Chapter IV: Part 4

My Father, if thou wert far off I could not reach thee in time, for I falter so much and need thee so often. I pray that thou wilt keep so near that I can feel thy love and strength breathing within me. Amen.

MAY TWENTIETH

Elizabeth G. Fry born 1780.

John Stuart Mill born 1806.

Alfred Domett born 1811.

Rudolf H. Lotze born 1817.

Marquis de Lafayette died 1834.

Nature has written a letter of credit upon some men's faces which is
honored wherever presented. You cannot help trusting such men; their
very presence gives confidence. There is a "promise to pay" in their
faces which gives confidence, and you prefer it to another man's
indorsement. Character is credit.

--William M. Thackeray.

Henry Drummond has told us how in the heart of Africa he came across men and women who remembered the only white man they ever saw before--David Livingstone; and as you cross his footsteps in the dark continent men's faces light up as they speak of the kind doctor who passed there years ago. They could not understand him; but they felt the love that beat in his heart.

Who is wise and understanding among you? let him show by his good
life his works in meekness of wisdom.

--James 3. 13.

My Lord, inspire me with kind words and thoughtful deeds, that I may share the yearnings and sympathy of others. May my life show that I am dependable, and may none be left lonely to-day because of my forgetfulness. Amen.

MAY TWENTY-FIRST

Albrecht Dürer born 1471.

Fernando de Soto died 1542.

Alexander Pope born 1688.

Self-love but serves the virtuous mind to wake
As the small pebble stirs the peaceful lake;
The center moved, a circle straight succeeds,
Another still, and still another spreads;
Friend, parent, neighbor, first it will embrace,
Its country next, and next, the human race.

--Alexander Pope.

A gentleman is one who understands and shows every mark of deference
to the claim of self-love in others, and exacts it in return from
them.

--William Hazlitt.

But he knoweth the way that I take;
When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
My foot hath held fast to his steps;
His way have I kept, and turned not aside.

--Job 23. 10.

Lord God, teach me how secret actions make or destroy my life. Show me the deep lines made by sorrow and discontent that cannot be effaced. May I look toward the corrections of life and not on my imperfections, that my life may be a helpful influence. Amen.

MAY TWENTY-SECOND

Newman Hall born 1816.

Wilhelm Richard Wagner born 1813.

Maria Edgeworth died 1849.

Victor Hugo died 1885.

Who cares for the burden, the night, and the rain,
And the long, steep, lonesome road,
When at last through the darkness a light shines plain,
When a voice calls "Hail," and a friend draws rein,
With an arm for the stubborn load?

For life is the chance of a friend or two
This side of the journey's goal.
Though the world be a desert the long night through,
Yet the gay flowers bloom and the sky shows blue
When a soul salutes a soul.

--Unknown.

In all misfortune the greatest consolation is a sympathizing friend.

--Cervantes.

They help every one his neighbor; and every one saith to his
brother, Be of good courage.

--Isaiah 41. 6.

Loving Father, may I lay hold upon the highest standards of friendship and so be qualified to be a friend. May those who call and lean on me feel secure in my support. May none ever be ashamed to call me friend. Grant that those whom I love may keep faith with me. Amen.

MAY TWENTY-THIRD

Thomas Hood born 1798.

Margaret Fuller Ossoli born 1810.

Henrik Ibsen died 1896.

Dr. John Campbell died 1861.

Chance cannot touch me! Time cannot hush me!
Fear, Hope, and longing, at strife;
Sink as I rise, on, on, upward forever,
Gathering strength, gaining breath--
Naught can sever
Me from the Spirit of Life.

--Margaret Fuller.

But evil is wrought by want of thought, as well as want of heart.

--Thomas Hood.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward.

--Romans 8. 18.

Heavenly Father, cause the newness of life to continue to flow through my heart, that I may not be fatigued, as I struggle with discouragements. Release me from hopeless cares that I have made mine, thinking they were thine. May I trust in the boundless limit of thy mercy, and rejoice in the world of living light. Amen.

MAY TWENTY-FOURTH

Jean Paul Marat born 1744.

Stephen Girard born 1750.

Sir Robert Adair born 1763.

Queen Victoria born 1819.

Caroline Fox born 1819.

I see my way as birds their trackless way.
I shall arrive! what time, what circuit first,
I ask not: but unless God send his hail
Or blinding fireballs, sleet, or stifling snow,
In some time, his good time, I shall arrive:
He guides me and the bird.

--Robert Browning.

To live in the presence of great truths and eternal laws--that is
what keeps a man patient when the world ignores him, and calm and
unspoiled when the world praises him.

--Honore Balzac.

But whoso putteth his trust in Jehovah shall be safe.

--Proverbs 29. 25.

Lord Jehovah, all goodness, tenderness, and forbearance that are in my life have come from thee. May I not lose them in self, but by them make possible happiness and endurance for others. Amen.

MAY TWENTY-FIFTH

Ralph Waldo Emerson born 1803.

Edward Bulwer-Lytton (George) born 1803.

Dr. William Paley died 1805.

William Henry Channing born 1810.

Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
Loved the wild rose, and left it on the stalk?
At rich men's tables eaten bread and pulse?
Unarmed faced danger with a heart of trust?
And loved so well a high behavior,
In man or maid, that thou from speech refrained,
Nobility more noble to repay?
O, be my friend and teach me to be thine!

--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

What the superior man seeks is in himself;
What the small man seeks is in others.

--Confucius.

