'Oh, well, Betty, your question opens up a big, debatable subject on which I have great reluctance to enter. I have neither the time nor the inclination, Betty; but this much I will say, we are all heirs to a heritage of different distresses in this life, and as we are not all constituted alike we require different treatment. Now there is one great panacea, one great balm, for all our wounds. Some find that panacea in their church, though many go to church who are not aware they require a panacea. Others, of whom I am one, find a balm for their afflictions in communing with the nature of God's creation we see around us. With such it isn't necessary to go to church in order to feel God's presence or to experience His beneficent power. If it were, we could only commune with Him once a week, when the churches are open. As it is, I can praise Him at all times, and glorify His name under the canopy of His heavens, and among the trees and flowers and fields and woods, which evidence His fostering care and proclaim His loving-kindness.' 'Then, doctor, ye do believe in God?' A pained look crept into the doctor's eyes. 'Betty,' he said, 'you surely have never doubted that?' 'Weel, wi' you no' gaun to the kirk, an''---- 'Ah, Betty, it is possible for a man to go to church and remain in doubt; but no one can stand, as I often do, under the starry firmament, alone in the midst of slumbering nature, or facing the glowing east when the shafts of the sun's morning beams are piercing the shadowy sky, and not feel within himself that God reigneth, and the earth in consequence rejoices.' 'Grand! Man, doctor, I'm glad to hear ye say that! I'm--I'm rale glad.' There was a wee bit catch in Betty's voice, and a tear trickled down her cheek, which she tried to wipe away unnoticed with a corner of her apron. But the doctor saw, and his face twitched and softened. 'Then, doctor,' she continued, 'of course ye'll believe in the Bible?' 'Yes--with reservations.' 'Which means, doctor?' 'Well, Betty, it means that----Wait now, I want to make it easy for you to understand; but unfortunately, by doing so, it makes it all the more difficult for me to explain. Well, in a word, Betty, it means there are parts of it I believe, and there are others I cannot.' 'Ay, pairts ye believe an' pairts ye canna believe. I notice ye say ye _canna_ believe; ye don't say ye _will not_ believe. There's a difference, doctor, ye ken. Why do ye say ye canna?' 'Because I have thought out things very carefully, very anxiously, and I cannot entertain what does not appeal to my reason. I must discard what I think is wrong.' 'But, doctor, man, ye maunna exercise your ain judgment. It's human; consequently it's weak. What ye want is faith--the faith which can remove mountains, the faith which sustains. Doctor, ye must put aside your ain vain imaginin's an' thochts, an' become as a little child. Ay, juist as a little child.'