He was glad to make Jane a little angry.

"My dear girl," he said, "were we speaking as man to man, I should have a few very strong things to say to you.

As we are speaking as man to woman,--and as a man who has for a very long time respected, honoured, and admired a very dear and noble woman,--I will answer your question frankly.

You are not beautiful, in the ordinary acceptation of the word, and no one who really loves you would answer otherwise; because no one who knows and loves you would dream of telling you a lie.

We will even allow, if you like, that you are plain, although I know half a dozen young men who, were they here, would want to kick me into the street for saying so, and I should have to pretend in self-defence that their ears had played them false and I had said, 'You are JANE,' which is all they would consider mattered.