THE YEAR BOOK OF 
 AMERICAN AUTHORS
 
 WASHINGTON IRFIXG 
 1783-1859
 
 [HE YEAR BOOK OF 
 (AMERICAN AUTHORS 
 
 WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR AND IL- 
 LUSTRATED WITH TWELVE 
 HALF TONE PORTRAITS OF 
 PROMINENT AUTHORS 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 RAPHAEL TUCK AND SONS 
 
 COMPANY, LIMITED 
 
 MCMI
 
 COPYRIGHT 1894 BY 
 
 RAPHAEL TUCK AND SONS 
 
 COMPANY, LIMITED
 
 PREFATORY NOTE 
 
 STEP by step the author and compiler of this little 
 book has measured the days of the year. Not a page 
 has been written without a thought of the possible 
 reader, and an earnest desire to meet the daily needs 
 of daily life. Such subjects have been touched upon 
 as are especially dear to the American people. The 
 volume is not meant for the library shelf, but for the 
 table and the desk; in short, for a daily companion 
 
 in the home. 
 
 I. S. T.
 
 HE YEAR-BOOK OF 
 AMERICAN AUTHORS. 
 
 JANUARY. 
 
 A DAY OF FRESH BEGINNINGS! 
 
 OH, dawn of a fair New Year, we stand at thy 
 threshold with bright hopes and eager expecta- 
 tions, peering across thy sunlit skies with wistful won- 
 dering gaze. The hills of anticipation loom up before 
 us, distant and mysterious, above whose lofty peaks we 
 cannot see, across whose broadening chain we may not 
 reach. Beyond, lurk our possibilities and opportunities. 
 What a vast army! Could they assume the form of 
 soldiers, what a countless multitude they would make ; 
 what grand battalions of love and mercy ; what a caval- 
 cade of mounted hopes and fears ; what squadrons of 
 failures and mistakes ; what glimmering ranks of suc- 
 cess ; and what defeated hosts of pride and ambition! 
 O Year, fling out your rosy banners of light, and screen 
 the future from our view! Content will we stand look- 
 ing towards the sunlight of this glad new day, leaving 
 God to order all our ways. What lies beyond is His to 
 know ; our part to patiently wait His will, and trust in 
 Him through good or ill, our faces ever towards the 
 East the sunrise City of the soul. 
 
 Janus am I ; oldest of potentates! 
 
 Forward I look and backward, and below 
 
 I count as god of avenues and gates 
 
 The years that through my portals come and go. 
 
 HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. 
 
 [7]
 
 JANUARY SECOND. 
 
 GOD alone knoweth the Future. We cannot tell by 
 what has been, what will be. We may not un- 
 ravel Heaven's mysteries or peer through the veil of 
 the coming years. He who holds the key to the por- 
 tals of Time alone may unlock the dim unseen, and 
 reveal to us the wonders He has in store for us. Then 
 let us leave it all to Him, nor weary to know His why 
 or when. " For now we see through a glass, darkly ; 
 but then face to face." What sweet surprises await us ! 
 What treasures are laid away for us ! What jewels are 
 being polished for our crowns! There we shall find 
 the " pearl of great price " ; and rubies of wisdom, and 
 gold tried by fire, shall add their brightness and beauty 
 to the King's Palace, where " the Lamb is the light 
 thereof." Oh, could One who dwells in such a beautiful 
 place fail to care for His own ? Is not our future safe 
 with Him? 
 
 I would not seek the veil to lift, 
 Nor make that knowledge mine ; 
 
 I still would leave all in His hands, 
 And trust His care divine. 
 
 MARY K. BUCK. 
 
 Yet you and I 
 
 Must take our destiny as God has planned, 
 And as we lose our hold of earthly love, 
 Must seek to cling the closer to His hand. 
 
 HATTIE TYNG GRISWOLD. 
 
 God's plans like lilies pure and white unfold ; 
 We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart ; 
 Time will reveal the calyxes of gold. 
 
 MAY RILEY SMITH. 
 [8]
 
 JANUARY THIRD. 
 
 WATCH therefore: for ye know not what hour 
 your Lord doth come. MATTHEW 24 : 42. 
 
 Therefore be ye also ready. MATTHEW 24 : 44. 
 
 I pray, 
 That quietly watchful, I may hold 
 
 The key of a golden faith each day 
 Fast shut in my grasp, that when I hear 
 
 His step, be it dawn or midnight dim, 
 Straightway may I rise without a fear, 
 
 And open immediately to Him. 
 
 MARGARET J. PRESTON. 
 
 For unto you is given 
 To watch for the coming of His feet 
 Who is the glory of our blessed Heaven ; 
 The work and watching will be very sweet, 
 
 Even in an early home ; 
 And in such an hour as you think not 
 He will come. 
 
 BARBARA M iC ANDREW. 
 
 And our dim eyes ask a beacon, and our weary feet a 
 
 guide, 
 
 And our hearts of all life's mysteries seek the mean- 
 ing and the key, 
 And a cross gleams o'er our pathway, on it hangs the 
 
 Crucified, 
 
 And He answers all our yearnings by the whisper, 
 "Follow Me." 
 
 ABRAM T. RYAN. 
 [9]
 
 JANUARY FOURTH. 
 
 BE strong. If you are on the right side, it is noble 
 to endure. Supposing your battle-ground to be 
 full of nettles and thorns, the very worst kind of nettles 
 and thorns, people who never understand you! 
 meet your antagonists with good humor ; turn aside 
 their unsympathetic words with a smile, and keep fight- 
 ing the enemy. We must meet uncongenial people 
 every day ; those who misjudge us, and misunderstand 
 us, and to whom we always show our worst side. 
 
 We are at a disadvantage whenever we are with 
 them, for we are conscious that they are criticising our 
 words and actions, and we wish they knew how amiable 
 and pleasant we can be under some circumstances, and 
 with those who love and understand us. It takes a 
 braver man to fight these things than to stand face to 
 face with an enemy in the cause of his country. It 
 takes a braver woman to bear the stings of an unkind 
 tongue than to meet angry waters and a tempest, as did 
 even the noble Grace Darling. Heart and soul cour- 
 age win great victories. Be bold in doing your duty. 
 Go forward; don't stop to measure the distance you 
 must climb to reach the heights of success. Sin and 
 temptation are everywhere ; put on your helmet of sal- 
 vation, and when you die let everything be said of you 
 rather than that you died defeated. 
 
 Show me the way that leads to the true life, 
 I do not care what tempests may assail me ; 
 
 I shall be given courage for the strife ; 
 
 I know my strength will not desert or fail me ; 
 
 I know that I shall conquer in the fray, 
 Show me the way. 
 
 ELLA WHEELER. 
 [10]
 
 JANUARY FIFTH. 
 
 T7VERY blade of grass casts a shadow. No matter 
 *' how tiny, how slender, or how insignificant, if the 
 day-god seeks out that bit of green, somewhere there 
 will be a little narrow gray shaft, to denote its influence 
 and individuality. Oh, it is marvellous, that our Father 
 can so show forth Himself in His works! Is it not 
 beautiful, His careful thought for such small things? 
 What then must be our influence, if such minute speci- 
 mens of His handiwork are not beneath His notice? 
 He has told us we are of more value than His most 
 beautiful emblem of purity, the lily of the field. This 
 He has clothed in spotless white, and filled with a 
 perfume of rarest sweetness. We are of more value 
 than the sparrows, that build their homes in high 
 places and soar among the clouds, coming to us on 
 gladsome wings to proclaim the welcome tidings of 
 Spring's resurrection. Yes, of far more value are we, 
 than they. Made in the image of God, and sent into 
 the world as His messengers of love and mercy, of 
 peace and good-will, what an influence may be ours ! 
 Our influence may be a refuge for some weary pilgrim, 
 or a screen for some one's faults, or a covert for a 
 wayfarer blinded by sin and temptation ; or it may be 
 a pitfall of darkness to obscure the light of Heaven. 
 God grant we may set a proper value on our influence, 
 and use it for His glory! 
 
 Through time and space our influence runs, 
 
 Though small it seems to be, 
 And Time's strange waves shall roll at last 
 
 To God's eternity. 
 
 MRS. J. C. FIELD.
 
 JANUARY SIXTH. 
 
 T IFE is like a candle. Often when it is at its 
 - ' brightest, God sees fit to extinguish it, and some- 
 times when it seems most needed. Yet the light that 
 does not shine for His glory would better be covered 
 by His shadow and set aside in silence and darkness. 
 
 No one, when a light has been lighted, 
 
 Will hide it away out of sight, 
 But place it where all may behold it, 
 
 Where all may rejoice in its light. 
 
 So the Christian, illumined by God's Spirit, 
 And placed in a dark world of sin, 
 
 Is a lamp to enlighten the darkness, 
 And trophies for Jesus to win. 
 
 ACHSA MILLS BROWN. 
 
 Children of light, till the day-dawn appeareth, 
 God has commanded you ever to shine, 
 
 All the long night till the brightness, God-given, 
 Loseth its light in the glory divine. 
 
 MRS. R. M. WYLIE. 
 
 Let us shine our very brightest, 
 Be our corner high or low. 
 
 MRS. R. M. WYLIE. 
 
 We look to Thee! Thy truth is still the Light 
 Which guides the nations groping on their way, 
 
 Stumbling and falling in disastrous night, 
 Yet hoping ever for the perfect day. 
 
 THEODORE PARKER. 
 [12]
 
 JANUARY SEVENTH. 
 
 THE world is no place for idlers. God has a mis- 
 sion for everything He has created. Nature's 
 great, warm heart is full of life and purpose, and her 
 highest aim is ever to reach upward and outward ; to 
 grow, to climb, to bud, to bloom, and to bear fruit for 
 the glory of her all-wise Maker. So must we strive, 
 body, soul, and mind, as we have wisdom and oppor- 
 tunity. If the body is weak and incapable of active 
 labor, let the soul-garden have greater culture ; let its 
 leaves of thought spring into freshness and verdure 
 every day ; let its flowers of kindness and love blossom 
 into sweetness and beauty and make glad the world's 
 wayside ; let its fruits of joy and faith and peace reach 
 ripened fruition and crown a life spent in the Master's 
 service. Oh, improve the time! Let every busy little 
 moment have its weight with you. Be almost any- 
 thing else, but don't be an idler. How many, many 
 hours are wasted in thinking what we might have been, 
 or in planning what we hope to be, instead of working 
 ourselves up to what we ought to be. Opportunity is 
 one of God's most precious gifts ; take care of it. 
 
 To-day is the day of battle, 
 
 The brunt is hard to bear ; 
 Stand back all ye who falter, 
 
 Make room for them who dare! 
 
 HELEN HUNT JACKSON. 
 
 Awake to effort while the day is shining, 
 The time to labor will not always last ; 
 
 And no regret, repentance, nor repining, 
 Can bring to us again the buried past. 
 
 SARAH F. BOLTON. 
 t'3]
 
 JANUARY EIGHTH. 
 
 IT is well to have longings and aspirations, to have 
 ambitions and desires, but Right should inspire 
 them, Truth govern them, and Self-control keep them 
 in check. Above all, let us hold fast to the hand of 
 God, lest we go beyond His guidance, and forget that 
 without Him no good is worth striving for. He will 
 show us the right way, and help us to walk in it, if we 
 only trust His guidance. 
 
 I cannot think but God must know 
 About the thing I long for so ; 
 I know He is so good, so kind, 
 I cannot think but He will find 
 Some way to help, some way to show 
 Me to the thing I long for so. 
 
 SAXE HOLME. 
 
 The mountain-peaks that shine afar, 
 The silent star, the pathless sea, 
 
 Are living signs of all we are, 
 And types of all we hope to be. 
 
 WILLIAM WINTER. 
 
 I'm strong as the strongest in wishing, 
 
 In work the most remiss ; 
 Oh ! give me a heart that its longing 
 
 Means something more than this. 
 
 NELLIE G. RICE. 
 
 So patiently I strive to stand and wait 
 Thro 1 all the glories of the changing years ; 
 
 Wait till His hand shall lead me thro' the gate, 
 And change my sighs to songs, to smiles my tears. 
 
 REBECCA RUTER SPRINGER. 
 [14]
 
 JANUARY NINTH. 
 
 "HpHE race is not always to the swift, nor the 
 
 J- battle to the strong." 
 
 Don't be impatient. Often the best things come to 
 us after the longest waiting. Our soul's sweetest fruits 
 are always watered with our tears; the discipline is 
 severe, but in the time of ripened fruition, lo ! what a 
 harvest is ours ! It is worth waiting for, worth striving 
 for, worth hoping for, and at the end of it all there is a 
 palm of victory, a robe of rejoicing, and a crown of 
 glory. What a recompense for a few brief years of 
 patient toil and endurance ! What a reward for the 
 paltry tears we shed, and the little crosses we bore! 
 At the first touch of our golden harps, we shall forget 
 we ever carried a cross, heaved a sigh, or shed a tear. 
 When the melody of the Glad New Song goes ringing 
 through the courts of Heaven, we shall remember our 
 complaints and sorrows no more, and join our voices 
 with the white-robed throng of redeemed ones, who, 
 through patience, have run the race and obtained the 
 crown. " So run, that ye may obtain." 
 
 Trusting in the love that can never, never fail, 
 Trusting in the name that forever must prevail, 
 
 Patiently enduring, 
 
 Till the day of rest, 
 
 Sure that He who loves me 
 
 Doeth what is best. 
 
 M. E. SERVOSS. 
 
 Peace, lonely heart! Be patient. Thou'lt see, waiting, 
 How perfect sympathy and love may meet ; 
 
 Be patient, praying : all earth's discord grating, 
 Will melt at last to love divine, complete. 
 
 MARY CLEMMER AMES. 
 [IS]
 
 JANUARY TENTH. 
 
 "II WHATEVER it is, make the best of it. If your 
 * * surroundings are not pleasant or congenial, just 
 remember that there must be a change after a while. 
 Nothing lasts long in this world. The cloud that 
 hangs so low and looks so dark to-day will pass away 
 in the morning. Perhaps it may obscure all the bright- 
 ness for a while, but the sun is still shining somewhere. 
 If the cares and burdens seem too heavy to bear, just 
 give them into God's keeping ; He is willing and able 
 to relieve you of them all, and all He requires of you 
 is to be content and wait. Somewhere there is a sweet 
 surprise in store for you, if you will daily do your best. 
 God does not forget to reward the faithful. Smile 
 away your cares, take things as they come, and if cir- 
 cumstances are all against you, don't be discouraged. 
 The only happy people in the world are those who, by 
 the grace of God, can rise above vexations and worries, 
 and mounting to the heights of His love learn the 
 sweet lesson of being truly content. 
 
 A dear old lady once said, " I have nothing to wish 
 for, and everything to be thankful for, and can say I 
 am perfectly content." And yet she was old, deaf, and 
 a paralytic! What was the secret of it? She was get- 
 ting the best out of life, trusting in God, and leaving 
 the future in God's hands. Now, she has "entered 
 into rest," and has received her reward. Let us, like 
 her, have a contented mind, which is, we are told, ' ; a 
 continual feast." 
 
 What though no grants of royal donors 
 With pompous titles grace our blood, 
 
 We'll shine in more substantial honors, 
 And, to be noble, we'll be good. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 [16]
 
 JANUARY ELEVENTH. 
 
 SWEET reflection! how welcome, how restful it is 
 to body, mind, and soul. We look forward and 
 backward, outward and inward, and alone with silent 
 Thought meditate on what we have been, what we 
 are, and what we hope to be. How sweet thus to hold 
 communion with the past ; to walk in meadows where 
 once our young feet strayed, and feel again the buoy- 
 ancy and carelessness of youth ; to look into dear 
 familiar faces separated from us by Time and Change, 
 and to stand once more on the threshold of that old 
 life, looking forward with eager eyes towards the mys- 
 teries of the life we call the Present. Oh, it does us 
 good to turn backward sometimes in our pilgrimage, to 
 dream the old dreams over, and revisit the old places, 
 and to call up loved forms, and listen again to the ring 
 of the old laughter that has been like a silver chime 
 in our hearts through all these changing years! Ah, 
 Memory is like an oasis in the desert of our lives ; she 
 soothes us with her soft voice, woos us with her sweet 
 smile and rests us with the bright pictures of our by- 
 gone days. 
 
 Oh, the voices of the Yesterdays ! Time's melancholy 
 
 choir, 
 
 With the twilight singing minor and the dawning sing- 
 ing air, 
 
 With the clouds of glory round 
 And their brows with garlands bound, 
 And a million golden minutes strewn like grain upon 
 the ground. 
 
 BENJAMIN F. TAYLOR. 
 A 2 [I 7 ]
 
 H 
 
 JANUARY TWELFTH. 
 E hath made everything beautiful in his time. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES 3 : 1 1 . 
 
 To him, who in the love of Nature holds 
 Communion with her visible forms, she speaks 
 A various language ; for his gayer hours 
 She has a voice of gladness, and a smile 
 And eloquence of beauty, and she glides 
 Into his darker musings, with a mild 
 And healing sympathy, that steals away 
 Their sharpness, ere he is aware. 
 
 WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. 
 
 The universe, O God, is home, 
 
 In height or depth to me ; 
 Yet here upon Thy footstool green 
 
 Content am I to be ; 
 Glad, when is open to my need 
 
 Some sea-like glimpse of Thee. 
 
 LUCY LARCOM. 
 
 Though all the bards of earth were dead, 
 
 And all their music passed away, 
 What Nature wishes should be said 
 
 She'll find a rightful voice to say ! 
 
 WILLIAM WINTER. 
 
 Wise is Nature's plan, 
 Who, in her realm as in the soul of man, 
 Alternates storm with calm, and the loud noon 
 With dewy evening's soft and sacred lull. 
 
 PAUL H. HAYNE. 
 [18]
 
 JANUARY THIRTEENTH. 
 
 TNCLINATION or Duty! Why should we have to 
 * choose between them? How easy to follow the one, 
 how hard to obey the other! Must we take the respon- 
 sibility of a decision in our hands ? Must we ? What 
 are our minds for but to reason out these things? 
 What are our souls for but to follow God's commands ? 
 What are our bodies for but to be under subjection 
 to our wills ? Oh, Duty may be a hard task-master! but 
 there is a peace that follows true obedience of His laws 
 which Inclination cannot bestow. Pleasure to sway us, 
 or Duty to weigh us which ? Pleasure is unsatisfying 
 and disappointing ; but Duty brings a calm assurance 
 of well-doing, and a happiness that will not wear off 
 with the glare of to-morrow's sun. "Colors seen by 
 candle-light are not the same by day." The beautiful 
 colors woven by Duty's children bear close inspection. 
 
 For Duty is a bright and glorious sunbeam, 
 That gilds the humblest lot with light divine, 
 
 For Jesus walked amid its narrow windings, 
 And made the lowliest aspects most sublime. 
 
 MRS. S. C. CLARK. 
 
 Not Duty's measured tithes alone 
 Love lays upon her Master's shrine ; 
 
 Lord, grant this gift, that all we own, 
 And all we are, be marked as Thine. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 Shall life be spent in trifles, 
 
 While He waits the daylight through 
 Waits for our hands to bring Him 
 
 The sheaves that are His due ? 
 
 MARY A. LEAVITT. 
 [19]
 
 JANUARY FOURTEENTH. 
 
 WE are like a harp. One broken string spoils the 
 harmony of the whole. A soul out of repair 
 can only be tuned again by God, the Great Musician, 
 whose love is the key-note without which no music can 
 be complete. 
 
 These lives of ours have rhythm : every one 
 A little note of that great Anthem, Time, 
 Forever sounding down the world amain 
 Since fell the hammers swung by Tubal Cain. 
 How grand the footfall ringing out sublime! 
 How grand to think that Anthem long begun, 
 Without our music never can be done ! 
 
 Though David's crown was only rust, 
 Yet the stately step of his royal Psalms 
 
 Is as fresh as May in the fragrant dust, 
 And as grand as the winds in the palms. 
 
 'Tis a bird in the sky ! 
 
 'Tis an archangel nigh ! 
 The whisper of God in the calms ! 
 
 BENJAMIN F. TAYLOR. 
 
 The soul alone, like a neglected harp, 
 Grows out of tune, and needs that Hand divine ; 
 
 Dwell Thou within it, tune and touch the chords, 
 Till every note and string shall answer Thine. 
 
 HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. 
 
 God sent His singers upon earth 
 With songs of gladness and of mirth, 
 That they might touch the hearts of men, 
 And bring them back to Heaven again. 
 
 HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. 
 
 [20]
 
 JANUARY FIFTEENTH. 
 
 WHAT would this world be without Hope ? It is 
 the light in the darkness, joy in sorrow, and 
 strength in weakness ; without it, the world would be 
 desolate indeed. Its beams are like a great search- 
 light shining in our hearts, and brightening up every 
 corner, until we mount, as with wings, over difficulties 
 and circumstances, and triumph glorious over the 
 enemy, Despair. 
 
 How about business in town ? Do the times look a 
 little blue, and is there a greater depression in every- 
 thing than our country has felt for years ? Well, don't 
 croak about it continually ; it won't last forever, and 
 you are only worrying and fretting over something 
 you can't help. Look on ahead. If it is night now, 
 there is going to be a glorious sunrise by and by. 
 The whole world is getting ready for it. "The darkest 
 hour is just before the day," and the day that is com- 
 ing for us may be full of more gladness and joy for 
 you and me than any we have ever known before. 
 Hold on to the hand of Hope ; look into her happy 
 face ; catch the inspiration of her smile and the sweet- 
 ness of her song. Keep trusting and praying, and 
 looking on and up ! The bow of promise in God's sky 
 has never failed yet. 
 
 O thou, by winds of grief o'erblown 
 
 Beside some golden summer's bier, 
 Take heart ! Thy birds are only flown, 
 Thy blossoms sleeping, tearful sown, 
 To greet thee in the immortal year. 
 
 EDNA DEAN PROCTOR. 
 [31]
 
 JANUARY SIXTEENTH. 
 
 IF you have never learned the lesson of thankfulness, 
 begin now. Sum up your mercies ; see what pro- 
 vision God has made for your happiness, what oppor- 
 tunities for your usefulness, and what advantages for 
 your success. If you haven't done your best, it is your 
 own fault. If you have done your best, under all cir- 
 cumstances, then you are not responsible for your fail- 
 ures. God does not require more of us than we can 
 give. He measures us by our strength physical, men- 
 tal, and spiritual. He has said, "As thy day, thy 
 strength shall be." If you are too ambitious and go 
 beyond your powers of endurance, you are liable to be 
 ill and suffer ; but don't blame God for your illness. 
 Be thankful there is a limit to your strength. Be thank- 
 ful that God looks after you, and that His love has a 
 restraining influence over you at all times. Let no 
 morning dawn without thanking Him for His night- 
 watch over you, and let no evening fade away without 
 some grateful acknowledgment of His tender mercies to 
 you individually. 
 
 Thank God for life! Life is not sweet always, 
 
 Hands may be heavy-laden, hearts care-full. 
 Unwelcome nights follow unwelcome days! 
 
 And dreams divine end in awakening dull. 
 Still it is life, and life is cause of praise ; 
 
 This ache, this restlessness, this quickening sting, 
 Prove me no torpid and inanimate thing, 
 Prove me of Him who is of life the spring, 
 I am alive, and that is beautiful. 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 
 [22]
 
 JANUARY SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 HOW restful is sleep! In the calm of silence and 
 forgetfulness how sweet it is to drift away from 
 all our cares and worries, far off into the land of 
 dreams! Of all the thoughts of God for us, none is 
 more tender than this. Like a tired child we may lay 
 aside the world, its hopes and its fears, its perplexities 
 and anxieties, its pleasures and its joys, and body and 
 brain weary may sail in the boat of Peace, on the 
 ocean of Sleep, and find there repose. Thank God for 
 sleep, after the day's turmoil, how tranquil and how 
 welcome it is! Night cradles the stars in her bosom, 
 and gathers her cloudy drapery around her. She is 
 crowned with a silver crescent, and "sits her blue 
 throne with the pride of a queen." At her coming, 
 earth is lulled to rest, and all humanity sinks into sweet 
 repose. Silence and Sleep walk hand in hand, and 
 Heaven watches over all. 
 
 And through the warm deeps of the sky 
 Steal faint star-clusters, while we rest 
 
 In deep refreshment, thou and I, 
 Wave-cradled thus, and wind-caressed. 
 
 CELIA THAXTER. 
 
 All sense of hearing and of sight 
 Enfold in the serene delight 
 And quietude of sleep! 
 
 HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. 
 
 My God! I thank Thee for the bath of sleep, 
 That wraps in balm my weary heart and brain, 
 
 And drowns within its waters still and deep 
 My sorrow and my pain. 
 
 J. G. HOLLAND. 
 
 [23]
 
 JANUARY EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 T) EWARE of the little foxes ! They creep in among 
 -D the tender leaves of our best natures, and destroy 
 the sweetness of our temper, and turn aside our good 
 intentions, until heart-sick and discouraged we are 
 powerless to drive them out. See that there are no 
 loopholes for them to break through, and no leaves 
 and fruit within their reach. Prayer is a defence 
 against the foxes of sin and temptation ; of malice, 
 and envy, and prejudice. Don't forget the little prayers ! 
 They are mighty fortifications against little sins. After 
 all, it is the little things that make up our lives, and 
 often small beginnings lead to great results. 
 
 One stitch dropped as the weaver drove 
 
 His nimble shuttle to and fro, 
 In and out, beneath, above, 
 
 Till the pattern seems to bud and grow 
 As if the fairies had helping been, 
 And the little stitch dropped pulled the next stitch out, 
 And a weak place in the fabric stout, 
 And the perfect pattern was marred for aye, 
 By one small stitch that was dropped that day. 
 
 One small life in God's great plan. 
 
 How futile it seems as the ages roll, 
 Do what it may, or strive how it can, 
 
 To alter the sweep of the infinite whole! 
 A single stitch in an endless web ; 
 A drop in the ocean's flow and ebb ; 
 But the pattern is rent where the stitch is lost, 
 Or marred where the tangled threads have crossed ; 
 And each life that fails of the true intent 
 Mars the perfect plan that its Master meant. 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 
 [24]
 
 JANUARY NINETEENTH. 
 
 AD AY of memories ! Take out the old musty life- 
 book, con it over and over again. Never mind 
 the interlineations ; they are often the most precious 
 part. Never mind the erasures ; don't seek to decipher 
 them ; you would better not try to recall them ; make 
 the line over them a little heavier, blot them out, pass 
 them over. Doubtless they are things you ought 
 to forget, and if there is anything unpleasant sug- 
 gested by that old book pass that over too. Happy 
 memories elevate and gladden, unhappy memories 
 depress and sadden us. We have no use for anything 
 that hurts our influence in this world, or makes us a 
 stumbling-block to our neighbor. Therefore, cling to 
 all the sweetness and beauty, the brightness and good- 
 ness of the past, but turn down, cross out, and tear 
 away the leaves that carry messages of gloom into 
 your life. Remember that " a merry heart doeth good 
 like a medicine." 
 
 Mighty in faith and hope, why art thou sad ? 
 Sever the green withes, look up and be glad ; 
 See all around thee, below, and above, 
 The beautiful, beautiful gifts of God's love. 
 
 Mine be the lip ever truthful and bold ; 
 Mine be the heart never careless nor cold ; 
 A faith humbly trustful, a life free from blame, 
 All else is unstable as flax in the flame. 
 
 And while the soft skies are so starry and blue ; 
 And while the wide earth is so fresh with God's dew, 
 Though all around me the sad sit and sigh, 
 I will be glad that I live and must die. 
 
 ALICE GARY. 
 
 [25]
 
 JANUARY TWENTIETH. 
 
 WAIT on the Lord : be of good courage, and he 
 shall strengthen thine heart : wait, I say, on the 
 Lord. PSALM 27 : 14. 
 
 He giveth power to the faint ; and to them that have 
 no might he increaseth strength. ISAIAH 40:29. 
 
 Let me keep on, abiding and unfearing 
 
 Thy will always, 
 Through a long century's ripening fruition 
 
 Or a short day's ; 
 Thou canst not come too soon ; and I can wait 
 
 If Thou come late. 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 
 Leaning on Him, make with reverent meekness 
 
 His own thy will, 
 And with strength from Him shall thy utter weakness 
 
 Life's task fulfil. 
 
 JOHN G. WHITTIER. 
 
 Weak are our hands, but striving still 
 To bring Thy glorious kingdom near, 
 
 We work obedient to Thy will, 
 
 And claim Thy strength and feel no fear. 
 
 EMILY HUNTINGTON MILLER. 
 
 Write on your doors the saying wise and old, 
 " Be bold ! be bold ! and everywhere Be bold ; 
 
 Be not too bold! " Yet better the excess 
 Than the defect ; better the more than less. 
 
 TR. BY HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. 
 
 The faith that lifts, the courage that sustains, 
 These thou wert sent to teach. 
 
 BAYARD TAYLOR. 
 
 [26]
 
 JANUARY TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 AND the peace of God, which passeth all understand- 
 ing, shall keep your hearts and minds through 
 Christ Jesus. PHILIPPIANS 4 : 7. 
 
 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of 
 them that make peace. JAMES 3:18. 
 
 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you ; 
 not as the world giveth, give I unto you. JOHN 14 : 27. 
 
 God's angels have not such a boon possessed 
 As He hath granted to the human breast : 
 " My peace I give," O heritage most rare ! 
 The deep repose of Christ Himself to share. 
 All hail! Thou morning-star of day most blest, 
 O wondrous Peace! 
 
 JULIA H. THAYER. 
 
 As silently, as tenderly, 
 
 The dawn of Peace descends on me. 
 
 Oh, this is Peace! I have no need 
 
 Of friend to talk, or book to read ; 
 A dear Companion here abides, 
 Close to my thrilling heart He hides ; 
 
 The holy silence is His voice : 
 
 I lie, and listen, and rejoice. 
 
 JOHN TOWNSEND TROWBRIDGE. 
 
 O Christ ! whose human heart remembers still 
 The pangs from which death only gave release, 
 
 Strange griefs, strange fears, our yearning souls must 
 
 fill. 
 Withhold what else Thou wilt but give us Peace ! 
 
 JULIA C. R. DORR. 
 
 [27]
 
 JANUARY TWENTY-SECOND. 
 
 /CHARITY should be the key-note to all our actions. 
 V^ We cannot expect to accomplish anything in this 
 world without it ; it is needful in every vocation of life, 
 and yet many of us try to live without it altogether. 
 Envy creeps into our lives, and eats at our hearts, be- 
 cause we lack charity. " Charity envieth not." Self- 
 conceit makes us so great in our own eyes that we lose 
 sight of the merits of others. " Charity vaunteth not 
 itself, is not puffed up." We misjudge and blame our 
 neighbor or friend, because we do not cultivate sweet 
 charity. " Charity suffereth long, and is kind." It 
 bridges over many difficulties ; it will bind up a broken 
 heart, and brighten a sorrowful life as nothing else can. 
 This is what it means, I think, when we read, " Charity 
 never faileth." And more yet ; listen to this, " Doth 
 not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is 
 not easily provoked, thinketh no evil." Let us not 
 keep it shut up between the leaves of the Bible ; the 
 pages of our heart-book will be brighter and better 
 with Charity written between the lines. Besides, it is 
 a stepping-stone to Heaven. 
 
 Prophecies shall fail or falter, 
 
 Earthly knowledge fade away ; 
 Tongues shall cease, and all things alter, 
 
 Charity shall ne'er decay! 
 
 MARY C. WEBSTER. 
 
 Among the pitfalls in our way, 
 The best of us walk blindly ; 
 
 So, man, be wary, watch and pray, 
 And judge your brother kindly. 
 
 ALICE GARY. 
 [28]
 
 JANUARY TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 TRUE nobility does not always exist among the 
 rich and great. 
 
 God's noblemen are often found in dens of poverty, 
 where, like jewels in the mire, the lustre of their kingly 
 kindness, self-sacrifice, and gentle patience shines in 
 royal splendor. There is no earthly crown or throne 
 for such a king as this. Daily striving is his meed, but 
 with sweet content that sings in his heart, and an iron 
 will that bears and endures, God's true nobleman is 
 carving for himself an immortal name which shall be 
 wreathed in the laurels of Heaven. 
 
 These are the great of earth 
 Great, not by kingly birth, 
 Great in their well-proved worth 
 Firm hearts and true. 
 
 JOHN PIERPONT. 
 
 Rugged strength and radiant beauty 
 These were one in Heaven's plan ; 
 
 Humble toil and heavenward duty 
 These will form the perfect man ! 
 
 SARAH JOSEPH A HALE. 
 
 Be noble ; and the nobleness that lies 
 In other men sleeping, but never dead, 
 Will rise in majesty to meet thine own. 
 
 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 
 
 We rise by things that are beneath our feet, 
 By what we have mastered by good and gain, 
 By the pride deposed and passion slain, 
 
 And the vanquished ills that we hourly meet. 
 
 J. G. HOLLAND. 
 
 [39]
 
 JANUARY TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 A FEW good books carefully read are better than 
 many lightly scanned. A thoughtful perusal of 
 a little choice literature will give food for much solid 
 thought. But the growing tendency of all countries is 
 to crowd the mind with every surface-book that strikes 
 the fancy. Such literature cheapens the taste for better 
 things. 
 
 As we make a calm inspection 
 
 Of our library's collection, 
 
 What a host of printed pages 
 
 Represents the thoughts of ages ; 
 
 What a world of wisdom rages 
 
 Through the jottings of the sages ; 
 
 What a mighty tide of feeling 
 
 Surges through, their strength revealing! 
 
 Household friends in loving recesses, 
 
 Clustered shelves, and cedar presses, 
 
 How we cherish them and read them, 
 
 How we search them, how we bleed them, 
 
 'Tis for mind and soul we need them, 
 
 Let us therefore wisely heed them. 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR. 
 
 Books are the best things, well used ; abused, among 
 the worst. EMERSON. 
 
 Of gifts, there seems none more becoming to offer a 
 friend than a beautiful book. A. BRONSON ALCOTT. 
 
 The world's history is a divine poem, of which the 
 history of every nation is a canto, and every man a 
 
 Word. JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 [30]
 
 JANUARY TWENTY-FIFTH. 
 
 HAS it been a day of perplexities, anxieties, and 
 difficulties? Have the little annoyances left a 
 seam in your forehead, a thread of silver in your hair, 
 and a scar in your heart ? Never mind ; this belongs 
 to your earth-life. Begin afresh in the morning. Look 
 up, get a good start, take courage and press on. The 
 time will come when these things will melt into insig- 
 nificance among the more important events in your 
 lives. 
 
 Yes, but you will say, they are mighty when they 
 gather all their forces and weigh us down. True ; 
 millions of tiny snowflakes with their zephyr-weight 
 and diminutive proportions can collect in one mighty 
 whole, deep enough and heavy enough to bury a whole 
 town. Ah, yes ; but they are as nothing when the sun 
 shines! Let the brightness into your hearts, and it 
 will thaw these frozen walls of perplexities and cares, 
 until they shall run away from your spirits in sing- 
 ing streams of joy. God's love is the best sunshine ; 
 open the gates wide, He has plenty to spare and enough 
 for the whole world besides. Take some to give away ; 
 your neighbors want it, the poor need it, yes, and 
 plenty of the rich, too, get a " good measure, pressed 
 down and running over." No one was ever known to 
 gather too much sunshine. As the Israelites gathered 
 manna in the wilderness, gather enough in the morn- 
 ing to last all day. 
 
 The light of smiles shall fill again 
 The lids that overflow with tears ; 
 
 And weary hours of woe and pain 
 Are promises of happier years. 
 
 WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. 
 [31]
 
 JANUARY TWENTY-SIXTH. 
 
 HE that abideth in me, and I in him, bringeth 
 forth much fruit. JOHN 15:5. 
 
 As some rare perfume in a vase of clay 
 Pervades it with a fragrance not its own, 
 
 So, when Thou dwellest in a mortal soul, 
 All Heaven's own sweetness seems around it thrown. 
 
 HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. 
 
 Trust in the Lord, and do good ; so shalt thou dwell 
 in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. PSALM 37 : 3. 
 
 What could I do, O blessed Guide and Master, 
 
 Other than this : 
 Still go on as now, not slower, faster, 
 
 Nor fear to miss 
 The road, although so very long it be, 
 
 While led by Thee? 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 
 If I trust Him once I must trust Him ever, 
 
 And His way is best, though I stand or fall ; 
 Through wind and storm He will leave me never, 
 He sends it all. 
 
 MRS. FRANK TAYLOR. 
 
 A heavenly trust my spirit calms, 
 
 My soul is filled with light ; 
 The Ocean sings his solemn psalms, 
 
 The wild winds chant. 
 
 JOHN TOWNSEND TROWBRIDGE. 
 
 [3J
 
 JANUARY TWENTY-SEVENTH. 
 
 SOME one has said, " Don't live your life alone with- 
 out forming friendships and love ; your nature 
 needs love, you were made for it, and other natures 
 need you. You are robbing yourself, you are robbing 
 others, if you live like a hermit. Therefore, go out 
 into God's world, and live your life for others." "No 
 man liveth unto himself." He who says he can do 
 without friends makes a great mistake. His life is a 
 miserable failure. He misses the sweetest and best 
 part of living friendship. 
 
 But we've a page, more glowing and more bright, 
 On which our friendship and our love to write ; 
 That these may never from the soul depart, 
 We trust them to the memory of the heart. 
 There is no dimming, no effacement there ; 
 Each new pulsation keeps the records clear ; 
 Warm, golden letters all the tablet fill, 
 Nor lose their lustre till the heart stands still. 
 
 WEBSTER. 
 
 Thank God for one dear friend, 
 
 With face still radiant with the light of truth, 
 
 Whose love comes laden with the scent of youth. 
 
 JOHN BOYLE O'REILLY. 
 
 Fast as the rolling seasons bring 
 The hour of fate to those we love, 
 
 Each pearl that leaves the broken string 
 Is set in Friendship's crown above. 
 
 OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. 
 
 A slender acquaintance with the world must con- 
 vince every man, that actions, not words, are the true 
 criterion of the attachment of friends. WASHINGTON. 
 AS [33]
 
 JANUARY TWENTY-EIGHTH. 
 
 WHAT kind of a flag are you marching under? 
 There is the blue flag of Truth ; its colors are 
 loyal, and its principles are good ; why not join its 
 ranks ? There is the green flag of Hope ; that is a 
 grand old flag! Its defenders are ever looking fonvard 
 to a good time coming ; their hearts are loyal and their 
 strength of purpose never falters. There is the red 
 flag of Love ; it leads to victory, and its followers have 
 the charity that " covereth a multitude of sins." There 
 is the yellow flag of Courage ; they who carry this golden 
 banner are firm, resolute, and dauntless. There is the 
 black flag of Despair ; the mud-brown flag of Malice ; 
 the gray flag of Discontent ; the rosy flag of Happi- 
 ness ; and the royal purple flag of Kingly Kindness ; 
 while a little higher than them all floats the pure white 
 folds of the flag whereon is inscribed Faith, Purity, and 
 Peace. 
 
 Choose your flag ; one, or more, belongs to you ; 
 your life-march is going on underneath it, and you are 
 under orders, and keeping time to the music of its 
 band. See to it that you have chosen the right color, 
 and that your commander belongs to the King's great 
 Army. 
 
 My half-day's work is done, 
 
 And this is all my part, 
 I give a patient God 
 
 My patient heart ; 
 And grasp His banner still, 
 
 Though all the blue be dim ; 
 These stripes as well as stars 
 
 Lead after Him. 
 
 MARY WOOLSEY ROWLAND. 
 [34]
 
 JANUARY TWENTY-NINTH. 
 
 AND that which fell among thorns are they, which, 
 when they have heard, go forth, and are choked 
 with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and 
 bring no fruit to perfection. LUKE 8:14. 
 
 Cares, riches, and pleasures! how they absorb us. 
 Think of actually being choked by them. The good 
 word we might speak, the kind smile we might bestow, 
 the benevolent deed we might do, all choked by 
 cares, riches, and pleasures. No one ever intends 
 being intemperate in these things ; it is like the moder- 
 ate drinker, who indulges merely to be social, and thinks 
 there is not the slightest danger of his ever becoming 
 a drunkard. The things of this world often engross us 
 to the peril of our souls. They are like a whirling 
 maelstrom, and when once encircled in their embrace 
 there seems no way of escape. Cares may become 
 lighter, if we meet them with a brave heart and sweet 
 submission. Riches may make for us a crown of glory, 
 if used aright. Pleasures may become blessings if we 
 give them to others, and lay aside the gratification ol 
 Self. Then shall we indeed bring the fruit of our good 
 deeds " to perfection." 
 
 I do not ask for any crown 
 
 But that which all may win ; 
 Nor try to conquer any world 
 
 Except the one within. 
 Be Thou my guide until I find, 
 
 Led by a tender hand, 
 The happy kingdom in myself, 
 
 And dare to take command. 
 
 LOUISA M. ALCOTT. 
 [35]
 
 JANUARY THIRTIETH. 
 
 WATCH ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like 
 men, be strong. i CORINTHIANS 16:13. 
 
 Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done 
 the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 
 HEBREWS 10:36. 
 
 'Tis bitter to endure the wrong 
 Which evil hands and tongues commit ; 
 
 The bold encroachments of the strong, 
 The shafts of calumny and wit, 
 
 The scornful bearing of the proud, 
 
 The sneers and laughter of the crowd. 
 
 And harder still is it to bear 
 The censure of the good and wise, 
 
 Who, ignorant of what you are, 
 Or blinded by the slanderer's lies, 
 
 Look coldly on or pass you by 
 
 In silence, with averted eye. 
 
 But when the friends in whom you trust 
 As steadfast as the mountain rock, 
 
 Fly, and are scattered like the dust, 
 Before misfortune's rudest shock, 
 
 Nor love remains to cheer your fall 
 
 This is more terrible than all. 
 
 Yet even this, and these ay, more, 
 Can be endured, and hope survive ; 
 
 The noble spirit still may soar, 
 Although the body fail to thrive ; 
 
 Sorrow and want may wear the frame 
 
 Thank God! the soul is still the same. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 [36]
 
 JANUARY THIRTY-FIRST. 
 
 ONE month of the New Year has slipped away, 
 and Time is hurrying us on. Thirty-one oppor- 
 tunities have been yours and mine, and what shall be 
 their harvest, wheat or tares? Time is merciless; 
 he gives us but one choice, and that must be made 
 quickly. With his sickle, he stands ready to mow 
 what we have sown, for the seed springs up at once 
 the coming harvest of the Eternal Years. Let us keep 
 step with Time, nor forget that a lost day can never 
 be reclaimed. 
 
 Every day is a possibility 
 
 Of doing things for Christ ; 
 Every hour is an opportunity 
 
 Whose value is unpriced ; 
 Every moment a mighty potency 
 
 Which underlies our will ; 
 Every second a gift of destiny 
 
 God's glory to fulfil. 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR. 
 
 Labor and wait! the summer of the Lord 
 
 Runneth the whole round year. The " tree of life " 
 
 Hath not one month, alone, to drop its fruit. 
 
 And is it hard? aye, and it is not hard. 
 
 The yoke is easy when it fits the neck ; 
 
 The burden light upon the willing back. 
 
 AURILLA FURBER. 
 
 Look not mournfully into the past ; it comes not 
 back again. Wisely improve the present : it is thine. 
 Go forth to meet the shadowy future without fear, and 
 with a manly heart. HENRY w. LONGFELLOW. 
 [37]
 
 T 
 
 OR THE MONTH 
 OF FEBRUARY. 
 
 FEBRUARY FIRST. 
 
 IS winter, yet there is no sound 
 
 Along the air 
 Of winds along their battle-grounds ; 
 
 But gently there 
 The snow is falling, all around, 
 
 How fair, how fair! 
 
 RALPH HOYT. 
 
 Clothed as with a garment of ermine, hung with 
 crystal fringes, February is King ! Crowned with dia- 
 monds, and spangled with glittering snowflakes, how 
 bright is his apparel in the beauty of a winter sunshine. 
 He spreads his fleecy counterpane over the mountains, 
 valleys, and plains, and the world stands dressed like a 
 young bride, whose veil is woven by the skilful fingers 
 of the Frost-artist. How soft is the step of this royal 
 newcomer, for oh, underneath him lie folded buds and 
 blossoms, and the time is not yet for their glad awaken- 
 ing. Speak gently, O King February! for they are 
 sleeping but lightly, and the bosom of Mother Earth 
 shall cradle them only a little longer. 
 
 Under the snowdrift the blossoms are sleeping, 
 Dreaming their dreams of sunshine and June ; 
 
 Down in the hush of their quiet they're keeping 
 
 Thrills from the throstle's wild summer-swung tune. 
 
 HARRIET PRESCOTT SPOFFORD. 
 [38]
 
 HENRY W. LONGFELLOW 
 1807-1883
 
 FEBRUARY SECOND. 
 
 CAST thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sus- 
 tain thee ; He shall never suffer the righteous to 
 be moved. PSALM 55 : 22. 
 
 Discouraged in the work of life, 
 
 Disheartened by the load, 
 Shamed by its failures or its fears, 
 
 I sink beside the road ; 
 But let me only think of Thee, 
 And then new heart springs up in me. 
 
 SAMUEL LONGFELLOW. 
 
 There is no calm like that when storm is done ; 
 
 There is no pleasure keen as pain's release ; 
 
 There is no joy that lies so deep as peace, 
 No peace so deep as that by struggle won. 
 
 HELEN GRAY CONE. 
 
 Be trustful, be steadfast, whatever betide thee, 
 Only one thing do thou ask of the Lord, 
 
 Grace to go forward wherever He guide thee, 
 Simply believing the truth of His word. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 We tell Thee of our care, 
 Of the sore burden, pressing day by day : 
 And in the light and pity of Thy face, 
 
 The burden melts away. 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 
 Thus watched and guarded, every step 
 
 Is under His control ; 
 The children of the Lord are safe, 
 
 Though worlds in conflict roll. 
 
 SUSAN V. ALDRICH. 
 [39]
 
 FEBRUARY THIRD. 
 
 DO not allow a day to pass without taking a step 
 forward. The world is moving, why not you? 
 Build for eternity. Begin with the sure foundation, 
 Jesus Christ, and your structure will stand the storm 
 and shock of Doubt and Temptation. Let " no foot- 
 steps backward " be your motto : look up, take cour- 
 age and press on. Do not expect too much of yourself; 
 be content to take one step at a time, and leave the 
 result with God. If we push on and up, we will grow 
 into the light of God in His own good time. 
 
 As the rivers, farthest flowing, 
 
 In the highest hills have birth ; 
 As the banyan, broadest growing, 
 
 Oftenest bows its head to earth ; 
 As the noblest minds press onward, 
 
 Channels far of good to trace ; 
 So the largest hearts bend downward, 
 
 Circling all the human race. 
 
 SARAH JOSEPH A HALE. 
 
 Let me find in Thy employ 
 Peace that dearer is than joy ; 
 Out of self to love be led 
 And to Heaven acclimated, 
 Until all things sweet and good 
 Seem my natural habitude. 
 
 JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER. 
 
 All common things, each day's events, 
 That with the hour begin and end, 
 
 Our pleasures and our discontents, 
 Are rounds by which we may ascend. 
 
 HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. 
 [40!
 
 FEBRUARY FOURTH. 
 
 YOU mean to be true ; but once your truth sleeps 
 on its guard, and the Edomite is over the valley, 
 and the lie is right in the very midst of your well- 
 guarded truthfulness. PHILLIPS BROOKS. 
 
 Yes, we " mean to be true " ; we are hurt and disap- 
 pointed if a friend deceives us, and if we lose faith in 
 humanity ; but how about ourselves f Circumstances 
 make us what we are, we say, by way of apology ; and 
 how ready we are to lay the blame on anything or any- 
 body, so that we may escape censure. Some people 
 are truthful, strictly so, but they do not possess tact 
 and delicacy : they are continually wounding or offend- 
 ing those around them, when if they seek to be con- 
 siderate and kind, as well as truthful, they would save 
 many a cruel thrust and heart-ache. Truth is a grand 
 thing, but it is even grander to know how to speak it. 
 
 Appear I always what I am? 
 
 And am I what I am pretending? 
 
 Know I what way my course is bending? 
 And sound my word and thought the same? 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 Put golden padlocks on Truth's lips, be callous as ye 
 
 will, 
 From soul to soul, o'er all the world, leaps one electric 
 
 thrill. 
 
 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 
 
 Prose is truth looking on the ground, eloquence is 
 truth looking up to Heaven, poetry is truth looking 
 upward toward God. HENRY WARD BEECHER. 
 [41]
 
 FEBRUARY FIFTH. 
 
 IV'INDNESS is the heartsease of the heart. Don't 
 A*- be too quick to see faults in other people : correct 
 your own, and you will find little time for criticising 
 those around you. Better seem to be a neglectful 
 friend than an unkind one. Keep your friendship un- 
 impaired, and let some one else pick the flaws. If it is 
 necessary for you to assume this unpleasant duty, ask 
 God to show you the best way to do it, and let it be 
 done with a sense of delicacy, and in a manner so gentle 
 and courteous that your friend may be neither hurt 
 nor offended. The character most closely resembling 
 Christ's is the one that rules by kindness. 
 
 Words of kindness fitly spoken 
 Fall like sunshine on the heart, 
 
 Breaking up its frozen currents, 
 That new life it may impart. 
 
 Perfect, says the Holy Bible, 
 
 On which we for life depend, 
 Is the man whose tongue is governed, 
 
 And whose lips do not offend. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 Unto the one who labors, 
 
 Fearless of foe or frown, 
 Unto the kindly-hearted, 
 
 Cometh a blessing down. 
 
 MARY F. TUCKER. 
 
 Oh, blest are uneventful lives, 
 
 Of whom small story we can tell, 
 But which, when all the page is writ, 
 
 Breathe out like heartsease, " It is well." 
 
 HATTIE TYNG GRISWOLD. 
 [42]
 
 FEBRUARY SIXTH. 
 
 GOD'S care for us! how tender, how watchful, how 
 sheltering it is. We are never away from His 
 thoughts for a moment ; go where we will, He follows 
 us ; stay where we are, He abides with us constant, 
 vigilant, and steadfast ; oh, how true and loving He is ! 
 He never forgets His own, they are safe with the One 
 who loves them best. 
 
 Dear tired heart by ills oppressed, 
 Fly to the shelter of God's breast! 
 What can hurt thee or alarm, 
 Within the circle of God's arm ? 
 Never mind earth's stormy weather, 
 God and His own are close together! 
 
 MARY F. BIGELOW. 
 
 Behind the dim unknown ; 
 
 Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above 
 His own. 
 
 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 
 
 When clouds gather round us He makes the way 
 
 bright, 
 
 He fills us with joy, with love and with light ; 
 Oh ! whatever befalls, we never need fear, 
 Since in joy or in sorrow He ever is near. 
 
 ANNA HOLYOKE HOWARD. 
 
 God is not far above us, bending low 
 
 His gracious head, our human wants to know, 
 
 Our prayers to hear ; 
 But He is omnipresent, and my cry 
 Need not be wafted far beyond the sky, 
 
 To gain His ear. 
 
 ALICE M. ADKINS. 
 [43]
 
 FEBRUARY SEVENTH. 
 
 " A ND be not weary in well-doing." With what 
 ix pleasure and satisfaction we review a day spent 
 in well-doing. God's peace steals over us like a bene- 
 diction, when we can lift our eyes and hearts to Him, 
 and truthfully say, u Father, I have done my best." 
 
 It is not the well-doing, but the ill-doing, that wearies 
 us most : the consciousness of a misspent day is like a 
 " thorn in the flesh," that rankles and tortures us, often, 
 far into the still hours of the night. But we lie down 
 to pleasant dreams, assured of the approval of our 
 Lord, when we have spent a day in earnest, faithful 
 well-doing. Let us make every vocation a blessing, 
 every duty a labor of love, and the homeliest task a 
 stepping-stone to Heaven. 
 
 You must live each day at your very best ; 
 The work of the world is done by few ; 
 God asks that a part be done by you. 
 
 Have a purpose, and do with your utmost might ; 
 You will finish your work on the other side, 
 When you wake in His likeness, satisfied. 
 
 SARAH H. BOLTON. 
 
 No man is born into the world whose work 
 Is not born with him ; there is always work, 
 And tools to work withal, for those who will ; 
 And blessed are the horny hands of toil. 
 
 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 
 
 If, when the Master comes to view my work, 
 And lay it in His balance to be tried, 
 I find that others were enriched thereby, 
 I shall be satisfied. 
 
 A. FULLER. 
 
 [44]
 
 FEBRUARY EIGHTH. 
 
 ABOUT the most disagreeable people on the face 
 of the globe are those who make the assertion, 
 " I always speak my mind." Such people take unwar- 
 ranted liberties with your faults, criticise your actions, 
 dictate to you regarding family and business affairs, 
 and feel themselves privileged to offer any suggestions 
 they may deem necessary, simply because they have 
 formed the disagreeable habit of "speaking their 
 mind." There is always a sting in their words ; and 
 many a sensitive heart is wounded by their unkind 
 remarks, in the course of a day. They think their 
 motives are right ; perhaps they are, but they usually 
 do more harm than good, no matter what their inten- 
 tions are. How much more do we love the friend who 
 speaks to us tenderly and gently of a fault ; who ven- 
 tures to suggest, not because he is " plain spoken " and 
 fancies he is privileged to do so, anything for our good, 
 but approaches us through the simple words, " because 
 you are my friend." The liberty of a true friend is 
 very different indeed from that of one who apologizes 
 for hurting one's feelings to gratify a desire to be 
 " plain spoken." 
 
 I pray the prayer of Plato old, 
 God make thee beautiful within, 
 
 And let thine eyes the good behold 
 In everything save sin. 
 
 JOHN G. WHITTIER. 
 
 I hold that Christian grace abounds 
 Where charity is seen ; that when 
 
 We climb to Heaven, 'tis on the rounds 
 Of love to men. 
 
 ALICE GARY. 
 
 [45]
 
 FEBRUARY NINTH. 
 
 WHAT lies under the snow? There the secrets 
 of God are hidden away, awaiting the sound of 
 His voice, to be revealed, and the touch of His hand, 
 to spring into life and gladness. Into what purity, 
 beauty, and fragrance they shall soon unfold ; and 
 dewy and fresh from their sweet silence and sleep, 
 shall rise and sing and bud and bloom and shine. 
 His birds, on lightsome wings, shall praise him in 
 meadow and grove, His flowers shall swing censers of 
 rare perfume to sweeten all the air, and His sun shall 
 warm and glow and brighten and kiss the frozen lakes 
 and streams, until they break into singing waves of joy. 
 O the mysteries of His love! What surprises are in 
 store for us hidden under the snow! what glories are 
 in readiness for us when Life's winter is past, and we 
 stand waiting for the morning of God's Eternal Spring! 
 
 Still lie the flowers in their cold, winter sleeping, 
 Pulsing with life in the darkness below ; 
 
 They shall be brighter by far for their keeping, 
 Guarded so tenderly under the snow. 
 
 They shall be watched with a loving protection, 
 
 They shall awake when Spring's trumpet shall blow, 
 
 Breathing the joy of the glad resurrection, 
 They shall be glorified, under the snow. 
 
 We, like the flowers, shall wait for Spring's morning, 
 
 List for the summons God's chosen shall know ; 
 Then shall His glory, our spirits adorning, 
 Brightly transfigure us, under the snow. 
 
 I. s. T. 
 {46]
 
 FEBRUARY TENTH. 
 
 HALF of our worry and anxiety arises from allow- 
 ing ourselves to shoulder the burden of responsi- 
 bility and care that we have never yet possessed. We 
 look forward to the future and dread its uncertainty and 
 imagined ills, exhausting the strength that belongs to 
 the present time alone. Each day has its trials ; why 
 not bear them, nor seek to rob to-morrow of its share ? 
 This is why we grow old before our time, because we 
 crowd to-morrow's burdens into to-day 1 s. The man 
 who carries a lantern on a dark night, does not attempt 
 to light the length of his entire journey at once, but 
 contents himself with enough radiance for a single step 
 at a time. Let us use the strength allowed for each 
 day, and we will find it sufficient for our wants. God 
 is always generous in His measures ; He does not stint 
 us, and is a better judge of our needs than we. 
 
 Strength for to-day is all that we need, 
 As there never will be a to-morrow : 
 
 For to-morrow will prove but another to-day, 
 With its measure of joy and sorrow. 
 
 Strength for to-day in house and home 
 To practise forbearance sweetly 
 
 To scatter kind words and loving deeds, 
 Still trusting in God completely. 
 
 Strength for to-day that our precious youth 
 
 May happily shun temptation, 
 And build from the rise to the set of sun 
 
 On a strong and sure Foundation. 
 
 MRS. M. A KIDDER. 
 
 As thy days, so shall thy strength be. DEUTERON- 
 OMY 33 -.25. 
 
 [47]
 
 FEBRUARY ELEVENTH. 
 
 ACCENT is the strength of poetry. It throws into 
 grace and harmony the sentiment and metre, and 
 versifies thought. 
 
 The accent of life is purpose. An aimless existence 
 is an insult to our Maker, who has created us for His 
 glory and the good of mankind. The poetry of our 
 being loses its rhythm without purpose ; we become 
 dull and prosaic, and lead a colorless life. Purpose is 
 an artist whose harmony of color makes radiant our 
 sunrise, and glorious our sunset. 
 
 'Tis thine, O Work the joy supreme of thought, 
 Where feeling, purpose, and long patience meet ; 
 Where in deep silence the ideal wrought 
 Bourgeons from blossoming to fruit complete. 
 
 MARY CLEMMER AMES. 
 
 Enthusiasm holy power! best alchemist art thou, 
 Kindled from soul to soul, and sped from radiant brow 
 
 to brow, 
 
 Changing to joy all duty, and on transfiguring heights 
 Showing us all the shades of earth fair with celestial 
 
 lights. 
 
 LOUISA P. HOPKINS. 
 
 Oh, sweet to feel, beyond all speech, 
 That most and best of human kind 
 Have leave to live beyond the reach 
 Of toil that tarnishes, and find 
 No tongue but Envy's to impeach! 
 
 J. G. HOLLAND. 
 
 [48]
 
 FEBRUARY TWELFTH. 
 
 WE need more faith. This is why we are discour- 
 aged and disheartened so often ; why life looks 
 so gloomy and why Hope hides her face from us. We 
 are not willing to let God lead us ; we would rather 
 walk alone, and trust to our poor blind eyes, and our 
 weary, faltering feet to find the way Home. Instead of 
 putting our hand into God's hand, and cheerfully be- 
 lieving in Him, we toil on and on, over hills of diffi- 
 culty, down valleys of shadow, and into pitfalls of 
 temptation. There is no need of all this ; it is only 
 making trouble for ourselves. Instead of singing and 
 smiling and trusting as we go, we are groping about 
 for the light, when there is a Light just within our 
 reach, and a refuge ever nigh. Oh, for the faith of the 
 snowdrop and the violet! They never question why 
 they are shut up in silence and darkness, they only 
 trust and wait, and in His time they will bloom in 
 humble faith because it is their mission. 
 
 Surely if His mysteries are hidden from us for a time, 
 if we are strong in faith and trust, our souls shall blos- 
 som into gladness, " when the mists have rolled away." 
 
 Blind Love, who could not see beyond the mould 
 And watch the new life quicken from decay, 
 
 Who could not trust the Lord who rules the night 
 To bring the blossoms of some fresh spring day. 
 
 MARIE B. WILLIAMS. 
 
 Just as Thy providence unfolds, 
 Life's path we'll meekly tread, 
 
 If we may only see the bow 
 Of promise overhead. 
 
 EMILY P. WILLIAMS. 
 A 4 [49]
 
 FEBRUARY THIRTEENTH. 
 
 HpHOU hast girded me with strength unto the battle : 
 J- Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up 
 against me. PSALM 18:39. 
 
 Though daily life's warfare your spirit may try, 
 Go manfully onward, to fail is to die ; 
 Go, girded with valor, and courage, and strength 
 Your Captain's approval shall crown you at length. 
 
 i. s. T. 
 
 In God's own might 
 We gird us for the coming fight, 
 And, strong in Him whose cause is ours, 
 In conflict with unholy powers, 
 We grasp the weapons He has given, 
 The Light, and Truth, and Love of Heaven. 
 
 JOHN G. WH1TTIER. 
 
 Life is a battle ! How these sayings trite 
 
 Which school-boys write and know not what they 
 
 write 
 
 In after years begin to burn and glow! 
 What man is here that has not found it so? 
 
 Ah, ye recruits, with flags and arms unsustained, 
 See by what toil and moil the heights are gained! 
 
 EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN. 
 
 Forward shall be our watchword, 
 As weeks and months revolve, 
 
 Forward in earnest purpose, 
 And in each high resolve. 
 
 MRS. M. A. KIDDER. 
 [SO]
 
 FEBRUARY FOURTEENTH. 
 