Make no friendship with a man that is given to anger;
And with a wrathful man thou shalt not go.

--Proverbs 22. 24.

Lord God, may I live for the pure and upright, and have the blessedness of a rejoicing heart. May I yearn for the secrets of nature. Grant that my life may not seek destruction, but tenderly find and protect life. Amen.

MAY TWENTY-SIXTH

The Venerable Bede died 735.

Count Nicolas Ludwig Zinzendorf born 1800.

Capel Lofft died 1821.

Let us disengage ourselves from care about the passing things of
time; let us soar above our worldly possessions. The bee does not
less need its wings when it has gathered an abundant store, for if
it sink in the honey, it dies.

--Saint Augustine.

Perhaps if we could penetrate nature's secrets, we should find that
what we call needs are more essential to the well-being of the world
than the most precious grain or fruit.

--Nathaniel Hawthorne.

We trust the Lord in faith serene,
A ladder he hath given;
The lower rounds in earth are seen,
The higher reach to heaven.

--Thomas Brevior.

Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment?

--Matthew 6. 25.

Almighty God, I bless thee for the privilege of a great life. May I not be satisfied to rest with idle hands in youth and make age regretful because I have lived a useless life: but with a clear eye and an exalted mind may I choose the "durable satisfactions" that may be mine. Amen.

MAY TWENTY-SEVENTH

Alighieri Dante born 1265.

John Calvin died 1564.

Julia Ward Howe born 1819.

Noah Webster died 1843.

John Kendrick Bangs born 1862.

To your judgments give ye not the reins
With too much eagerness, like him who ere
The corn be ripe, is fain to count the grains:
For I have seen the briar through the winter snows
Look sharp and stiff--yet on a future day
High on its summit bear the tender rose:
And ship I've seen, that through the storm hath passed,
Securely bounding o'er the watery way,
At entrance of the harbor wrecked at last.

--Dante, translated by Wright.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me:
As he died to make men holy, let us die to make them free,
While God is marching on.

--Julia Ward Howe.

Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart,
And lean not upon thine own understanding.

--Proverbs 3. 5.

Lord God, help me to know my ability, that I may not attempt with weakness that which requires strength to undertake; and make me stable that I may not relax vigilance even though victory seems assured. Amen.

MAY TWENTY-EIGHTH

William Pitt born 1759.

Thomas Moore born 1779.

Louis Agassiz born 1807.

The bird let loose in eastern skies,
When hastening fondly home,
Ne'er stoops to earth her wing, nor flies
Where idle warblers roam;
But high she shoots through air and light,
Above all low delay,
Where nothing earthly bounds her flight,
Nor shadow dims her way.

--Thomas Moore.

Remember, the essence of religion is, a heart void of offense toward
God and man; not subtle speculative opinions, but an active
principle of faith.

--William Pitt.

And hope putteth not to shame; because the love of God hath been
shed abroad in our hearts.

--Romans 5. 5.

God of mercy, reveal to me the hallowed life. May I be reminded that, while I may save and keep the dust from things that perish, my life, though unkept and undeveloped, tells in itself the value and need of the most watchful care. Amen.

MAY TWENTY-NINTH

Patrick Henry born 1736.

Joseph Fouche born 1763.

Josephine died 1814.

Gerald Massey born 1829.

Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of
chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not what course
others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.

--Patrick Henry.

Though hearts brood o'er the past, our eyes
With smiling features glisten;
For lo! our day bursts up the skies,
Lean out your souls and listen!
The world is following freedom's way,
And ripening with her sorrow;
Take heart! Who bears the cross to-day
Shall wear the crown to-morrow.

--Gerald Massey.

For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love
and discipline.

--2 Timothy 1. 7.

Lord God, may I never feel that I have a right to sell thy joys, nor the privilege of giving away my burdens. Grant that I may not forsake my principles, but may I keep the way clear that memory may find an unruffled rest. Amen.

MAY THIRTIETH

Decoration Day.

Joan d'Arc burned at Rouen 1431.

Alexander Pope died 1744.

Voltaire died 1778.

Alfred Austin born 1835.

Here is the nation God has builded by our hands. What shall we do
with it? Who stands ready to act again and always in the spirit of
this day of reunion and hope and patriotic fervor? The day of our
country's life has but broadened into morning. Do not put uniforms
by. Put the harness of the present on. Lift your eyes to the great
tracts of life yet to be conquered in the interest of righteous
peace, of that prosperity which lies in a people's hearts and
outlasts all wars and errors of men.

--Woodrow Wilson.

Cover them over with beautiful flowers:
Deck them with garlands these brothers of ours;
Lying so silent, by night and by day,
Sleeping the years of their manhood away;

* * * * *

Give them the laurels they lost with their life.

--Will Carleton.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for
his friends.

--John 15. 13.

My Father, as I pause this day to think of the brave men and women who have given their lives for the sake of others, may I be thankful for them. May I remember that noble deeds and kind words are never lost, but that self may block the way to justice. O Father, make war to cease! and lead us to victories that are won through peace. Amen.

MAY THIRTY-FIRST

Ludwig Tieck born 1773.

Joseph Haydn died 1809.

Walt Whitman born 1819.

Passage, immediate passage! the blood burns in my veins!
Away, O soul! hoist instantly the anchor!
Out the hawser--haul out--shake out every sail!
Have we not stood here like trees in the ground long enough?
Have we not groveled here long enough eating and drinking like mere brutes?
Have we not darkened and dazed ourselves with books long enough?
Sail forth--steer for the deep waters only,
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me,
For we are bound where mariner has not dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

--Walt Whitman.

Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be affrighted at them:
for Jehovah thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not
fail thee, nor forsake thee.

--Deuteronomy 31. 6.

My Father, give me joyful courage to squarely face my life. Help me to know that I cannot vanquish life by evading duties, nor encircling myself with indulgences. If I may be blind to my situation, restore my sight that I may make ready a worthy passage with thee. Amen.

JUNE

There lives a glory in these sweet June days
Such as I found not in the days gone by,
A kindlier meaning in the unclouded sky,
A tenderer whisper in the woodland ways;
And I have understanding of the lays,
The birds are singing, forasmuch as I
Have learned how love avails to satisfy
A man's whole heart, and fills his lips with praise.

--Percy C. Ainsworth

JUNE FIRST

Nicolas Poussin born 1594.

Sir Christopher Marlowe died 1593.

Sir David Wilkie died 1841.

Hugo Münsterberg born 1863.

In every act of ours, in every feeling and every volition and every
thought, we are conscious of a self which expresses its aims and
meanings. Every idea of ours points beyond itself, every volition
binds us in decision, and every experience gets meaning by our
attitudes. The most immediate task which life demands from us in the
understanding of ourselves and of others is, therefore, to interpret
our ideas, to draw the consequences of our will, to appreciate the
attitudes, to measure them by higher standards.

--Hugo Münsterberg.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

--Genesis 1. 26.

My Creator, I pray that I may not only have the desire to know life, but the assurance to live it. Help me to understand that my earthly possessions are not the measure of my life, nor my body the boundary of my living. May I reach for the high standards that are free, without limit, to all. Amen.

JUNE SECOND

Ethelbert baptized 597.

John Randolph born 1773.

Thomas Hardy born 1840.

In battle or business, whatever the game,
In law or in love, it is ever the same:
In the struggle for power, or scramble for pelf,
Let this be your motto: "Rely on yourself."

--John G. Saxe.

Labor is necessary to excellence. This is an eternal truth, although
vanity cannot be taught to believe or indolence to heed it.

--John Randolph.

But let each man prove his own work, and then shall he have his
glorying in regard of himself alone, and not of his neighbor.

--Galatians 6. 4.

Almighty God, I regret the hours of indiscretion and waste; through thy forgiveness may I have thy help over past wrongs. May I have a deeper conception of a profitable life, that I may hereafter live by it. Amen.

JUNE THIRD

Sydney Smith born 1771.

Dr. John Gregory born 1724.

Richard Cobden born 1804.

Jefferson Davis born 1808.

Norman Macleod born 1812.

Certainly, let the board be spread and let the bed be dressed for
the traveler; but let not the emphasis of hospitality lie in these
things. Honor to the house where they are simple to the verge of
hardship, so that there the intellect is awake and reads the law of
the universe, the soul worships truth and love, honor and courtesy
flow into all deeds.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Kind actions, and good wishes, and pure thoughts
No mystery is here: Here is no boon
For high--yet not for low: The smoke ascends
To heaven as lightly from the cottage hearth
As from the haughtiest palace.

--William Wordsworth.

Given to hospitality.

--Romans 12. 13.

Gracious Father, I beseech thee to give me wisdom for kind thoughts and deeds. Teach me true hospitality, that I may be gracious in my own home and appreciative in the home of others. May I not temper my hospitality for certain reasons, but have a genuine welcome for all. Amen.

JUNE FOURTH

George III born 1738.

Lord Edward Fitzgerald died 1798.

General Garnet Wolseley born 1833.

This is the gospel of labor--ring it,
Ye bells of the kirk--
The Lord of Love came down from above
To live with the men who work.
This is the rose he planted, here
In the thorn-cursed soil;
Heaven is blest with perfect rest, but
The blessing of earth is toil.

--Henry van Dyke

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.

Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt
rest.

--Exodus 23. 12.

My Father, I pray for the love of work, and the desire to cultivate life. Stir me, that I may be ambitious. May I not stare at life in an everyday way and forget that others are watching for the surprises. Help me to be considerate and kind in all that I do. Amen.

JUNE FIFTH

Socrates born B.C. 469.

Dr. Adam Smith born 1723.

Karl Maria von Weber died 1826.

O. Henry died 1910.

You think that upon the score of foreknowledge and divining I am
infinitely inferior to the swans. When they perceive approaching
death they sing more merrily than before, because of the joy they
have in going to the God they serve.

--Socrates.

O yet we trust that somehow good
Will be the final goal of ill,
To pangs of nature, sins of will,
Defects of doubt, and taints of blood;

That nothing walks with aimless feet;
That not one life shall be destroyed,
Or cast as rubbish to the void,
When God hath made the pile complete.

--Alfred Tennyson.

How precious is thy lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men
take refuge under the shadow of thy wings.

--Psalm 36. 7.

Eternal God, forbid that I should try to set up thy judgment-seat in so small a place as self, and attempt to render decisions for thee. My soul lives anew as I think of thy love, and that there is no place where thy mercy can be withheld from me. Amen.

JUNE SIXTH

Diego R. Velasquez born 1599.

Pierre Corneille born 1606.

Nathan Hale born 1755.

Sir John Stainer born 1840.

These stones that make the meadow brooklet murmur
Are the keys on which it plays.
O'er every shelving rock its touch grows firmer,
Resounding notes to raise.

