f THE YEAR BOOK OF ENGLISH AUTHORS WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 1564-1616 IHE YEAR BOOK OF 'ENGLISH 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 IT has been my purpose not only to make this volume a helpful Year Book, but also a compilation of popular selections, which may render it useful for reference. So far as possible, I have affixed signatures to the quotations. In a few instances the writers quoted are not of English birth, but these cases are so few that it is practically what its title says it is a Year Book of English Authors. It may be understood that all of the prose, as well as a few bits of verse without signa- ture, included in this work, belong to the author and compiler of it. I. S. T. "OLD TIME'S GREAT CLOCK, THAT NEVER STOPS, NOR RUNS TOO FAST NOR SLOW, HUNG UP AMID THE WORLDS OF SPACE, WHERE WHEELING PLANETS GLOW, ITS DIAL-PLATE THE ORBIT VAST WHERE WHIRLS OUR MUNDANE SPHERE, HAS PUSHED ITS POINTER ROUND AGAIN, AND STRUCK ANOTHER YEAR ! " HE YEAR-BOOK OF ENGLISH AUTHORS. JANUARY. AND now across the hills of Time, falls the glory of a new Day, the royal birthday of a glad New Year. Make way for his coming this messenger of promise ! Open the gateways of the skies, let down the bars of sunlight in the meadows of the heavens, hoist your flags of triumph, and hail King January, the ruling sovereign of the year ! Look up ! see where the horizon is brightest, there is a motto for you and me, which reads, " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life ! " Oh, glorious promise, arching above us like a rain- bow of Hope, a promise like the pillar of fire to go before us all the year ! let us indeed be " faithful unto death." January, bold and dauntless, Scales old Winter's rugged height, With his spangled garments gleaming In the iridescent light ; And he walks with step majestic While we hear the joy-bells ring, As they greet the happy New Year Whom they honor as a king. So here hath been dawning another blue day ; Think, wilt thou let it slip useless away ? Out of eternity this new day is born ; Into eternity at night will return. T. CARLYLE. [7] JANUARY SECOND. OUT of the darkness into the light! Rejoice and be glad, for you are allowed to see the radiance of another morning, and its blessings, opportunities, and duties are yours. From silence and sleep have sprung thought and activity, and the busy world has once more begun its round of daily cares. Put your shoulder to the wheel, take up the dropped stitches of yesterday, and don't be disheartened ; thank God, and take courage : come what may, He will help you to bear it, and give you strength for to-morrow when it comes. Again the Lord of life and light Awakes the kindling ray, Unseals the eyelids of the morn, And pours increasing day. This day be grateful homage paid, And loud hosannas sung ; Let gladness dwell in every heart, And praise on every tongue. To Thee, my Saviour and my King, Glad homage let me give ; And stand prepared, like Thee, to die, With Thee that I may live. ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD. Come, Light serene and still! Our darkened spirits fill With Thy clear day : Guide of the feeble sight, Reveal the path of right, Show us Thy way. ROBERT II. OF FRANCE. [8] JANUARY THIRD. LET us be true to ourselves ; true to our principles, our convictions, and our religion. A man who lives up to a true moral standard of right, provided his conscience is unimpaired, is a man of untold influence : other men look up to him, quote him, and endeavor to imitate his example. They are proud to claim his friendship, for his word is as good as his bond, and a man like that is a friend worth having. If we would be true ourselves, we must seek the truth. Unless we can discriminate between right and wrong, we are un- able to know the truth. Let us therefore cultivate our consciences, and do only those things that are pleas- ing to God, who is Himself the Divine Truth. This above all to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. SHAKESPEARE. Truth is as impossible to be soiled by any outward touch as the sunbeam. MILTON. Happy the man taught by the truth itself; Not by the shapes and sounds that pass across his life, But by the very truth. Our thoughts and senses often lead us wrong ; They see one side alone. THOMAS X KEMPIS. There is nothing so strong and