Chapter C: W. Holden

January 28

_All thoughts of ill; all evil deeds.
That have their root in thoughts of ill;
Whatever hinders or impedes
The noble action of the will;--
All these must first be trampled down
Beneath our feet if we would gain
In the bright fields of fair renown
The right of eminent domain.
We have not wings, we cannot soar;
But we have feet to scale and climb
By slow degrees, by more and more,
The cloudy summits of our time._

HENRY W. LONGFELLOW.

We bless Thee, Lord, for the new day and for the new chance which it offers to our wayward lives. Forgive the evil in them, and make the good efficient. Let the tides of Thy spirit bring to us cleansing, refreshment and power. In the day's business may we be brave, cheerful and considerate. Grant us a clear vision of the path of honor and the will to choose it at whatever cost. We wait upon Thee for renewal of our strength; for uplift as on eagle's wings; for unwearied running upon Thy larger errands, if Thou shalt ordain us to such high employ; but most of all, for grace to walk life's common ways without fainting. So at evening wilt Thou send Thy peace. Amen.

EDWARD M. CHAPMAN.

January 29

_Don't you touch the edge of the great gladness that is in the
world, now and then, in spite of your own little single worries?
Well, that's what God means; and the worry is the interruption. He
never means that.... If you are glad for one minute in the day,
that is His minute; the minute He means, and works for._

MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.

Dear Father, Thou hast made us fit for joy. Help us today to grasp our birthright of gladness. For those things which must be borne in sorrow give us submission. Let us taste the salt tonic of our tears and feel the strength born of struggle and the peace wrested from trial. Make us glad that friendly hands meet our own; that kindness is always sweet and sympathy divine. Teach us to lay hold on the radiance of each hour, that the morning bow of promise may become our evening glory and prophesy another glad new day. As children find content and joy by looking into their father's face so we turn to Thee. Amen.

EFFIE MCCOLLUM JONES.

January 30

_Still must I climb if I would rest;
The bird soars upward to his nest;
The young leaf on the tree-top high
Cradles itself within the sky._

_I cannot in the valley stay:
The great horizons stretch away;
The very cliffs that wall me round
Are ladders unto higher ground._

_I am not glad till I have known
Life that can lift me from mine own;
A loftier level must be won.
A mightier strength to lean upon._

LUCY LARCOM.

Heavenly Father, as the bird that soars first looks upward, we turn our souls to Thee, seeking inspiration that in the duties of today we may live to the full height of the faculties Thou hast given. Help us to know what is right and to follow it day by day continually. Grant that our toils this day may be acts of service as sacramental as our prayer. In our weakness, grant us of Thy strength that we may pass from glory to glory till we are transformed at last into the perfect image of Thy spirit. And when our work on earth is ended, when the clods of the valley are sweet to our weary frame, take us home to Thyself. Amen.

NATHANIEL S. SAGE.

January 31

_Only a frown! Yet it pressed a sting
Into the day which had been so glad;
The red rose turned to a scentless thing:
The bird-song ceased with discordant ring;
And a heart was heavy and sad._

_Only a smile! yet it cast a spell
Over the sky which had been so gray;
The rain made music wherever it fell;
The wind sang the song of the marriage-bell;
And a heart was light and gay._

ANONYMOUS.

With our tribute of praise, O Father, we would begin this day; this day, which, with all its bounties, is Thy gift. Prepare us, we beseech Thee, for the experiences of the hours as they open before us. Gratefully remembering that we are Thy children, may our duties weigh with such sacredness upon our hearts that we may shun the evil way as unworthy those so richly endowed and blest. Write, we pray Thee, Thy law within us; and may our love of Thee make it so easy and so joyous to obey that we shall continually grow into the likeness of Him whose mission it is to fill the world with blessedness and peace. Amen.

CHARLES W. TOMLINSON.