If every path o'er which footsteps wander,
Were smooth as ocean strand,
There were no theme for gratitude and wonder
At God's delivering hand.

--W. E. Winks.

We also rejoice in our tribulations: knowing that tribulation
worketh steadfastness; and steadfastness, approvedness; and
approvedness, hope.

--Romans 5. 3, 4.

My Father, if rain may come to-day, may I realize its help, with the power of the sun, to increase life; and may its influence be sweet and wholesome to me, as I learn that sadness is temporary and will disappear with the coming of gladness. May I go search for the joy that may be mine to-day. Amen.

JUNE SEVENTH

Robert Bruce died 1329.

George Bryan (Beau Brummel) born 1778.

Rev. W.D. Conybeare born 1787.

When the lamp is shattered
The light in the dust lies dead--
When the cloud is scattered
The rainbow's glory is shed.
When the lute is broken
Sweet tones are remembered not;
When the lips have spoken
Loved accents are soon forgot.

--Percy Bysshe Shelley.

A slip of the rose may take root, and bring forth a bloom to give
peace to the soul. A slip of the tongue may take root, and bring
forth a thorn that will torture the soul.

--M.B.S.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of
itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye
abide in me.

--John 15. 4.

Many of us, O Father, overlook the fragrance of the rose while we are being pierced by its thorn. Increase my faith in life and in thee, that I may not be dismayed over mysteries, but sincerely wait for deliverance. Amen.

JUNE EIGHTH

Mohammed died 632.

Thomas Rickman born 1776.

Charles Reade born 1814.

John Everett Millais born 1829.

If one touch of nature makes the whole world kin, methinks that
sweet and wonderful thing sympathy is not less powerful. What golden
barriers, what ice of centuries, it can melt in a moment!

--Charles Reade.

If I had two loaves of bread, I would sell one to buy white
hyacinths to feed my soul.

--Mohammed.

What do you live for if it is not to make life less difficult for
each other?

--George Eliot.

Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to
visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep
oneself unspotted from the world.

--James 1. 27.

My Father, help me to understand that kind hearts and willing hands are made possible by the depth and greatness of thy love. May I possess the spirit of forgiveness and consideration, that I may not hold prejudice and revenge, but help with sympathy and tenderness. Amen.

JUNE NINTH

George Stephenson born 1781.

John Howard Payne born 1791.

Richard D. Blackmore born 1825.

Charles Dickens died 1870.

Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many; not
upon your past misfortunes, of which all have some.

--Charles Dickens.

'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home!
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,
Which, sought through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere.
Home! home! sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home!

--John Howard Payne.

For thou shalt forget thy misery;
Thou shalt remember it as waters that are passed away.

--Job 11. 16.

Lord God, my soul fills with gratitude for the blessings which I have received and enjoyed. Help me to conform to thy will concerning my duties. May I not try to resist thy providence. I pray that thou wilt bless my daily life, and make my home a place to dispense kindness and cheerfulness. Amen.

JUNE TENTH

Sir Edwin Arnold born 1832.

Henry M. Stanley born 1840.

Edward Everett Hale died 1809.

Robert Schumann born 1810.

What have you done with your soul, my friend?
Where is the ray you were wont to send,
Glancing bright through the outer night,
Touching with hope what was dark before,
Glimmering on to the further shore?

--Arthur C. Benson.

God suffers the light to know eclipse,
Dashes the cup from the eager lips;
You perchance would have drunk too deep.

--Arthur C. Benson.

Lift where you stand.

--Edward Everett Hale.

A friend is the first person who comes in when the whole world has
gone out.

--Unknown.

Who comforteth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to
comfort them that are in any affliction, through the comfort
wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

--2 Corinthians 1.4.

Almighty God, help me to correct my mistakes, and to be more careful of what I take in my life. May I always stretch out a hand of love to inspire others with confidence to care more for themselves and more for thee. Amen.

JUNE ELEVENTH

Roger Bacon died 1292.

George Wither born 1588.

John Constable born 1776.

Exceeding gifts from God are not blessings, they are duties. They do
not always increase a man's happiness; they always increase his
responsibilities.

--Charles Kingsley.

Make a rule and pray for help to keep it. Once a day spare room for
a thought that will pursue a strong purpose. Help in some way the
progress of a weary soul who cannot repay you.

--M. B. S.

There is no true potency, remember, but that of help; nor true
ambition, but ambition to save.

--John Ruskin.

And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the
afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine
obscurity be as the noon day.

--Isaiah 58. 10.

Heavenly Father, when I think of how little I have given away my heart burns with shame, as I recall what thou hast given to me. May I from this day be more thoughtful of thy tender compassion by being less selfish with what I have. Amen.

JUNE TWELFTH

Harriet Martineau born 1802.

Charles Kingsley born 1819.

Dr. Thomas Arnold (Arnold of Rugby) died 1842.

Sir Oliver Lodge born 1851.

Do to-day's duty, fight to-day's temptation, and do not weaken and
distract yourself by looking-forward to things which you cannot see,
and could not understand if you saw them.

--Charles Kingsley.

Genuine religion has its roots deep down in the heart of
humanity.... The actions of the Deity make no appeal to any special
sense. We are deaf and blind, therefore, to the imminent grandeur
around us unless we have insight enough to appreciate the whole and
to recognize the woven fabric of existence flowing steadily from the
loom of an infinite progress toward perfection.

--Sir Oliver Lodge.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down
from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither
shadow that is cast by turning.