safe, in any emer- gency of life, as the simple truth. DICKENS. [9] JANUARY FOURTH. WE are never happy so long as we are unforgiv- ing. If we cherish an unkind thought or feel- ing, our hearts are never quite right in the sight of God. And what are we, that we should deny forgive- ness to our neighbor? Have we done nothing to be forgiven ourselves ? Think of the mistakes we are con- tinually making, of the impatient words we say, and the number of times we have grieved and offended those around us. Oh yes, you say, we have much to be forgiven : if so, then, shall we refuse to forgive others? How many times does the Bible tell us to forgive? Have you exceeded the number? Ah, but you say, " I was not to blame." No one who refuses to forgive ever thinks himself blamable, and even if he is innocent of any wrong-doing in the act itself, he is sinning against God so long as he denies forgive- ness to his neighbor. I believe it to be sacredly true that no one can keep the Golden Rule or catch the real spirit of the Lord's Prayer, if he is unforgiving towards any one, no matter what the cause may be, nor who may be the offender. " Forgive us all our debts," we say, " As we have all forgiven " ; Ah, help us indeed to pray " Father which art in Heaven ! " Help us to pray, for only Thou Can'st trace the secret sin, And only Thou can'st wholly know The pride that lurks within. HELEN MARION BURNSIDE. [10] JANUARY FIFTH. DEATH and life are in the power of the tongue. PROVERBS l8:2l. Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. PROVERBS 21 : 23. A word spoken in due season, how good is it ! PROVERBS 15: 23. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. PROVERBS 25 : 1 1 . How much the Word of God dwells on the " power of the tongue," and yet it is referred to as a " little mem- ber." With what care should we guard our tongues, that they speak no ill, that they carry no sting, and that they always find an opportunity to say a word in " due season." A wise tongue echoes the thoughts of a wise intellect, an eloquent tongue paints word-pictures in glowing language ; a truthful tongue is persuasive, and carries conviction, though its utterances may some- times lack culture and polish ; but a kindly tongue speaks the words that can never die ; surely they are " like apples of gold in pictures of silver," sweet and precious to an aching heart and wounded spirit. O words, words! let us be careful how we speak them! Words are mighty, words are living ; Serpents with their venomous stings, Or bright angels crowding round us With Heaven's light upon their wings ; Every word has its own spirit, True or false that never dies ; Every word man's lips have uttered Echoes in God's skies. ADELAIDE PROCTER. JANUARY SIXTH. BE patient at all times. When the cares and duties of the day are weighing you down, when the night is long and dark, and when your cross is heavy and hard to bear. The day with all its burdens will end with the setting of the sun ; the night will soon wear away, and there will be a glorious dawn ; and God shall exchange your cross for a crown. Then be patient ; there is a reward awaiting the faithful. Sweet Patience, come ; Not from a low and earthly source, Waiting till things shall have their course, Not as accepting present pain In hope of some hereafter gain, Not in a dull and sullen calm, But as a breath of heavenly balm, Bidding my weary heart submit To bear whatever God sees fit : Sweet Patience, come! HYMNS OF THE CHURCH MILITANT. There is no crown in the world So good as Patience : neither is any peace That God put in our lips to drink as wine, More honey-pure, more worthy love's own praise, Than that sweet-souled endurance which makes clear The iron hands of anger. SWINBURNE. Be still, my soul ! the Lord is on thy side ; Bear patiently the cross of grief and pain ; Leave to thy God to order and provide, In every change He faithful will remain. HYMNS FROM THE LAND OF LUTHER. [12] JANUARY SEVENTH. WHAT though we stand in the shadow with our souls sadly yearning for the light ; know ye not that in God's time it will come? We shall find the waiting hard at first, for we are by nature impatient ; there will be doubts and complainings, and troublous murmurs from restless, wilful hearts, but by and by we shall find His way is best ; and when we cease to rely on self, He will calm all our doubts and