February 1

_Father, I will not ask for wealth or fame,
Though once they would have joyed my carnal sense.
I shudder not to bear a hated name,
Wanting all wealth, myself my sole defence.
But give me, Lord, eyes to behold the truth;
A seeing sense that knows the eternal right;
A heart with pity filled, and gentlest ruth;
A manly faith that makes all darkness light;
Give me the power to labor for mankind;
Make me the mouth of such as cannot speak;
Eyes let me be to groping man and blind;
A conscience to the base; and to the weak
Let me be hands and feet; and to the foolish, mind;
And lead still farther on such as Thy Kingdom seek._

THEODORE PARKER.

Heavenly Father, we speak to Thee this morning out of a sense of rest and trust. We would begin the day with Thee and keep in Thy company to its close. Whether we work or pray, wilt Thou rule our spirits? Conscious in this moment of freedom, that we shall soon be pressed and absorbed by our own cares, we pray, Father, that we may keep in mind the privilege and joy of bearing each other's burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ. Nor ever permit us to fall away from perfect faith in Thy purpose. Work in us and through us to usher in the morning when Truth shall spring out of the earth and Righteousness shall come down from heaven. Amen.

ISAAC M. ATWOOD.

February 2

_As when good news is come to one in grief, straightway he
forgetteth his former grief, and no longer attendeth to anything
except the good news which he hath heard, so do ye, also! having
received a renewal of your soul through the beholding of these good
things. Put on therefore gladness that hath always favor before
God, and is acceptable unto Him, and delight thyself in it; for
every man that is glad doeth the things that are good, and thinketh
good thoughts, despising grief._

MARIUS THE EPICUREAN.

O Lord, we know there are a thousand reasons why we should be glad. We cannot always forget our sorrows and our failures; there are manifold sources of temporary vexation and annoyance and harassing care, but in the face of Thine overmastering Providence and Love we cannot long be vexed nor sad. If tears have dimmed our eyes let us brush away the tears. If troubles and cares have burdened our hearts let us rise triumphant over them all and for this day be glad; and in our gladness let us find our strength. Amen.

GEORGE L. PERIN.

February 3

_Do not dare to be so absorbed in your own life, so wrapped up in
listening to the sound of your own hurrying wheels, that all this
vast pathetic music, made up of the mingled joy and sorrow of your
fellowmen, shall not find out your heart and claim it and make you
rejoice to give yourself for them.... Be sure that ambition and
charity will both grow mean unless they are both inspired and
exalted by religion. Energy, love, and faith,--these make the
perfect man._

PHILLIPS BROOKS.

O Thou who art not far from any one of us, but art the Source and Sustainer of our life, gratefully do we acknowledge the Mercy that has given us this new day with its certain opportunity for living the glad, true life. Directed by Thee, may this be for us a day of progress. May its duties be performed with alacrity and cheerfulness, its lessons learned with humility, its temptations met with resolute will, its crosses with patient hope. We thank Thee for the life of the Master who has shown us that if we would live Thy divine life, ours must be one of continual service and constant progression. If, tried by the seeming drudgery of duties daily repeated, we long for the end of our labors or dream of an idle heaven, O forgive our weakness, and help us trustingly to obey Thy voice as it whispers, "Up and on, this is not thy rest." Thus let the day close on hours well spent, and Thy joy and peace fill our hearts. Amen.

JOHN MURRAY ATWOOD.

February 4

_Who art thou that complainest of thy life of toil? Complain not.
Look up, my wearied brother; see thy fellow-workmen there, in God's
eternity; surviving there, they alone surviving; sacred band of the
Immortals, celestial body-guard of the empire of mankind. To thee,
Heaven, though severe, is as that Spartan mother, saying while she
gave her son his shield, "With it, my son, or upon it." Thou too
shalt return home in honor; to thy far distant Home, in honor;
doubt it not,--if in the battle thou keep thy shield! Thou, in the
Eternities, and deepest death-kingdoms, art not an alien; thou
everywhere art a denizen. Complain not._

THOMAS CARLYLE.

