Chapter M: M. Eichler

July 12

_What shall I do to be just?
What shall I do for the gain
Of the world--for its sadness?
Teach me, O seers that I trust!
Chart me the difficult main
Leading out of my sorrow and madness,
Preach me the purging of pain._

_Shall I wrench from my finger the ring
To cast to the tramp at my door?
Shall I tear off each luminous thing
To drop in the palm of the poor?
What shall I do to be just?
Teach me, O Ye in the light,
Whom the poor and the rich alike trust;
My heart is aflame to be right._

HAMLIN A. GARLAND.

Infinite Spirit, Thou seest us just as we are. In Thy sight there can be no make-believe; we need not seek to offer Thee as a penance for our sins some cheap alms to the poor, for Thy favor cannot be bought. We pray simply that we may be just,--that we may be true. If we have wronged anyone, help us to right the wrong. If we have been false to ourselves or false to our neighbors, O Lord, make us true,--we seek no easy admission to a far-off heaven, we seek Thy presence here and now, today, by the only pathway open, the pathway of righteousness and truth. That we may enter this pathway, grant us we pray Thee the illumination of Thy Holy Spirit. Amen.

GEORGE L. PERIN.

July 13

_The law of worthy life is fundamentally the law of strife. It is
only through labor, painful effort, by grim energy and resolute
courage, that we move on to better things._

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

_If we would please God we must watch every stroke and touch upon
the canvas of our lives; we may not think we can lay it on with a
trowel and yet succeed. We ought to live as miniature painters
work, for they watch every line and tint._

SPURGEON.

As we begin this new day, O our Father, may such energy and vigor, such strength and courage, such faith and hope be ours that the problems and tasks awaiting us may be boldly and gladly met as challenges to our powers. May that abundant life be in us which shall make our difficulties a tonic, and the struggle to achieve high aims a joy. May we be resourceful, equal to life, adequate to every situation, able to stand this universe,--men who can. May we count it a privilege to live, to have a vision of life's possibilities, and to have the fellowship of so many good men and women by the way. Amen.

GEORGE R. DODSON.

July 14

_With place, with gold, with power--oh, ask me not
With these my little hour of life to blot.
A little hour indeed! and I would fain
Its moments spend in what is worth its pain.
What traveler would faint through troublous lands
To gather only what must leave his hands
The moment that he takes his homeward ship?
Earth's goods and gauds give every man the slip;
But wealth of thought and richer wealth of love,
Must pass for coin in any world above.
The good to others done while here I strive
Is all at last that shall my dying shrive;
And, setting sail, my slight self-conquest's store
Is all my freight if I shall come to shore._

ANONYMOUS.

O Father, God! The span of our influence is both near and far; may it also be direct and strong. Thou hast planted mighty virtue and unquenchable love in our hearts. Love knows the secret of imparting virtue's value to all the wretchedness in life. So, we beseech Thee, direct our hearts to altitudes of holiness and set our feet in the highways of helpfulness. May the charm of gentleness be in every service to-day, and may the tone of tenderness carry love's message over all barriers to the hearts that need. Thus would we keep our confidence with Thee and bind ourselves more profitably to our fellows. So shall Thy great name be honored among men. Amen.

J. O. RANDALL.

July 15

_What seems to grow fairer to me as life goes by, is the love and
peace and tenderness of it. Not its wit and cleverness and grandeur
of knowledge, but just the laughter of little children, and the
friendship of friends, and the cosy talk of the fireside, and the
sight of flowers and the sound of music._

J. R. GREEN.

Now that Thou givest us the light of a new day, grant that it carry with it the brightness of hope and courage for whatsoever the day may offer. Always behind the clouds is the shining that never fails; always beyond the labor which irks us is the joy of attainment. Open our eyes that we may see the best which shall be in the day; its love of friends, its sights of beauty, its music, its wisdom such as no day before could possess, its voices of the Spirit awaiting the listening ear, its tears of compassion and sympathy. Give us our daily bread such as shall feed the heart and enrich the mind and grant us forgiveness when we are blind to the common treasures of this Thy world. Amen.

GEORGE A. THAYER.

July 16

_Methought that in a solemn church I stood.
Its marble acres, worn with knees and feet,
Lay spread from door to door, from street to street.
Midway the form hung high upon the rood
Of Him who gave His life to be our good;
Beyond, priests flitted, bowed, and murmured meet
Among the candles shining still and sweet.
Men came and went, and worshipped as they could;
And still their dust a woman with her broom,
Bowed to her work, kept sweeping to the door.
Then saw I slow through all the pillared gloom
Across the church a silent figure come.
"Daughter," it said, "Thou sweepest well my floor!"
"It is the Lord!" I cried, and saw no more._

GEORGE MACDONALD.

Our Father, who art ever with us, help us this day so to reveal Thee through our common tasks, our relations with one another, in our homes and at our work, that men may know and love Thee better. This is Thy most beautiful world. May we not mar its glory by our selfishness, but by the gentleness and sweetness of our lives make it more beautiful. May we this day not add to another's burden of care or pain. But may we by our words and deeds sweeten and brighten and strengthen the lives of those whom we meet. For Thy goodness and mercy to us, for the opportunity of service, for love and sympathy, we thank Thee and pray that our devotion to Thy truth may reveal the thankfulness of our hearts. Amen.

ARTHUR L. WHEATHERLY.

July 17

_For I, a man, with men am linked,
And not a brute with brutes; no gain
That I experience must remain
Unshared; but should my best endeavor
To share it, fail--subsisteth ever
God's care above, and I exult
That God, by God's own ways occult,
May--doth, I will believe--bring back
All wanderers to a single track._

ROBERT BROWNING.

Father of all souls in all worlds, our best friend forever, in Thy good keeping we cannot wander beyond Thy loving care. We thank Thee for life, for the fair world we live in, enriched by Thy countless benefits, for the glad tidings of Thy fatherly love that never fails, for the brotherhood that binds together all Thy children, and for the immortal hope that beckons us up and on. By faithful living may we make life divine, and by brotherly service show Thee our gratitude and love. May the gospel of Jesus prevail in all hearts, speedily bring all wanderers home, draw our souls heavenward, and prepare us for higher and larger realms of service, where we shall forever live to Thy glory. Amen.

RUSH R. SHIPPEN.

