"What a commotion there must have been in the village, the people crying out that the gods had come down from the sky to speak to them, and rushing to help the priest to drive the animal to sacrifice, and bring the garlands to crown the missionaries. Perhaps the boy Timothy saw all this. I think he must have, as it happened near his home, and if so, how interested he would be when St. Paul explained to them about the One true God Timothy had read about in the old Jewish law books--the Old Testament, which had taught him, that 'God made the heaven and earth, the sea and all that therein is.' And if Timothy listened on those other days when St. Paul preached, he must have learned too that the Great God he knew, was Jesus Christ, Who had died on Calvary, and would save him from his sins and help him to lead a Christian life. "There was something else which happened at Lystra a few days after the Gospel preaching: some men came to the village from Antioch and stirred up the people of Lystra against St. Paul, and persuaded them so strongly against him, that they took up stones and tried to stone him to death. When St. Paul was writing to the Corinthian people long after, and telling them about his life and its sorrows, he said, '_Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned._' (2 Cor. xi. 25.) And that was the time we have just been talking about. "We can imagine Timothy rushing into the house and crying out, 'Oh, mother, mother, they are stoning the great preacher to death!' and possibly his grandmother and Eunice running back with him to learn all that was happening. "We know that St. Paul became unconscious, and was dragged out of the city and left by his enemies for dead. But presently the disciples--the Christians who loved him--saw him recover consciousness, and he was able to stand up, and went into the city, and the next day left the town with Barnabas, and went to Derbe. But only for a little while, for he soon returned again to Lystra, and visited the Christians there, talking to them and persuading them to try and be very brave. I think it was no doubt that then Timothy gave up his heart to Jesus Christ, and decided to become his faithful soldier and servant to his life's end. "Shall I go on?" said Margaret, appealing to Ellice directly. "Yes, please--I think I like it," answered the little girl. With a smile Margaret continued: "I said just now that Timothy was a plucky boy; I'll tell you why I think so. It is not pleasant to be laughed at for our religion, is it? We need a little courage when that happens; but think what it meant to Timothy to be a Christian. He not only risked being made fun of by other Jewish boys in Lystra, but he stood a chance of being put to death by the heathen, the worshippers of Jupiter, who lived in the same town with himself.