fears, and hush our tumults into rest. He will gently lead us in the paths of Peace, and reveal to us the light of His love that shines like a beacon in the Christian's sky. Let these words find an echo in our souls : I do not ask, O Lord, that life may be A pleasant road ; I do not ask that Thou would take from me Aught of its load ; I do not ask that flowers should always spring Beneath my feet ; I know too well the poison and the sting Of things too sweet. For one thing only, Lord, dear Lord ! I plead, Lead me aright, Though strength should falter, and though heart should bleed, Through Peace to Light. ADELAIDE A. PROCTER. Under Thy wings, my God, I rest, Under Thy shadow safely lie ; By Thy own strength in peace possessed, While dreaded evils pass me by. ANNA L. WARING. [13] JANUARY EIGHTH. IF the heart is full of happiness and joy, the lips will sing. A volcano must have an outlet somewhere : it may lie smouldering for years, but by and by, when we least expect it, it will burst forth, and its fiery elo- quence shall reach far into the clouds. The music of the glad heart cannot be silent forever ; God will tune the key and measure the rhythm, and the happy song- ster shall respond to its great Master Musician. Some- times, in the lowliest walks of life, surrounded by humblest walls, and in the midst of homeliest tasks, the singer shall catch the divine key, and the melody shall mount up, as with wings, and chord with the Heavenly Symphony ; and if earth does not recognize the strain, the listening angels shall know and rejoice, and the heart of the singer shall be blessed and glad- dened by the song. God interprets melody one way, and man another: music to Him is acceptable when the heart sings out its joy and gladness, when there is love and praise and contentment in it, though the voice be poor and trembling and the tune sometimes uncertain. Man only accepts as music that which talent and culture bestows. "Man looketh on the outward things, but God looketh on the heart." There are in the loud stunning tide Of human care and crime, With whom the melodies abide Of th' everlasting chime ; Who carry music in the heart Through dusky lane and wrangling mart, Plying their daily task with busier feet Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat. j. KEBLE. [14] JANUARY NINTH. DO not depend too much on earthly friends. Cir- cumstances often change them and alter their friendship for you. Do not, however, misjudge them : sometimes they are carrying burdens of which you may never know, and you may deem them untrue when they are only absorbed with other things. On the other hand, circumstances may influence them so that they grow indifferent to us. New and more pros- perous friends may take our places in their thoughts and affections, and we may become unnecessary to them. Absence and distance sometimes estrange friends, and in the lapse of time we are almost for- gotten : yet the true and steadfast friend will never fail us through all life's vicissitudes, and the separation of years will make no difference in his love and loyalty. Such a friend is Christ. He changes not, but is " the same yesterday, to-day, and forever." There's naught on earth to rest upon, All things are changing here, The smiles of joy we gaze upon, The friends we count most dear : One Friend alone is changeless, The One too oft forgot, Whose love hath stood for ages past Our Jesus changeth not. One sky alone is cloudless, There darkness enters not, Tis found alone with Jesus And Jesus changeth not. WHITEFIELD. This God is our God forever and ever : He will be our guide even unto death. PSALM 48 : 14. [is] JANUARY TENTH. IF we can only cling to the Cross of Christ, we shall be safe. In the midst of temptation, of doubt, and danger, it is a Rock of defence ; in the waves of sorrow, and underneath the clouds of darkness, it is a comfort and a beacon of light to lead us onward. When weary and discouraged with the journey of life, let us rest in the shadow of the Cross and drop our burdens there. Its radiance shall illumine our souls, and give us renewed faith and hope. Blessed are they that hide their hearts in its refuge. Never farther than Thy cross, Never higher than Thy feet ; Here earth's precious things seem dross, Here earth's bitter things grow sweet. Gazing thus, our sins shall see, Learn Thy love while gazing thus ; Sin