Hidden Seed

On her fifteenth birthday, Mabel Randolph resolves to devote herself to missionary work, only to discover that zeal is not the same as wisdom. Convinced that usefulness means sacrifice, she throws herself into parish visiting, Sunday-school teaching, and charity work, while her mother quietly insists that true Christian service begins at home, in obedience, patience, and daily duty. Mabel's pride is soon tested by family tensions, a ruined dress, and the humiliations of being treated as a dependent rather than a heroine. When her father arranges for her to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle at Glenavon and share lessons with her cousin Isabel, Mabel fears the worldliness of luxury even as she longs for a larger life. There she finds music, languages, art, brown dresses, separate evenings, and a household that exposes her vanity as much as it flatters it. A visit to Isabel's old nurse brings the sharpest lesson of all: good works are empty if selfishness and pride choke the inward life. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.