 OH, day of loves and loving! Isn't it a blessed 
 thing to know that young or old, great or small, 
 we are, every one of us, a Valentine to somebody? 
 Throughout the wide world to-day, rosy little Cupids 
 are flying back and forth on gladsome wing, bearing 
 messages of love to happy waiting hearts ; and we, 
 you and I, catch the inspiration of their joy and smile 
 because there is love within us, about us, and above us. 
 God Himself is love ; the world is love ; and we are 
 akin to God, and a part of the world ; therefore we love 
 Him and His works, and one another. 
 
 Love's the essence of all things ; 
 
 'Tis from Love that beauty springs, 
 
 'Twas by Love creation first 
 
 Into glorious beauty burst. 
 
 Spirit sweet, all else above, 
 Love is God, since God is love! 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 Love is enough. Why should we ask for more? 
 
 What greater gifts have gods vouchsafed to men? 
 What better boon of all their precious store 
 
 Than our fond hearts that love and love again ? 
 Old love may die ; new love is just as sweet ; 
 And life is fair, and all the world complete : 
 Love is enough! 
 
 ELLA WHEELER. 
 
 Love with all your heart and soul, 
 Love with eye and ear and touch ; 
 
 That's the moral of the whole, 
 You can never love too much. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 [51]
 
 FEBRUARY FIFTEENTH. 
 
 "OUT where shall wisdom be found? and where is the 
 L' place of understanding? 
 
 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it 
 found in the land of the living. 
 
 The depth saith, It is not with me : and the sea 
 saith, It is not with me. 
 
 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be 
 weighed for the price thereof. 
 
 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the 
 precious onyx, or the sapphire. 
 
 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it ; and the 
 exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No 
 mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls ; for the 
 price of wisdom is above rubies. 
 
 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither 
 shall it be valued with pure gold. 
 
 Whence cometh wisdom? and where is the place of 
 understanding ? 
 
 God understandeth the way thereof, and He knoweth 
 the place thereof. 
 
 And unto man He saith, Behold the fear of the 
 Lord, that is wisdom : and to depart from evil is 
 understanding. JOB 28:12-28. 
 
 Mount up to the heights of wisdom, 
 
 And crush each error low ; 
 Keep back no words of knowledge 
 
 That human hearts should know. 
 
 Be faithful to thy mission 
 
 In service of thy Lord, 
 And then a golden chaplet 
 
 Shall be thy just reward. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 [52]
 
 FEBRUARY SIXTEENTH. 
 
 FIND the best things in life, and appropriate them. 
 Get all the happiness you can as you pass along, 
 and then share it with some one who has less than 
 yourself. Do not cling to worldly pleasures ; they 
 cannot last. Set not your affections on riches ; they 
 " take wings and fly away." Establish no idols in your 
 household to worship and bow down to : there is but 
 one God only, let Him have no rival in your heart. 
 Search for the good, the true, and the beautiful, but let 
 them always belong to God and Eternity. Hold fast 
 to such things as shall benefit your soul. 
 
 In the bitter waves of woe, 
 
 Beaten and tossed about 
 By the sullen winds that blow 
 
 From the desolate shores of Doubt, 
 Where the anchors that Faith has cast 
 
 Are dragging in the gale, 
 I am quietly holding fast 
 
 To the things that cannot fail. 
 
 WASHINGTON GLADDEN. 
 
 Let us gather up the sunbeams 
 
 Lying all around our path, 
 Let us keep the wheat and roses, 
 
 Casting out the thorns and chaff. 
 
 MAY RILEY SMITH. 
 
 Thousands of years agone were chance and change, 
 Thousands of ages hence the same shall be ; 
 
 Naught of thy joy and grief is new or strange : 
 Gather apace the good that falls to thee! 
 'Tis all in a lifetime! 
 
 EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN. 
 [S3]
 
 FEBRUARY SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 DON'T forget to pray. Go to God for things you 
 need, and ask in simple faith for temporal and 
 spiritual blessings. God is abundantly able to give : 
 He is generous, He is willing ; why not tell Him your 
 wants? He is your Father, you are His child, and it 
 is your right to confide in Him, to believe on Him, and 
 to be dependent on His bounty. You cannot see Him, 
 but His inward peace assures you He is near. You 
 cannot hear the sound of His voice or footsteps, yet in 
 the hallowed silence when you lift your heart to Him, 
 you feel His sacred Presence, and cling to His promises 
 by faith. Commune with Him in the dewy dawn of 
 the morning ; gather from Him strengthening manna 
 for the day ; let a little prayer run upward to Heaven 
 during your busiest moments ; and seek again the 
 Throne of Grace when the curtain of night is hung 
 over the sleeping world. O there is no time that you 
 do not need prayer! 
 
 What'er the care which breaks thy rest, 
 Whatever the wish that swells thy breast ; 
 Spread before God that wish, that care, 
 And change anxiety to prayer. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 Press not thy purpose on thy Lord, 
 
 Urge not thy erring will, 
 Nor dictate to the Eternal mind, 
 
 Nor doubt thy Maker's skill. 
 
 True prayer is not the noisy sound 
 
 That clamorous lips repeat, 
 But the deep silence of a soul 
 
 That clasps Jehovah's feet. 
 
 LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY. 
 [54]
 
 FEBRUARY EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 OH, the sweetness of sympathy! It dries our tears, 
 soothes our aching hearts, and pours balm on our 
 sorrowing spirits. A pleasure is only half a pleasure 
 when not shared by some one else. Nature's great 
 warm heart is full of sympathy, and we may learn daily 
 lessons from her. When the sun rises in the morning, 
 and his bright, jolly face peeps over the distant hills, 
 the streams leap up and rejoice, the birds pour forth 
 melodious notes of gladness, and the flowers unfold 
 their silken leaves, and open their little sensitive hearts 
 for his warm, loving kiss. The dewy grass trembles 
 with happiness, the leaves whisper together, and the 
 groves are astir : the whole world thrills with joy, and 
 Nature has not a discord in her morning hymn of praise. 
 So are we in harmony with our fellow-beings, when 
 warmed and gladdened by the sunlight of divine Love. 
 
 Weep o'er one another's sorrow, 
 Prove thy grief in loving deed ; 
 
 Earth is fickle, thy to-morrow 
 May find thee in sorest need. 
 
 Sing o'er one another's gladness, 
 Praise with harp of sweetest tone ; 
 
 Earth hath full enough of sadness, 
 Joy should never sing alone. 
 
 ISADORE G. JEFFERY. 
 
 The lightest care, while yet concealed, 
 Lies like a mountain on the breast ; 
 
 The heaviest grief, when once revealed, 
 Is lulled by Sympathy to rest. 
 
 MARION H. RAND. 
 
 [55]
 
 FEBRUARY NINETEENTH. 
 
 HAPPINESS is the sunshine of the heart. Its 
 rays dispel the clouds in life's sky, and drive 
 away tempests of doubt and storms of despair. If the 
 heart is full of sunshine, it brims over in the eyes, and 
 flows from the tongue like liquid silver. Happy words 
 are ever welcome words, and blessed is he whose earthly 
 mission is to make cheerful and bright those around 
 him. There is always a corner in every household for 
 the happy guest : the guest who is contented with 
 everything, who demands little, and whose sunny pres- 
 ence is reflected in every face into which he looks. 
 He has a courteous way of smoothing out little diffi- 
 culties, and of smiling down impatient words, and of 
 seeing the best side of everything. Blessed are the 
 happy-hearted ; would that earth had more of them ! 
 
 Do not look for wrong and evil, 
 
 You will find them if you do ; 
 As you measure for your neighbor 
 
 He will measure back to you. 
 
 Look for goodness, look for gladness, 
 You will meet them all the while ; 
 
 If you bring a smiling visage 
 To the glass, you meet a smile. 
 
 ALICE GARY. 
 
 An effort made for the happiness of others lifts us 
 above ourselves. MRS. L. M. CHILD. 
 
 Surely happiness is reflective. . . . and every coun- 
 tenance bright with smiles, and glowing with innocent 
 enjoyment, is a mirror transmitting to others the rays 
 of a supreme and ever-shining benevolence. IRVING. 
 [56]
 
 C 
 
 FEBRUARY TWENTIETH. 
 
 ONSCIOUS of purity and worth, 
 You may with calm assurance wait 
 
 The tardy recompense of earth ; 
 And e'en should justice come too late 
 
 To soothe the spirit's homeward flight, 
 
 Still Heaven at last the wrong shall right. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 There is always a recompense for the faithful. Often 
 it is a long time coming, but it is always the sweeter 
 for the watching, the working, and the waiting. The 
 patient heart will see its dreams fulfilled ; the weary 
 hands will find their rest ; the tired feet end their pil- 
 grimage ; the dim eyes regain their vision, and look 
 into the sweet Country which they have yearned so 
 long to see, all this, and more, shall be our recom- 
 pense. Then toil on, dear fellow-worker, the reward 
 will be yours, in God's beautiful Sometime. 
 
 Fellow-workers are we : hour by hour, 
 
 Human tools are shaping Heaven's great scheme, 
 Till we see no limit to man's power 
 
 And reality outstrips our dream. 
 Toil and struggle, therefore, work and weep, 
 In God's acre ye shall calmly sleep, 
 
 When the night cometh! 
 
 EMMA C. EMBURY. 
 
 I thank Thee for my dreams, which loose the bond 
 That lies beyond the boundaries of sense, 
 When I shall wash away the stains of time 
 In floods of recompense. 
 
 J. G. HOLLAND. 
 [57]
 
 FEBRUARY TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 SOMETIMES we are so sensitive to a word or a 
 look that our hearts cry out for tenderness. Per- 
 haps the day's trials have been too heavy, or the night- 
 watch too long. Then we hunger for tenderness and 
 sympathy, and with what restfulness do we turn to the 
 true, fond hearts that know and understand all our 
 needs, and give us the comfort for which we long. 
 But sweeter than all earthly tenderness is the ten- 
 derness of God. His promises are like balm to our 
 wounded souls, and His peace "passeth all under- 
 standing." 
 
 The lives that seem so poor, so low, 
 
 The hearts which are so cramped and dull, 
 
 The baffled hopes, the impulse slow, 
 
 Thou takest, touchest all, and lo! 
 They blossom to the beautiful. 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 
 Not unto every heart is God's good gift 
 
 Of simple tenderness allowed ; we meet 
 With love in many fashions when we lift 
 
 First to our lips life's waters bitter-sweet. 
 Love comes upon us with resistless power 
 
 Of curbless passion and with headstrong will ; 
 It plays around like April's breeze and shower, 
 
 Or calmly flows, a rapid stream, and still. 
 It comes with blessedness unto the heart 
 
 That welcomes it aright, or bitter fate ! 
 It wings the blossom with so fierce a smart, 
 
 That love, we cry, is crueler than hate. 
 And then, ah me, when love has ceased to bless, 
 Our broken hearts cry out for tenderness ! 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 [58]
 
 FEBRUARY TWENTY-SECOND. 
 
 WHEN a deed is done for freedom, through the 
 broad earth's breast 
 
 Runs a thrill of joy prophetic, trembling on from east 
 to west. 
 
 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 
 
 Washington's birthday! day dear to every American 
 heart ! What school boy or girl, what man or woman, 
 does not gladly hold in remembrance the twenty-second 
 day of February? It brings to us the thought of one 
 whose motto might have been, Suaviter in modo ; forti- 
 ter in re gentle in manner, but resolute in deed ! With 
 what feelings of pride we refer to him as the Father of 
 his Country our Country America, " the land of the 
 free and the home of the brave " '. All over the vast uni- 
 verse to-day shall the name of Washington be spoken 
 with love and reverence, and grateful hearts shall sing 
 his praises and read again and again the story of his 
 grand achievements. Oh, you who are longing to be 
 something and do something in the world, reflect upon 
 the character of Washington! Emulate his nobility of 
 mind, his fixedness of purpose, his heroism and valor. 
 Such attributes will fit you for responsibility and trust ; 
 prepare yourself for a place, and God will prepare a 
 place for you. 
 
 No arch nor column, in courtly English or courtlier 
 Latin, sets forth the deeds and the worth of the Father 
 of his Country ; he needs them not ; the unwritten 
 benedictions of millions cover all the walls [of Mount 
 Vernon] . No gilded dome swells from the lowly roof 
 to catch the morning or evening beam ; but the love 
 and gratitude of united America settle upon it in one 
 eternal sunshine. EDWARD EVERETT. 
 [59]
 
 FEBRUARY TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 THE oft-repeated question, "What is Life?" can 
 only be answered by each individual. Make a 
 personal thing of it; what is your life? Is it a selfish, 
 thoughtless existence, or a loving sacrifice for the glory 
 of God and the good of your fellow-creatures? Is it a 
 downward tendency to worldly frivolities, or an upward 
 growth to the things that belong to Heaven ? Life, at 
 best, is brief, but there is a life whose span is not meas- 
 ured by years, and to whose heights we may not climb 
 until our earth-journey is ended, and we have entered 
 into " the rest that remaineth for the people of God." 
 
 But this we know : our loved and dead, if they should 
 
 come this day 
 Should come and ask us " What is life ? " not one of us 
 
 could say. 
 
 Life is a mystery as deep as ever death can be, 
 Yet oh, how sweet it is to us this life we live and 
 
 see! 
 
 MARY MAPES DODGE. 
 
 A little smiling, mingled oft with tears, 
 
 A little hoping, linked with many fears, 
 
 A little trusting, chased by doubt and dread, 
 
 A little light unto much darkness wed 
 
 This we call life to breathe, to love, to die! 
 
 Who shall for us unfold the great sad mystery ? 
 
 MRS. HERRICK JOHNSON. 
 
 And secrets of the soul that doubts and yearns 
 
 And gropes in regions dim, 
 Till, meeting Christ with raptured eye, discerns 
 
 Its perfect life in Him. 
 
 HORATIO NELSON POWERS. 
 [60]
 
 FEBRUARY TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 WE are often made better by disappointments; 
 they are severe discipline, but our natures are 
 softened and subdued by them, and after the refining 
 process is over, we can look up through our tears and 
 smile, and thank God that He knew what was best for 
 us. Perhaps, too, the very things for which we longed 
 and prayed would have made us very unhappy if we 
 had possessed them. We can often see our mistakes 
 when it is too late to correct them, and if God, in His 
 kindness, denies us something that we find would not 
 have been good for us, let us not grieve in future 
 because our wishes are not always fulfilled. 
 
 It may be our lot has been far from our choosing, 
 And we may find work that we never had planned ; 
 
 But often we gain when we think we are losing 
 God leads us in ways that we can't understand. 
 
 I. s. T. 
 
 Better to mourn a blossom snatched away 
 Before it reached perfection, than behold, 
 With dry, unhappy eyes, day after day, 
 The fresh bloom fade and the fair leaf decay. 
 Better to lose the dream with all its gold, 
 Than keep it till it changes to dull gray. 
 
 ELLA WHEELER. 
 
 Howe'er we trust to mortal things, 
 Each hath its pair of folded wings ; 
 Though long their terrors rest unspread, 
 Their fatal plumes are never shed ; 
 At last, at last, they stretch in flight, 
 And blot the day and blast the night! 
 
 OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. 
 [61]
 
 FEBRUARY TWENTY-FIFTH. 
 
 "G*OR God so loved the world, that he gave his 
 -T only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
 him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
 
 JOHN 3:16. 
 
 Isn't it wonderful that God should have loved us so ? 
 Is it not beautiful to feel and know that His love goes 
 on from day to day, just as it did in the days when He 
 gave His dear Son for us ; aye, and before that, when 
 He created the earth for our abiding-place, and lighted 
 it with the sun, moon, and stars. How tender is this 
 love that enfolds us, encircles us, and overshadows us 
 at all times! It is sounded through the ages, engraven 
 on the rocks, and chanted by the " everlasting hills." 
 The ocean, in its ceaseless flow, seems eternally sing- 
 ing, "The love of God! the love of God! I voice the 
 wondrous love of God!" Almighty Maker of Heaven 
 and earth, teach us to know and feel Thy deep, Thy 
 boundless love! 
 
 We are the mariners and God the sea, 
 And though we make false reckonings and run 
 Wide of a righteous course and are undone, 
 
 Out of His deeps of love we cannot be. 
 
 ALICE GARY. 
 
 What meanest thou to ask me why I sing, 
 And seem all day as happy as a king ? 
 
 Need I repine, 
 
 When God each moment proves to me His love, 
 And the bright home of happiness above 
 
 Is promised mine? 
 
 ALICE M. ADKINS. 
 
 [62]
 
 A 
 
 FEBRUARY TWENTY-SIXTH. 
 
 ND we hear the tread of the years move by, 
 And the sun is setting behind the hills. 
 
 RICHARD REALF. 
 
 So old Time keeps up his march tramp! tramp! 
 tramp! on, on to Eternity. There is no backward 
 movement, no pausing by the way, but ever the same 
 steady, forward sweep as the tide rolls in from the 
 sea. What a burden he carries ; joys and sorrows, 
 gains and losses, hopes and fears, smiles and tears, all 
 are given into his keeping to be bound into a pon- 
 derous volume. Your deeds and mine are there, and 
 they will stand opposite our names when the Recording 
 Angel reviews the work Time has wrought. Will they 
 hide under a cloud, I wonder, or stand out clear as the 
 sunlight, in the dawn of God's Heavenly Morning? 
 
 And while to one engulfing grave, 
 By Time's swift tide we're driven, 
 
 How sweet the thought that every wave 
 But bears us nearer Heaven! 
 
 WILLIAM GOLDSMITH BROWN. 
 
 All outward wisdom yields to that within, 
 Whereof no creed nor canon holds the key ; 
 
 We only feel that we have ever been, 
 And evermore shall be. 
 
 BAYARD TAYLOR. 
 
 But firmer than the pillars of the sky, 
 Thou standest ever by a power Divine ; 
 
 Thou art endowed with immortality, 
 
 And can'st not perish God's own life is thine ! 
 
 WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON.
 
 FEBRUARY TWENTY-SEVENTH. 
 
 WHERE shall we begin to praise God? How 
 shall we thank Him for all His goodness to us? 
 Oh, were we to begin singing now, and to keep on sing- 
 ing until the end of time, we could never voice His 
 praises enough! The very air that we breathe is an 
 invisible proof of His love to us ; the light, the shadow, 
 and the darkness, though we may not touch them, are 
 each a thought of our great Creator. Let us praise 
 Him for life, for health and for home, for food and for 
 raiment, and for every season's blessings, for daily 
 mercies, and for the promise of life everlasting. " Bless 
 the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." 
 
 Sing, heart of mine, oh, praise His name 
 Whose loving care hath blessed our store ; 
 
 With glad thanksgiving praise His name 
 Whose care surrounds us evermore. 
 
 SYLVIA BROWN. 
 
 Lord, for the erring thought 
 Not into evil wrought : 
 Lord, for the wicked will 
 Betrayed and baffled still : 
 For the heart from itself kept, 
 Our thanksgiving accept. 
 
 W. D. HOWELLS. 
 
 Leave me to the humming 
 
 Of my little hive, 
 Glad to earn a living, 
 
 Glad to be alive! 
 
 LUCY LARCOM. 
 
 [64]
 
 FEBRUARY TWENTY-EIGHTH. 
 
 IF we would reach the top, we must climb. Anything 
 worth having is worth striving for. Did you ever 
 scale a mountain? If so, what difficulties you en- 
 countered, what briers and thorns and tangled shrub- 
 bery obstructed your path! What hollows and 
 upheavals were before you hollows where the 
 mountain-streams had trickled down, upheavals where 
 the swollen earth had burst her green-mantled sod 
 all tending to make your ascent difficult, and discourage 
 and dishearten you! But with what eagerness you 
 turned your eyes to the top, where the great vernal 
 heights stood towering up into the fleecy clouds! It 
 made your journey less wearisome to catch a glimpse 
 of the grandeur above you, and the thought of reaching 
 your goal was of itself an inspiration. And when you 
 stood beneath the shadow of the pines on the mountain- 
 top, and gazed far down into the valley, with what a 
 sense of triumph you viewed your tiresome journey! 
 All that is beautiful, good, and true lies at the top, and 
 we must climb to attain it. God is the grandest and 
 most majestic height which all progressive souls are 
 striving to reach, and to rest at His footstool and 
 beneath the shadow of His wing will be victory 
 indeed. 
 
 On the heights we are near to Heaven, 
 
 It is far to the plains below, 
 So far it is dim and hazy 
 
 And loses its glory and glow, 
 Until a mirage we deem it, 
 Between the Above and Below. 
 
 HATTIE TYNG GRISWOLD. 
 AS [6 5 ]
 
 FEBRUARY TWENTY-NINTH. 
 
 GOD has granted you an extra day in which to 
 count the mercies of past years. Sum them up, 
 if you can, and you will say He has given you " good 
 measure ; pressed down, and running over." Surely 
 your cup of blessings is more than full. A good way 
 to appreciate your mercies is to think of the ills you 
 have escaped. Every trouble, disappointment, and 
 sorrow which you have been spared is a blessing : 
 every calamity which has touched others and passed 
 you by gives you reason for fresh thanksgiving, and 
 if you were half as grateful as you ought to be, you 
 would sing for joy all day long. 
 
 What if there have been shadows ? Do not shadows 
 intensify light? What if there have been disappoint- 
 ments ? Have there not been sweet surprises as well ? 
 Don't forget the unexpected blessings that God has 
 showered upon you every day ; don't take them as a 
 matter of course, but remember they are especial gifts 
 from Him, and should be thankfully received by you. 
 Though so unworthy, we are all the daily recipients of 
 God's bounty, love, and care, and as such, our hearts 
 should continually praise and magnify His name. 
 
 My Father! what am I, that all 
 Thy mercies sweet like sunlight fall 
 
 So constant o'er my way? 
 That Thy great love should shelter me, 
 And guide my steps so tenderly 
 
 Through every changing day? 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 [66]
 
 HARRIET BEECHER &T01VE 
 1811-1896
 
 OR THE MONTH 
 OF MARCH- 
 
 MARCH FIRST. 
 
 WITH rushing winds and gloomy skies 
 The dark and stubborn winter dies ; 
 Far-off, unseen, Spring faintly cries, 
 Bidding her earliest child arise ; 
 March ! 
 
 BAYARD TAYLOR. 
 
 A lesson hath March if a teacher stern 
 A lesson 'twere well for the heart to learn. 
 If the sky is dark and the winds are cold, 
 If the snows are deep on the moor and wold, 
 If the brown buds lie in their cells asleep, 
 And the clouds come only to frown or weep ; 
 If the spring be late in her warm embrace, 
 She comes at last with laughing grace, 
 With flowery banner, with rush and shout, 
 She will put all the legions of Frost to rout. 
 Ah ! thus if life is a weary March, 
 We pass to joy through a victor's arch. 
 
 HELEN H. RICH. 
 
 Ah, March! we know thou art 
 Kind-hearted, spite of ugly looks and threats. 
 And, out of sight, art nursing April's violets ! 
 
 HELEN HUNT. 
 [67]
 
 A 
 
 MARCH SECOND. 
 
 H, patience ! Ere we dream of it, 
 Spring's fair new gospel will be writ. 
 
 LUCY LARCOM. 
 
 Another spring has dawned ; and down the avenues 
 of Time our winter has silently stolen away. Now the 
 furry catkins begin to unfold their downy buds, and 
 early flowers are peeping from the leafy mould and 
 swelling into beauty and fragrance. The maple's heart 
 pours out its nectar, and the honied drops gush forth 
 at every outlet. This is the year's resurrection, when 
 out of the ashes of Winter, glad Spring awakens, and 
 soars, as with wings, up into the new life and beauty of 
 God's gracious sunshine. O heart of man, sleep no 
 longer, but rouse into action! Leave behind thee the 
 winter of dead hopes, and put on the beautiful resurrec- 
 tion-robes of immortal Spring. 
 
 The sunlight fills the trembling air, 
 And balmy days their guerdons bring ; 
 
 The earth again is young and fair, 
 And amorous with musky spring. 
 
 EDMUND C. STEDMAN. 
 
 Spring, with that nameless pathos in the air 
 Which dwells with all things fair, 
 Spring, with her golden suns and silver rain, 
 Is with us once again. 
 
 HENRY TIMROD. 
 
 Every clod feels a stir of might, 
 
 An instinct within it that reaches and towers, 
 And, groping blindly above it for light, 
 
 Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers. 
 
 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 
 [68]
 
 MARCH THIRD. 
 
 " T) LESSED are the peacemakers : for they shall be 
 -LJ called the children of God." Oh, sweet mission of 
 the peacemaker, it is blessed indeed! I think it is a 
 natural inheritance, and yet we may all cultivate peace- 
 making, to a certain extent. It sometimes develops very 
 early in a child. You have doubtless noticed several 
 children playing together, and after a time they would 
 chance to disagree, just as their elders do, and perhaps 
 angry words and tears would follow, until into their 
 midst came one sweet child, who dispersed the clouds, 
 settled the difficulty, and brought a smile to every 
 little troubled face. God bless these rays of sunlight! 
 
 Oh, blessed forever the "peacemakers" are! 
 They shine for the Lord like a radiant star, 
 Diffusing a lustre to gladden life's way ; 
 They carry His sunshine wherever they stray 
 Yea, blessed indeed is the path they have trod, 
 For they shall be known as " the children of God." 
 
 Dear Lord, I beseech Thee to grant me this grace, 
 
 That I may be welcome wherever my place : 
 
 This sweetness of manner, whence discord shall flee 
 
 Oh, grant that a maker of peace I may be, 
 
 That I too an Heavenly kinship may claim ; 
 
 A child of the King and an heir to His Name! 
 
 I. S. T. 
 
 Drop Thy still dews of quietness, 
 
 Till all our strivings cease ; 
 Take from our souls the strain and stress, 
 And let our ordered lives confess 
 
 The beauty of Thy peace. 
 
 J. G. WHITTIER. 
 [69]
 
 MARCH FOURTH. 
 
 TNAUGURATION Day! The fourth of March will 
 A ever be held in remembrance by all loyal Ameri- 
 cans. Since first our good and great Washington 
 stood at the head of the affairs of the nation, America 
 has, on this eventful day, witnessed the accession to 
 the presidential seat of many noble men, whose names 
 have been an honor to her, and whose deeds have 
 been written with pride in the annals of our illustri- 
 ous nation. Long live the good men who are en- 
 trusted with our public welfare ! and may the memory 
 of those who have been called to their reward ever 
 dwell in our hearts. 
 
 May the white page of the future, 
 
 Waiting for the sons of men, 
 To enroll their names upon it 
 
 With a clean, untarnished pen, 
 Stand emblazoned in God's sunshine, 
 
 Till its records fair and pure 
 Shall be traced in deeds immortal, 
 
 With a strength that shall endure! 
 
 May the rulers of our nation, 
 
 Following the good and great, 
 Have at heart the rise and progress 
 
 Of Columbia's future state ; 
 And with nobleness of purpose 
 
 May it ever be their aim 
 To uphold our country's honor 
 
 And enhance her glorious fame! 
 
 I. s. T. 
 
 Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise, 
 
 The queen of the world and the child of the skies! 
 
 TIMOTHY DWIGHT. 
 
 [70]
 
 MARCH FIFTH. 
 
 SOME one has hurt your heart and made you grieve ; 
 The day has been too dark without the sun ; 
 Something has been too hard ; but oh ! believe 
 Others have suffered just as you have done. 
 
 MARGARET ROX. 
 
 Do not be suspicious, or too sensitive ; people often 
 suffer through imaginary causes. Allow no little 
 shadows to cloud your day. Bear sweetly the seeming 
 unkindness, do not magnify it into something great. 
 Often a little misunderstanding at morning is like the 
 mists : it melts away at noonday, and leaves the sky 
 of your heart clear and bright. Christ knows how to 
 sympathize fully with you in the smallest happenings 
 of the day; confide in Him. Trust His guidance in 
 all things, and do not fear to unburden your heart to 
 Him. 
 
 Fret not, poor heart ; the sorrows sore 
 That crush thy life thy Saviour bore 
 Once for thy sake ; yea, this and more. 
 God's way is best ; 
 Then trust and rest. 
 
 ANNA HOLYOKE HOWARD. 
 
 Build a little fence of Trust 
 
 Around to-day ; 
 Fill the space with loving work 
 
 And therein stay. 
 
 Look not through the sheltering bars 
 
 Upon to-morrow ; 
 God will help thee bear what comes 
 
 Of joy or sorrow. 
 
 MRS. F. M. BUTTS. 
 [71]
 
 MARCH SIXTH. 
 
 T^\EAR Father, may sweet thoughts of heavenly grace 
 -*--' Flow through the hours of this new day for me ; 
 Through moments glad or troubled may I trace 
 The lines of love that link my soul to Thee ; 
 In happy trills along their golden length 
 
 May I know quickly Thy most holy will, 
 And, leaning hard upon their cords of strength, 
 Feel ready to press onward or be still. 
 
 EDITH G. SERAN. 
 
 Do not drift through the day ; do your part, and 
 take hold of the duty that claims your attention 
 first. Know that God will help you, no matter how 
 hard it is, and that the path cannot be too rugged for 
 Him to walk with you. Look up! the Day-Star is 
 shining above you, and if you despair not, but keep 
 bravely on, there will be a glad recompense awaiting 
 you when you reach the end of the way. 
 
 Wayworn and weary, each succeeding day, 
 
 We walk in weakness walk, and wait, and pray 
 
 For strength to wend aright our toilsome way. 
 
 Dark drifting clouds hang thick about our path, 
 Freighted with winds and gathering storms, each hath 
 The un wrought elements of angry wrath. 
 
 Thus passing on through anxious toil and strife, 
 The years, anon with joy, anon with sorrow rife, 
 We wend our way towards Everlasting Life ; 
 
 Towards Life Eternal, each succeeding day, 
 We wander on, and well, if thus we may 
 But find our path leads up the shining Way. 
 
 CLARK W. BRYAN. 
 [72]
 
 MARCH SEVENTH. 
 
 DEEP feeling is contagious. Words poured forth 
 from burning hearts are sure to kindle the hearts 
 of others. Hearts that can stand everything else are 
 often melted by a tear. Let the heart palpitate in 
 every line, and burn in every word. ANONYMOUS. 
 
 We need more heart ; we do not care enough for 
 our neighbor's welfare ; we concern ourselves too little 
 about the cares and responsibilities, the sorrows and 
 sufferings of others. There are depths within us that 
 have never been sounded, feelings that have never 
 been touched, sympathies that lie dormant. Oh, for 
 the heart to feel and love as we ought ! Let us cultivate 
 a deeper interest in humanity, and our influence shall 
 kindle other hearts, and quicken other spirits, and the 
 world will be the better for our having lived in it. 
 
 Do naught but good ; for such the nobler strife 
 Of virtue is, 'gainst wrong to venture love, 
 
 And for thy foe devote a brother's life, 
 Content to wait the recompense above ; 
 
 Brave for the truth, to fiercest insult meek, 
 
 In mercy strong, in vengeance only weak. 
 
 GEORGE W. BETHUNE. 
 
 Poor indeed thou must be, if around thee 
 Thou no ray of light and joy canst throw, 
 
 If no silken cord of love hath bound thee 
 To some little world through weal and woe ; 
 
 If no dear eyes thy fond love can brighten, 
 No fond voices answer to thine own ; 
 
 If no brother's sorrow thou canst lighten, 
 By daily sympathy and gentle tone. 
 
 HARRIET WINSLOW. 
 [73]
 
 MARCH EIGHTH. 
 
 WE are in no condition for good work of any kind 
 when we are fretted and anxious in mind. It is 
 only when the peace of God is in our hearts that we are 
 ready for true and really helpful ministry. A feverish 
 heart makes a worried face, and a worried face casts a 
 shadow. A troubled spirit mars the temper and dis- 
 position. It unfits one for being a comforter to others, 
 for giving cheer and inspiration, for touching other 
 lives with good and helpful impulses. Peace must 
 come before ministry. We need to have our fever 
 cured before we go out to our work. Hence we should 
 begin each new day at the Master's feet, and get His 
 cooling, quieting touch upon our hot hand. Then, 
 and not until then, shall we be ready for good service 
 in His name. j. R. MILLER. 
 
 Peace, troubled heart ; beyond these bitter breezes, 
 Mid Isles of Paradise, in airs of balm, 
 
 Where cruel wind or word ne'er wounds or freezes, 
 Thou'lt gain at last the everlasting calm. 
 
 MARY CLEMMER AMES. 
 
 Didst thou ever feel the load of a heavy, toilsome 
 burden, an anxiety which almost broke thy heart, and 
 crushed thy spirit? Then, when thou wert suddenly 
 and unexpectedly relieved of it, the restfulness that 
 followed was inexpressibly sweet. This is the way 
 God comes to His beloved. In the midst of life's 
 storms and tempests, He speaks but a single word, and 
 all is tranquil within. May His peace abide with thee! 
 
 Peace, sweet peace, is ever found 
 In her eternal home on holy ground. 
 
 EMMA C. EMBURY. 
 
 [74]
 
 MARCH NINTH. 
 
 MAN, made in the image of God, what is he ? He 
 cannot be equal with God, but he may be like 
 unto Him, so far as humanity can resemble divinity. 
 He may be pure-hearted, philanthropic, sympathetic, 
 and kindly, and filled with a yearning desire to aid, en- 
 noble, and uplift his brother-man. He may be honest 
 and true, and his influence may beautify and enrich the 
 world long after his life has measured its brief span. 
 
 All that hath been majestical 
 
 In life or death, since time began, 
 
 Is native in the simple heart of all, 
 The angel-heart of man. 
 
 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 
 
 The soul of man 
 
 Createth its own destiny of power ; 
 And as the trial is intenser here, 
 His being hath a nobler strength in Heaven. 
 
 NATHANIEL P. WILLIS. 
 
 Manhood at last! and with its consciousness 
 
 Are strength and freedom ; freedom to pursue 
 The purposes of hope the godlike bliss 
 
 Born in the struggle for the great and true ! 
 And every energy that should be mine, 
 
 This day I dedicate to its object, Life! 
 So help me Heaven, that never I resign 
 
 The duty which devotes me to the strife. 
 
 WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS. 
 
 Man is the jewel of God, who has created this 
 material world to keep His treasure in. THEODORE 
 PARKER. 
 
 [75]
 
 MARCH TENTH. 
 
 T TPWARD! O Heart, what sweet lessons God has 
 **J for thee to learn from the beautiful things with 
 which He has adorned His world! Now, while March 
 is pushing upward and onward day by day, why 
 shouldst not thou make swift progress too? Sing as 
 thou goest ; scatter about thee brightness, and make of 
 thy surroundings a halo of happiness. 
 
 In the tassel-time of spring 
 Love's the only song to sing ; 
 
 Ere the ranks of solid shade 
 Hide the bluebird's flitting wing, 
 
 While in open forest glade 
 No mysterious sound or thing 
 
 Haunt of green has found or made, 
 Love's the only song to sing. 
 
 Though in May each bush be dressed 
 Like a bride, and every nest 
 
 Learn Love's joyous repetend, 
 Yet the half-told tale is best 
 
 At the budding with its end 
 Much too secret to be guessed, 
 
 And its fancies that attend 
 April's passion unexpressed. 
 
 Love and Nature communing 
 Give us Arcady. Still ring 
 
 Vales across and groves among 
 Wistful memories, echoing 
 
 Pan's far-off and fluty song ; 
 Poet! nothing harsher sing ; 
 
 Be, like Love and Nature, young, 
 In the tassel-time of spring. 
 
 ROBERT UNDERWOOD JOHNSON. 
 [76]
 
 MARCH ELEVENTH. 
 
 IT is faith in something and enthusiasm for some- 
 thing that makes a life worth looking at. OLIVER 
 
 WENDELL HOLMES. 
 
 Have faith in your fellow-men. Do not allow your- 
 self to be misanthropical ; because you are deceived in 
 one man, it is no reason why all others should be false. 
 Because one friend disappoints you, it is not a foregone 
 conclusion that every friend you have is to be doubted. 
 Keep your faith in God and man : faith in God, first of 
 all. If you are true to Him, He will be true to you ; 
 let your faith in God be genuine, unyielding, and 
 steadfast. 
 
 I will not doubt, though all my prayers return, 
 Unanswered, from the still white realm above. 
 I shall believe it is an all-wise love, 
 Which has refused these things for which I yearn. 
 
 ELLA WHEELER. 
 
 And Faith's banner, pure white, unfold to the breeze, 
 
 For she marches beside us at night ; 
 She leads through the desert our faltering feet, 
 And sings in the darkness her litanies sweet, 
 
 Of deliverance, triumph, and sight. 
 
 MRS. HERRICK JOHNSON. 
 
 O for that faith whose voice can still 
 
 The doubts that vex the soul, 
 And seek to know no other will 
 
 But God's supreme control. 
 
 EMILY P. WILLIAMS. 
 
 Faith is the anchor, to which if a soul is fastened, it 
 shall not sink no matter how rough is life's sea. 
 [77]
 
 MARCH TWELFTH. 
 
 BURY all ill-feelings, all errors, and wrong-doings 
 beneath the winter of the past. Start afresh, 
 forget and forgive. Let only the memory of what is 
 pure and beautiful remain. 
 
 Let us forget 
 
 The memories that bind us fast 
 To our mistakes, outgrown and past. 
 The trust betrayed, the tarnished name, 
 The look of scorn, the blush of shame, 
 
 Let us forget. 
 
 Let us forget 
 
 That once we strove for selfish gain, 
 Regardless of another's pain. 
 The vain remorse, the sense of loss, 
 The burden of our self-made cross, 
 
 Let us forget. 
 
 Let us forget 
 
 The sighs, the stings, the anguished tears 
 That marked the paths of bygone years. 
 The bitter cup, the deep despair, 
 The one dark hour which none might share 
 
 Let us forget. 
 
 Let us forget 
 
 All but the love, the grace, the light 
 That bore us to our present height, 
 And haunting ghosts of grief and care, 
 The guise of angel hosts shall wear. 
 
 Let us forget. 
 
 IDA WORDEN WHEELER. 
 
 Remember only the best things. 
 
 [78]
 
 MARCH THIRTEENTH. 
 
 SO this dreamy life is passing and we move amidst 
 its maze, 
 And we grope along together, half in darkness, half 
 
 in light ; 
 And our hearts are often burdened with the mysteries 
 
 of our ways, 
 
 Which are never all in shadow, and are never wholly 
 bright. 
 
 ABRAM T. RYAN. 
 
 Our lives are shrouded in mystery ; we cannot see a 
 step before us. In front of us stretches the dim un- 
 known, from which God shall unfold our future life. 
 We walk in a tangled path of shade and sun ; and yet 
 why should we fret ourselves because we cannot see 
 the workings of our Father's plans, or because we 'can- 
 not know why He has allowed us to have darkness as 
 well as light ? Let us not dream away our chances, but 
 let us be ever watchful for the beauty within as well as 
 without, and allow nothing to pass us by, which will 
 serve to awaken and bring to light hidden powers 
 which God has given into our keeping. 
 
 Fair are the flowers and the children, but their subtle 
 suggestion is fairer ; 
 
 Rare is the rose-burst of dawn, but the secret that 
 clasps it is rarer ; 
 
 Sweet the exultance of song, but the strain that precedes 
 it is sweeter ; 
 
 And never was poem yet writ, but the meaning out- 
 mastered the metre. 
 
 RICHARD REALF. 
 t79]
 
 MARCH FOURTEENTH. 
 
 '""T'HERE is no time like the present in which to obey. 
 J- God does not countenance delays. How many 
 sweet little birds of opportunity have sung wooing 
 songs into our ears, and yet we have turned persistently 
 away, and God has taken our chances and given them 
 to another. Don't you believe this? Then why do 
 you sometimes say, " I could have done so much better 
 had I tried, but it is too late now. and some one else 
 has the praise while I have only the regret " ? Your 
 opportunity has been transplanted in another garden, 
 and lo, it has blossomed and borne fruit ! 
 
 Said one unto himself : " I would 
 
 That I might wield some power for good ; 
 
 That I some wondrous tongue could learn 
 
 To speak the thoughts and words that burn ; 
 
 That I could marvellous colors mix, 
 
 Wherewith on sacred walls to fix 
 
 The glimpse of Heaven, the holy dream, 
 
 That should from sin men's thoughts redeem ; 
 
 And, oh, that some rare gem were mine 
 
 Whereon to carve the face divine ! " 
 
 Another took the self-same words 
 
 We use each day, 
 The words wherein we chide or bless, 
 
 We curse or pray, 
 And with them sang a song, that through 
 
 The wide world rings, 
 And slumbering souls that hear it wake 
 
 To nobler things. 
 
 For those who long God's work to do, 
 Ways are not scarce nor chances few. 
 
 VIRGINIA B. HARRISON. 
 [80]
 
 MARCH FIFTEENTH. 
 
 I WILL pray the Father, and He shall give you 
 another Comforter, that He may abide with you 
 forever; even the Spirit of truth. JOHN 14: 16, 17. 
 
 Truth be your guide at all times ! 
 
 What a man sees only in his best moments as truth, 
 is truth in all moments. JOSEPH COOK. 
 
 Truth is the apostle before whom every cowardly 
 Felix trembles. WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 When all is lost, one refuge yet remains, 
 One sacred solace, after all our pains : 
 Go lay thy head and weep thy tears, O youth! 
 Upon the dear immortal breast of Truth. 
 
 J. T. TROWBRIDGE. 
 
 The grave's dark portal 
 
 Soon shuts this world of shadows from the view ; 
 Then shall we grasp realities immortal 
 If to the truth within us we are true. 
 
 EMMA C. EMBURY. 
 
 Keep bright the jewel that lies hidden in thy breast ; 
 polish it, and let it be clean enough to reflect in it the 
 light of Heaven. Truth is a God-given gem, therefore 
 dare not to dim its lustre with falsity, but let each day 
 find it shining more and more brightly. Seek the 
 truth in others ; associate only with those who are the 
 lovers of truth ; then shalt thou reflect added beams, 
 and the jewel within thee shall glow with new radiance. 
 Take for thy guide He who is Himself the divine Truth, 
 and He shall teach thee how to walk in the Spirit of 
 truth. 
 A 6 [81]
 
 MARCH SIXTEENTH. 
 
 FOR ye are the temple of the living God. 2 CORIN- 
 THIANS 6: 1 6. 
 
 March is a good time to build. The birds are busy 
 making their little nests where they can have safe 
 shelter from wind and storm ; new houses are spring- 
 ing up around us, wherein dear ones are to be gathered 
 and surrounded by the loving influence of home. But 
 there are other temples being builded which are grow- 
 ing steadily and silently day by day, they are your 
 temples and mine. Without hammer and nails, without 
 mortar and bricks, without so much as a sound to tell 
 the story, up and up they go, rising out of self, being 
 established for Eternity. Oh, let us build them well, 
 that they may be fit abodes for the " living God " ! 
 
 Bring woman's work, bring manhood's strength, 
 
 Bring childhood's helping hand, 
 Build well and wisely, that your work 
 
 To coming years may stand. 
 Your Lord, He gave His all for you, 
 
 Give back your very best ; 
 Your best is all too poor to give 
 
 To Him, the Ever-blest. 
 
 It may be through your temple fair 
 
 The Lord shall walk some day ; 
 It may be His Shechinah light 
 
 Shall rest with you alway ; 
 And prayers accepted rise to Him, 
 
 And blessings freely fall, 
 While each to each, across the fane, 
 
 To holy watchers call. 
 
 ELLEN MURRAY. 
 [82]
 
 MARCH SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 THERE are some hearts like wells, green-mossed 
 and deep 
 
 As ever Summer saw ; 
 
 And cool their water is, yea, cool and sweet ; 
 But you must come to draw. 
 
 CAROLINE S. SPENCER. 
 
 How the sympathy and kindliness of some hearts 
 cheer and comfort us! Whenever we are near them 
 we seem to be strengthened and refreshed, I think 
 they must live very close to Heaven ; they seem in 
 touch with the divine life, and there is a beauty and 
 harmony and peace about them that makes their 
 influence very sweet and restful. Why is it that they 
 have the happy faculty of carrying sunshine wherever 
 they go? I think it is because they have gathered the 
 blessed teachings of Nature and God, and filled their 
 spirit's cup to the overflowing. "Go thou, and do like- 
 wise." 
 
 What the mind guesses, 
 
 Day after day, 
 Through dim recesses 
 
 Groping its way, 
 What the moon answers 
 
 In silver speech, 
 What of joy reaches thee, 
 What thy pain teaches thee, 
 
 That do thou teach. 
 
 Let thine inspiration, 
 
 Thy wisdom, be 
 What all God's Creation 
 
 Calleth to thee. 
 
 DANSKE DANDRIDGE. 
 [83]
 
 MARCH EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 AFTER all, it is the divinity within that makes the 
 divinity without. WASHINGTON IRVING. 
 
 If you carry a great deal of soul-beauty within you, 
 it is bound to shine through somewhere. It will either 
 break through your eyes in kindly gleams, through 
 your voice in cheery words, or through your heart in 
 loving deeds ; it must have an outlet. Human sun- 
 light is too bright to be hidden away ; God made it to 
 shine, and if you have any within you, it will come 
 to the surface and illumine your whole nature. 
 
 Send out the sunlight, the sunlight of cheer, 
 Shine on earth's sadness till ills disappear 
 Souls are in waiting this message to hear. 
 
 Send out the sunlight that speaks in a smile, 
 Often it shortens the long, weary mile ; 
 Often the burden seems light for a while. 
 
 Send out the sunlight the Spirit's real gold! 
 Give it out freely this gift that's unsold ; 
 Shower it down, on the young and the old .' 
 
 Send out the sunlight, you have it in you ! 
 Clouds may obscure it just now from your view ; 
 Pray for its presence! Your prayer will come true. 
 
 ELLEN DARE. 
 
 Beauty is but the sensible image of the Infinite. 
 Like truth and justice it lives within us ; like virtue 
 and the moral law it is a companion of the soul. BAN- 
 CROFT. 
 
 [84]
 
 MARCH NINETEENTH. 
 
 THERE is no brotherhood of man without the 
 Fatherhood of God. H. M. FIELD. 
 
 Whoever in prayer can say " Our Father " acknowl- 
 edges and should feel the brotherhood of the whole 
 race of mankind. TRYON EDWARDS. 
 
 How closely are they akin, the brotherhood of 
 man, and the Fatherhood of God! If our hearts are 
 filled with love to God, we cannot help having more 
 love for all mankind ; we feel that we share one com- 
 mon destiny, and that we belong to one common 
 family, whose head is God, the Father and Maker of 
 us all. Oh, that our hearts may be quickened and that 
 we may treat all mankind as brothers! 
 
 If 'mid the restless faiths and troublous fears, 
 Which surge like billows on the ocean's breast, 
 Our race could find one rock on which to rest ; 
 
 One central truth which in the passing years 
 
 Remains unmoved alike 'mid smiles and tears, 
 What blessed peace 'twould bring to human hearts 
 In home, and in the place of toil, in marts 
 
 Of trade, and where each age its temples rears. 
 
 Oh, yes, one truth, if only deep, profound, 
 
 And all embracive in supernal good, 
 
 Would calm all souls. That truth is Fatherhood! 
 Then make it known wherever man is found ; 
 
 Say, say the reigning God all Father is, 
 
 And more than full of helpful sympathies. 
 With Father, God, we need not fear the rest, 
 But trust the all to His most kind behest. 
 
 H. G. MC ARTHUR. 
 [85]
 
 MARCH TWENTIETH. 
 
 NOTHING will do us more good than to spend a 
 little season with thought. Let us get away from 
 the world for a while ; let us enter into our hearts and 
 close the doors, shutting out all intruders. The year 
 is young yet ; we have not gone far in our twelve- 
 month journey, and spring is just beginning. Let us 
 unfold our best natures ; let us not only think, but act. 
 Oh, then shall our thoughts be the unfledged birds of 
 our soul, that shall take wing, and fly upward, and sing 
 as they go. May God be with you to-day, and give 
 you pure and beautiful thoughts whose music shall 
 nevermore be silent! 
 
 Like pearls that lie hid 'neath the ocean's broad breast, 
 
 Where its waters unceasingly roll, 
 Are our beautiful thoughts our sweet unexpressed, 
 
 That are lost in the depth of the soul. 
 
 w. F. FOX. 
 
 The burning thunderbolt of human Thought 
 Sends the living light of Truth abroad, 
 And dashes down the towers of Force and Fraud, 
 
 And awes the trembling world like oracle of God! 
 
 SARAH JOSEPHA HALE. 
 
 Is there a sweeter thing on earth 
 Than pleasant thoughts, I wonder, 
 
 Or a happier man than he 
 Who has the greatest number? 
 
 GEORGE HINES GORMAN. 
 
 The greatest events of the age are its best thoughts. 
 It is the nature of thought to find its way into action. 
 
 C. N. BOVEE. 
 
 [86]
 
 A 
 
 MARCH TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 SPRING goes singing through its reedy grass ; 
 The lark sings o'er my head. 
 
 WILLIAM W. STORY. 
 
 Oh, tell it again, the sweet old story, 
 
 The oft-told story of dawning Spring, 
 When cometh the first real hint of glory 
 
 The first glad day when the year takes wing ; 
 The pulse of Nature is quicker thrilling, 
 
 The lark is singing ; the grasses sprout ; 
 And the maple-trees their sweets are spilling, 
 
 And eager bees from the hives fly out ; 
 The wayside brook that was frozen over 
 
 Begins its longings to wander again, 
 And Hope is ever a gay young rover, 
 
 Who flits about in the hearts of men 
 There's a fresh green leaf, springing now and then, 
 Where she drops her seed in the hearts of men. 
 
 I. s. T. 
 
 And while Hope's leaves are pushing outward into 
 light and gladness, and while all Nature is doing its 
 best, let us with renewed strength and vigor begin to 
 grow better, and to take on fresh life and color. The 
 smallest thing that God has made has a mission, and 
 why not we ? 
 
 The cowslip startles in meadows green, 
 The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice, 
 
 And there's never a leaf or a blade too mean 
 To be some happy creature's palace. 
 
 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 
 [8 7 ]
 
 MARCH TWENTY-SECOND. 
 
 ON either hand lies the proof of the living God. 
 We cannot look about us but we are reminded of 
 Him, and of His love and care for us. His voice 
 speaks in the winds that blow, and His beauty is re- 
 flected in the sun by day, as well as the moon and stars 
 by night. His majesty still moves on as the seasons 
 dawn and fade ; He rests not, nor wearies not ; He is 
 "the same yesterday, to-day, and forever." Let us 
 honor and obey Him, and let us make our hearts accept- 
 able unto Him. 
 
 The hand of God 
 
 Has written legibly that man may know 
 The glory of the Maker. 
 
 HENRY WARE, JR. 
 
 For God is God: no finite thought 
 
 Can touch the utmost starry rim 
 Of that great purpose planned and wrought 
 
 In days that were alone with Him. 
 Cycles that His vast presence filled, 
 
 Ere breath or pulse or motion stirred 
 The awful waiting silence, thrilled 
 
 With dread expectance of The Word ! 
 
 EMMA ALICE BROWNE. 
 
 My heart is awed within me, when I think 
 Of the great miracle that still goes on 
 In silence round me the perpetual work 
 Of Thy creation, finished, yet renewed 
 Forever. Written on Thy works I read 
 The lesson of Thy own eternity. 
 
 WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. 
 [88]
 
 MARCH TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 LET us live to-day as if it were our only day. 
 What if, for us you and me there should never 
 be a to-morrow? What if our life should go out with 
 the sunset, or slip away at the quiet midnight hour, or 
 in the hush of the still gray dawn? Let us, then, give 
 some of our sweetest and best thoughts to immortal 
 things, and do or say nothing to-day that shall be 
 remembered against us with sorrow and regret. 
 
 Not merely what we are, 
 But what we were and what we are to be, 
 Make up our life the far days each a star, 
 
 The near days nebulae. 
 
 Ay, what were all days worth, 
 Were there no looking backward or before 
 If every human life that drops to earth 
 
 Were lost forevermore? 
 
 But each day is a link 
 Of days that pass and never pass away ; 
 For memory and hope to live, to think 
 
 Each is our only day. 
 
 COAXES KINNEY. 
 
 We should waste no moments in weak regret 
 
 If the day were but one ; 
 If what we remembered and what we forget 
 
 Went out with the sun ; 
 We should be from our clamorous selves set free 
 
 To work or to play, 
 To be what the Father would have us be 
 
 If we had but a day. 
 
 MARY L. DICKINSON. 
 [8 9 ]
 
 MARCH TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 THE disposition to give a cup of cold water to a 
 disciple, is a far nobler property than the finest 
 intellect. HOWELLS. 
 
 If you were to toil up a weary hill 
 
 Bearing a load beyond your strength to bear, 
 Straining each nerve untiringly, and still 
 
 Stumbling and losing foothold here and there, 
 And each one passing by would do so much 
 
 As give one upward lift and go their way, 
 Would not the slight reiterated touch 
 
 Of help and kindness lighten all the day? 
 
 There is no little and there is no much ; 
 
 We weigh and measure and define in vain. 
 A look, a word, a light responsive touch, 
 
 Can be the ministers of joy to pain. 
 A man can die of hunger walled in gold, 
 
 A crumb may quicken hope to stronger breath, 
 And every day we give or we withhold 
 
 Some little thing which tells for life or death. 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 
 A little kindness is never forgotten by the one who 
 receives it. It sometimes brightens a whole day ; it 
 goes far often towards lifting a heavy burden, and com- 
 forts an aching heart, and makes it forget for a time its 
 misery. You may not be able to do great things, but 
 surely you can be kind, and sympathetic, and helpful. 
 If God has blessed you, be a blessing to others! 
 
 It is good for us to think that no grace or blessing is 
 truly ours till we are aware that God has blessed some 
 one else with it through us. PHILLIPS BROOKS. 
 [90]
 
 MARCH TWENTY-FIFTH. 
 
 WHAT joy lies around us! Let us drink it in to- 
 day, thankfully, appreciatively. God is pouring 
 out blessings upon us in abundant measure. Ah, have 
 we not time to give Him praise? Let us stop in the 
 midst of our daily duties, as we pass to and fro doing 
 the innumerable things that need to be done ; aye, let 
 us stop long enough to be glad. Or, let us with lifted 
 hearts go on with our task, and go on being glad as 
 well. Our gratitude is what He wants ; let us sing, 
 smile, speak, and act it out : a joyful heart makes a 
 cheerful countenance and a light step. Do not hide 
 away your gladness ; let others share it. 
 
 "Who giveth us richly all things to enjoy." 
 
 Not by my need the measures from His store, 
 The daily gifts my daily prayers implore ; 
 His full supply no narrow limit knows, 
 For my delight His bounty overflows. 
 
 'Twere much that He had taught my hand to bring 
 Sweet sounds from echoing reed and quivering string 
 So my weak songs of praise might swifter rise, 
 To mingle with the heavenly harmonies. 
 
 But lo ! such strains as mock my highest skill, 
 For my delight a bird's soft bosom fill ; 
 Soar through my skies, on dusky wings upborne, 
 And wake my soul to rapture with the morn! 
 
 O Love Divine, that folds my being round! 
 O deeps of tenderness I cannot sound! 
 That He whose thoughts eternities employ, 
 Should touch creation's chords to give me joy ! 
 
 EMILY HUNTINGTON MILLER. 
 [91]
 
 MARCH TWENTY-SIXTH. 
 
 YOU make a hard life for yourself when you allow 
 your tongue to get the better of you. Not only 
 this, but you make it unpleasant for others as well. 
 He who learns to curb his spirit, and to keep back the 
 quick words that wound and hurt others, has gained 
 a noble victory, the victory over Self. Learn for- 
 bearance ; it will help you all through the journey of 
 life. Avoid contentions, they only make hard feelings ; 
 sharp words spoken in the morning will mar the happi- 
 ness of a whole day; don't say them, they always 
 leave a regret behind them. It is noble to keep silent 
 when the utterance of words would create a discord. 
 To be monarch of Self is far more desirable than to 
 rule a kingdom. It is the gentle word that wins ; it is 
 the "soft answer" that "turneth away wrath." 
 
 Speak gently! Tis a little thing 
 Dropp'd in the heart's deep well ; 
 
 The good, the joy which it may bring 
 Eternity shall tell. 
 
 DAVID BATES. 
 
 Kind words can never die, 
 
 Cherished and blest ; 
 God knows how deep they lie, 
 
 Lodged in the breast. 
 
 ABBY HUTCHINSON. 
 
 May you still be given 
 
 Strength for each day in house and home 
 
 To practise forbearance sweetly, 
 To scatter kind words and loving deeds, 
 
 Trusting in God completely. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 [92]
 
 MARCH TWENTY-SEVENTH. 
 
 WHAT a vast difference there is in faces! Watch 
 the various expressions in a crowd as you pass 
 to and fro, and you can read a great many unwritten 
 histories there. Those who carry heavy burdens look 
 tired and old; Youth has been banished before his 
 time, and Care has set his seal on cheek, and brow, and 
 mouth. Even the eyes have a care-worn look, and 
 your heart aches that such things must be. O weighed- 
 down humanity! It is the lot of all to bear burdens, 
 but why can we not learn to laugh care away, and go 
 on our way singing, instead of sighing? May this be 
 your resolve, to give into God's keeping the burdens 
 that are too heavy for you, and not allow yourself to 
 be troubled or cast down. 
 
 Now our wants and burdens leaving 
 To His care, who cares for all, 
 
 Cease we fearing, cease we grieving, 
 At His touch our burdens fall. 
 
 SAMUEL LONGFELLOW. 
 
 Men do not avail themselves of the riches of God's 
 grace. They love to nurse their cares, and seem as 
 uneasy without some fret as an old friar would be with- 
 out his hair girdle. They are commanded to cast their 
 cares on the Lord; but even when they attempt it, 
 they do not fail to catch them up again, and think it 
 meritorious to walk burdened. H. w. BEECHER. 
 
 We tell Thee of our care, 
 Of the sore burden, pressing day by day, 
 And in the light and pity of Thy face, 
 
 The burden melts away. 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 [93]
 
 MARCH TWENTY-EIGHTH. 
 
 f ~pHE heart that is warmed by the cheery fire of love 
 *- is never cold or indifferent. The chill winds of 
 March cannot rob it of its sunny glow, for the light 
 that comes from within burns steadily on forever. Love 
 your fellow-men ; do not simply have a passing interest 
 in them, but cultivate a genuine affection for them. 
 Commence loving them now, it will be a beginning 
 for you ; this life is only a preparation for the life to 
 come. You are to go on loving through all Eternity! 
 
 Oh, the riches love doth inherit! 
 
 Oh, the alchemy which doth change 
 Dross of body and dregs of spirit 
 
 Into sanctities rare and strange! 
 
 RICHARD REALF. 
 
 There's a spirit abroad through the waking earth, 
 
 A wondrous living power, 
 And the sons of men confess its worth 
 
 In every trying hour. 
 'Tis a joyful thought, a cheering word, 
 
 A song with a glad refrain, 
 A message in every nation heard 
 
 To bless mankind again. 
 
 Spirit of love ! O sweetly come, 
 
 Like the breath of summer flowers, 
 And breathe upon each heart and home 
 
 In this sinful world of ours ; 
 Convince, control, and permeate 
 
 With wisdom from above ; 
 Make all the earth one happy state, 
 
 One paradise of love. 
 
 WILLIAM HOYLE. 
 [94]
 
 o 
 
 MARCH TWENTY-NINTH. 
 
 IH, there is need that on men's hearts should fall 
 A spirit that can sympathize with all ! 
 
 PHCEBE GARY. 
 
 The lightest care while yet concealed, 
 Lies like a mountain on the breast ; 
 
 The heaviest grief, when once revealed, 
 Is lulled by sympathy to rest. 
 
 Relieve a bursting heart, 
 And pour into some loving ear 
 Each bitter thought, each chilling fear : 
 
 How soon will all depart! 
 And words of love like healing balm, 
 Will gently soothe and sweetly calm, 
 Till reason's almost fading ray 
 Resumes its firm and wonted sway, 
 And though thy burden be not less, 
 Thou wilt not still be comfortless. 
 
 MARION H. RAND. 
 
 Be not chary of thy sympathy while so many hearts 
 are hungering for it. Let it be fresh as the morning 
 dew, and ever ready to be bestowed on those around 
 thee. Oh, thou knowest not how many there are 
 about thee who would be glad for a sympathetic look 
 of thine that was genuine and sincere. Look around 
 thee! Is there no one who needs to be comforted to- 
 day? Perhaps it is one of thine own household who 
 needs thy tenderest sympathy, and thou hast been too 
 blind and selfish to be aware of it. To-morrow may 
 give thee another opportunity, do not neglect it ; if 
 thou art poor in all else, be rich in sympathy, thou 
 canst always have plenty of that, and to spare. 
 [95]
 
 MARCH THIRTIETH. 
 