which laid the cross on Thee, Love which bore the cross for us. Here we learn to serve and give, And, rejoicing, self deny ; Here we gather love to live, Here we gather faith to die. Symbols of our liberty And our service here unite ; Captives, by Thy cross set free, Soldiers of Thy cross, we fight. Till amid the hosts of light, We in Thee redeemed complete, Through Thy cross made pure and white, Cast our crowns before Thy feet. ELIZABETH R. CHARLES. [16] JANUARY ELEVENTH. TRUE contentment is an ornament to the mind. It is a jewel that brightens with the using, and imparts a lustre to all around it. It combines peace and happiness, and its possessor has a treasure which kings might envy. To be contented, in the midst of gaining and losing, waiting and serving, loving and hating what a rare thing it is! How few of us learn, even in the longest lifetime, the sweet lesson of con- tent, and yet it should be our chief care to cultivate so desirable a trait of character. God tells us " to be content with such things as we have," but we are con- tinually reaching out after something which is not worth having. It is right that we should be discon- tented with ourselves, we should aspire to a higher growth and more noble living, but to be discontented with what God gives us, is wrong. Let us make the best of our surroundings, and meet each day's duty with a cheerfulness that is the outgrowth of inward peace and calm content. Happy the man, of mortals happiest he, Whose quiet mind from vain desires is free ; Whom neither hopes deceive nor fears torment, But lives at peace, within himself content. GEORGE GRANVILLE. The noblest mind the best contentment has. SPENSER. My crown is in my heart, not on my head, Not deck'd with diamonds and Indian stones, Nor to be seen ; my crown is called Content : A crown it is that seldom kings enjoy. HENRY VI., PART III., ACT III. [17] JANUARY TWELFTH. npHROUGH all the changes of life have a purpose, J- and stick to it. Let no outward circumstances cause you to become discouraged and lose heart, if your aspirations are noble and true, but go resolutely forward, and be contented to face dull monotony day by day. No man can ever obtain wealth, power, and honor without fixedness of purpose, and to accomplish these he is obliged to do a great deal of plodding. If you are willing to climb, you will sometime reach the summit. You cannot walk around a difficulty expect- ing to find an easy place to surmount it : you only waste time in the attempt. Take in the situation, and begin the ascent : God allows no obstacles too great and no mounts of difficulty too high for us. Purpose and perseverance, with faith in Him, shall break down every barrier and leave us no excuse for failures. Onward, onward may we press Through the path of duty ; Virtue is true happiness, Excellence true beauty ; Minds are of supernal birth, Let us make a heaven of earth. JAMES MONTGOMERY. The man who seeks one thing in life, and but one, May hope to achieve it before life be done ; But he who seeks all things, wherever he goes, Only reaps from the hopes which around him he sows A harvest of barren regrets. OWEN MEREDITH. Our lives are measured by the deeds we do, The thoughts we think, the objects we pursue. ANONYMOUS. [18] JANUARY THIRTEENTH. NEVER allow yourself to be too busy to look after your conscience. It needs more attention than your toilet. Put it in order every morning for the day, else if neglected it will become diseased like any other part of you. Examine it carefully at night, and see how it has stood the test of the day. Keep it clean and pure, keep it tender and impressionable, and always remember that it is an open window to the eye of God. Listen to the gentle monitor within ; a good conscience is a safe counsellor, and to follow it is to steer in a right direction. God has given us our consciences that we may educate them in the best schools and give them a good moral training. A neglected conscience is like a garden full of weeds ; nothing good has room to grow in a man, for the weeds of his evil nature get the better of him, and his conscience becomes hardened and unresponsive for want of pruning. Yet still there whispers the small voice within, Heard through Gain's silence, and o'er Glory's din ; Whatever creed be taught or land be trod, Man's conscience is the oracle of God. BYRON. Conscience is harder than our enemies, Knows more, accuses with more nicety. GEORGE ELIOT. Let Joy or Ease, let Affluence or Content, And the gay Conscience of a life well spent, Calm ev'ry thought, inspirit ev'ry grace, Glow in thy heart, and smile upon thy face. POPE. Every subject's duty is the king's, but every subject's soul is his own. SHAKESPEARE. [19] I JANUARY FOURTEENTH. N the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. GENESIS i : i. