of you who would like very much to be pious, only you are afraid of being unlike others, afraid of being teased for being strict, or laughed at; for persecution does not only consist in burning or hurting the body,--little annoyances are often harder to bear than great sorrows. But think how very cowardly this would be, how very ungrateful and ungenerous to Jesus. He bore the sneers and taunts of crowds for your sake, and bore them too when he was suffering _great pain_; and can you not bear a little laugh for his sake? Think how happy it is to be able to bear a little for him who bore so very much for us; think what joy to have his eye on us, and to hear his kind 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?"