July 18

_That man has a liberal education who has been so trained in youth
that his body is the ready servant of his will, and does with ease
and pleasure the work that it is capable of; whose intellect is a
clear logic engine, ready to spin the gossamer as well as forge the
anchors of the mind--one full of life and fire but whose passions
are trained to come to heel by a rigorous will; the servant of a
tender conscience; who has learned to love beauty, to hate vileness
and to respect others as himself; such a one is in harmony with
nature; they will get on together._

THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY.

Our Father, we would face this day in conscious companionship with Thee. Give us to know Thy will, to do Thy work. Help us to interpret aright Thy constant revelation of love in nature and in the experiences of life. Give us strength so to will and so to act that we may make this day rich in the joy that comes from helpful living. May divine impulse find quick expression in righteous deed. In Thine unresting effort to make this world Thine own may we join with glad hearts. Rejoicing in Thy love, strong in the consciousness of Thy presence, may we go to our day's work with unwavering purpose to do Thy will. Amen.

LATHAN A. CRANDALL.

July 19

_A lily grows mysteriously, pushing up its solid weight of stem and
leaf in the teeth of gravity. Shaped into beauty by secret and
invisible fingers, the flower develops we know not how. But we do
not wonder at it. Every day the thing is done; it is Nature, it is
God. We are spiritual enough at least to understand that. But when
the soul rises slowly above the world, pushing up its delicate
virtues in the teeth of sin, shaping itself mysteriously into the
image of Christ, we deny that the power is not of man. A strong
will, we say, a high ideal, the reward of virtue, Christian
influence--these will account for it. Spiritual character is merely
the product of anxious work, self-command, and self-denial. We
allow, that is to say, a miracle to the lily, but none to the man.
The lily may grow; the man must fret and toil and spin._

HENRY DRUMMOND.

This morning, our God, we need Thee! Give us Thyself afresh in the holy inspiration of heart warmth and burning love, that today we may have power from above while we walk and toil with things and folks of earth. May we be the vase to hold the blossoming beauty of Thy unfolding. So may that beauty which Thou givest unfold in acts which we are led to perform, and the holiness of this day set fast character drawn from Thee. Thus may we all who are Thy children gladden the earth with unfolding beauty and kindness and shut out the things that are earthy. Amen.

E. E. SMALL.

July 20

_The more simply you live, the more secure is your future; you are
less at the mercy of surprises and reverses. An illness or a period
of idleness does not suffice to dispossess you; a change of
position, even considerable, does not put you to confusion. Having
simple needs, you find it less painful to accustom yourself to the
hazards of fortune. You remain a man, though you lose your office
or your income, because the foundation on which your life rests is
not your table, your cellar, your horses, your goods and chattels,
or your money. In adversity you will not act like a nursling
deprived of its bottle and rattle. Stronger, better armed for the
struggle, presenting like those with shaven heads, less advantage
to the hands of your enemy, you will also be of more profit to your
neighbor._

CHARLES WAGNER.

O Thou who art ever the same, with the growing light of a new day, we would again take Thy name upon our lips; and again invite the dear consciousness of Thy presence. We do not know what this day may yield us. It may bring disaster; perhaps cherished hopes must be surrendered; plans may miscarry, clouds may gather, and storms may rage, but we will not be unmanned. We will not surrender our hold upon Thee. May we thus be enabled to meet disaster with courage, and unlooked for joy with the poise of humility. Guard our goings-out and our comings-in, and lead us into the beauteous paths of ripe content. Amen.

JAMES HARRY HOLDEN.

July 21

_Love wore a suit of hodden gray
And toiled within the fields all day._

_Love wielded pick and carried pack
And bent to heavy loads the back._

_Though meagre fed and sorely lashed,
The only wage Love ever asked,_

_A child's wan face to kiss at night,
A woman's smile by candle light._

MARGARET SANGSTER.

Our Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for love. How rich a gift it has been to us, and how exhaustless. It has been the source of all other gifts. We thank Thee for the brightness and gladness with which love invests the sunny day, and more for the patience and hope which it inspires when the sky is overcast and the way grows weary. In joy or sorrow we can ask nothing better than that it be our constant guest. We thank Thee for home life which offers us every hour its opportunity to give and to receive love. May it be to us the symbol of Thy great household which Thy love pervades. And as we thus think of it may our home life grow to us more holy and divine and Thy love for all Thy children more personal and tender until Thy kingdom come and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

VINCENT E. TOMLINSON.

July 22

_The entire object of true education is to make people not merely
do the right things, but enjoy the right things--not merely
industrious, but to love industry--not merely learned, but to love
knowledge--not merely pure, but to love purity--not merely just,
but to hunger and thirst after justice._

JOHN RUSKIN.

O Father, fill us with Thy love today, with love for Thee, and love for the morning light and all Thy glory. Fill us with love for the work that Thou dost give us to do, with love for the truth that Thou dost reveal to us and with love for the ideals of purity and righteousness that Thou dost set before us. May we have love for all Thy children. Make us realize that they are all our brothers and sisters. Make us strive to have Thy will done in their lives. Make us eager to have them know Thee. Amen.

CHARLES B. BLISS.

July 23

_If you were toiling 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 his way,
Would not the slight reiterated touch
Of help and kindness lighten all the day?_

_If you were breasting a keen wind which tossed
And buffeted and chilled you as you strove,
Till baffled and bewildered quite, you lost
The power to see the way, and aim and move,
And one, if only for a moment's space,
Gave you a shelter from the bitter blast,
Would you not find it easier to face
The storm again when the brief rest was past?_

SUSAN COOLIDGE.

Our Father, as we thank Thee for the friendly service and sympathy that bless and strengthen our daily lives, we pray that our gratitude may move us to give a like service and sympathy as freely as we receive. In the day to whose beginning Thou hast brought us, let our hearts and hands be ready to meet the needs of those with whom we come in touch. So influence our wayward wills that we shall not walk in selfish ways, nor forget the ties that bind us to one another, and to Thee. Keep us conscious of our birthright as Thy children, that our acts and aims may be filial and fraternal and loyal to Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

COSTELLO WESTON.

July 24

_It matters little where I was born,
Whether my parents were rich or poor,
Whether they shrank from the cold world's scorn
Or walked in the pride of wealth secure;
But whether I live an honest man,
And hold my integrity firm in my clutch,
I tell you brother, plain as I am,
It matters much._

FROM THE SWEDISH.