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. PSALM 19:1. Eternal Wisdom! Thee we praise, To Thee our songs we bring ; While with Thy name rocks, hills, and seas, And Heaven's high arches ring. Thy hand, how wide it spread the sky! How glorious to behold ! Tinged with a blue of heavenly dye, And starred with sparkling gold! There Thou hast bid the globes of light Their endless circles run ; There the pale planet rules the night, And day obeys the sun ; The stormy winds stand ready there Thine orders to obey ; With sounding wings they sweep the air, To make Thy chariot way. Infinite strength, and equal skill, Shine through the worlds abroad ; Our souls with vast amazement fill, And speak the builder God. But the sweet beauties of Thy grace Our softer passions move ; Pity divine in Jesus' face We see, adore, and love. ISAAC WATTS. [20] JANUARY FIFTEENTH. OH, the blessedness of giving! How it enlarges our hearts and sweetens our toil to share our bounty with others! There is always some one poorer than ourselves to need our help, poorer in more ways than one. Perhaps some one we know is starving for sympathy and kindness, or hungering for an encourag- ing word : we surely can give these things without impoverishing ourselves or our dear ones. Or, if they lack temporal blessings, let us do with a little less, that we may divide with them. It is the sweetness of silent alms that gladdens the heart of the Master and enriches the heart of the giver. It is the every-day life of self-sacrifice and self-denial that makes benevolence beautiful. Is thy cruse of comfort wasting? Rise and share it with another, And through all _the years of famine it shall serve jthee and thy brother^ Love divine will fill thy storehouse^ or thy handful. still renew : Scanty fare for one will often makg_a royal feast Jpr two. For_ the_heart grows rich in_^iving; all its wealth is jiving grain ; .Seeds, which_mi_ldew in the_garner, scattered, fill with gold_the_plam. Is thy_ burden^ hard jind heavy ? do thy stegsjirag wearily? Help to bear thy brothej^VbujxLgnj God will bear both it and thee._ ELIZABETH R. CHARLES. [21] JANUARY SIXTEENTH. WHY should we boast of what we have and are? All that we have God has given us ; all that we are has only been reached through our acceptance of His opportunities. He has endowed us with body, mind, and soul. If we possess physical beauty and symmetry, it is His gift : if our minds are active and receptive, He has made them so : if our souls are sing- ing the music of Heaven, it is because He has given us the chord. Worldly possessions should only be regarded as a blessing and means of doing good. As God has prospered us, let us benefit others. Riches are short-lived, but .good deeds that spring from right motives are as immortal as Heaven. Let us then divest ourselves of pride, and keep before us the thought of the Eternal Goodness. Life at best is short, and will soon vanish away ; but, thank God, He has provided a home for the faithful, an inheritance that shall last forever. O why should the spirit of mortal be proud? Like a swift-fleeting meteor, a fast-flying cloud, A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, Man passes from life to his rest in the grave. For we are the same that our fathers have been ; We see the same sights that our fathers have seen ; We drink the same stream, and we see the same sun, And run the same race that our fathers have run. Yea, hope and despondency, pleasure and pain, We mingle together in sunshine and rain ; And the smiles and the tears, the song and the dirge, Still follow each other, like surge upon surge. WILLIAM KNOX. JANUARY SEVENTEENTH. GOD has given us His peace to comfort us, His faith to uplift us, and His Word to enlighten us. We have daily proofs of His care for us, and of His provision for our well-being and happiness. All this is because He loves us ! O, what divine con- descension, that