“It is the young people’s quarterly meeting at the church where I am attending. Every three months their Christian Endeavor Society have a gathering which they call a covenant meeting. I don’t know much about it; I have not been; but they talk together about such things; the pastor comes and talks to them. They say the meetings are interesting. What if we should walk in that direction, Elise, and go in a little while? Mr. Westfield invited me to come, but I did not have an idea that I should do so. I do not attend such meetings much, you know. But if you would like to go, Elise, and find out about your pin, I will go with you.” “Well,” said Elise, starting up with more energy than she had shown before for several days, “I will. I want to know about ‘His covenant.’ I do, truly. Mamma asked me to, you know; and perhaps if I understood it it would tell me just exactly what she wanted me to do all the time, and I should be so glad to do it.” “We will go and find out,” said Miss Turner gravely. Thus the little seed dropped by the loving mother’s hand took root and blossomed in two lives, though the hand which sowed the seed had been dust for many years. PANSY. [Illustration: WHEN GRANDFATHER WAS YOUNG.] [Illustration: THE OLD QUESTION.] A SCARECROW. ALEX HAINES and Eva were promised a piece of ground as their very own if they would cultivate (what is that?) it. Each took a hoe and began. By night Alex and Eva had planted a rod square to corn. Then they watched the corn; that is, they watched for the corn. After a few days, sure enough, the spots where the corn was planted—that is, the hills—began to swell as though something wanted to get out. Then up came a bit of a green leaf. Higher it grew, and they came often to see it. One day they came and found some of the hills pulled up, and while they wondered what thief had been about, they heard from the top of a tree, “Caw, caw, caw!” The thief was a crow. So they must scare the crows away, or the corn will be all pulled up, and their labor will be in vain. Crows are afraid of men; but men cannot stay all the time in the field to scare the crows off. So something that looks like a man must be set up in the corn patch to scare the crows away. With a pair of pants, a coat, a hat, and three old brooms, they are making a man! When it is all done it will not look much like a man. It has neither eyes, nose nor mouth. It can not walk nor talk. The scarecrow has no heart or soul, but it can scare crows away from the corn. The gods of the heathen have eyes, but they can’t see. They can’t see or hear or feel or think. They are made gods, and those who make such gods worship them. They think such things can scare away evil and do them good! But such gods just scare the heathen, and of course cannot save them.