Dear Father in Heaven, good Giver of all,
For birth in a land fair and free,
For parents with pluck, if not the best luck,
Who toiled and who suffered for me.
Who never knew fear, though the scorners were near,
Whom circumstance filled not with pride,
I thank Thee! These gifts, more than all on the lists,
Have mattered with me, and abide.

While striving and struggling my manhood to build,
To live like Thine own perfect Son,
I find on Earth's face not just one single place
Where such work so well can be done
As in the fair land which from Thy gracious hand
Comes to me a home to enjoy,
Where man, who should grow, may all liberty know
In seeking the soul's high employ.

Amen.

FREDERICK C. PRIEST.

July 25

_Don't object that your duties are so insignificant; they are to be
reckoned of infinite significance, and alone important to you. Were
it but the more perfect regulation of your apartments, the sorting
away of your clothes and trinkets, the arranging of your
papers,--"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy
might," and all thy worth and constancy. Much more, if your duties
are of evidently higher, wider scope; if you have brothers,
sisters, a father, a mother, weigh earnestly what claim does lie
upon you on behalf of each, and consider it as the one thing
needful, to pay them more and more honestly and nobly what you owe.
What matter how miserable one is if one can do that? That is the
sure and steady disconnection and extinction of whatsoever miseries
one has in this world._

THOMAS CARLYLE.

Creator of things, Father of Spirits, standing at the dawn of a new day we seek Thy blessing. We know not what awaits us, Thou knowest, grant us guidance! Help us to see all our duties in the light of Thy countenance. Thou hast made the little and the large, help us to see our duties in their relation to Thy plans. Whatsoever we do, help us to do all to Thy glory. Help us to sweep our floors as to Thy laws, right our rooms as a part of Thy universe, care for our clothes as gifts from Thee. Help us to see Thee in the souls Thou hast sent into the world, to treat them as thinking-thoughts of Thine, expressions of Thy life. May we owe no man anything but to love, may the sun never set on an unpaid bill. For Thy name's sake. Amen.

O. P. GIFFORD.

July 26

_Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
No man has learned anything rightly until he knows that every day
is doomsday. Today is a king in disguise. Today always looks mean
to the thoughtless, in the face of an uniform experience that all
good and great and happy actions are made up precisely of these
blank todays. Let us not be so deceived, let us unmask the king as
he passes._

RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

Our Father, we thank Thee for this morning that ushers in the only day of which we have promise. Whether it proves to be a day of sunshine or of clouds,--of joy or of sorrow,--may we live it with thankfulness, with perfect confidence that Thou wilt always give us that which is for our own good. Help us to spend this day in doing well what our hands find to do; may our souls breathe the spirit of love and helpfulness to all, and may we have abundantly the influence of Thy divine spirit to keep us pure. Amen.

LUTHER F. MCKINNEY.

July 27

_I like the man who faces what he must
With heart triumphant and a step 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 even murmurs at his humbler 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 KNOWLES BOLTON.

Gracious Father, last night we laid ourselves down in peace to sleep, but it was Thou who madest us to dwell in safety, and when we awoke this morning we found ourselves still with Thee. Thy loving favor was keeping faithful watch and ward while we slumbered. We thank Thee for Thy kindly care of our lives during the darkness and danger of the night. Confident of Thy continued presence and armed with Thy unfailing strength, we would go forth to meet the duties and delights of the new day. God with us, we will overcome every temptation, endure every trial, bear every burden, and improve every opportunity of character-building and service-rendering, in the trustful and courageous spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

RALPH E. CONNER.

July 28

_How large a part of our Godward life is travelled, not by clear
landmarks seen far off in the promised land, but as travellers
climb a mountain peak, by putting footstep after footstep, slowly
and patiently, into the prints which someone going before us, with
keener sight, with stronger nerves, tied to us by the cord of
saintly sympathy, has planted deep into the pathless snow of the
bleak distance that stretches up between humanity and God.... So we
ascend by one another. We live by one another's blessings._

PHILLIPS BROOKS.

Our Father, we thank Thee for the light of a new day. May a new spirit and new courage come to our hearts. We thank Thee for all those who by patient toil and self-forgetting effort have made life as sweet and precious to us as it is. If we can no longer hear the voices nor see the faces of those we love or have reason to revere, may we be able to see their foot-prints and to take the way they trod, though that way seem steep and hard. May we be assured that the upward way leads to the expanding view and brings us to the splendor of the setting sun or of the still more glorious dawn. Amen.

HILARY BYGRAVE.

July 29

_A prince went into the vineyard to examine it. He came to a peach
tree, and said, "What are you doing for me?" The tree said, "In the
spring I give my blossoms and fill the air with fragrance, and on
my boughs hangs the fruit which men will gather and carry into the
palace for you." "Well done!" said the prince. To the chestnut he
said, "What are you doing?" "I am making nests for the birds, and
shelter cattle with my leaves and spreading branches." And the
prince said, "Well done!" Then he went down to the meadow and asked
the grass what it was doing. "We are giving our lives for others,
for your sheep and cattle that they may be nourished." And the
prince said, "Well done!" Last of all he asked the tiny daisy what
it was doing, and the daisy said, "Nothing, nothing. I cannot make
a nesting-place for the birds, and I cannot give shelter for the
cattle, and I cannot send fruit into the palace, and I cannot even
give food for the sheep and cows,--they do not want me in the
meadow. All I can do is to be the best little daisy I can be." And
the prince bent down and kissed the daisy, and said, "There is none
better than thou."_

ANONYMOUS.

Help us, O Father, not to wait for the great opportunities which may never come. Help us to do with faithfulness the duties which lie close at hand. In our homes this day and wherever we may be--at school or on the street or at our work--fill our hearts with the spirit of Christ and let that spirit speak in every word which passes our lips and shine from our faces and work with our hands. Amen.

WALTER A. TUTTLE.

July 30

_I will be glad all day for this cool draught
And the clear drops I dash upon my brow;
For the fresh glint of sunlight on the tree
And the bird singing on the bough._

_I will be glad for that stored strength of life
Which lasts the day because the spirit wills;
For the live air that wings from far and breathes
The vigor of the everlasting hills._

_What scope of toil, what loss or what reward,
I do not know. It is enough that now
I pledge the day's good cheer with this cool draught
And the drops dashed upon my brow._

CHARLES P. CLEAVES.

