It was the practice on Monday morning for the girls to be questioned on the sermons of the preceding Sunday, and a very solemn business it was. The whole school was assembled in the big schoolroom, and Mr. Cardew, both the Misses Ponsonby being present, examined _viva voce_. One Monday morning, after Catharine had been a month at the school, Mr. Cardew came as usual. He had been preaching the Sunday before on a favourite theme, and his text had been, "So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin," and the examination at the beginning was in the biography of St. Paul, as this had formed a part of his discourse. No fault was to be found with the answers on this portion of the subject, but presently the class was in some difficulty. "Can anybody tell me what meaning was assigned to the phrase, 'The body of this death'?" No reply. "Come, you took notes, and one or two interpretations were discarded for that which seemed to be more in accordance with the mind of St. Paul. Miss Arden"--Miss Arden was sitting nearest to Mr. Cardew--"cannot you say?" Miss Arden shook her ringlets, smiled, and turned a little red, as if she had been complimented by Mr. Cardew's inquiries after the body of death, and, glancing at her paper, replied--"The death of this body." "Pardon me, that was one of the interpretations rejected." "This body of death," said Catharine. "Quite so." Mr. Cardew turned hastily round to the new pupil, whom he had not noticed before, and looked at her steadily for a moment. "Can you proceed a little and explain what that means?" Catharine's voice trembled, but she managed to read from her paper: "It is strikingly after the manner of St. Paul. He opposes the two pictures in him by the strongest words at his command--death and life. One _is_ death, the other _is_ life, and he prays to be delivered from death; not the death of the body, but from death-in-life." "Thank you; that is very nearly what I intended."