 *" I X) every one God has given a talent. Have you 
 -- never found out what yours is? Ask God to 
 show you. Have you been saying all these years you 
 had no talent ? Ah, that is not right ; God would not 
 give to others and overlook you. The trouble is, you 
 have kept yours hidden away, while your friend, or 
 your neighbor, has been making use of his or hers. 
 Because your voice was not tuned to song, or because 
 you have not an artist's eye for form and color, do not 
 say you have no talent. If you have the gift of mak- 
 ing home happy or of adding to the pleasure of those 
 around you, have you no talent? Is it possible you 
 can so underrate His gifts ? Your talent was born with 
 you, an inheritance from God. If you have only 
 been sparingly endowed, you will have little to account 
 for ; but if liberally, how great will be your responsi- 
 bility, " for to whom much is given, much is required." 
 
 'Tis wisdom's law, the perfect code, 
 
 By love inspired, 
 Of him on whom much is bestowed 
 
 Is much required ; 
 The tuneful throat is bid to sing ; 
 The oak must reign the forest's king ; 
 The rushing stream the wheel must move ; 
 The tempered steel its strength must prove ; 
 'Tis given with the eagle's eyes 
 To face the mid-day skies. ANO NYMOUS. 
 
 Our field is the world, and our work is before us, 
 To each is appointed a message to bear ; 
 
 At home or abroad, in cottage or palace, 
 Wherever directed, our mission is there. 
 
 FANNY J. CROSBY. 
 [96]
 
 MARCH THIRTY-FIRST. 
 
 LET the month go out in tranquillity! If all the 
 winds and gusts of these blustering days are over, 
 why should we not look for a succeeding calm ? May it 
 not only bring peace to the elements, but to your heart 
 and mine as well. That we may bear malice towards 
 no one, that we may cherish no anger, feel no envy, 
 nor harbor any resentment, this is my earnest prayer 
 to-day. If our heart-gusts have ceased blowing, then 
 shall follow the inner calm too deep to be measured. 
 
 Heart-free from a thought of malice, 
 
 All envy behind us thrust, 
 Oh, may we with tranquil spirits 
 
 Be gentle, and pure, and just : 
 With ever a calm of manner, 
 
 We'll watch life's storms sweep by, 
 Then, earth shall look up and marvel, 
 
 And smile in our soul's blue sky! 
 
 I. S. T. 
 
 This outward calm is an emblem 
 
 Of the hope and joy within, 
 Of a soul at peace with its Maker, 
 
 Of a world redeemed from sin. 
 
 ANNIE R. FOLSOM 
 
 So in the morning twilight of the soul, 
 
 Would I keep silence, O my God! to Thee, 
 That thus some starry promise may unroll 
 
 Its beauty and its brilliancy for me ; 
 And from my mind, with all its various powers, 
 Shall rise sweet incense as the breath of flowers, 
 Till God's own glory gilds the glowing hours ! 
 
 ANNA LENTHAL SMITH. 
 A 7 [97]
 
 OR THE MONTH 
 OF APRIL 
 
 APRIL FIRST. 
 
 HEY for leaves and buds and flowers, 
 Opening fast through April hours! 
 All along the wayside places 
 Pink spring beauties lift their faces ; 
 And happy children soon will look 
 For violets beside the brook. 
 Hey for leaves and buds and flowers, 
 Opening fast through April hours ! 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 This is our day. Look how the world brightens, for 
 it is now the beginning of a happy time to come ! The 
 avenues of Time stand open, and we look backward 
 over the long line of Aprils that have passed away, 
 yes, they are all filled with tender memories. Those 
 were bright, happy days, but ah ! are they so sweet as 
 the present April with the golden promise of a summer 
 yet to come? Dear heart, let us be glad to-day, and 
 let us look trustingly on and beyond us, knowing that 
 God has in store many folded buds for love and happi- 
 ness that shall awaken in His sunlight and bloom for 
 us. 
 
 "The days of April," they are fair, so fair, 
 With precious promise in the budding flowers, 
 
 Promise of days all radiant, fresh, and rare, 
 Mellowed by gentle dews and fleeting showers. 
 
 ISABEL GORDON. 
 [98]
 
 ALICE CART 
 
 1820-1871
 
 APRIL SECOND. 
 
 GOD is waking His tiniest messengers to praise 
 Him, and to carry sweetness into all the world. 
 
 It is very strange that our pulses thrill 
 At the sight of a voiceless thing, 
 
 And our hearts yearn so with tenderness, 
 In the beautiful time of Spring. 
 
 N. P. WILLIS. 
 
 O violets hiding in the green, 
 
 O violets sweet and shy, 
 You have the sweetness of the earth, 
 The beauty of the sky! 
 No fairer blossom blows 
 Till Summer brings her rose. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 Violets, with all their sweetness and humility, 
 it seems to me, are linked with more tender memories 
 than any other flower. One withered violet often 
 speaks volumes ; and the odor of these little blossoms 
 will awaken thoughts that have long been sleeping, and 
 recall sorrows and joys of by-gone days. 
 
 O, faint, delicious, springtime violet! 
 
 Thine odor, like a key, 
 Turns noiselessly in memory's ward to let 
 
 A thought of sorrow free. 
 
 WILLIAM W. STORY. 
 
 Its grateful influence haunts me still ; 
 
 Grant me, I pray, the violet's part ; 
 To catch enough of joy to fill 
 
 The calyx of my thirsty heart. 
 
 JANE M. READ. 
 [99]
 
 APRIL THIRD. 
 
 SEE, all of Nature's children are growing and pro- 
 gressing ; for April days are thriving days, and 
 new beauties are opening every hour. Each blade of 
 grass is busy doing its best. What tiny things help 
 to make a world, don't they ? If you are only an atom 
 in the great mass of humanity that makes the immortal 
 part of the world, you are never lost sight of or for- 
 gotten by your Creator. He has given you this 
 beautiful growing April day, and surrounded you with 
 examples of patience and progress. Are you pushing 
 out into the sunlight of newer hope and gladness, and 
 leaving behind your dead self of doubt and discontent ? 
 
 Awake to effort while the day is shining, 
 The time to labor will not always last ; 
 
 And no regret, repentance, nor repining 
 Can bring to us again the buried past. 
 
 SARAH F. BOLTON. 
 
 Look not without for blame or praise, 
 
 Look upward and within ; 
 And through the swift revolving days, 
 
 With each thy task begin. 
 And lo! as grows the kingly tree 
 
 By force of kingly might, 
 Thy life to those around shall be 
 
 Majestic, strong, and bright. 
 
 ALICE C. JENNINGS. 
 
 Robins in the tree-tops, 
 
 Blossoms in the grass, 
 Green things a-growing 
 
 Everywhere you pass. 
 
 T. B. ALDRICH.
 
 APRIL FOURTH. 
 
 KEEP up a brave spirit ; things are never quite so 
 bad as we imagine they may be. God always lets 
 in the sunshine somewhere. Hope on ; no matter how 
 dark the way seems, it is better farther on. Do not be 
 discouraged ; if business is dull, if troubles overwhelm 
 you, if you have losses and crosses, or if you are de- 
 ceived and disappointed, go on hoping and trusting; 
 there is a good time coming for you! Take hold of 
 the every-day duties, and if they are not to your taste, 
 and of your seeking, honor them, anyway. By doing 
 these things well, you shall be found worthy of greater 
 ones. Work and hope ; your Better Day will dawn. 
 
 We expect a bright to-morrow ; 
 
 All will be well. 
 Faith can sing, through days of sorrow, 
 
 All, all is well. 
 
 MARY B. PETERS. 
 
 O wondrous day that's coming, 
 
 We hail thy herald beams ! 
 Thy rising beauties far outshine 
 
 Our fancy's fairest dreams. 
 
 MRS. LANDON. 
 
 O day long looked for, oft foretold, 
 
 Best theme of prayer and song, 
 When Truth and Right shall judgment hold, 
 
 In triumph over Wrong! 
 Young lives wear out 'twixt hope and doubt, 
 
 Young hearts grow cold and numb : 
 But God's day is our promised day, 
 
 And that is sure to come. 
 
 LEWIS J. BATES. 
 
 [101]
 
 APRIL FIFTH. 
 
 HAIL, sweet April morn! I hear the bells ringing 
 to usher thee in, for surely thou art to be a glad 
 day for somebody. 
 
 They are tolling in the tower 
 
 For another day begun, 
 And to hail the rising hour 
 
 Of a brighter, brighter Sun! 
 
 ARTHUR CLEVELAND COXE. 
 
 This is a glory of a new day ; may it be a day of 
 peace and blessing to you! Surely, methinks, some 
 days are like some lives, born to carry joy and sun- 
 shine. May this day be a messenger of happiness to 
 your heart, and may you go through the world dis- 
 tributing happiness to others. This is your royal birth- 
 right, and what nobler mission could you have than 
 this ? Oh, pure heart-happiness is a crown of glory to 
 its possessor, and if this is your gift, how fortunate you 
 are ! Keep looking on the " bright side," and gather 
 all the gladness you can find. 
 
 So, my friends, let's choose the bright side, 
 Just the happy, glorious right side, 
 Which will give us health and spirits just so long as 
 
 life shall last ; 
 
 And the sorrows that roll o'er us 
 Shall not always go before us, 
 
 If we keep a watch for blue skies and will hold its sun- 
 shine fast. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 I wish for thee not only a happy life, but a blessed 
 Eternity! 
 
 [102]
 
 APRIL SIXTH. 
 
 CONSCIENCE is merely our own judgment of the 
 ^ ' right or wrong of our actions, and so can never be 
 a safe guide unless enlightened by the word of God. 
 
 TRYON EDWARDS. 
 
 A disciplined conscience is a man's best friend. It 
 may not be his most amiable, but it is his most faithful 
 monitor. AUSTIN PHELPS. 
 
 Dare to do right ! dare to be true ! 
 You have a work that no other can do ; 
 Do it so bravely, so kindly, so well, 
 Angels will hasten the story to tell. 
 
 Dare to do right ! dare to be true ! 
 
 Love may deny you its sunshine and dew. 
 
 Let the dew fail, for then showers shall be given ; 
 
 Dew is from earth, but the showers are from Heaven. 
 
 GEORGE LANSING TAYLOR. 
 
 In ourselves is hid 
 
 The holy spirit-land, 
 Where Thought, the flaming cherub, stands 
 
 With its relentless brand ; 
 We feel the pang, when the dread sword 
 
 Inscribes the hidden sin, 
 And turneth everywhere to guard 
 
 The paradise within ! 
 
 ELIZABETH OAKES SMITH. 
 
 Keep thy conscience clean ; guard it well, for it is a 
 hidden treasure, which, if exposed too much to the 
 world, will become tarnished and callous. It is the 
 pearl which God hath shrined in thy breast ; let it not 
 lose its purity, nor its tenderness.
 
 APRIL SEVENTH. 
 
 D ( 
 
 not hurry, 
 Do not worry, 
 As this world you travel through, 
 No regretting, 
 Fuming, fretting, 
 Ever can advantage you. 
 
 Be content with what youVe won, 
 What on earth you leave undone, 
 There are plenty left to do. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 Look at the records of great men who have passed 
 away from this earth ; you wonder how we could afford 
 to give them up, but yet the world goes on just the 
 same without them, and so will it be with you. If you 
 feel that you are of the utmost importance, just remem- 
 ber this. Those who have reached the pinnacle of 
 Fame, men of deep, thoughtful minds; heroes in 
 battle ; great inventors and scientists, these have 
 finished the battle of life, and have left the world as 
 busy and as absorbed as ever. Of what did it avail 
 them to hurry and worry so ? I do not mean that it 
 is right to idle away your time, but that you should not 
 employ it in fuming and fretting about unnecessary 
 things. Do not put off the things that make for your 
 soul's welfare! 
 
 The day that we dream of comes at length, 
 When tired of every mocking quest, 
 
 And broken in spirit and shorn of strength 
 We drop, indeed, at the door of rest, 
 
 And wait and watch as the day wanes on ; 
 
 But the angels we meant to call, are gone! 
 
 MARGARET J. PRESTON. 
 [104]
 
 APRIL EIGHTH. 
 
 NO stars shine brighter than the kingly man, 
 Who nobly earns whatever crown he wears, 
 Who grandly conquers, or as grandly dies ; 
 And the white banner of his manhood bears, 
 Through all the years uplifted to the skies. 
 
 JULIA C. R. DORR. 
 
 God bless the " kingly man " he whose manhood 
 is his crown ; he who is a nobleman by nature ; he 
 who honors God, and is honored by Him. In resist- 
 ing temptation to do wrong, in overcoming evil, in 
 doing each duty earnestly, ah, therein lies his title 
 to his crown. Life is worth your best effort, your 
 noblest endeavor ; therefore let no day go by without 
 taking a step upward. 
 
 No man is coward who beholds the truth, 
 
 Who simply guesses what is God's great thought, 
 
 Or hears His awful voice in thunder blast. 
 
 He must be noble, must be brave, forsooth, 
 
 Who strives for prizes which His hands have wrought, 
 
 And as a victor sovereign reigns at last. 
 
 MARY A. RIPLEY. 
 
 "Look forward, and not back!" Each lost en- 
 deavor 
 
 May be a step upon thy chosen path : 
 All that the past withheld, in larger measure, 
 
 Somewhere in willing trust the future hath. 
 Near and more near the Ideal stoops to meet 
 The steadfast coming of unfaltering feet. 
 
 FRANCES LAUGHTON MACE.
 
 APRIL NINTH. 
 
 IN all intercourse no armor is so becoming and so 
 protective as a gentlemanly demeanor, and when 
 we think how intimate, diversified, unavoidable, indis- 
 pensable, how daily and hourly are our relations with 
 our fellow-men, we cannot but become aware how much 
 it concerns us, for our pleasure and our profit, and for 
 a deeper satisfaction, to be affable and gentlemanly, 
 and arm ourselves with a bearing that shall be the 
 expression of self-respect, purified by respect for others. 
 
 GEORGE HENRY CALVERT. 
 
 How sweet and gracious, even in common speech, 
 Is that fine sense which men call Courtesy! 
 Wholesome as air and genial as the light, 
 Welcome in every clime as breath of flowers, 
 It transmutes aliens into trusting friends, 
 And gives its owner passport round the globe. 
 
 JAMES T. FIELDS. 
 
 Gentlemen are bound, as are the stars, 
 To stoop not after rising. 
 
 N. P. WILLIS. 
 
 Be courteous to all ; it is ennobling to yourself and 
 others. He who is a stranger to courtesy and gentle- 
 ness is inspired with a longing to be something better 
 than he is, if you treat him with deference and respect, 
 no matter how lowly and humble may be his station. 
 It costs very little to be civil and polite, and in no way 
 can a man show his true manhood than through acts 
 of kindly courtesy. Pray remember this. Cultivate 
 a spirit of though tfulness, and do not forget how much 
 depends upon being genuinely polite ; the true gentle- 
 man is always thinking of others. 
 [106]
 
 APRIL TENTH. 
 
 AND have we not all our ships at sea? You have 
 yours, and I have mine ; they are sailing, sailing 
 far away, and we are waiting to hail the day that brings 
 them safely back again. When shall they come, and 
 how freighted, I wonder? with love? with gladness? 
 with wealth, or health? With sweet contentment, or 
 careless pleasure ? with pain, or sorrow, or vain regrets ? 
 Our Father knows ! We may safely trust Him to guide 
 and speed them through wind and storm. Though 
 heavy laden with gay good wishes when first we 
 launched them, we cannot tell if He shall send them 
 again to greet us, still buoyant. That yours may come 
 with flying sails, and bring you peace and winsome 
 joy, this is my dearest wish for you to-day! 
 
 Whether of high or low degree, 
 
 All men and women have ships at sea ; 
 
 Some are speeding over the main, 
 
 And will never return again ; 
 
 Some that have sailed the world around, 
 
 With precious freight are homeward bound ; 
 
 Some are tossed where the breakers free 
 
 Leap over the wrecks down into the sea. 
 
 G. W. BUNGAY. 
 
 White in the sunshine her sails will be gleaming. 
 
 See, where my ship comes in ; 
 At mast-head and peak her colors streaming, 
 
 Proudly she's sailing in ; 
 
 Love, hope, and joy on her decks are cheering, 
 Music will welcome her glad appearing, 
 And my heart will sing at her stately nearing, 
 
 When my ship comes in. 
 
 ROBERT J. BURDETTE. 
 [107]
 
 APRIL ELEVENTH. 
 
 DO you count the mercies? Every day you have 
 them showered upon you from God's lavish hand. 
 Do you take them as a matter of course, and forget to 
 be thankful for them? Oh, how wrong this is! God 
 is so good and so kind to remember all we need, and 
 to abundantly supply our wants ; then how sadly un- 
 grateful we are if we fail to appreciate our blessings. 
 Every ill we are spared, every danger from which we 
 are protected, every sorrow which passes us by, are 
 not these mercies ? It is the common every-day bene- 
 fits, that are showered upon us from sun to sun, that 
 we are not grateful enough for. Let us begin anew ; 
 let us teach our hearts to praise God, "who daily 
 loadeth us with benefits." 
 
 Dear Lord, are we ever so thankful, 
 
 As thankful we should be to Thee, 
 For Thine angels sent down to defend us 
 
 From dangers our eyes never see ; 
 From perils that lurk unsuspected, 
 
 The powers of earth and of air, 
 The while we are Heaven protected 
 
 And guarded from evil and snare? 
 
 Are we grateful, as grateful we should be ; 
 
 For commonplace days of delight, 
 When safe we fare forth to our labor, 
 
 And safe we fare homeward at night ; 
 For the weeks in which nothing has happened 
 
 Save commonplace toiling and play, 
 When we've worked at the tasks of the household 
 
 And peace hushed the house day by day ? 
 
 MARGARET E. SANGSTER. 
 [108]
 
 APRIL TWELFTH. 
 
 ONE day at a time, this is enough. Do not look 
 back and grieve over the past, for it is gone ; and 
 do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet 
 come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful 
 that it will be worth remembering. 
 
 Only one day at a time, dear heart, 
 
 Only one day at a time ; 
 One day's sorrows and cares and joys 
 
 To weave into soulful rhyme. 
 One day's journey along the way, 
 
 Toilsome and rough and drear, 
 Courage, dear heart! soon cometh the night, 
 
 Then will come rest ; don't fear. 
 
 Bright and cheery the sun may rise 
 
 Over the morrow's way, 
 Turning the rocks to nuggets of gold, 
 
 Chasing the shadows away. 
 Give thyself to its cheering power, 
 
 Gather its shining gold, 
 Store it away for a darker hour, 
 
 When sunny skies grow cold. 
 
 One day's burden thy hands may bear, 
 
 Nay, 'tis enough, dear heart! 
 Borrow not aught of to-morrow's care, 
 
 Cheerily bear thy part. 
 Strength shall be given thee, hour by hour ; 
 
 With movement slow or fast, 
 One by one they will glide away 
 
 Into the shadowy past. 
 
 MARY MORRISON. 
 [109]
 
 APRIL THIRTEENTH. 
 
 HEART-CONFIDENCES are very sweet, when 
 trustingly given, and faithfully kept. Surely we 
 may give our dearest and best secrets into God's keep- 
 ing and know that He will tenderly guard them. 
 There is no want for the day but He will be glad to 
 know, and no joy or sorrow but He would willingly 
 share. Let us, then, whisper into His listening ear 
 our hopes and wishes for the day ; and in this quiet 
 hour of peace seek guidance, strength renewed, and 
 light to lead us onward, through life's way. 
 
 If in our thoughts, by Thee made calm and clear, 
 The brightening image of Thy face we see, 
 
 What hour of all our lives can be so dear 
 As this still hour with Thee ! 
 
 LUCY LARCOM. 
 
 Ah, 'tis quiet hours like these 
 
 When we wistfully look above, 
 And see the works of the great, good God, 
 
 And think of His tender love, 
 That helps us brave to be 
 
 And strengthens us on our way, 
 Till the night of life is merged at last 
 
 In eternity's perfect day. 
 
 CHARLOTTE L. SEAVER. 
 
 And yet He smiles upon us in His grace. 
 
 Our glad hearts thrill, and say, 
 
 " He is not far away." 
 
 His love streams round us like the sunrise ray ; 
 Though far above us, past the azure sky, 
 Yet, with the love we long for, He is nigh. 
 
 JANE MARIA READ. 
 [MO]
 
 APRIL FOURTEENTH. 
 
 HHHE spirit of resurrection breathes on all around ; 
 J- may thoughts of Christ and His resurrection fill 
 your hearts to-day! The gloom of winter has passed 
 and gone, the chilling winds have taken flight, the 
 snows have melted, and where was once frozen, barren 
 ground, now lies the velvet sod and springing flowers. 
 Oh, if your heart has been cold and unyielding, may it 
 awake and blossom too, and many sweet and tender 
 thoughts outbreathe in words of truth and goodness ! 
 
 The solemn Lenten bells have merged in joyful chime, 
 They ring out full and free the song of Easter time. 
 The passion-flowered cross no longer tells of death, 
 A resurrected life speaks in the lilies' breath. 
 
 The censer flowers exhale their perfume pure and sweet, 
 And while their odors rare our quickened senses greet, 
 Let all our souls await in reverent hope and love 
 The Spirit's brooding care descending from above. 
 
 May all our votive hearts be alabasters white, 
 Which, breaking to our Lord, in consecration's rite, 
 We gladly give. Their perfume shall be hope, this 
 
 hour, 
 And faith, which ends in deed love's perfect-petalled 
 
 flower. 
 
 So for us all no real death shall be, though riven 
 The silver cord, or broke the golden bowl, since, given 
 By Christ, immortal life is ours. For us no night, 
 Since Heaven, our other home, is white with during 
 light. 
 
 LOUISE S. BAKER. 
 [Ill]
 
 APRIL FIFTEENTH. 
 
 LINCOLN MEMORIAL DAY. 
 " With malice toward none, with charity for alV 
 
 r T^HERE are times in the history of men and nations 
 J- when they stand so near the veil that separates 
 mortals and immortals, time from eternity, and men 
 from their God, that they can almost hear the pulsa- 
 tions of the Infinite. Through such a time has this 
 nation passed from the field of honor through that thin 
 veil to the presence of God, and when at last its part- 
 ing folds admitted that martyred President to the com- 
 pany of the dead heroes of the Republic, the nation 
 stood so near the veil that the whispers of God were 
 heard by the children of men. JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 O Slavery, Abraham Lincoln, the brave, 
 Reached out in his pity our nation to save, 
 He struck the fell blow that was death unto thee ; 
 That blow, praise the Lord! made America free. 
 And Freedom, the dignified daughter of Peace, 
 Each year shall his merited praises increase ; 
 The sun shall turn cold and its light fade away 
 Ere the world shall forget him we honor to-day. 
 
 How modest, forgiving, and gentle he was ; 
 How slow to condemn, without heaviest cause ; 
 How ready to succor the helpless and weak ; 
 In deep provocation, how careful to speak! 
 How honors became him ! nor did he once boast, 
 Though placed at the head of America's host. 
 
 We'll crown him with laurels, will honor his dust, 
 Our Abraham Lincoln, the noble and just! 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR. 
 [112]
 
 APRIL SIXTEENTH. 
 
 GOD gives us our conscience as a guide ; we stand 
 alone, and are at liberty to obey or disobey its 
 whispers. Each one is left, in a measure, to follow 
 the promptings of his own will. We are expected to 
 live a true, honorable life, and to cast around us an 
 influence for good over others. This is what we 
 should strive for, to climb up as near Heaven as we 
 can, and to take our fellow-men with us. 
 
 If it be true and this I surely know, 
 That I shall reap the very kind I sow, 
 That I must stand alone not for another, 
 And answer for myself not for my brother ; 
 Then should I waste my life in fruitless care, 
 For what another's conscience has to bear, 
 Save, if I may, to bear some humble part 
 To lift the burden from an aching heart ? 
 
 JAMES W. BARKER. 
 
 I pray to live, 
 
 Though small the circuit given, 
 In earnest zeal, to bless and give 
 My best to other lives to live 
 Approved by truth and Heaven! 
 
 MARION DALANA DANIEL. 
 
 If we work upon marble, it will perish ; if we work 
 upon brass, time will efface it; if we rear temples, 
 they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon 
 immortal minds, if we imbue them with principles, 
 
 with the just fear of God and love of our fellow-men, 
 
 we engrave on those tablets something that will 
 brighten to all eternity. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 A 8 [113]
 
 APRIL SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 WHAT God and your better nature tell you to do, 
 arise and obey. Not with dilatory manner, 
 and slow, lagging steps, but with the gladness of 
 cheerful, ready obedience, and as one who goes forth 
 to meet a welcome guest. If the duty is irksome, 
 still go forward and obey. If there are obstacles that 
 obstruct your path, do not stand back : God never 
 exacts obedience to impossibilities ; the way will be 
 opened, if you only trust and obey. The trouble is, 
 too many of us are trying to go forward in our own 
 strength, and do not seek to be guided by God and 
 Truth. We turn a deaf ear to the Divine whisper, 
 and this is why we make so many failures. First 
 listen, and then obey. 
 
 O God, my flesh may tremble 
 
 When Thou speakest to my soul ; 
 But it cannot shun Thy presence blessed, 
 
 Nor shrink from Thy control. 
 A joy my spirit cheereth 
 
 That cannot pass away : 
 Speak, for Thy servant heareth, 
 
 And heareth to obey. 
 
 Thou biddest me to utter 
 
 Words that I scarce may speak, 
 And mighty things were laid on me, 
 
 A helpless one, and weak : 
 Darkly Thy truth declareth 
 
 Its purpose and its way : 
 Speak, for Thy servant heareth, 
 
 And heareth to obey. 
 
 JULIA WARD HOWE. 
 
 [114]
 
 APRIL EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 HOW perfect is the plan of Nature! The earth 
 lies richly dressed to-day in the beautiful garb 
 of blossoming Spring. What an awakening! what a 
 jubilee! Everything is sprouting, and pulsing, and 
 reaching out into the light. O Dreamer, dream no 
 longer ; thou hast a work before thee. Push up into 
 the light of a nobler existence. Let the secret work- 
 ings of the spring-time begin in thy soul ; through the 
 dull earth-life of Self arise and plume thyself for flight. 
 Mount upward, no longer dream, but act. 
 
 I have done, at length, with dreaming ; 
 
 Henceforth, O thou Soul of mine, 
 Thou must take up sword and gauntlet, 
 
 Waging warfare most divine. 
 Life is struggle, combat, victory, 
 
 Wherefore have I slumbered on 
 With my forces all unmarshalled, 
 
 With my weapons all undrawn? 
 Oh, how many a glorious record 
 
 Had the angel of me kept, 
 Had I done instead of doubted, 
 
 Had I warred instead of wept ! 
 
 Yet, my Soul, look not behind thee, 
 
 Thou hast work to do at last ; 
 Let the brave toil of the Present 
 
 Overarch the crumbling Past ; 
 Build thy great acts high, and higher, 
 
 Build them on the conquered sod 
 Where thy weakness first fell bleeding, 
 
 And thy first prayer rose to God. 
 
 CAROLINE A. BRIGGS.
 
 APRIL NINETEENTH. 
 
 " A SSOCIATION begets assimilation," is an old- 
 /x fashioned motto, but nevertheless a very true 
 one. We are naturally more or less affected by the 
 company we keep. If we would be gentle and refined 
 in manner and conversation, let us choose our asso- 
 ciates among those who are cultivated and pure ; those 
 who have learned, not merely the grace of outward 
 composure, but who possess the gentleness of mind, 
 as well. Let us remember, too, that our influence is 
 of no small account. If we would be surrounded by 
 refinement, we must be pure and refined ourselves. 
 
 And men are polished, through act and speech, 
 
 Each by each, 
 As pebbles are smoothed on the rolling beach. 
 
 J. T. TROWBRIDGE. 
 
 Cast my heart's gold into the furnace flame, 
 And if it comes out thence refined and pure, 
 I'll be a bankrupt to thy hope, and Heaven 
 Shall shut its gates on me. 
 
 LYDIA H. SIGOURNEY. 
 
 True refinement is not mere outside polish. It is 
 purity, gentleness, and grace in the heart which, like 
 the perfume of a flower, breathe out and bathe all the 
 life in sweetness. It is not mental culture ; there is 
 often true refinement where education has been lim- 
 ited, where, in the speech you may detect faults and 
 errors. On the other hand, there is sometimes high 
 intellectual training and furnishing without any true 
 refinement. That which really refines is purity of 
 mind and heart. ANONYMOUS. 
 [116]
 
 APRIL TWENTIETH. 
 
 IT is much easier to arm ourselves to face a great 
 battle, than to be able to meet the little daily thrusts 
 from the enemy. It is the little things that make or 
 mar our life, that sweeten or embitter our disposition, 
 and that prepare or unfit us for Heaven. We look at 
 disappointments and trials very differently. While 
 one may use them as stepping-stones to some great 
 good, another will frown and fret and grow irritable 
 under them ; often, though we cannot see it at the 
 time, these same disappointments have resulted in our 
 happiness. The discipline was severe, but how much 
 better it is to bear it patiently and trust to our dear 
 Heavenly Father to bring out of it a blessing, than to 
 chafe under it and think our lot too hard to bear. Be 
 patient; it is the oft-repeated thrust that is far more 
 trying than the one great blow. Make a pleasure of 
 every duty, and do not allow the little worries to rob 
 your temper of its sweetness. 
 
 We call him strong who stands unmoved 
 Calm as some tempest-beaten rock 
 When some great trouble hurls its shock ; 
 
 We say of him, " His strength is proved" : 
 
 But, when the spent storm folds its wings, 
 How bears he then Life's little things? 
 
 ELLEN P. ALLERTON. 
 
 The little touch may hurt the most 
 
 A harsh or kind word spoken 
 May light another's darkened way 
 
 Or pierce a spirit broken. 
 
 MRS. J. C. FIELD.
 
 R 
 
 APRIL TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 1EMEMBER that what you believe will depend 
 very much upon what you are. NOAH PORTER. 
 
 In the destiny of every moral being, there is an 
 object more worthy of God than happiness. It is 
 character. And the grand aim of man's creation is 
 the development of a grand character; and grand 
 character is, by its very nature, the product of proba- 
 tionary discipline. AUSTIN PHELPS. 
 
 Oh! let all the soul within you 
 For the truth's sake go abroad! 
 
 Strike, let every nerve and sinew 
 Tell on ages, tell for God! 
 
 ARTHUR CLEVELAND COXE. 
 
 Not in rewards, but in the strength to strive, 
 The blessing lies, and new experience gained ; 
 
 In daily duties done, hope kept alive, 
 That Love and Thought are housed and entertained. 
 
 J. T. TROWBRIDGE. 
 
 Love. Truth, and Justice are good foundations for 
 a strong character. Build well, for the eye of the In- 
 finite is watching, and the world is watching too. Aim 
 high ; lofty aspirations are vastly important in char- 
 acter-building. 
 
 A man is what he is, not what men say he is. His 
 character is what is before God. That no man can 
 touch ; only he himself can damage it. His reputation 
 is what men say he is. That may be damaged. Rep- 
 utation is for time; character is for eternity. j. B. 
 
 GOUGH. 
 
 [118]
 
 APRIL TWENTY-SECOND. 
 
 MAY this be a happy day to thee! Be thou a 
 blessing to thyself, and thou shalt then prove a 
 blessing to others. Some one has said, " The best 
 receipt for the year's happiness is summed up in one 
 word : kindness. Kindness to others, unselfish giving, 
 doing good as the opportunity is afforded, will make a 
 life, not happy merely, but blessed." Thou hast, per- 
 haps, many noble qualities of mind thou art true and 
 faithful in thy affections and duties, and conscientious 
 in word and deed : thou art kind too, it may be, but 
 there are many ways of being kind : there is the kind- 
 ness for humanity's sake, and the kindness for Christ's 
 sake. As Christ is the King of humanity, I wish for 
 thee the triumphant joy of being kind for His sake. 
 As soon as thou hast attained to this, thou shalt 
 possess true happiness. 
 
 Look at him 
 
 Who reads aright the image on his soul, 
 And gives it nurture like a child of light, 
 His life is calm and blessed, for his peace, 
 Like a rich pearl beyond the diver's ken, 
 Lies deep in his own bosom. He is pure, 
 For the soul's errands are not done with men ; 
 His senses are subdued and serve the soul. 
 
 N. P. WILLIS. 
 
 Life hath but shadows, save a promise given, 
 Which lights the future with a fadeless ray, 
 
 Oh, touch the sceptre ! win a hope in Heaven ; 
 Come, turn thy spirit from the world away! 
 
 WILLIS G. CLARK. 
 ["9]
 
 APRIL TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 YOUR text for to-day, "God knows." What if 
 you do make mistakes? Never mind them, so 
 the motive was right : you meant to do your best, and 
 it was the wrong thing, after all. And now you are dis- 
 couraged and disheartened, and feel, perhaps, that your 
 life has been a miserable failure. Oh don't feel so ! Just 
 remember that if others do not understand, God does. 
 
 O tired heart, 
 God knows ! 
 Not you nor I, 
 
 Who reach our hands for gifts 
 That wise love must deny. 
 We blunder where we fain would do our best, 
 Until a-weary, then we cry, " Do Thou the rest." 
 And in His hands the tangled threads we place, 
 Of our poor, blind weaving, with a shamed face. 
 All trust of ours He sacredly will keep, 
 So tired heart God knows go thou to work or 
 sleep. 
 
 O tired heart, 
 God knows, 
 Where we but guess, 
 Of unknown future years, 
 
 Their joys or bitterness. 
 For we are finite, limited, enfurled, 
 His vision in its sweep reaches from world to world. 
 Our hidden, complex selves, His eye doth see, 
 And with exceeding tenderness, weighs equally. 
 O wisdom infinite! O love naught can o'erwhelm! 
 Rest, tired heart God knows, give unto Him the 
 helm. 
 
 HANNAH CODDINGTON. 
 [120]
 
 APRIL TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 HHHERE'S a mighty temptation, the growth of the 
 1 age, 
 
 Deep set in the life of to-day ; 
 
 There is falsehood, that staineth the world's printed 
 page, 
 
 That leadeth in dishonor's way. 
 To be true to the best that lies in our power, 
 To be true to the right, is the need of the hour. 
 
 ELLEN DARE. 
 
 Oh, if the world would only be " true to the right " ! 
 It is because they reach out after false doctrines and 
 ideas that the need of the hour is so great. Get into 
 the good old paths of Truth and Right ; they are safe 
 roads, and lead to a safe abode. Keep clear of the 
 side-tracks ; you only lose time by walking in them, for, 
 although they may allure you for a while, you will soon 
 long for the old tried paths your fathers trod. Oh, the 
 need of the hour is to be strong and true, and to follow 
 Right, as closely as we can! 
 
 Man should dare all things that he knows are right, 
 And fear to do no act save what is wrong ; 
 
 But, guided safely by his inward light, 
 And with a permanent belief, and strong, 
 
 In Him who is our Father and our Friend, 
 
 He should walk steadfastly unto the end. 
 
 PHCEBE GARY, 
 
 What hast thou wrought for Right and Truth, 
 
 For God and Man, 
 From the golden hours of bright-eyed youth 
 
 To life's mid span? 
 
 JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER. 
 [121]
 
 APRIL TWENTY-FIFTH. 
 
 *T~*HERE is no journey of life but has its clouded 
 J- days ; and there are some days in which our 
 eyes are so blinded with tears that we find it hard to 
 see our way or even read God's promises. Those 
 days that have a bright sunrise, followed by sudden 
 thunderclaps and bursts of unlooked-for sorrows, are 
 the ones that test certain of our graces most severely. 
 Yet the law of spiritual eyesight very closely resembles 
 the law of physical optics. When we come suddenly 
 out of the daylight into a room even moderately 
 darkened, we can discern nothing ; but the pupil of 
 our eye gradually enlarges until unseen objects become 
 visible. Even so the pupil of the eye of faith has the 
 blessed faculty of enlarging in dark hours of bereave- 
 ment, so we discover that our loving Father's hand is 
 holding the cup of trial, and by and by the gloom be- 
 comes luminous with glory. THEODORE CUYLER. 
 
 O my Father! Thou hast made me 
 I have life, and life must have its way ; 
 
 Why should love and gladness be gainsaid me ? 
 Why should shadows cloud my little day ? 
 
 CONSTANCE FENIMORE WOOLSON. 
 
 I'm walking in the shadow, 
 
 But lo ! the morning breaks, 
 And with its glad returning, 
 
 My hope renewed awakes. 
 
 MRS. F. C. VAN ALSTYNE. 
 
 May God clear away all shadows from your sky, and 
 fill your pathway with the wondrous light of His love ; 
 and may you walk heavenward with Him!
 
 APRIL TWENTY-SIXTH. 
 
 GIVE words, kind words to those who err ; 
 Remorse doth need a comforter. 
 
 Though in temptation's wiles they fall, 
 Condemn not we are sinners all. 
 With the sweet charity of speech, 
 Give words that heal, and words that teach. 
 
 LYDIA H. SIGOURNEY. 
 
 It is the charity of speech that we all need. We are 
 ever too ready to condemn and misjudge others. So 
 often we are deceived by appearances, and we allow 
 ourselves to be prejudiced against our neighbor ; then 
 we speak a little unkind word, or make a little slight- 
 ing remark, or perhaps it is not even this much, it 
 may only be a mere look of disapproval or a disdainful 
 shrug. Oh, how un-Christlike this is ! Let us try to 
 find excuses for the faults of others. 
 
 You may whisper words of comfort 
 
 That will hope and faith renew, 
 You may drop a gentle warning, 
 
 That will keep a whole life true ; 
 You may touch a soul by mildness, 
 
 And by words of love and cheer, 
 That would never yield or soften 
 
 1 Neath a cruel scoff or jeer. 
 
 Like a heavenly benediction 
 
 Falling softly from above, 
 Thrills the sympathetic kindness 
 
 Through the words of hope and love. 
 
 MARTHA C. OLIVER.
 
 APRIL TWENTY-SEVENTH. 
 
 AND now from field to field the patient sower 
 wends his way, and scatters carefully the tiny 
 seed, when he has ploughed the yielding sod. The 
 sun, by day, looks down and smiles, all glad and 
 warm ; the moon and stars, by night, shine radiant 
 and dear, while shower and dew and freshening winds 
 all bear a willing part to wake to life the hidden germ 
 that lies beneath the soil. As thou dost go, O child 
 of man, upon the pilgrimage of earth, cast forth thy 
 seed with lavish hand. The Heavenly Sun shall add 
 His beams, the Light celestial downward shine, the 
 showers of mercy shall on the waiting seed descend, 
 till lo ! in fields of Love and Truth shall wave the har- 
 vests thou hast sown, to feed the hungry heart of man. 
 
 Our field is the world ! let us forth to the sowing ; 
 
 O'er valley and mountain, o'er desert and plain ; 
 Beside the still waters thro 1 cool meadows flowing ; 
 
 O'er regions unblest by the dew and the rain. 
 
 Let us scatter the seed, tho' in sorrow and weeping ; 
 
 Tho' fields should be verdureless, wintry and bare ; 
 The Lord of the harvest hath still in His keeping 
 
 Each seed as it falls, and will guard it with care. 
 
 Then each for his reaping, and each for his mourning, 
 Shall sometime rejoice when the harvest is won, 
 
 And know, in the flush of eternity's morning, 
 The toil, the reward, and the glory are one ! 
 
 MRS. J. C. YULE. 
 
 [124]
 
 APRIL TWENTY-EIGHTH. 
 
 DOUBT not, dear troubled Heart! Hast thou been 
 deceived and disappointed? Hast thou grown 
 cold and distrustful ? I beseech thee do not let these 
 things take away thy joy and peace. Who cares for 
 the birds in the brooding winter days? God shows 
 them where to go, and they trust in Him, and go sing- 
 ing. So shouldst thou, O Doubter, fly to the sum- 
 merland of His love, when cares are heavy and losses 
 are great. He will never forsake thee ; then doubt 
 no longer! 
 
 Doubt, like a shadowy shape of wrong, 
 Pursues appalls me ; but I hold 
 A little leading thread of gold ; 
 
 Therefore, O doubting heart, be strong. 
 
 MARY A. LATHBURY. 
 
 O, children beloved, will you not understand 
 
 'Tis the doubt in the heart that unnerves the hand ? 
 
 To the arm of the child, that would trust Me all, 
 
 With never a doubt of what would befall, 
 
 I could give the strength and the courage and skill 
 
 Of the mightiest angel that does My will. 
 
 MARIA LOUISE EVE. 
 
 God grant that all who watch to-day 
 Beside their sepulchres of Loss 
 
 May see the great stone roll away 
 May see, at last with vision clear, 
 The shining angel standing near, 
 
 And through the dimly lighted soul 
 
 Again may Joy's evangel roll 
 The glory of the Cross ! 
 
 JULIA H. THAYER.
 
 APRIL TWENTY-NINTH. 
 
 ISN'T it strange what a variety of happenings falls to 
 our lot? You think your life uneventful, common- 
 place, monotonous, but this is really not so. It is as 
 full of changes as a summer sky. One moment you 
 are all sunshine, the next all tears ; one day you are 
 buoyant with hope, the next despondent with fear. 
 Anger sometimes takes entire possession of you, and 
 then melts away to give place to forgiveness. Joy 
 tunes your lips to song, but in the midst of your glad- 
 ness grief lays her cruel hand upon you, and you are 
 plunged into blackest despair. Yes, there are shadows 
 and sorrows; but, thank God! there is always light 
 beyond, and you have only to lift your eyes to see it 
 shining full and clear the radiance of an eternal 
 Hope that shall never be lost. 
 
 Thou shalt have sun and shower from Heaven above, 
 Thou shalt have flower and thorn from earth below, 
 
 Thine shall be foe to hate and friend to love, 
 Pleasure that others gain, the ills they know, 
 And all in a lifetime. 
 
 EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN. 
 
 The winds of God shall sweep the clouds 
 
 Away across the sky, 
 And all the shades shall be dispelled 
 
 That in the valleys lie ; 
 And though these shadows linger still, 
 
 The heart with rapture thrills, 
 That while we wait and work and pray 
 
 The light shines on the hills! 
 
 ELIZA O. PIERSON. 
 
 [126]
 
 APRIL THIRTIETH. 
 
 I KNOW not why, but I am sure 
 That tint and place, 
 In some great fabric to endure 
 
 Past time and race 
 My threads will have. 
 
 HELEN HUNT JACKSON. 
 
 Let God choose the pattern for your work. You 
 would only confuse the colors and begin it all wrong. 
 He sets the threads even and true, and gives the 
 shuttles into your hands that you may do the work 
 yourself. And how often you have grumbled and 
 envied some one else their task and their surroundings. 
 Be willing to be guided by the Master-hand ; it makes 
 no mistakes. Your part is but to take the place 
 appointed, and follow your pattern, and to lose no time 
 in doing your best. April is slipping away, and leaves 
 you with the unfinished weft of your life-work in your 
 hands. Trust God to show you how to weave each 
 thread for Him. 
 
 I leave my life with Thee, my Lord ; 
 
 I dare not seek to know 
 What pattern Thou hast set for me 
 
 To work, as on I go. 
 
 SUSAN V. ALDRICH. 
 
 I cannot tell, but gladly leave 
 
 All in my Father's hands ; 
 Assured that, as the past has been, 
 
 The future still shall be ; 
 Each day will bring its needed grace, 
 
 Its needed strength to me. 
 
 MARY K. BUCK. 
 
 [127]
 
 OR THE MONTH 
 OF MAY 
 
 MAY FIRST. 
 
 HAIL, bonny May! we welcome thee to earth once 
 more. April's gates have closed behind her, and 
 left only the sweet remembrance of her presence ; mild- 
 ness, verdure, bird-song, and quickened life are evidences 
 of her visitation, and the earth is still sprinkled with 
 her little violet children. And now it is May-day ; the 
 lilacs are nodding their purple and white plumes, and 
 the sweet-breathed cherry blossoms are hourly opening 
 into new white stars. In full, symmetrical globes of 
 bloom stands the stately gelder-rose, lifting her crown 
 of purity up into the blue sky, and all the earth 
 rejoices and praises God. 
 
 Around the May-pole, hand in hand, 
 
 The merry children dance, 
 And make of earth a fairy-land 
 
 Of beauty and romance, 
 As in and out they swiftly glide, 
 
 Adorned with flowers gay, 
 And fling their garlands far and wide 
 
 To greet the beauteous May! 
 
 I. s. T. 
 
 O listen! the Jubilate 
 
 From every bough is poured, 
 And earth in the smile of the springtime 
 
 Arises to greet her Lord ! 
 
 FRANCES LAUGHTON MACE. 
 [128]
 
 DONALD G. MITCHELL 
 IS22
 
 MAY SECOND. 
 
 THE world is wondrous fair to-day. There is 
 beauty and fragrance all around us : the orchards 
 are steeped in perfume, and there is a fluttering of 
 rosy-tinted wings against the soft blue sky with every 
 passing breeze. Millions of airy butterflies seem flit- 
 ting past, and yet they are not butterflies at all, but the 
 silky petals of the blushing apple blooms. May God 
 keep your heart as pure and guileless as the blossoms 
 of the apple-tree, and grant that the influence of your 
 life may shed a perfume on all other hearts around you 
 that shall sweeten them as long as life shall last. 
 
 The apple-trees are laden with blossoms to-day, 
 White blossoms as pure as the snow that fell 
 
 From Heaven, and clothed all the slumbering trees 
 In robes that would grace the fair angels as well. 
 
 ISABELLA W. MCCONIHE. 
 
 Heart! yield up thy fruitless quest, 
 
 Beneath the apple-tree ; 
 Youth comes but once, love only once, 
 
 And May but once to thee! 
 
 ELIZABETH STUART PHELPS. 
 
 The apple-tree blooms, and forgets that she has ever 
 been fragrant and beautiful. She lays aside her deli- 
 cate attire, and, screening herself in leafy shadow, 
 begins to make preparations for harvest. Thou too, if 
 not beautiful, canst at least be dutiful, that thy soul's 
 harvest may be abundant. If thou doest noble deeds, 
 be forgetful of them, and, like the apple-tree, go quietly 
 on doing the work God appoints for thee. 
 A 9 [129]
 
 MAY THIRD. 
 
 IF we keep pace with Nature and the times, we must 
 not be content with what we are. The mind and 
 soul within us are hungering to be fed. To feed the 
 body is not enough ; the intellectual and spiritual part 
 of us needs a far greater storehouse than the temporal. 
 We are like the little stream that trickles down the 
 mountain-side, gathering new force from smaller 
 streams; we reach out for something to help and 
 strengthen us every day, for we are all rushing onward 
 to join the great sea of Eternity. We may be content 
 with our outer surroundings, but to be satisfied with 
 self and the inner life makes of our existence a complete 
 failure. 
 
 No man may say at night 
 
 His goal is reached ; the hunger for the light 
 Moves with the star ; our thirst will not depart 
 
 Howe'er we drink. 'Tis what before us goes 
 Keeps us aweary, will not let us lay 
 Our heads in dreamland, though the enchanted palm 
 
 Rise from our desert ; though the fountain grows 
 Up in our path, with slumber's flowing balm ; 
 
 The soul is o'er the horizon far away. 
 
 JOHN JAMES PIATT. 
 
 O, laggard soul! unclose thine eyes 
 
 No more in luxury soft 
 Of joy ideal waste thyself: 
 
 Awake, and soar aloft! 
 Unfurl this hour those falcon wings 
 
 Which thou dost fold too long ; 
 Raise to the skies thy lightning gaze, 
 
 And sing thy loftiest song! 
 
 FRANCES S. OSGOOD. 
 
 [130]
 
 MAY FOURTH. 
 
 TVTO matter what may come, be assured that God 
 * ^1 loves you. It is such a sweet, comforting love ; 
 such a full, boundless love ; such a pitying, protecting 
 love. Oh, the love of God ! it is broad enough to cover 
 the whole wide world, and all Heaven besides! It 
 has neither beginning nor end, and it will go on, and 
 on, and on, forever! 
 
 Of this I'm sure : if sorrow waits, 
 
 God's love is waiting, too ; 
 I'll lean my weakness on His strength, 
 
 And He will bear me through. 
 
 MARY K. BUCK. 
 
 And so through this weary world we go, 
 Bearing our burdens of needless woe, 
 Carrying hearts that are heavy and slow, 
 
 Under their load of care ; 
 When, oh, if we only, only knew 
 That God is tender and kind and true, 
 And that He loves us through and through, 
 
 Our hearts would be lighter than air. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 Bid Christ's unceasing love and boundless power 
 Light for each problem, strength for duty bring ; 
 
 Cleansing for sin, till Heaven's own glorious hour 
 In sweetness shall dissolve each bitter thing. 
 
 ALICE C. JENNINGS. 
 
 Step after step, feeling Thee close beside me, 
 
 Although unseen, 
 Assured Thy faithfulness cannot betray, 
 
 Thy love decay. 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 
 [131]
 
 MAY FIFTH. 
 
 A DAY WITH MEMORY. 
 
 WHO does not enjoy taking a little backward look 
 sometimes? Walk out into the May sunshine, 
 breathe the sweet pure air and smell the fragrance of 
 spicy woods and opening flowers. Is there anything 
 that does not remind you of some long-ago time ? The 
 same blue sky once smiled on you when you were just 
 beginning life's happy journey ; just entering manhood 
 or womanhood, and the sweet young faces that were 
 grouped about you in a certain bright May-day years 
 ago come back again to greet you now, and to laugh 
 and to talk just as they used to do. And that robin's 
 song; do you remember when the robins sang so 
 blithely in your childhood about the dear old home ? 
 It was just such weather as this when you watched 
 them flying back and forth, lighting on a twig here and 
 there, to pour forth a gush of melody. Ah, how it all 
 comes back to-day, and how many changes have oc- 
 curred since those 'glad days of youth have vanished. 
 Yonder is a bed of flowers ; think a moment, don't 
 they remind you of the old garden that mother loved ? 
 Columbine, phlox, rosemary, lavender, " love lies bleed- 
 ing," clove pinks, and mignonette, they are all sweet 
 perfumes of the past ; little things, you say, but power- 
 ful enough to draw you, by their subtle fragrance, ' down 
 the dim avenues of time," and into the old haunts of 
 Memory. 
 
 But future years may never fling 
 A treasure from their passing hours, 
 
 Like those that come on sleepless wing, 
 From Memory's golden plain of flowers. 
 
 JAMES G. CLARK. 
 [132]
 
 MAY SIXTH. 
 
 YOU are never to complain of your birth, your 
 training, your employment, your hardships, 
 never to fancy that you could be something if only 
 you had a different lot and sphere assigned you. God 
 understands His own plan, and He knows what you 
 want a great deal better than you do. What you call 
 hindrances, obstacles, discouragements, are probably 
 God's opportunities. HORACE BUSHNELL. 
 
 O Father! help us to resign 
 
 Our hearts, our strength, our wills to Thee ; 
 Then even lowliest work of Thine 
 
 Most noble, blest, and sweet will be. 
 
 HARRIET M. KIMBALL. 
 
 Do not allow yourself to complain : it makes you 
 irritable and unhappy ; it drives away your friends and 
 robs life of half of its beauty and attractiveness. A 
 man who is always complaining, frets away the very 
 sunshine ; he never sees any good in anything. 
 
 Why need we complain ? Each setting sun 
 Is somewhere, in truth, a rising one ; 
 And whether it be in your world or mine 
 That stars shall gleam, or sun shall shine, 
 What does it matter? The fact holds true 
 It's daytime somewhere all the year through. 
 
 In spite of all the fret and despair, 
 
 A song is always borne on the air, 
 
 And, somewhere, the world is spanned with blue, 
 
 And earth is bright with roses 1 hue ; 
 
 Then leave your stormy, cheerless heather, 
 
 And live in a world of pleasant weather. 
 
 LETTY BIGELOW. 
 [133]
 
 MAY SEVENTH. 
 
 A WORD and the skies would brighten ; 
 A word and the clouds would fly ; 
 A word and the soul find healing, 
 And hurt hearts cease to sigh. 
 
 Oh, word ere too late, be spoken! 
 
 Let the threshold of silence be crossed, 
 Ere the thread of thy fate be broken 
 
 And thy chance forever be lost! 
 
 MARK F. GRISWOLD. 
 
 Don't wait to say the needed word, or to do the 
 needed kindness. Life, at the longest, is only a brief 
 span ; therefore don't let its chances pass you by. 
 Give not only the kind and friendly word, but the 
 encouraging and helpful one, as well. Commenda- 
 tion, when it is deserved, will make many a burden 
 lighter. 
 
 If you've anything good to say to a man, 
 
 Don't wait till he's laid to rest, 
 For the eulogy spoken when hearts are broken 
 
 Is an empty thing at best. 
 
 MICHAEL JOSEPH DONNELLY. 
 
 If any little word of mine 
 
 May make a life the brighter ; 
 If any little song of mine 
 
 May make a heart the lighter ; 
 God help me to speak the little word 
 
 And take my bit of singing 
 And drop it in some lonely vale, 
 
 To set the echoes ringing. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 [134]
 
 MAY EIGHTH. 
 
 OH, the beauty of humility! How rare it is to find 
 people possessing some gift, who do not boast 
 of it and hold it up before others as a wonderful thing, 
 which should be much talked of and noticed. Every 
 talent we have is a gift of God ; we have nothing to 
 do with it except to cultivate and take care of it, and 
 to thank God for it. It is right that we should be 
 aware of His especial favor to us, but not to be boast- 
 ful and conceited over it. 
 
 Do good, do all the good you can. 
 
 Go forth and all your treasures scatter ; 
 And still regard the fame thereof 
 
 A trifling matter. 
 
 Whene'er the nightingale pours out 
 A song, the listening vale surprising, 
 
 It does not give itself at once 
 To advertising. 
 
 Whene'er a rose in perfect bloom 
 
 Outvies the glory of the morning, 
 It does not go and boast thereof, 
 
 Its fellows scorning. 
 
 Whene'er a tree in garden fair 
 
 Perfumes the breeze with blossoms tender, 
 It does not cry to all who pass, 
 
 " Behold my splendor! " 
 
 Ah, no, the nightingale sings on, 
 The rose and tree just do their duty, 
 
 Content though few have knowledge of 
 Their wondrous beauty. 
 
 GEORGE W. CROFTS. 
 [135]
 
 MAY NINTH. 
 
 UP, Heart, and sing! The birds make music, why 
 not thou? From woodland and hillside a thou- 
 sand merry warblers send their praises through the 
 skies. The meadow-lark, while on the wing, outpours 
 a glorious tide of song, and blue-bird, thrush and 
 whippoorwill and bob-o-link and martins all are piping, 
 calling, whistling clear in shady copse and leafy grove. 
 
 The air is full of whirring wings, 
 As if a thousand, thousand Springs 
 Swept earthward, heavenly whisperings 
 
 Of gladness to impart ; 
 Oh, list, harmonious music rings! 
 Each bird a sweet hosanna sings, 
 And each from God a message brings 
 
 To cheer the human heart! 
 
 I. s. T. 
 
 Up to the clouds the lark has sprung, 
 Still trilling as he flies. 
 
 OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. 
 
 The sweetest sound our whole year round 
 'Tis the first robin of the spring! 
 
 The song of the full orchard choir 
 Is not so fine a thing. 
 
 EDMUND C. STEDMAN. 
 
 O blue-bird up in the maple-tree, 
 
 Shaking your throat with such bursts of glee 
 
 How did you happen to be so blue? 
 Did you steal a bit of the lake for your crest, 
 And fasten blue violets into your vest ? 
 
 Tell me, I pray you, tell me true ! 
 
 SUSAN HARTLEY SWETT.
 
 MAY TENTH. 
 
 SOME of our sweetest blessings are born of sorrow. 
 If your heart aches to-day over some grief or loss, 
 and the world looks dark and cold to you, look up to 
 God, and be warmed and comforted! 
 
 They tell me I must bruise 
 
 The rose's leaf 
 Ere I can keep and use 
 
 Its fragrance brief. 
 
 They tell me love must bleed 
 
 And friendship weep, 
 Ere in my deepest need 
 
 I touch that deep. 
 
 Must it always be so 
 
 With precious things? 
 Must they be bruised, and go 
 
 With beaten wings ? 
 
 Ah, yes! By crushing days, 
 By caging nights, by scar 
 
 Of thorn and stony ways, 
 These blessings are! 
 
 SAMUEL W. DUFFIELD. 
 
 It is said that gardeners, sometimes, when they 
 would bring a rose to richer flowering, deprive it for a 
 season of light and moisture. But when every leaf is 
 dropped, and the plant stands stripped to the utter- 
 most, a new life is even then working in the buds, 
 from which shall spring a tender foliage and a brighter 
 wealth of flowers. So, often in celestial gardenings, 
 every leaf of earthly joy must drop before a new and 
 divine bloom visits the soul. MRS. H. B. STOWE. 
 [137]
 
 L 
 
 MAY ELEVENTH. 
 ET the good seed in thy heart go on growing! 
 
 The words which thou hast utter'd 
 
 Are of thy soul a part, 
 And the good seed thou hast scatter'd 
 
 Is springing from the heart. 
 
 JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER. 
 
 Let us be filled with right aspirations, looking ever 
 toward Heaven, our final goal, and toward Christ, our 
 perfect pattern. Let us leave behind us all that hin- 
 ders our progress Godward. Let us shut the doors of 
 our hearts on covetousness, envy, and all such things 
 that tend to drag us down ; but with faith in the Divine 
 Life, with spiritual strength, and unflinching courage, 
 let us grow every day in wisdom and knowledge and 
 mount upward towards Heaven. 
 
 Mount up on high ! as if on eagle's wings, 
 Catch inspiration from the arching skies ; 
 
 The soul with more seraphic music sings, 
 As nearer to her bright'ning home she flies. 
 
 EDWIN H. NEVIN. 
 
 Oft have I brooded on defeat and pain, 
 The pathos of the stupid, stumbling throng. 
 These I ignore to -day, and only long 
 To pour my soul forth in one trumpet strain, 
 One dear, grief-shattering, triumphant song. 
 For all the victories of man's high endeavor, 
 Palm-bearing, laurelled deeds that live forever, 
 The splendor clothing him whose will is strong. 
 
 EMMA LAZARUS. 
 [138]
 
 MAY TWELFTH. 
 
 A NYTHING worth having is worth striving for, 
 * worth waiting for. Suppose the gardener did not 
 prune his roses, but allowed them to grow rank and 
 wild, what would be the result ? They would, in a few 
 years, run out, and die of neglect. Suppose you neg- 
 lected the cultivation of your mental garden or field, 
 will any good grow out of it ? Oh, you must work if you 
 would have anything worth having ! No matter if your 
 pathway is dark, and you think your seed is all blighted, 
 despair not, God never forgets, and His recompense is 
 sure to come. 
 
 What matter if I stand alone? 
 
 I wait with joy the coming years ! 
 My heart shall reap where it has sown, 
 
 And garner up its fruit of tears. 
 
 JOHN BURROUGHS. 
 
 There is a day of sunny rest 
 For every dark and troubled night ; 
 
 And grief may bide an evening guest, 
 But joy shall come with early light. 
 
 WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. 
 
 Forever from the hand that takes 
 One blessing from us, others fall ; 
 
 And soon or late, our Father makes 
 His perfect recompense to all ! 
 
 JOHN G. WHITTIER. 
 
 A faith, a life that overcomes 
 
 A warfare unto victory. 
 And then, reward! 
 
 MRS. HERRICK JOHNSON. 
 [139]
 
 MAY THIRTEENTH. 
 
 NOW is a good time to pull up the weeds. Begin 
 this very morning, and don't stop until your heart 
 is free from everything that retards the growth of the 
 flowers of peace and good-will to all mankind. Don't 
 cherish unkindly feelings towards the man who cheated 
 you yesterday ; because his nature is small and mean, 
 should yours be revengeful and unforgiving ? Because 
 your rival in business took advantage of you last week, 
 should you plan to take advantage of him next week ? 
 Don't allow these weeds to take root in your heart. Let 
 it be your daily prayer that you may overcome all temp- 
 tations to think evil thoughts and do evil deeds. A good 
 question to ask is, " What would Christ have done ? " 
 
 Flinch not ; faint not ; time will tell ; 
 Heaven keeps its reckoning well. 
 
 Faileth heart and fadeth hope, 
 As the shadows eastward slope. 
 Last the uproar dies away ; 
 Then like music : " Only they 
 (God in wisdom willed it so), 
 Overcome, that undergo ! " 
 
 HARRY LYMAN KOOPMAN. 
 
 " Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with 
 good." 
 
 " For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the 
 world ; and this is the victory that overcometh the 
 world, even our faith." 
 
 " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me 
 in My throne, even as I also overcome, and am set 
 down with My Father in His throne." 
 [140]
 
 MAY FOURTEENTH. 
 
 LET this be to you a courageous day. Do not lose 
 heart, but be strong to endure whatever may be 
 given you. Remember it is but for a day, and if you 
 live this day well, you will be better prepared to face 
 to-morrow. 
 
 If the day's brief pain and passing care 
 
 Have seemed too much and too hard to bear ; 
 
 If under its trivial press and smart, 
 
 Thou hast failed in temper and lost in heart ; 
 
 If the undiscouraged, journeying sun, 
 
 As it sinks to its rest with its travail done, 
 
 Leaves thee all spent with trouble and sorrow 
 
 How shalt thou face the harder to-morrow ? 
 