--James 1. 17.

Gracious Father, forbid that I should make thee regret thy gifts to me; and if I have failed to appreciate them, look upon me with pity, for I have cheated myself more than I have thee. Give me a deeper appreciation, that I may be strengthened day by day in the veriest duties of life. Amen.

JUNE THIRTEENTH

Dr. Thomas Young born 1773.

General Winfield Scott born 1786.

Dr. Thomas Arnold (Arnold of Rugby) born 1795.

William Butler Yeats born 1865.

Beyond all wealth, honor, or even health, is the attachment we form
to noble souls, because to become one with the good, generous, and
true is to become, in a measure, good, generous, and true ourselves.

--Thomas Arnold.

Open thy bosom, set thy wishes wide, and let in manhood--let in
happiness; admit the boundless theater of thought from nothing up to
God ... which makes a man.

--Thomas Young.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their
labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to
him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to lift him
up.

--Ecclesiastes 4. 9, 10.

Heavenly Father, I thank thee for good friends, and for the delight that dwells in fellowship. Give me the power to apprehend love, and guard me against the ways to lose it. May I look to my friends to help me to be pure, and to help me live my truest life. Amen.

JUNE FOURTEENTH

Carlo Guidi born 1650.

Harriet Beecher Stowe born 1812.

Mary Carpenter died 1877.

When you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you
till it seems as if you couldn't hold on a minute longer, never give
up then, for that's just the time and place that the tide will turn.

--Harriet Beecher Stowe.

I cannot do it alone,
The waves run fast and high,
And the fogs close chill around,
And the light goes out in the sky;
But I know that we two
Shall win in the end--
God and I.

--Unknown.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not.

--Hebrews 10. 23.

Almighty God, I pray that thou wilt sustain me when I may be enduring for a purpose, and to accomplish it seems beyond my strength. Renew me with courage, and give me unceasing hope, and faith that is able to hold out to the end. Amen.

JUNE FIFTEENTH

Thomas Randolph born 1605.

Edward Grieg born 1843.

Thomas Campbell died 1844.

What is rightly done stays with us, to support another right beyond,
or higher up; whatever is wrongly done vanishes; and by the blank,
betrays what we would have built above.

--John Ruskin.

The seed ye sow another reaps,
The wealth ye find another keeps,
The robe ye weave another wears,
The arms ye forge another bears.

--Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon
thee; thou saidst, Fear not.
O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul;
thou hast redeemed my life.

--Lamentations 3. 57, 58.

Lord God, reveal to me my selfishness if I am receiving much and giving little to satisfy life. May I be grateful and considerate of all those who labor to give me comfort and happiness. Amen.

JUNE SIXTEENTH

Hugh Capet succeeds to throne of father 956.

Sir Richard Fanshawe died 1666.

Sir John Cheke born 1514.

When to the sessions of sweet, solemn thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.

--William Shakespeare.

Seldom can the heart be lonely
If it seek a lonelier still--
Self-forgetting, seeking only
Emptier cups of love to fill.

--F. R. Havergal.

The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of them that are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with words him that is weary.

--Isaiah 50. 4.

Gracious Father, keep within me that cheer and courage which never has a place for weary murmurings; and with peace make the hours of solitude profitable as they pass. Help me to seek those who are in need of sympathy and encouragement, that I may help them to have a tranquil life. Amen.

JUNE SEVENTEENTH

Joseph Addison died 1719.

Charles François Gounod born 1818.

Sir E. C. Burne-Jones died 1898.

He who plants a tree
Plants a hope.
Rootlets up through fibers blindly grope,
Leaves unfold unto horizons free.
So man's life must climb
From the clods of time
Unto heavens sublime.
Canst thou prophesy, thou little tree,
What the glory of the boughs shall be?

--Lucy Larcom.

Very early, I perceived that the object of life is to grow.

--Margaret Fuller.

Many a genius has been slow of growth. Oaks that flourish for a
thousand years do not spring up into beauty like a reed.

--George Henry Lewes.

And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and
men.

--Luke 2. 52.

Almighty God, thy power is so great I cannot express it; help me to comprehend the meaning of it, that I may feel more profoundly thy expectations of my life. May I remember that to forget that life is eternal may make me to lose all it has grown. Amen.

JUNE EIGHTEENTH

Robert Stewart born 1769.

Battle of Waterloo 1815.

William Cobbett died 1835.

Not he the threatening texts who deals
Is highest 'mong the preachers,
But he who feels the woes and weals
Of all God's wandering creatures.
He doth good work whose heart can find
The spirit 'neath the letter;
Who makes his kind of happier mind,
Leaves wiser men and better.

Dear Bard and Brother! let who may
Against thy faults be railing,
(Though far, I pray, from us be they
That never had a failing!)

--James Russell Lowell.

Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of
God: for it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will
recompense, saith the Lord.

--Romans 12. 19.

Heavenly Father, I pray that I may not be so occupied in expressing my judgment of others, that I will forget to live in thy judgment myself. May I have the compassion for others that I hope to receive from thee. Amen.

JUNE NINETEENTH

Magna Charta signed, Runnymede, 1215.

Blaise Pascal born 1623.

Charles H. Spurgeon born 1834.

Find your niche and fill it. If it is ever so little, if it is only
a hewer of wood or a drawer of water, do something in the great
battle for God and truth.

--Charles Spurgeon.

