"Consists of" vs. "consists in": different meanings of the verb, or the same meaning applied differently?

Consist seems to occur in two constructions, one of which is followed by a list of Noun Phrase constituents introduced by of, but generally not in:

• Columbus's fleet consisted of the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
• ??Columbus's fleet consisted in the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.

The other construction is usually followed by a gerund clause or a list of parallel gerunds, and this allows in, and also of.

• Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.

Though of sounds a bit off to me in the sentence above; this is probably due to my own personal usage habits, however, rather than to any rule. Preposition usage in cases like this is often idiosyncratic and fluid. Don't trust usage books; they're just personal opinions that got published, not evidence.

The OED shows that the use of consist of and consist in has been unsettled over the centuries. There is just one definition given for the former:

To be made up or composed of; to have as its constituent substance or elements.

However, the latter has six definitions, of which I think the one which applies to Twain’s use is:

To have its essence or essential character in.

It follows that I don’t think Twain could have used consists of here. As I read it, he is emphasising the essential qualities of good breeding, rather than the elements that make it up. Consist of seems to me to be best reserved for more tangible things like lists of ingredients, where consist in can certainly not be used.