O Thou God of goodness and grace, who dost turn Thy smiling countenance upon the upturned faces of Thy children, help us to find in the light of another day the continued proof of Thy fatherly care and tender mercy. Since Thou art so well disposed towards us, give us courage to attempt anything which the duties of this day require, remembering that Thou canst not ask anything beyond our strength, or withhold from us the blessing of Thy Divine approval. Living under Thy smile help us to be strong and calm and confident, delighting Thy heart by our faith in Thee and our love for our fellowmen. Amen.

SAMUEL C. BUSHNELL.

February 5

_This goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory;
this most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave
o'er-hanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden
fire, why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and
pestilent congregation of vapors. What a piece of work is a man!
how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving
how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in
apprehension how like a god!_

SHAKESPEARE.

Our Father in Heaven, we pray Thee that this may be a bright and happy day in each of our lives. May there be sunshine in our hearts because they are attuned to Thine. Going about our daily tasks, Thy spirit within us, may we make our little portion of the earth not a sterile promontory but a rich garden abounding in the fruits of the spirit, and may we, by Thy grace, be enabled to dispel some of the pestilent vapors of wordliness and doubt. In all things, may we remember our divine parentage and conform our lives more and more to the pattern shown us by Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

FRANCIS E. CLARK.

February 6

_There was a merchant once, who on the way
Meeting one fatherless and lamed, did stay
To draw the thorn which pricked his foot, and passed;
And 'twas forgot; and the man died at last.
But in a dream the Prince of Khojand spies
That man again, walking in Paradise.
Walking and talking in that blessed land,
And what he said the prince could understand;
For he said this, plucking the heavenly posies;
"Wonderful! One thorn made me many roses!"_

EDWIN ARNOLD.

Dear Father in Heaven, with our life refreshed and renewed by sleep, we would face the duties of the day with strong hope and a ready courage. Forbid that these shall in any degree be diminished by any difficulty or perplexity that may arise. We pray for wisdom and love. Grant us that interest in others that shall impel us to help those who are in need. And may our desire to minister move us not only to dress the wounds of those whom the thorns have injured, but to clear the paths, along which men must pass, of those conditions and influences which inevitably maim and blight. May we serve Thee faithfully and with gladness this day! Amen.

HARRY L. CANFIELD.

February 7

_Quicksand years that whirl me I know not whither,
Your schemes, politics fail, lines give way, substances mock and
elude me,
Only the theme I sing, the great and strong-possess'd soul, eludes not,
One's self must never give way--that is the final substance--that out
of all is sure,
Out of politics, triumphs, battles, life, what at last finally remains?
When shows break up what but One's self is sure?_

WALT WHITMAN.

O Thou, who beholdest all the souls of men, in our vision of another new day, help us to see as Thou seest; to be conscious not of our own need and desert alone, but also of the deserts and needs of all those with whom we have to do; shaping our prayer and directing the effort that follows after all true prayer in accordance with this wider outlook. O Thou, who fashionest the hearts of all, who observest all their works, we would strengthen and purify our hearts that they may be fitted to be fashioned by Thee to noble ends, and set to some good service; and we would do our daily work as in the sight of one who knows and loves all honest, thorough workers, great or humble, wise or simple. Amen.

AUGUSTUS MENDON LORD.

February 8

_Truth should be the first lesson of the child and the last
aspiration of Manhood; for it has been well said that the inquiry
of truth, which is the love-making of it, the knowledge of truth,
which is the presence of it, and the belief of truth, which is the
enjoying of it, is the sovereign good of human nature._

_We search the world for truth; we cull
The good, the pure, the beautiful,
From graven stone and written scroll,
From all old flower-fields of the soul._

JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.

