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
the largest matters through his own special and highly-magnifying
spectacles. So, to be brief, they quarrelled once and for all, and
thenceforward never attempted to conceal their cordial dislike of each
other.

Such was one result of this unlucky discussion as to the exact
conditions of the planet Mars, god of war. Another was that Godfrey
developed a strong interest in the study of the heavenly bodies and
when some domestic debate arose as to his future career, announced with
mild firmness that he intended to be an astronomer. His father, to whom
the heavenly bodies were less than the dust beneath his human feet and
who believed in his heart that they had been created, every one of
them, to give a certain amount of light to the inhabitants of this
world when there was no moon, was furious in his arctic fashion,
especially as he was aware that with a few distinguished exceptions,
these hosts of heaven did not reward their votaries with either wealth
or honour.

"I intend you for my own profession, the Church," he said bluntly. "If
you choose to star-gaze in the intervals of your religious duties, it
is no affair of mine. But please understand, Godfrey, that either you
enter the Church or I wash my hands of you. In that event you may seek
your living in any way you like."

Godfrey remonstrated meekly to the effect that he had not made up his
mind as to his fitness for Holy Orders or his wish to undertake them.

"You mean," replied his father, "that you have been infected by that
pernicious girl, Isobel. Well, at any rate, I will remove you from her
evil influence. I am glad to say that owing to the fact that my little
school here has prospered, I am in a position to do this. I will send
you for a year to a wor