And there's the Scripter!" "But he sent his only Son to die for us." "Ay--for the eleck, sir," returned the little theologian.
Now this was more than Mr Cowie was well prepared to meet, for certainly this terrible doctrine was perfectly developed in the creed of the Scotch Church; the assembly of divines having sat upon the Scripture egg till they had hatched it in their own likeness.

Poor Mr Cowie! There were the girl-eyes, blue, and hazy with tearful questions, looking up at him hungrily .-- O starving little brothers and sisters! God does love you, and all shall be, and therefore is, well .-- But the minister could not say this, gladly as he would have said it if he could; and the only result of his efforts to find a suitable reply was that he lost his temper--not with Annie, but with the doctrine of election.
"Gang ye hame, Annie, my bairn," said he, talking Scotch now, "and dinna trouble yer heid about election, and a' that.

It's no' a canny doctrine.

No mortal man could ever win at the boddom o' 't.

I'm thinkin' we haena muckle to do w' 't.