your son. I had met him only once before, at some one's house, and talked to him then only for five minutes. He himself asked to come and see me. I could not refuse him when he asked me. I did not, of course, wish to refuse him. I liked the look of him, and simply for his own sake wished to know him better. When he came he was not with me for very long and our talk was entirely about religion, belief, faith in God, the meaning of life, nothing more particular than such things."
"Did he say, when he left you, that what you had told him had helped him to make up his mind?"
"Yes."