Our Heavenly Father, we acknowledge Thee as the Author and Giver of all truth. We bless Thee that Thou hast attuned our souls to its music, and that when with conscious life we touch its strings covering the universe we feel harmony with the Divine. We thank Thee for the truths of our sonship in Thee and for the assurances of Thy Fatherhood. We bless Thee for Jesus who was the truth made life, and who is our daily guide to its blessings. We thank Thee for the truth of immortality, with its encouragement to eager life today and its assurances of endless joyful tomorrows. Make us seekers of truth, lovers of truth and examples of truth as it is in Jesus our Savior. Amen.

FRED A. DILLINGHAM.

February 9

_All things are engaged in writing their history. The planet, the
pebble, goes attended by its shadow. The rolling rock leaves its
scratches on the mountain; the river, its channel in the soil; the
animal, its bones in the stratum; the fern and leaf, their modest
epitaph in the coal. The falling drop makes its sculpture in the
sand or the stone. Not a foot steps into the snow or along the
ground, but prints, in characters more or less lasting, a map of
its march. Every act of the man inscribes itself in the memory of
his fellows, and in his own manners and face. The air is full of
sounds, the sky of tokens, the ground is all memoranda and
signatures, and every object covered over with hints which speak to
the intelligent._

_Ralph Waldo Emerson._

Our Father, who art in Heaven and in every manifestation of living nature, we turn our thoughts to Thee with the rising of each new sun. We hear Thy voice in the singing of every summer bird. We realize Thy presence in the shifting shadows of the clouds. In the arching blue above us we realize something of the depth and breadth of the love that arches over the horizon of our life and stretches like the radiant bow of promise from the green hills of childhood to the sombre mountains of old age. We beseech Thee to give us thoughts so beautiful and ennobling that even amid the sods and clods of life's daily drudgery we can always face the morning light of some new hope which comes like the old song sung in the new land. Amen.

JOHN KIMBALL.

February 10

_First, when I feel that I am become cold and indisposed to prayer,
by reason of other business and thoughts, I take my psalter and run
into my chamber, or, if day and season serve, into the church to
the multitude, and begin to repeat to myself--just as children
used--the ten commandments, the creed, and, according as I have
time, some sayings of Christ or of Paul, or some Psalms. Therefore
it is well to let prayer be the first employment in the early
morning, and the last in the evening. Avoid diligently those false
and deceptive thoughts which say, Wait a little, I will pray an
hour hence; I must first perform this or that. For with such
thoughts a man quits prayer for business that lays hold of and
entangles him, so that he comes not to pray the whole day long._

MARTIN LUTHER.

O Lord, our Heavenly Father, who keepest covenant and loving kindness with Thy servants, who walk humbly with Thee, and who hast been attentive to the prayers of our fathers when they lifted up their hearts and their hands to Thee, teach us to pray, and to love to pray. Visit us in the night season and before the morning watch. Touch our spirits with the flame of Thy Spirit, before the day's business lays hold upon us and entangles us, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

REUBEN KIDNER.

February 11

_In one of Dean Stanley's sermons to children, preached at
Westminster Abbey, he told the following story: "There was a little
girl living with her grandfather. She was a good child, but he was
not a very good man; and one day, when the little child came back
from school, he had put in writing over the bed, 'God is nowhere,'
for he did not believe in the good God, and he tried to make the
little child believe the same. What did the little girl do? She had
no eyes to see, no ears to hear, what her grandfather tried to
teach her. She was very small. She could only read words of one
syllable at a time; she rose above the bad meaning which he tried
to put in her mind; she rose, as we all ought to rise, above the
temptation of our time; she rose into a higher and better world;
she rose because her little mind could not do otherwise, and she
read the words, not 'God is nowhere,' but 'God is now here.' That
is what we all should strive to do. Out of words which have no
sense or which have bad sense, our eyes, our minds, ought to be
able to read a better sense."_

WILLIAM MOODIE.

O Thou, Invisible Presence, there can be no place where Thou art not. Thou, our Father, art in heaven and on earth and everywhere. Thou art in the order of the rock, the beauty of the flower, the light of the sun and stars, and goodness in the human soul. Teach us to be conscious of Thy nearness to us, and so may we never be afraid. In the light of Thy countenance, may we see duty and truth, and recognize more easily the good in one another. Amen.

