voice saying, 'Blessed are ye, little children, who confess me as your
Master before men; for I will confess you to be my beloved ones before
the angels of God.' And then, dear children," Mrs. Mordaunt added, "I
hope there are some of you who do love your Saviour, and are
treasuring up his words in your hearts; and to you I would say, there
are differences even among Christ's disciples. Some bring forth fruit
thirty, some sixty, and some an hundred fold. Seek, then, not only to
bring forth fruit, but _much_ fruit; to be better and happier every
day. God means you to do this; he will certainly enable you to do it
if you ask.

"And before you leave," she said, "I will first tell you three things
which I particularly wish you to remember: the _place_ where the seed
is to grow; the _enemies_ which try to destroy its life; and _what
makes it grow_. First, where is the seed sown?"

"In the heart," replied all the children.

"Are your spelling lessons, or your lessons on the multiplication
table, sown in your hearts?"

The children smiled, and answered, "No."

"Then you do not expect them to bear fruit in your life. It does not
improve your tempers or your hearts to learn that _h e a r t_ spells
heart, does it? or that 12 times 12 are 144?"

The children thought not.

"Then all you are expected to do with such lessons is to remember
them; is it not?"

"Yes, ma'am," was the reply.

"Now that is precisely the point where your lessons in reading and
spelling differ from your lessons about the Bible. When you sow seed
in your memories, it is like laying up grains in a closed box. We do
not expect them to grow; we are quite content if we find as many as we
leave; we do not expect any fruit or growth. But when I sow seed in
your hearts, it is like putting it into the ground; we want it to
_grow_. It is not enough for it to remain safe and sound; we hope that
it will bear fruit in your lives. I do not care only for finding it
safe in your memories the next Sunday. I long to know that it has been
making you better and wiser children _during the week_, helping you to
fight with faults, teaching you to love God and one another. And
speaking of your faults leads me to think of the enemies the little
seed has to encounter. Can you think of some of the things which try
to hinder its growth?"

"There were the fowls," answered Kitty.

"And the thorns," said some of the other children.

"And the sun," said Amy.

"You know w