On getting over the stile which crossed my pathway about half-a-mile from the cottage, I saw the infidel standing where I had seen Mr. Gordon standing on a preceding Saturday evening; and though at first I thought he was waiting for me, yet I soon perceived that he was admiring the grand panoramic view which was visible from that spot. I passed within a few yards of him, and in the act of passing we exchanged a bow of recognition. "It appears, Sir," he said, "that we are going in the same direction, and, if agreeable, I will walk with you." I at once consented, thinking that I might have an opportunity of making an assault on his scepticism, which possibly might issue in some practical good. "You were rather too severe upon me in the cottage." "If I thought so, Sir, I would offer you an apology; but my few remarks, though severe, were, I think, just." "Well, well, perhaps I did wrong. But the fact is, I found both the woodman and his wife so shrewd and intelligent, that, on hearing them make some impassioned allusions to the Bible, I thought they would appreciate some remarks tending, at least in my opinion, to counteract the terrible impression of fear and dread which a belief in the inspiration and authority of the Bible necessarily calls up and fixes in the heart." "But you see it inspires no fear in them; it is not to them the haunting ghost of terror, but a domestic comforter." "Well, I can't account for it; I wonder how any one who believes in the Bible, which speaks of hell and endless misery, can sleep calmly on his pillow. I suppose they must believe one part, and disbelieve the other." "No, Sir, it is because their belief in one part inspires confidence in the love and faithfulness of God their Saviour, they can believe the other part without dread or fear." "I presume you are a firm believer in the Bible." "I am, Sir." "May I be permitted to ask you what is the predominant impression it makes on your mind--terror or tranquil peace?" "If I were to say that it never awakened an emotion of terror, I should not speak strictly correct. When I have reflected on sin, its essentially evil nature and tendency; on my own sins, their number and peculiar aggravations; on the Divine purity and justice; and on the tremendous visitations of punishment which have been, and still are inflicted on man, both in this world and in the world to come, I have felt a tumult of terror agitating my soul, of a fearful aspect. But, Sir, my faith sees one in the midst of the storm, whose eye is pity, and whose arm is power; and my prayer is, _Lord save or I perish_. He hears and he answers this prayer." "But how do you know that he hears and answers your prayers?" "Because my dark forebodings cease, and there is a calm within, as there was a great calm on the Lake of Galilee when our Lord rebuked the winds and the sea." "Were you trained, Sir, to a belief in the Bible?" "I once rejected the Bible as a book of fables or falsehoods."