ALVA ROY SCOTT.

February 12

ABRAHAM LINCOLN BORN 1809

_Chosen for large designs, he had the art
Of winning with his humour, and he went
Straight to his mark, which was the human heart;
Wise, too, for what he could not break he bent._

_Upon his back a more than Atlas-load--
The burden of the Commonwealth was laid;
He stooped, and rose up to it, though the road
Shot suddenly downwards, not a whit dismayed._

_Hold, warriors, counsellors, kings! all now give place
To this dear benefactor of the race._

RICHARD H. STODDARD.

Almighty Father, we thank Thee today for the gracious memory of Thy servant who lived and died for the sake of a free and united nation. We thank Thee more that we have his life inwrought into the very fabric of the life of the nation. We had in him "a hiding place from the wind and a covert from the tempest, a river of water in a dry place and the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." We gratefully join in praise with the thousands who found help and cheer in the shadow of his strength. And now we humbly beseech Thee, help us in some small way this day to be a helper to the helpless, a friend to the needy, sunshine to those whose day will be gray and gloomy, the shadow of a great rock to those who are buffeted by the world's storms. Thus shall we prove our gratitude to Thee for the gift of Thy servant whom we honor today, and thus shall we honor Thee. We ask and offer all in the name of Thy Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

AVERY A. SHAW.

February 13

_Let us learn to be content with what we have. Let us get rid of
our false estimates, set up all the higher ideals--a quiet home;
vines of our own planting; a few books full of the inspiration of a
genius; a few friends worthy of being loved, and able to love us in
return; a hundred innocent pleasures that bring no pain or remorse;
a devotion to the right that will never swerve; a simple religion
empty of all bigotry, full of trust and hope and love--and to such
a philosophy this world will give up all the empty joy it has._

DAVID SWING.

Thou gracious Spirit of Life, our Father, at the beginning of this new day we wait for a moment before Thee with uncovered heads and with reverent spirits; Thou knowest us through and through, whatever man may think of us Thou knowest just what we are. In Thy sight we need not pretend; we need not make believe, we need only be simple and genuine and brave and earnest. We need be glad in the possession of what we have. Help us this day to rightly value that which is good and honest. Let us for this day at least, put away all vanity and give ourselves unreservedly to Thy service and the love of our fellow men. To this high end, may we have the sweet companionship of Jesus. Amen.

GEORGE L. PERIN.

February 14

_We go through life as some tourists go through Europe,--so anxious
to see the next sight, the next cathedral, the next picture, the
next mountain peak, that we never stop to fill our sense with the
beauty of the present one. Along all our pathways sweet flowers are
blossoming, if we will only stop to pluck them and smell their
fragrance. In every meadow, birds are warbling, calling to their
mates, and soaring into the blue, if we will only stop our
grumbling long enough to hear them._

MINOT J. SAVAGE.

Give us, O God, the vision to see the way where duty lies and strength to walk in it, to ever keep the forward look and never to lose heart today because of the stumblings and fallings in the yesterdays that are forever gone. Let us remember that we are in Thy hands and we are faithless to Thee and to ourselves if knowingly we fail to do Thy work. Though we cannot see Thee, we now see our fellow men and we shall best serve Thee if, in love and patience, we help our fellows. Amen.

ALMON GUNNISON.

February 15

_May I reach
That purest Heaven--be to other souls
The cup of strength in some great agony,
Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love,
Beget the smiles that have no cruelty,
Be that sweet presence of a good diffused,
And in diffusion ever more intense!
So shall I join the choir invisible,
Whose music is the gladness of the world._

GEORGE ELIOT.