Our Father, we are nursed in Thine arms, we are rested in the heart of Jesus, so that we know no more the emptiness of earth and the poverty of time, for our citizenship is in heaven, already do we walk the streets of gold. Out of the highest rapture may we come to do earth's plainest work, earth's hardest toil, with patient hearts and willing hands, knowing that death can be but for a moment, that all things are meant, in the sovereignty of God to give themselves up to the rule of life. Thus may Thy children be loyal citizens, patient workers, honest merchantmen, wise parents. Be with all men who trust Thee; melt the mountains before their coming, and open the gates of difficulty ere they reach them, and give them to feel that the greatness of Thy mercy is the proof of its divinity. Amen.

JOSEPH PARKER.

July 31

_For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, 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._

ROMANS viii. 38-39.

_These verses seem to me to express completely the remedial power
of God's love. In this rough and tumble world of ours, of hard
conditions, of disasters many, of untold misery, there are
temptations enough for men to lose faith in God's love. It is well
now and then to have an outburst of faith like this with the
assurance that nothing can ever separate any child of God from the
divine compassion and the divine care._

GEORGE L. PERIN.

Our Heavenly Father, it is good for us to believe that through all storms and all darkness and all sickness and all infirmity, even through death itself, Thy love abides. As we enter upon this day, we know not whither we shall go, but we thank Thee for the assurance that we may not go away from Thee. Thou followest us with Thy care and wrappest us around with Thy love, as with a garment. In all that we do today may we know that Thou seest us, and if our way be steep, may we be sure that Thou lovest us. Amen.

GEORGE L. PERIN.

August 1

_Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet this day with
the busybody, the ungrateful, the arrogant, deceitful, envious,
unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their
ignorance of what is good and evil. But I who have seen the nature
of the good that it is beautiful, and of the bad that it is ugly,
can neither be injured by any of them--for no one can fix on me
what is ugly--nor can I be angry with my neighbor, nor hate him. We
are made for cooperation; to act against one another, that is
contrary to nature; and it is acting against one another to be
vexed and turn away._

MARCUS AURELIUS.

Eternal Spirit of Love, teach us the power of love. Help us to learn that love is supreme, and hence envieth not, nor vaunteth itself, nor seeketh its own, but suffereth long and is kind. We, who in Jesus of Nazareth have seen the glory of Thy likeness and experienced the sweetness of Thy love, desire like Him to reveal Thee in our lives, to be loving and gentle, sincere and generous, to cooperate with friend and stranger in all that is good, to live so that they can work with us for the advancement of everything righteous. Fill us, therefore, with Thy spirit, and send us forth today in Thy service. Amen.

WILLIAM W. GUTH.

August 2

_"God!" let the torrents, like a shout of nations,
Answer! and let the ice-plain echo, "God!"
"God!" sing, ye meadow streams, with gladsome voice
Ye pine groves, with your soft and soul-like sounds!
And they, too have a voice, yon piles of snow,
And in their perilous fall shall thunder, "God!"_

_Ye living flowers that skirt the eternal frost!
Ye wild goats sporting round the eagle's nest!
Ye eagles, playmates of the mountain storm!
Ye lightnings, the dread arrows of the clouds!
Ye signs and wonders of the elements!
Utter forth "God!" and fill the hills with praise!_

SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE.

Heavenly Father, how long have Thy servants thirsted after Thee--Thou spring of everlasting life! In this land of our home the meditations of ages surround us, and through the treasured thoughts of the wise in many generations we are lifted into a light beyond the solitary soul. Countless are Thy witnesses, Eternal God! the stars without number are but a little part of them; and the prayers and aspirings of every heart of man can never cease to speak Thee. Humbled and blind amid Thy manifold glories, may we find rest in the simplicity of Christ, and be among the pure in heart who alone can see Thee. Amen.

JAMES MARTINEAU.

August 3

_O God, my master God, look down and see
If I am making what Thou wouldst of me.
Fain might I lift my hands up in the air
From the defiant passion of my prayer;
Yet here they grope on this cold altar stone,
Graving the words I think I should make known.
Mine eyes are Thine. Yea, let me not forget,
Lest with unstaunched tears I leave them wet,
Dimming their faithful power, till they not see
Some small, plain task that might be done for Thee.
My feet, that ache for paths of flowery bloom,
Halt steadfast in the straitness of this room.
Though they may never be on errands sent,
Here shall they stay, and wait Thy full content.
And my poor heart, that doth so crave for peace,
Shall beat until Thou bid its beating cease.
So, Thou dear master God, look down and see
Whether I do Thy bidding heedfully._

ALICE BROWN.

O God, our Heavenly Father, from whom cometh to us again this gift of life, may we be able to use as Thou wouldst have us the fresh revelation and energy of each morning hour. May we be helped to see more clearly that task with all its blessings, which Thou placest within our reach today. Freshen our souls anew with the coming sunlight and quicken our will that we may perceive and fulfil our present duty gladly, eagerly, successfully, however humble in the spirit of those who remember that if done for Thy sake and beneath Thy laws even servile labors shine. Amen.

HOBART CLARK.

August 4

_We thank Thee for all that Thou hast made, and that Thou hast
called it Good! We thank Thee! We enter into Thy work, and go about
Thy business._

EDWARD EVERETT HALE.

_O, it is great, and there is no other greatness. To make some work
of God's creation a little fruitfuller, better, more worthy of God;
to make some human hearts a little wiser, manfuller, happier,--more
blessed, less accursed,--it is a work for God._

THOMAS CARLYLE.

Heavenly Father, we would begin the day with noble purpose; may we scorn all meanness, and lift up our heads unto the Lord as men who have a great expectation. Our hope is in a living God; Thou wilt not allow our life to wander into darkness; if for a small moment we are forsaken, we shall be gathered with ineffable and everlasting mercies. In the confidence of Thy presence, in the assurance of Thy sustaining grace, we look steadfastly to heaven, and then we look hopefully to earth, and we know that, having begun the day with prayer and praise and pious expectancy, its hours shall all be gladdened and its even-tide shall be a benediction. Guide us with Thine eyes; sustain us by Thy mighty power; keep us this day without sin. Amen.

JOSEPH PARKER.