 If the things familiar daunt thee so, 
 
 How shalt thou deal with an unknown woe? 
 
 If conquered by every passing dole, 
 
 How build the sinews of thy soul ? 
 
 To stand and shiver on the brink 
 
 Of each recurrent task, and shrink, 
 
 Will never harden thee to abide 
 
 The waves of the turbulent Jordan tide. 
 
 So, if the now seems cruel and hard, 
 Endure it with thoughts of the afterward ; 
 And be sure that each task that is clearly set 
 Is to brace thee for other tasks harder yet. 
 Train the stout muscles of thy will 
 In the daily grapple with daily ill, 
 Till, strong to wrestle and firm to abide, 
 Thou shalt smile at the turbulent Jordan tide. 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 [141]
 
 MAY FIFTEENTH. 
 
 /CULTIVATE a taste for the beautiful. Train your 
 >-' eye to distinguish the lovely harmonies in nature ; 
 get into the spirit of the season, whatever it is, and 
 always find something worth seeing and remembering. 
 Surely God never meant that any of His wonders 
 should be overlooked ; the smallest flower that blos- 
 soms, the tiniest seed that sprouts, is His handiwork. 
 The more you study His creations, the nearer you 
 should be drawn to Him. No matter what your calling 
 is, get as near to the heart of God as you can through 
 it. If He has given you an artist's soul, how thankful 
 you should be ; then you are indeed blest, because you 
 can be a blessing to others. If you can put on canvas 
 a reflection of earth's loveliness, you have been chosen 
 by your Heavenly Father to do a special work for Him 
 by using your gift for His glory. 
 
 Immortal Arts ! where'er the rounded sky 
 Bends o'er the cradle where thy dhildren lie, 
 Their home is earth, their herald every tongue. 
 
 OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. 
 
 Though we travel the world over to find the beauti- 
 ful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not. The 
 best of beauty is a finer charm than skill in surfaces, 
 in outlines, or rules of art can ever teach ; namely, a 
 radiation from the work of art of human character. 
 
 RALPH WALDO EMERSON. 
 
 Still shall the soul around it call 
 The shadows which it gathered here, 
 
 And, painted on the eternal wall, 
 The Past shall re-appear. 
 
 JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.
 
 MAY SIXTEENTH. 
 
 WE look too high for our daily needs ; 
 God trusts them not to the faithless air 
 Our truest blessings are those within 
 
 Our closest reach, and are everywhere. 
 The infinite heavens refuse to hear 
 
 Our cries, and the silence that bids retreat 
 Should send us back with humble hearts 
 
 To our own good world, here, under our feet. 
 
 JULIA H. THAYER. 
 
 We are ever crying out for something beyond us, 
 while we walk blindly over the very blessings that our 
 neighbor has longed for, perhaps, all of his life. We 
 shut our eyes to the glories around us, or strain them 
 to see so far beyond that nearer things are lost to view. 
 
 There is many a rest in the road of life, 
 
 If we would only stop to take it, 
 And many a tone for the better land, 
 
 If the querulous heart would wake it! 
 To the sunny soul that is fall of hope, 
 
 And whose beautiful trust ne'er faileth, 
 The grass is green and the flowers are bright, 
 
 Though the wintry storm prevaileth. 
 
 There is many a gem in the path of life, 
 
 Which we pass in our idle pleasure, 
 That is richer far than the jewelled crown, 
 
 Or the miser's hoarded treasure. 
 It may be the love of a little child, 
 
 Or a mother's prayers to Heaven, 
 Or only a beggar's grateful thanks 
 
 For a cup of water given. 
 
 MRS. M. A. KIDDER. 
 [1433
 
 MAY SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 T ET us keep as near to God as we can, thou and I. 
 J ' When we attempt to walk alone, we stumble and 
 fall ; His hand is strong to guide and uphold us, and 
 there are no dangers through which He cannot safely 
 lead us. Communion with Him makes us purer and 
 truer, and better in our daily life. He is always the 
 essential part of our life, for " through Him we live and 
 move and have our being." 
 
 Closer to Thee! Safe, safe in Thee to hide, 
 There let me dwell, whatever may betide ; 
 No other strength or refuge standeth nigh ; 
 Thy love alone can every need supply. 
 
 I. s. T 
 
 Nearer to Thee each day 
 
 I fain would be. 
 Be Thou, O Lord, my way, 
 
 And lead Thou me. 
 
 So close the dawn to dark, 
 
 Why need I fear, 
 If I Thy voice can hark 
 
 And know Thee near? 
 
 In every stormy stress 
 
 Be Thou my stay. 
 If Thou the night dost bless, 
 
 I ask not day. 
 
 When I to doubt would yield, 
 
 On Thee I call. 
 Thou art my sun, my shield, 
 
 My life, my all. 
 
 LUELLA CLARK. 
 [144]
 
 MAY EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 Y stand ye here ^ the da y idle? " In the 
 
 highest sense no one can say " No man hired 
 me." Every human being is called for in the service 
 of the man Christ Jesus. Faith is service, love is ser- 
 vice, and all that our hands find to do. And there is 
 much for our hands and feet to do. All all can be a 
 service to Him. And until we realize this we are miss- 
 ing the joy of service. MARGARET BOTTOMS. 
 
 Labor is life ! 'Tis the still water faileth ; 
 
 Idleness ever despaireth, bewaileth ; 
 
 Keep the watch wound, or the dark rust assaileth. 
 
 FRANCES S. OSGOOD. 
 
 To refuse the work God gives you is equal to a denial 
 of Him. If you do not obey His commands, you do 
 not recognize Him as your Master. Will a faithful ser- 
 vant turn a deaf ear to His lord ? What right have you 
 to a place in the Vineyard if you are idle ? God does 
 not want idlers, He wants workers. Seek His will and 
 obey it : let there be daily, loving service for Him of 
 heart and hand. Toil will be sweet if done for Him. 
 
 Give me within the work which calls to-day, 
 To see Thy finger gently beckoning on ; 
 
 So struggle grows to freedom, work to play, 
 And toils begun from Thee to Thee are done. 
 
 J. F. CLARKE. 
 
 Thus bravely live heroic men, 
 
 A consecrated band ; 
 Life is to them a battle-field, 
 
 Their hearts a holy land. 
 
 HENRY T. TUCKERMAN. 
 AID [145]
 
 MAY NINETEENTH. 
 
 LET us not expect a blessing until we have asked 
 for it. Let us begin the day with a prayer, and 
 take for our passport three little words that will appeal 
 to God as nothing else can : In His Name ! 
 
 What powerful gate-openers to Heaven these little 
 words are! Let us write them on the tablets of our 
 heart and carry them with us forever. Methinks in the 
 royal courts of the Celestial Kingdom, this motto must 
 be emblazoned on the coat of arms in letters of gold. 
 
 The duty nearest, whatsoe'er it be 
 So He appoint it! Let this be our aim, 
 
 To give our best endeavor, full and free, 
 Forgetting self to glory in His Name! 
 
 A word of cheer, when hearts are tired and faint, 
 
 The lifting of a burden daily borne, 
 A sweet remembrance of a soul's complaint, 
 
 A turning heavenward weary ones who mourn ; 
 
 The lending of a sympathy to reach 
 
 Unspoken sorrow, grief, or mute distress, 
 
 A smile, that oftentimes transcendeth speech, 
 A tear of pity, sweet with tenderness. 
 
 A kindly feeling for the world at large, 
 A touch, that makes of strangers kith and kin, 
 
 A true fulfilment of the Master's charge, 
 To keep His kingdom ev'ry heart within ; 
 
 A looking earthward through the Saviour's eyes, 
 Each heart with gentle charity to read ; 
 
 A reaching outward where His Vineyard lies 
 Oh, let this constitute our Christian creed! 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR. 
 [146]
 
 MAY TWENTIETH. 
 
 EVEN a May-day has its shadows. Perhaps the 
 early morning gave promise of calm and sunny 
 skies, but clouds arose and hid all the brightness. 
 But can you not look on and see the results? New 
 flowers will blossom, new streams be flowing, fresh 
 grass be springing and twigs sprouting. Will the 
 earth look dark and gloomy always hereafter? Ah, 
 no! she will be the better for it. And are there 
 clouds in your sky too? Do you feel as if it were 
 December instead of May? It is only a passing 
 storm ; don't go about carrying gloom on your face 
 and despair in your heart. Doubtless you feel as if 
 your world were all wrong and your whole life a mis- 
 take not a bit of it! It will all come right, by and 
 by. 
 
 If we never saw the contrast that there is 'tween sun 
 
 and rain ; 
 If we never knew the difference that there is 'tween joy 
 
 and pain ; 
 
 How could we prize the beauty of a sunlit summer day, 
 Or know half the glowing pleasure of an hour that's 
 
 free and gay? 
 
 MABEL PERCY. 
 
 It is easy enough to be pleasant 
 
 When life flows by like a song, 
 But the man worth while is the one who will smile 
 
 When everything goes dead wrong ; 
 For the test of the heart is trouble, 
 
 And it always comes with the years, 
 And the smile that is worth the praises of earth 
 Is the smile that shines through tears. 
 
 ELLA WHEELER WILCOX. 
 [147]
 
 MAY TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 AND is this your heart's ambition, to obtain 
 wealth, just for the sake of surrounding yourself 
 with luxuries, and to be looked up to and honored and 
 called rich ? Do you imagine that with such an object 
 in view you will ever be happy? Do you believe 
 God's blessing will follow you, and that you will pos- 
 sess the inward peace and quietness that alone can 
 bring content? If you have a love for the beautiful, 
 and are able to gratify your tastes, make your home as 
 attractive as you can, but don't build a mansion at the 
 expense of your soul. Don't, let me entreat you, 
 don't shut your heart against the cry of the poor and 
 suffering, and sit down in selfish ease and pretend that 
 you are enjoying life. You know better, and I know 
 better God knows better. What are riches but a 
 gift from Him ? He has prospered you ; now reach out 
 and help others, and thank Him for the sweet 
 privilege. 
 
 I know that we are not here 
 
 For our selfish ease ; 
 The kingliest One that the world has known 
 
 Lived not Himself to please. 
 And they who have learned of Him 
 
 How a burden can give rest, 
 And joyfully share the great human care, 
 
 They have learned life's secret best. 
 
 LUCY LARCOM. 
 
 Then keep your gold, but leave to me 
 The soul to feel, the eyes to see. 
 I am content. By right divine 
 The wealth of all the world is mine. 
 
 HELEN G. HAWTHORNE. 
 [148]
 
 T 
 
 MAY TWENTY-SECOND. 
 
 I HE great world-clock of Time still keeps its beat. 
 
 NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. 
 
 Do you realize how fast time is flying? We have 
 buried our Winter, and now our Spring-tide is fast 
 drifting out, and still time flies on. Look back over 
 the days of the year. How much you have to be sorry 
 for how much to be glad for! When you walk out 
 in the evening under the street lamps, what myriads 
 of little insects you see flying around in the circle of 
 the light ! These are like the clustering little regrets 
 that hover about you wherever you go ; things that 
 make you sorry, and fill you with longings for lost 
 opportunities, the sad "might have beens" of the 
 year. Oh, for a chance to go back and redeem your- 
 self ! this is your cry ; yet why grieve over it now ? 
 Improve the present, lest it, too, rise up to haunt you 
 in coming days. 
 
 Who looking backward from his manhood's prime, 
 Sees not the spectre of his misspent time? 
 
 JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER. 
 
 Oh, the wasted hours of life 
 
 That have drifted by ; 
 Oh, the good we might have done, 
 
 Lost without a sigh ; 
 Love that we might once have saved 
 
 By a single word ; 
 Thoughts conceived, but never penned, 
 
 Perishing unheard. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 Duty and To-day are ours : results and futurity 
 belong to God. HORACE GREELEY
 
 MAY TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 DON'T shift all the responsibility on to your neigh- 
 bor, and when you are listening to a sermon or 
 a lecture don't pick out some one you think it may fit, 
 but take it to yourself. How full of faults we all are ! 
 Who are you, who am I, that we should think ourselves 
 more deserving than our fellow-men? How do we 
 know but some one else is suiting that same sermon to 
 us, and thinking we need to follow its teachings ? We 
 forget that the faults we fail to see in ourselves are so 
 glaring to others. Therefore, let us examine our own 
 hearts and see that they are right, before we criticise 
 or condemn our neighbors. 
 
 Then who am I, that I should judge 
 
 My erring brother man? 
 Oh, should I seek in Self alone 
 
 Though measuring all life's span 
 I could not number all my faults 
 
 Nor be a perfect guide ; 
 Why see the flaws in others, that 
 
 In Self I cannot hide? 
 
 I. S. T. 
 
 It is never easy to grow better. We have the im- 
 pression that a few petitions breathed up to God, ask- 
 ing Him to make us pure, lovely, and gentle, will bring 
 the answer in some mysterious way, working the change 
 in us without any effort or struggle of our own. But it 
 is not thus that such prayers are answered. Every day 
 is, in a certain sense, a crucifixion, a nailing of self on 
 the cross. But this very hardness is a means of grace. 
 
 J. R. MILLER. 
 
 [ISO]
 
 MAY TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 IT is much easier to toil, though we grow weak and 
 weary, than to patiently wait, and yet there are 
 times in every life when there is nothing to do but 
 wait. Times when we can almost hear our heart beat, 
 and when the ticking of the clock, and the tolling of 
 the hours seem an Eternity. It may be through sor- 
 row, or illness, or blindness, or old age, but in some 
 way the lesson of patience must be learned, and it is 
 through waiting oftener than through working. 
 
 'Twas the grain of patient waiting 
 
 That was wafted to my ears, 
 In a song sublime and distant 
 
 As the music of the spheres ; 
 
 And o'er all the anthem floated 
 
 " Patient waiting is no loss ! " 
 And it seemed to cast a halo 
 
 O'er each dark and heavy cross ; 
 And methought there came an answer 
 
 To each question that perplexed : 
 " Ye shall know it all hereafter, 
 
 Not in this world but the next." 
 
 Then I traced the mystic letters 
 
 Carved upon life's iron gate, 
 At whose stern command we murmur 
 
 When we find there written, Wait ! 
 'Tis alone the patient waiters 
 
 Who the blessing will receive ; 
 They who through all doubt and trial, 
 
 Calmly, trustingly, believe ! 
 
 KATE B. W. BARNES. 
 
 [151]
 
 MAY TWENTY-FIFTH. 
 
 heed how ye hear." Inattention causes a 
 great deal of trouble in the world, and perhaps 
 this text was given to us that we might be better 
 listeners. There is much to be heard, and there are 
 many ways in which to hear it, therefore we should 
 study to find out what is best to appropriate to our- 
 selves. In listening to a lecture or a sermon, we often 
 take away with us the remembrance of a pleasing inci- 
 dent related, rather than the lesson it was meant to 
 teach. When a musical discord is made, we allow it 
 to mar the sweetness of the whole composition, and 
 yet perhaps there was but one false chord in the entire 
 selection. A man may use eloquent language, and 
 delight us with his pleasing manners, but let him make 
 a grammatical error, and how ready we are to hear and 
 remember it. Thus we are too attentive listeners to 
 things which should be passed by and forgotten. On 
 the other hand, we make many mistakes for the simple 
 reason that we are not attentive enough. We think 
 we have heard aright, and venture to repeat it to 
 others, when in reality we are innocently making false 
 statements, because we were careless listeners. Oh, let 
 us take heed how we hear! 
 
 Listen well ; but not to idle whispers ; 
 
 Not to slanderous words that bear a sting : 
 Listen well, that only truthful utterance 
 
 Thou mayest give to every little thing. 
 Hear the good alone, and then retain it, 
 
 Pass the evil, let the wrong go by ; 
 Cherish only thoughts that make thee better, 
 
 Keep the truths that nevermore shall die. 
 
 I. S. T.
 
 MAY TWENTY-SIXTH. 
 
 BELOVED, is it well ? the glorious morning 
 Rises in beauty o'er the Eastern skies, 
 And on wings of love in the still dawning, 
 My thoughts turn towards thee, and my prayers arise. 
 
 MARY G. CROCKER. 
 
 Is it well with you to-day? Is there a sweet spirit of 
 worship in your heart as you arise this morning re- 
 freshed from sleep? Is there a deep sense of gratitude 
 in your whole being for past blessings and privileges, 
 and the glorious opportunity of the present ? Is it well 
 with you as regards your household circle? Is your 
 heart in tune with Heaven to-day? Or are you ready 
 to be ruffled by a word, or to speak or act unkindly 
 towards those you love best? If so, it is not well with 
 you. My prayer for you to-day is, that you may be in 
 touch with nature and in tune with God, and that your 
 heart may be filled with the gladness of the morning, 
 the brightness of the noon, and the peace of the even- 
 tide. Then when your guardian angel shall question, 
 " Is it well ? " you shall hasten to reply, " Aye, it is 
 well!" 
 
 Then, not to thee alone shall be the break 
 
 Of fairer dawns, the peace that follows strife 
 
 The breath of love and gratitude shall make 
 Such sweetness 'round thee in the aisles of life, 
 
 That, some bowed soul, low-pressed by grief and care, 
 Shall feel its deadened pulses wake and stir, 
 
 Lift its sad brow to greet the heavenly air, 
 And rise, a free and joyous worshipper! 
 
 MARY A. P. STANSBURY. 
 
 [153]
 
 MAY TWENTY-SEVENTH. 
 
 HOW dark would the world be to our hearts this 
 May morning without Hope! The grain-fields 
 would be meaningless to us if we did not know that 
 hidden away in their green blades God has secreted 
 the little kernels that will ripen into golden grain, and 
 feed a hungry world. The tiny plants that spring up 
 in our path would be passed by unnoticed, did we not 
 read in them a promise of scent and blossom by and 
 by. HoW could we endure our losses and crosses, our 
 disappointments and sorrows, if Hope did not point 
 to a brighter to-morrow? Courage, Heart, the sun- 
 shine of Hope will drive away the clouds of despair 
 it is one of Heaven's dearest gifts to man. 
 
 Races, better than we, have leaned on her wavering 
 
 promise, 
 Having naught else but Hope. 
 
 HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. 
 
 Storms sometimes round me gather, and my fears 
 Break forth in mingled sighs and bitter tears, 
 But hope sweeps all my gloomy fears away 
 And turns my midnight darkness into day ; 
 Its radiance calms and soothes my ruffled breast 
 Till through me spreads the quietness of rest. 
 
 EDWIN H. NEVIN. 
 
 Through rift unseen some swift-winged 
 Ray of light the darkest cloud will pierce ; and 
 When the soul its deepest anguish feels, there 
 Comes a blessed hope, we know not whence, to 
 Stay the tidal flow, and the tempest-tossed 
 From fatal wreck preserve. 
 
 A. A. GOLEM AN. 
 [154]
 
 MAY TWENTY-EIGHTH. 
 
 T^HE world has many unknown heroes those 
 -*- whose history will never be written on earth, and 
 yet whose names are recorded in Heaven, and for whom 
 the victor's palm and crown of recompense is waiting. 
 You would never think the poor and sad-faced woman 
 you met on the street yesterday could be one of these, 
 would you ? Nor the little boy who passes your win- 
 dow every day he surely doesn't look like a hero, 
 does he? Yet perhaps that woman is bearing sorrow 
 that you would faint under, and that boy is battling 
 bravely with such poverty and want as would drive you 
 to despair. It is the heroic soul that stands out clear 
 and bright in such dark surroundings as these. Christ 
 was a hero: the greatest Conqueror that ever lived. 
 Yet His kingly presence was not honored, save by the 
 Star from Heaven which shone across the lowly town 
 of Bethlehem. 
 
 The man who braves the world's neglect and scorn, 
 To lift the lowly, succor the forlorn, 
 Who conquers self he is the hero born. 
 
 FRANCES A. SHAW. 
 
 Whate'er our prizes, or how fair our crown, 
 
 How deep our losses, only this is blest, 
 The soul's great peace. Nor sneer, nor smile, nor frown 
 
 Can shake it from its rest. 
 Exalt thy calling! on its spotless shield 
 
 Write truth, write honor, valor, first and last. 
 Cravens may clutch their stars, and thou not yield ; 
 
 Love them and hold them fast! 
 
 MARY CLEMMER AMES. 
 [155]
 
 MAY TWENTY-NINTH. 
 
 IS life worth living? 
 Yes, I answer, if you have learned how to live it. 
 To the coward who shrinks from duty, the weak who 
 cowers before temptation, the doubter who will not 
 wear shields of faith, the despairing who cries out 
 against hope, and the hypocrite who calls truth a 
 mockery, to all of these, life is not worth living. 
 But to him who has learned the true secret of life, its 
 very trials are sweetened, and he accounts it a blessing 
 to live for God and his fellow-men. An unselfish man 
 in his right mind will not take his own life. It is 
 only he who is ovenvhelmed with his own burdens 
 and perplexities and miseries who will commit such a 
 crime : if he were truly unselfish, he would think of 
 the sorrow it would bring to those who love him, and 
 of the influence it will have over mankind. 
 
 " Is Life worth living ? " asks the cynic grim ; 
 
 Yes, Life is Heaven, the ardent youth replies. 
 And Heaven is Life, responds the Christian wise, 
 
 Who sees in all things but the love of Him 
 Whose goodness hath created earth and skies, 
 
 Life, Death, Eternity, and given us power 
 To make some worthy record every hour ; 
 
 Some humble word, some deed of high emprise, 
 Like rich man's offering, or widow's mite, 
 Made by pure motive equal in His sight. 
 These make our life worth living, and our death 
 
 Merely a ceasing of the mortal breath, 
 Life's treasure-chest iron-bound by grief may be ! 
 
 Yet holds of Immortality the key. 
 
 JULIA A. F. CARNEY. 
 [156]
 
 W 
 
 MAY THIRTIETH. 
 DECORATION DAY. 
 
 In loving remembrance of "the brave and true" 
 
 HAT patriotic heart will not be stirred by the 
 sound of drum and fife to-day? How gladly 
 the American people observe this day as a sacred holi- 
 day year by year, taking time from business and 
 pleasure to strew with loyal, loving hands the graves 
 of our nation's heroes. Scattered from north to south 
 they lie, some bearing no name to tell us who they 
 are, but the Recording Angel knows them all, and 
 not one is missing from the Book of Heaven. The 
 broken ranks shall once more bend above their com- 
 rades 1 graves and all lay their precious offerings there, 
 but sweeter than the flowers they bring will be the 
 heart-felt, silent tear that springs unbidden to the eye. 
 Sleep well, O brave and noble ones ! 
 
 From garden, field and dell, 
 
 Bring sweetest flowers of May, 
 With prayer and solemn anthem swell ; 
 
 A nation speaks to-day. 
 
 BELLE G. McAULEY. 
 
 Come we then to-day, O brothers! 
 
 Treading softly on the sod, 
 In the presence of the fallen, 
 
 In the sunshine of our God, 
 Come with tributes of affection 
 
 For the heroes sleeping here, 
 Sweetly lay the fragrant flower, 
 
 Kindly drop a brother's tear. 
 
 j. H. MCCARTY, D.D. 
 [157]
 
 MAY THIRTY-FIRST. 
 
 AH, soon it will be Spring no longer, and the 
 sweet-voiced May, with her crown of flowers, 
 will have vanished into the silent past. Let us wan- 
 der into the fields, with Fancy for our guide : how glad 
 the earth is! It is delicious to breathe the pure, free 
 air, and ramble carelessly at will. 
 
 The City's great heart has a thousand full veins, 
 And it throbs with a strength all unknown ; 
 
 But the Fields with their harpers full-feathered in 
 
 gold, 
 Have a thousand full hearts of their own. 
 
 W. F. W. BARBE. 
 
 The green trees arch their branches overhead, 
 
 Idly I gaze up thro 1 their rustling leaves 
 
 And watch the golden sunlight shifting through. 
 
 I and this strange old world are best of friends. 
 
 I have forgotten all her cruel wrongs, 
 
 The blows that she has dealt, and will again. 
 
 All that life holds, I have. Who can have more? 
 
 To-day is mine one royal, golden day, 
 
 Filled full of restfulness and sweet content. 
 
 I will forget to-morrow and its care ; 
 
 I have to-day. What more has any one? 
 
 FLORENCE AUGUSTA JONES. 
 
 Well, I will live to-day 
 
 As though it were my last. 
 And meet, without complaint, what comes, 
 
 Let it be balm or blast. 
 
 ANONYMOUS.
 
 BAYARD TATLOR 
 
 1825-1878
 
 OR THE MONTH 
 OF JUNE- 
 
 JUNE FIRST. 
 
 T 
 J 
 
 " TUNE, lovely June, now beautifies the ground," and 
 smiles on earth and sky. There is no nook so 
 deeply hidden but feels the warmth of her welcome 
 presence, and no brook or stream too small to reflect 
 her image. O rare sweet June, our hearts grow lighter 
 because of thy coming! and lift grateful hearts to 
 Heaven that earth is made so wondrous fair for us. It 
 is the time of strawberries. Every day they are ripen- 
 ing and sweetening under their sheltering green leaves, 
 getting ready for fruition by and by. We cannot see 
 how it is done : it is silent, hidden work, one of God's 
 beautiful mysteries. Oh, you who are still wrapping 
 your hearts in the snows of doubt that belong to a 
 buried past, awake and stand forth arrayed in the 
 warmth and newness of June to-day. 
 
 Now it is June ; and the secret is told : 
 Flashed from the buttercup's glory of gold, 
 Hummed from the bumblebee's gladness, and sung 
 New from each bough where a bird's-nest is swung ; 
 Breathed from the clover-beds when the winds pass, 
 Chirped in small psalms through the aisles of the grass. 
 
 ADELINE D. T. WHITNEY. 
 
 Let your heart take on new color, the rosy hue of 
 hope and love, and begin to sweeten and ripen and 
 grow better every day, so that the real June may 
 blossom in you and give out roses of rare fragrance. 
 
 [iS9]
 
 JUNE SECOND. 
 
 *"pHIS is called the "month of roses," red and 
 J- white, and pink and yellow, how they blossom 
 everywhere! 
 
 Oh, roses, roses ! Who shall sing 
 
 The beauty of the flowers of God ! 
 
 Or thank the angel from whose wing 
 
 The seeds are scattered on the sod 
 
 From which such bloom and perfume spring! 
 
 J. G. HOLLAND. 
 
 And roses, roses everywhere, 
 Perfume the paths we tread ; 
 
 And June is smiling sweet and fair 
 In beauty overhead. 
 
 I. s. T. 
 
 I am the one rich thing that morn 
 Leaves for the ardent noon to win ; 
 
 Grasp me not, I have a thorn, 
 But bend and take my fragrance in. 
 
 The dew-drop on my bosom gives 
 The whole of Heaven to searching eyes : 
 
 Only he who sees it, lives, 
 And only he who slights it, dies. 
 
 Petal on petal opening wide, 
 
 My being into beauty flows 
 Hundred-leaved and damask-dyed 
 
 Yet nothing, nothing but a rose. 
 
 HARRIET PRESCOTT SPOFFORD. 
 [160]
 
 JUNE THIRD. 
 
 r TX) those that believe, there is always something 
 -- beautiful beyond! 
 
 Upon the shoulders of the past we stand, 
 And to the future turn our questioning eyes. 
 What doth she hold in store, what precious prize, 
 
 That we may wrest from out her close-shut hand? 
 
 No fear of failure past hath power to sway 
 The hope that springs eternal in the breast, 
 But towards fresh heights whose limits are un- 
 guessed 
 
 We press, undaunted still, our upward way. 
 
 Faith from her watch-tower sees the distant peaks 
 
 Already scaled, sees every outpost fall. 
 
 Who will may conquer. God is over all, 
 And gives good gifts to every one who seeks. 
 
 ELIZABETH FLINT WADE. 
 
 Hope sings a sweet song in our hearts to-day, whose 
 tender refrain is, something beyond : can you not hear 
 it, dear friend, as it goes ringing through the skies and 
 across the uplands, and down the valleys ? 
 
 Something beyond! Though now, with joy unfound, 
 The life-task falleth from thy weary hand, 
 
 Be brave, be patient! in the fair Beyond 
 Thou'lt understand. 
 
 Something beyond! the immortal morning stands 
 Above the night ; clear shines her prescient brow ; 
 
 The pendulous star in her transfigured hands 
 Brighten the Now. 
 
 MARY CLEMMER AMES. 
 All [l6l]
 
 JUNE FOURTH. 
 
 A MAN'S wisdom maketh his face to shine and the 
 boldness of his face shall be changed. ECCLESI- 
 ASTES 8:i. 
 
 Thus a little change in our English translation brings 
 out the better meaning of the text, which sets forth 
 that the character of the face is decided by the charac- 
 ter of the soul. The main features of our countenance 
 were decided by the Almighty, and we cannot change 
 them ; but under God we decide whether we shall have 
 countenances benignant or baleful, sour or sweet, wrath- 
 ful or genial, benevolent or mean, honest or scoundrelly, 
 imprudent or modest, courageous or cowardly. 
 Religion says : Now let me go up to the windows and 
 front gate of the face and set up some signal that I 
 have taken possession of this castle. I have made this 
 man happy, and now I will make him look happy. I 
 will make his eyes flash and his cheeks glow at every 
 mention of Christ and Heaven. I will make even the 
 wrinkles of his face look like furrows ploughed for the 
 harvests of joy. T. DE WITT TALMAGE. 
 
 Thine are our souls ! Our beings blend with Thine, 
 Upreaching toward Thee through these longings high, 
 Stamped with Thy seal, and bearing countersign 
 Of that One Life in us, that grows divine, 
 By Love illumined, as we to Thee draw nigh ! 
 
 CAROLINE DANA HOWE. 
 
 If wrinkles must be written on our brows, let them 
 be not written on the heart. The spirit should never 
 
 grow old. JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 [162]
 
 JUNE FIFTH. 
 
 IF we only had better control of Self, how much 
 trouble we should save! As it is, we are continu- 
 ally saying and doing the very things that hurt ourselves 
 and others. The human will is stubborn ; it likes to 
 govern rather than to be governed, and is not easily 
 brought under subjection. We do not intend to get 
 angry over a trifle ; we do not intend to neglect our 
 duty ; we do not intend to make others unhappy, or to 
 sow seeds of discord in some one's heart-garden. Then 
 why do we do it? Just because we do not curb Self in 
 us, and subdue it ; just because Will likes to have its 
 own way, and because we lack strength of character to 
 master it. 
 
 And yet it was not in my heart to sow 
 
 111 seeds, nor yet to live a selfish life ; 
 Only I lacked the stern resolve, to throw 
 
 Man's fullest energy into the strife. 
 Nor lacked alone the earnest will, 
 Perhaps as well the kindly thought, 
 Which leads some gentle souls unconsciously to fill 
 
 Life with sweet charities and noble deeds. 
 
 Now, like a garden full of barren weeds, 
 My heart lies desolate ; I know 
 
 That ill is wrought 
 By not intending good, through weakness of the will. 
 
 ESTHER THORNE. 
 
 Come, thou whole Self of Latter Man! 
 Come o'er thy realm of Good-and-Ill, 
 
 And do, thou Self that say'st I can, 
 And love, thou Self that say'st I will. 
 
 SIDNEY LANIER.
 
 JUNE SIXTH. 
 
 /^RATITUDE is the fairest blossom which springs 
 ^-J from the soul ; and the heart of man knoweth 
 none more fragrant. HOSEA BALLOU. 
 
 Oh, let your heart overflow in praise to God to-day! 
 See what He has given you, what glory of earth, and 
 sea and sky, and what opportunities for mind and 
 soul! Your whole being ought to be thrilling with 
 praise every moment; you have had enough joy in 
 your cup to keep you singing forever; you have had 
 uplifting opportunities in your life to carry you to the 
 very gate of Heaven. Climb nearer to God through 
 joy and gratitude. 
 
 Just for to-day may I not sing 
 
 For gratitude alone, 
 Nor interrupt my praise to bring 
 
 Petitions to the throne? 
 
 Just for to-day may I not eat 
 
 From yesterday's full store ? 
 While gathered manna still is sweet, 
 
 Shall I entreat for more, 
 
 Like a base mendicant who stands 
 
 Importunate to grasp, 
 Though God has poured within his hands 
 
 More than his palms can clasp? 
 
 Accept, O God, and Friend of friends, 
 
 My chalice, poor and rude, 
 Wherein one strong petition blends 
 
 Grant me more gratitude! 
 
 MAY RILEY SMITH. 
 [164]
 
 JUNE SEVENTH. 
 
 WE are safe in God's hands. He holds us, and 
 keeps us, and strengthens us, and if we trust 
 Him at all times, we need not fear life's storms or 
 shadows. With Him it is always sunshine. The 
 Christian, God says, "shall be like a tree planted by 
 the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in 
 season ; his leaf shall not wither ; and whatsoever he 
 doeth shall prosper." 
 
 The wind that blows can never kill 
 
 The tree God plants ; 
 It bloweth east ; it bloweth west ; 
 The tender leaves have little rest, 
 But any wind that blows is best. 
 
 LILLIE E. BARR. 
 
 Whatever our position may be, let us not murmur 
 or complain. If our prayers are not answered as we 
 want them, or even if not answered at all, let us feel 
 that God's love was in the denial. Sometimes we ask 
 for the wrong thing : He always knows best. 
 
 If God sees best, I ask it not 
 
 By word of mouth. My heart breathes out 
 
 Its wish to Him who knows it well. 
 
 The longing is so full of bliss, 
 
 That if He granted it, I fear 
 
 'Twould make a heaven on earth for me ; 
 
 And so I leave it all unsaid, 
 
 Just asking Him to give me still 
 
 What He thinks best of joy or grief. 
 
 NELLIE G. RICE. 
 
 [165]
 
 JUNE EIGHTH. 
 
 JUNE is the dreamy time ; one feels little like mak- 
 ing an effort. It is so delightful to listen to the 
 breezy murmurings through the tree-tops, and rippling 
 along the grain-fields, or billowing the meadows sweet 
 with scented clover. To get out of the city, and into 
 the pure freedom of the open air, and breathe in 
 draughts of freshness from country lanes and wood- 
 lands ah, how restful it is! But do not be entirely 
 idle, even amidst such innocent pleasures as these. 
 There are Heaven-sent opportunities to do somebody 
 good, no matter when, no matter where. You will 
 enjoy your holiday all the more, if you know you are 
 making some heart happy as you pass along, or giving 
 only "a cup of cold water " for Christ's sake. 
 
 Two butterflies of beauteous wing, 
 Above the flowers soft fluttering, 
 Questioned if any really knew 
 That in the blossoms honey grew. 
 
 The while they raised their doubting word 
 There came a brilliant humming-bird, 
 And dipping in a flower-cup, 
 He drew the precious nectar up. 
 
 O fools and slow of heart ! to stay, 
 Quibbling the fleeting time away, 
 When earnest, wise research forsooth 
 Would soon reveal the blessed truth. 
 
 F. B. GRISWOLD. 
 
 [166]
 
 JUNE NINTH. 
 
 ALL round the year the trusting soul 
 May find the word of promise whole ; 
 The flight of time, unknown above, 
 Breaks not our Father's boundless love. 
 Unbroken be the tranquil light 
 That folds our lesser sphere, 
 As ever pure, and calm, and bright 
 All round the year. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 Yes, " all round the year " runs the sweet promise of 
 God's love, and His light encircles us through every 
 changing season. How faithful He is ; how steadfast! 
 If we walk with Him to-day, we know that He will be 
 just as ready to resume the journey to-morrow ; earthly 
 friends tire of us we sometimes tire of them, but God 
 never tires of His beloved. We find our earthly friends 
 who are willing to devote the present to us, planning 
 to do something else in the future : and we must be 
 set aside. But God never sets us aside ; He never 
 plans a day without us. It is comforting to know that 
 the love of God reaches, not only " all round the year," 
 but all round the endless measure of years round 
 Infinity itself. 
 
 Amid earth's changes, Lord, 
 
 Its shadows and its fears, 
 Its broken pledges, shattered plans, 
 
 Its sorrow and its tears, 
 Thy children trust Thy own sure word, 
 
 And wait the eternal years. 
 
 MARGARET E. SANGSTER.
 
 JUNE TENTH. 
 
 HE is a poet strong and true 
 Who loves wild thyme and honey-dew ; 
 And like a brown bee works and sings, 
 With morning freshness on his wings, 
 And a gold burden on his thighs, 
 The pollen-dust of centuries ! 
 
 MAURICE THOMPSON. 
 
 Oh, I hope you have the " morning freshness on your 
 wings," and that you are working and singing each day 
 to some purpose. I hope you are making the earth 
 glad with your music, and that your gift may be a 
 precious inheritance to you. Suppose our Redeemer 
 had only healed a chosen number; suppose He had 
 only forgiven those He knew and loved best ; suppose 
 He had only ministered to the cultured and refined! 
 Be not ashamed, and feel it no condescension to use 
 the best you have for the hungering, thirsting, " com- 
 mon-place " throng. To such the Master came, with 
 loving smile, with gentle touch, and kindly words. 
 
 If humble men may pause, to heed 
 
 The transient fragrance of these flowers ; 
 If those who toil may pause to read, 
 
 And find a rest in weary hours, 
 It is enough ; no more I ask. 
 
 Since Fancy's dream, or earnest thought, 
 Have cheered the toiler at his task, 
 
 I have attained the good I sought. 
 
 JANE MARIA READ. 
 [168]
 
 JUNE ELEVENTH. 
 
 RUGGED strength and radiant beauty 
 These were one in nature's plan ; 
 Humble toil and heavenward duty 
 These will form the perfect man. 
 
 SARAH J. HALE. 
 
 Heavenward duty! God grant you may realize what 
 this means. Not the seeking of your own pleasure, 
 and making it a duty to follow your own inclinations, 
 but bending your will to God's, and doing each task in 
 loving obedience to Him. Do not falter or be dis- 
 couraged ; there is a glory in victory ; press forward 
 with renewed strength, and inscribe on your shield of 
 faith the one word " Heavenward." 
 
 Stepping Heavenward, Lord, am I, 
 
 As the days go flitting by? 
 
 Daisied fields of youth are round me, 
 
 Cloudless is the blue o'erhead, 
 But I ponder as I wander, 
 
 Whither goes the path I tread ? 
 It must lead me, lead me ever 
 
 Toward some goal, though distant far, 
 Onward, 'neath the sun of morning, 
 
 Onward, 'neath the evening star, 
 Wisely let me choose my way, 
 Stepping Heavenward, day by day. 
 
 ANNA R. HENDERSON. 
 
 Ah, what a life is theirs who live in Christ ; 
 
 How vast the mystery! 
 Reaching in height to Heaven, and in its depth 
 
 The unfathomed sea. 
 
 ELIZABETH PRENTISS. 
 [169]
 
 JUNE TWELFTH. 
 
 WE are like children in our poor unreason, 
 As we reach after joys 
 That at the best can please but for a season, 
 And then are broken toys. 
 
 ELLA WHEELER WILCOX. 
 
 We are creatures of moods one thing to-day, 
 another to-morrow. Circumstances change our opin- 
 ions ; our own physical, mental, and spiritual state 
 influences us to act differently at various times : often 
 we are full of fancies and give ourselves up to the 
 indulgence of them. Sometimes we are petulant and 
 irritable, sometimes fitful as an April day, and oh, 
 sometimes we grow heart-sick and discouraged over a 
 trivial event, and lose the sweet music that God's love 
 is singing in every trusting soul. But this is all 
 because of our humanity. We are expected to master 
 the evil in our natures, and to continually make the 
 good better : let us, therefore, not allow our moods to 
 lead us into error, but if they are fitful and gusty, like 
 April weather, let us calm their storms into sunny 
 quietude, like unto a day in June. 
 
 We are as God has made us. Gladness, pain, 
 Delight and death, and moods of bliss or bane, 
 With love, and hate, or good, and evil all, 
 At separate times, in separate accents call ; 
 Yet 'tis the same heart-throb within the breast 
 That gives an impulse to our worst and best. 
 I doubt not when our earthly cries are ended, 
 The Listener finds them in one music blended. 
 
 GEORGE PARSONS LATHROP. 
 [170]
 
 O 
 
 JUNE THIRTEENTH. 
 
 LITTLE clouds! how swift 
 Ye sail across the blue, 
 To let the sunshine thro\ 
 
 FANNY H. R. POOLE. 
 
 Let us spend a little season together with the clouds, 
 these wonderful, beautiful airy wings that fly across the 
 ocean of the sky. They often remind me of various 
 people we meet in our every-day life. Some of them 
 wander aimlessly about, at times almost touching the 
 gossamer whiteness of their neighbors, and then drift- 
 ing on and on alone : so near they seem to ship with 
 others, they meet on common ground, or rather in 
 common air, yet they steadily sail on, aimlessly, self- 
 ishly alone. Oh, are there not human beings like 
 these, who almost get into touch with humanity, and 
 then turn and go on, without the loving word, and 
 friendly smile that is born of tender sympathy? O 
 selfish ones, O blind ! it is the bond of fellowship that 
 brings us nearer God ; it is, first of all, the love of God 
 that makes us love each other. 
 
 Kinship of souls, how sweet it is! 
 To live our little lives each day 
 That other lives may touch our own, 
 And be the better for it : aye, 
 And more than this ; we gain new strength, 
 New courage too, our souls are blest 
 And broadened out by fellowship, 
 Humanity and sympathy ! 
 
 I. S. T. 
 
 [171]
 
 JUNE FOURTEENTH. 
 
 GROWTH is the law in the world of grace as well 
 as in the world of nature. God does not bring 
 things into the world in full-fledged maturity. The 
 seed dropped into the earth in springtime illustrates 
 the usual way. It is first the blade, then the ear, and 
 then the full, ripe corn in the ear. First the child, 
 then the youth, then the man. The ancients claim 
 that Minerva sprang full-grown, full-armed, from the 
 head of Jove ; but that isn't the history of either the 
 intellectual, or the spiritual life of man. Here is Paul's 
 way of putting it : " We beseech you, brethren, that 
 ye increase more and more." " Let us go on unto per- 
 fection." Christian life is progress, growth, "addi- 
 tion." J. C. McCLINTOCK, D.D. 
 
 I pray you, friendly ones, for room to grow, 
 Though small the beauty there may be for showing 
 
 And if no simple child or burdened soul 
 May find the floweret fair beyond my knowing, 
 
 Perchance the Lord who planted every seed 
 May smile to see the folded blossoms growing. 
 
 MINNIE D. BATEHAM. 
 
 Up and onward! toward the East, 
 
 Green oases thou shalt find, 
 Streams that rise from higher sources 
 
 Than the pools thou leavest behind ; 
 Life has import more inspiring 
 
 Than the fancies of thy youth ; 
 It has hopes as high as Heaven, 
 
 It has labor, it has truth. 
 
 ANNE CHARLOTTE LYNCH. 
 [172]
 
 JUNE FIFTEENTH. 
 
 WE learn many lessons through dear experience. 
 No one can tell us what to do, or what not 
 to do ; we will not listen, we must try for ourselves. 
 How often we sigh and shed bitter tears because we have 
 refused the advice of those older and wiser than our- 
 selves. The sins of omission and commission rise up 
 to haunt us, even in the perfect beauty of a June day. 
 When too late, we look back and cry, " Alas ! why was 
 I not more thoughtful, more helpful, more unselfish?" 
 
 What is so hard in all the bitter years, 
 As to look back and see the closed gate 
 That one dear day we might have opened. Fate 
 
 Wrings from our eyes the saddest, saltest tears, 
 O'er wisdom won too late. 
 
 CARLOTTA PERRY. 
 
 Ah ! woe for the word that is never said 
 
 Till the ear is deaf to hear, 
 And woe for the lack to the fainting head 
 
 Of the ringing shout of cheer ; 
 Ah! woe for the laggard feet that tread 
 
 In the mournful wake of the bier. 
 
 For baffling most in this dreary world, 
 With its tangles small and great, 
 
 Its lonesome nights and its weary days, 
 And its struggles forlorn with fate, 
 
 Is that bitterest grief, too deep for tears, 
 Of the help that comes too late. 
 
 MARGARET E. SANGSTER. 
 [173]
 
 JUNE SIXTEENTH. 
 
 THIS age is an age of progress: we are moving 
 forward in every line of thought and action. 
 Croakers may say what they please about the world, 
 and that although it pushes ahead, its progression is not 
 an advantage to it. Perhaps there is too much hurry 
 and worry : we all admit this : we all deplore it, but 
 there are many grand improvements over the old times 
 of our ancestors. The coming man ought to be wiser 
 and better than the man of to-day, and I believe that 
 he will be. Inheriting the zeal and enthusiasm of to- 
 day, as well as the principles of truth and right, he 
 should be fruitful in noble ideas and noble deeds God 
 grant he may! 
 
 'Tis dark around, 'tis dark above, 
 But through the shadow streams the sun ; 
 We cannot doubt Thy certain love ; 
 A Man's true aim shall yet be won! 
 
 THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON. 
 
 Not knowledge only enters in the plan 
 And consummation of the Coming Man, 
 And not belief alone, however true : 
 The best is not to rest, it is to do ; 
 The Coming Man shall be a man of deeds 
 Employing substance and supplying needs. 
 His wisest word shall, bear a fitting act, 
 And all his speculation bloom to fact ; 
 The goodness of his ethics he shall prove 
 By logical results of active love. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY VENABLE. 
 [174]
 
 JUNE SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 A WIDE, rich heaven hangs above you, but it hangs 
 high. A wide rough world is around you, and it 
 lies very low. DONALD G. MITCHELL. 
 
 Seek Truth at all times : do not grovel with the false 
 things of the world. Truth leads upward, untruth 
 downward. Truth holds kinship with God, untruth 
 belongs to the Evil One. Truth is open as the day, 
 and in its presence is light and joy, while falsity reigns 
 in darkness and dishonor. Battle against error and 
 wrong ; be not turned aside by every wind that blows, 
 but be strong in purpose, and keep fast hold of the 
 hand of Truth : she will prove a faithful guide. 
 
 Oh strong eagle-hearted, turn upward thy gaze 
 And meet there, unflinching, the wonderful blaze 
 Of the pure light of Truth, which, from its high source 
 Up above the dark earth and the gloom and the haze 
 Of the present, makes glorious thine eternal course. 
 
 Let weariness never thy broad pinions stay, 
 
 But upward, still cleaving all error away, 
 
 Let them bear thee, as time slips behind, with a sure 
 
 And a widening stroke, and each shimmering ray 
 
 From thy sun shall grow clearer to thee and more pure. 
 
 Push up through the billowing ages and fly 
 Swiftly on toward thy goal, ever keeping thine eye 
 Sunward turned, and let nothing thy splendid course 
 
 stay 
 
 From its noble aim, thine inheritance high ; 
 Mount up, eagle-hearted, to eternal day. 
 
 D. E. PIERSON. 
 [175]
 
 JUNE EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 OPEN your Bible this June morning, and begin the 
 day with some helpful text : get a good start ; 
 perhaps there will be special perplexities or trials t<? 
 disturb you : put on your Heavenly armor, and then 
 the darts from the hand of the enemy will glance off. 
 
 Thou truest friend man ever knew ; 
 
 Thy constancy I've tried ; 
 When all were false, I found thee true, 
 
 My counsellor and guide. 
 The mines of earth no treasure give 
 
 That could this volume buy ; 
 In teaching me the way to live, 
 
 It taught me how to die. 
 
 GEORGE P. MORRIS. 
 
 What a wonderful book the Bible is! The marvel 
 of literature; the text-book of the world! Where is 
 there anything like it in all the writings of men? 
 This tree of wisdom, beneath whose shadow we gather 
 to learn lessons beyond all that was taught in Platonic 
 groves, is a tree of God's planting. It is rooted in the 
 soil of the distant centuries. It spreads its fibres be- 
 neath Sinai and Calvary. The spirit of God breathes 
 through its whispering leaves, and the songs of proph- 
 ets, and apostles, and martyrs yet wake living echoes 
 beneath its branches. The leaves of the tree are for 
 the healing of the nations, and its fruit is the fruit of 
 the Tree of Life. Humanity itself pants for a place 
 beneath its shade. E. H. GILLETT. 
 
 [176]
 
 JUNE NINETEENTH. 
 
 IT is the man who lays a brick at a time who suc- 
 ceeds in building a wall ; the woman who keeps at 
 her work, stitch by stitch, who sews a seam. Take it 
 out and do it over, if it is wrong : keep steadily on, and 
 let no past failures prevent you from trying again. 
 
 Over and over again, 
 
 No matter which way I turn, 
 I always find in the Book of Life 
 
 Some lesson I have to learn. 
 I must take my turn at the mill, 
 
 I must grind out the golden grain ; 
 I must work at my task with a resolute will 
 
 Over and over again. 
 
 We cannot measure the need 
 
 Of even the tiniest flower, 
 Nor check the flow of the golden sands 
 
 That run through a single hour ; 
 But the morning dews must fall, 
 
 And the sun and the summer rain 
 Must do their part, and perform it all 
 
 Over and over again. 
 
 Over and over again, 
 
 The brook through the meadow flows? 
 And over and over again 
 
 The ponderous mill-wheel goes ; 
 Once doing will not suffice, 
 
 Though doing be not in vain, 
 And a blessing, failing once or twice, 
 
 May come if we try again. 
 
 JOSEPHINE POLLARD. 
 A 12 [I 77 ]
 
 JUNE TWENTIETH. 
 
 HE who loses faith in God and man must indeed be 
 miserable : what attractions can the present life 
 or the life hereafter have for him? What desperate 
 things a state of mind like this has driven men to do! 
 It has made hermits of them ; they have sought to hide 
 from all humanity and live in selfish seclusion rather 
 than be among those in whom they have lost faith and 
 confidence. It has caused men to become mentally 
 deranged ; to be melancholy and morose, and to turn 
 away from all that is true and good. Oh, I beseech 
 you, do not lose your faith. Cling to God, no matter 
 what befalls you : believe in man, for he is your brother, 
 and the child of God. 
 
 What need we more than He has taught is right? 
 What need we more than He has given of light ? 
 Thy neighbor love, be simple, pure and just, 
 Have faith in Me and in My wisdom trust. 
 
 WILLIAM ADOLPHUS CLARK. 
 
 So though we faint on life's dark hill, 
 And thought grow weak, and knowledge flee, 
 Yet Faith shall teach us courage still, 
 And Love shall guide us on to Thee. 
 
 THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON. 
 
 'Tis Faith that cheers my pilgrim way, 
 
 When shadows o'er me fall, 
 That bids me look above the storm, 
 
 And trust the Lord for all. 
 
 FANNY J. CROSBY. 
 [178]
 
 JUNE TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 r ~f~*O live a life whose influence shall whiten the souls 
 A of all mankind, this should be the aim of every 
 one of us. A little bunch of spring violets may be 
 brought into a room and placed where they cannot be 
 seen, but by and by they will breathe out sweet 
 breaths of fragrance, until any one coming into the 
 room will exclaim, " Ah, sweet violets ! there is no 
 mistaking the odor; they are in the room some- 
 where ! " The fragrance of a pure, beautiful life is like 
 the violets : you cannot be associated with it without 
 being sweetened and refreshed. There is an atmos- 
 phere that surrounds some souls that seems like a bit 
 of Heaven, and whenever we are in it we feel as if we 
 were treading on holy ground. 
 
 Oh! press on! 
 
 For the high ones and powerful shall come 
 To do you reverence ; and the beautiful 
 Will know the purer language of your soul, 
 And read it like a talisman of love. 
 Press on! for it is godlike to unloose 
 The spirit, and forget yourself in thought 
 Bending a pinion for the deeper sky, 
 And, in the very fetters of your flesh, 
 Mating with the pure essences of Heaven. 
 
 N. P. WILLIS. 
 
 For none shall walk in perfect white 
 
 Till every soul be clean ; 
 So close for sorrow and delight 
 
 These human spirits lean. 
 
 KATHERINE LEE BATES. 
 [179]
 
 JUNE TWENTY-SECOND. 
 
 SELF is only the casket God has given us to hold 
 the jewel of the soul, and yet we set a very high 
 value on it much higher than He does. We think a 
 great deal more of the casket, often, than of the jewel 
 it enshrines. We seek to adorn and polish and beau- 
 tify it, and spare no pains to make it as attractive as 
 possible, while the precious gem that God has made 
 immortal is neglected and forgotten. It is not only a 
 pleasure, but a duty to be as lovely as we can in every 
 way possible, but the cultivation of Self our outer 
 Self should not lead us to neglect the more important 
 work of beautifying the soul. That you may learn the 
 secret of true living is my prayer to-day the sweet 
 joy of doing for others the little kindnesses that Christ 
 has put in your power to do. 
 
 Let me not live for self; but tell 
 
 My anxious spirit how to cope 
 
 With doubt and weakness, blasted hope, 
 
 In souls where heavenly peace should dwell ; 
 
 To help aright, 
 
 Where fails the sight, 
 
 On to the goal, eternal, sure, 
 
 With purpose strong and motive pure. 
 
 ELIZABETH CHERRY HAIRE. 
 
 Live not for self, but strive for others' good, 
 And if life's rue is dealt with hand unsparing, 
 
 Put not the cup in haste, or wrath away, 
 
 Nor droop beneath the cross that thou art bearing. 
 
 EMILY STUART WEED. 
 [180]
 
 JUNE TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 WE are never half thankful enough for rain: we 
 are ever singing the praises of the sunshine, 
 and it is right that we should thank God for every ray 
 from Heaven, but we do not appreciate the blessing of 
 rain as we should. Yet what grand results it brings! 
 On a warm summer day how the fields droop, and the 
 flowers faint beneath the parching beams of the sun, 
 but when God pities the thirsty earth and sends the 
 weeping clouds to drop their showers upon a parched 
 and dusty world, how Nature rejoices, and how smil- 
 ing and refreshed she looks, as she lifts her parched 
 lips to drink of the tears of Heaven. 
 
 " Bless God for rain ! " The good man said, 
 
 And wiped away a grateful tear ; 
 That we may have our daily bread, 
 
 He drops a shower upon us here. 
 Our Father! Thou who dwellest in Heaven, 
 
 We thank Thee for the pearly shower! 
 The blessed present Thou hast given 
 
 To man, and beast, and bird and flower. 
 
 The modest grass is fresh and green ; 
 
 The brooklet swells its song again ; 
 Methinks an angel's wing is seen 
 
 In every cloud that brings us Rain. 
 There is a rainbow in the sky, 
 
 Upon the arch where tempests trod ; 
 God wrote it ere the world was dry 
 
 It is the autograph of God. 
 
 GEORGE W. BUNGAY. 
 [181]
 
 JUNE TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 HHHE growth of grasses, the shinings of stars, 
 A The interchange of night and day, 
 All growth that struggles to burst the bars 
 
 Setting it hindrance and delay, 
 All storm, all tumult, that fills the breast, 
 
 Utters the secret as best it may, 
 Life seeks a beyond, a highest, a best. 
 
 LEWIS J. BLOCK. 
 
 This is why we are never satisfied with ourselves ; 
 the restless life within us "seeks a beyond." The 
 lessons of yesterday are not sufficient ; we must go on 
 learning to-day and to-morrow. When we climb a 
 mountain for the first time, we are astonished at the 
 great distance we have made, as we look down into 
 the valley from which we came. When we look at 
 children just beginning to distinguish the letters of 
 the alphabet, we say, " What a long way they have to 
 travel to reach the top." God has so planned that 
 nothing worth having shall be attained without patient 
 effort. It is the hour-by-hour growth that in the end 
 can look back on steady progress. We forget all our 
 toil at last in the glory of success. Let us go on 
 climbing, go on seeking "the beyond" of a better, 
 truer, nobler life, making daily preparation for the Life 
 that is eternal. 
 
 From out a life of work and care, 
 Of crosses heavy and burdens sore, 
 
 A soul may bloom to beauty rare 
 That shall not fade forevermore. 
 
 MINOT JUDSON SAVAGE.
 
 JUNE TWENTY-FIFTH. 
 
 DUTY, which seems irksome to us at first, often 
 becomes pleasant while we are doing it. It de- 
 pends very much on the spirit in which we take hold 
 of it : if we resolve to put our hearts into it and do our 
 best, it will lose its disagreeableness and, in a measure, 
 grow attractive to us. All duty done, with a sense of 
 honor, and with true nobility of purpose, becomes 
 more and more interesting. If it is hard, and your 
 strength is small, the Master is ever ready to help and 
 comfort you, and labor for Him becomes beautiful and 
 holy if His blessing falls upon it. 
 
 I held a flower in my hand ; 
 
 'Twas night, I could not see, 
 And judging from the perfume, thought 
 
 The flower must ugly be. 
 But when the morning came, and light 
 
 With its transforming power, 
 I did forget all else except 
 
 The beauty of the flower. 
 
 God placed a duty in my hand ; 
 
 Before mine eyes could see 
 Its rightful form, that duty seemed 
 
 A bitter thing to me. 
 The Sun of glory rose and shone ; 
 
 Then duty I forgot, 
 And thought with what a privilege 
 
 The Lord had blessed my lot. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 [183]
 
 JUNE TWENTY-SIXTH. 
 
 T)RIGHTEN your intellect in every way you can 
 -L' this is God's all-wise purpose for you. Keep 
 drinking in, like a thirsty spring, gaining new strength 
 every day. It is a fine thing to be intellectually gen- 
 erous, for while you are blessing some one else, you 
 receive a blessing as well : it is also desirable to be 
 intellectually honest to have the mind's vision clear 
 that it may without exaggeration see the things that 
 shall be for its own welfare. 
 
 It is sure, 
 
 Stamped by the seal of nature, that the well 
 Of mind, where all its waters gather pure, 
 Shall with unquestioned spell all hearts allure. 
 Wisdom enshrined in beauty Oh! how high 
 The odor of that loveliness. 
 
 JAMES GATES PERCIVAL. 
 
 Oh, be it mine to boast 
 
 The best gift to mankind, 
 The choicest boon of Heaven 
 
 Integrity of mind; 
 
 To see things as they are, 
 
 Unappall'd by shadows vain, 
 To act a manly part 
 
 Despite of woe and pain ; 
 
 To strive while hope extends 
 
 A solitary ray ; 
 To be resigned when fate 
 
 Shall close life's transient day! 
 
 ISAAC H. JULIAN. 
 [184]
 
 JUNE TWENTY-SEVENTH. 
 
 HOW beautiful it is to be alive! 
 To make each morn as if the Maker's grace 
 Did us afresh from nothingness derive, 
 
 That we might sing, " How happy is our case ! 
 How beautiful it is to be alive! " 
 
 HENRY SEPTIMUS SUTTON. 
 
 How beautiful it is to be alive such weather as this! 
 You cannot turn your eyes anywhere but proofs of 
 God's love are to be seen in leaf and bud and grass. 
 Oh, get in tune with Nature's harmonies to-day. If 
 anything troubles or discourages you, put it away from 
 you : the grand old world is happy and bright, why 
 should not you be? There is no better time to be 
 glad than on a fresh, dewy June morning! 
 
 When breaks the morn in the clear, blue sky, 
 
 And the young larks wake and sing, 
 When the tall brown rushes still and shy 
 
 To the brooks are whispering, 
 I catch the refrain that charms me so 
 
 And my heart beats light and free, 
 For I'm in love with the world, you know, 
 
 And the world's in love with me! 
 
 When hums the bee in the honey-flowers 
 
 Where the meads are sweet and gay, 
 When sparrows chirp thro' the rosy hours 
 
 Their twittering roundelay : 
 My heart with all nature, wakes to hear 
 
 The music in bough and tree, 
 For I'm in love with the world, my dear, 
 
 And the world's in love with me! 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR. 
 [185]
 
 JUNE TWENTY-EIGHTH. 
 
 IN chaste and warm affections, humble wishes, and 
 honest toil for some useful end, there is health 
 for the mind, and quiet for the heart, the prospect of a 
 happy life, and the fairest hope of Heaven. NATHANIEL 
 
 HAWTHORNE. 
 
 Whene'er a noble deed is wrought, 
 Whene'er is spoken a noble thought, 
 
 Our hearts in glad surprise 
 
 To higher levels rise. 
 
 HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. 
 
 Cherish lofty ambitions. Let thy good deeds begin 
 in thy heart, and grow out of it ; let every duty be 
 done through a sense of right, and with a desire to 
 honor God and thyself. Love thy fellow-men : if they 
 stand above thee, reach up to them in love : if they 
 are below thee, stoop down to them in love, and thou 
 canst lift them up. Do every good deed in love to 
 God and man. 
 
 The test of worth 
 Is not the hold you have of earth ; 
 Lo, there be gentlest souls, sea blown, 
 That know not any harbor known ; 
 And it may be the reason is 
 They touch on fairer shores than this. 
 
 JOAQUIN MILLER. 
 
 I count this thing to be grandly true : 
 That a noble deed is a step towards God, 
 Lifting the soul from the common sod 
 
 To a purer air and a broader view. 
 
 J. G. HOLLAND. 
 
 [186]
 
 JUNE TWENTY-NINTH. 
 