He should stoop to remember us in our low estate! He rules the celestial Kingdom, and His footstool is the world ; His strength is in the clouds, and His dominion and power are beyond comprehension. The Almighty and Infinite God hath for all His creatures a deep and boundless love, which we in our humanity cannot fathom or measure. On the great love of God I lean, Love of the Infinite, Unseen, With naught of Heaven or earth between. This God is mine, and I am His ; His love is all I need of bliss. H. BONAR. Lord, Thou art Life, tho' I be dead, Love's fire Thou art, however cold I be ; Nor heaven have I, nor place to lay my head, Nor home, but Thee. CHRISTINA ROSSETTI. What myst'ry clouds my darkened path ? I'll check my dread, my doubts reprove ; In this my soul sweet comfort hath, That God is Love. Oh, may this truth my heart employ, Bid every gloomy thought remove, And turn all tears, all woes to joy, Thou, God, art Love. ANONYMOUS. JANUARY EIGHTEENTH. A MAN should guard his honor more than his gold. If it is impossible to possess both at the same time, let him part with his wealth and cling to his honor. Better, a thousand times, be a penniless beg- gar with a blameless character than a prince with a stain on his name. Better fall low in the estimation of the world than lose caste with God and the angels. The man who would honor his Maker must also honor himself; he must make a name and keep it above reproach, so that in after years it shall be found un- sullied in the Records of Heaven. Honour is purchased by deeds we do ; honour is not won, Until some honourable deed is done. CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE. 'Tis the mind that makes the body rich ; And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds, So honour peereth in the meanest habit. SHAKESPEARE. Honour and shame from no condition rise ; Act well your part, there all the honour lies. POPE. The sense of honour is of so fine and delicate a nature that it is only to be met with in minds which are nat- urally noble, or in such as have been cultivated by great examples or a refined education. ADDISON. Glory is sweet when our heart says to us that the wreath of honour ought to grace our head. KRUMMACHER. I could not love thee, dear, so much, Loved I not honour more. RICHARD LOVELACE. JANUARY NINETEENTH. BOOKS exert a silent influence on our lives. They are like friends, we choose them, and all un- consciously they mould our characters after their own similitude. A man's thoughts usually flow in the same channel with the books he reads. He who chooses only the purest and best books will certainly be the better for their influence. If, then, our minds are so susceptible, let us be careful how and what we read, selecting only books that will elevate and improve us and broaden and expand our intellect. Of all those arts in which the wise excel, Nature's chief masterpiece is writing well. SHEFFIELD. All that mankind has done, thought, gained, or been is lying as in a magic preservation in the pages of books. They are the chosen possession of men. CARLYLE. Books should to one of these four ends conduce, For wisdom, piety, delight, and use. SIR JOHN DENHAM. A good book is the precious life-blood of a master- spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life. MILTON. I love to lose myself in other men's minds. When I am not walking, I am reading : I cannot sit and think. Books think for me. LAMB. Insist on reading the great books, on marking the great events of the world. Then the little books may take care of themselves, and the trivial incidents of passing politics and diplomacy may perish with the using. DEAN STANLEY. [35] JANUARY TWENTIETH. WHAT a wonderful thing is Influence! There is a thrill of power in the word itself. Our lives are small and insignificant at best, but our influence is mighty for either good or evil. Though we run our course in a few brief years, our influence goes on, sweeping through the ages, into Eternity. Carlyle says, " The work an unknown good man has done, is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green." Nothing is sweeter or more impressive than silence, and nothing more restful and beautiful than verdure ; and if we can only yield such an influence as this, how much better the world will be for our having lived in it ! Who knows What earth needs from earth's