If I do what I may in earnest, I need not mourn if I work no great
work on earth. To help the growth of a thought that struggles toward
the light; to brush with gentle hand the stain from the white of one
snowdrop--such be my ambition.

--George Macdonald.

Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that
thou puttest thy hand unto.

--Deuteronomy 15. 10.

Lord God, I pray that I may not through conceit be betrayed into slacking my work, or through visions of greatness lose it. Teach me how to obtain the secret wealth in the smallest thing; and may I recognize thy treasures, and fill my life with the finest that may be given me. Amen.

JUNE TWENTIETH

John of Lancaster born 1389.

Dr. Adam Ferguson born 1723.

Anna Letitia Aiken (Mrs. Barbauld) born 1743.

If the soft hand of winning Pleasure leads
By living waters, and through flowery meads,
Where all is smiling, tranquil, and serene,
Oh! teach me to elude each latent snare,
And whisper to my sliding heart, "Beware!"
With caution let me hear the Syren's voice,
And doubtful, with a trembling heart rejoice.
If friendless in a vale of tears I stray,
Where briars wound, and thorns perplex my way,
Still let my steady soul thy goodness see,
And, with a strong confidence, lay hold on Thee.

--Anna Letitia Barbauld.

For thou, O God, hast proved us:
Thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.

--Psalm 66. 10.

O Lord, teach me to select my pleasures with care, that I may not plunge into joyful moments that are irretrievable. May I indulge in the pleasures that bring happiness and not weariness. Grant that I may have the honor to protect others from harm and loss, as I engage in my pleasures and in my work. Amen.

JUNE TWENTY-FIRST

Captain John Smith died 1631.

Anthony Collins born 1676.

Jacques Offenbach born 1819.

In our eagerness to solve life we start out to trace its mysteries
and trample God's truths as we search. As we return we discover the
shattered treasures, and gladly stoop to gather up the fragments,
and with them translate the revelations of the soul.

--M.B.S.

I stretch my hands out in the empty air;
I strain my eyes into the heavy night;
Blackness of darkness!--Father, hear my prayer;
Grant me to see the light!

--George Arnold.

But when he came to himself he said, How many hired servants of my
father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish here with
hunger! I will arise and go to my father.

--Luke 15. 17, 18.

Heavenly Father, I pray that as I search for the truth I will not be so eager to seek thy mysteries as I am to extend thy ministries. Grant that by thy love I will be guided in comprehending and exalting thy kingdom. May my service bring me wisdom as I obey thy laws. Amen.

JUNE TWENTY-SECOND

Matthew Henry died 1714.

Karl Wilhelm von Humboldt born 1767.

H. Rider Haggard born 1856.

The safe and general antidote against sorrow is employment. Sorrow
is a kind of rust in the soul, which every new idea contributes in
its passage to scour away.

--Dr. Johnson.

We may be sure that one principle will hold throughout the whole
pursuit of thoughtful happiness--the principle that the best way to
secure future happiness is to be as happy as is rightfully possible
to-day. To secure any desirable capacity for the future, near or
remote, cultivate it to-day. What would be the use of immortality
for a person who cannot use well half an hour? asks Emerson.

--Charles W. Eliot.

Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to
them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not.

--Isaiah 35. 3, 4.

Loving Father, help me that I may realize the depth of thy love. If I may be discouraged over my failures, speak to me hopefully and lead me out where I may find the right way to succeed. May I not be kept in sorrow, but find each day the happiness that brings a thankful heart. Amen.

JUNE TWENTY-THIRD

Mark Akenside died 1770.

John Fill born 1625.

Josephine born 1763

Could we by a wish
Have what we will and get the future now,
Would we wish aught done undone in the past?
So, let him wait God's instant men call years;
Meantime hold hard by truth and his great soul,
Do out the duty! Through such souls alone
God stooping shows sufficient of his light
For us i' the dark to rise by. And I rise.

--Robert Browning.

Press not thy purpose on thy Lord,
Urge not thy erring will,
Nor dictate to the Eternal mind
Nor doubt thy Maker's skill.

--Lydia H. Sigourney.

Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning;
For in thee do I trust:
Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk;
For I lift up my soul unto thee.

--Psalm 143. 8.

My Father, help me to see that in my portion of work thou hast entrusted me to help further thy kingdom. Correct me if I am wrong in interpreting thy way. May I concentrate my mind and make my heart and hands do the work which thou hast given for me to do. Amen.

JUNE TWENTY-FOURTH

Jean Baptiste Massillon born 1663.

Alexandre Dumas born 1803.

Henry Ward Beecher born 1813.

General Lord Kitchener born 1850.

All the world cries, "Where is the man who will save us?" Don't look
so far for this man, you have him at hand. This man--it is you, it
is I, it is each one of us! How to constitute oneself a man? Nothing
harder if one knows not how to will it; nothing easier if one wills
it.

--Alexandre Dumas.

Many of our troubles are God dragging us, and they would end if we
would stand upon our feet and go whither he would have us.

--Henry Ward Beecher.

Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and mine ordinances; which if a
man do, he shall live in them.

--Leviticus 18. 5.

Gracious Lord, I pray that I may have reverence for that which is pure and holy, and that my soul may delight in the presence of the good. Help me to so live that I may have the memory of precious deeds, and that I may not have to depend on the service of others to supply contentment for my closing days. Amen.

JUNE TWENTY-FIFTH

William Smellie died 1795.

Antoine Jean Gros died 1835.

Lucy Webb Hayes died 1889.