 DO not complain of your life because it is a common- 
 place one ; that is just what God wants it to be, 
 and He allows all the little every-day events to come 
 into it to test your character. Nothing that God gives 
 you is commonplace ; it may seem simple and monot- 
 onous, but homely tasks, homely faces, homely living 
 become beautiful to Him if you put a beautiful spirit 
 behind them. 
 
 A commonplace life, we say and we sigh ; 
 
 But why should we sigh as we say? 
 The commonplace sun in the commonplace sky 
 
 Makes up the commonplace day. 
 The moon and the stars are commonplace things, 
 
 The flower that blooms and the bird that sings ; 
 But sad were the world, and dark our lot, 
 
 If flowers failed and the sun shone not, 
 And God, who sees each separate soul, 
 
 Out of commonplace lives makes His beautiful whole. 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 
 Oh, that this one central thought 
 Still may fill our starving souls 
 
 That whatever may be wrought, 
 The strong hand of God controls. 
 
 Then we shall not despise 
 
 Any common work that lies 
 
 Nearest to our willing eyes. 
 
 HATTIE TYNG GRISVVOLD. 
 
 The task that nearest lies 
 Perform, and wait devoutly 
 On God, who helps the wise. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 [187]
 
 JUNE THIRTIETH. 
 
 HPHE generous heart is the happy heart. If you 
 J- have beautiful thoughts, why should you hoard 
 them ? If you have wonderful gifts, why should you 
 hide them? If you have a warm, loving hand, why 
 should you close it against your breast instead of open- 
 it in cordial greeting to your brother man? One little 
 act of generosity is a small thing, yet you cannot per- 
 form the most trivial task which will be a blessing to 
 some one else without being benefited by it yourself. 
 Some one has said, " Charity is never lost ; it may meet 
 with ingratitude, or be of no service to those on whom 
 it was bestowed, yet it ever does a work of beauty and 
 grace upon the heart of the giver." 
 
 A generous heart asks no reward ; 
 
 It is, like conscience, clear ; 
 A feast, where all best gifts are stored, 
 
 And guests have all good cheer, 
 
 And with glad song 
 
 In happy throng 
 
 The hours prolong, 
 With loving friends whose presence makes life dear. 
 
 HENRY HAMILTON. 
 
 Give! as the morning that flows out of Heaven; 
 Give! as the waves when their channel is riven ; 
 Give! as the air and the sunshine are given ; 
 
 Lavishly, utterly, carelessly give. 
 Not the waste drops of thy cup overflowing, 
 Not the faint sparks of thy hearth ever glowing, 
 Not a pale bud from the June Rose's blowing, 
 
 Give as He gave thee, who gave thee to live. 
 
 ROSE TERRY COOKE. 
 [188]
 
 HELEN HUNT JACKSON 
 
 1831-1885
 
 OR THE MONTH 
 OF JULY 
 
 * 
 JULY FIRST. 
 
 WHEN the heat like a mist-veil floats, 
 And poppies flame in the rye, 
 And the silver note in the streamlet's throat, 
 Has softened almost to a sigh, 
 It is July. 
 
 When the hours are so still that Time 
 
 Forgets them, and lets them lie 
 'Neath petals pink till the night stars wink 
 
 At the sunset in the sky, 
 It is July. 
 
 When each finger-post by the way 
 
 Says that Slumbertown is nigh ; 
 When the grass is tall, and the roses fall, 
 
 And nobody wonders why, 
 It is July. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 The year is half gone, and we stand to-day looking 
 into the face of July, wondering what she has in store 
 for us. The passing days have had their bitter and 
 sweet. Trials or sorrows are hardest while we live 
 them ; joys are sweetest when they are gone. But let 
 us thank God for both, life would not be worth much 
 if it were all sunshine, or all shadow. Our mortality is 
 but the shadow that will soon pass away, but the 
 immortal part is the light that shall last forever. 
 [189]
 
 JULY SECOND. 
 
 AMONG THE MEADOWS. 
 
 THE buttercups, bright-eyed and bold, 
 Held up their chalices of gold 
 To catch the sunshine and the dew. 
 
 JULIA C. R. DORR. 
 
 The meadow-children are nodding brightly : in each 
 dear little face is joy and gladness ; in every silken 
 petal is the touch of God's Master-hand. Oh, what les- 
 sons they teach us! they preach silent sermons of 
 humility, contentment, simplicity, and praise. So frail, 
 and yet so courageous, they stand bravely up and meet 
 the storm, their faces always upturned to Heaven. 
 
 Who is this maiden with fringe on her cap? 
 
 Heigh-ho, bonny Daisy! 
 Just wide awake from a long, long nap 
 
 Heigh-ho, bonny Daisy! 
 
 MRS. M. F. BUTTS. 
 
 Clear and simple in white and gold, 
 
 Meadow blossoms of sunlit spaces, 
 The field is full as it well can hold 
 
 And white with the drift of the ox-eye daisies ! 
 
 DORA READ GOODALE. 
 
 Welcome, a thousand times welcome, ye dear and deli- 
 cate neighbors 
 Bird and bee and butterfly, and humming-bird fairy 
 
 fine! 
 
 Proud am I to offer you a field for your graceful labors ; 
 All the honey and all the seeds are yours in this gar- 
 den of mine. 
 
 CELIA THAXTER. 
 [190]
 
 JULY THIRD. 
 
 TTVERYTHING in Nature pushes on to complete- 
 -L' ness. Not the smallest blade of grass, or tiniest 
 tuft of moss was ever known to stop growing and 
 thriving, so long as it has no hindrances. While it has 
 air, and sunshine, and shower, it never rests. There is 
 a goal to be reached, something in the end worth striv- 
 ing for, it is perfection. We too should be no less 
 aspiring. While nourished by the sunshine of God's 
 love, and watered with the dews of His grace, our own 
 ambition should be to reach completeness, and let fall 
 some good seed that shall take root and grow and 
 spring into life everlasting. 
 
 Thou mayst not rest in any lovely thing, 
 
 Thou, who wert formed to seek and to aspire ; 
 For no fulfilment of thy dreams can bring 
 
 The answer to thy measureless desire. 
 The beauty of the round green world is not 
 
 Of the world's essence ; far within the sky 
 The tints which make this bubble bright are wrought 
 
 The bubble bursts ; the light can never die. 
 
 LUCY LARCOM. 
 
 Christians are to be perfect even as their Father in 
 Heaven is perfect. Our Saviour came to show us how 
 we should act, just as truly as what actions we were to 
 do. The completeness of His work is shown in the 
 method as much as in the deed ; and yet there is a 
 deeper truth still . Nothing less than completeness, per- 
 fection, satisfies us. The constant charm of Christ is His 
 perfection. Christ for us, Christ in -us, Christ before 
 us, makes us complete. CHARLES s. ALBERT.
 
 T 
 
 JULY FOURTH. 
 
 I HE birthday of American Independence! Let 
 every loyal heart rejoice! 
 
 My country, 'tis of thee, 
 
 Sweet land of liberty, 
 
 Of thee I sing! 
 
 SAMUEL F. SMITH. 
 
 The generations of men shall come and go ; the 
 greatness of yesterday shall be forgotten to-day, and 
 the glories of this noon shall vanish before to-morrow's 
 sun ; but America shall not perish, but endure while 
 the spirit of our fathers animates their sons. HENRY 
 
 ARMITT BROWN. 
 
 Up with our banner bright, 
 
 Sprinkled with starry light, 
 Spread its fair emblems from mountain to shore, 
 
 While through the sounding sky, 
 
 Loud rings the nation's cry, 
 Union and Liberty! One evermore! 
 
 OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. 
 
 O, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand 
 
 Between their loved homes and the war's desolation ; 
 
 Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven-rescued 
 
 land 
 
 Praise the power that has made and preserved us a 
 nation! 
 
 Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just, 
 
 And this be our motto, " In God is our trust." 
 
 And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave 
 O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! 
 
 FRANCIS SCOTT KEY. 
 [192]
 
 A 
 
 JULY FIFTH. 
 RESTFUL day to you! 
 
 A little rest, Lord, midway of Life's hours, 
 A space of soft and summer-sweet repose ; 
 
 Time to glance backward on bright morning's flowers, 
 On weary wanderings ere the noontide goes ; 
 Give me one hour of rest! 
 
 CELESTE M. WINSLOW. 
 
 In your zeal to make the best of your time and oppor- 
 tunities, do not overwork. Take a little rest by the 
 wayside of life, if you can : drop your cares, burdens, 
 and anxieties ; lay aside your business, and allow your 
 brain and body to have a little much-needed rest. It 
 will do you good. Get out into the country for a few 
 days if you can. July in town is hot and dry and 
 dusty, but in the country it is dreamy and peaceful. If 
 there is a breeze stirring, you can find it, and it is like 
 healing balm to your tired body and brain. Rest here 
 on earth is only a little pause : we cannot entirely rid 
 ourselves of the pressure of life's duties and responsi- 
 bilities, but may push them aside for a little while. 
 We shall never find our true rest until we find it with 
 One whose gentle hand has power to smooth every 
 furrow from the brow and lift every burden from the 
 heart. 
 
 God keeps back rest alone, that the world-weary, 
 E'en though his cup high mantles to the brim, 
 
 Or though his fate be desolate and dreary, 
 May seek and find repose alone in Him! 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 A 13 [193]
 
 JULY SIXTH. 
 
 HARD was his lot, and bitter words 
 Were often of him said, 
 Not that he did so bad a thing 
 They misinterpreted. 
 
 MARCUS BLAKELY ALLMOND. 
 
 Oh, be careful how you judge. Many a heart has 
 ached, many a life been blighted, because of hasty 
 opinions and misinterpretations. Think of the times 
 you have done or said things which must have looked 
 strange to others. You admit that you were placed in 
 a false light, but you excuse yourself by saying, " No 
 matter how it seemed to others, it was all right, but 
 of course I could not explain the circumstances." Yet 
 you are suspicious of some one else when appearances 
 are against them, and misjudge them, when often they 
 are no more to blame than you were. The great dif- 
 ference is that you understand yourself, and that you 
 misunderstood your neighbor. You put the wrong 
 construction upon his words and actions, and were 
 shocked and surprised at an imaginary wrong. Weigh 
 carefully your words before you speak, lest you wound 
 or hurt a sensitive soul. There is nothing that crushes 
 a human being like this to be continually misunder- 
 stood. 
 
 O souls that struggle to express 
 The truths ye cannot now repress, 
 
 Of inward life for outward good! 
 In this earth-language do ye own 
 A word of sadder, keener tone 
 
 Than this slow uttered word misunderstood? 
 
 MARIA UPHAM DRAKE. 
 [194]
 
 M 
 
 JULY SEVENTH. 
 AY God give thee strength for the day! 
 
 Oh, God's love is like a well-spring in the desert : 
 it will cool and refresh thee, and give thee new life and 
 hope. If thou wouldst have strength for this day, go 
 to Him trustingly, simply, as a child to an earthly 
 parent, and make thy want known. His ear is ever 
 open to the cry of His children. 
 
 Not for some future years, 
 
 Within whose misty length 
 May lie a shadow of great woe and tears, 
 A burden sore of care and fears, 
 
 He stores His promised strength. 
 
 But as the manna fell 
 
 Each day from Heaven, 
 And for the host of waiting Israel 
 Did the fierce hunger quell, 
 
 So, too, is freely given, 
 
 Strength for the daily life, 
 
 A blessed store, 
 
 For the small worries, and the paltry strife, 
 With which each hour is rife, 
 
 Some less, or more. 
 
 He hath His great supplies 
 
 For all our ways ; 
 
 For tempest drear, or for the sunny skies, 
 Whether we weep, or songs of joy arise, 
 
 Strength for our days. 
 
 LUCY RANDOLPH FLEMING. 
 [195]
 
 JULY EIGHTH. 
 
 T ET us remember that the still days will soon grow 
 J ' into months, and the months into years. May 
 we not undervalue them, but make a noble record for 
 Eternity! 
 
 Each coming year doth bring 
 Enough of the supremest, rarest joy, 
 To compensate for all its direst ills, 
 And leave enough besides to make God kind 
 And life a blessing. 
 
 MRS. S. M. I. HENRY. 
 
 They are slipping away, these sweet, swift years, 
 
 Like a leaf on the current cast ; 
 With never a break in the rapid flow, 
 We watch them, as one by one they go 
 
 Into the beautiful past. 
 
 One after another we see them pass 
 
 Down the dim-lighted stair ; 
 We hear the sound of their heavy tread 
 In the steps of the centuries long since dead, 
 
 As beautiful and fair. 
 
 There are only a few years left to love ; 
 
 Shall we waste them in idle strife ? 
 Shall we trample under our ruthless feet 
 Those beautiful blossoms rare and sweet, 
 
 By the dusky way of life ? 
 
 There are only a few swift years ah ! let 
 
 No envious taunts be heard ; 
 Make life's fair pattern of rare design, 
 And fill up the measure with love's sweet wine, 
 
 But never an angry word. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 [196]
 
 JULY NINTH. 
 
 PRACTISE self-denial every day. Lay a whole- 
 some restraint upon your appetites. Be not con- 
 founded by this world. Let your dress, let your 
 house, your furniture, be plain and simple, as be- 
 cometh a Christian. Avoid vain parade and show 
 in everything. Forgive and pray for your enemies. 
 Have little to do with party politics. Carry on your 
 business on sober, judicious principles. Live peace- 
 ably with all men as much as in you lies. Keep 
 your heart with all diligence. ARCHIBALD ALEX- 
 ANDER. 
 
 The faith we hold is built on deeds we do, 
 As lofty temples rest on solid ground 
 As through earth-roots the flower is glory-crowned ; 
 
 And when our life is high our creed is too. 
 
 For they who do the right have clearest view 
 And penetrate beyond the shadowy bound 
 Of phantom worlds to where God's truth is found, 
 
 And taste the joy which others but pursue. 
 
 HENRY HAMILTON. 
 
 But to the one whose spirit 
 
 Yearns for the great and good ; 
 Unto the one whose storehouse 
 
 Yieldeth the hungry food ; 
 Unto the one who labors, 
 
 Fearless of foe or frown, 
 Unto the kindly-hearted, 
 
 Cometh a blessing down. 
 
 MARY F. TUCKER. 
 [197]
 
 JULY TENTH. 
 
 WHEN in impatience led to oft complain, 
 When other's faults long in the memory live, 
 Come in my heart with loving peace to reign ; 
 Teach me forgiveness, Lord, " my sins forgive." 
 
 So thoughtless we, our careless steps oft stray ; 
 
 In hours of danger each resolve forgot ; 
 Thou knowest all our weaknesses, we pray, 
 
 " Into temptation," Lord, oh, " lead us not." 
 
 NELLIE F. CORNELL. 
 
 Just one little word said in the morning, sometimes 
 mars the peace of a whole day. You need to send up 
 a special prayer to God for forgiveness then, and also 
 a cry for deliverance from temptation. The worst of 
 it all is, that those to whom you often speak unkindly 
 are those you love best, your nearest and dearest, 
 whose very lives seem a part of your own, because 
 your interests are one. How sorry you will be some- 
 time for this, if you are not now. Be careful ; oh, 
 learn to speak tenderly and gently to your own. 
 
 We have careful thought for the stranger, 
 
 And smiles for the sometime guest ; 
 But oft for our own the bitter tone, 
 
 Though we love our own the best. 
 Ah ! lips with the curve impatient, 
 
 Ah ! brow with the shade of scorn, 
 'Twere a cruel fate, were the night too late 
 
 To undo the work of the morn! 
 
 MARGARET E. SANGSTER. 
 fi 9 8]
 
 JULY ELEVENTH. 
 
 ' HPHEY that are strong ought to bear the infirm- 
 J- ities of the weak." There's a test that wants no 
 candle to show it ; it shines by its own light. Walk 
 up and down this weary, suffering world, with eyes 
 like Christ's. Let issue from your lives an influence 
 so blessed, that, though you be not heralded as the 
 great benefactors of the race, though your death pro- 
 duce no universal shock, though your funeral train be 
 humble, though no splendid mausoleum mark your 
 final resting-place, there shall rise to God the silent 
 testimony of sorrowing souls that you have comforted. 
 
 EDWARD ALLEN TANNER. 
 
 Through time and space our influence runs, 
 
 Though small it seems to be, 
 And Time's strange ways shall roll at last 
 
 To God's eternity. 
 
 It lies with you to give to God 
 This fair earth bright and strong 
 
 And pure as when the morning stars 
 Woke their exultant song ; 
 
 And when earth's King, in clouds and fire, 
 
 Shall come to claim His throne, 
 The life whose touch was truest here, 
 
 Shall quickest touch His own. 
 
 MRS. J. C. FIELD. 
 
 A firm faith is the best divinity; a good life, the 
 best philosophy; a clear conscience, the best law; 
 honesty, the best policy ; and temperance the best 
 physic; living for both worlds is the wisest and 
 best life. ANONYMOUS. 
 
 [199]
 
 JULY TWELFTH. 
 
 IF not to fly, why has the robin wings, 
 While the green desert dares him to be free ; 
 Why does he yearn to reach remotest things, 
 The mountain's rim if it were not to be ? 
 
 If not to wander by the willow trees, 
 Why wakes the torrent from its long repose ; 
 
 If not to woo the butterflies the bees, 
 Why sweet and beautiful the summer's rose ? 
 
 ANNIE ROBERTSON NOXON. 
 
 Whatever resources are yours, take advantage of 
 them. God has not endowed you with a body, mind, 
 and soul simply to exhibit His powers of creation. 
 You have a gold mine within you, if you only knew it. 
 Use the pick-axe and spade ; turn up the surface-soil, 
 and take a glimpse of your real inner self. Persever- 
 ance and energy will reveal treasures you did not 
 know you possessed. Make the best of your chances : 
 don't wait for to-morrow. God's time is to-day : your 
 time is to-day. 
 
 What use for the rope if it be not flung 
 
 Till the swimmer's grasp to the rock has clung? 
 
 What help in a comrade's bugle blast 
 
 When the peril of Alpine heights is past? 
 
 What need the spurring paean roll 
 
 When the runner is safe beyond the goal? 
 
 What worth is eulogy's blandest breath, 
 
 When whispered in ears that are hushed in death? 
 
 MARGARET J. PRESTON. 
 [200]
 
 JULY THIRTEENTH. 
 
 T)ERHAPS there is some special thing for which 
 JL you have worked and planned all your life. Is it 
 fame, or social position, or gold? Is it knowledge? 
 Is it a chance to improve your talents, that you may 
 glorify the Giver of all good gifts ? God sees a great 
 deal deeper down in your heart than you do : He knows 
 why you are striving, and whether your motive is 
 honorable or not. Whatever your ambition may be, 
 let it be noble not the seeking of Self s interests, but 
 the uplifting of humanity. 
 
 I have my own ambition. It is not 
 To mount on eagle's wings and soar away 
 
 Beyond the palings of the common lot, 
 Scorning the griefs and joys of every day ; 
 
 I would be human toiling, like the rest, 
 
 With tender human heart-beats in my breast. 
 
 Humanity is much the same. If I 
 
 Can give my neighbor's pent-up thought a tongue, 
 And can give voice to his unspoken cry 
 
 Of bitter pain, when my own heart is wrung, 
 Then we too meet upon a common land, 
 And henceforth stand together, hand in hand. 
 
 I send my thought its kindred thought to greet, 
 Out to the far frontier, through crowded town. 
 
 Friendship is precious, sympathy is sweet ; 
 So these be mine, I ask no laurel crown. 
 
 Such my ambition, which I here unfold ; 
 
 So be it granted mine is wealth untold. 
 
 ELLEN P. ALLERTON. 
 [20!]
 
 \7" 
 
 JULY FOURTEENTH. 
 motto for to-day all's for the best! 
 
 All's for the best, if we only did know it ; 
 
 Sorrow and suffering, anguish and loss ; 
 Tenderly, kindly, God's hand doth bestow it, 
 
 Bridging with love the deep chasm across. 
 Dark are the shadows foretelling the dawning, 
 
 Bringing the chariot wheels of the day ; 
 It is always the night-time before it is morning 
 
 Always the winter before it is May. 
 Joy walketh close in the footsteps of sorrow 
 
 We find not the thorn till the rose we have pressed ; 
 But let it be grief or joy on the morrow, 
 
 God's way is the way that is always the best. 
 
 HELEN A. MANVILLE. 
 
 We cannot see why our plan should have failed, or 
 why our castle so carefully builded should be all ruins, 
 nor why our roses should die and leave nothing but 
 thorns. We cannot see why we should have bitter in- 
 stead of sweet in our cup, nor why we should have gray 
 shadows instead of dancing sunbeams in the pathway 
 that we tread. No, with our mortal eyes we cannot 
 see these things ; but the eye of Faith can discern 
 much that is hidden from common view. It sees God 
 in all our lives, and reads His will, His guidance, and 
 His love in every wise plan. 
 
 But God is God, my darling, 
 Of the night as well as the day ; 
 
 And we feel and know that we can go 
 Wherever He leads the way. 
 
 REMBRANDT PEALE.
 
 JULY FIFTEENTH. 
 
 " TNASMUCH as ye have done it unto one of the 
 * least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto 
 Me." 
 
 I have no frankincense, no myrrh, 
 
 I have no spice, no oil ; 
 But here are snowy roses, Christ, 
 
 Without a stain or soil. 
 
 fairest Lord, for Thy dear sake 
 My roses take. 
 
 1 have no silver, and no gem, 
 
 No virgin gold for Thee ; 
 But here are lilies white as light 
 
 And sweet with purity. 
 O fairest Lord, for Thy dear sake, 
 
 My lilies take. 
 
 LILLIE E. BARR. 
 
 It is the spirit behind the gift, that God looks at. 
 No matter how lowly, or how poor an offering may be, 
 it will find acceptance with Him, if you give it with the 
 right motive. Flowers carry sweet messages for Christ ; 
 if you cannot do more than this, you can allow flowers 
 to speak for you in sympathy, kindness, and love. God 
 speaks through Nature, and Nature's sweetest children 
 are flowers. 
 
 I often wonder whether those to whom our Heavenly 
 Father grants this blessed ministry of sending flowers 
 into the darkened rooms of the suffering, fully realize 
 the beautiful mission of their gifts! a mission which 
 touches so many different chords in the heart of the 
 receiver. ROSE PORTER. 
 
 [203]
 
 JULY SIXTEENTH. 
 
 HPHE soul of God is poured into the world through 
 -* the thoughts of men. As cloud on cloud, as 
 snow on snow, as the bird rests on the air, and the 
 planet rests on space in its flight, so do nations of 
 men and their institutions rest on thoughts. RALPH 
 
 WALDO EMERSON. 
 
 The loving thoughts we shelter in the heart, 
 
 Upspringing there, the blades of good shall grow, 
 
 Which kept by watchful care from weeds apart, 
 The evil thoughts which we too often sow, 
 
 Shall flourish, grow in strength, and soon increase, 
 And we in Life's last days the fruit shall see, 
 
 Reward of life well spent, eternal peace, 
 For " as our sowing, shall our reaping be." 
 
 LUCIE A. HAGER. 
 
 May God fill you with beautiful thoughts to-day! 
 Let them spring up within you and blossom for all 
 Eternity : let them issue from your lips in gentle, pure 
 words that shall uplift a drooping soul, and comfort a 
 sorrowing heart. Let the thoughts born within you 
 this July day bear kinship to Heaven : if the inner life 
 is pure and beautiful, the thoughts that proceed out of 
 it will soar upward into a congenial clime. 
 
 All thoughts that mould the age, begin 
 Deep down within the primitive soul. 
 
 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 
 [204]
 
 JULY SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 T OSE not a day, for thou mightst look a lifetime but 
 1 ' never find it ! 
 
 Press onward! Soul, thou shalt not rest, 
 
 For thou shalt never say 
 That one glad moment lost to thee 
 
 Awaits the judgment day. 
 
 Arm, arm thyself with God's own might! 
 
 The day speeds on apace, 
 And somewhere night is rolling up 
 
 The opal walls of space. 
 
 WILLIS MARSHALL. 
 
 Didst thou ever think what a sorrowful thing a lost 
 day was? Didst thou ever think how thou shouldst ac- 
 count to God for it ? Let no day slip away from thee but 
 see to it that thou dost treasure up its glad hours, and 
 make them still gladder, by adding to them some beau- 
 tiful memento that God and the angels shall inscribe 
 with thy name. 
 
 Up, up, my soul, ere yet the shadow falleth ; 
 
 Some good return in latter seasons wrought, 
 Forget thyself, when duty's angel calleth - 
 
 The time is short. 
 
 By all the lapses thou hast been forgiven, 
 By all the lessons prayer to thee hath taught, 
 
 To others teach the sympathies of Heaven 
 The time is short. 
 
 ELIZABETH PRENTISS. 
 [205]
 
 JULY EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 '"THOUGHT makes character. " As a man thinketh 
 A in his heart, so is he." . . . And in character is 
 wrapped up eternal destiny. EDWARD A. TANNER. 
 
 To the sea-shell's spiral round 
 'Tis the heart that brings the sound : 
 The soft sea-murmurs that you hear 
 Within, are captured from your ear. 
 
 THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH. 
 
 To the responsive heart all beautiful things speak, 
 all good things appeal. If we carry within us a love 
 for truth and right, all that is true and right finds an 
 echo in our being. So if we are evil by nature, and 
 cherish evil thoughts, we are incapable of seeing the 
 good in others ; or if we may in a degree recognize it, 
 we are unable fully to appreciate it. So with the soul : 
 if it has no love for God in it, it is impossible for it to 
 comprehend or appreciate His goodness. If we are 
 pulsing and thrilling with the love of God, all His 
 works are lovely to us, and the grand old world which 
 He has made is a magnificent picture from the skilful 
 hand of the Divine Artist. 
 
 Then find no fault with the sunshine, 
 
 God made the world bright to be, 
 He hath made a leaf-shelter for every bird 
 
 And a song-bird for every tree. 
 But into the human heart the law 
 
 Cometh for bitter or sweet ; 
 The measure which thou to the world doth give 
 
 Such measure the world will mete. 
 
 JULIA A. F. CARNEY. 
 [206]
 
 O 
 
 JULY NINETEENTH. 
 
 H, never yet upon the scroll 
 Of the sin-stained, but priceless soul, 
 Hath Heaven inscribed " Despair." 
 
 JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER. 
 
 Ah, what thoughtful, loving provision God hath 
 made for us in the gift of the angel of Hope! There is 
 no path so dark but we may see the glimmer of her 
 shining wings, no misfortune so heavy but her helpful 
 hand is outstretched to us, and her smile still ready to 
 cheer and encourage us. 
 
 There's hope for me, and hope for you! 
 Behind the cloud the sky's still blue ; 
 Behind our crosses, we are told, 
 Awaits our crown of glittering gold ; 
 O Heart be glad, and Heart, be true, 
 There's hope, sweet hope for me and you! 
 
 i. s. T. 
 
 Life hath its hopes fulfilled ; 
 
 Its glad fruitions, its best answered prayer, 
 Sweeter for waiting long, whose holy air 
 Indrawn to silent souls breathes forth in rare 
 
 Grand speech, by joy distilled. 
 
 ISADORE G. JEFFERY. 
 
 Hold up your head, then, child of grief, 
 Nor longer to the tempest bend : 
 
 For soon or late must come relief 
 The coldest, darkest night will end. 
 
 Within my heart hope never dies ; 
 
 Trust on ! your day-star yet shall rise ! 
 
 ANONYMOUS.
 
 JULY TWENTIETH. 
 
 *~pHERE is always something to be thankful for. 
 -- While you are planning a jaunt to the country, 
 don't forget that you are not the only one who is 
 longing for the sight of a cool, green spot. What are 
 you doing towards the " Fresh Air Mission " ? This is 
 one of God's opportunities. 
 
 But what of those children, poor and sad, 
 
 (Fatherless, motherless, may be too,) 
 Shadowed by poverty, sickness and pain, 
 
 Crowded and stifled the summer through ! 
 What of the little and longing hearts 
 
 Which wait so patiently day by day 
 For a glimpse of the happy and wonderful things 
 
 That rarely, if ever, can pass their way ! 
 They too must long for the beautiful place 
 
 Where everything grows so sweet and fair! 
 They too must wish for a little space 
 
 In the broad green meadows, a whiff of air. 
 
 All flower-scented and fresh and cool, 
 
 And the wealth of clover and daisies white, 
 The sound of birds in the grand old trees, 
 
 And a frolic with all the sunbeams bright! 
 Let us give them a chance to share with us 
 
 The sweet, glad charms of the summer-time ! 
 As the joy-bells ring in our happy hearts 
 
 Let theirs catch the echo of each sweet chime ; 
 For them as for us God's gifts were meant, 
 
 (May He help us remember that, day by day,) 
 And the " Helping Hand " outstretched in His name 
 
 He will fill o'erflowing, dear friends, alway. 
 
 MARY D. BRINE. 
 [208]
 
 JULY TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 WHEN you awake, resolve that it shall be to some 
 faithful purpose, and that your renovated powers 
 shall be obedient to Him who has renewed them. Let 
 the day's work be done as its hours are passing. Let 
 it have something of completeness in it. N. L. FROTH- 
 INGHAM. 
 
 Labor is man's great function. He is nothing, he 
 can be nothing, he can achieve nothing, he can fulfil 
 nothing, without working. ORVILLE DEWEY. 
 
 Lord, we would work while life shall last, 
 
 Would toil while life is given ; 
 Nor let us faint when hardships press, 
 
 True service fits for Heaven. 
 With holy zeal we would go on, 
 
 Nor ask for crown or palm ; 
 Enough for us, if at the last 
 
 We chant the victor's psalm. 
 
 EVA MUNSON SMITH. 
 
 There is no spirituality at all without use. Spiritual- 
 ity begins, continues, and culminates in use. To be 
 genuinely useful, in any way, is to be so far spiritual. 
 To be nobly, comprehensively, humanly useful, is to be 
 spiritual in a grand way. o. B. FROTHINGHAM. 
 
 Is there no action worth my mood, 
 No deed of daring, high and pure, 
 That shall, when I am dead, endure, 
 
 A well-spring of perpetual good ? 
 
 THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH. 
 A I 4 [209]
 
 JULY TWENTY-SECOND. 
 
 I TELL you the future can hold no terrors 
 For any sad soul while the stars revolve : 
 If he will but stand firm on the grave of his errors, 
 And instead of regretting, resolve, resolve ! 
 
 ELLA WHEELER WILCOX. 
 
 " What can't be cured, must be endured," is a good 
 old maxim, and teaches a lesson worth remembering. 
 If, instead of worrying because our plans have failed, 
 and because we have made mistakes, and our neighbor 
 has misjudged and ill-treated us, we would only resolve 
 to go forward, manfully, cheerfully, making the best of 
 it all, how much happier we should be! The man who 
 will hold up his head in the face of troubles and dis- 
 couragements, and take life as it comes, carries a brave 
 spirit and a light heart! 
 
 I like the man who faces what he must 
 With step triumphant, and a heart of cheer, 
 Who fights the daily battle without fear ; 
 
 Sees his hopes fail, yet keeps unfaltering trust 
 
 That God is God ; that somehow, true and just 
 His plans work out for mortals ; not a tear 
 Is shed when fortune, which the world holds dear, 
 
 Falls from his grasp ; better, with love, a crust 
 
 Than living in dishonor ; envies not, 
 
 Nor loses faith in man ; but does his best, 
 
 Nor ever murmurs at his humble lot, 
 
 But with a smile and words of hope, gives zest 
 
 To every toiler ; he alone is great, 
 
 Who by a life heroic conquers fate. 
 
 SARAH K. BOLTON. 
 [210]
 
 JULY TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 GRANT MEMORIAL DAY. 
 
 HIS mantle, fold about him none can wear it. 
 His sword, lay by his side there's none to 
 
 wield it. 
 
 Who fought for Union's life triumphantly, 
 Now shorn of strength, lies at his Maker's feet. 
 A world bowed o'er a grave, is wrapped in grief; 
 A Hero's dead! A Chieftain's fallen! 
 
 EMILY HAWTHORN. 
 
 From the genius of our government, the pathway to 
 honorable distinction lies open to all. No post of 
 honor so high but the poorest boy may hope to reach 
 it. It is the pride of every American that many 
 cherished names, at whose mention our hearts beat 
 with a quicker bound, were worn by the sons of poverty, 
 who conquered obscurity and became fixed stars in 
 our firmament. JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 " Let us have peace." 
 
 Great heart, that peace has come to thee, 
 
 Thy sword for freedom wrought, 
 
 And now thy sword is free ; 
 
 The huge world holds to-day 
 No fame so great, so wide, 
 As his whose steady eyes grew dim 
 On Mount McGregor's side. 
 
 Moan sullen guns, and sigh 
 For the greatest who could die. 
 
 FRANCES E. WILLARD 
 [211]
 
 JULY TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 MOWING-TIME! 
 
 MIDSUMMER hours are coming and going, 
 Midsummer breezes are dreamily blowing, 
 Midsummer meadows the reapers are mowing. 
 
 I. s. T. 
 
 Sweet day of doom in the meadow 
 
 Most redolent day abroad, 
 When grasses, daises and clover 
 
 All die like the Saints of God, 
 And fragrance floats in the sunshine 
 
 And eloquence fills the sod. 
 
 BENJAMIN F. TAYLOR. 
 
 July is just in the nick of time! 
 
 (Hay-weather, hay-weather ;) 
 The midsummer month is the golden prime 
 For haycocks smelling of clover and thyme ; 
 
 (Swing all together!) 
 July is just in the nick of time! 
 
 MYRON W. BENTON. 
 
 If you can only learn a lesson from drowsy old July 
 to-day, midsummer will not come in vain : take the 
 little motto for your own, and keep it through life, 
 and let everything you do be based upon it "just in 
 the nick of time'.' 1 '' If you want to be successful in 
 life, if you want to do a good deed, or make headway 
 in any direction, carry it about with you, and act upon 
 it. When it is mowing-time in the fields of your 
 heart, go to work "just in the nick of time," so that 
 the good seed that has ripened will be ready for 
 another year's growth. 
 
 [212]
 
 M 
 
 JULY TWENTY-FIFTH. 
 AY this be a day of loving self-sacrifice ! 
 
 Why are some loved in life, and missed in death, 
 while others are not? There must be some good rea- 
 son for this. Is it beauty? Is it wealth? Is it natural 
 ability? Is it position? What is the true secret of 
 being loved? We desire the good-will and affection 
 of our fellows. None of us wish to depart this life 
 " unwept, unhonored and unsung." 
 
 "It is self-sacrifice." " S. S." are the mystic letters. 
 Self-sacrifice is the " open sesame " to the world's heart. 
 Love and you will be loved. Give and you will receive. 
 Lose your life and you will gain it. No one loves a 
 selfish person but himself. When he dies there is lit- 
 tle sorrow, for he leaves no sense of loss in other lives. 
 
 WILLIAM E. BRYCE. 
 
 So live that others in thy memory 
 May find a solace in their sore distress, 
 
 Some gleam of hope in their deep wretchedness ; 
 So shalt thou live in ages yet to be. 
 
 HENRY HAMILTON. 
 
 For others' sake ! O strong ! O sweet ! 
 
 O common tie ! that binds our way 
 To God's great throne, when we repeat 
 
 In such small measure as we may 
 The earth-life of his own dear Son, 
 
 Who lived and died for others' sake, 
 For others' sake God's heaven won 
 
 By cross and curse none else could take. 
 
 MARIA W. JONES. 
 [213]
 
 JULY TWENTY-SIXTH. 
 
 THE eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are 
 the everlasting arms. DEUTERONOMY 33 : 27. 
 
 Oh, how sweet it is to feel that there is a refuge near 
 when we are weary and heart-sick and distressed! To 
 know that the Everlasting Arms are strong and true 
 and willing. To be assured though we are so weak 
 and helpless, that there is One who can supply all 
 needful strength and bear us up through every trial. 
 
 To Thine eternal arms, O God, 
 
 Take us, Thine erring children, in ; 
 From dangerous paths too boldly trod, 
 
 From wandering thoughts and dreams of sin. 
 
 Those arms were round our childish ways, 
 A guard through helpless years to be ; 
 
 Oh, leave not our maturer days, 
 We still are helpless without Thee. 
 
 THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON. 
 
 " The Everlasting Arms." I think of that whenever 
 rest is sweet. How the whole earth and the strength 
 of it, that is almightiness, is beneath every tired creat- 
 ure to give it rest ; holding us, always ! No thought of 
 God is closer than that. MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY. 
 
 Within Thy circling arms we lie, 
 O God! in Thy infinity: 
 Our souls in quiet shall abide, 
 Blest with love on every side. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 [214]
 
 JULY TWENTY-SEVENTH. 
 
 BRING I this day to Thee, 
 Humbly and gratefully, 
 My offering. 
 
 MRS. S. M. I. HENRY. 
 
 What possibilities lie in a single day ! And yet it is 
 often accounted of so little value, just because it is so 
 short. On one day have hinged the hopes of a state ; 
 on one day have hung the affairs of a nation ; on one 
 day have the events of the world been turned. In the 
 little town of Bethlehem, many years ago, there dawned 
 One Day, which has been memorable for centuries ; for 
 on it was born the Christ, the Saviour of mankind. On 
 One Day, thirty-three years after, the light of the sun 
 was hidden, because it was the most sorrowful day ever 
 known, and Nature's heart seemed to grieve over the 
 crucifixion of the Lord. But lo, in three days what a 
 change! then indeed came a time of rejoicing a Day 
 of days which dawned in Peace, Light, and Victory to 
 all the world. Oh, when you talk of a day as if it were 
 insignificant, remember these things. Make this day 
 an epoch in your life ; give it, as a precious offering, to 
 God. 
 
 A cup of water given 
 
 This day, for love of Him ; 
 A word of cheer to some faint heart, 
 
 Whose sky of hope is dim ; 
 Though thine own heart be sad, 
 
 Still, still, to trust, to pray 
 These, these, may thus be thine to do, 
 
 For His dear sake, this day. 
 
 MRS. A. M. TOMLINSON.
 
 JULY TWENTY-EIGHTH. 
 
 SOME one has said, "Justice is truth in action"; 
 justice must certainly have a kinship with truth, 
 for to be perfectly just one must be true true to his 
 convictions of right and wrong, and honest in his 
 opinions. May your reason and conscience teach you 
 to be just in all things ! 
 
 Ay, justice, who evades her? 
 
 Her scales reach every heart ; 
 The action and the motive, 
 
 She weigheth each apart ; 
 And none, who swerve from right and truth 
 
 Can 'scape her penalty! 
 
 SARAH J. HALE. 
 
 Law is not law, if it violates the principles of eternal 
 
 justice. LYDIA MARIA CHILD. 
 
 We know not what a day may bring forth, but we 
 know that Eternity will bring everlasting peace. High 
 in the heavens, the pole-star of the world, shines Jus- 
 tice ; placed within, as our guide thereto, is Conscience. 
 Let us be faithful to that 
 " Which, though it trembles as it lowly dies, 
 
 Points to the light that changes not in Heaven." 
 
 THEODORE PARKER. 
 
 We may be personally defeated, but our principles 
 never! Truth, Justice, Reason, Humanity, must and 
 will gloriously triumph. WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 
 
 Nothing will suffice as a rule of judgment in the treat- 
 ment of others but a reverence for clear principles, as 
 a higher law than personal tastes or wishes. SAMUEL 
 
 JOHNSON. 
 
 [216]
 
 JULY TWENTY-NINTH. 
 
 T T 7HEN I behold what pleasure is pursuit, 
 
 ' What life, what glorious eagerness it is ; 
 Then mark how full Possession falls from this, 
 How fairer seems the blossom than the fruit 
 I am perplexed. 
 
 THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH. 
 
 It makes a vast difference what we pursue, whether 
 we are disappointed or not. If it were mere worldly 
 pleasure, the greatest enjoyment lies in the pursuit ; if 
 it is riches, few who have massed great wealth would 
 say the possession brought as much real pleasure as the 
 steady, day-by-day accumulation of it ; energy, enthu- 
 siasm, and hope doubtless brought more happiness than 
 the attainment of the fortune itself. 
 
 My boyhood chased the butterfly, 
 
 Or, when the shower was gone, 
 Sought treasures at the rainbow's end, 
 
 That lured me, wandering on. 
 I caught no bow nor butterfly, 
 
 Though eagerly I ran ; 
 But in the chase I found myself 
 
 And grew to be a man. 
 
 In later years I've chased the good, 
 
 The beautiful and true ; 
 Mirage-like forms which take no shape, 
 
 They flit as I pursue. 
 But, while the endless chase I run, 
 
 I grow in life divine : 
 I miss the ideals that I seek, 
 
 But God himself is mine. 
 
 MINOT JUDSON SAVAGE. 
 [217]
 
 JULY THIRTIETH. 
 
 /^CAREFULNESS is very essential in whatever we 
 V* do in this life. We must not only work, but watch. 
 We cannot afford to be half-way in anything. The 
 whole-hearted man is the one who succeeds in this 
 world he who puts energy and enthusiasm, persever- 
 ance and concentration into his task, and who is 
 constantly on the alert lest some slight thing should 
 interfere with its progress. So it should be with our 
 character: let us take care then that the threads of 
 untruth or discontent shall not creep in and spoil the 
 fabric we are weaving for Eternity. 
 
 With wondrous skill, in the crowded mill, 
 
 The spinner her shuttle plies, 
 And watches the web with fear and dread, 
 
 As it forms beneath her eyes ; 
 For well she knows that one rotten thread, 
 
 Inwove in these even bands, 
 Will be traced through the fabric far and near 
 
 As the work of her careless hands. 
 
 In the mill of life, full of noise and strife, 
 
 We each have a weaver's part, 
 And the web of each day, by the passion's play, 
 
 Is wove with a curious art ; 
 But if, false to ourselves and our Master's name, 
 
 We fashion the fabric thin, 
 And with its tissue blend the sable threads 
 
 Of slothfulness and sin, 
 To our own account will the mischief come, 
 
 And take from each joy its hoarded sum. 
 
 MARY E. MIXER. 
 
 [218]
 
 JULY THIRTY-FIRST. 
 
 Dining hours without their shade," 
 True Wisdom cries ; 
 " And shadows into light shall fade," 
 
 True Faith replies ; 
 For God hath made both light and shade 
 
 A pathway to the skies. 
 Had earth no shade, thou sorrowing one, 
 Oh, then, in Heaven, there were no sun. 
 
 EDWARD R. CAMPBELL. 
 
 July has nearly passed away, freighted with a multi- 
 tude of joys and sorrows ; and over the hills of Time 
 she will bear the record of her brief, departed days. 
 Look backward and be thankful. If you have had 
 trouble and perplexities and cares and grief, remember 
 Who allowed you to bear them, and reflect on how 
 much worse they might have been. There was never 
 a time so dark that you could not find a ray of light 
 somewhere ; there was always sure to be a little chink 
 left for it to shine through. This was a special bless- 
 ing God had in reserve for you, though perhaps you 
 did not realize it until afterwards. Thank God for life 
 every day you live! 
 
 But yet, my Father, life is dear to me, 
 
 As through its mazy paths I pass along ; 
 The beauty and the harmony I see 
 
 Inspire my spirit with a gush of song. 
 My heart is swelling with a wild delight, 
 
 Its chords are touched to many a thrilling strain, 
 As all earth's beauty bursts upon my sight, 
 
 To try to sing the half I feel were vain. 
 
 MRS. A. H. BINGHAM. 
 [219]
 
 OR THE MONTH 
 OF AUGUST - 
 
 AUGUST FIRST. 
 
 GREAT waves of plenty rolling up 
 Their golden billows to our feet, 
 Fields where the ungathered rye is white, 
 Or heavy with the yellow wheat ; 
 
 Wealth surging inward from the sea, 
 And plenty through our land abroad, 
 
 With sunshine resting over all : 
 That everlasting smile of God! 
 
 PHCEBE GARY. 
 
 All silent she steals in among us, quiet, dreamy 
 August, following close on the footsteps of daisy- 
 crowned July. The poppy blazes in the sunshine, the 
 grain-fields are ripening into golden splendor, and the 
 butterflies and humming-birds seemed to have gathered 
 the gorgeousness of Nature's loveliest hues and im- 
 prisoned them within their folded wings. It is a time 
 of silent, steady progress, of almost imperceptible 
 growth, rather than the vigorous activity which comes 
 with dawning Spring and early Summer. Thou, too, 
 O Human Heart, remember that in the quiet work 
 and silent realm of Thought, thou canst still go on to 
 perfection. Do thy best, and wait; the Master will 
 make ready thy corn and wine, and thou shalt receive 
 thy just reward. 
 
 [220]
 
 LOUISA M. ALCOTT 
 
 1832-1888
 
 AUGUST SECOND. 
 
 AUGUST brings the snowy lilies, 
 Clad in robes of spotless white, 
 Walking like a queen among them 
 
 As she flings them left and right : 
 Lilies pure and lovely crown her, 
 
 And her dress in ev'ry fold 
 Wears the semblance of a lily, 
 ' In its dream of white and gold. 
 
 I. S. T. 
 
 May peace and purity possess your heart to-day! 
 The gardens, fields, and highways araaflame with 
 bright, rich Summer flowers, but among chem in stately 
 silence bloom the fair white lilies, shedding rare per- 
 fume around them, and holding up their waxen cups 
 for the sunshine and the dews of Heaven. 
 
 " Unto the pure all things are pure ; " and so 
 The lily's cup is pure as unsullied snow. 
 Its heart's sweet innocence, its home of love, 
 Its likeness here below to Heaven above, 
 Safe from rude winds, its sweetness folded up, 
 Best of all dwellings is a lily's cup. 
 
 MAUDE MOORE. 
 
 We read of thee in sacred story, 
 
 Reflections of God's face, 
 Not Solomon arrayed in glory 
 
 Could match thy peerless grace. 
 
 White-robed and fair in purity, 
 With half-hid golden heart, 
 
 Enshrined in virgin sanctity, 
 Sweet emblems of God's art. 
 
 MARIAN DALANA DANIEL. 
 [221]
 
 AUGUST THIRD. 
 
 NOT what we have done avails us, 
 But what we do and are ; 
 We turn from the deed that is setting, 
 And steer for the rising star. 
 
 J. T. TROWBRIDGE. 
 
 God's promises are not for yesterday, but for to-day 
 and to-morrow. Especially are they intended for the 
 present, for we may have but this one day : how many 
 have been worried and anxious about the promises of 
 to-morrow, not knowing that for them it would never 
 come. We often load ourselves with unnecessary bur- 
 dens. If we could only learn to bear the ills of to-day 
 without imagining those of to-morrow, how much bet- 
 ter it would be for us. Emerson says, 
 " Some of your hurts you have cured, 
 
 And the sharpest you still have survived, 
 But what torments of grief you endured 
 From evils which never arrived." 
 
 Though faded joys shall nevermore return, 
 
 Neither shall faded griefs, the first or last, 
 And time's true heir is of the present born. 
 
 JAMES BENJAMIN KENYON. 
 
 Do not crouch to-day and worship 
 
 The old Past whose life is fled : 
 Hush your voice with tender reverence ; 
 
 Crowned he lies, but cold and dead : 
 For the Present reigns our monarch, 
 
 With an added weight of hours : 
 Honor her, for she is mighty! 
 
 Honor her, for she is ours! 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 [222]
 
 AUGUST FOURTH. 
 
 IF it were only in my power to brighten and make 
 beautiful this day for you, how gladly would I do 
 so! To speak a comforting word, to inspire you with 
 renewed strength and courage ah, this would indeed 
 give me inexpressible pleasure. But I can, at least, 
 point you to some of God's bright little messengers 
 that He has sent into the world to speak for Him, and 
 pour the balm of heart's-ease into tired, discouraged, 
 aching hearts. Therefore, I commission the pansies 
 to carry you a heavenly message to-day. Can any 
 one be sad who looks into their faces? Learn from 
 them the sweet lesson of happiness and content, and 
 go out into the world to comfort others, forgetting self, 
 to be a heavenly heart's-ease of all mankind. 
 
 O Pansies, lovely Pansies, 
 
 That bloom with sweetest grace, 
 Ye carry hope and gladness 
 
 In ev'ry witching face, 
 And speak a silent language, 
 
 With pleading undertone 
 Whose tender, hidden meaning 
 
 No other flower has known. 
 
 Bloom on, O velvet Pansies! 
 
 Your silent peace impart ; 
 Outpour the balm of healing 
 
 The heart's-ease of the heart 
 Outbreathe your dewy incense, 
 
 Draw sweetness from the sod ; 
 Ye are the smiles of Heaven, 
 
 Ye are the thoughts of God ! 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR. 
 [223]
 
 AUGUST FIFTH. 
 
 JUST in proportion as a man becomes good, divine, 
 Christ-like, he passes out of the region of theorizing 
 into the region of benevolent activities. It is good to 
 think well ; it is divine to act well. HORACE MANN. 
 
 Some high or humble enterprise of good 
 Contemplate till it shall possess thy mind, 
 Become thy study, pastime, rest and food, 
 And kindle in thy heart a flame refined ; 
 Pray Heaven for firmness thy whole soul to bind 
 To this thy purpose 
 
 Rouse to some work of high and holy love, 
 And thou an angel's happiness shalt know, 
 Shalt bless the earth ; while, in the world above, 
 The good begun by thee shall onward flow 
 In many a branching stream, and wider grow ; 
 The seed that in these few and fleeting hours, 
 Thy hands unsparing and unwearied sow, 
 Shall deck thy grave with amaranthine flowers, 
 And yield thee fruits divine in Heaven's immortal 
 bowers. 
 
 CARLOS WILCOX. 
 
 When we read of a beautiful life ended, and hear the 
 kind words said concerning it, we think it would be a 
 grand thing to leave such a record, and such an influ- 
 ence behind us. A diamond might lie forever in dark- 
 ness, and no one would know of its lustre if it were not 
 polished. So if we would shine in the hearts of men 
 forever, we must come into the Light of God's love and 
 be refined and polished : a soul that catches the lustre 
 of Heaven cannot be darkened. 
 [224]
 
 AUGUST SIXTH. 
 
 BROOD not on words or slights, their biting force 
 Is measured by their housing mischief-seeds 
 Which, nursed and tended, bring forth poison-weeds 
 Whose bitter crop is hatred and remorse. 
 
 w. w. MARTIN. 
 
 Cherish no ill-will against any one. The Master 
 said, " Be kindly affectioned one to another," and while 
 you are harboring unkind thoughts, it is impossible 
 for you to be " kindly affectioned." People have been 
 known to belong to the same church, the same society, 
 or I grieve to say it the same family, who meet 
 each other day after day, year after year, and do not 
 speak, because of a word or act which their unforgiving 
 heart treasures up and broods over as if it were a 
 precious thing. And yet these same people call them- 
 selves followers of Christ, and profess to belong to the 
 Household of Faith. Oh, if we are all to be one family 
 in Heaven, how shall such as these stand before the 
 Throne together with the sin of unforgiveness between 
 them ? Bear a grudge against no man. We have much 
 to be forgiven, then let us be ready to forgive others. 
 
 Mortals mourn over losses 
 
 Pleasures long perished while sorrows remain ; 
 Here are no shoulders unburdened by crosses, 
 
 Eyelids untear-stained or hearts without pain ! 
 But when the angel calls all souls before Him 
 
 Who is the brightness and glory of Heaven, 
 Then shall we know as we bow and adore Him, 
 
 All things are sure to the spirit forgiven! 
 
 SIMEON TUCKER CLARK. 
 A IS [225]
 
 AUGUST SEVENTH. 
 
 YOU can never be half grateful enough for the in- 
 fluence of a good mother. Whatever success 
 you may achieve in life, whatever good you may have 
 in you, is due to her gentle teachings ; for a good 
 mother is the guiding star of her child. With what 
 tenderness, patience, and loving solicitude she has 
 watched over and guarded you during your childhood, 
 shared the sweet secrets of your youth, and with quiet 
 sympathy and deep concern, has comforted and coun- 
 selled you in your later years. America's noblest sons 
 owe their nobility to the influence of a good mother ; 
 America's loveliest daughters can attribute their graces 
 of mind and heart to her development and cultivation. 
 All honor to the true-souled Christian mother! she 
 has made our country what it is to-day! 
 
 Thus shall a mother's love refine 
 Thy heart's best gold, till it will shine 
 Like roses with bright dew weighed down, 
 Like jewels burnished for a crown ! 
 And selfishness shall melt away, 
 And truer, grander thoughts bear sway ; 
 Devotion's incense shall arise 
 From thy heart's altar to the skies, 
 And thou wilt prove how great and good 
 Is God's sweet gift of motherhood. 
 
 EMILY P. WILLIAMS. 
 
 'Tis something great to be a queen, 
 
 And bend a kingdom to a woman's will ; 
 
 To be a mother such as mine, I ween, 
 Is something better and more noble still. 
 
 MAY RILEY SMITH. 
 
 [226]
 
 AUGUST EIGHTH. 
 
 FOR each soul has one inner room 
 Where all alone it seeks the grace 
 To struggle with the sharpest woe, 
 
 Its hardest destiny to face, 
 To lift the duty that it fears, 
 
 To love, to trust, through every doom, 
 And not the nearest, dearest heart 
 Goes with it to that inner room. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 How fares it with us ? O my Friend ? 
 
 THOMAS BAILEV ALDRICH. 
 
 Let us go to the inner room of our soul to-day and 
 hold a little communion season. How fares it with 
 you, and with me? Has the season been a good one 
 with us? will it yield an abundant harvest? Perhaps 
 there was too much drouth : perhaps we did not drink 
 deep enough from the Living Fountain to keep the 
 inner soil moist. Or maybe it was the other way : 
 perhaps we did not get enough heavenly sunshine, 
 and this may have retarded the growth of our soul's 
 harvest. "How fares it with us?" God knows. I 
 only trust that as we sit in silence within this inner 
 room to-day, we may find out why we are not progress- 
 ing as we ought, and may not come empty-handed to 
 the Master when the Summer is past and over. 
 
 Ye toilers in the Master's field, 
 Where others labored long ; 
 
 The sturdy arm of effort wield, 
 Still steadfast be, and strong. 
 
 MARY C. WEBSTER. 
 [837]
 
 AUGUST NINTH. 
 
 WE could not help but sing, 
 There was such beauty in the Earth and 
 
 Heaven, 
 Such music in our hearts, such joy in everything. 
 
 WILLIAM DAVIS GALLAGHER. 
 
 How can people help seeing beauty when it is all 
 around them ? We cannot turn our eyes in any direc- 
 tion but we behold wondrous and beautiful things. 
 The writer was once entertained by a family of Swiss 
 people, who had come over to America, and, after a 
 few years of good management and economy, had 
 amassed a fortune and erected an elegant residence. 
 The mansion stood on the top of a beautiful knoll over- 
 looking a broad strip of country, as picturesque and 
 lovely a landscape as one could wish to see. One 
 could not help exclaiming over the view from the win- 
 dows, looking across the handsome lawns, down the 
 hedge-bordered lanes, and beyond to the sloping 
 uplands, and clustering groves, but the hostess only 
 said laughingly, "Is it beautiful, do you think? I 
 never have time to look at it. The cares of the house 
 require my constant attention, and I never think about 
 outdoor attractions." Ah, it is pitiful to be so hampered 
 that we may not see what a magnificent world God has 
 made for us ! 
 
 The fountain of Beauty is the heart, and every gen- 
 erous thought illustrates the walls of its chambers. 
 
 RALPH WALDO EMERSON. 
 
 To cultivate the sense of the beautiful is one of the 
 most effectual ways of cultivating an appreciation of 
 the divine goodness. BOVEE. 
 
 [228]
 
 AUGUST TENTH. 
 
 IT is not what we take up, but what we give up, that 
 makes us rich. ... It is the heart that makes the 
 man rich. He is rich or poor according to what he is, 
 not according to what he has. HENRY WARD BEECHER. 
 
 What are your riches ? Have you the gold of a true 
 heart, an unselfish nature, a sweet forgiving disposition, 
 a kindly charity, a spirit of contentment? Then you 
 are rich beyond measure. Have you the wealth of a 
 sound mind, a strong body, and a pure soul? What 
 great possessions are yours! May the gold within you 
 be a blessing to all the world you cannot be too 
 lavish with it : keep giving it away : put it out at inter- 
 est and it will double its value in a short time. 
 
 Be worthy of thyself, O Gold! 
 
 By brain outwrought, 
 
 By soft heart taught ; 
 
 Call Charity to work with thee, 
 And so be better than thy mould. 
 
 ETHEL LYNN BEERS. 
 
 Better than all that is born of gold, 
 Better is health by a thousand fold ; 
 Better is virtue, and hope, and rest, 
 Better is love, as a faithful guest. 
 
 To have a heart that's warm within ; 
 
 To have a life unstained by sin ; 
 
 To dare the right with courage bold, 
 
 Is better far than hoarding gold. 
 
 VIRGIL A. PINKLEY. 
 
 [229]
 
 AUGUST ELEVENTH. 
 
 SWEET souls around us ! watch us still, 
 Press nearer to our side, 
 Into our thoughts, into our prayers, 
 With gentle helpings glide. 
 
 HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. 
 
 We are ever enfolded in the hallowed influence of 
 our departed ones. Memory keeps fresh and fair the 
 record of a beautiful life, and engraves it upon the tab- 
 lets of our heart. How often some little association 
 brings back a well-remembered characteristic so viv- 
 idly, that we feel comforted through the reminder : it is 
 somewhat akin to the real presence. We cannot for- 
 get, if we would. Memory guards with tender care her 
 own ; nothing can shut out the pure, sweet influence 
 of lives that were beautiful, good, and true. 
 
 We may leave the garden, and bar the gate ; 
 Put an angel there, with a sword, to wait ; 
 But what can the bars or the angel do 
 To keep the fragrance from stealing thro' ? 
 
 MARIA LOUISA EVE. 
 
 Lips from which the seal of silence 
 
 None but God can roll away, 
 Never blossomed in such beauty 
 
 As adorns the mouth to-day ; 
 And sweet words that freight our memory 
 
 With their beautiful perfume, 
 Come to us in sweeter accents 
 
 Through the portals of the tomb. 
 
 MAY RILEY SMITH. 
 [=30]
 
 AUGUST TWELFTH. 
 
 T)ATIENCE accomplishes wonders. Content with 
 A being slow and plodding, she steadily keeps at a 
 task, step by step, progressing a little at a time, until 
 her work is done. Through patience, the astronomer 
 has traversed the celestial world, and traced the course 
 of the heavenly bodies : through patience the navi- 
 gator has sailed the stormy seas and made discoveries 
 that have broadened the kingdoms and enriched the 
 treasuries of the nations : through patience the geolo- 
 gist has penetrated the crust of the earth and brought 
 to light hidden wealth ; and through patience the 
 inventor has wrought out marvellous things for the 
 good of mankind. There is little done in this world 
 worth doing, without patience. Let us cultivate it ; it 
 will help us through many difficulties, trials, and temp- 
 tations : it will make us better fitted for Heaven. 
 
 Learn patience from the lesson! 
 
 Though the night be drear and long, 
 To the darkest sorrow there comes a morrow, 
 
 A right to every wrong. 
 
 J. T. TROWBRIDGE. 
 
 O Nature ! bare thy loving breast, 
 And give thy child one hour of rest, 
 One little hour to lie unseen 
 Beneath thy scarf of leafy green! 
 
 So, curtained by a singing pine, 
 
 Its murmuring voice shall blend with mine, 
 
 Till lost in dreams, my faltering lay 
 
 In sweeter music dies away. 
 
 HOLMES. 
 
 [231]
 
 AUGUST THIRTEENTH. 
 
 LET this day bear witness that you were faithful in 
 duties small and great. 
 
 Oh ! slow of heart to learn this simple truth - 
 Thy loyalty and love thou may'st attest 
 
 By little deeds within a narrow sphere, 
 Nor vainly roam of broader fields in quest. 
 
 MARY P. ROBERTS. 
 
 Little whispered words can strike 
 Cruel blows at heart of friends, 
 
 Little signs be auguries 
 
 Of great changes in the state. 
 
 Little habits grow to chains 
 
 Which can fetter man's strong will ; 
 Little kindnesses may heal, 
 
 Little helps may save a soul ; 
 Little hands for woe or weal 
 
 Can the sternest lives control ; 
 Fortunes start from petty gains ; 
 
 Every river has a rill. 
 
 "Small," we say, "of little worth," 
 
 Heedless what the end shall be ; 
 But the angels sadly sigh 
 
 Over what we so despise, 
 And the small faults we decry 
 
 Bring a cloud to heavenly eyes, 
 And the petty deeds of earth 
 
 Mould the long eternity. 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 
 [232]
 
 AUGUST FOURTEENTH. 
 
 FOR the beautiful theme of my thrilling song 
 Is that Right shall be victor at last o'er Wrong! 
 
