She got upon her feet so quickly that it might almost be said she sprang
up.

"_You_ must have misunderstood _me_ greatly, Mr. Holland, if you fancied
that you could write such a book as you wrote and not get such a letter
from me. The Bible--Ruth--and you a clergyman--reading it daily in the
church----Oh! I cannot tell you all that I thought--all that I still
think."

He did not correct the mistake she had made. She had no right to accuse
him of reading the Bible daily in his church. He was not in the habit of
doing that--it was his curates who did it. He watched her as she stood
at a window with her back turned to him. Her hands were behind her. Her
breath came audibly, for she had spoken excitedly.

Then he also rose and came beside her.

"I wrote that book, as I believed you would perceive when you had read
it, in order to remove from the minds of the people--those people
who have not given the matter a thought--the impression--I know it
prevails--that our faith--the truth of our religion--is dependent upon
the acceptance as good of such persons as our very religion itself
enables us to pronounce evil. My aim was to show that our faith is not
built upon such a foundation of impurity--of imperfection. The spirit
which prevails nowadays--the modern spirit--it is the result of
the development of science. This scientific spirit necessitates the
consideration of all the elements of our faith from the standpoint of
reason."

"Faith--reason?"