In every feast remember there are two guests to be entertained--the
body and the soul; and what you give the body you presently lose,
but what you give the soul remains forever.

--Epictetus.

We take pains and weary to faultlessly clothe the body. We
persevere, and often struggle, to adorn the mind. As we pass through
the rays of truth, sometimes we find, after all we have put on, we
have left bare the soul.

--M.B.S.

For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world,
and forfeit his life?

--Matthew 16. 26.

Lord God, help me to understand that thou hast made the principle of truth so that I cannot add to it, nor take from it, lest in altering it I might destroy it. May I never try to make my purpose cover the truth, but without fear, face the light where truth shines the brightest. Amen.

JUNE TWENTY-SIXTH

Archbishop Robert Leighton died 1684.

Dr. Philip Doddridge born 1702.

George Morland born 1763.

Why are we so glad to talk and take our turns to prattle, when so
rarely we get back to the stronghold of our silence with an
unwounded conscience?

--Thomas a Kempis.

I have read that those who listened to Lord Chatham felt that there
was something finer in the man than anything which he said.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Speech is like the cloth of Arras opened and put abroad, whereby the
imagery doth appear in figure; whereas in thoughts they lie but as
in packs.

--Plutarch.

Keep thy tongue from evil,
And thy lips from speaking guile.

--Psalm 34. 13.

Tender Father, make me more watchful of the time that I give to useless thoughts and words, and save me from cutting words, which make deeper impressions than can be cut with sharp tools. Forgive me for the hours that have not been profitable; I would I had them back, for my heart and mind have need of them. Amen.

JUNE TWENTY-SEVENTH

Paul Laurence Dunbar born 1872.

Lafcadio Hearne born 1850.

Helen Keller born 1880.

Of course, it was not easy at first to fly. The speech wings were
weak and broken; nothing was left save the impulse to fly, but that
was something. One can never consent to creep when one has an
impulse to soar. There are so many difficulties in the way, so many
discouragements; but I kept on trying, knowing that perseverance and
patience win in the end.

--Helen Keller.

De da'kest hour, dey allus say,
Is des' befo' de dawn,
But it's moughty ha'd a-waitin'
Were de night goes frownin' on;
An' it's moughty ha'd a-hopin'
When de clouds is big and black,
An' all de t'ings you's waited fu'
Has failed, er gone to wrack--
But des' keep on a joggin' ind a little bit o song.
De moon is allus brightah w'en de night's been long.

--Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Weeping may tarry for the night,
But joy cometh in the morning.

--Psalm 30. 5.

My Father, I thank thee for life and its faculties. May I not be deceived by gratification and miss the permanent satisfactions. Make me brave that I may be courageous in affliction, and not be dismayed over humiliations and disappointments. May I be kept in harmony with thy will. Amen.

JUNE TWENTY-EIGHTH

Henry VIII born 1491.

Jean Jacques Rousseau born 1712.

John Wesley born 1703.

Frederick William Faber born 1814.

Workman of God! O lose not heart,
But learn what God is like;
And in the darkest battlefield
Thou shalt know where to strike.

For right is right, since God is God;
And right the day must win;
To doubt would be disloyalty,
To falter would be sin.

--F. W. Faber.

Leisure and I have parted company.
I look upon the world as my parish.
The best of all is, God is with us.
To overdo is to undo.

--John Wesley.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.

--James 1. 22.

Lord God, I pray for a desire to work. May I not be deceived in my convictions, and work for that of which I may afterward be ashamed. Lead me into a clear conception of right and wrong. Help me to see as thou dost see, that I may walk with confidence in thy steps. Amen.

JUNE TWENTY-NINTH

Paul Rubens born 1577.

Baron John De Kalb born 1721.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning died 1861.

Do ye hear the children weeping, O my brothers,
Ere the sorrow comes with years?
They are leaning their young heads against their mothers,
And they cannot stop their tears.
The young lambs are bleating in the meadows;
The young birds are chirping in the nests;
The young fawns are playing with the shadows;
The young flowers are blowing toward the west:
But the young, young children, O my brothers!
They are weeping bitterly.
They are weeping in the playtime of the others,
In the country of the free.

--Elizabeth B. Browning.

Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast
borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be
devoured.

--Ezekiel 16. 20.

Father of all, I pray that I may always love children. May I never forget that I wanted things and needed things when I was a child, and that the help and neglect which I received then told in my life. Make me interested in the purposes that will help the progress of the child to-day, and may I realize that the child does not need my casual charity as much as it needs my permanent justice. Amen.

JUNE THIRTIETH

Alexander Brome died 1666.

Archibald Campbell beheaded 1685.

Sir Thomas Pope Blount died 1697.

Be useful where thou livest, that they may
Both want and wish thy pleasing presence still;
Kindness, good parts, great places are the way
To compass this. Find out men's wants and will,
And meet them there. All worldly joys go less
To the one joy of doing kindnesses.

--George Herbert.

Thrice happy he, who by some shady grove,
Far from the clamorous world, doth live his own;
Though solitary, who is not alone,
But doth converse with that eternal love

--William Drummond.

Seek, and ye shall find.

--Matthew 7. 7.

My Father, help me to draw from the wisdom of life, that my soul may grow in knowledge and power. May I have the quiet confidence that comes in trusting thee. May I help others to think on the uplifting things of life. Amen.

JULY

Then came hot July, boiling like to fire,
That all his garments he had cast away;
Upon a lion raging yet with ire
He boldly rode, and made him to obey.