August 5

_The scenery around your house may be monotonous, without a
mountain or sea or lake or hill; but an upward look at the clear
sky will put you in instant communication with infinite beauty and
majesty. No spot on earth is common or barren over which the skies
bend in solemn silence. No human life need be barren or common
which is connected by the great network of moral law with any other
being._

J. H. CARLISLE.

Our God and Father, the author of beauty, the rewarder of all them that seek Thee, we, Thy children, come to Thee at the opening of this new day. May we have hearts so pure that we shall see Thee; minds so open that we shall talk with Thee; and lives so true that we shall reveal Thee. Let toil become to us as a sacrament. Reveal to us the beauty of life as well as of holiness and help us to live with upturned faces, so that we may catch the glory of Thy presence, and reflect it to all around us. May we walk with Thee, thinking Thy thoughts, having Thy visions of beauty and of life. When life's evening shall come gather us in Thine arms of love to be with Thee in the home which Thou hast prepared for us and hast beautified with earth's fairest treasures through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

JOHN GALBRAITH.

August 6

_How good is man's life, the mere living! How fit to employ
All the heart and the soul and the senses forever in joy!_

ROBERT BROWNING.

_I am glad to think
I am not bound to make the world go right;
But only to discover and to do,
With cheerful heart, the work that God appoints.
I will trust in Him,
That He can hold His own; and I will take
His will, above the work He sendeth me,
to be my chiefest good._

JEAN INGELOW.

Our Heavenly Father, all Thy works prove Thy goodness; the world Thou givest us is good; the powers with which Thou dost endow us are adapted to deeds of goodness. We know full well that we do evil as well as good. Some of our days close in sadness.... At the beginning of this day we pledge ourselves to try harder than ever to do something good, to make somebody happy, to keep our minds filled with pure thoughts, to set our ambitions on worthy objects; and we pray that Thou who art "the Power not ourselves that makes for righteousness" shalt work with us that through our effort and Thy help the day shall end in joy and peace. Amen.

LEE S. MCCOLLESTER.

August 7

_Our lives are songs; God writes the words,
And we set them to music at pleasure;
And the song grows glad, or sweet, or sad,
As we choose to fashion the measure.
We must write the music, whatever the song,
Whatever its rhyme or metre;
And if it is sad, we can make it glad,
Or, if sweet, we can make it sweeter._

ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.

We thank Thee, O God, that Thou hast made us responsive to all the beauty and gladness about us, and that we may make our lives one grand, sweet song. We know there is much that may spoil the song. But we thank Thee, that if we follow the great Leader, we can change all discordant notes into harmony. Help us through Him to tune our lives into accord with Thine. Especially may we live in peace with each other. Make us strong to return good for evil, to meet irritability with patience, unkindness with gentleness and harsh words with quiet speech. So may our lives "be filled with music, and the cares that infest the day, shall fold their tents like the Arabs, and as silently steal away." Amen.

JAMES M. PAYSON.

August 8

_Back of the canvas that throbs the painter is hinted and hidden,
Into the statue that breathes the soul of the sculptor is bidden,
Under the joy that is felt lie the infinite issues of feeling;
Crowning the glory revealed is the glory that crowns the revealing.
Great are the symbols of being, but that which is symbolled is greater;
Vast the create and beheld, but vaster the inward creator._

RICHARD REALF.

Thou, Lord, who hast created us surely for good and not evil, for Thou art good and doest good, wilt go with us through all the day. Help us to keep in mind Thy presence, that we may walk before Thee and be perfect, that we may walk with Thee and be pleasing to Thee, that we may walk after Thee, humbly, reverently. May we prize the glories that come with the hours, not suffering them to make us conceited or self-centered, or unduly independent, but utilize them as means to make us more fully a part of Thee. Give us this day complete victory over each temptation as it arrives, and may we feel when night falls that we have acquitted ourselves well in the campaign, and done what we could to make, not only ourselves, but the world around us, better. Amen.

JAMES MUDGE.

August 9

_Each night is followed by its day,
Each storm by fairer weather,
While all the works of nature sing
Their songs of joy together.
Then learn, O heart, their songs of hope!
Cease, soul, thy thankless sorrow;
For though the clouds be dark today,
The sun will shine tomorrow._

T. EDGAR JONES.

Father of light! Who causeth light to shine out of darkness and maketh day to follow the night; we thank Thee for Thy loving care that has brought us from the slumber and rest of night to behold the light of a new day. May we rejoice in it, and cheerfully enter upon its duties and experiences. May the grace of Thy presence make our sunshine, that we may walk in the light of heaven, breathe its atmosphere and engage in its service; doing Thy will in the service of one another and in the service of love, truth and goodness. May the light of faith, hope, and love shining within us, dispel all darkness and sorrow from our lives, that light which shines so lustrously from the life of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

ROBERT T. POLK.

August 10

_Never say, "It is nobody's business but my own what I do with my
life." It is not true. Your life is put into your bands as a trust,
for many others besides yourself. If you use it well, it will make
many others happy; if you abuse it, you will harm many others
besides yourself._

JAMES M. PULLMAN.

Almighty Father, whom, though we have not seen, we love, we know not what this day may bring forth but we know that it shall be for good as our trust is in Thee. We look up and adore Thee, and we believe and love and obey. Throughout all the hours of this day may we be "diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." We believe in the victory of good over evil, of light over darkness; help us to bear our part courageously in the battle. Be merciful to us and make us merciful to one another. May we be numbered with those who are pure in heart, and see God in the humblest service to the humblest people. We beseech Thee to answer according to Thy love not only these prayers which we utter with our lips but also the silent prayers of our heart. Amen.

HAROLD PATTISON.

August 11

_Prince Florimel and Prince Carimel were twin brothers, the sons of
a king, and no one could tell which of the two ought to succeed to
the throne, for they were both exactly the same age. So one day
they went to a wise magician, and asked him which of them ought to
be king after their father's death. "He who is most worthy," said
the magician. "But how shall we find out who is most worthy?" "He
who possesses the magic flower that grows in the enchanted forest
shall be found most worthy," he answered. So the two brothers
travelled through the enchanted forest until they found the magic
flower; but it grew in such a dangerous place that Carimel would
not attempt to reach it. Florimel, however, clambered down the
rocks and plucked the flower; and when he had got it, what do you
think he did with it? Why, he gave it to his brother, for the name
of that magic flower was Unselfishness._

WILLIAM MOODIE.

