to him with a warm and loyal heart. From the first she loved him, and
he loved her; it was an affection that continued throughout their
lives.

When Godfrey was about nine his father's health broke down. He was
still a curate in his seaport town, for good, as goodness is
understood, and hard-working as he was, no promotion had come his way.
Perhaps this was because the bishop and his other superiors,
recognising his lack of sympathy and his narrowness of outlook, did
not think him a suitable man to put in charge of a parish. At any
rate, so it happened.

Thus arose his appeal to his wealthy and powerful relative, Sir
Samuel, and his final nomination to a country benefice, for in the
country the doctor said that he must live--unless he wished to die.
Convinced though he was of the enormous advantages of Heaven over an
earth which he knew to be extremely sinful, the Rev. Mr. Knight, like
the rest of the world, shrank from the second alternative, which, as
he stated in a letter of thanks to Sir Samuel, however much it might
benefit him personally, would cut short his period of terrestrial
usefulness to others. So he accepted the rectorship of Monk's Acre
with gratitude.

In one way there was not much for which to be grateful, seeing that in
those days of depreciated tithes the living was not worth more than
L250 a year and his own resources, which came from his wife's small
fortune, were very limited. It should have been valuable, but the
great tithes were alienated with the landed property of the Abbey by
Henry VIII, and now belonged to the lay rector, Mr. Blake, who showed
no signs of using them to increase the incumbent's stipend.