 A. A. HOPKINS. 
 
 We all have more or less pride in us, and if it is not 
 selfish, foolish pride, it is right that we should have it. 
 Self-respect might perhaps be called pride, and yet if 
 we make ourselves worthy of respect, why should we 
 not, in a modest way, realize the fact? If a man has 
 no respect for himself, he need not expect it of others. 
 Appreciation of our own talents might also be looked 
 upon as pride, by some, but if God has endowed us 
 with a special gift, are we honoring Him if we fail to 
 recognize it, cultivate it, and be thankful for it? Let 
 us be careful not to take the glory to ourselves. The 
 right will always prevail, if we obey the monitions of 
 conscience, and keep ourselves free from vanity and 
 self-righteousness. Temptations come to us in so 
 many forms ; a soldier on the lookout for the enemy 
 has not more need of vigilance than we : and if we 
 sometimes fail, it is because we are not watchful, and 
 lose sight of God and the Right. 
 
 Keep holy watch with silence, prayer and fasting, 
 Ere morning break and all the bugles play ; 
 
 Unto the One aware from everlasting 
 
 Dear are the winners : thou art more than they. 
 
 Forth from this peace on manhood's way thou goest, 
 Flushed with desire, and glorious with mail ; 
 
 Blessing supreme for men unborn thou sowest. 
 O knight elect! O soul ordained to fail! 
 
 LOUISE IMOGEN GUINEY. 
 [233]
 
 AUGUST FIFTEENTH. 
 
 ON the wild rose-tree 
 Many buds there be, 
 Yet each sunny hour 
 Hath one perfect flower. 
 Thou who would'st be wise, 
 Open wide thine eyes 
 In each sunny hour 
 Pluck the one perfect flower. 
 
 RICHARD WATSON GILDER. 
 
 Direct your energies in the pursuit of the most per- 
 fect things. Aim high if you would be uplifted. Seek 
 the best if you would become better. Allow nothing 
 that is good to pass you by without getting a share of 
 it. Always find the best side in your neighbor's char- 
 acter : do not look for the evil. A man usually finds 
 what he looks for, if he is only diligent in seeking. 
 Share your wealth with others ; enrich other lives, and 
 uplift other souls. 
 
 Streams from a sweet fountain must sweetness distil ; 
 
 Lives, lovely and pure, have a mission to fill ; 
 
 And thoughts that are helpful and holy and true, 
 
 Have a mission as well, have a work they may do. 
 
 In manifold clusters, o'er woodland and lea, 
 
 Sweet blossoms of thought wait for you and for me. 
 
 What wreaths we might fashion for young brows to 
 
 wear, 
 
 Did we gather the garlands of truth everywhere! 
 Did we from our bright path cull brightness and bloom 
 For those who walk only in shadow and gloom, 
 What rare buds of blessing, what joy we might bear, 
 To those overburdened with sorrow and care. 
 
 MARY A. LEAVITT. 
 [234]
 
 AUGUST SIXTEENTH. 
 
 OEEK your life's nourishment in your life's work. 
 
 ^ Do not think that after you have bought or sold, 
 or studied or taught, you will go into your closet and 
 open your Bible and repair the damage of the loss 
 which your daily life has left you. Do those things, 
 certainly, but also insist that your buying, or selling, 
 or studying, or teaching shall itself make you brave, 
 patient, pure, and holy. Do not let your occupation 
 pass you by and only leave you the basest and poorest 
 of its benefits, the money with which it fills your purse. 
 This is the life that, indeed, " catches the quality of the 
 life of God," and still is a life possible to every one of 
 
 US. PHILLIPS BROOKS. 
 
 Work! work! though wealth may surround you 
 
 Think not thy labor on that account done ; 
 Work though the chaplet of honor has crowned you, 
 
 Thy mission, it may be, is only begun ; 
 Strive to attain the true end of your being, 
 
 Find to do good both a way and a will, 
 Walk in uprightness before the All-Seeing, 
 
 And while the day lingers keep laboring still. 
 
 HENRY H. SAUNDERSON. 
 
 Work while yet the daylight shines, 
 
 Man of strength and will ; 
 Never does the streamlet glide 
 
 Unless by the mill. 
 Wait not till to-morrow's sun 
 
 Beams upon the way ; 
 All that thou canst call thine own 
 
 Lies in thy To-day. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 [235]
 
 AUGUST SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 JOIN with Nature's voice in praise to-day! Thank 
 God for sunshine, blue sky, and blossoming flowers, 
 and for the beautiful world which He has made for 
 you. 
 
 It's O my heart, my heart, 
 
 To be out in the sun and sing! 
 To sing and shout in the fields about, 
 
 In the balm and the blossoming! 
 
 Sing loud, O bird in the tree ! 
 
 bird, sing loud in the sky! 
 
 And honey-bees, blacken the clover-bed, 
 There are none of you glad as I. 
 
 The leaves laugh low in the wind, 
 
 Laugh low, with the wind at play ; 
 And the odorous call of the flowers all 
 
 Entices my soul away! 
 
 For oh, but the world is fair, is fair 
 
 And oh, but the world is sweet! 
 I will out in the gold of the blossoming mould, 
 
 And sit at the Master's feet. 
 
 And the love my heart would speak 
 
 1 will fold in the lily's rim, 
 
 That the lips of the blossoms, more pure and meek, 
 May offer it up to Him. 
 
 Then sing in the hedge-row green, O thrush! 
 
 O skylark, sing in the blue! 
 Sing loud, sing clear, that the King may hear, 
 
 And my soul shall sing with you ! 
 
 INA D. COOLBRITH.
 
 AUGUST EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 '""T'0 " cease to do evil " is not enough, even if it were 
 -L easily accomplished. " Learn to do well " is infi- 
 nitely more important, and that means to learn Christ. 
 The only way to get sin out of your life is to get the 
 root of sin out of your heart, and the only sure process 
 is to give Jesus the heart and enthrone Him there. 
 As Mark Hopkins well said, "The beauty on the sur- 
 face of daily life is from the central principle within, as 
 the beauty on the cheek of health is from the central 
 force at the heart." THEODORE L. CUYLER. 
 
 Do not weary in well-doing, 
 Take this motto for your own ; 
 
 Know a word in kindness spoken 
 Oft doth melt a heart of stone. 
 
 If a cup of water even 
 
 In My Name, says Christ the Lord, 
 To a thirsty soul be given, 
 
 It shall reap a rich reward. 
 
 Do not weary in well-doing, 
 And, if faithful you should prove, 
 
 You will hear that welcome given, 
 " Enter thou into My love." 
 
 MRS. V. A. GIBSON. 
 
 'Tis not to great and mighty deeds, 
 
 God's smile is always given ; 
 And those who lowliest walk on earth, 
 
 May brightest shine in Heaven. 
 
 EMILY P. WILLIAMS. 
 
 [237]
 
 AUGUST NINETEENTH. 
 
 SET your face Zionward to-day. Let not the cares 
 and vexations of your earthly life lead you away 
 from Christ. Temptations will come to you in many 
 ways : sometimes, in such a guise that you will scarcely 
 recognize them as temptations at all. Yet, it is these 
 very things that deceive you, and tend to keep you 
 down. If you are filled with faith, it will be a shield 
 against temptation. Strengthen your will and stand 
 firm. 
 
 Be firm ! whatever tempts thy soul 
 To loiter ere it reach its goal, 
 Whatever siren voice would draw 
 Thy heart from duty and its law, 
 Oh! that distrust. Go bravely on, 
 And, till the victor-crown be won, 
 Be firm! 
 
 SARAH C. E. MAYO. 
 
 Life's a trial till it closes ; 
 
 Grace descends to crown each hour ; 
 And he who on Heaven reposes 
 
 Triumphs over evil's power. 
 
 WILLIAM FORD. 
 
 Brave all temptations, they I know but make 
 
 More resolute thy will, thy soul more fair. 
 
 When thou hast searched the universe all through, 
 
 And failed alone to find the central thought, 
 
 Watch where the needle points, 'twill lead thee true : 
 
 Gain thou this knowledge howe'er dearly bought, 
 
 That thou, the whole art powerless to construe, 
 
 Until by thine own centre thou art taught. 
 
 ELLA DIETZ CLYMER.
 
 AUGUST TWENTIETH. 
 
 DO not forget that He who says, " Come, learn of 
 Me," has a little text-book to put into your hands. 
 
 L. K. MCLEAN. 
 
 Not a day should be allowed to pass without your 
 learning something. Your mind should broaden and 
 expand like a flower in the sunlight ; unfolding day by 
 day and hour by hour. This is why God has given 
 you so many avenues of improvement, and surrounded 
 you by innumerable advantages. He says, " Learn of 
 Me," and has put into your hands His Word, filled with 
 loving promises and helpful counsels. He has also 
 given into your keeping a volume of poems, which we 
 call the Book of Nature, and through this we may read 
 the beautiful thoughts of the Divine Teacher. Get as 
 near Him as you can through these two books : learn 
 all you can here, and it will help to fit you for the Life 
 hereafter. 
 
 Learn to live, and live to learn, 
 Ignorance like a fire doth burn, 
 Little tasks make large returns. 
 
 BAYARD TAYLOR. 
 
 Divine knowledge is not as the light of the moon, to 
 sleep by ; but as the light of the sun, to work by. 
 
 WILLIAM SECKER. 
 
 Wisdom sits alone, 
 
 Topmost in Heaven : she is its light its God ; 
 And in the heart of man she sits as high 
 Though grovelling eyes forget her oftentimes, 
 Seeing but the world's idols. 
 
 N. P. WILLIS. 
 
 [239]
 
 AUGUST TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 T7AI LURES come to all of us. No matter how 
 -i hard we try sometimes, things will go wrong. 
 Success is oftenest gained through long striving, 
 though occasionally it is reached with less difficulty. 
 After all, the harder we have to work for the attain- 
 ment of an object, the more we appreciate it when it 
 is in our possession. Do not be discouraged because 
 of failures : begin over. Throughout the entire world 
 people are beginning over: there is not a household 
 but has learned the lesson. There is rebuilding done 
 at all times of the year a pulling down of half-fin- 
 ished plans, a ripping out of false stitches and a new 
 start being made. Take fresh courage, and try again, 
 no matter how hard it may be. Break a spider's web, 
 and she will set to work immediately to repair the 
 damage ; rob a bee-hive, and the little occupants will 
 go on making cells and gathering fresh stores of honey : 
 brush down an ant-hill, and the busy little ants will go 
 to cleaning out the rubbish and rebuilding the demol- 
 ished house at once. It is always creditable to be will- 
 ing to begin over. 
 
 Have you missed in your aim ? well, the mark is still 
 
 shining. 
 Did you faint in the race ? well, take breath for the 
 
 next. 
 Did the clouds drive you back? but see yonder their 
 
 lining. 
 Were you tempted and fell ? let it serve for a text. 
 
 ELLA WHEELER WILCOX. 
 [240]
 
 AUGUST TWENTY-SECOND. 
 
 NOTHING makes you so gentle, so kind, so human, 
 as love : nothing else will so round out and per- 
 fect your character, and fit you for a good influence 
 over your fellow-men. But, you say, " I cannot love 
 everybody, for some people are not lovable at all." 
 Of course we have not the same kind of love towards 
 all men. You have a different love for every member 
 of your own family, and yet each has, perhaps, an equal 
 place in your heart. Why should you not also love 
 the whole human family the universal family of God ? 
 Even if you do find some among them whom you pro- 
 nounce " unlovely," you can have a feeling of kind- 
 ness and sympathy for them, and an interest in their 
 welfare. In one way, this is love. Because you love 
 God, you should love your fellow-men, do good to 
 them, and help them to grow more lovable. There is 
 no surer way of reaching a man's heart, than by show- 
 ing him the humanity in your own. Love is very 
 closely akin to humanity ; in fact, one cannot be gen- 
 uinely human without love. 
 
 Love's reign is eternal, 
 
 The heart is his throne, 
 And he has all seasons 
 
 Of life for his own. 
 
 GEORGE P. MORRIS. 
 
 Oh, he's accurst from all that's good, 
 Who never knew Love's healing power; 
 Such sinner on his sins must brood, 
 And wait alone his hour. 
 If stranger to earth's beauty human love, 
 There is no rest below, nor hope above. 
 
 RICHARD H. DANA. 
 A 16 [241]
 
 AUGUST TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 BATTLE as you may alone, you cannot overcome 
 Self without God's help. There is no human be- 
 ing, I care not how strong he is, who is able to grow 
 to the stature of perfect manhood without he has Divine 
 assistance. Dependent on God, as we are, for breath, 
 for health, for light and food, and for all the comforts 
 and blessings of this life, we are also dependent on 
 Him for strength to resist temptation, and for help to 
 grow daily better and more like Him. Let us then 
 draw near to Him, and hold sweet communion with 
 Him apart from all the outer world. 
 
 In the secret of His presence, 
 
 I am kept from strife of tongues ; 
 His pavilion is around me, 
 
 And within are ceaseless songs ! 
 Stormy winds, His word fulfilling, 
 
 Beat without, but cannot harm, 
 For the Master's voice is stilling 
 
 Storm and tempest to a calm. 
 
 In the secret of His presence 
 
 Is a sweet unbroken rest : 
 Pleasures, joys, in glorious fulness, 
 
 Making earth like Eden blest ; 
 So my peace grows deep and deeper, 
 
 Widening as it nears the sea, 
 For my Saviour is my keeper, 
 
 Keeping mine, and keeping me. 
 
 HENRY BURTON. 
 [242]
 
 AUGUST TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 PRAYER is the ladder upon which the soul climbs 
 to Heaven. To get into fellowship with God we 
 must approach Him through prayer, and make known 
 our wants to Him. Prayer is the soul's incense; the 
 offering up to God of our dearest wishes and sweetest 
 hopes, in the spirit of pure, trusting faith. What returns 
 our Father makes, we may not even guess : sometimes 
 He answers us speedily, sometimes it is best that we 
 should wait, and ask again and again before our request 
 is granted : sometimes our plea is denied and we 
 often live to thank Him that many of our prayers were 
 not answered. Rest assured, that when or how the 
 answer comes, God's love is always the same. 
 
 Not only should our prayers arise 
 To God, in Whom our souls rejoice, 
 But we should hearken for His voice, 
 
 And own His answers to our cries. 
 
 SIMEON TUCKER CLARK. 
 
 Full often lips that never part 
 
 Hold deeper prayers within the heart. 
 
 MARTHA EILEEN HOLAHAN. 
 
 There are God and peace above thee : 
 
 Wilt thou languish in despair? 
 Tread thy griefs beneath thy feet, 
 
 Scale the walls of Heaven with prayer 
 'Tis the key of the apostle, 
 
 That opens Heaven from below ; 
 'Tis the ladder of the patriarch, 
 
 Whereon angels come and go. 
 
 ANNE C. LYNCH. 
 [243]
 
 AUGUST TWENTY-FIFTH. 
 
 TTARVEST-TIME! Ah, how much depends upon 
 -1- J- this season of the year. Wheat-fields have been 
 ripening day by day through the warm, drowsy sum- 
 mer-tide ; the bearded barley has been taking on a 
 golden color, and the corn is rustling in the ear. It 
 seems to me, one cannot fully appreciate God's good- 
 ness who has never seen a harvest-field, ripe and mellow, 
 waiting for the reapers. In our great, busy, bustling 
 cities, pufEng with steam and humming with machin- 
 ery, are many of God's poor children who have never 
 been into the free, open, country air. And yet, I think, 
 Heaven will be all the sweeter to those who have missed 
 such beauty here. What have you sown for your har- 
 vest wheat or tares ? Begin to bind your sheaves : 
 God grant that you may garner in much that will be 
 immortal in coming years, and that shall feed hungry 
 minds and souls with satisfying food. 
 
 Thought hath wondrous germination 
 
 In the soil of mind, and Time 
 Shields with joy each new creation 
 
 Harvest miracle sublime. 
 
 Listen ! hear the Lord of harvest 
 
 Calling, calling for thy sheaves! 
 Not alone thy soul thou starvest ; 
 
 'Tis thy friend, thy child, who grieves - 
 
 Thy soul's kin who should inherit 
 Bread and wine thy lands have grown. 
 
 Ah! how desolate the spirit 
 Seeking but its own alone! 
 
 ISADORE GILBERT JEFFERY. 
 [244]
 
 AUGUST TWENTY-SIXTH. 
 
 SOMETHING beautiful is always in store for those 
 ^ who hopefully wait. God's recompense is sure, O 
 faithful one, His hand will bestow a reward if thou art 
 worthy of it. Did the brightness ever fail to come after 
 the long, dark night had worn away? Did His promise 
 ever disappoint thee, or His strength fall short of thy 
 needs ? Perhaps thy heart is sore oppressed, and thy 
 faith dim to-day : this should not be. Say to the cloud 
 that darkens thy sky, " Roll back, harbinger of doubt 
 and despair, behind thee shines the sunlight still. God's 
 light will never fail : He is faithful and mindful of His 
 own." To-morrow will be the dawn of a better, brighter 
 day. 
 
 The blush of dawn may yet restore 
 Our light and hope and joy once more. 
 Sad soul, take comfort, nor forget 
 The sunrise never failed us yet. 
 
 CELIA THAXTER. 
 
 Better to hope though the clouds hang low, 
 
 And to keep the eyes still lifted ; 
 For the sweet blue sky will soon peep through 
 
 When the ominous clouds are rifted ! 
 There was never a night without a day, 
 
 Or an evening without a morning ; 
 And the darkest hour, as the proverb goes, 
 
 Is the hour before the dawning. 
 
 MRS. M. A. KIDDER. 
 
 May hope's bright star illume thy way, 
 To-morrow bring the better day! 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 [245]
 
 AUGUST TWENTY-SEVENTH. 
 
 EMEMBER, we cannot entertain love, sympathy, 
 --\. and kindness in a cold heart. Would you put an 
 honored guest into a cold, cheerless room? These 
 beautiful virtues are guests which should be royally re- 
 ceived and welcomed in the warmest, most hospitable 
 recesses of the heart, therefore let us ask our Heavenly 
 Father to make us ready to receive them. The more, 
 too, that we have of love for humanity, the more we 
 are capable of loving God. Love expands the heart 
 hatred contracts it : the same law which applies to 
 heat and cold will apply to love. The more beauty we 
 see in our fellow-men, the more glorious God becomes 
 to us love expands the heart. 
 
 Pour out thy soul like the rush of a river 
 
 Wasting its waters, forever and ever, 
 
 Through the burnt sands that reward not the giver 
 
 Silent or songful thou nearest the sea. 
 Scatter thy life as the summer showers pouring! 
 What if no bird through the pearl-rain is soaring? 
 What if no blossom look upward adoring? 
 
 Look to the Life that was lavished for thee! 
 
 ROSE TERRY COOKE. 
 
 Dear fellow Christian, has a ray from above, 
 Or a wave from the fountain of Infinite love, 
 Transfused with its current your heart's hidden spring? 
 Then its outflow to others will some blessing bring. 
 Streams from a sweet fountain will sweetness distil ; 
 Lives lovely and pure must work out His will. 
 And then, for each work, in each field of the Lord, 
 How sweet is the recompense, rich the reward. 
 
 MARY A. LEAVITT. 
 [246]
 
 AUGUST TWENTY-EIGHTH. 
 
 GOD secretes in places lone and still 
 The rarest products of His will. 
 
 THOMAS BREWER PEACOCK. 
 
 Often the quietest lives are the most beautiful. Un- 
 derneath an outward reserve of manner, lies the hidden 
 treasure of the soul. Born, perhaps, in the humble 
 walks of life, and yet taking high rank with God and 
 the angels, such as these touch, as it were, the out- 
 skirts of Heaven and have not far to go to complete 
 the journey thither. These silent lives will measure 
 their brief span, and you and I will never know, per- 
 haps, of the beautiful hidden treasures they possess. 
 O my Friend, what of your soul? Is there pure gold 
 hidden away, or is it all dross ? 
 
 Not only in cavernous homes of the sea 
 
 Are the quenchless stores of things divine, 
 Nor does only the willing stars' heraldry 
 
 With the light of their wonderful birthright shine ; 
 For there are in the heart such things as come 
 
 Not over the sea, nor out of the night, 
 And the unknown speech of the Soul is a tongue 
 
 They may listen and wait for in fear and delight. 
 
 ISAAC R. BAXLEY. 
 
 The depth 
 
 Of glory in the attributes of God, 
 Will measure the capacities of mind ; 
 And as the angels differ, will the ken 
 Of gifted spirits glorify Him more. 
 
 N. P. WILLIS. 
 [247]
 
 AUGUST TWENTY-NINTH. 
 
 WE could be saved a great deal of trouble if we 
 only knew ; but so much is hidden from us by 
 a kind Providence, which, if we but understood, would 
 prevent us from making mistakes and wounding sensi- 
 tive hearts. Our impulsive nature often leads us into 
 error : we do not stop to think, but speak and act like 
 children, heedless of what the result may be. Oh, how 
 many times we are left to repent our rashness! Be 
 watchful : the sins of omission are often worse than 
 the sins of commission. Oh, the good you might have 
 done! Oh, the evil you might have left undone! 
 
 Could we but know of cruel wounds 
 That throb and beat in many a heart, 
 
 How would we strive, by tenderest touch, 
 Some balm of healing to impart. 
 
 Could we but know of thorny paths 
 
 Full many weary pilgrims tread, 
 Would we not count it blessed boon 
 
 Sweet flowers on such dark paths to shed! 
 
 EMMELINE SHERMAN SMITH. 
 
 If we knew what lives are darken'd 
 
 By some thoughtless word of ours, 
 Which had ever lain upon them, 
 
 Like the frost upon the flowers, 
 Oh! with what sincere repentings, 
 
 With what anguish of regret, 
 While our eyes are overflowing, 
 
 Would we cry, "forgive," "forget." 
 
 ELLEN H. GATES. 
 [248]
 
 AUGUST THIRTIETH. 
 
 " \/E shall know the truth, and the truth shall make 
 JL you free." There is no countenance so open 
 and clear as that of the truthful man or woman. The 
 eyes can look you squarely in the face without flinching, 
 and the voice is honest in its tone and expression : the 
 truthful man or woman is at ease anywhere, and carries 
 a passport into any place. If you would have a clear 
 conscience, be truthful ; if you would be trusted by 
 your fellow-men, be truthful ; if you would be at peace 
 with God, be truthful. There are always two sides to 
 everything the true and the false your judgment 
 will tell you which is right ; search out the truth, and 
 it shall " make you free." Ah, the liberty of the truth 
 is a grand thing. 
 
 If we have whispered truth, 
 
 Whisper no longer ; 
 Speak as the tempest does, 
 
 Sterner and stronger. 
 
 JOHN G. WHITTIER. 
 
 Men call him crazed whose eyes are raised 
 
 To look beyond his times ; 
 And they are learned, who too fast 
 Are anchored in the changeless past, 
 
 To seek Truth's newer climes ! 
 Yet act thy part, heroic heart! 
 
 For only by the strong 
 Are great and noble deeds achieved ; 
 No truth was ever yet believed 
 
 That had not struggled long. 
 
 J. T. TROWBRIDGE. 
 [249]
 
 AUGUST THIRTY-FIRST. 
 
 LET August go out in a song. If you have no mu- 
 sic in your voice, surely you have it in your heart. 
 Silent praise is always music to the ear of God ; every 
 chord tuned to His praise is a hallelujah to Him. I 
 have heard a poor trembling voice trying to catch the 
 melody of a hymn, that went quavering and faltering 
 through the verses in a most unmusical manner, accord- 
 ing to the correct style of a true musician ; and yet the 
 rapture on that face, and the spirit of worship behind 
 the voice, made of it a sacred symphony. Not all the 
 trained choirs of Europe and America could pour 
 sweeter music into the courts of Heaven than swells 
 from the soul of one of God's aged saints whose feet 
 are almost on the Border-land. 
 
 If you cannot set to metre all the music of your soul, 
 Then let its heavenly harmony your daily life control ; 
 Until from out the discord of life's bitterness and pain 
 Sweet symphonies shall rise nor your life-song be in 
 vain. 
 
 ALICE F. DUNLAP. 
 
 Go sing to others all the songs 
 
 The angels sing to you 
 The unused voice will lose its power, 
 
 Its tones will not be true. 
 Transposed for weak, unskilful hands, 
 
 In all the easy keys, 
 The cheering strains, the soothing calm 
 
 Of heavenly melodies. 
 
 JULIA H. THAYER.
 
 PHILLIPS BROOKS 
 1835-1893
 
 OR THE MONTH 
 OF SEPTEMBER. 
 
 SEPTEMBER FIRST. 
 
 QEPTEMBER strews the woodlands o'er 
 ^ With many a brilliant color ; 
 The world is brighter than before, 
 
 Why should our hearts be duller? 
 Sorrow and the scarlet leaf, 
 
 Sad thoughts and sunny weather! 
 Ah me! this glory and this grief 
 
 Agree not well together. 
 
 THOMAS WILLIAM PARSONS. 
 
 Like an oriental princess comes the beautiful maid 
 September. All silently she buries her shapely feet 
 among the grasses, and trails her stately garments 
 down the wooded aisles, and the woodland echoes 
 whisper to each other, " Behold, September is here!" 
 Our fair, sweet Summer has flown, but lo, in her stead 
 September walks among us clothed in all the regal 
 splendor of autumnal colors. 
 
 Now the sweet September's here, 
 
 And the plover pipeth clear, 
 And each sheltered sheath of satin 
 
 Holds a guerdon of good cheer ; 
 And the corn all ripe and high, 
 Taller far than you or I, 
 Standeth spear-like to the sky, 
 
 In the sunset of the year. 
 
 KATE MCPHELIN CLEARY.
 
 SEPTEMBER SECOND. 
 
 A ND now you walk among the glories of a dying 
 ** Summer and a dawning Autumn. Amid the heat 
 and dust steals a little faint breeze, dew-laden in the 
 morning, and at evening quickening as twilight deepens, 
 and growing cooler as the night wears on. The Golden- 
 rod is waving his yellow plumes as if he were monarch 
 of all creation : the wheat and corn are golden too. O 
 Heart, hast thou not thy gold to bring this glad Sep- 
 tember day? I can wish for thee nothing better than 
 that thy year's harvest is ripening to fruition, and that 
 the Master Reaper is turning the fruits of thy hands 
 and lips into gold to-day. 
 
 Within each beating, human heart, 
 
 Lie buried out of sight 
 The thoughts that throb like things apart 
 
 And wait to find the light 
 From depths unseen, the heart's own sod 
 Sends forth its flowers, like Goldenrod. 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR. 
 
 Asters, purple and blue and white, 
 Yellow and orange goldenrod, 
 Ah, ye are preachers, prophets of God, 
 
 Writing your message in rainbow light, 
 
 A revelation in all men's sight. 
 
 The humblest creature of mortal mould 
 May shine, a spirit of godlike worth 
 Whose blooming at last shall illume the earth 
 With achievement's purple, or virtue's gold, 
 When short-lived glories are dead and cold. 
 
 GEORGE LANSING TAYLOR. 
 [252]
 
 SEPTEMBER THIRD. 
 
 WE all have our heart-angels ministering spirits 
 that come stealing into the sanctuary of our 
 inner life so silently that we cannot even hear the rus- 
 tle of their wings. Though we may be vexed and irri- 
 tated, grieved and distressed, the presence of one of 
 our heart-angels drives away all disturbances, and 
 fills us with restfulness and peace. Do you feel hurt 
 or resentful or angry? God forbid that you should 
 bear ill-will towards any one, least of all towards one 
 who is dear to you. Open the doors of your heart : 
 let out the evil spirit, that the good may come in and 
 minister to you, and put a smile into your eyes and 
 a song into your lips. May this gentle messenger of 
 peace and good-will abide with you and beautify your 
 life within, until it shall breathe forth an incense which 
 shall sweeten other lives and help to fit them for im- 
 mortality ! 
 
 There often comes to meet me, from the land where 
 
 fancies start, 
 A sweet and blessed presence the Angel of my heart. 
 
 Then whatever is the fairest, in this poor heart of 
 
 mine 
 As bees extract the honey from the roses 1 gathered 
 
 wine, 
 She draws with gentle glances, that lead me like a 
 
 prayer, 
 To follow in her footsteps through the pathway of the 
 
 air. 
 
 " BIRCH ARNOLD." 
 [253]
 
 SEPTEMBER FOURTH. 
 
 T CARE not where you may be, nor how surrounded, 
 * you may cultivate the spirit of silence. If you have 
 learned how to turn your thoughts inward, without 
 allowing outward things to disturb and annoy you, you 
 can find much food for quiet meditation. A man is 
 never lonely who has large resources within himself. 
 If possible, get away from the busy world for a time, 
 and walk out into the sunshine and gladness with Na- 
 ture. The September woods are beautiful now, and an 
 hour's solitude amid the stirring leaves and whispering 
 breezes would do you good. Oh, I wish every tired, 
 overworked man, woman, and child could spend a rest- 
 ful hour in the woodlands to-day, where the heart of 
 Nature beats high among the branches, and echoes its 
 music in the babbling streams. Find some time for 
 meditation, even in the midst of busy scenes, and may 
 a quiet peace possess you ! 
 
 If thou art worn and hard beset 
 
 With sorrows, that thou wouldst forget, 
 
 If thou wouldst read a lesson, that will keep 
 
 Thy heart from fainting, and thy soul from sleep, 
 
 Go to the woods and hills! no tears 
 
 Dim the sweet look that Nature wears. 
 
 HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. 
 
 Nature is man's best teacher. She unfolds 
 
 Her treasures to his search, unseals his eye, 
 
 Illumes his mind, and purifies his heart, 
 
 An influence breathes from all the sights and sounds 
 
 Of her existence ; she is wisdom's self. 
 
 ALFRED B. STREET. 
 [254]
 
 SEPTEMBER FIFTH. 
 
 THE necessary basis of culture is not money, but 
 content ; content with outward things just as they 
 are ; content with what must be, with what you so plain- 
 tively call a "subordinate social position." Let us 
 learn to have the grace to stand still and receive what 
 is given us, instead of struggling after the fashions of 
 the day. It is this selfish and unlovely strife to be 
 first to be popular among our fellow-men which 
 leaves no time for thought, no room for beauty, and no 
 breath for song, and that unfits us for companions in 
 the home and for the life work we are intended for. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 I think he conquers all who wins content. 
 
 Take what you may 
 
 Of proffered good ; accept life as it stands 
 And make the most of its swift-fleeting days. 
 The sweet, glad smile in a loved one's eyes, 
 The tender cadence of household tones 
 Are better than the crowns of the great and high : 
 For to live on pride is to feed on stones. 
 
 In counting off our life 
 
 By harvest moons, the checkered, toilsome years 
 Show in their record more of peace than strife, 
 More joy than sorrow, more of smiles than tears. 
 
 ELLEN P. ALLERTON. 
 
 My life at last has rounded out 
 
 Into the fulness of content ; 
 No more I grasp beyond my reach, 
 
 I mourn no more the days long spent. 
 
 FLORENCE A. JONES. 
 [255]
 
 SEPTEMBER SIXTH. 
 
 A NOTHER day! We see the dawning light, we 
 ** breathe the dewy air, and looking from our win- 
 dows watch the glory of the glad new day climb up 
 the sunrise hills of morn. This day is ours both 
 yours and mine fresh given from the hand of God to 
 keep or waste it as we will. How sweet it is ; how 
 pure and new, as if just fashioned by the Lord! Let 
 us receive it with His love, and crown it with the best 
 we have, in thought, and deed and earnest word. 
 
 How beautiful is morn, when glad and new 
 
 All nature wakes to greet another day ! 
 The sweet, mysterious chrism of the dew 
 
 Has washed all signs of weariness away ; 
 The flow'rs that drooped at yestere'en, now lift 
 
 Once more their sparkling faces up. We too, 
 With heart and brain refreshed, receive the gift 
 
 Of a new day, on whose fair page, as yet, 
 
 No character of good or ill is set. 
 So, joyously and eagerly, with hope and courage high, 
 We seek to trace a record grand before the day goes by. 
 
 MARY K. BUCK. 
 
 A new day stretches before me, 
 
 A day unlived and untried ; 
 I know not what it will bring me, 
 
 What sorrows or joys may betide. 
 
 How shall I plan for these hours, 
 
 One by one, as they come through the day? 
 
 How fill them with actions the wisest? 
 How think of the best things to say? 
 
 EDITH J. STOOD ARD. 
 [256]
 
 SEPTEMBER SEVENTH. 
 
 JOYS of this life are fleeting ; do not cling to them 
 too closely. They last but for a season, and then 
 leave us, like summer birds, with nothing but their 
 empty nests of remembrance to tell they have been. 
 If you would make life worth living, do not sit idly 
 grieving over your failures and disappointments, nor 
 sigh for the unsatisfying things of earth, but rest your 
 heart and soul upon the promises of God, and fix your 
 affections upon the treasures that shall not pass away 
 nor perish with the using. 
 
 Pleasure weaves a subtle thread, 
 
 Cunning as the spider, 
 Drawing us within her snare, 
 
 If we but confide her ; 
 Then with peace and rest destroyed, 
 We but find an aching void. 
 
 But for all who earnest seek, 
 
 There's a better treasure ; 
 Full and free it comes to all, 
 
 Without stint or measure. 
 Heav'n to such will sure impart 
 Full fruition to each heart. 
 
 ACHSA MILLS BROWN. 
 
 Daily struggling, though unloved and lonely, 
 Every day a rich reward will give ; 
 
 Thou wilt find, by hearty striving only, 
 And truly loving, thou canst truly live. 
 
 HARRIET W. SEWALL. 
 A I 7 [257]
 
 SEPTEMBER EIGHTH. 
 
 love is stronger than hate, kindness than 
 J- selfishness, forgiveness than vindictiveness, need 
 not be questioned. But the love must be genuine, not 
 a counterfeit ; the kindness must be unfeigned ; the 
 forgiveness must be from the heart : and with the re- 
 generate only can this be. To acquire more and more 
 of this power should be the serious aim of good people ; 
 and to help us in the acquisition of it, we read and 
 ponder the Sermon on the Mount. It tells men what 
 they must aim at, what they must try to become. 
 
 O. B. FROTHINGHAM. 
 
 Dear Lord, could I but have to me 
 
 The Spirit's fulness given, 
 I'd haste to tell Thy love to men 
 
 And point the way to Heaven. 
 
 Divine Redeemer, could I speak 
 
 Thy love so full and free, 
 Unto each heart that needs Thy grace, 
 
 I'd bring this world to Thee. . 
 
 FRANCIS P. GRIFFITH. 
 
 For the purest hope that's human, 
 For the good of man and woman, 
 For the upright soulhood holy, 
 For the great heart strong, yet lowly, 
 For the best good of thy brother, 
 As I've loved you, love each other. 
 
 FANNIE BOLTON.
 
 SEPTEMBER NINTH. 
 
 AS the birds sing, sing thou! Rise with joy on thy 
 lips, for the time of corn and wine is at hand and 
 the earth is giving her best. Give thou a glad praise- 
 offering to-day, and hearts that are tempted and tried 
 shall be lifted up from doubt and darkness, and hu- 
 manity rejoice because of thee. 
 
 Grow, sing and bloom undaunted ! 
 A world so shadow-haunted 
 Needs all your bursting splendor, 
 Soft lights, and murmurs tender. 
 The human want is pressing, 
 O'ershadow it with blessing! 
 Your triumph sure believing, 
 Till hearts shall hush their grieving. 
 
 LUCY LARCOM. 
 
 'Tis true, " there's ever a song somewhere," 
 Yes, somewhere beneath the skies ; 
 
 But what does it matter and who will care 
 If none in the heart arise? 
 
 JULIETTE ESTELLE MATHIS. 
 
 Oh, let me die singing, though feeble my breath, 
 For singing will sweeten the anguish of death ; 
 Though lonely the valley and gloomy the way, 
 Heart-music can turn the deep gloom into day. 
 
 EDWIN H. KEVIN. 
 
 Sing on ! till some glad day of days 
 
 Eternal glories on you shine, 
 And every plaint be turned to praise 
 
 In song Immortal as Divine! 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 [259]
 
 SEPTEMBER TENTH. 
 
 A GREAT man is always willing to be little. While 
 ** he sits on the cushion of advantages he goes to 
 sleep. When he is pushed and disappointed, tor- 
 mented, defeated, he has a chance to learn something. 
 He has been put on his wits, but he has learned facts. 
 
 RALPH WALDO EMERSON. 
 
 Grasp with a will whatever needs doing ; 
 
 Still stand ready, when one work is done, 
 Another to seize, then still pursuing 
 
 In duty your course, find the victory won. 
 
 Do your best for to-day, trust God for to-morrow ; 
 
 Don't be afraid of a jest or a sneer ; 
 Be cheerful and hopeful, and no trouble borrow ; 
 
 Keep the heart true, and the head cool and clear. 
 
 If you can climb to the top without falling, 
 Do it. If not, go as high as you can. 
 
 Man is not honored by business or calling ; 
 Business and calling are honored by man. 
 
 MRS. GAGE. 
 
 The heights of great men reached and kept 
 
 Were not attained by sudden flight ; 
 But they, while their companions slept, 
 
 Were toiling upward in the night. 
 
 HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. 
 
 Having a purpose in life is essential to right living. 
 . . . Unless a man is now living to a purpose, he has 
 either not yet begun to live, or he has got through 
 living; and in either case he is out of place in the 
 
 world. ANONYMOUS. 
 
 [260]
 
 SEPTEMBER ELEVENTH. 
 
 ENDURANCE is a very essential thing in this 
 life : we need a great deal of it, from childhood 
 to old age. If you are naturally sensitive and shrink- 
 ing, you should have an extra supply ; if you are easily 
 tempted to do wrong, you should pray for more en- 
 durance to enable you to stand up bravely to your 
 principles. Do not allow yourself weakly to say, " I 
 would overcome it if I could," but quietly resolve that 
 you will do so, come what may. 
 
 If is a word born of sad human doubt ; 
 
 There is no If, with the great God above ; 
 
 " I Will! " is His mandate of pow'r and love, 
 And Heaven and Earth obey with glad shout ; 
 For Divine Will and Pow'r all chances rout, 
 
 When we are sheltered in Infinite Love 
 
 Our wills attuned to the Great Will above. 
 
 LYDIA HOYT FARMER. 
 
 Then again, we need not only endurance and strength 
 to go forward and do our duty, but the patient, quiet 
 endurance to sit still and wait : to bear reproaches, 
 pain, trials, and grief, that we may be sweetened under 
 them, and made better. The brave spirit can bear 
 all things without murmuring or repining. 
 
 Behold, we live through all things, famine, thirst, 
 Bereavement, pain : all grief and misery, 
 
 All woe and sorrow ; life inflicts its worst 
 On soul and body, but we cannot die 
 
 Though we be sick, and tired, and faint, and worn, 
 
 Lo, all things can be borne. 
 
 ELIZABETH AKERS. 
 [261]
 
 SEPTEMBER TWELFTH. 
 
 IT is very easy to be bright and pleasant when there 
 is nothing to try our temper and ruffle us. It is 
 very easy to do our duty when we can have things all 
 our own way, but the test is when we have to undo all 
 that we have done to please some one else ; when we 
 must bear criticism and reproof in silence ; when we 
 must do our best for those who care nothing personally 
 for us, but who have a right to demand perfect work 
 at our hands. 
 
 It is not hard to toil when friends are ready 
 To smile upon the humble work you do ; 
 
 For sympathy will make a weak hand steady, 
 A wavering purpose true. 
 
 But it is hard to toil with none to love you, 
 With none whose help you wish or care to ask 
 
 No faces bent with kindly looks above you, 
 To glorify your task. 
 
 Ah, then, when work has lost its robe of beauty, 
 And none about you care for what you do, 
 
 It is most noble then to do the duty 
 That God has given you. 
 
 JESSIE H. BROWN. 
 
 In life not death, 
 Hearts need fond words to help them on their way ; 
 
 Need tender thoughts and gentle sympathy, 
 Caresses, pleasant looks to cheer each passing day. 
 Then hoard them not until they useless be ; 
 
 In life not death, 
 Speak kindly. Living hearts need sympathy. 
 
 SOPHIE L. SCHENCK. 
 [262]
 
 SEPTEMBER THIRTEENTH. 
 
 T)ERHAPS thou hast special need of God's blessing 
 to-day. Dear friend, "every heart knoweth its 
 own bitterness," as well as its own sweetness, and 
 whatever be thy condition to-day, I ask for thee God's 
 blessing. May it gladden and comfort thee and rest 
 upon thee wherever thou art! 
 
 How can I cease to pray for thee? Somewhere 
 In God's great universe thou art to-day ; 
 
 Can He not reach thee with His tender care ? 
 Can He not hear me when for thee I pray? 
 
 Somewhere thou livest and hast need of Him ; 
 
 Somewhere thy soul sees higher heights to climb ; 
 And somewhere still there may be valleys dim, 
 
 That thou must pass to reach the hills sublime. 
 
 Then all the more, because thou canst not hear, 
 Poor, human words of blessing, will I pray, 
 
 O true, brave heart, God bless thee wheresoe'er 
 In His great universe thou art to-day. 
 
 JULIA C. R. DORR. 
 
 May the all-wise Father bless thee 
 Thee, beloved, for whom I pray! 
 
 Bless thee in the silent night-time, 
 Bless thee through the busy day! 
 
 Bless thee through all joy all sorrow, 
 Bless thee always everywhere ! 
 
 When for thee I crave His blessing, 
 Surely He will hear my prayer! 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 [263]
 
 SEPTEMBER FOURTEENTH. 
 
 A PEACEFUL day to you! Come out of all your 
 ** gusts and storms of heart and mind, breathe the 
 sweet September air and be at peace with yourself and 
 all the world. Is there any cause for inward strife? 
 Is not God's love the same as of old? Are not His 
 promises restful and comforting? Do not His works 
 whisper a Song of Peace in your heart? Be not dis- 
 turbed by any doubts as to the future, but tranquil and 
 serene, rest within the shelter of His loving arms, and 
 thank Him for the present with its sunshine and its 
 shadow. 
 
 Master divine, unseal our ears, 
 Master divine, anoint our eyes, 
 
 That we may hear those voices plead, 
 And see the work that round us lies, 
 
 And know, when strife and turmoil come, 
 And deadly shafts are fiercest hurled, 
 
 We may not stand in God's great peace 
 And look out on a troubled world, 
 
 But, bearing peace within our souls, 
 Take open ways, and brave the strife, 
 
 Dare even mockery and the scourge, 
 And wear the thorny crown of life! 
 
 Nor may we rest in God's great light, 
 
 On summits of eternal bloom, 
 But with the lamp of His sure Word 
 
 Walk through the shadow and the gloom. 
 
 GRACE GREENWOOD. 
 [264]
 
 T 
 
 SEPTEMBER FIFTEENTH. 
 
 I HE discovery of thought is one of the mysteries 
 
 of life. J. G. HOLLAND. 
 
 The fragrance of a thought may rise 
 To nobler life and subtler guise 
 As still as violets by the brooks 
 A thing too rare to set in books, 
 Or cage in song. 
 
 RICHARD EDWIN DAY. 
 
 Our nearest and dearest ones cannot enter our silent 
 realm of Thought ; it is sacred to ourselves alone. The 
 best and worst of our nature is gathered there, and 
 none but the eye of God can see the secret workings 
 that lie in the human heart. True earnest words 
 breathe forth from the garden of Thought and blossom 
 into sweetness and fragrance : and from thence issue 
 many rank weeds that choke out the beautiful flowers, 
 and leave behind only sorrow and regret. Our good 
 thoughts come to us like sweet messengers from Heaven, 
 uplifting and purifying us : cultivate only the best 
 thoughts, and they will make your life beautiful. 
 
 Thought after thought, ye thronging rise, 
 Like spring-doves from the startled wood, 
 
 Bearing like them your sacrifice 
 Of music unto God! 
 
 JOHN G. WHITTIER. 
 
 All thought begins in feeling. JAMES R. LOWELL.
 
 SEPTEMBER SIXTEENTH. 
 
 is a world of sweets and sours. 
 
 EDGAR ALLAN POE. 
 
 Yes, and a very good world it is too! We look on 
 the shadowed side of it, and it appears very gloomy 
 and forbidding, but when we find its bright side, we 
 exclaim, " What a grand old world this is ! " I think 
 most things in this life are what we make them after all. 
 No one ever declares life to be a failure who is not in 
 some way a failure himself. There are crosses to bear 
 and things to grieve us, but if we will it so, life will 
 look brighter to us every year. 
 
 Life is a count of losses, 
 
 Every year ; 
 For the weak are heavier crosses 
 
 Every year ; 
 
 Lost Springs with sobs replying 
 Unto weary Autumn's sighing, 
 While those we love are dying 
 
 Every year. 
 
 But the truer life draws nigher 
 
 Every year ; 
 And its Morning-star climbs higher 
 
 Every year ; 
 
 Earth's hold on us grows slighter, 
 And the heavy burthen lighter, 
 And the Dawn Immortal brighter, 
 
 Every year. 
 
 ALBERT PIKE. 
 [266]
 
 SEPTEMBER SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 T)AUL, " an ambassador of Jesus Christ," left behind 
 * him a beautiful record. He was an example well 
 worthy of imitation, because he took for his pattern 
 Christ Himself. Oh, you who are discouraged and per- 
 plexed, and yet say you love God, hear what Paul says, 
 " For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor 
 angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pres- 
 ent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any 
 other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love 
 of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 
 
 Give me his earnestness ; give me his will ; 
 Give me his tenderness ; give me his skill ; 
 Give me his steadfastness o'erreaching all, 
 Give me the prayerfulness God gave to Paul ! 
 
 Give me his watchfulness ; give me his grace ; 
 Give me the peacefulness found on his face ; 
 Give me his strengthfulness thro' grief and shame ; 
 Give me his truthfulness always the same! 
 
 Give me his guilelessness, pity and love ; 
 Give me his modesty, pure as a dove ; 
 Give me his trustfulness, simple and sweet ; 
 Give me his sympathy, full and complete! 
 
 Give me his faithfulness even to death ; 
 Give me his zealousness with ev'ry breath ; 
 ' Give me his character, whatever befall, 
 
 Give me the righteousness God gave to Paul ! 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR. 
 
 [267]
 
 SEPTEMBER EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 T^ORGIVENESS of injuries is a God-given grace. 
 
 J- It is the most reluctant act that human nature 
 ever performs to forgive a great wrong. In the deepest 
 condition of moral degradation there is no such thing 
 as forgiveness of injuries thought about. So destitute 
 is mankind of the spirit of forgiveness of injuries, that 
 heathen religions taught the right of revenging an 
 injury, but not of forgiving one. In view of this we 
 say, the spirit of forgiving injuries is God-given. The 
 Bible is the one book which from beginning to end 
 advocates forgiveness. j. L. WITHROW. 
 
 Blest Master, how exceeding broad, 
 
 How deep Thy pure command, 
 That lays upon earth's fevered pulse 
 
 A calm, restraining hand. 
 
 It turns the tide of passion back, 
 
 It bids revenge be still ; 
 For e'en the wrath of man restrained 
 
 Shall execute Thy will. 
 
 Though mocked and pierced Thou bidst us pray, 
 
 Forgive, and bless, and love, 
 As children of Eternal Day 
 
 Whose life is hid above. 
 
 KATE R. ODEN. 
 
 For still in mutual suffrance lies 
 
 The secret of true living ; 
 Love scarce is love that never knows 
 
 The sweetness of forgiving. 
 
 JOHN G. WHITTIER. 
 [268]
 
 SEPTEMBER NINETEENTH. 
 
 IN MEMORIAM JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 T IFE'S race well run, 
 J < Life's work well done, 
 Life's crown well won, 
 Now comes rest. 
 
 E. H. PARKER. 
 
 Was James A. Garfield great? Ask those early 
 years, when adverse winds always assailed his bark ; 
 ask the battle-fields where he led soldiers ; ask the 
 magnificent capitol where he was crowned as Repub- 
 licans crown their chieftains ; ask the cottage where he 
 died. If out of the answers to these questions there 
 comes not the witness of greatness, the human heart 
 must henceforth toil and long in vain. DAVID SWING. 
 
 We called him Statesman, in the Senate halls, 
 
 And Orator when setting hearts athrill, 
 We named him Hero on the battle-field, 
 And Chieftain by a sovereign people's will. 
 
 But now we learn, through days of sore distress, 
 That pain has made him grander than success. 
 
 MARY T. LATHROP. 
 
 Wrapt in eternal peace, 
 He rests apart, his life fulfilled in love, 
 And guided by a Wisdom from above, 
 
 Nor does his influence cease, 
 Mankind is nobler made. Ah! not for fame 
 He lived, though ages shall record his name! 
 
 Rest, Hero, rest in peace. 
 
 FANNIE HUNTINGTON RUNNELS. 
 
 [269]
 
 SEPTEMBER TWENTIETH. 
 
 DO not make yourself miserable because you can- 
 not have everything you want. God may pros- 
 per you yet, but even if He does not see best to do 
 so here, think of the riches He has in store for you 
 " up yonder " ! These are your inheritance the 
 crown, the harp, the rest, the peace, and oh, best of 
 all, the presence of Christ, and the company of His 
 redeemed, surrounded by such glories as the mind of 
 man cannot picture. Besides these Christ left us a 
 beautiful earthly inheritance to enjoy in this life. 
 
 What did Christ leave to His Beloved? 
 His Word, the surest, plainest guide ; 
 His certain Promise to provide 
 For every want that can betide 
 
 The sweetness of His love untold, 
 That nothing good can e'er withhold, 
 And in His heart our griefs doth fold 
 
 His Peace, an angel unconfessed, 
 That broodeth o'er the troubled breast 
 Till all is tranquil, calm, and rest 
 
 The Comforter, who stills our sighs, 
 And wipes the tears from weeping eyes, 
 And whispers hopes of Paradise 
 
 O sweetest Christ! Hear Thou my prayer, 
 Of Legacy so grand and fair 
 Make me inheritor and heir. 
 
 LILLIE E. BARR. 
 [270]
 
 SEPTEMBER TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 WOVEN gold is life's Now I Work is worship 
 to-day! MARY A. LEAVITT. 
 
 Your to-day is precious ; learn how to value it. The 
 man who squanders the present, has allowed a pearl 
 to slip through his fingers, which, though he search 
 for forever, he shall never find again. 
 
 There is no Morrow. Though before our face 
 The shadow named so stretches, we alway 
 Fail to overtake it, hasten as we may ; 
 God only gives one island-niche of space 
 Betwixt the Eternities, as standing place 
 Where each may work the inexorable To-day. 
 
 MARGARET J. PRESTON. 
 
 Oh, life is sad and strange, 
 
 And love is deaf and blind, 
 And the shapes of sorrow and change 
 
 Are always pressing behind! 
 If the tender impulse stay, 
 
 It is nipped by the frost of fate 
 So make haste to be kind to-day, 
 
 For to-morrow may be too late ! 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 
 We cannot put a girdle about eternity, but you may 
 take in so much thereof, that this little life which is 
 "rounded with a sleep," shall seem very petty, yea, 
 utterly contemptible ; except as the deeds done therein, 
 settle your destiny forever. Oh, redeem the time, 
 redeem the time ! E. A. TANNER.
 
 SEPTEMBER TWENTY-SECOND. 
 
 JUST this one day's burden is to be borne, there- 
 fore let not your heart grieve itself over to-morrow's. 
 Do you not know that there has been food and shelter 
 and raiment in days gone by, that He will not forget 
 the days to come ? Can you not take the blessed gift 
 God's token of remembrance for you To-day, and 
 use it without worrying over to-morrow? 
 
 Because in a day of my days to come 
 
 There waiteth a grief to be, 
 Shall my heart grow faint, and my lips be dumb 
 
 In this day that is bright for me? 
 
 Because of a subtle sense of pain, 
 
 Like a pulse-beat threaded through 
 The bliss of my thought, shall I dare refrain 
 
 From delight in the pure and true ? 
 
 Nay, phantom ill with the warning hand, 
 
 Nay, ghosts of the weary past, 
 Serene, as in armor of faith I stand, 
 
 You may not hold me fast. 
 
 Your shadows across my sun may fall, 
 
 But as bright the sun may shine, 
 For I walk in the light ye cannot pall, 
 
 The light of the King Divine. 
 
 And whatever the shades from day to day, 
 
 I am sure that His name is Love, 
 And He never will let me lose my way 
 
 To my rest in His home above. 
 
 MARGARET E. SANGSTER. 
 [272]
 
 SEPTEMBER TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 WE mount to Heaven mostly on the ruins of our 
 cherished schemes, finding our failures were 
 successes. A. B. ALCOTT. 
 
 We fail so often when we have honestly tried to do our 
 best ; this is because we are so frail and human, and 
 rely on our own strength too much. It is often when 
 we are heart-sick and discouraged that God whispers 
 the comfort and cheer we need, and saves us from 
 turning against the world, and all mankind. He 
 knows just how much we can bear, and what discipline 
 is best for us, and upon the very wrecks of our sweetest 
 hopes He bids us, " Be of good cheer," and take heart 
 to begin again. 
 
 He knows how weak we are, how broad, how high, 
 The powers He lends which all our natures hem. 
 
 He knows what stress and strain may wrench and try, 
 And we the stronger tides of being stem. 
 
 And what He asks is, that when sorely pressed, 
 We reach our hands, and trustfully place them where 
 
 His own may grasp them. Here alone is rest, 
 And comfort and emergence from despair. 
 
 ANNIE TURNER. 
 
 God never leaves thee in relentless dark. 
 
 Slowly the dawn on unbelieving eyes 
 Breaketh at last. Day brightens, and, oh, hark! 
 
 A flood of birdsong from the tender skies! 
 From storm and darkness thou hast found an ark, 
 
 Shut in with this great marvel of surprise! 
 
 JULIA C. R. DORR. 
 A 18 [273]
 
 SEPTEMBER TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 GET into the habit of looking for the silver lining 
 of the cloud, and, when you have found it, continue 
 to look at it, rather than at the leaden gray in the 
 middle. It will help you over many hard places. 
 
 WILLITTS. 
 
 Although the day is dark and drear, 
 And rain and wind are sighing loud, 
 
 Above it all is bright and clear 
 There's silver lining in the cloud. 
 
 Let no vain sorrow or regret 
 
 Life's inner harmonies enshroud ; 
 
 They see not those who pine and fret 
 There's silver lining in the cloud. 
 
 ANONYMOUS 
 
 Bear thy cross cheerfully, 
 
 Whate'er it be, 
 Dream not so fearfully, 
 
 Waiting to see 
 How the dark waves of life 
 
 Their mission bring, 
 Conquest comes but through strife, 
 
 Conquer and sing. 
 
 BELLE G. MCAULEY. 
 
 The light heart is the happy heart. Cheerfulness 
 wins friends wherever it goes. A smile will move the 
 sternest nature. Do not give up on account of adver- 
 sities and misfortunes ; soar with Hope above them. 
 Be just as persistent in being cheerful as you are in 
 having your own way. L. M. CHILD. 
 [274]
 
 SEPTEMBER TWENTY-FIFTH. 
 
 LITTLE cares, little vexations, little duties make 
 up a life. You cannot escape them in this world. 
 But though they weigh you down for a time, through 
 them are wrought patience, gentleness, and unselfish- 
 ness. No one is naturally patient, gentle, or unselfish, 
 under all circumstances : some inherit these qualities 
 in a measure, but under the storm of peculiar trials the 
 sunshine and sweetness flies away. It is only through 
 daily discipline, through continued vigilance and prayer 
 that one can learn to face life with calmness and sub- 
 mission. " Despise not the day of small things," they 
 make you greater by and by. 
 
 As tiny streamlets, adding to the river, 
 
 Mingle their waters wending to the sea, 
 So the small things of time fill up the measure 
 
 That swells the chorus of eternity ; 
 And oft we find the path of common duty 
 
 The royal road that leads to God and Heaven, 
 And, as we cherish and improve the little, 
 
 We find the greater things to us are given. 
 
 How oft we've stopped to lift the simple burden, 
 
 And sighed in sorrow at the common toil, 
 But found that as our feet trod duty*s pathway, 
 
 The flowers of peace and joy bedecked the soil ; 
 For duty is a bright and glorious sunbeam, 
 
 That gilds the humblest lot with light divine, 
 For Jesus walked amid its narrow windings, 
 
 And made the lowliest aspects most sublime. 
 
 MRS. S. C. CLARKE. 
 [375]
 
 SEPTEMBER TWENTY-SIXTH. 
 
 IT is only by renewed effort, that we can conquer 
 Self. You think perhaps you have completely mas- 
 tered some evil tendency, when, lo, another, even 
 greater, manifests itself. In the sweetness of doing 
 for others selfhood is forgotten. This was the secret 
 of Christ's beautiful life : it was a continual sacrifice, as 
 His death was a sacrifice. 
 
 At noon within the market-place He stood, 
 The people gathered round Him at His word, 
 
 And there He spake to them of what was good, 
 Waking the better thought of all that heard. 
 
 Of Love and Faith and Hope the great Triune 
 That uplifts Life He spake as one inspired, 
 
 And as He taught all hearts seemed in attune, 
 All hearts with nobler, higher aims were fired. 
 
 Night came ; the people went unto their rest, 
 Stirred by desires more precious than new gold ; 
 
 But all alone, with head bent on His breast, 
 The Teacher sat, hungry and tired and cold. 
 
 But one, whom Doubt still held, returned to ask 
 A question that the Teacher might explain ; 
 
 He found the good man, and forgot his task 
 In seeking to relieve the mortal pain. 
 
 Warmed, fed, and sheltered, then the Doubter said 
 " Dost Thou teach truly, and yet find Thy lot 
 
 Is misery?" The Teacher raised His head, 
 "In doing good, Self ever is forgot." 
 
 FLAVEL SCOTT MINES. 
 [276]
 
 B 
 
 SEPTEMBER TWENTY-SEVENTH. 
 
 UT woe to the man who quails before that which 
 makes him man. JULIAN HAWTHORNE. 
 
 To be strong, noble, and true is what God expects 
 man to be. But this is not enough. He must use his 
 strength, his nobility, and his truth ; he must be pro- 
 gressive, not for himself alone, but for the good of 
 others. He must not shrink from going forward and 
 doing his duty, let that duty be ever so hard. So long 
 as you sit dreading and brooding over a thing it will 
 never be done : God's command centuries ago was " Go 
 forward ! " and it is the same to-day. The longer you 
 stand back, the harder it is. Have a purpose : let your 
 manhood or womanhood assert itself. Press on. 
 
 Press on! Surmount the rocky steeps, 
 
 Climb boldly o'er the torrent's arch ; 
 He fails alone who feebly creeps ; 
 
 He wins who dares the hero's march. 
 Be thou a hero! let thy might 
 
 Tramp on eternal snows its way, 
 And through the ebon walls of night, 
 
 Hew down a passage unto day. 
 
 PARK BENJAMIN. 
 
 Nothing great is lightly won, 
 
 Nothing won is lost ; 
 Every good deed nobly done 
 
 Will repay the cost. 
 
 SARAH T. BOLTON. 
 [277]
 
 SEPTEMBER TWENTY-EIGHTH. 
 
 T^VERY heart looks forward to a "Sometime." It 
 * floats beyond us like a golden cloud afar off, whose 
 radiance we may see, but whose borders we cannot 
 touch. What great things are to come to pass in that 
 wonderful Sometime! The world is to take a grand 
 stride forward : the nation, the state, and humanity in 
 general, are to be uplifted and ennobled, and all in that 
 beautiful, beautiful Sometime. 
 
 Sometime in the future, I cannot tell when, 
 We'll win in the battle for God and the right : 
 
 True wisdom and virtue will reign among men, 
 And earth will be radiant with love and with light. 
 
 The vices that torment and burden the heart, 
 Will flee as the new world of beauty appears, 
 
 And sorrow and anguish will swiftly depart, 
 And life be no longer embittered in tears. 
 
 EDWIN H. NEVIN, D.D. 
 
 Sometime, not far away, 
 
 Life's battles will be won, 
 And then will dawn a day, 
 
 Where never-setting sun 
 Will gild the golden shore 
 
 Where night shall be no more. 
 
 From toil, and care, and sin, 
 Sometime we hope to rest, 
 
 And have a home within 
 The mansions of the blest. 
 
 AMOS BRYANT RUSSELL. 
 [278]
 
 D 
 
 SEPTEMBER TWENTY-NINTH. 
 
 AY is a snow-white Dove of Heaven 
 That from the east glad message brings. 
 
 THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH. 
 
 God has sent you another day. On the wings of 
 this new white Day, God sends you a sweet message 
 of peace and love. 
 
 The Sun is up betimes, 
 
 And the dappled East is blushing, 
 And the merry matin chimes, 
 
 They are gushing, Christian, gushing! 
 They are tolling in the tower 
 
 For another day begun, 
 And to hail the rising hour 
 
 Of a brighter, brighter Sun ! 
 Rise, Christian, rise! 
 
 For a sunshine brighter far 
 Is breaking o'er thine eyes, 
 
 Than the bonnie morning star! 
 
 The lark is in the sky, 
 
 And his morning note is pouring ; 
 He hath a wing to fly, 
 
 So he's soaring, Christian, soaring! 
 His nest is on the ground, 
 
 But only in the night ; 
 For he loves the matin sound 
 
 And the highest heaven's height. 
 Hark, Christian, hark! 
 