Our Father, with thankful hearts for all Thy goodness to us in the past,--we seek Thy Holy Spirit's guidance for the day before us. Help us to live not for self alone, but for the good of all with whom we mingle. May the needy, suffering, and struggling ones all about us gather strength because of our devotion to Thee. So inspire us to forget ourselves, that we may the better remember our Master, and the privileges and duties of a life's service to Thy children. Wilt Thou not, Infinite One, thus help us, this day, and in all the days to come, to live to Thy glory! Amen.

LEWIS P. BATES.

August 12

_To do something for someone else; to love the unlovely; to give a
hand to the unattractive; to speak to the uncongenial; to make
friends with the poor and folks of lowly degree; to find a niche in
the church of the Lord, and to do something out of sheer love for
Him; to determine in His house to have His mind; to plan to win at
least one for the Master; to aim to redeem past time that is lost;
to will to let one's light shine; to cut off practices that are
sinful and costly; to add the beauty of holiness--this is to make
one's life a thing of beauty and this is to grow in grace, for
growing in grace is simply copying the beautiful life of the
altogether lovely One._

EDWARD F. REIMER.

Infinite Father, we rejoice that it is possible for us to be workers together with Thee by giving our sympathy, love and help to Thy needy children. As Thou hast honored us by appointing us to such a gracious ministry, may we seek to honor Thee in return by trying to do Thy blessed will. In all lowly and gentle ways, may we do what we can to bind up the broken-hearted, to relieve the distressed, to strengthen the weak. Let none who suffer look to us in vain for some manifestation of the Christ-like Spirit. May we so meet and treat the sad, the lonely, the tempted, that they shall take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus. So may His heavenly teaching bear sweet fruit in our conduct and characters, and so may the Kingdom which He came to establish grow apace in the world. In His name. Amen.

WILLARD C. SELLECK.

August 13

_Let me feel that I am to be a lover. I am to see to it that the
world is better for me, and to find my reward in the act. Love
would put a new face on this weary old world in which we dwell as
pagans and enemies too long; and it would warm the heart to see how
fast the vain diplomacy of statesmen, the impotence of armies and
navies and lines of defence, would be superseded by this unarmed
child. This great, overgrown, dead Christendom of ours still keeps
alive at least the name of a lover of mankind. But one day all men
will be lovers: and every calamity will be dissolved in the
universal sunshine._

RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

What manner of love hast Thou bestowed upon us, dear Lord, that we should be called Thy children! As Thou hast loved us, so teach us each to love the world. This day someone will go forth to business on land or sea burdened with heavy cares: some father disheartened and discouraged will take up the trials of yesterday wondering what the end will be--some mother dismayed with her lot will cry "How long?" Help us, O Lord to minister to them in word or look, in prayer or gift. As the sun shall this day bring light and life to this old earth causing it to yield its highest purpose, so grant that Thy love may give through us a new inspiration to all mankind. Hasten the time when all shall love Thee as Thou hast loved the world. Then will each love the other. Then will the sword and the spear be molten into the plowshare and the pruning hook, and the desert shall bud and blossom as the rose. Amen.

EDWIN ALONZO BLAKE.

August 14

_Thou art, O God, the life and light
Of all this wondrous world we see;
Its glow by day, its smile by night,
Are but reflections caught from thee.
Where'er we turn, thy glories shine,
And all things fair and bright are thine._

THOMAS MOORE.

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day, defend us in the same with Thy mighty power. Grant that this day we fall into no sin. Create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us. Open our eyes that this day may be a fresh disclosure of Thyself, the Unseen Presence; endow us with Thy strength that, in joy and pain, it may lead us into Thy house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Enable us so to use the things of the world that while they abide we may not lose Thy presence, and when they pass we may not stand alone. So shall the spirit of Christ inflame us. Amen.

FREDERICK W. PERKINS.

August 15

_It ain't no use to grumble and complain,
It's just as cheap and easy to rejoice;
When God sorts out the weather and sends rain,
Why, rain's my choice._

JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.

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

HARRIET BEECHER STOWE.

Father, we pray Thee that in every emergency of our lives we may be faithful to the duty which the day demands, and with reverent spirits acquit us like men, doing what should be done, bearing what must be borne, and so growing greater from our toil and our sufferings, till we transfigure ourselves into noble images of humanity, which are blameless within and beautiful without, and acceptable to Thy spirit. So may Thy kingdom come and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, the dominion and honor forever and ever. Amen.

THEODORE PARKER.

August 16

_It was only a glad "Good Morning"
As she passed along the way;
But it spread the morning's glory
Over the livelong day._

CARLOTTA PERRY.

_Smile upon the troubled pilgrims
Whom you pass and meet;
Frowns are thorns, and smiles are blossoms,
Oft to weary feet.
Do not make the way seem harder
By a sullen face;
Smile a little, smile a little,
Brighten up the place._

ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.

Father, in this morning hour, we would look into Thy face and feel the sweetness of that transforming influence which is forever baptizing Thy world with light and gladness, adding beauty to beauty and glory to glory. Baptize us anew, with this all-pervading spirit and send us out into this day's work to meet its varied experiences with trusting hearts and smiling faces. May we each send forth a brightening, gladdening influence to cheer and strengthen and uplift every weary, troubled pilgrim whom we meet on this day's journey. So may it be ours to enter into closer and diviner fellowship with Thee, our Father, whose greatest joy is to impart joy and blessing to Thy waiting children. Amen.

ANNETTE J. SHAW.

August 17

_There are nettles everywhere,
But smooth green grasses are more common still;
The blue of heaven is larger than the cloud._

ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.

_Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies;--
Hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower--but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is._

ALFRED TENNYSON.

O Thou, Who hast gemmed the heavens with round, revolving worlds, the earth with beauty and the coronet of our minds with royal faculties, we do not know what "the little flower is, root and all, and all in all" and yet, dear Lord, through the clear and the convincing revelation of Thy dear Son; through the divine image which Thou hast implanted within us; through the mighty and the persuasive witness from experience, we do feel and believe that Thou art the great creator, preserver and benefactor; That Thou hast called us to do a noble, a specific work; that we ought not to neglect the gift that is in us; to this end wilt Thou help us to be pure, brave, faithful and strong, that we may fight the good fight, and win the crown of righteousness. Amen.