Our heavenly Father, we bless Thee for the gift of another day with all its opportunities for service. And we pray that our hearts may respond in sympathy with the heartbeats of those who love and toil and suffer around us today. May we learn to make their joys and sorrows our own. Do not let our unfeeling hands strike the heart-strings of others harshly, nor allow our feet to go crushing roses of love, without thought. Help us, we pray Thee, to walk tenderly and reverently among our fellow men. May their hopes and noble endeavors ring within us the prayer bells of the soul. Make us thus to grow large and tender and noble through our helpful ministries. Amen.

JOHN WESLEY CARTER.

February 16

_Ah, love and love alone at last will solve
All the vast, threatening questions that distract
Mankind; that fellow-men in strife array,
And the whole world with fierce contentions rend.
Still keep your idle millions under arms--
Fed on the hard-earned substance of the poor--
Still watch each other with keen jealousy,
Still slaughter thousands on the field of war,
Or strive with statesman's craft to arbitrate;
Thread the sly mazes of diplomacy,
Try communistic cures for every ill,
And when all fails at last, for lack of love,
Try love--the mightiest of them all--and win!_

HENRY NEHEMIAH DODGE.

God of the light,--within, without, who hast lifted the curtain of night from our abodes, perfect now Thy blessing unto us, and take the veil from all our hearts, and make clear to us Thy holy presence. Filled with the everlasting light, may we look on each other, and on our work here below, and on the strifes and conditions of humanity, with a love and hope that are not of this world. May Faith, Hope and Love abide with us--and may we realize that the greatest of these is Love. Hasten Thou the time when by love alone Thy kingdom shall come, and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

WILLIAM B. EDDY.

February 17

_If the day and night are such that you greet them with joy, and
life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is
more starry, more immortal,--that is your success. All nature is
your congratulation and you have cause momentarily to bless
yourself._

HENRY DAVID THOREAU.

Father, I have found Thy gift of life, a sweet and beautiful thing. It has known cloud and rain, but these have nourished it, and the darkness has sheltered it. It has felt driving storms, but these have strengthened it. It has known sunshine too. And now every day is a transfiguration and every night a benediction. Let thanksgiving be my prayer. What I need Thou wilt give. My hands Thou wilt touch with the soft petals of Thy flowers; and the arms of Thy strong care shall be about me. By the voices of brooks and rivers and winds and birds and little children Thou wilt speak to me, and in the deeper silences I shall hear Thy still small voice. Father, I thank Thee. Amen.

O. C. S. WALLACE.

February 18

_Let us not care too much for what happens: Let us not leave our
peace of mind at the mercy of events._

CHARLES G. AMES.

_Let us lay hold of the happiness of today. Do we not go through
life blindly, thinking that some fair tomorrow will bring us the
gift we miss today?... Know thou, my heart, if thou art not happy
today, thou shalt never be happy._

ANNA ROBERTSON BROWN.

We thank Thee, our Father, that the Satisfaction of righteousness is present as well as future. Help us, we beseech Thee, to live this day so that earth shall seem like heaven. In the proof of our adequacy to the demands of duty may we find a delight that shall more than compensate us for any pleasure or profit surrendered for its sake. May the sense of Thine approval sanctify our joys and comfort our sorrows. May we win love by deserving it, and find happiness in bestowing it. Through obedience to Thy will may we add strength and spiritual beauty to our own character and carry into the evening shadows the sweet assurance that other lives have been enriched by our kind words and helpful deeds. We ask it as Thy children. Amen.

J. FRANK THOMPSON.

February 19

_'Tis always morning somewhere, and above
The awakening continents from shore to shore.
Somewhere the birds are singing evermore._

HENRY W. LONGFELLOW.

_The inconveniences and the petty annoyances, the pains and the
sorrows, do we ever forget them? Indeed, no; we grumble and groan
continually. The blue sky and the sunshine, the everyday mercies
and the wonderful blessings that we accept as a matter of course,
do we remember to rejoice because of them? Only too seldom. On this
one day, do let us be sincerely and expressedly thankful._

ANONYMOUS.