 At heaven-door he sings! 
 And be thou like the lark, 
 
 With thy soaring spirit-wings! 
 
 ARTHUR CLEVELAND COXE. 
 [2793
 
 SEPTEMBER THIRTIETH. 
 
 T ET this be a day of kind words and helpful deeds. 
 -L* Resolve that this last day of September shall 
 live on through years to come, and that its fragrance 
 shall be like the lingering sweetness of the last rose of 
 summer, perfuming all the air around it. 
 
 If you have a kind word say it, 
 Throbbing hearts soon sink to rest; 
 
 If you owe a kindness pay it, 
 Life's sun hurries to the west. 
 
 Can you do a kind deed do it, 
 From despair some soul to save ; 
 
 Bless each day as you pass through it, 
 Marching onward to the grave. 
 
 Days for deeds are few, my brother, 
 
 Then to-day fulfil your vow ; 
 If you mean to help another, 
 
 Do not dream it do it now. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 spirit, be no more content 
 To dream, aspire, and long ! 
 
 Grasp thou the grand, the beautiful, 
 The proud, the free, the strong! 
 
 1 rouse! no more for far-off good, 
 With folded hands, I pine : 
 
 I seek, I yet will find, the springs 
 
 To quench this thirst divine! 
 And these, all these I covet now, 
 
 God helping, shall be mine! 
 
 GRACE GREENWOOD. 
 [280]
 
 CELIA THAXTER 
 1835-1894
 
 OR THE MONTH 
 OF OCTOBER- 
 
 OCTOBER FIRST. 
 
 OCTOBER, the month of joy and fruitfulness : her 
 stone, the opal. 
 
 Our common mother rests and sings, 
 Like Ruth, among her garnered sheaves ; 
 
 Her lap is full of goodly things, 
 Her brow is bright with autumn leaves. 
 
 JOHN G. WHITTIER. 
 
 Grand October, rich fulfilment 
 
 Of the daughters of the year 
 How the woodland arches open 
 
 When they feel her presence near! 
 How the rushes by the river 
 
 Gleam amid the dying trees, 
 With their plumes of gold and russet 
 
 Bent beneath the chilling breeze ! 
 
 Autumn leaves she makes her chaplet, 
 
 As she sweeps the glowing skies, 
 And the gown that clings about her 
 
 Seems a thing from Paradise, 
 And we look in mute amazement 
 
 At her opaline delight, 
 While we cry, " O grand October, 
 
 God hath made you wondrous bright!" 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR. 
 [281]
 
 OCTOBER SECOND. 
 
 WE are nothing, only as we are lighted from 
 within. There can be no outer radiance that 
 is really beautiful, without it reflects the sunshine of 
 the soul. If our spirits have caught the reflection of 
 God's love, they will shine as does the opal, with bright 
 rays from the Sun of Righteousness. But if we turn 
 them always towards the world, they will be dull and 
 colorless. 
 
 I had a gem of priceless worth to me 
 I wore it on my sleeve ; the sky was lead. 
 
 " What charm in that base Opal can you see ? " 
 A comrade said, " so cold and gray and dead! " 
 
 Another day I wore that jewel strange 
 
 Upon my sleeve ; the sky was bright and clear. 
 
 " Ah," cried my friend, " you've made a fitting change ; 
 This Opal wears the light of God's own sphere." 
 
 And here I wear the Opal of my soul 
 
 Upon my sleeve, with all its dark and bright. 
 
 Nor one hue is the Opal, but the whole ; 
 And that whole nothing save as God gives light. 
 
 HENRY PETERSON. 
 
 There is an old saying regarding the opal, which 
 runs thus : 
 
 " October's child is born of woe, 
 And life's vicissitudes must know ; 
 But place an opal on her breast 
 And Hope will lull her cares to rest." 
 [282]
 
 OCTOBER THIRD. 
 
 HOW few there are who fully understand the art 
 of giving gracefully that which their love or 
 benevolence leads them to bestow. 
 
 " It is more blessed to give than to receive," saith 
 the Word of God, and the truth of this statement has 
 been confirmed by those whose privilege it has been 
 to act in the capacity of a giver. The kindly hand- 
 clasp and expressive smile, which accompany the gift, 
 are part of the charm which renders the giving a grace 
 which few possess. The Giver of all good and perfect 
 gifts, who giveth to all men richly, freely, and liberally, 
 sets us a blessed example of the manner in which our 
 good gifts should be bestowed. IDA H. WILSON. 
 
 Lord, teach us the lesson of loving, 
 
 The very first lesson of all : 
 Oh, Thou who dost love little children, 
 
 How tender and sweet is Thy call ! 
 Now help us to hear it and give Thee 
 
 The love Thou art asking to-day ; 
 Then help us to love one another, 
 
 For this we most earnestly pray. 
 
 Lord, teach us this lesson of giving, 
 
 For this is the very next thing ; 
 Our love ought always be showing 
 
 What offerings and fruit it can bring. 
 There are many who know not Thy mercy, 
 
 There are millions in darkness and woe ; 
 Our prayers and our gifts are all needed, 
 
 And all can do something, we know. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 [283]
 
 OCTOBER FOURTH. 
 
 essence of friendship is entireness, a total 
 J- magnanimity and trust. RALPH WALDO EMER- 
 SON. 
 
 God bless the true-hearted friend, the one on whom 
 we can lean, and in whom we can trust at all times! 
 There is nothing that our hearts hold dearer than 
 such a friendship. There is no friend like the old 
 friend, the one who has stood the test of years, and 
 is always staunch and true. To such as these our 
 hearts cling with yearning tenderness and devoted 
 love. 
 
 There is no friend like the old friend who has shared 
 
 our morning days, 
 No greeting like his welcome, no homage like his 
 
 praise ; 
 Fame is the scentless sunflower, with gaudy crown of 
 
 gold; 
 But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in 
 
 every fold. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 For, O friend, the oldest and dearest, 
 I have learned have not you in these years? 
 
 That the friends of our youth are the nearest, 
 Through all changes of laughter and tears. 
 
 HATTIE TYNG GRISWOLD 
 
 Cherish friendship in your breast, 
 New is good, but old is best ; 
 Make new friends, but keep the old, 
 Those are silver, these are gold. 
 
 w. B. R. 
 [284]
 
 OCTOBER FIFTH. 
 
 BURIED talent brings no income. Withheld ser- 
 vice hinders God's blessing. s. E. WISHARD. 
 
 Are you burying your talent? Is there not some 
 gift which you are keeping hidden away which has 
 never yet been brought to light? O my Friend, this 
 ought not to be. Just think of the pleasure you might 
 give, of the good you might do, if you were not 
 withholding this precious treasure from the world! 
 Has God blessed you with the power of Song, and 
 yet you refuse to sing for His glory? Has He given 
 you the sweet, tender, winning way of soothing an 
 aching heart, or of expressing your sympathy for the 
 suffering? There is no gift more valuable than that 
 of a gracious manner ; it will win confidence any time, 
 and yet many abuse it, or set no value on it at all. 
 Arouse to the knowledge that you have a talent, and 
 make it your business to find out what it is, that some 
 one may get the good of it. 
 
 Have we but one talent? Its use He commands ; 
 "Two mites" fill the measure of His equal demands. 
 And one talent, improved, shall double its own, 
 While ten, which lie buried, are counted as none. 
 
 MARY A. LEAVITT. 
 
 If the power to do hard work is not talent, it is the 
 best possible substitute for it. Things don't turn up 
 in this world until somebody turns them up. A pound 
 of pluck is worth a ton of luck. Luck is an ignis 
 fatuus. You may follow it to ruin, but never to suc- 
 cess. JAMES A. GARFIELD.
 
 OCTOBER SIXTH. 
 
 GOD loves you and cares for you always: is this 
 not a sweet comforting thought? Can you not 
 read His beautiful message in earth and sky to-day? 
 Can you not interpret His meaning in all this autumn 
 glory? The leaves are flushed with color, the dahlias 
 are richest cardinal, the fruit is glowing like a sunset 
 sky : everything is nearing perfection. " But the year 
 is dying!" you say. Ah no, the year never dies, it 
 is only the falling away of a few decayed leaves, the 
 withering of a few flowers. The year is only getting 
 ready for its winter sleep. Dear Heart, He who sends 
 the frosts to mellow the fruit and add fresh color to 
 the dying leaves, will never forget you. When you are 
 weary and faint, and your burdens are heavy, remember 
 this. Life's frosts will come to us all, but what will it 
 matter? They will only rob us of a few roses; there 
 will be the falling away of some dead leaves of ambi- 
 tion and hope, perhaps, but this will give us a better 
 chance to get ready for our Long Sleep. Go on your 
 way bravely and patiently ; remember, that above God's 
 clouds of discipline, shines the rainbow of His love. 
 This life will soon be over, and then what a rest shall 
 be yours! 
 
 A day of toil what matters it ? 
 
 So short this life of tears and pain. 
 Lift up thy face! What dost thou fear? 
 
 Thou hast not given thine all in vain. 
 Soon thou shalt walk with Him in white. 
 
 Who knoweth ? It may be to-night. 
 
 ADELAIDE ALLISON. 
 [286]
 
 OCTOBER SEVENTH. 
 
 HEART-CULTURE is a very essential thing. As 
 the heart is the centre of life, so it is also the 
 centre of good and evil. The heart should be daily 
 nourished, and tenderly guarded, for from it will issue 
 the things that make for our eternal peace or everlast- 
 ing despair. Remember, the body is short-lived, but 
 the influence which flows from the heart is deathless. 
 
 The flush of youth soon passes from the face, 
 The spells of fancy, from the mind depart ; 
 
 The form may lose its symmetry, its grace, 
 But time can claim no victory o'er the heart. 
 
 ANNA P. DINNIES. 
 
 Guard well thy heart, lest passions sweep 
 The chords, and God's sweet melody 
 
 Be lost, lest from the ruins leap 
 The spirit of unrest set free, 
 
 And o'er thy life dark chaos fall. 
 
 Guard well thy heart ! Rest not content 
 With visions fair. Unwearied seek 
 
 Till thou hast found the true love sent 
 By Him who watcheth o'er the weak. 
 
 Who heeds the suppliant's call. 
 
 Guard well thy heart! Its throbbing life 
 Protect with jealous care. Be not 
 
 Afraid, though bitter grow the strife, 
 And fierce contention mark thy lot. 
 
 Courage! God ruleth over all! 
 
 THEODORE F. MCMANUS. 
 [287]
 
 OCTOBER EIGHTH. 
 
 LOVE and sympathy are very closely akin. If you 
 are truly sorry for any one in distress or adver- 
 sity, so sorry that the chords of sympathy are touched 
 and vibrate as if the suffering were your own, then you 
 must love them. There are many mistaken ideas re- 
 garding sympathy. Some people, when brought face 
 to face with poverty and misery, will say, " I feel very 
 sorry indeed for you," and pass on without a single 
 effort to relieve the distress. They imagine themselves 
 very sympathetic, and yet they fail to prove it. God 
 asks proofs of us. The Good Samaritan not only felt 
 sympathy for his suffering brother, but showed it by 
 ministering to him. What was behind the sympathy ? 
 ah, there lies the secret it was love! Those who 
 passed him by, looked on him, perhaps, with cold pity, 
 but the Good Samaritan had compassion on him ; it 
 was something deeper than pity it was sorrow and 
 sympathy blended ; it was brotherhood; it was love! 
 Remember that cold pity is not enough ; it never 
 heals broken hearts, nor binds up wounds, nor clothes 
 the hungry, nor feeds the poor. Sympathy and love 
 demand service : they work, while careless pity looks 
 on and passes by. 
 
 Love is the spirit of our sympathies. 
 
 If sympathies are true, 'twill e'er endure, 
 And grow and strengthen through eternal years, 
 
 Till in a perfect unity secure, 
 It overcomes all weakness, doubts, and fears, 
 
 And one with love supreme, it wipes away all tears. 
 
 E. A. WARRINER. 
 
 [288]
 
 OCTOBER NINTH. 
 
 LIFE would not be worth living without faith. Faith 
 in God ; faith in ourselves ; faith in our fellow- 
 men ; we should omit none of the three. Without 
 faith in God, there is no hope for the soul; without 
 faith in self, life is a miserable failure ; without faith in 
 each other, we should miss the sweet joys of friendship. 
 Keep your faith bright, let its lustre never grow dim! 
 
 Only by faith can you run the race which is set 
 before you, as before those of old. M. HOPKINS. 
 
 So, if we cherish in the heart 
 The flowers of faith and love, 
 
 The world's dread frown can never blight, 
 Or cast a shadow o'er the light 
 That bids the wintry gloom depart, 
 The light from Heaven above. 
 
 LUCIE C. HAGER. 
 
 Faith is the rock on which I stand ; 
 
 The anchor of my soul ; 
 The magnet drawing me above 
 
 Where life's pure waters roll. 
 Come, trials, come, one beam of faith 
 
 Can pierce the darkest night ; 
 'Twill guide me through the vale of death, 
 
 And there be lost in sight. 
 
 FANNY CROSBY. 
 A 19 [289]
 
 OCTOBER TENTH. 
 
 THE world is full of unrecognized heroes. Doubt- 
 less you have one in your own household, or in 
 your own neighborhood : and yet you are not aware 
 of it. Perhaps you are one yourself. If you have a 
 noble, generous heart that is overflowing with benevo- 
 lence and kindness to all mankind, and you are living 
 a life of self-sacrifice and devotion for them ; if you 
 are walking in thorny paths ; bearing your cross with 
 patience ; if you are doing the very things you dislike 
 to do, because it is your duty ; if you are living among 
 uncongenial people, and by your gentleness and sweet- 
 ness are leading them nearer to Heaven you are a 
 hero. 
 
 Earth's godlike ones! 
 
 Who would not rather wear the martyr's brow 
 Than all the baubles of her favored sons 
 
 Whose Wrong o'ermasters Right ? 
 
 The suffering and the poor, 
 
 The lowly of the land, 
 The spirits that endure 
 
 With fainting heart and hand, 
 
 Who, tempted sorely, overmuch and long, 
 
 Still bravely choose the Right and spurn the Wrong ; 
 
 They who serenely bear the false friend's frown, 
 Injustice, cruelty that wrings the soul, 
 Shall yet ... attain the glorious goal 
 Where gleams the Martyr's crown ! 
 
 ISABELLA A. SAXON. 
 [290]
 
 "A 
 
 OCTOBER ELEVENTH. 
 MERRY heart doeth good like a medicine." 
 
 Why not make the best of life ? If this is what you 
 are trying to do, you are sure to be happy. You have 
 only a little space to fill ; God has given you a corner 
 in the world to make bright and happy, so that when a 
 neighbor or a stranger comes near you they can see the 
 halo you are shedding about you, and catch a little of 
 your sunshine. Keep singing : the earth will always 
 welcome a blithe song. 
 
 A little bird sat on a slender limb, 
 
 Upward swinging, 
 And though wind and rain were rough with him 
 
 Still kept singing. 
 
 " O little bird, quick, seek out your nest! " 
 I could not keep from calling ; 
 " The bleak winds tear your tender breast, 
 Your tiny feet are falling." 
 " More need for song 
 When things go wrong, 
 I was not meant for crying ; 
 No fear for me," 
 He piped with glee, 
 " My wings were made for flying." 
 
 I, too, will sing 
 
 Through everything ; 
 It will each blessing double, 
 
 Nor yet forget, 
 
 When rude winds fret, 
 To fly above my trouble. 
 
 MYRA GOODWIN PLANTZ. 
 [291]
 
 OCTOBER TWELFTH. 
 
 COLUMBUS day! Every loyal American should 
 hold sacred the twelfth of October ; it should be 
 kept as one of the sweetest memorials of the year. 
 How our thoughts travel backward to-day! How, in 
 fancy, we sail with the brave Admiral those unknown 
 seas, and imagine ourselves inspired with his hope and 
 courage ; and, with his eager eyes, we behold afar off 
 the beacon-light that leads us to the land, the golden 
 promise-land, to which our loving hearts would offer 
 praise to-day. Oh, may we, like Columbus, seek the 
 Country of our better hopes, and keep our faith for- 
 ever bright, our motto still " press on, press on ! " 
 
 Behind him lay the gray Azores, 
 
 Behind the gates of Hercules ; 
 Before him not a glimpse of shores, 
 
 Before him only shoreless seas. 
 The good mate said, " Now must we pray, 
 
 For lo, the very stars are gone : 
 Brave Admiral, speak what shall I say ? " 
 
 "Why say, 'Sail on! sail on! sail on!'" 
 
 Then pale and worn he kept his deck 
 
 And peered through darkness. Ah, that Night 
 Of all dark nights! And then a speck! 
 
 A light! a light! a light! a light! 
 It grew : a starlit flag unfurled ! 
 
 It grew to be time's burst of Dawn. 
 He gained a world : he gave that world 
 
 Its greatest lesson, on ! and on .' 
 
 JOAQUIN MILLER. 
 [292]
 
 OCTOBER THIRTEENTH. 
 
 NOTHING so braces the soul for life's conflict, 
 nothing is so sure a prophecy of victory as a 
 heart filled with the "joy of the Lord"! But how may 
 I obtain this joy? The answer is very short, but very 
 comprehensive be faithful ! Happiness is a roadside 
 flower. It grows beside the highway of obedience. It 
 is a coy blessing, and oftenest comes by indirection. 
 You are intent on duty and, lo, you find joy! DR. G. 
 w. BROWN. 
 
 Upon a crutch her girlish face 
 Alight with love and tender grace 
 Laughing she limps from place to place 
 Upon a crutch. 
 
 And you and I who journey through 
 A rose-leaf world of dawn and dew, 
 We cry to Heaven overmuch. 
 
 We rail and frown at fate, while she 
 And many more in agony 
 Are brave and patient, strong and true, 
 Upon a crutch. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 May your life be filled with a calm resignation and 
 happiness like the "blind spinner in the sun," who 
 said, 
 
 But whether this be seal or sign 
 
 Within, without, 
 It matters not. The bond divine 
 
 I never doubt. 
 
 I know He set me here, and still, 
 And glad, and blind, I wait His will. 
 
 HELEN HUNT. 
 
 [293]
 
 OCTOBER FOURTEENTH. 
 
 THE soul of the truly benevolent man does not 
 seem to reside much in its own body. Its life, to 
 a great extent, is a mere reflex of the lives of other 
 men. It migrates into their bodies, and, identifying its 
 existence with their existence, finds its own happiness 
 in increasing and prolonging their pleasures, in dis- 
 tinguishing or solacing their pains. HORACE MANN. 
 
 Benevolence, in some natures, means self-sacrifice. 
 I have in mind one man whose life has been spent in 
 giving; and yet he is not rich in this world's goods. 
 There are more ways of being benevolent than one. 
 He is benevolent in kindness, helpfulness, and courtesy. 
 He is thoughtful of the wants and needs of others, 
 and considers his own comfort and pleasure of small 
 account. He gives as if it were a pleasure, and not a 
 sacrifice. This is God's way of being benevolent. He 
 gave us His dearest and best treasure His only Son 
 out of His great, warm, generous Heart ; not grudg- 
 ingly or sorrowfully, but willingly, because of His 
 wonderful love for us. Oh, it is the "cheerful giver" 
 that God wants in His service, one whose chief joy 
 is in making others happy through a spirit of self-for- 
 getfulness and kindness! 
 
 He who himself forgets, is worthiest love ; 
 His heart-strings tuned to God above 
 His very act, his every thoughtful deed, 
 Expressing to the world his Christian creed ; 
 Although he boasts not, those who know him best 
 Can of his life's unselfishness attest. 
 
 I. s. T. 
 [294]
 
 M 
 
 OCTOBER FIFTEENTH. 
 AY God keep you "beautiful within " to-day! 
 
 Happy is the man who has that in his soul which 
 acts upon the dejected as April airs upon violet-roots. 
 Gifts from the hand are silver and gold, but the heart 
 gives that which neither silver nor gold can buy. To 
 be full of goodness, full of cheerfulness, full of sympa- 
 thy, full of helpful hope, causes a man to carry bless- 
 ings of which he himself is as unconscious as a lamp is 
 of its own shining. Such an one moves on human 
 life as stars move on dark seas to bewildered mariners ; 
 as the sun wheels, bringing all the seasons with him 
 from the south. HENRY WARD BEECHER. 
 
 Seek not to walk by borrowed light, 
 
 But keep unto thine own : 
 Do what thou doest with thy might, 
 
 And trust thyself alone ! 
 
 Work for some good, nor idly lie 
 
 Within the human hive ; 
 And though the outward man should die, 
 
 Keep thou the heart alive! 
 
 ALICE GARY. 
 
 Inward turn 
 Each thought and every sense, 
 
 For sorrow lingers from without, 
 Thou canst not charm it thence, 
 
 But all attun'd the soul may be 
 
 Unto a deathless melody. 
 
 ELIZABETH OAKES SMITH. 
 [295]
 
 OCTOBER SIXTEENTH. 
 
 BRIGHT days and dark days, pleasure and pain, 
 rough paths and smooth ones, gains and losses, 
 all go to make up our life. Have you lived for a pur- 
 pose? Have you made use of all the joys and sorrows, 
 the prosperity and adversity which have fallen to your 
 lot? If so, you have not lived in vain. Do you know 
 that the trial of temper yesterday, over which you are 
 grieving to-day, ought to have made you better instead 
 of worse? Do you know that the disappointment 
 which you found so hard to bear, ought to have been 
 a cause for victory to you, instead of defeat? These 
 are God's tests : you can make them stairs upon which 
 to climb Heavenward, if you will. Crosses have 
 helped to make some of the world's noblest men and 
 women. 
 
 My days are stairs that lead to life's great end, 
 And one by one I steadily ascend ; 
 Climbing with purpose true the upward road 
 That brings me to the city of my God. 
 
 Sometimes it is a slippery step I tread, 
 And fierce temptation makes my soul afraid ; 
 But held in Christ's dear hands, so tender, strong, 
 The next I mount with courage and a song. 
 
 Each step in the long course a history has ; 
 I make a mark as one by one I pass ; 
 A gladsome record here, a tear-spot there, 
 A rescued soul, a struggle or a prayer. 
 
 HELEN E. BROWN.
 
 OCTOBER SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 LET this be your petition for to-day : " Dear Lord, 
 lift me above the world, nearer to Thee!" The 
 reason why we are so full of faults and are so imper- 
 fect, is that we are too far away from God. The 
 closer we follow our Pattern, the more we shall imitate 
 it ; the further we remove from the world, with all its 
 vexations and annoyances, the nearer we get to Him. 
 Let us ask then, to have the sweet inward peace that 
 possesses the soul of the true believer, so that in time 
 of joy and grief, and at all seasons of the year, we 
 may rise on wings of faith, above the things of earth, 
 and hold fellowship with God. 
 
 Lift me higher, O my Saviour, 
 
 As I journey on my way, 
 Help me over life's deep pitfalls, 
 
 Draw me nearer day by day ; 
 Lift me up from doubt and darkness, 
 
 Let me feel Thy loving care 
 While I hear Thy tender accents, 
 
 Like a whisper in the air. 
 
 Lift me from unworthy self-hood, 
 
 Let me set my will aside 
 While I measure Thy forbearance, 
 
 While I count Thy mercies wide ; 
 Every burden, every trial, 
 
 Every sorrow I may feel, 
 Every act of lowly service, 
 
 May they lift me higher still! 
 
 MARTHA C. OLIVER. 
 
 [297] .1
 
 OCTOBER EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 is a grand thing, if directed in the right 
 * channel. To be zealous in a good cause, with a 
 proper motive, is very desirable. It is well also, to 
 have knowledge, as well as zeal : people who allow 
 their zeal to overbalance their knowledge often make 
 very grievous blunders, and have many things to regret. 
 It is well to weigh a matter before acting upon your 
 first decision especially a matter of much importance. 
 Take time to consider ; allow your judgment and reason 
 to guide you, lest your zeal should lead you into serious 
 error. It may be that one zealous act where your 
 zeal is utterly devoid of knowledge may cause you 
 the regret of a life-time. Use your zeal aright; if 
 wisely directed, it will prove to you a great blessing. 
 
 Press bravely onward ! not in vain 
 Your generous trust in human kind ; 
 
 The good which bloodshed could not gain 
 Your peaceful zeal shall find. 
 
 J. G. WHITTIER. 
 
 Spread out earth's holiest records here, 
 Of days and deeds to reverence dear ; 
 A zeal like this what pious legends tell ? 
 
 CHARLES SPRAGUE. 
 
 How beautiful it is for man to die 
 Upon the walls of Zion ! to be call'd 
 Like a watch-worn and weary sentinel, 
 To put his armor off, and rest in Heaven ! 
 
 N. P. WILLIS.
 
 OCTOBER NINETEENTH. 
 
 T TSUALLY, when you hear people condemning the 
 >-' world, and wishing they were out of it, you may 
 depend upon it, they are not doing much good in it. 
 The man who gets the most out of life, is the one who 
 puts the most into it. We were put here to overcome 
 the world ; to combat with sin and evil, and to pass 
 through the furnace of affliction, from which it was 
 intended we should come forth refined, purified, and 
 made better. 
 
 Yes, " Laugh, and the world laughs with thee," 
 
 God made it a joyful world ; 
 But if from the height of fortune 
 
 Thou hast been in a moment hurled, 
 When that same gay world hath heard thee 
 
 Cry out from the fire or the flood, 
 There were ever brave hearts to venture, 
 
 For thy rescue, their own life-blood. 
 
 JULIA A. F. CARNEY. 
 
 O world, so few the years we live, 
 Would that the life which thou dost give 
 Were life indeed! 
 
 HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. 
 
 God has placed us in the world that we might bear 
 our part in it. And what, you ask, is our part? It is 
 to be up and doing ! 
 
 Our part is to be doing, with a gladness which shines 
 in the countenance and makes the tongue musical. 
 That is the spirit which should pervade every Christian 
 psalm of life. E. A. TANNER. 
 [299]
 
 OCTOBER TWENTIETH. 
 
 BEHOLD, I make all things new. REVELATION 
 21: 5. 
 
 Do not think, because the leaves are dying and the 
 summer birds are beginning to make preparations for 
 flight, that it is a dismal time, and a time in which to 
 mourn and sigh for vanishing glories. The Year has 
 faithfully done her best : the heart of Nature has been 
 singing for joy in the birds and streams and whisper- 
 ing leaves, and now the resting-time has come. Dear 
 Friend, this is another day ; yesterday's opportunities 
 are over ; your dead leaves are all taken away there 
 are no hindrances that come with the sunrise : yester- 
 day's scattered seed will not do for to-day, you must 
 drop more seed ; and if more dead leaves of failures 
 and hindrances appear, pick them off. God says, " Be- 
 hold I make all things new " ; get rid of the old growth, 
 that the new one may be the more perfect. It is well 
 to begin a new day with a new heart. 
 
 In the world without and the world within 
 
 He maketh the old things new ; 
 The touch of sorrow, the stain of sin, 
 Have fled from the gate where the King came in, 
 
 From the chill night's damp and dew. 
 
 Anew in the heavens the sweet stars shine, 
 
 On earth new blossoms spring ; 
 The old life lost in the Life divine, 
 " Thy will be mine, my will is Thine," 
 
 Is the song which the new hearts sing. 
 
 MARY LOWE DICKINSON. 
 [300]
 
 OCTOBER TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 HPHIS may be a day when you feel a particular need 
 J- of God. Then do not be afraid to tell Him so. 
 Perhaps, on account of some heavy trial, some peculiar 
 temptation, or some unexpected sorrow, God may seem 
 to be very far off. Let your petition be, " Forsake me 
 not ! " and if you listen in faith for His reply, I doubt 
 not it will be, " I will never leave thee nor forsake 
 thee!" 
 
 Forsake me not, dear God, though I forget Thee, 
 
 And trusting to myself go blindly on ; 
 Oh! bring me back to Thee again! and let me 
 
 In meekness know my boasted strength is gone : 
 And if I falter, waiting for the morning, 
 
 Then let Thy grace my every need supply, 
 What matter, if I have its rich adorning, 
 
 Though neither gold nor precious gems have I ? 
 
 Forsake me not, breathe Thou into my being 
 
 The very breath of Heaven from above ; 
 Unseal mine eyes, that I, Thy goodness seeing, 
 
 May know and feel Thy deep, Thy boundless love ; 
 In storm or calm, be Thou, O God, beside me 
 
 That I, Thy child, may never be forgot ; 
 Thro 1 shade or sun, by day or night-time guide me 
 
 Thro' all my journey, oh, forsake me not ! 
 
 And when I reach death's dim overshadowed river, 
 When earth's poor gains and losses are forgot 
 
 Divine Redeemer, Precious Heavenly Giver, 
 Be Thou still near me! oh, forsake me not! 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR. 
 [301]
 
 OCTOBER TWENTY-SECOND. 
 
 '""T'HE path of duty I clearly trace, 
 J- I stand with conscience face to face, 
 
 And all her pleas allow ; 
 Calling and crying the while for grace, 
 " Some other time, and some other place ; 
 
 Oh, not to-day; not now!" 
 
 ALICE GARY. 
 
 Procrastination usually results in sorrowful regret. 
 To-day's duties put off until to-morrow give us a 
 double burden to bear ; the best way is to do them at 
 their proper time. " Never put off until to-morrow 
 what you can do to-day," is a good old maxim : you 
 will find it a reliable rule to follow, and by closely 
 adhering to it you will be saved a great deal of trouble, 
 sorrow, and regret. 
 
 There's a little mischief maker 
 
 That is stealing half our bliss, 
 Sketching pictures in a dreamland 
 
 That are never seen in this ; 
 Dashing from our lips the pleasure 
 
 Of the present, while we sigh ; 
 You may know this mischief makei 
 
 For his name is " By-and-by." 
 
 " By-and-by " the wind is singing ; 
 
 " By-and-by " the heart replies ; 
 But the phantom, just before us, 
 
 Ere we grasp it, ever flies. 
 
 JAMES W. BARKER. 
 [302]
 
 L 
 
 OCTOBER TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 AY new hold of Life and Time. JOHN HUGH 
 MCNAUGHTON. 
 
 Silently the years glide by, leaving us always some- 
 thing sweet to remember. One by one the little hours 
 run into days, the days into months, and lo! another 
 year has plumed itself for flight almost before we are 
 aware. Look back on the past to-day; see with what 
 love and tenderness God has led you, and how you 
 have been blessed through all the changing years. 
 True, your life has had its shadows, but they were 
 always overbalanced by the sunshine. May God give 
 you many sweet, happy years full of gentle ministra- 
 tions and faithful service for Him ! 
 
 Every year is a pearl, dear, 
 
 Perfect and pure and fair, 
 That God lets grow within your life, 
 
 Trusting it to your care. 
 
 So watch your precious pearls, dear, 
 
 And keep them ever bright, 
 That with the crown jewels they may glow, 
 
 At last, in the infinite light. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 The years they come, and the years they go, 
 
 While Time, with a tide of ceaseless flow, 
 
 Is bearing us over life's changing hours, 
 
 Now under the shadows, now 'mid the flowers, 
 
 But ever anon, toward Eternity's shore, 
 
 Where Time, with his changes, shall come no more. 
 
 LUCY H. WASHINGTON. 
 [303]
 
 OCTOBER TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 VIEWED merely as a human or literary production, 
 the Bible is a marvellous book, and without a 
 rival. It uses all forms of literary composition; it 
 rises to the highest heights and descends to the low- 
 est depths of humanity ; it measures all the states and 
 conditions of life ; it is acquainted with every grief and 
 every woe ; it touches every chord of sympathy ; it 
 contains the spiritual biography of every human heart. 
 It is as universal as the race, and reaches beyond the 
 limits of time into the boundless regions of eternity. 
 Of all the books in the world, the Bible is the only 
 one of which we never tire, but which we admire and 
 love more and more in proportion as we use it. Like 
 the diamond, it casts its lustre in every direction ; like 
 a torch, the more it is shaken, the more it shines ; 
 like a healing herb, the harder it is pressed, the sweeter 
 is its fragrance. PHILIP SCHAFF. 
 
 The Bible ! how dear are its pages ! 
 
 Resplendent with beauty and light ; 
 It comes from the far distant ages 
 
 To banish the darkness of night. 
 On earth there's but one such a treasure 
 
 Of riches so pure and so deep ; 
 'Tis one that no mortal can measure, 
 
 Embracing all time in its sweep. 
 
 G. W. CROFTS. 
 
 Thy Word is a lamp to my feet, O Lord, 
 Thy Word is a light to my way ; 
 
 It shines in my soul like a star by night, 
 And comforts and cheers me by day. 
 
 GRACE J. FRANCES. 
 [304]
 
 OCTOBER TWENTY-FIFTH. 
 
 T7VERY one may not be fair without, but they may 
 -L-' be fair within. There is nothing nearer akin to 
 Heaven and the angels, than purity. Pure thoughts 
 and pure words proceed only from a pure heart ; let 
 us, therefore, see to it that our hearts are spotless, and 
 then shall our influence be beautiful, and the lily of 
 purity shall send forth daily sweetness from our souls. 
 
 Pure in heart, O God, 
 
 Help me to be ; 
 May I devote my life 
 
 Wholly to Thee. 
 Watch Thou my wayward feet, 
 Guide me with counsel sweet ; 
 
 Pure in heart 
 Help me to be. 
 
 MRS. A. L. DAVISON. 
 
 The angels said " God giveth you 
 
 His love what more is ours? 
 And even as the gentle dew 
 
 Descends upon the flowers, 
 
 " His grace descends, and as of old, 
 
 He walks with men apart, 
 Keeping the promise as foretold, 
 
 With all the pure in heart. 
 
 " Thou needst not ask the angels where 
 
 His habitation be ; 
 Keep thou thy spirit clean and fair, 
 
 And He shall dwell with thee." 
 
 ALICE GARY. 
 A 20 [305]
 
 OCTOBER TWENTY-SIXTH. 
 
 appointments are sometimes our disappoint- 
 ments, but His way is always best. 
 Our faith often becomes very dim : pride, selfishness, 
 and daily cares rise up before us and obscure the light 
 that is shining for us in God's beautiful sky. We 
 grow sick and discouraged over life's mysteries : we 
 try to fathom the whys and hows of our Father's plans, 
 and even go so far as to feel impatient with Him 
 because we cannot have our heart's desires fulfilled, 
 and because He allows our path to be rough and 
 uneven. 
 
 Sometimes life's plans are thwarted plans made 
 with all sincerity of purpose yet He blocks the way. 
 We stop to ask, Why? Did we not plan to do this 
 to serve God? Hush, rebellious thought. It is His 
 appointment. He has some other place for you to 
 fill. A place where you can do more and be happier. 
 His appointment is best. JUVENIS PASTOR. 
 
 This thing on which thy heart was set, this thing that 
 
 cannot be, 
 This weary, disappointing day that dawns, my friend, 
 
 for thee : 
 Be comforted; God knoweth best, the God whose 
 
 name is love, 
 
 Whose tender care is evermore our passing lives above. 
 He sends the disappointments ! Well, then, take them 
 
 from His hand ; 
 Shall God's appointments seem less good than what 
 
 thyself had planned ? 
 
 MARGARET E. SANGSTER. 
 [306]
 
 OCTOBER TWENTY-SEVENTH. 
 
 HUSKING-TIME! 
 
 AND now, in all the quiet fields the rustling corn lies 
 low. All day the busy laborers toil to stack their 
 bladed wigwams high ; and here and there, a tasselled 
 husk is left to show where late the golden corn was hid 
 all ripened in the rustling ear. The orchards bend with 
 fruited store, the vineyards droop with unmade wine, 
 and everywhere the husker's song goes ringing through 
 the autumn air. O Friend, canst thou no lesson find ? 
 doth not the season teach thee this, that God will take 
 thy corn and wine, and stripping off the outer husks, 
 will gather in thy precious store, when life's brief 
 Autumn-time is past, to keep through the Eternal 
 Years? Then thank Him for the season's gifts, for 
 fruit and corn and wine, and make thy heart's abun- 
 dance yield as rich a harvest as them all ! 
 
 Sing, heart of mine, the year is ripe, 
 Full harvests bless the fruitful land ; 
 
 Life's royal fruitage waiteth too 
 The tender Master's garnering hand. 
 
 Sing, heart of mine, for God is good, 
 Who fills the ear and bending sheaf: 
 
 Who hides the clusters of the vine 
 Beneath the golden autumn leaf. 
 
 SYLVIA BROWN. 
 
 Grant, Lord, that we may ripened be, 
 
 With Thee to dwell eternally ; 
 Great Source whence all our comforts flow, 
 
 May we Thy saving bounty know. 
 
 EVA MUNSON SMITH. 
 [307]
 
 OCTOBER TWENTY-EIGHTH. 
 
 IT is difficult to maintain a close walk with God 
 because we are fond of our own way. We are not 
 willing to give it up ; but to walk in our way is to lose 
 God's company, and to fill our souls with darkness and 
 trouble. It is not that God ever parts company with 
 us, but that we part company with Him. It is not said 
 that God walked with Enoch, but that Enoch walked 
 with God. ANONYMOUS. 
 
 There are just two paths, a right one and a wrong 
 one. One leads to God, and the other to the Evil 
 One. One is full of trials ; it is not an easy road to 
 travel, because it requires patience, perseverance, and 
 daily conflict with temptation. It requires the victory 
 over self, the world, and sin, but the end is worth 
 striving for. 
 
 Ah! yes, it is the right path, though crooked be the 
 
 road; 
 Ah! yes, it is the right cross, though heavy be the 
 
 load. 
 All crooked paths are straightened, for Jesus made the 
 
 way; 
 Each cross we feel gets lighter, when strengthened 
 
 day by day 
 
 By God, who is our refuge, our righteousness, our stay. 
 Let us journey through the wilderness until our race be 
 
 run, 
 And sing as shadows lengthen, "Thy will, O God! be 
 
 done." 
 
 FANNY LONSDALE. 
 [308]
 
 OCTOBER TWENTY-NINTH. 
 
 MAY this be to you a profitable day! Find time 
 for something besides your own ease and enjoy- 
 ment, something besides the things you want to do 
 your own comforts and pleasures ; make a little sacrifice, 
 if need be, to help some one along, and you will find a 
 great deal more happiness in it than in serving merely 
 your own interests. 
 
 If we sit down at set of sun, 
 
 And count the things that we have done, 
 
 And counting, find 
 One self-denying act, one word 
 That eased the heart of him that heard, 
 
 One glance most kind 
 That fell like sunshine where it went, 
 Then we may count the day well spent. 
 
 But if, through all the livelong day, 
 WeVe eased no heart by yea or nay ; 
 
 If through it all 
 
 We've done no thing that we can trace, 
 That brought the sunshine to a face, 
 
 No act most small 
 
 That helped some soul, and nothing cost, 
 Then count that day as more than lost. 
 
 ELLA WHEELER. 
 
 This morn thou didst promise God 
 
 With earth in tune to keep ; 
 Sweet music the earth has made, 
 
 And thou ah! go and weep. 
 
 KATE Y. SILL. 
 
 [309]
 
 OCTOBER THIRTIETH. 
 
 WE gain glimpses of the infinitude, the limitless 
 character of God's power in the exhibitions of 
 it in the elements. When the volcano, the earth- 
 quake, or the thunderbolt has done its work, we are 
 led, in looking at the ruins, to exclaim, " This is but a 
 part of what power lodged in the elements might have 
 accomplished, had God so willed." No one will be 
 rash enough to claim that in any exhibition of power, 
 by the elements, since the world began, all was accom- 
 plished which might have been. We thus are clearly 
 directed to that Being whose power is like all His other 
 attributes without bounds and limitations. w. w. 
 
 HARSHA. 
 
 If God's power and majesty are so great as this 
 that He holds in His hands the heavens and the earth, 
 and manages the elements by His divine will, should 
 we not be willing to trust ourselves and our all to Him ? 
 Let us lift our heart to Him in adoration to-day, and 
 say, " I acknowledge Thee, O God, as my God hence- 
 forth and forever!" 
 
 The Infinite of infinites is He, 
 
 The God of gods, the All in all, the Whole 
 Of consciousness in being, One in three. 
 
 Nature of natures, Love of loves, the Soul 
 Of souls, the Life of lives. 
 
 E. A. WARRINER. 
 
 God speaks, the suns flash into light ; 
 
 God smiles, and flowers the fields adorn ; 
 God breathes, and fragrance fills the air ; 
 
 God loves, and human souls are born. 
 
 LYDIA HOYT FARMER.
 
 OCTOBER THIRTY-FIRST. 
 
 SORROW and the scarlet leaf, 
 Sad thoughts and sunny weather ; 
 Ah me! this glory and this grief 
 Agree not well together! 
 
 T. w. PARSONS. 
 
 The autumn leaves burn red and gold, as if en- 
 kindled one by one by Nature's warm and cheery fires 
 to light the footsteps of the year. The season wings 
 its onward flight ; the year is running fast its course, 
 but ere it dies, behold how bright, how beautiful, how 
 glorious, its orient hues! "And must it die?" you 
 grieving ask. We call it death ; it only sleeps, aye, 
 sleeps and rests, and in the dawning Spring shall wake, 
 and bloom again, and tell once more to all mankind 
 the story old yet new of immortality ! So, too, our 
 lives shall folded lie, within the darkness of the grave, 
 but shortly rise in Heaven's Spring, and bloom to all 
 Eternity. The soul was never born to die! 
 
 We too shall fade, as fades the leaf, 
 Be gathered like the golden sheaf, 
 And resting from our works begun, 
 Full soon shall find our race is run. 
 
 What matter, if the soul shall rise 
 To find new glories in the skies ! 
 What matter when the call is given, 
 So life's October ends in Heaven! 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR.
 
 OR THE MONTH 
 OF NOVEMBER. 
 
 NOVEMBER FIRST. 
 
 TVTOVEMBER! her stone the topaz; her motto 
 -L ^1 fidelity. The warm, rich colors of the topaz are 
 lighting the dawn of November, and all her sunsets 
 will wear their soft amber glow, with glints of rose and 
 flame that usher in the mellow, Indian-Summer days. 
 The month's motto is fidelity. Let us take it as our 
 own, and be faithful and true in all things in attend- 
 ance to duty, in vigilance over self, and in our duty 
 to our Heavenly Father. Oh, let us spend a happy, 
 useful November! Even though the year is dying, 
 let us not spend the time in idle grieving, but make 
 its hours as bright as we can. 
 
 No wonder earth is sad for sweet things dying, 
 And grieves to think of bloom and beauty fled ; 
 
 Though she may call, there will be no replying, 
 And so she mourns to-day uncomforted. 
 
 Be patient, earth, you have your time of losses, 
 Of vanished brightness and of things to miss ; 
 
 And as the souls of men bear on their crosses, 
 Forgetting what may be in that which is. 
 
 But unto you another Spring returning 
 Will bring you gladness ; and to souls of men 
 
 Will come the Spring for which each one is yearning, 
 And that which seemeth death will live again. 
 
 EBEN E. REXFORD.
 
 W. D. HOWELLS 
 
 1837
 
 NOVEMBER SECOND. 
 
 WITHIN the sombre realm of leafless trees, 
 The russet Year inhaled the dreamy air ; 
 Like some tanned reaper in his hour of ease, 
 When all the fields are lying brown and bare. 
 
 THOMAS BUCHANAN READ. 
 
 Like sweet love late in life, 
 These flowers bloom most gay 
 
 When autumn winds are rife, 
 And dead leaves strew the way. 
 
 CERES KEENER TAYLOR. 
 
 Still November, like a Quaker 
 
 In her garb of silver gray, 
 Glides along the silent reaches 
 
 Shadow-like, as dawn of day : 
 Gay chrysanthemums she carries 
 
 From the garden-lands abloom, 
 And the bracing air is laden 
 
 With the spice of their perfume. 
 
 She is full of tender fancies, 
 
 As she wanders here and there 
 Standing underneath the branches 
 
 That are shadowy and bare, 
 And we feel a silent something 
 
 In our heart of hearts increase, 
 And I think the definition 
 
 Of its meaning might be, peace. 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR. 
 
 May the peace of November fill your heart to-day ! 
 [313]
 
 NOVEMBER THIRD. 
 
 BEAUTY is the mark God sets on virtue. RALPH 
 WALDO EMERSON. 
 
 If either man or woman would realize the full power 
 of personal beauty, it must be by cherishing noble 
 thoughts and hopes and purposes ; by having some- 
 thing to do and something to live for that is worthy of 
 humanity, and which, by expanding the capacities of 
 the soul, gives expansion and symmetry to the body 
 which contains it. UPHAM. 
 
 Beautiful faces are those that wear 
 It matters little if dark or fair 
 Whole-souled honesty printed there. 
 
 Beautiful eyes are those that show, 
 
 Like crystal panes where hearth-fires glow, 
 
 Beautiful thoughts that burn below. 
 
 Beautiful lips are those whose words 
 Leap from the heart like songs of birds, 
 Yet whose utterance prudence girds. 
 
 Beautiful hands are those that do 
 Work that is earnest and brave and true, 
 Moment by moment the long day through. 
 
 Beautiful shoulders are those that bear 
 Ceaseless burdens of homely care 
 With patient grace and with daily care. 
 
 ELLEN P. ALLERTON. 
 [314]
 
 NOVEMBER FOURTH. 
 
 A SUCCESSFUL day to you! There is no nation 
 under the sun, but has its ambition, no matter 
 how ignorant nor how humble it is. The world strives 
 for success. Success seldom comes easily ; it is usually 
 the patient toiler who achieves the grandest results. 
 If you would be successful in your undertakings then, 
 you must not give up and grow discouraged, because 
 your object is not reached at once. Years of faithful, 
 earnest application have made the celebrated artists, 
 musicians, inventors, and scholars. The success that 
 is worth anything is gained through courage and perse- 
 verance. Do not count the time you put into your 
 work ; count the success you get out of it. 
 
 The mountain of success is steep and rough, 
 Who gains the summit climbs a weary way ; 
 
 And, though brave feet grow stronger with rebuff, 
 The rocky path a coward's steps may stay. 
 
 A soft breeze steals athwart that height of bliss, 
 Bringing new life to many a fainting frame ; 
 
 Cheeks burn and glow beneath its passioned kiss, 
 And hearts grow young, it is the breath of Fame ! 
 
 Climb on, ye toilers up the mountain side! 
 
 Climb on, through storm and sun, through dark 
 
 and light! 
 Who perseveres may stand at eventide 
 
 And view the landscape from Success's Height! 
 
 EMMA C. DOWD. 
 
 There is no success without you work for it. You 
 cannot extemporize success. JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 [315]
 
 NOVEMBER FIFTH. 
 
 THROW down your burdens, and take up a song of 
 praise ; be glad for the daily mercies, and do not 
 take them as a matter of course. Isn't it strange how 
 little people think of their mercies? And yet God 
 sets them apart for us every day ; each day has its por- 
 tion. Jeremiah says, " They are new every morning," 
 and so they are : fresh as the dew, they come to us 
 from the hand of God, showered abundantly on all 
 His creatures. Count them over, make a list of them, 
 write them down in the tablets of your heart, and then 
 when you sit and wonder at God's great goodness to 
 you, in your unworthiness, look up to Him and be 
 thankful. 
 
 I used to come with a burden of care, 
 
 Many times a day, 
 Kneel low at the feet of Jesus, and there 
 
 Would tearfully pray. 
 But to come with a burden so often, 
 
 Is not the Lord's way. 
 
 So now I come with a heart-felt praise, 
 
 And a soulful song. 
 I have nothing else to bring, for the days 
 
 With mercies are strung. 
 
 What have I done with my wearisome load ? 
 
 Why, one blessed day, 
 I learned I had just to roll it on God, 
 
 Ere I went to pray, 
 And to carry thanks, the heart's best jewels 
 
 To crown Him alway. 
 
 A. C. SCAMMEL. 
 
 [316]
 
 NOVEMBER SIXTH. 
 
 THE time is short! In such a little while life's race 
 . will be run : the place you have filled in society, in 
 business, in church, and in the household will be sup- 
 plied by some one else. The people may look from 
 their windows and miss you from the street, but it will 
 not be for long : the wheel of Time will roll on just as 
 quietly and relentlessly as ever, and nothing will speak 
 for you but your words and deeds. How important it 
 is then, that they should be worth remembering. 
 
 Race follows upon race, 
 Forgetting and forgotten ; in their place 
 Sink tower and temple ; nothing long may stay. 
 We build on tombs, and live our day, and die ; 
 From out our dust new towers and temples start ; 
 Our very name becomes a mystery. 
 
 THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH. 
 
 Up, up my soul, the long-spent time redeeming ; 
 
 Sow thou the seeds of better deeds and thought ; 
 Light other lamps while yet thy lamp is beaming 
 
 The time is short. 
 
 Think of the good thou might'st have done when 
 brightly 
 
 The suns to thee life's choicest season brought ; 
 Hours lost to God in pleasure passing lightly 
 
 The time is short. 
 
 If thou hast friends give them thy best endeavor, 
 Thy warmest impulse and thy purest thought, 
 
 Keeping in mind and word and action ever 
 The time is short. 
 
 ELIZABETH PRENTISS. 
 [317]
 
 NOVEMBER SEVENTH. 
 
 IN all the affairs of human life, social as well as politi- 
 cal, I have remarked that courtesies of a small and 
 trivial character are the ones that strike deepest to the 
 grateful and appreciating heart. HENRY CLAY. 
 
 True courtesy is as beautiful as it is rare. We see 
 plenty of people who have " company manners," and 
 who imagine themselves to be very polite, but the 
 true gentleman is the one to whom dress or society 
 makes no difference. He is just as much a gentleman 
 in homespun as he would be in broadcloth. He may 
 climb from a lowly sphere to an exalted one ; he may 
 change his attire from a workingman's to a man of 
 wealth and ease, but he will never change his manners. 
 Courtesy is something which cannot be put on in the 
 morning and taken off at night : once in the possession 
 of a man or woman, it reveals itself in every act and 
 word. It always pays to be courteous, that is if it is 
 genuine : a man cannot be a true gentleman without 
 being courteous, and it must be, not mere surface 
 polish, but an outgrowth from the heart. This is what 
 the " true gentleman " is like : 
 
 He has respect for other men, 
 
 Whate'er their clime or creed. 
 He hails mankind as brothers when 
 
 They come to him in need. 
 He measures all men by their worth, 
 
 And meets them on the sod 
 As brothers of a common birth, 
 
 All children of one God. 
 
 FRANCIS S. SMITH.
 
 NOVEMBER EIGHTH. 
 
 HPAKE heed how you build. That which you are 
 J- doing, the work which you are performing, you 
 do not leave behind you because you forget it. Every 
 stroke, every single element abides, and there is noth- 
 ing that grows so fast as character. HENRY WARD 
 
 BEECHER. 
 
 Great Builder, from whose perfect thought 
 Burst like a flower creation's plan, 
 
 Whose mighty hand through ages wrought 
 To shape a dwelling-place for man. 
 
 Not with Thy wisdom or Thy might 
 Can we, Thy children, build to-day, 
 
 Since Thou couldst poise the stars of light, 
 And hold them on their shining way. 
 
 Builder divine ! beside each rope 
 Let Thy bright angels stand to-day, 
 
 Angels of Patience, Faith, and Hope, 
 Unseen our corner-stone to lay. 
 
 EMILY HUNTINGTON MILLER. 
 
 I'd rather my body a temple should be, 
 
 Where Jesus my Master would stay, 
 Than have all the wealth of the kingdoms, and see 
 
 Him driven forever away. 
 
 AMELIA M. STARKWEATHER. 
 
 Yes, ye are temples, too, of Time, 
 
 Wherein as acolytes those dwellers be 
 
 Till called to highest worship in 
 The Temple of Eternity. 
 
 WILLIAM ROSS WALLACE. 
 
 [319]
 
 NOVEMBER NINTH. 
 
 " TF " is a very little word, but a great deal depends 
 J- upon it. We should accomplish wonders, were 
 there no //'s to hinder us ; we should reach the pinnacle 
 of fame, achieve great success, be useful and happy, 
 great and good, if this little word, and all that it im- 
 plies, were not in our way. Then, too, we should have 
 nothing to regret, because in looking back over our 
 past we should not need to reproach ourselves. It 
 seems to me, the best plan would be to live so that we 
 would have very little use for this word. Faithfulness 
 to duty will save regrets for lost opportunities ; kind- 
 ness to others will prevent many a heartache ; right 
 living and a personal recognition of our obligations to 
 God would keep us from suffering pangs of sorrow 
 and remorse. If we will only open our eyes to our 
 duties and see what needs doing, this little word would 
 not interfere so much with our happiness. 
 
 If we'd lingered a moment longer, 
 
 Or lingered not quite so long ; 
 If we'd been but brave and stronger, 
 
 Or not quite so brave and strong ; 
 
 If we'd been but a little wiser, 
 
 Been truer or not so true ; 
 If we'd done this, that, or the other 
 
 In short, what we did not do 
 We'd have smiles in the place of weeping, 
 
 Have joy in the place of pain ; 
 Our grief would be turned to pleasure, 
 
 Our loss be turned to gain. 
 
 CARLOTTA PERRY.
 
 NOVEMBER TENTH. 
 
 AH, the fair land we call To-morrow, how we look 
 forward to it, how we reach out for it, and long 
 to grasp it before the sunset of To-day! But it is 
 always just a little beyond us, and hurry as we will, we 
 can never catch it and hold it fast. It is the silent 
 mystery that is ever yet to be revealed ; the time we 
 hope and wait for, and which never comes, the time 
 which when we greet it shall not be To-morrow, but 
 To-day! God grant that all of your To-days may be 
 worthy of His Better Day, the beautiful To-morrow of 
 Immortality! 
 
 There's a beautiful land that still beckons me on, 
 
 With many a clustering flower ; 
 Where the pale buds of hope doth ever expand, 
 And the nightingale's song is sweet in the land, 
 
 In the beautiful land of To-morrow. 
 
 ELIZA SHERMAN. 
 
 Oh, thou to-morrow! Mystery! 
 Oh, day that ever runs before! 
 What has thy hidden hand in store 
 For mine, to-morrow, and for me ? 
 Oh, thou to-morrow! What hast thou 
 In store to make me bear the now? 
 
 JOAQUIN MILLER. 
 
 What though to-day is dark and drear, 
 
 And sorrow now lies o'er us, 
 All will be well we banish fear 
 
 To-morrow's bright before us! 
 
 RICHARD H. TITHERINGTON. 
 A 21 [321]
 
 NOVEMBER ELEVENTH. 
 
 NO life is all brightness ; no season is all sunshine ; 
 would you have it so? You would soon weary of 
 the dull monotony. If you never had a trial, never 
 shed a tear, you would soon be ready to exclaim, " Life 
 is not worth living! " If you had sunshine always, you 
 would tire of the brilliant glare, and long for the rest- 
 ful shade. God knew this, and He has wisely ordered 
 all things. Oh, thank God for the shadows ; they 
 help you to appreciate the light. Thank God for the 
 discipline and trials, they make you nobler and better, 
 if you accept them with sweet submission. 
 
 Bright shines the sun, but brighter after rain ; 
 
 The clouds that darken make the sky more clear ; 
 So rest is sweeter when it follows pain, 
 
 And the sad parting makes our friends more dear. 
 
 'Tis well it should be thus : our Father knows 
 The things that work together for our good ; 
 
 We draw a sweetness from our bitter woes 
 We would not have all sunshine if we could. 
 
 Wait, then, my soul, and edge the darkening cloud 
 With the bright gold that Hope can always lend ; 
 
 And if to-day thou art with sorrow bowed, 
 Wait till to-morrow and thy grief shall end ! 
 
 And when we reach the limit of our days, 
 Beyond the reach of shadow and of night, 
 
 Then shall our every look and voice be praise 
 To Him who shines our everlasting Light. 
 
 HENRY BURTON.
 
 NOVEMBER TWELFTH. 
 
 LOVE is its own perennial fount of strength. The 
 strength of affection is a proof, not of the worthi- 
 ness of the object, but of the largeness of the soul 
 which loves. Love descends, not ascends. The 
 might of a river depends not on the quality of the soil 
 through which it passes, but on the inexhaustibleness 
 and depth of the spring from which it proceeds. The 
 greater mind cleaves to the smaller with more force 
 than the other to it. A parent loves the child more 
 than the child the parent, and partly because the 
 parent's heart is larger, not because the child is 
 worthier. The Saviour loved His disciples infinitely 
 more than His disciples loved Him, because His heart 
 was infinitely larger. Love trusts on ever hopes 
 and expects better things ; and this is a trust springing 
 from itself and out of its own deeps alone. 
 
 It is this trusting love that makes men what they 
 are trusted to be, so realizing itself. Would you make 
 men trustworthy? Trust them. Would you make 
 them true ? Believe them. CORNELIA TALCOTT 
 BUXTON. 
 
 Rare gems and stately mansions 
 
 Are but the price of gold ; 
 But love is aye God-given 
 
 And never bought or sold. 
 It is the soul's glad sunshine ; 
 
 It is the heart's sweet rest ; 
 And, rich or poor, in loving 
 
 We are forever blest. 
 
 ADELAIDE D. REYNOLDS. 
 
 [323]
 
 NOVEMBER THIRTEENTH. 
 
 THE man or woman without a purpose is never 
 happy. No matter how much wealth you may 
 have, or how you may be situated in life, have some- 
 thing to live for. You may have ill-health, and be 
 obliged to spend your days in a quiet room away from 
 the busy world, but you can, even then, have a pur- 
 pose. Some of the most wonderful inventions have 
 been wrought by invalids : some of the sweetest les- 
 sons of patience have been learned in the sick-room ; 
 some of the most beautiful thoughts have blossomed 
 into deeds that sprung from the hearts of those who 
 were suffering physical pain, and yet who were wield- 
 ing a powerful influence for good. Do not allow 
 yourself to live without a purpose : it is a poor sort 
 of living. God meant you for something better than 
 that. Learn what your capabilities are, and make 
 use of them. 
 
 Oh! how sadly do we need 
 
 Some grand purpose in our lives, 
 
 Some strong faith that gives no heed 
 To the doubt that in us strives, 
 
 But can see in all our days 
 
 Opportunities to raise 
 
 Needy souls to better ways. 
 
 HATTIE TYNG GRISWOLD. 
 
 Self-ease is pain ; thy only rest 
 
 Is labor for a worthy end ; 
 A toil that gains with what it yields, 
 
 And scatters to its own increase ; 
 And hears, while sowing outward fields, 
 
 The harvest-song of inward peace. 
 
 JOHN G. WHITTIER. 
 [324]
 
 NOVEMBER FOURTEENTH. 
 
 WHAT possibilities are yours! Do not envy your 
 neighbor his chances ; yours, doubtless, are far 
 better adapted to you than his would be, though per- 
 haps you do not think so. Every new day that dawns 
 is a fresh opportunity: it is like the marble in the 
 quarry waiting for you to chisel out of it some beauti- 
 ful thing some lasting monument of purity and grace 
 that shall stand for you when your earth-life is ended. 
 Remember that God gives you the marble to make of 
 it what you will. 
 
 The marble was pure and white, 
 
 Though only a block at best ; 
 But the artist with inward sight 
 
 Looked further than all the rest, 
 And saw in the hard rough stone, 
 The loveliest statue the sun shone on. 
 
 So he set to work with care 
 
 And chiselled a form of grace 
 A figure divinely fair, 
 
 With a tender, beautiful face, 
 But the blows were hard and fast 
 That brought from the marble that work at last. 
 
 So, I think that human lives 
 
 Must bear God's chisel keen, 
 If the spirit yearns and strives 
 
 For the better life unseen, 
 For men are only blocks at best, 
 Till the chiselling brings out all the rest. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 [325]
 
 NOVEMBER FIFTEENTH. 
 
 THE Indian Summer lingers with us still. Our sky 
 yet wears its rose and amber tints, half-screened 
 in clouds of hazy autumn mists. The season waits and 
 rests midway between the blossom and the snow, and 
 softly blends the Summer's gold and Winter's sombre 
 hues, and throws her gray autumnal veil between. 
 Half glad are we, half sorry, and our hearts know 
 scarcely if they joy or grieve the most. The passing 
 year with all its splendor dies, and yet before us happy 
 Winter days draw nigh, and every season, whether 
 bright or fair, must have its share of glory and of 
 gloom. We will not doubt ; but thankful take the 
 beauty of the Indian Summer home and wear its royal 
 splendors in our heart. When Winter frowns and 
 lowers, when skies are grim and dark, we will not fear 
 nor fret, if lighted with a gladness from within. 
 
 A wave of Summer's overflow, 
 
 A fugitive which went astray, 
 
 That on its passage lost its way ; 
 
 A prelude of an Autumn dirge, 
 
 An interlude on Winter's verge, 
 
 A narrow space Hwixt flower and snow ; 
 
 An afterthought, an afterglow, 
 
 A smile upon the waning year, 
 
 A ray to shine through nature's tear, 
 
 When Sol sends down his mildest rays 
 
 Upon us on these Autumn days. 
 
 It beams with hope, and clouds with fear 
 
 This Indian Summer of the year. 
 