ALBERT HAMMATT.

August 18

_O ye, so far above me on the Height,
I cannot hear your voices as ye stand
Facing the vast, invisible to me.
But I can see your gestures of delight,
And something guess of that wide, glorious sea,
The glimmering isles of that enchanted land,
The winds which from that ocean freshly blow.
And so your Vision lifts me toward the Height,
Although ye have forgot me far below._

_But you, my brother, you, my near of kin,
Who some few steps above me on the steep
Look smiling back to cheer me ever on,
Who lend a hand as I the chasm leap,
And stay your haste that I the crag may win,
Thinking it scorn for Strength to climb alone;
You with your morning song when sings the lark,
You, with unflagging purpose at high noon,
And quiet-hearted trust when comes the dark,--
To you I owe it that I climb at all._

MARY FRANCES WRIGHT.

Spirit of the Infinite Life! We praise Thee that our visions of the Divinest rise far beyond the borders of our known and familiar fields, that the resources of our unwearied life are in those mysterious regions that we have not explored. And yet we rejoice that the shadows of these holy visions fall across our common ways, reporting thus from the Infinite and the unknown the possibilities of greater fortunes yet to be. In this life of Thee may we dwell, seeing Thee in the life about us and evermore seeking to lead the life toward those high places that are always waiting the coming of those who aspire toward Thee. Amen.

E. L. REXFORD.

August 19

_The flowers got into a debate one morning as to which of them was
the flower of God: and the rose said: "I am the flower of God, for
I am the fairest and the most perfect in beauty and variety of form
and delicacy of fragrance of all the flowers." And the crocus said:
"No, you are not the flower of God. Why, I was blooming long before
you bloomed. I am the primitive flower; I am the first one." And
the lily of the valley said modestly: "I am small, but I am white;
perhaps I am the flower of God." And the trailing arbutus said:
"Before any of you came forth I was blooming under the leaves and
under the snow. Am I not the flower of God?" And all the flowers
cried out: "No, you are no flower at all; you are a come-outer."
And then God's wind, blowing on the garden, brought this message to
them: "Little flowers, do you not know that every flower that
answers God's spring call, and comes out of the cold, dark earth,
and lifts its head above the sod and blooms forth, catching the
sunlight from God and flinging it back to men, taking the sweet
south wind from God and giving it back to others in sweet and
blessed fragrance--do you not know they are all God's flowers?"_

LYMAN ABBOTT.

Our Heavenly Father, in Thy sight, there are no nations, there is no north and no south, no east and no west; there is no black and no white; Jew and Gentile, bond and free,--all are Thine. O, Lord, give us so much breadth of sympathy that we shall be able to understand at least dimly the universality of Thy love. Amen.

GEORGE L. PERIN.

August 20

_Sound, sound the clarion, fill the fife!
To all the sensual world proclaim
One crowded hour of glorious life
Is worth an age without a name._

WALTER SCOTT.

_Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray
for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your
tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle. But you
shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the
richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God._

PHILLIPS BROOKS.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the rest of the night and the joy and beauty of the morning. This day we accept as a loving tribute of Thy Love to Thy children. May we not mar it by unhallowed thoughts, unkind, hasty and regretful speech and shameful and evil deeds. May ours be the illumination which comes from moral and spiritual conquest. May we feel the ties that bind us tenderly to Thee and to one another; and work for that large human brotherhood, which holds in its strong embrace even the most distant and isolated member of the human family. May we go forth to our work with a deep and abiding faith in the power of good over evil and willing to do our share in the building up of Thy kingdom of love and righteousness, peace and good will here upon earth. Amen.

HENDRIK VOSSEMA.

August 21

_We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success, often
discover what will do by finding out what will not do, and probably
he who never made a mistake never made a discovery. Horne Tooke
used to say of his studies in intellectual philosophy that he had
become all the better acquainted with the country through having
had the good luck sometimes to lose his way._

SAMUEL SMILES.

Our Father, in the strength of our nightly rest and daily bread we go forth to whatever needs us or awaits us. Nothing from Thee is too difficult for us to attempt; nothing too grievous for us to bear. Teach us how priceless is Thy gift of life, how close we are to the fountain of strength, how sure of success is every effort to bring good to pass. Reverently and believingly would we hearken to Thee in our inmost souls. Let not our failures dishearten us, or the delay of results cause chill of doubt or fear. May our presence have strength and peace for others, and our lives proclaim that Thou livest and art good to all. In the name of Christ we lift our prayer. Amen.

SAMUEL C. BEANE.

August 22

_At Bannockburn Lord Randolph Murray was being sorely pressed by a
large body of cavalry. Sir James Douglas got leave from Bruce to go
to his aid, but just as he came up he found the English in
disorder, and many horses galloping away with empty saddles.
"Halt!" he cried to his men; "These brave men have already repulsed
the enemy; let us not diminish their glory by seeking to share
it."_

WILLIAM MOODIE.

O God of Hosts! On many a field of battle wilt Thy soldiers fight this day. Help them to be brave and true. Give them a glorious victory. Help us who watch to give them full credit for their valor. May we not diminish by seeking to share their glory. May we not render their deeds commonplace by insisting that "It is so easy, so natural, for them to be good," implying that their struggle has not been hard or that their victories had not been what ours have proven to be. Help us, O Lord, with valor to fight our own battles and run our own race and with gratitude to be glad in others' victories. Amen.

J. FRANK CHASE.

August 23

_The bee that sips her sweets from flowers fair,
Flying on careless wing now here, now there,
With azure skies above, green sward below,
And soft south wind to bear her to and fro,
Might seem the soul of self-devoted ease,
Her life a draught of nectar without lees.
Not so! Her prime is full of strenuous deed
That shames our own in generous meed
Of work for other's good. Long summer days
She builds her golden house, with guerdons stays
Her Queen, uprears her young, and stores her food--
Then sudden shuns her wealth, her home, her brood,
And seeks new haven on an unknown sea,
Leaving her life-work to posterity._

HENRY HOYT MOORE.

Gracious Father in heaven, and all about me, Thy gentleness doth ever tend to make life greater and richer. Thy providence is so wholesomely good, I would fain be completely at home in it. Thou art very gracious. Help me to be as gracious in my way as Thou art in Thy wonderful way. When I acknowledge that Thou art good and wise, there comes a joyous freedom to my spirit that makes life a sweet pleasure. I desire ever to work in the fulness of this faith without grudging, without suspecting, an open, glad and fruitful service. Oh, help me then to love my fellows more, and Thee sincerely! Amen.

