Esther gave a little gasp: "You don't think he will do that? if he does,
I shall run away again."
"Why run away? if you really want to get rid of him, why not make him run away?"
"Because I don't want to make him run away from me, and because I don't know how. If I could only get him away from his church! All I know about it is that I can't be a clergyman's wife, but the moment that I try to explain why, he proves to me that my reasons are good for nothing."
"Are you sure he's not right?" asked Strong.
"Perfectly sure!" replied Esther earnestly. "I can't reason it out, but I feel it. I believe you could explain it if you would, but when I asked you, in the worst of my trouble, you refused to help me."
"I gave you all the help I could, and I am ready to give you whatever you want more," replied Strong.
"Tell me what you think about religion!"
Strong drew himself together with a perceptible effort: "I think about it as little as possible," said he.
"Do you believe in a God?"
"Not in a personal one."