He made her a very wise answer, although at the moment it did not
strike either of them in that light.

"When you tell me of anything that you can really prove, I will show
you why," he said. To this he added a suggestion that was most unwise,
namely, that she should consult his father.

Now Mr. Knight was, it is true, a skilled theologian of a certain,
narrow school and learned in his way. It is probable, however, that in
all the wide world it would have been difficult to find any man less
sympathetic to a mind like Isobel's or more likely to antagonize her
eager and budding intelligence. Every doubt he met with intolerant
denial; every argument with offensive contradiction; every query with
references to texts.

Finally, he lost his temper, for be it acknowledged, that this girl
was persistent, far from humble, and in a way as dogmatic as himself.
He told her that she was not a Christian, and in her wrath she agreed
with him. He said that she had no right to be in church. She replied
that if this were so she would not come and, her father being
indifferent upon the point (Lady Jane did not count in such matters),
ceased her attendance. It was the old story of a strait-minded bigot
forcing a large-minded doubter out of the fold that ought to have been
wide enough for both of them. Moreover, this difference of opinion on
matters of public and spiritual interest ended in a private and
mundane animosity. Mr. Knight could never forgive a pupil of his own,
whose ability he recognized, who dared to question his pontifical
announcements. To him the matter was personal rather than one of
religious truth, for there are certain minds in whose crucibles
everything is resolved individually, and his was one of them. He was