Our Father, we rejoice to believe that Thy love is the eternal sun which knows no eclipse and that in its pure shining, we Thy children can go forward with brave hearts and radiant hopes, assured that Thy wisdom hath left nothing unfinished and that "Thy goodness faileth never." We greet this new day with newness of joy in Thy Fatherhood as our personal right, and with ascending ideals of a service whose gracious light shall kindle other souls into a larger hopefulness and a deeper tenderness. We would fill this day with all sunny thoughts, with all cheering words and with all generous deeds, and thus the more effectually bring the divine light into the human and make clearer the outlines of a heaven on earth. Amen.

ARNOLD S. YANTIS.

February 20

_No blast of air or fire of sun
Puts out the light whereby we run
With girdled loins our lamplit race,
And each from each takes heart of grace
And spirit till his turn be done,
And light of face from each man's face
In whom the light of trust is one;
Since only souls that keep their place
By their own light, and watch things roll,
And stand, have light for any soul._

ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE.

O Thou, Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment, even the true light which lighteth every man coming into the world, shine Thou in us, putting to flight all the powers of darkness, and guilt of sin, and selfishness. Shine also through us to any that live in the shadow; and so fill us with Thy radiant Spirit, that we may be a lamp unto a neighbor's feet and a light unto his path. And when this day is done may every face we have met be the brighter for our meeting, and every heart braver with new joy and cheer and grace and strength. For in Thee O Lord, is life, and Thy life is the light of men. Amen.

THEODORE PARKER.

February 21

_The longer on this earth we live
And weigh the various qualities of men
The more we feel the high, stern-featured beauty
Of plain devotedness to duty,
Steadfast and still, nor paid with mortal praise,
But finding amplest recompense
For life's ungarlanded expense
In work done squarely and unwasted days._

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.

Our dear Heavenly Father, we would greet Thee as this morning greets us. We thank Thee for the daily duty; that, amid this wondrous world, Thou hast set somewhat for our doing. May we appreciate the honor. May we not grudge our best, even in the humblest tasks, since Thou appointest them. Strengthen us, we beseech Thee, if sometimes the heart fails, and the tired hands get laggard. Show us how the lowliest service becomes loftiest if done with the glorifying motive of pleasing Thee. Make us this day blithe in duty. When our heads find pillow may Thy peace enfold us; forgive our failures; and, for Jesus' sake, may we never cease endeavor. Amen.

WAYLAND HOYT.

February 22

GEORGE WASHINGTON. BORN 1732.

_Welcome to the day returning,
Dearer still as ages flow,
While the torch of faith is burning,
Long as Freedom's altars glow!
See the hero whom it gave us
Slumbering on a mother's breast;
For the arm he stretched to save us,
Be its morn forever blest._

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.

Father of life, we thank Thee that Thou hast been with the Fathers; that Thou hast been with him whose birth this day we celebrate. Thou wert willing to speak to them, and they were willing to hear Thee and answer Thee, "Lo, here am I; send me." We thank Thee that the memory of this great man has come down to us; of him who was first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen; and we ask Thee that Thou wilt be with our countrymen today; that Thou wilt teach us Thy law, that we may walk in Thy ways; that this may be that happy nation whose God is the Lord. In all time of our trial, if we have sought Thee we have found Thee,--in all time of our success Thou hast won for us our victories,--Thou hast been with our counsellors. Father, today, tomorrow, and in days to come, in our memories and in our hopes be with us still, Our Father, Who art in Heaven. Amen.

EDWARD EVERETT HALE.

February 23

_If you always remember that in all you do in soul or body God
stands by as a witness, in all your prayers and your actions you
will not err; and you shall have God dwelling with you._

EPICTETUS.

_Faith acts on our souls as a moral tonic; it takes the fret and
fever out of our lives; it gives the appetite and desire for noble
living; it removes despondency; it gives energy, courage, hope,
patience, and persistence; and in its highest manifestations it
makes our lives a blending of power, sweetness, and peace._

JAMES M. PULLMAN.

