“From God,” was the immediate and frank reply.
The clergyman started, but quickly recovered his equipoise.
“H’m! yes, quite so, quite so! All real instruction descendeth from above. But––your religious views––I believe they are not considered––ah––quite evangelical, are they? By your present associates, that is.”
“No,” she replied, with a trace of sadness in her tone. “But,” looking up with a queer little smile, “I am not persecuting them for that.”
“Oh, no,” with a jerky little laugh. “Assuredly not! H’m! I judge the persecution has come from the other side, has it not?”
“We will not speak of that,” she said quickly. “They do not understand––that is all.”
“H’m! no, quite so––that is––ah––may I ask why you think they do not understand? May not you be in error, instead?”
“If that which I believe is not true,” the girl replied evenly, “it will fail under the test of demonstration. Their beliefs have long since failed under such test––and yet they still cling jealously to them, and try to force them upon all who disagree with them. I am a heretic, Doctor.”
“H’m––ah––yes, I see. But––it is a quite unfortunate characteristic of mankind to attribute one’s views indiscriminately to the Almighty––and––ah––I regret to note that you are not wholly free from this error.”