 AMOS BRYANT RUSSELL. 
 ' [326]
 
 NOVEMBER SIXTEENTH. 
 
 IT is an excellent plan to have some place where we 
 can go to be quiet when things vex or grieve us. 
 There are a good many hard times in this life of ours, 
 but we can always bear them if we ask help in the right 
 
 Way. LOUISA M. ALCOTT. 
 
 It is a rest for us to hide our hearts from the world 
 for a season and have Christ's sweet peace come down 
 to us to refresh and comfort us while in the midst of 
 our duties. Oh, when we are tired and distressed, why 
 is it we will not go and unburden our hearts to God ? 
 We are sorry for others who are storm-tossed and 
 driven, but refuse to find refuge ourselves. Let us 
 trust God at all times, and in quiet confidence go to 
 Him with everything. 
 
 And often the pity which we bestow 
 
 On the lot of the lowly here below, 
 
 Would be changed to pleasure could we but see 
 
 How calm and peaceful a life may be, 
 
 Wherein abideth content and trust, 
 
 And the deep assurance that God is just. 
 
 HATTIE TYNG GRISWOLD. 
 
 Oh, hearts that live without Him! 
 
 How lonely ye must be 
 Who cannot read the message 
 
 He giveth you and me 
 His comfort sweet and tender, 
 
 His words which soothe or plead, 
 Oh, not to feel His presence 
 
 'Twere sorrowful indeed! 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR. 
 [327]
 
 NOVEMBER SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 T~) EMEMBER your influence : be careful what you 
 AX- do and say, for somehow, or somewhere, and at 
 some time it will come back to you. Do not imagine 
 any word or act of yours is valueless : in years to come, 
 perhaps, it will spring up and bear good or evil fruit, 
 and help or hinder your hope for Eternal Life. The 
 idle word you may carelessly speak to-day will not be 
 forgotten ; the kind deed you may do will not be lost. 
 Oh, remember this ! Each one of us is born to exert 
 an influence over some one else. Therefore, weigh 
 your words, and measure your deeds, lest they should 
 prove a stumbling-block to your neighbor. Nothing 
 is too small to escape the eye of God nothing in His 
 sight is ever lost. 
 
 I love to believe that no heroic sacrifice is ever lost ; 
 that the characters of men are moulded and inspired 
 by what their fathers have done ; that, treasured up in 
 American souls are all the unconscious influences of 
 the great deeds of the Anglo-Saxon race, from Agin- 
 court to Bunker Hill. JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 And naught than this is noble ; 
 
 To hold what we possess, 
 As but divine ordaining, 
 
 The lives of men to bless. 
 To make it light to mourners, 
 
 A help to those who fall, 
 A fragrance sweet to others, 
 
 And fuller life to all ! 
 
 W. W. HALLOWAY, JR. 
 [328]
 
 NOVEMBER EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 DID you ever think what a terrible thing false 
 judgment is? Did you ever try to realize how 
 much harm it has done? You could not calculate the 
 amount if you were to try until the end of time. Friend- 
 ships have been destroyed, hearts broken, and homes 
 wrecked because of it : it has been the cause of a great 
 deal of misery in the world. Let me urge you, this 
 November day, to be careful how you judge : be con- 
 tinually on the look-out, lest you should be tempted 
 to misconstrue a word or action ; find something to 
 commend, rather than condemn, in those around you. 
 Are you free from censure ? Have you no faults ? Do 
 you make no mistakes ? If you are so imperfect your- 
 self, you cannot afford to judge others. 
 
 And you, who judge so harshly, 
 
 Are you sure the stumbling-stone 
 That tripped the feet of others 
 
 Might not have bruised your own? 
 Are you sure the sad-faced angel 
 
 Who writes your errors down, 
 Will ascribe to you more honor 
 
 Than him on whom you frown? 
 
 MAY RILEY SMITH. 
 
 Is it worth while that we jostle a brother 
 Bearing his load on the rough road of life ? 
 
 Is it worth while that we jeer at each other 
 In blackness of heart? that we war to the knife? 
 God pity us all in our pitiful strife. 
 
 JOAQUIN MILLER. 
 [329]
 
 NOVEMBER NINETEENTH. 
 
 GOD does not exact more of you than you are able 
 to do. You may take it upon yourself to over- 
 work your brain and body, but He does not require it 
 of you. Dr. L. M. Glover once said, " There is a ten- 
 dency in these times to undertake too much, more than 
 individuals are equal to, and hence there is a scatter- 
 ing of forces and the weakening of power for good." 
 This is perfectly true : you cannot expect to do your 
 best when you have exhausted either physical or men- 
 tal strength. You are to simply do your part, and not 
 attempt things beyond you. Persistent effort and calm 
 patience will accomplish wonders. 
 
 Do not strive to fill an angel's part, 
 
 Without an angel's wing ; 
 But, as it is, thy human heart 
 
 To God, thy Maker bring. 
 His patience never doth abate 
 
 Howe'er we sin and fall ; 
 Be patient with thyself, and wait 
 
 Till patience conquers all. 
 
 Use thy powers unto the uttermost ; 
 
 Let no talent dormant lie ; 
 That thou hast not greater glory 
 
 Do not sorrow, do not sigh ; 
 Not accomplishment, but striving 
 
 Is thy virtue, child of earth, 
 And thy striving, here, or elsewhere, 
 
 Into glory must have birth. 
 
 ELIZABETH BAKER BOHAN. 
 
 [330]
 
 NOVEMBER TWENTIETH. 
 
 WHATEVER you do, put your heart into it. The 
 heart is the centre of life, and if your motives 
 and principles do not spring from your heart, they will 
 have no life in them they are dead and purposeless. 
 The Divine command is, " Do with thy might what thy 
 hand findeth to do." May God give you a heart for 
 your task, whether great or small, and keep you stead- 
 fast and true, even in the midst of failures ! 
 
 When we have tried with all our best endeavor, 
 
 And spared our work no cost, 
 It is not well to sit us down for failure, 
 
 And count the battle lost. 
 
 For God may have a surer way of reckoning, 
 
 And call our losses gain. 
 Better to save our strength for untried conflicts, 
 
 Not waste in bootless pain. 
 
 Our evening-time may be all light with glory 
 
 Our day's success has won, 
 Since God has counted all our faithful efforts 
 
 As finished work well done. 
 
 A. C. SCAMMEL. 
 
 Who strive, but fail to win, their scars will gain them 
 
 hearing ; 
 Whose feet have early worn, nor loosed the pilgrim 
 
 shoon, 
 
 May still press on, unfaltering and unfearing ; 
 Whose song is truly keyed, the King will catch the 
 
 tune. 
 
 MARTHA C. OLIVER.
 
 NOVEMBER TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 T EARN to " make haste slowly." The man who is 
 J ' always in a hurry fumes and frets a great deal, 
 and makes confusion wherever he goes, but as a usual 
 thing, accomplishes very little. It is well to use speed 
 at the right time and in the right way, but don't sputter 
 and bluster around and make a great fuss about nothing. 
 You will be just as useful, and a great deal happier, if 
 you learn to take things in moderation. God only 
 expects you to do as much as you are able. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Deems is the author of these lines : 
 
 " The world is wide 
 In time and tide 
 And God is guide : 
 
 Then, do not hurry. 
 
 "That man is blest 
 Who does his best 
 And leaves the rest : 
 
 Then, do not worry? 
 
 They are very good verses to remember, and act 
 upon. However, there are times when we need to use 
 haste. Be slow to speak, but quick to hear. Be quick 
 in sympathy, kindness, and helpfulness. 
 
 If you something pleasant hear 
 
 About someone you know, my dear, 
 
 Make haste to make great haste 'twere well, 
 
 To him or her the same to tell ; 
 
 For such news has a golden way, 
 
 Of lighting up a cloudy day. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 [332]
 
 NOVEMBER TWENTY-SECOND. 
 
 WHAT glory lies around us! The Frost has been 
 doing his work, and there are traces everywhere 
 of his presence. A pearl-gray haze seems enveloping 
 every object ; a mistiness enshrouds the atmosphere ; 
 and roof, tree, and ground are overspread with a veil 
 of delicate frost. The crisp brown leaves that still 
 cling to their friendly branches are adorned with a fret- 
 work of silver, and the gnarled old trunks are turned 
 into exquisite works of art. All nature glitters and 
 sparkles on a frosty Autumn morning. 
 
 He comes, he comes, the Frost Spirit comes ! You 
 
 may trace his footsteps now 
 On the naked woods and blasted fields and the brown 
 
 hill's withered brow. 
 He has smitten the leaves of the gray old trees where 
 
 their pleasant green came forth, 
 And the winds, which follow wherever he goes, have 
 
 shaken them down to earth. 
 
 JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER. 
 
 The pane is etched with wondrous tracery ; 
 
 Curve interlaced with curve and line with line, 
 Like subtle measures of sweet harmony, 
 
 Transformed to shapes of beauty crystalline. 
 
 All these the genii of the Frost last night 
 Wrought through the still cold hours by charm and 
 rune ; 
 
 And now, like dreams dispelled before the light, 
 They float away in vapor on the noon. 
 
 CHARLES LOTIN HILDRETH. 
 [333]
 
 NOVEMBER TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 THE secret of success of one of England's most 
 learned men was bound up in four little words 
 which he took as a motto " I'll think of it." And 
 although to-day we may think it a little thing to think, 
 let us learn that it is the power that moves the world. 
 That it is the great drive-wheel of progress driving, 
 with its propelling force, humanity from wrong to 
 right ; driving it from the dark shades of barbarity 
 into the sunlit regions of civilization ; lifting it higher, 
 step by step, into that glorious realm, manhood. And 
 so surely as terrestrial power is drawn from the sun, so 
 surely is the propelling power and influence over man 
 drawn from that fountain ever rich and full, the mind. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 The mind is like the costly stone 
 
 Dark in its native bed, 
 Till Education's light hath shone 
 
 And Science' beam is shed. 
 But when the diamonds of the mind 
 
 A kindling ray have caught, 
 Golconda's pride is dim beside 
 
 The flashing gems of thought ! 
 
 JULIA WALLACE. 
 
 Learn something new every day, that your mind may 
 reach greater heights and have deeper depths. The 
 only real exercise, the only true aid to the development 
 of the mind, is thought. Unless you learn to think, 
 life's beautiful truths will be lost to you. Take as 
 your motto, " I'll think of it." 
 
 [334]
 
 NOVEMBER TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 HOW many hearts have ached, how much sorrow 
 has been caused through Pride and Distrust. 
 There is a certain kind of pride which is very stubborn 
 and obstinate, and when once it is well rooted in our 
 hearts, it is very hard to get rid of. If you have that 
 kind of pride, I beseech you to begin at once to uproot 
 it, and do not rest until not a vestige is left of it. It is 
 unyielding, unforgiving, hard, and stern ; it is un- 
 Christ-like, and rejoices in saying, " I never apologize." 
 It is the twin-brother to Distrust, and has no kinship 
 whatever to Happiness. It builds a wall between 
 friends so high and wide that Love cannot see over it, 
 and Sympathy cannot break it down. Have you lost a 
 dear friend in this way? Is your foolish pride building 
 a thick wall between you ? Then you are unhappy 
 no one can enjoy life who is the slave of such masters 
 as these. Put aside your pride, and if you have aught 
 against a friend, forgive it, and let there be no barrier 
 between you. 
 
 Who built the wall ? Distrust, my friend, 
 
 First laid the corner-stone, 
 While Pride cemented all the rest, 
 
 And so the wall has grown. 
 
 Come, let us tear the barrier down 
 
 That keeps us two apart ; 
 Let us again walk hand in hand, 
 
 Let heart respond to heart : 
 Oh, let forgiveness sweet and full 
 
 Blot out the troubled past 
 Sweet Love, who rights all human wrongs. 
 
 Break down the wall at last! 
 
 ALICE LINNETTE LEACH. 
 [33S]
 
 NOVEMBER TWENTY-FIFTH. 
 
 ND therefore, I, William Bradford (by the grace 
 
 of God to-day, 
 And the franchise of this good people), Governor of 
 
 Plymouth, say 
 Thro' virtue vested power ye shall gather with one 
 
 accord, 
 And hold in the month of November, thanksgiving 
 
 unto the Lord." 
 
 MARY J. PRESTON. 
 (Poem on the first Thanksgiving Day, A.D. 1622.) 
 
 The thankful heart is full of gratitude at all seasons 
 of the year, but joyfully sets apart one royal day in 
 which to be especially thankful. As the Sabbath is 
 the crown of the week, so is Thanksgiving Day the 
 crown of the year in which jewels of praise shine with 
 brightest lustre ! 
 
 We thank Thee, O Father of all, for the power 
 Of aiding each other in life's darkest hour ; 
 The generous heart and the bountiful hand 
 And all the soul-help that sad souls understand. 
 
 We thank Thee, O Father, for days yet to be, 
 For hopes that our future will call us to Thee, 
 That all our eternity form, through Thy love, 
 One Thanksgiving Day in the mansions above. 
 
 WILL CARLETON. 
 
 For the year of peace and plenty, 
 And for blessings without end, 
 
 Let the voices of the people 
 In Thanksgiving praises blend. 
 
 GEORGE C. RHODERICK, JR. 
 [336]
 
 NOVEMBER TWENTY-SIXTH. 
 
 T T 7HATEVER else we may or may not do, we can 
 
 * V at least be faithful. Whatever doors of oppor- 
 tunity may be closed, this is always open. Whatever 
 talents may be denied, ability for this is always given. 
 Faithfulness it is a path usually obscure, often un- 
 pleasant, not seldom painful : a path so plain that 
 seldom can the weakest fail to find it, a path so diffi- 
 cult sometimes that the most heroic are tested to tread 
 it. Faithful! how much is gathered within the com- 
 pass of that single word ; what a wealth it expresses of 
 love and devotion and courage and fortitude and loy- 
 alty ; what a wealth it suggests of noble deeds that the 
 world holds in unforgetting memory. Be faithful. 
 What higher need of friendship is there than a faithful 
 friend ; what stronger commendation of truth than a 
 faithful witness ; what stronger confirmation of cove- 
 nant than " He is faithful that promised " ? ELA 
 THOMAS. 
 
 Earth is but a school for Heaven, 
 
 Youth and beauty fade away ; 
 He who toileth, ever faithful, 
 
 Joyous is at close of day. 
 God is watching all our life-work, 
 
 Early morning, noon, and night, 
 Whether it be honest, earnest, 
 
 Pure, unselfish in His sight. 
 
 LUCY Y. CULLER. 
 
 Full of vows and full of labor, 
 All our days fresh duties bring, 
 
 First to God and then our neighbor ; 
 Christian life is an earnest thing. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 A 22 [337]
 
 NOVEMBER TWENTY-SEVENTH. 
 
 YOU are tempted even in your thoughts. There is 
 not a day that passes but temptations meet you 
 in some form, but if you are able to overcome them, 
 you are all the stronger and better for them. It is not 
 best to seek temptations that you may try your powers 
 of resistance. You are never safe without God: you 
 are always safe with Him. Therefore, in every hour 
 of temptation trust in Him, and His strong arm shall 
 uphold you. 
 
 And while in peace abiding 
 
 Within a shelter'd home, 
 We feel that sin and evil 
 
 Could never, never come ; 
 But let the strong temptation rise, 
 
 As whirlwinds sweep the sea 
 We find no strength to 'scape the wreck, 
 
 Save, pitying God, in Thee! 
 
 SARAH JOSEPHA HALE. 
 
 Clothe me with Thy love, 
 And rescue me, and let me trample down 
 All evil thoughts, and from my baser self 
 Climb up to Thee. 
 
 THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH. 
 
 I hold 
 
 Those lives far nobler that contend and win 
 The close, hard fight with beautiful, fierce Sin, 
 Than those that go untempted to their graves, 
 Deeming the ignorance that haply saves 
 Their souls, some splendid wisdom of their own. 
 
 CONSTANCE FENIMORE WOOLSON. 
 
 [338]
 
 NOVEMBER TWENTY-EIGHTH. 
 
 NOW, believe me, God hides some ideal in every 
 human soul. At some time in our life we feel a 
 trembling, fearful longing to do some good thing. 
 Life finds its noblest spring of excellence in this hidden 
 impulse to do our best. God is standing silently at 
 the door all day long, God whispering to the soul, 
 that to be pure and true is to succeed in life, and what- 
 ever we get short of that will burn up like stubble, 
 though the whole world try to save it. ROBERT COLL- 
 
 YER. 
 
 The child looks over the cradle, 
 The youth frowns down the boy ; 
 
 Ripe manhood, with girded armor, 
 Feels youthful pleasures cloy ; 
 
 And age, from Wisdom's summit, 
 Deems all below alloy. 
 
 So I fling abroad this maxim, 
 
 For all to digest who will : 
 You may scale the heights of genius, 
 
 Your soul with nectar fill, 
 But you never can reach a station 
 
 But there's some place higher still. 
 
 The home is more than the dwelling, 
 The heart, than the home, is more ; 
 
 The loving outvies the living, 
 For love is Life's golden store ; 
 
 And the halo o'er all is the spirit 
 Immortal, when life is o'er. 
 
 LOUISE S. UPHAM. 
 
 Remember, that, no matter how high you climb in 
 this world, there is some place higher still. 
 [339]
 
 NOVEMBER TWENTY-NINTH. 
 
 HAVE you ever thought how solemn a thing it is 
 to live? If you are grateful for your life, set a 
 value on it : find out how much it is worth, and if it 
 falls below what you would have it, begin to increase 
 its value. Take as your motto, " For God and Human- 
 ity," and live up to it. Be consistent and conscien- 
 tious ; live for a purpose ; have faith in God and man ; 
 be full of hope and love, and resolve to make as much 
 out of life as you can. 
 
 Looking to conscience inquiringly, 
 
 Thoughtlessness seemeth a sin ; 
 Working and striving untiringly, 
 
 So must the battle begin. 
 Faith, hope, and love will inspiringly 
 
 Teach us how life we may win. 
 
 May we do our duty darefully, 
 
 Strengthening careworn, oppressed ; 
 
 Threading our way ever carefully 
 Through snares, to the Home of the blest ; 
 
 Hopefully, cheerfully, prayerfully, 
 Finding in Heaven a rest. 
 
 EMILY THORNTON CHARLES. 
 
 Earth holds but one true good, but one true thing, 
 And this is it to walk in honest ways 
 And patient, and with all one's heart belong 
 In love unto one's own! No death so strong 
 That life like this he ever conquers, slays ; 
 The centuries do to it no hurt, no wrong : 
 They are eternal resurrection days. 
 
 HELEN HUNT JACKSON. 
 [340]
 
 NOVEMBER THIRTIETH. 
 
 '"T^HE last day of Autumn! Now is the Summer 
 -- ended and the harvest past, and the brief year 
 hastening to its close. How has the time fared with 
 you? Have you laid up a goodly winter store? Has 
 your mind and soul, as well as your body, enough to 
 feed upon during the season of cold and snow? Not 
 so much need to urge you to look after the physical 
 wants, as for your mental and spiritual welfare. If 
 you have been gleaning truths from Nature's fields and 
 meadows, and drinking from the fountains of Wisdom 
 all the year through, surely you will have a profitable 
 Winter. If your soul has read new meanings in God's 
 lessons for you, and you have, through them, been 
 brought nearer to Him, this has indeed been to you a 
 happy and profitable year. Oh, give of your gifts to 
 others! that when the Autumn of life is ended, the 
 good seed you have sown may have increased an hun- 
 dred fold, yielding a glorious harvest for Eternity. 
 
 Then labor well, that in death you go 
 
 Not only with blossoms sweet, 
 Not bent with doubt, and burdened with fears, 
 And dead, dry husks of the wasted years, 
 
 But laden with golden wheat. 
 
 ELIZA O. PIERSON. 
 
 Ah, my soul! look well and see 
 How the record stands with thee 
 Of each swiftly passing day 
 Vanishing so soon away, 
 Leaving good or evil trace 
 Which no time can e'er efface. 
 
 CORNELIA J. M. JORDAN. 
 [341]
 
 OR THE MONTH 
 OF DECEMBER. 
 
 DECEMBER FIRST. 
 
 FAR down the sombre-tinted north, 
 Where Argol leads his train of suns, 
 Gray Winter's herald issues forth 
 And casts his mantle as he runs. 
 
 M. H. COBB. 
 
 And now, across the face of Time a shadow falls. 
 We greet the Twelfth Month drawing near, and cry, 
 " You come too soon : our year's good work is not half 
 done." 
 
 Dear December, white and hoary, 
 
 Half in sadness does he come, 
 For he tells us he will gather 
 
 All the Old Year's children home ; 
 And he carries, as he greets us, 
 
 Wreaths of holly, with a glow 
 That is red like winter firesides 
 
 Twined with pearls of mistletoe ; 
 
 'Cross the uplands, down the valleys 
 
 We can hear his gentle tread 
 There is winter all around him 
 
 Over all the landscape spread ; 
 Hark, he sings! "O earth, awaken! 
 
 See the dawn of peace appear! 
 Lo, I bring the Saviour's Birthday 
 
 Tis the glory of the year! " 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR. 
 [342]
 
 ELIZABETH STUART P HELPS
 
 DECEMBER SECOND. 
 
 LET this new month be a trustful season to you. 
 Look up to God, and put your faith in Him. 
 Allow no doubts to cloud your belief in Him and His 
 almighty power. Do not be disturbed about the future 
 He takes care of that ; your part is only to be ready 
 for it when it comes. Just remember that you could 
 not create a day if you were to spend a lifetime trying, 
 while with Him " a thousand years are but as a day," 
 because He holds all worlds in the hollow of His hand. 
 
 O Lord, how happy should we be 
 If we could cast our care on Thee, 
 
 If we from self could rest ; 
 And feel at heart that One above 
 Is perfect wisdom, perfect love, 
 
 Is working for the best. 
 
 How far from this our daily life, 
 How oft disturbed by anxious strife, 
 
 By sudden wild alarms. 
 Oh, could we but relinquish all 
 Our earthly props, and simply fall 
 
 On Thine almighty arms ! 
 
 JOSEPH ANSTICE. 
 
 My God, I humbly come to Thee, 
 To shield me in temptation's hour ; 
 
 From trust in self, oh! keep me free, 
 And free from trust in human power. 
 
 MRS. L. H. PHELPS. 
 
 [343]
 
 DECEMBER THIRD. 
 
 O 
 
 IN wings a sweet deed flies! 
 
 MYRON B. BENTON. 
 
 Prove your life by your deeds. Let each day bear 
 witness that you have a heart and soul within you, 
 and that they are not bound up within the narrow limits 
 of your own breast. Reach out in tenderness to others : 
 be generous ; be charitable ; be ready with your sym- 
 pathy in time of need. It is not the man with the 
 greatest fame nor the largest purse whose name lives 
 the longest. It is he whose deeds have been like way- 
 side blossoms springing up into beauty and fragrance 
 wherever he goes. 
 
 There are lives that crowd 
 Actions pure, lofty, proud, 
 
 Into brief years 
 Deeds that high-hearted men, 
 Counting three-score-and-ten, 
 
 Read through their tears. 
 
 MARGARET J. PRESTON. 
 
 One kindly deed may turn 
 
 The fountain of thy soul 
 To love's sweet day-star, that shall o'er thee burn 
 
 Long as its currents roll ! 
 
 OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. 
 
 As ships meet at sea, a moment together, when words 
 of greeting must be spoken, and then away into the 
 deep, so men meet in this world ; and I think we should 
 cross no man's path without hailing him, and, if he 
 needs, giving him supplies. HENRY WARD BEECHER. 
 [344]
 
 DECEMBER FOURTH. 
 
 A SUNSHINY disposition is a gift from God. 
 There are many whose minds are filled with 
 gloomy thoughts, and who look on the dark side of 
 everything. Such people cannot radiate sunshine until 
 they fill their minds with brighter, happier thoughts. 
 This is not an easy matter, for when gloomy thoughts 
 receive encouragement to remain, it is hard to displace 
 them with more cheerful ones. ... If we go persist- 
 ently to work to cultivate a sunshiny disposition our 
 efforts will at length be rewarded, and we shall be the 
 possessors of a brightness and cheeriness scarcely dis- 
 tinguishable from that bestowed as a natural gift. 
 
 ALICE LORRAINE GRIGGS. 
 
 There is a shady side of life, 
 
 And a sunny side as well, 
 And 'tis for every one to say 
 
 On which he'd choose to dwell ; 
 For every one unto himself 
 
 Commits a grievous sin, 
 Who bars the blessed sunshine out, 
 
 And shuts the shadows in. 
 
 Then wear a happy heart, my friend, 
 
 And fix your faith above ; 
 A Heavenly Father may afflict, 
 
 But does it all in love. 
 And they who strive to do His will, 
 
 And read His word aright, 
 With songs of triumph on their lips, 
 
 Walk always in the light. 
 
 JOSEPHINE POLLARD. 
 [345]
 
 DECEMBER FIFTH. 
 
 IF we keep our eyes open, we shall behold many 
 good and beautiful things as we pass through the 
 world. Our most desirable possessions are those that 
 last the longest ; who would be willing to spend half 
 a fortune for something " which perisheth with the 
 using " ? Some toil for a lifetime that they may leave 
 behind them a famous record ; some, that they may 
 accumulate great wealth ; others, that they may lay up 
 vast stores of learning ; and still others, that they may 
 search out God's truths and lay hold on eternal life. 
 
 Life hath its evil days, 
 
 Time hath its changeful ways, 
 
 But, purpose high, 
 Truth set in perfect thought 
 Great deeds in concert wrought, 
 (Thou may'st be counted naught), 
 
 These shall not die. 
 
 MRS. E. E. MARCV. 
 
 . . . Give me, Lord, eyes to behold the truth 
 
 A seeing sense that knows the eternal right ; 
 
 A heart with pity filled, and gentlest ruth ; 
 
 A manly faith that makes all darkness light : 
 
 Give me the power to labor for mankind ; 
 
 Make me the mouth of such as cannot speak : ; 
 
 Eyes let me be to groping men and blind ; 
 
 A conscience to the base ; and to the weak 
 
 Let me be hands and feet ; and to the foolish, mind : 
 
 And lead still further on such that Thy kingdom seek. 
 
 THEODORE PARKER. 
 [346]
 
 DECEMBER SIXTH. 
 
 IS life monotonous, do you think? Do you weary of 
 the daily routine of cares and duties? Are not we 
 all restless, dissatisfied human beings, unless we have 
 the peace within ? Do you not know that it is the oft- 
 repeated task that brings you the greatest happiness ? 
 It is hard, of course, to keep doing the same thing over 
 and over again, but that is God's plan for us : it is His 
 plan for Nature too. Suppose the sun should weary of 
 shining, then we should have no beautiful sunlight; 
 suppose the rain should grow tired of falling, our earth 
 would soon be parched and dry. Suppose you and I 
 should refuse to do our duty, because it is monotonous, 
 what kind of record would we have hereafter? Do not 
 allow yourself to turn against your life-work: take it 
 up cheerfully and patiently, and if you make mistakes, 
 do not mind : take heart, and begin over. Mistakes 
 do not always mean failures, sometimes they prove to 
 be doors to opportunities leading to a higher life. 
 
 Every day is a fresh beginning ; 
 Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain, 
 
 And spite old sorrow and older sinning, 
 And puzzles forecasted and possible pain, 
 Take heart with the day, and begin again. 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 
 Stumbling so oft and with weary pain, 
 Struggling to rise and to fall again ; 
 Making resolves with the morning light, 
 Finding them naught with the shades of night ; 
 Cumber'd with care for the days to come, 
 Where have I built for the Heav'nly home? 
 
 BELLE KELLOGG TOWNE. 
 [347]
 
 DECEMBER SEVENTH. 
 
 BE loyal to your country! If you are an American, 
 honor America and her stripes and stars; no 
 matter where you are, be true to your colors. Our flag 
 stands for freedom, and every son and daughter of 
 Columbia should know and understand its meaning 
 and hold it sacred. What the Bible is to the Christian, 
 the flag is to the patriot : one stands for God and 
 Heaven, the other stands for Freedom and America. 
 Every boy and girl in the country should revere the 
 stripes and stars, for what they represent ; it should 
 be a part of the education in our schools, that, next 
 to God and home, the true American should love the 
 American flag. 
 
 Flag of the free heart's hope and home, 
 
 By angel hands to valor given! 
 Thy stars have lit the welkin dome, 
 
 And all thy hues were born in Heaven. 
 Forever float that standard sheet ! 
 
 Where breathes the foe that falls before us ; 
 With Freedom's soil beneath our feet, 
 
 And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us. 
 
 JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE. 
 
 " God bless our stars forever ! " 
 
 It is Liberty's refrain, 
 From the snows of wild Nevada 
 
 To the sounding woods of Maine ! 
 
 BENJAMIN F. TAYLOR. 
 
 Higher, lift higher your banner unfurled, 
 Wave it unsullied, the pride of the world! 
 
 MARIA STRAUB. 
 
 [348]
 
 DECEMBER EIGHTH. 
 
 *T*HERE is always something sweet to look back 
 A- upon, and something bright to look forward to ; 
 present griefs and troubles will not last long. Forget 
 your worries, and remember your blessings. 
 
 Oh, soul of mine! what makes you 
 
 Grieve and fret? 
 Why brood so o'er the shadow 
 
 We have met? 
 Why not recall the hours 
 Of sunshine, and the flowers? 
 And all the dreary showers 
 Of tears that have been ours 
 
 Just forget. 
 
 What secret trouble stirs thy 
 
 Fluttering breast? 
 Why let it rob thee of Heaven's 
 
 Rich bequest? 
 
 Dost thou not know that calm 
 Content's the healing balm 
 That soothes each gnawing qualm 
 And makes our life a psalm 
 
 Of peaceful rest! 
 
 Then cheer up, soul of mine! Be 
 
 Not downcast. 
 The troubles, worries, will not 
 
 Always last. 
 
 Forget the things behind ; 
 Press bravely on ; you'll find 
 The future ne'er divined 
 
 By the past. 
 
 M. j. MCLKOD. 
 
 [349]
 
 DECEMBER NINTH. 
 
 WHAT a glorious thing human life is, ... and 
 how glorious man's destiny. HENRY w. LONG- 
 FELLOW. 
 
 We go into the very plan of God for us, and are led 
 along in it by Him, consenting, co-operating, answering 
 to Him we know not how, and working out with nicest 
 exactness, that good end for which His unseen counsel 
 girded us and sent us into the world. In this manner, 
 not neglecting other methods, but gathering in all 
 their separate lights, to be interpreted in the higher 
 light of the Spirit, we can never be greatly at a loss to 
 find our way into God's counsel and plan. The duties 
 of the present moment we shall meet as they rise, and 
 these will open a gate into the next, and we shall thus 
 pass on, trustingly and securely, almost never in doubt 
 as to what God calls us to do. HORACE BUSHNELL. 
 
 The future works out great men's destinies ; 
 The present is enough for commmon souls, 
 Who, never looking forward, are indeed 
 Mere clay wherein the footprints of this age 
 Are petrified forever. 
 
 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 
 
 So was it destined : and thus came I here 
 To walk the earth and wear the form of Man, 
 To suffer bravely as becomes my state, 
 One step, one grade, one cycle nearer God. 
 
 THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH. 
 
 No man or woman born, 
 Coward or brave, can shun his destiny. 
 
 WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. 
 [3S]
 
 DECEMBER TENTH. 
 
 DID you ever lose your way on a dark night, though 
 just within sight of your own door? Every step 
 of the path was familiar, and yet you lost it. Ah, it 
 was because the darkness enveloped you, and you had 
 nothing to guide you. So it is, when your doubts 
 overwhelm you, anrl shut out Heaven and God, and 
 the pathway that has seemed so familiar to you when 
 lighted by the lamp of Faith, grows suddenly dark and 
 dreary, and you giope along blindly trying to touch 
 the old landmarks, and endeavoring to find again the 
 old beaten track. You may try your hardest, but you 
 will never find the Light unless you lay aside your 
 doubts : roll back the heavy clouds of darkness, and 
 let God's glory stream into your soul. Look above 
 you! Heaven is not far off to those who believe. You 
 are not lost, but only blinded by doubts ; ask the dear 
 Heavenly Father, and He will show you the way Home. 
 
 Show me the way to that calm, perfect peace, 
 Which springs from inward consciousness of right, 
 
 To where these conflicts with the flesh shall cease, 
 And self shall radiate with the Spirit's light. 
 
 Tho 1 hard the journey and the strife, Lord, pray, 
 Show me the way. 
 
 ELLA WHEELER. 
 
 Thou must lead me, and no other ; 
 Truest Lover, Friend, and Brother, 
 Thou art my soul's shelter, whether 
 Stars gleam out or tempests gather; 
 
 In Thy presence night is day ; 
 
 Show me Thy way. 
 
 LUCY LARCOM. 
 
 [351]
 
 DECEMBER ELEVENTH. 
 
 T EARN all you can, in every way you can, that is 
 - ' worth learning. The humblest friend you have 
 may prove your greatest teacher, if you are willing to 
 learn. The smallest events in your life may prove 
 means to a great end, if you will make them so. Keep 
 rising; let your intellectual wings grow and spread 
 every day ; never allow yourself to feel that your school- 
 days are over; always be glad to count yourself a 
 learner in Life's school. Bring out the hidden treas- 
 ures of your mind ; keep them buried no longer, but let 
 them be brought into action let them rise to seek 
 the light of Truth and Wisdom. 
 
 Do you covet learning's prize? 
 
 Climb her heights and take it ; 
 In ourselves our future lies ; 
 
 Life is what we make it. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 The stream from Wisdom's well, 
 Which God supplies, is inexhaustible. 
 
 BAYARD TAYLOR. 
 
 What warmth, what radiance have our minds reflected ? 
 
 What rich and rare materials have we brought 
 For deep investigation, earnest thought ? 
 
 Concealed within the soul's unfathomed mine, 
 How many a sparkling gem remains unwrought, 
 
 That Industry might place on Learning's shrine, 
 
 Or lavish on the world to further God's design. 
 
 SARAH F. BOLTON. 
 
 Every mind was made for growth, for knowledge ; 
 and its nature is sinned against when it is doomed to 
 ignorance. 
 
 W. E. CHANNING. 
 
 [352]
 
 DECEMBER TWELFTH. 
 
 MY prayer to-day is for the homes of America 
 may they all be happy ones ! Sheltered from the 
 December blast, as you sit by your own warm firesides, 
 my heart craves for you the blessing of a peaceful, 
 happy home; a home where love reigns, and where 
 the gentle word is spoken, and where there are sweet 
 ministrations and kindly deeds of affection. There is 
 nothing so desirable this side of Heaven as a home 
 like this, and I trust you are doing your part toward 
 making your home such an earthly paradise. Remem- 
 ber it requires patience, self-sacrifice and forbearance, 
 as well as love, to make a truly happy home such a 
 home as our hearts will cling to with loyal tenderness 
 through all the changing years. 
 
 An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain! 
 Oh, give me my lowly thatched cottage again! 
 The birds singing gayly that come at my call ; 
 Give me them! and the peace of mind dearer than all. 
 
 JOHN HOWARD PAYNE. 
 
 The world moves on, its progress brings 
 Grand reforms, undreamed-of things ; 
 But nothing modern can fill the place 
 Of the dear old home and mother's face. 
 
 MRS. C. JEWETT. 
 
 With the same letter Heaven and Home begin, 
 And the words dwell together in the mind : 
 
 For they who would a home in Heaven win 
 Must first a Heaven in home begin to find. 
 
 JOSEPH VERY. 
 A 23 [353]
 
 DECEMBER THIRTEENTH. 
 
 HOW marvellously patient God is with us! While 
 we are harsh and unjust with each other, so 
 ready to criticise and condemn, He bears with all our 
 shortcomings gently and calmly, yet oh ! how His great 
 tender heart must grieve for us. While we are cold, 
 proud, and unforgiving toward our neighbor, God is 
 still patient with us, when we are so unworthy of for- 
 giveness ourselves. While we are walking our own 
 worldly-wise ways, He watches our steps, has patience 
 with us, and catches us when we fall. Oh, do you 
 think God ever forgets us? No, never. Such love 
 and such patience as His are proofs of His faithfulness 
 to us. 
 
 We meet and mingle : we mark men's speech ; 
 
 We judge by a guess, by a fancied slight ; 
 We give our fellows a mere glance each, 
 
 Then brand them forever black or white. 
 
 Meanwhile God's patience is o'er us all ; 
 
 He probes for motives ; He waits for years ; 
 To Him no moment is mean or small, 
 
 And His scales are turned by the weight of tears. 
 
 RICHARD BURTON. 
 
 God's wonderful patience endureth forever, 
 
 No matter how often we stumble and fall ; 
 We grieve Him and hurt Him, and yet He forgives us 
 
 His tender compassion is over us all. 
 In word and in action we daily offend Him, 
 
 Refusing to follow the choice of His will ; 
 Yet though we may wander away and forget Him, 
 
 He faithfully loves us and cares for us still. 
 
 IDA SCOTT TAYLOR. 
 [354]
 
 DECEMBER FOURTEENTH. 
 
 RELIGION is a spring in the soul, kept full by the 
 word and love of God. It quickens unto all holy 
 sympathy and activities ; it refreshes the world's weari- 
 ness; it gives foretaste of Heaven's joy. DAVID s. 
 SCHAFF. 
 
 There being in man a sense of right and wrong, 
 religion becomes a most potent influence, because it 
 announces a judgment-bar before which all must stand. 
 It completes the theory of virtue and vice, by reminding 
 the soul that it is daily approaching a final rendering of 
 its accounts. DAVID SWING. 
 
 A moral character is a splendid thing to have for 
 this world. A religious character is an essential thing 
 to possess for the next world. What the jewel is to its 
 setting, or the keystone to the arch, that the soul in 
 which the love of God dwells is to all else that consti- 
 tutes a true man. If you have all but that, be ambitious 
 to possess it also. With it you are gloriously equipped. 
 Without it you miss your chief glory. ANONYMOUS. 
 
 There is no joy like that of the Christian. Religion 
 is a stronghold, a rock of defence where the storm- 
 tossed soul may find refuge and peace. The surest 
 way to be happy is to be a Christian. 
 
 God's angels hovering round about give comfort and 
 
 relief 
 Give faith, strength, courage to the soul to utter its 
 
 belief 
 
 I am a " Christian.'' 
 
 ELIZA ALLISON PARK. 
 
 [ass]
 
 DECEMBER FIFTEENTH. 
 
 GOD give you firmness and resolution! You need 
 fresh courage and fortitude every day. It makes 
 no difference what may be your position in life, you are 
 still human ; and to be human is to be frail easily 
 tempted, easily wearied, easily discouraged and easily 
 disheartened. It takes a brave soul to stand up and 
 face life and not be baffled by its overwhelming cares 
 and perplexities : he must have strong powers of en- 
 durance, physical and mental, and a sunshiny dispo- 
 sition besides. We need more courage, and more 
 endurance. We need courage, not only individually, 
 but as a nation, that we may put down the evils that 
 are confronting us, that we may become better and 
 purer, and freer from intemperance, false doctrines, and 
 party strife. 
 
 Courage is first and last of what we need 
 To mould a nation for triumphal sway : 
 
 All else is empty air, 
 
 A promise vainly fair, 
 Like the bright beauty of the ocean spray 
 Tossed up toward Heaven, but never reaching there. 
 Not in the past, but in the future, we 
 
 Must seek the mastery 
 Of fate and fortune, thought and word and deed. 
 
 THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON. 
 
 The wisdom of the present hour 
 Makes up for follies past and gone ; 
 
 To weakness strength succeeds, and power 
 From frailty springs press on! press on! 
 
 PARK BENJAMIN. 
 [356]
 
 DECEMBER SIXTEENTH. 
 
 BECAUSE earthly friends are sometimes forgetful 
 of you, is no reason why your Heavenly Father 
 should be. Ah, no, God never forgets. 
 
 I do not and I will not 
 
 Believe that God forgets! 
 I know that life is weary, 
 
 And full of vain regrets ; 
 Is hard and sad and tearful 
 
 And holding endless pain ; 
 But the tender Christ was pitiful 
 
 And for our griefs was slain. 
 
 I do not and I will not 
 
 Believe He fails to hear, 
 That the sighing and the crying 
 
 Will find unwilling ear. 
 I know we cannot comprehend 
 
 His great, His wondrous plan ; 
 But oh! the Christ was pitiful 
 
 And brought His love to man. 
 
 AUGUSTA SCOTT CAMPBELL. 
 
 Fearest sometimes that thy Father 
 
 Hath forgot? 
 When the clouds around thee gather, 
 
 Doubt Him not! 
 
 Always hath the daylight broken, 
 Always hath He comfort spoken, 
 Better hath He been for years 
 
 Than thy fears. 
 
 FANNIE STEWART. 
 [357]
 
 DECEMBER SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 WE are not put into this world to live solely for 
 ourselves. The man who does not love his 
 brother and feel an interest in his welfare must live a 
 miserable life. We are all one human family, children 
 of one common Father. The poorest, lowliest man 
 has as much right to the air, the light, and the freedom 
 to live, as the richest king on his throne ; God made 
 man in His image with the rights and privileges to 
 enjoy equally His blessings. Oh, remember this bond 
 of brotherhood! love your fellow-man because he is 
 the son of your Father. Where there is need for it, 
 do not refuse to aid him ; do not always stop to ask 
 if he is worthy : Christ was kind and tender with every 
 one. 
 
 My bosom owns the brotherhood of man ; 
 From God and truth a renegade is he 
 Who scorns a poor man in his poverty, 
 
 Or on his fellow lays his supercilious ban. 
 
 THOMAS MACKELLAR. 
 
 And sneer not at the weakness 
 
 Which made a brother fall, 
 For the hand that lifts the fallen 
 
 God loves the best of all. 
 
 MAY RILEY SMITH. 
 
 How good 
 This universal bond of brotherhood, 
 
 And all this wide 
 
 Strong, equal-flowing tide 
 Of human love and human charity. 
 
 MAURICE THOMPSON. 
 
 [358]
 
 DECEMBER EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 KEEP bravely on : do your best, and leave the re- 
 sults with God. Do you imagine your little 
 kindnesses are unappreciated because you are not 
 always thanked or rewarded for them ? Do you think 
 no one cares that you make sacrifices and do the very 
 things you dislike to do? Good deeds are never lost. 
 Because the earth is desolate and bare now, and the 
 fields are brown and dead, do you think the Summer 
 will never smile again? Have you forgotten the 
 scattered seed that is waiting its time to grow? Have 
 you forgotten the living roots that are waiting their 
 time to send forth life and beauty? Dear Friend, where 
 are the tiny seeds you sowed a year ago? lost, think 
 you? Ah, no, they are only waiting God's time to 
 spring up in some heart and blossom for Eternity. 
 Oh ! if you have only saved one soul you have done a 
 grand work. By and by you shall receive your reward. 
 
 A cup of cold water, in the Master's name given, 
 Returns in a shower of blessings from Heaven. 
 If service so poor meets so rich a reward, 
 Is warmly approved, is so blest of our Lord, 
 The joy-bells of Heaven with music shall ring 
 If one to the fold, only one we may bring ; 
 But those who win many from error away 
 Shall shine as the stars yea, forever and aye! 
 
 MARY A. LEAVITT. 
 
 Sweet recompense He gives for toil and tears, 
 Sweet balm on ev'ry wounded spirit pours, 
 You shall not labor vainly all your years 
 The recompense and balm shall both be yours ! 
 
 I. s. T. 
 [359]
 
 DECEMBER NINETEENTH. 
 
 A NNOUNCED by all the trumpets of the sky, 
 i~\ Arrives the snow, and driving o'er the fields, 
 Seems nowhere to alight : the whited air 
 Hides hills and woods, and the heaven, 
 And veils the farm-house at the garden's end. 
 
 RALPH WALDO EMERSON. 
 
 In the snow-time of the year! What is so beautiful 
 and so surprising as to awaken in the morning of a 
 crisp December day, and find the world has turned 
 white in a single night? Without a sound, steadily 
 and softly, the feathery flakes have fallen, until roofs, 
 fences, and trees are tufted with eider-down, and the 
 bare brown hills and valleys are carpeted with fleecy 
 whiteness. The leafless trees and shrubs have blos- 
 somed anew into wonderful flowers, as white as June 
 lilies, and the whole world looks as pure and clean as 
 if it had just come down from Heaven. As verdure is 
 the glory of Spring, so is snow the glory of Winter ; the 
 Wind-heralds usher in both, and the same trumpets 
 that announced the coming of the Spring, blow across 
 the wintry valleys to proclaim the advent of the silent 
 snow. 
 
 Under the snow lie sweet things out of sight, 
 Crouching like birds beneath a downy breast ; 
 
 They cluster 'neath the coverlet warm and white 
 And bide the winter-time in hopeful rest. 
 
 All undismayed, although the drifts are deep, 
 All sure of spring and strong of cheer they lie ; 
 
 And we, who see but snows, we smile and keep 
 The self-same courage in the by-and-by. 
 
 SUSAN COOLIDGE. 
 
 [360]
 
 DECEMBER TWENTIETH. 
 
 '"pRUTH is the food of the human spirit which 
 J- could not grow in its majestic proportions with- 
 out clearer and more truthful views of God and His 
 universe. JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 Very few of us can look back over the past year and 
 set a value on our influence. If we have tried to do 
 right, and have been scattering the seeds of truth 
 wherever we went, we have only to be patient for the 
 rest. Even if we do not live to see our thoughts and 
 deeds blossom into fruit, what matter, so the seed is 
 sown ? God will take care of it. 
 
 The seeds of Truth lie scattered o'er the land ; 
 Thou know'st, O Father, where they fell ; 
 
 But breathe upon them that 
 They may spring up and bring forth fruit ; 
 Watch o'er and water them : for Thou 
 Can'st touch the smallest, feeblest seeds 
 And fairest, fertile fields of waving grain 
 
 Shall bud and bloom. 
 
 EVA MUNSON SMITH. 
 
 All truth is no less dear, or radically true. 
 Whether it dawns to-day on thoughts' frontiers, 
 
 Or has been named, belov'd, and had its work to do, 
 Been recognized, and anchored by, a thousand years. 
 
 ISADORE G. JEFFERY. 
 
 To Truth's house there is a single door, 
 Which is Experience. He teaches best, 
 Who feels the hearts of all men in his breast, 
 And knows their strength or weakness through his 
 own. 
 
 BAYARD TAYLOR. 
 [361]
 
 DECEMBER TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 LONG live the memory of our Pilgrim Fathers 1 . 
 Our hearts are filled with tenderness as we think 
 of that December day of 1620 when they landed on 
 our bleak New England shores, their brave hearts 
 ready to do and dare for God and truth. 
 
 No herald announces their approach. No pomp or 
 parade attends their advent. " Shielded and helmed 
 and weapon'd with the truth," no visible guards are 
 around them either for honor or defence. Bravely but 
 humbly, and almost unconsciously, they assume their 
 perilous posts, as pioneers of an advance which is to 
 honor no backward steps, until, throughout this West- 
 ern Hemisphere, it shall have prepared the way of the 
 Lord and of liberty. ROBERT c. WINTHROP. 
 
 Wild was the day ; the wintry sea 
 
 Moaned sadly on New England's strand, 
 
 When first the thoughtful and the free, 
 Our fathers, trod the desert land. 
 
 WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. 
 
 The schoolboy at his lesson reads 
 Th 1 inspiring record of your deeds ; 
 The public eye on canvas sees 
 Your conflicts fierce, and victories ; 
 The monumental shaft is reared 
 To keep your names for aye revered. 
 
 J. HOOKER. 
 
 Let the haughty smile, the low defame, 
 The heartless worldling mock ; 
 
 I thank my God, my fathers came 
 Of the good old Pilgrim stock! 
 
 GRACE GREENWOOD. 
 [362]
 
 DECEMBER TWENTY-SECOND. 
 
 WITH some people, discontent is a constitutional 
 infirmity. Born under the malign star, they 
 have never been able to travel beyond its influence. 
 Change of condition fails to improve their disposition. 
 Like sea-water, prosperity serves to increase rather 
 than allay their thirst. The trouble is not in circum- 
 stances, but in themselves. If put back in paradise, 
 they would be dissatisfied with their primitive furnish- 
 ings. How such unfortunate persons would ever be 
 able to get on in Heaven is more than we are able to 
 tell. The very perfection of the place would be an 
 annoyance to them, and the sight of perfect people 
 would be sure to excite in them the most unheavenly 
 feelings. The prime need of such persons is a consti- 
 tutional regeneration. DAVID SHERMAN. 
 
 True Contentment is not the stagnation of the soul 
 without aspiration and without want. It is the repose 
 of the soul which is doing its best and which, above 
 all, trusts in the mercy of Heaven to cover faults, and 
 the goodness of Heaven to heal wounds and satisfy 
 
 hope. DAVID S. SCHAFF. 
 
 I am content The gay of earth 
 
 May revel on in heartless mirth ; 
 The rich may idly spend their wealth ; 
 
 But manly toil brings manly health. 
 Let those who will from labor flee, 
 
 A life of usefulness for me! 
 True joy with toil is ever blent, 
 
 And earnest faith I am content ! 
 
 JULIA A. F. CARNEY. 
 [363]
 
 DECEMBER TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 MAY this be a day of well-doing, a day of loving 
 ministrations and thoughtful deeds! As you 
 sit alone for a few moments this morning, make your 
 good resolves and round them up with a prayer. Re- 
 solve that this December day shall be a beautiful one 
 to remember afterwards, with a shining record of your 
 faithfulness and earnestness of purpose. Give some 
 good thing into Time's keeping, something that can- 
 not be marred nor ruined through all the cycles to 
 come ; a memento that shall be immortal. Acquaint 
 yourself with your friend's need, your neighbor's need, 
 and do your best to supply it. 
 
 Of sweets we have garnered from life's golden cup 
 Shall not weary ones taste and little ones sup ? 
 Why hoard up life's nectar our own cups to fill, 
 If one other heart we might comfort or thrill ? 
 
 Give! give from Love's largess, and more shall be 
 
 poured ! 
 
 Ah! we keep that we give : we lose that we hoard! 
 To give is to grow ; to withhold maketh poor ; 
 To have but to hold, makes no treasure endure ; 
 But our " cups of cold water," in gems crystallized, 
 Are set in the crown of " reward " in the skies ! 
 
 MARY A. LEAVITT. 
 
 The secret of life, it is giving, 
 
 To minister and to serve ; 
 Love's labor binds the man to the angel, 
 
 And ruin befalls, if we swerve. 
 
 LUCY LARCOM. 
 [364]
 
 DECEMBER TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 T T TISHING and longing are not enough, even praying 
 VV i s not enough. " Faith without works is dead," 
 we are told, and unless we live our creed, mere believ- 
 ing will do no good. God wants earnest thoughts, 
 words, and deeds. First, think the good, then speak 
 and act it. Do not sit with folded hands idly wishing 
 to lead a useful life : wishing is very good as far as it 
 goes, but the trouble is it often ends in wishing. The 
 wish is fruitless that is not followed by the deed. 
 
 Give me a heart that is pure and true, 
 
 Free from all selfish thought ; 
 Grant me a power in this world to do, 
 
 That I live not for naught. 
 
 NELLIE G. RICE. 
 
 As all the thoughts of our heart 
 
 Are open to God's view, 
 How careful should we be 
 
 To have them pure and true. 
 
 As all the words that are spoken 
 Are heard by the God above, 
 
 How careful we should be 
 To have them words of love. 
 
 As all the deeds of our life 
 Are seen by the God of light, 
 
 How careful we should be 
 To have them just and right. 
 
 PHCEBE CONOVER. 
 [365]
 
 DECEMBER TWENTY-FIFTH. 
 
 "THIS Christmas morning: Christmas mirth 
 J- And joyous voices fill the house. 
 
 THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH. 
 
 A happy greeting! Hail the Day of all glad days 
 that bless the year! Oh, may the peace of Christmas- 
 tide be yours in heart and home to-day, and may a 
 song of praise ascend from happy earth to Heaven 
 above, for this the sweetest gift of all the gift of 
 Christ, the Son of God, the King and Saviour of the 
 world! Bright be your hearthstone, glad your heart, 
 and may the song the angels sang of " Peace on earth, 
 good-will to men ! " find echo in your soul to-day. A 
 merry Christmas-tide be yours ! 
 
 O earth, O heart, be glad on this glad morn! 
 God is with man! Life, Life to us is born! 
 
 LUCY LARCOM. 
 
 What does it mean, this Christmas, 
 
 Down from the ages sent? 
 Out of the lips of a little child, 
 
 What is the message meant ? 
 Into one word it is prisoned 
 
 Struck into life and light ; 
 Love is the Christmas-tide message 
 
 Of heavenly power and might. 
 
 MARGARET SIDNEY. 
 
 While Thanksgiving has its foundation on Plymouth 
 Rock, Christmas rests upon the Rock of Ages. 
 
 CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER. 
 
 [366]
 
 DECEMBER TWENTY-SIXTH. 
 
 SO ever : the curse falls void, the prayer wins the 
 heart of the world. EDITH M. THOMAS. 
 
 And now, while our hearts are warm and tender with 
 thoughts of Christ, and while the Christmas chimes are 
 still echoing sweetly across the snow, let us offer up the 
 incense of prayer to God, and dedicate ourselves to 
 Him anew this December day. For pure, patient 
 spirits, for warm, loving hearts, for trusting, obedient 
 wills let us pray; and as the year drifts nearer and 
 nearer to its close, may we be filled the more with 
 longings for a better, a higher, and more consecrated 
 life! 
 
 On the altar of love 
 
 Lit with fire from above, 
 I will offer the incense of prayer ; 
 
 To Jesus my King 
 
 I'll my sacrifice bring, 
 Ever trusting His mercy and care. 
 
 For gleaming afar 
 
 Is the bright Morning Star, 
 Through the cloud-rifts it ever shines fair. 
 
 In reverence sweet 
 
 I fall at His feet 
 And offer the incense of prayer. 
 
 In the darkness of grief 
 
 I will find sweet relief, 
 When I offer the incense of prayer ; 
 
 With this blessing is given 
 
 A foretaste of Heaven, 
 To feel the sweet spirit of prayer. 
 
 JENNIE F. SNELL. 
 [367]
 
 DECEMBER TWENTY-SEVENTH. 
 
 THAT man is wisest who accepts his lot 
 Yet mends it where he can Glad if there grows 
 Some lowly flower beside his lonely cot, 
 E'en while he plants and tends his Alpine rose. 
 
 There are some thirsty souls, all sick and faint 
 With longing for the cup that is denied ; 
 
 Would they but stoop and drink, without complaint, 
 From the near stream, and so be satisfied. 
 
 There are some hungry hearts that well-nigh break 
 With the dull soreness of mere emptiness. 
 
 To fill the void and soothe the weary ache, 
 Let them strive some other hearts to bless. 
 
 There are some idle hands that reach afar 
 For wider mission, some great work of fame ; 
 
 Would they but grapple in life's daily war, 
 Rewards await them nobler than a name. 
 
 O thirsty souls ! O hungry hearts, and hands, 
 Weary with idleness ! take what you may 
 
 Of proffered good ; accept life as it stands, 
 And make the most of its swift-fleeting day. 
 
 ELLEN P. ALLERTON. 
 
 Most people would succeed in small things if they 
 were not troubled with great ambitions. HENRY w. 
 
 LONGFELLOW. 
 
 Accept what God sends as your portion, willingly, 
 cheerfully. 
 
 [368]
 
 DECEMBER TWENTY-EIGHTH. 
 
 /"CHRISTIANS! it is your duty not only to be good, 
 V-* but to shine; and, of all the lights which you 
 kindle on the face, Joy will reach farthest out to sea, 
 where troubled mariners are seeking the shore. Even 
 in your deepest griefs, rejoice in God. ... If I had 
 been made a firefly, it would not become me to say, 
 " If God had only made me a star, to shine always, 
 then I would shine." It is my duty, if I am a firefly, 
 to fly and sparkle, and fly and sparkle ; not to shut my 
 wings down over my phosphorescent self, because God 
 did not make me a sun or a star. HENRY WARD 
 
 BEECHER. 
 
 A beacon bright the Christian stands 
 
 Upon the shore of time ; 
 A lighthouse built on solid rock, 
 
 That rears its head sublime. 
 
 A tower high a Christian stands, 
 
 A clear and shining light, 
 To cast a gleam across the sea 
 
 Of earth's dark, gloomy night. 
 
 Grand sentinel upon life's coast, 
 
 Be faithful, true, and brave ; 
 And ever keep your light ablaze, 
 
 Benighted souls to save. 
 
 MRS. E. W. CHAPMAN. 
 
 Children of light, like the stars of the midnight, 
 Guiding earth's weary ones home to their rest, 
 
 Shine for the heart that is burdened with anguish ; 
 Cheer up the lonely, the sad, and oppressed. 
 
 M. E. SERVOSS. 
 A 24 [369]
 
 DECEMBER TWENTY-NINTH. 
 
 THE joys we lose are but forecast, 
 And we shall find them all once more ; 
 We look behind us for the Past, 
 But lo, 'tis all before! 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 Hope never dies, no matter how cold the winter, how 
 dark the sky, nor how despondent the heart. You may 
 think sometimes when you are tried and worried, or 
 when grief almost overwhelms you, that the brightness 
 has all gone out .of your life, but lo, the sunshine of 
 Hope breaks through before you are hardly aware of it. 
 Trials and discouragements are our common portion, 
 but God sends His angel of Hope to smile upon us, and 
 bid us take heart again. 
 
 So, within the human heart, 
 
 Through the cheerless clouds of care, 
 Hope, with heavenly light looks down, 
 
 Beautiful and fair. 
 Joy and gladness come again, 
 
 From the soul all sorrow flies, 
 And life's darkness disappears 
 
 As the winter dies. 
 
 EUGENE J. HALL. 
 
 Hope on, hope on! Though friends be few, 
 
 And dark the way before thee, 
 A God of love, from Heaven above, 
 
 Shall shed His radiance o'er thee. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 [370]
 
 DECEMBER THIRTIETH. 
 
 HAS this year been a disappointment to you ? Have 
 your achievements fallen short of your expecta- 
 tions? Ah, doubtless you wanted more than God 
 thought was best for you. Perhaps you were too am- 
 bitious. You may have been ambitious in the wrong 
 direction, and although you have prayed earnestly and 
 labored faithfully to obtain your heart's desire, it may 
 be He has withheld it from you in loving kindness, 
 knowing just what was best for you. O Friend, be 
 patient! Go on in the path of Duty, and may God 
 watch over and bless you and crown you at last, among 
 His chosen ones who are found worthy in His sight! 
 
 Oh! wait, impatient heart! 
 As Winter waits ; her song-birds fled, 
 And every nestling blossom dead. 
 
 Beyond the purple seas they sing ; 
 Beneath soft snows they sleep ; 
 They only sleep. Sweet patience keep, 
 
 And wait, as Winter waits for Spring. 
 
 MRS. LUTHER KEENE. 
 
 Is thy work still uncompleted ? 
 
 Trust and wait. 
 Are thy cherished hopes defeated? 
 
 Trust and wait. 
 Fret not at the poor endeavor, 
 All to God commit forever ; 
 He will disappoint thee never. 
 
 Trust and wait. 
 
 ANNA HOLYOKE HOWARD. 
 [371]
 
 DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST. 
 
 DEAR Heart, the Year's last day has dawned for 
 you and me. Oh, Memory walks with us. We 
 take a backward look, and ask ourselves in earnest 
 quest, "How have I spent the Year the Year that 
 with the coming night must die ? " How sweet our 
 blessings all have been! Whatever grief, or pain, or 
 tears have shadowed days that we have lived, above us 
 God has set His bow of promise in the bending skies, 
 and thankfully we review the past, exclaiming, " God is 
 just and wise and good ; His hand hath led us all the 
 Year! " Oh, may your years flow sweetly on, and each 
 be better than the last, until the Master gathers home 
 to Heaven the Eternal Years ! and may the New Year 
 dawn in peace, and bring its blessings and good cheer, 
 and in its dawn may brighter hopes and sweeter joys 
 be stored away to gladden you the whole year through! 
 
 Let the New Year bring what it will, O friend, 
 
 Nothing have we to fear. 
 The past it was good ; let the good past lend 
 
 The future its glow and cheer. , 
 
 Patient to suffer or brave to do, 
 
 What can we have to fear? 
 Old years are His, and His the new 
 
 He can make it a glad New Year. 
 
 MARY L. DICKINSON. 
 
 I wish you not only a happy New Year, but a happy 
 Eternity! w. s. PLUMER.
 
 Press of J. J. Little & Co. 
 Astor Place, New York 
 
 Acknowledgments are due to Charles Wells Moulton, 
 editor of the "Magazine of American Poetry" and to 
 Eva Munson Smith, author of " Woman in Sacred 
 Song," for permission to cull from their publications ; 
 and 'also to a number of -writers herein represented. 
 LS.T.
 
 '' "III HUH HUH I I II I I (I 
 
 A 000 1 08 740 2
 
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