he clods;
some weed out, and some sow; some
wait that fowls devour not the
seed. But wait all for the
gathering of the simple-hearted
ones.'... 1651._

_'Friends, spread yourselves
abroad, that you may be serviceable
for the Lord and His Truth.' 1654._

_'Love the Truth more than all, and
go on in the mighty power of God,
as good soldiers of Christ,
well-fixed in His glorious gospel,
and in His word and power; that you
may know Him, the life and
salvation and bring up others into
it.'--G. FOX._

_'Go! Set the whole world on fire
and in flames!'--IGNATIUS LOYOLA.
(To one whom he sent on a distant
mission.)_

XV. SCATTERING THE SEED

In Springtime the South of England is a Primrose Country. Gay carpets
of primroses are spread in the woods; shy primroses peep out like
stars in sheltered hedgerows; vain primroses are stooping down to look
at their own faces in pools and streams, there are primroses,
primroses everywhere. But in the North of England their 'paly gold'
used to be a much rarer treasure. True, there were always a few
primroses to be found in fortunate spots, if you knew exactly where to
look for them; but they were not scattered broadcast over the country
as they are further South.

Therefore, North Country children never took primroses as a matter of
course, they did not tear them up roughly, just for the fun of
gathering them, drop them heedlessly the next minute and leave them on
the road to die. North Country children used their precious holiday
time to seek out their favourite flowers in their rare hiding-places.

'I've found one!' 'So have I!' 'There they are; two, three,
four,--lots!' 'I see them!' The air would be full of delighted
exclamations as the children scampered off, short legs racing, rosy
cheeks flushing, bright eyes glowing with eagerness, to see who could
take home the largest bunch.

The further north a traveller went, the rarer did primroses become,
till in Northumberland, the most northerly county of all, primroses
used to be very scarce indeed. Until, only a few years ago, a
wonderful thing happened. There were days and weeks and months of
warm sunny weather all throug