ELIHU GRANT.

August 24

_Drudgery is the gray angel of success.... Look at the leaders in
the professions, the solid men in business, the master-workmen who
begin as poor boys and end by building a town to house their
factory-hands, they are drudges of the single aim.... "One thing I
do."... Mr. Maydole, the hammer-maker of Central New York, was an
artist: "Yes," he said, "I have made hammers for twenty-eight
years." "Well, then you ought to be able to make a pretty good
hammer by this time." "No, sir," was the answer, "I never made a
pretty good hammer--I make the best hammer made in the United
States."_

WILLIAM C. GANNETT.

O Lord, we remember our daily duties before Thee, the hard toil which Thou givest us in our manifold and various avocations, and we pray Thee that there may be in us such a confidence in our nature, such earnest obedience to Thee, we reverencing all Thy qualities and keeping Thy commands, that we shall serve Thee every day, making our life one great act of holiness unto Thee. May our continuous industry be so squared by the golden rule that it shall nicely fit with the interests of all with whom we have to do, and so by our handicraft all mankind shall be blessed. Amen.

THEODORE PARKER.

August 25

_His larger life ye cannot miss
In gladly, nobly using this._

BAYARD TAYLOR.

_There are saints enough if we only know how to find
them--sainthoods of the fireside and of the market place. They wear
no glory round their heads; they do their duties in the strength of
God; they have their martyrdoms and win their palms, and though
they get into no calendars, they leave a benediction and a force
behind them on the earth when they go up to heaven._

PHILLIPS BROOKS.

Our Father, in Whose life are our lives, help us to use all things nobly and so find joy in Thee. We thank Thee for faithful souls who in humblest station have reflected Thy life and have worked for blessing. In Thy strength they have sought to build Thy kingdom, and though they have had no glory of men they yet have wrought for Thee and have won place in Thy heart. Because they have aided the world and others have entered into their labors their good work shall remain and its quiet influence shall be a benediction. Though they have lived obscure lives and have filled obscure places they have been precious in Thy sight and are numbered with Thy saints. May we, like them, eternally serve Thee. Amen.

GEORGE H. YOUNG.

August 26

_We can't choose happiness either for ourselves or for another; we
can't tell where that will lie. We can only choose whether we will
indulge ourselves in the present moment, or whether we will
renounce that for the sake of obeying the divine voice within
us,--for the sake of being true to all the motives that sanctify
our lives. I know this belief is hard; it has slipped away from me
again and again; but I have felt that if I let it go forever, I
should have no light through the darkness of this life._

GEORGE ELIOT.

O God, Thou knowest the hours in which we desire Thee. Thou knowest that Thou hast made us to love truth and to walk in the light and when we are unjust, unkind, unloving, then we are not true to ourselves,--then we forget that we are living souls and that Thou art our Father. Let us not draw nigh to Thee with our lips while our hearts are far from Thee, but, knowing how dependent and frail we are, may we feel that it is a good and helpful thing to draw nigh unto Thee by faith and prayer,--and to take thought of that Infinite Love which holds us all in its arms of strength and mercy. Lift up our minds today, warm our affections, and deepen within us the feeling of reverence, of gratitude, and guide all the longings of our hearts aright. Amen.

JOSHUA YOUNG.

August 27

_Life may be given in many ways,
And loyalty to truth be sealed
As bravely in the closet as the field,
So bountiful is fate;
But then to stand beside her,
When craven churls deride her,
To front a lie in arms and not to yield,
This shows, methinks, God's plan
And measure of a stalwart man,
Limbed like the old heroic breeds,
Who stands self-poised on manhood's solid earth,
Not forced to frame excuses for his birth,
Fed from within with all the strength he needs._

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.

Heavenly Father, in this new day may we recognize a new opportunity for seeking Thy purpose in us; to become stronger children of Thine, and worthier followers of Thy Son. Whatever be our trial give us courage to stand without compromise, for that which we believe to be true; give us grace to rise superior to praise or blame, timidity or self-interest; to be loyal to the best in us, and be ever ready to protest against wrong and injustice. Help us to know ourselves as temples of Thine; to know that the essential principal in us is not dust, but God; to rise to that dignity of sonship that compels one to choose the right and say: "Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise." In His name. Amen.

HERBERT H. GRAVES.

August 28

_All we have willed or hoped or dreamed of good, shall exist;
Not its semblance, but itself; no beauty, nor good, nor power
Whose voice has gone forth, but each survives for the melodist,
When eternity affirms the conception of an hour.
The high that proved too high, the heroic for earth too hard,
The passion that left the ground to lose itself in the sky,
Are music sent up to God by the lover and the bard;
Enough that he heard it once: we shall hear it by and by._

ROBERT BROWNING.

O God, our heavenly Father! we come before Thee at this morning hour, thanking Thee for Thy loving care, that has protected us through the night, and for the blessed sleep, that has brought refreshment to our bodies and minds. We are grateful, O Father, for this new day, rich in hope and promise and opportunity, and we pray that, as its hours pass, we may be kept very near to Thee, that the "Words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart, may be acceptable in Thy sight," that when the day is done, and we come to Thee at its close, we need in no wise to be ashamed. Amen.

NELLIE MANN OPDALE.

August 29

_How often does the chopper of some stone,
While toiling at his task of heave and shock,
Find in the heart-space of a severed rock
The impress of some fern that once had grown,
Full of aspiring life and color-tone,
Deep in the forest where the shadows flock,
Till, caught within the adamantine block,
It lay for ages hidden and unknown!
So many a beauteous thought blooms in the mind
But unexpressed, droops down into the soul
And lies unuttered in the silence there
Until some opener of the soul shall find
The fern-like fossilled dream, complete and whole,
And marvel at its beauty past compare._

ALFRED L. DONALDSON.

O mighty Potter, to whose steadfast eyes
A thousand years lie open as one day,
Thy patient hand set firm on life's great wheel
This heavy, shapeless clay.

Rough and imperfect, yet it owns Thy touch;
Spare not, nor stay, the pressure of Thine hand;
Make known Thy power; and soon, or late, let love
Perfect what love hath planned!
Amen.