His only sister had married an uneducated man, who, being converted to some nondescript religion, went preaching about the country, and unluckily, in the course of his apostolate, appeared at Hollingford.

Here he had some success; crowds attended his open-air sermons.

It soon became known that the preacher's wife, who was always at his side, was a sister of Mr.Bride of St.John's, and great scandal arose in orthodox circles.

Mr.Bride took quite another view of the matter, and declared that, in doing so, he behaved simply as a Christian.

The debate exasperated Lady Ogram's violent temper, and fortified Mr.Bride in a resentful obstinacy.