"The moment we put the possessive case before a thing, it assumes a new interest for us," said Belle. "In prayer we say 'my' and 'our', and I don't know that it would not be more reverent if we did it in conversation. Some people have a flippant way, or what seems like it, of saying, 'I told the Lord thus and so, and He said so and so.' Wouldn't it sound less familiar if they put it 'my Lord'?"
"Perhaps so," said Mrs. Grey. "At any rate we must have assurance of faith, if we are to grow in grace."
"Why must we, grandmamma?" asked Gabrielle.
"Because, if we keep digging up our seeds to see if they've sprouted, or how many roots they have, we are in danger of destroying what vitality they have."
The children all looked at each other with conscious smiles.
"I lost all my beans that way," said Frank, Jr. "Shall I read the next verse, uncle?"
"Oh, no, we have only touched a corner of the first one yet."
As it turned out, this one verse served them for study an hour; an hour enjoyed by the children as well as the elder ones; and all who engaged in this exercise for the first time, were delighted with it. Mrs. Grey resolved to start a reading among her neighbors; Laura said she should do the same for hers; Margaret wondered if she could get courage to hold one with half a dozen young girls of her acquaintance, and found she could.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Grey received a note from Mrs. Grosgrain, imploring her to come to her as soon as possible next morning.
"How fortunate that I have kept up the acquaintance," she said, running over the note. "Now comes a chance to do them good."