Of his squire and patron he saw but little. Occasionally Mr. Blake
attended church and as lay-rector was accommodated in an ugly oak box
in the chancel, where his big body and florid countenance reminded
Godfrey of Farmer Johnson's prize polled ox in its stall. These state
visits were not however very frequent and depended largely upon the
guests who were staying for the week-end at the Hall. If Mr. Blake
discovered that these gentlemen were religiously inclined, he went to
church. If otherwise, and this was more common, acting on his
principle of being all things to all men, he stopped away.

Personally he did not bother his head about the matter which, in
secret, he looked upon as one of the ramifications of the great
edifice of British cant. The vast majority of people in his view went
to church, not because they believed in anything or wished for
instruction or spiritual consolation, but because it looked
respectable, which was exactly why he did so himself. Even then nearly
always he sat alone in the oak box, his visitors generally preferring
to occupy the pew in the nave which was frequented by Lady Jane and
Isobel.

Nor did the two often meet socially since their natures were
antipathetic. In the bosom of his family Mr. Blake would refer to Mr.
Knight as the "little parson rat," while in his bosom Mr. Knight would
think of Mr. Blake as "that bull of Bashan." Further, after some
troubles had arisen about a question of tithe, also about the upkeep
of the chancel, Blake discovered that beneath his meek exterior the
clergyman had a strong will and very clear ideas of the difference
between right and wrong, in short, that he was not a man to be trifled
with, and less still one of whom he could make a tool. Having
ascertained these things he left him alone as much as possible.