--Edmund Spenser.

A pleasing land of drowsyhead it was,
Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye;
And of gay castles in the clouds that pass,
For ever flushing round a summer sky.

--James Thomson.

JULY FIRST

Comte de Rochambeau born 1725.

Gideon Welles born 1802.

George Frederick Watts died 1904.

There is no unbelief!
Whoever plants a seed beneath a sod,
And waits to see it push away the clod,
He trusts in God.

There is no unbelief!
And day by day, and night, unconsciously,
The heart lives by that faith the lips deny--
God knoweth why.

--Bulwer Lytton.

More and more I see that nothing is so necessary for the religious
condition of the mind as absolute simplicity. We know what we have
got to do, and the only thing is to ask ourselves whether we are
doing it as well as we can.

--George Frederick Watts.

Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God.

--Romans 5. 1.

My Creator, I praise thee for the knowledge of life, and the hope of immortality. Help me to express my belief, and to give my utmost for the divinest, that I may be worthy of life eternal. Amen.

JULY SECOND

Archbishop Cranmer born 1489.

Christopher W. Gluck born 1714.

Richard Henry Stoddard born 1825.

Sir Robert Peel died 1850.

One step more, and the race is ended;
One word more, and the lesson's done;
One toil more, and a long rest follows
At set of sun.

Who would fail, for one step withholden?
Who would fail, for one word unsaid?
Who would fail, for a pause too early?
Sound sleep the dead.

--Christina G. Rossetti.

One who never turned his back, but marched breast forward,
Never doubted clouds would break,
Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph,
Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, Sleep to wake.

--Robert Browning.

He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.

--Matthew 10. 22.

My Father, thou hast proven the strength of thy promises by thy tender love and mercy through the darkest hours. Help me always to cling to the hope that thou hast provided for my soul. May I be trustful, and be thankful to "see so much as one side of a celestial idea, one side of the rainbow, and the sunset sky." Amen.

JULY THIRD

John S. Copley born 1737.

Henry Grattan born 1746.

Eugene Sue died 1857.

Not from the dangers that beset our path
From storm or sudden death, or pain or wrath,
We pray deliverance;
But from the envious eye, the narrowed mind
Of those that are the vultures of mankind
Thy aid advance.

Not at the strong man's righteous rage or hate,
But at the ambushed malice laid in wait
Thy strength arise;
At those who ever seek to spot the fair
White garments of a neighbor's character
With mud of lies.

--Theodosia P. Garrison.[1]

Putting away therefore all wickedness, and all guile, and
hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings.

--1 Peter 2. 1.

My Lord, may I remember that to protect the character of others is to add virtue to my own. Grant that I may see the good and not be looking for the evil. Cause me to know that peace will not abide in deceit or revenge, but may be found in a happy and charitable spirit. Help me to earn thy peace. Amen.

[Footnote 1: Special permission by Mitchell Kennerly, New York.]

JULY FOURTH

Independence Day.

Colonel William Byrd died 1704.

Nathaniel Hawthorne born 1804.

Thomas Jefferson died 1826.

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Then conquer we must, when 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.

Seek not to keep your soul perpetually in the unwholesome region of
remorse. It was needful to pass through that dark valley, but it is
infinitely dangerous to linger there too long.

--Nathaniel Hawthorne.

And this city shall be to me for a name of joy, for a praise and for
a glory, before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all
the good that I do unto them.

--Jeremiah 33. 9.

Lord of justice and peace, may I not pause at the marked stones of the brave to learn of liberty, but may I look for the opportunities that I may measure up to because of them, and do my part to keep the peace and spread the blessings of our land. Amen.

JULY FIFTH

Mrs. Sarah Siddons born 1755.

David G. Farragut born 1801.

George Sand born 1804.

Cecil Rhodes born 1853.

Nature alone can speak to our intelligence an imperishable language,
never changing, because it remains within the bounds of eternal
truth and of what is absolutely noble and beautiful.

--George Sand.

Say, dost thou understand the whispered token,
The promise breathed from every leaf and flower?
And dost thou hear the word ere it be spoken,
And apprehend love's presence by its power?

--Unknown.

But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; And the birds of
the heavens, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it
shall teach thee; And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
Who knoweth not in all these, That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought
this?

--Job 12. 7-9.

Lord God, direct me away from self, that I may learn of thy wisdom, and help further thy kingdom. Give me patience to search for thy truths, that I may obtain the noblest to use for thy service. Amen.

JULY SIXTH

John Huss burned at Constance, Baden, 1369.

Baron Wilhelm Leibnitz born 1646.

John Paul Jones born 1747.

John Flaxman born 1755.

No man likes to acknowledge that he has made a mistake in the choice
of his profession, and every man worthy of the name will row long
against wind and tide before he allows himself to cry out, "I'm
baffled!" and submit to be floated passively back to land.

--Charlotte Brontë.

There is nothing so small but that we honor God by asking his
guidance of it, or insult him by taking it into our hands.

--John Ruskin.

If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there shall thy hand lead me,
And thy right hand shall hold me.

--Psalm 139. 9, 10.

My Father, I pray that I may have wise judgment and use discretion in the choice of my work. May I remember that only that is genuine which is received and used for thee. Amen.

JULY SEVENTH

Alexis, son of Peter the Great, died in prison 1718.

Thomas Blacklock died 1791.

Richard Brinsley Sheridan died 1816.

The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed.

--Richard B. Sheridan.