lowest creatures ? No life Can be pure in its purpose and strong in its strife, And all life not be purer and stronger thereby. The spirits of just men made perfect on high, The army of martyrs who stand by the Throne And gaze into the face that makes glorious their own, Knows this surely at last. Honest love, honest sorrow, Honest work for the day, honest hope for the mor- row Are these worth nothing more than the hand they make weary, The heart they have sadden'd, the life they leave dreary ? Hush ! the sevenfold heavens to the voice of the spirit Echo : He that q'_ercometh shall all thingsjinherit. OWEN MEREDITH. JANUARY TWENTY-FIRST. BEGIN the morning with God. Open your eyes to His glories, and let your tongue echo forth His praises. Let each act be a bit of worship. When you admit to your room the first beams of the early sun, think how He has lighted Life's pathway for you : when you brush your hair, remember how His loving hand has smoothed the tangles of difficulties from before you : when you wash your face, think of His dews of Mercy that are " new every morning " ; and when you array yourself for the day, send up a little prayer that your soul may also wear the "robe of Righteousness," and that you may be " clad with zeal, as with a cloak." Begin the morning thus, and your heart enjoys noontide's rest and night's repose. Mornings are mysteries : the first world's youth, Man's resurrection, and the future's bud Shroud in their birth the crown of life, light, truth ; Is styled their star ; the stone, and hidden food. Three blessings wait upon them, one of which Should move they make us holy, happy, rich. When the world's up, and every swarm abroad, Keep^well thy temper ; mix not with each day ; Despatch necessities : life has a load Which must be carried on, and safely may. Yetjceep these cares without thge : let the hear Be God's alone, and choose the better part^ HENRY VAUGHAN. Lord, I my vows to Thee renew, I Scatter my sins as morning dew, I Guard my first springs of thought and will, \ And with Thyself my spirit fill. / ^ THOMAS KEN. [27] JANUARY TWENTY-SECOND. TRUE Nobility consists in making every act of our lives an honor to our Maker. God's noblemen are men of royal birth ; they inherit the charity that smiles on all humanity, the heroism that enables them to conquer self, and the courtesy which is a natural instinct to a heart at peace with God and the world. To be truly noble, we must do only noble deeds, and if our praises are not sung on earth, the recompense shall be ours by and by. Think truly, and thy thought Shall the world's famine feedj. Speak truly, and thy yvord Shall be a fruitful seed ; Live truly, and thy life shall be. A great and noble creed. ANONYMOUS. Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever ; Do noble things, not dream them, all day long ; And so make life, death, and the vast forever One grand, sweet song. CHARLES KINGSLEY. Better not to be at all Than not to be noble. TENNYSON. The grand old gardener and his wife Smile at the claims of long descent ; Howe'er it be, it seems to me. 'Tis only noble to be good ; True_hearts are more than coronets^ And simple faith than_Nonnan blood. TENNYSON. [28] JANUARY TWENTY-THIRD. TIME never sleeps, but guards with jealous care the passing years. Bold, resolute, and dauntless, he peers into the mystic future, like an engineer with his swift locomotive, and steers his freighted train of hours, days, and seasons through the mists and shadows of the valleys of Fear ; over the vernal heights of Hope ; through the wilderness of Doubt ; along the by-ways of Progress ; into the avenues of Success, and down the deeps of Adversity. Time shall know no rest until he meets his great enemy Eternity who shall arrest his footsteps and stay his flight ; then shall he drop the burden of the Years, fling down his gleaming scythe, and sink into oblivion. Where Time ends and Eternity begins, it is not ours to know ; the Author of the universe, in whom we trust, is All-wise, and to Him alone belong the mysteries of Time and Eternity. Touch us gently, Time ! We've not proud nor soaring wings ; Our ambition, our content, Lies in simple things. Humble voyagers are we. O'er Lifers dim, unsounded sea^ Seeking only some calm clime ; Touch us gently, gentle Time ! BRYAN WALLER PROCTER. The best is yet to be^ The last of jife, for which the first was ROBERT BROWNING. [09] JANUARY TWENTY-FOURTH. SOME one has said, " Fame is a bubble," and so it is. It holds in its fragile globe the fleeting reflec- tion of the sunlight, and when the sky changes, the glory fades, the bubble bursts and leaves no trace be- hind. The goal for which we toil, year by year, is brighter in anticipation than reality, and by the time we have reached it we are too weary to enjoy it, or have grown to realize its nothingness. It is more noble to seek to do good thaii to desire to. be famous. The praises of men are but weak after all, and if it is that which inspires us, the end is not worth striving for. The garlands wither on your brow, Then boast no more your mighty deeds ; Upon death's altar, now, See where the victor victim bleeds ! All heads must come To the cold tomb, Only the actions ofjhe just Smell sweet, and blossom in the dust,. JAMES SHIRLEY. He lives in fame, that died in virtue's cause. SHAKESPEARE. The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, Await alike the inevitable hour; The paths of .glory lead but to the grave,. GRAY. ^LJnblemished let me live, or die unknown,; Oh, grant an honest fame, or grant me none! POPE. [30] JANUARY TWENTY-FIFTH. THE greatest thing, after all, is to understand our qwr^ hearts ; to_rid_theiB .of their faults, so that^ their _yirtues_may Jhave^iQQni for larger and better growth, and to keep them__true and tender, and in sym- pathy with our brother-mar^ Heart-culture is full of surprises ; we are amazed at our own selves when we once begin the process. The good and bad within us are continually at war with each other, and as fast as we root out one evil thought, another seed will spring up, so that we have great need of patience and perseverance. From the heart issue the thoughts that make for us our everlasting joy or eternal misery ; from the heart our bodies are fed and our souls quickened, and through its influence the world is made better or worse. It's no in titles nor in rank, It's no in wealth like Lon'on bank, To purchase peace and rest ; It's no in making muckle mair, It's no in books, it's no lear, To make us truly blest : If happiness has not her seat And centre in the brest, We may be wise, or rich, or great, But never can be blest : Nae treasures, nor pleasures, Could make us happy lang ; The heart aye's the part aye... That makes us right or wrang^ BURNS. If a good face is a letter of recommendation, a good .heart is a letter of credit. BULWER-LYTTON. "[31] JANUARY TWENTY-SIXTH. "T7TERNAL hope! when yonder spheres sublime *-* Pealed their first notes to sound the march of time, Thy joyous youth began. CAMPBELL. Know then, whatever cheerful and serene Supports the mind, supports the body too ; Hence the most vital movement mortals feel Is Hope, the balm and life-blood of the soul. JOHN ARMSTRONG. Work without Hope draws nectar_in a sieve. And Hope without an_ object Cannot live. S. T. COLERIDGE. Hope,_like jhe_gleaming^ taper's light, Adorns and jcheers^ pur way^ ; And_s,till, as darker grows the night, Ejmite_a^brigjvter ray. , GOLDSMITH. Hope, like a cordial, innocent, though strong, Man's heart at once inspirits and serenes. YOUNG. Through the sunset of Hope, Like the shapes of a dream, What paradise islands of glory gleam ! SHELLEY. Sweet Hope ! celestial influence round me shed, Waving thy silver pinions o'er my head. KEATS. [32] JANUARY TWENTY-SEVENTH. HOW rare and sweet is the grace of Humility, espe- cially when possessed by those who have attained honors or accumulated wealth! A truly humble man is seldom to be found, but when we once discover him, he is as refreshing to us as an oasis to the traveller in the desert. Some of our greatest men have been as much distinguished for their modesty and humility as for their greatness. I should say that of all classes of men the " self-made man " is most apt to be boastful ; he will probably tell you, the first time you are in his company, that he is a self-made man, and expects you to evince much surprise at his assertion, little guess- ing that his manner and conversation have proclaimed the fact to every one present. When we sing our own praises, Humility hides her gentle face in very shame for us. Humanity, under all circumstances, needs to be clothed in the garb of Humility ; meekness is not weakness, but lowly strength ; it is the triumph r _