Father of spirits! We yield ourselves to Thee. We will be afraid of neither sorrow nor death in a world where many saintly souls have sanctified them by a divine patience, and amid a Providence wherein no evil thing can dwell. Clinging unto Thee, we shall not perish with the fashion of this world that passeth away. As sparks falling on the river, so shall the glories of our strength go out. But the graces of the holy soul shall be as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars forever and ever. In Thee, O Lord, is our undying trust. Amen.

JAMES MARTINEAU.

February 24

_Be of good cheer, brave spirit; steadfastly serve that low whisper
thou hast served; for know, God hath a select family of sons now
scattered wide thro' earth, and each alone, who are thy spiritual
kindred, and each one by constant service to that inward law, is
weaving the sublime proportions of a true monarch's soul. Beauty
and strength, the riches of a spotless memory, the eloquence of
truth, the wisdom got by searching of a clear and loving eye that
seeth as God seeth. These are their gifts, and time, who keeps
God's word, brings on the day to seal the marriage of these minds
with thine, thy everlasting lovers._

RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

O Thou, who makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice, help us to welcome this new day as Thy gift, to take up its duties with courage, and to follow the light which Thou shalt give. Conscious of the meaning and purpose of life, undismayed by the failures of past days, and ever remembering that Thy strength is made perfect in human weakness, may we consecrate ourselves anew to the glad service of life, knowing that in so doing we enter into fellowship with all who have been workers together with Thee, and into increasing likeness of soul to Thy holy Son. May the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and may life become stronger and sweeter and richer, until at last we receive through grace the "well done!" of the Master. Amen.

HENRY M. KING.

February 25

_There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in
it. In our whole life melody, the music is broken off here and
there by "rests," and we foolishly think we have come to the end of
time. God sends a time of forced leisure--sickness, disappointed
plans, frustrated efforts--and makes a sudden pause in the choral
hymn of our lives, and we lament that our voices must be silent,
and our part missing in the music which ever goes up to the ear of
the Creator. How does the musician read the rest? See him beat time
with unvarying count and catch up the next note true and steady, as
if no breaking place had come in between. Not without design does
God write the music of our lives. But be it ours to learn the time,
and not be dismayed at the "rests." They are not to be slurred
over, nor to be omitted, nor to destroy the melody, nor to change
the key-note. If we look up, God Himself will beat the time for us.
With the eye on Him we shall strike the next note full and clear._

JOHN RUSKIN.

O God, help us to trust where we cannot see, and to feel that life is not necessarily a failure because we are shut out from its activities. Grant us in sickness such visions and such communion with Thee that disease of the body shall be transformed into a healer of the soul; and, as the crushed rose the sweeter fragrance emits, so may our sorrows chasten and refine us.

O Heavenly Father, grant that all our sickness and pain and disappointment may so sweeten our dispositions, purify our character and strengthen our souls that we shall bring heaven's sunlight into the lives of all whom we meet. Amen.

MYRON W. HAYNES.

February 26

_Love is the greatest thing that God can give us, for Himself is
love; and it is the greatest thing we can give to God, for it will
also give ourselves, and carry with it all that is ours._

JEREMY TAYLOR.

_High thoughts and noble in all lands
Help me, my soul is fed by such;
But ah, the touch of lips and hands,
The human touch!
Warm, vital, close, life's symbols dear,
These need I most and now and here._

RICHARD BURTON.

Our Father in Heaven, we bless Thee this morning for all Thy care and love; Thou hast made our houses homes, sweet, quiet dwelling-places. We thank Thee for sleep, for communion with one another in all holy and tender speech. We thank Thee for all our hopes; the worlds are nearer than we thought, heaven's fragrance attempers the winds of earth, we almost hear the upper song: may we listen for it, may our souls delight in sweet anticipations of immortal fellowship, and may we come out of these high reveries determined to work more, suffer more patiently, to accept every discipline more willingly, and to do all our little day's work as men whose citizenship is in heaven. Amen.

JOSEPH PARKER.

February 27

_Flame of the spirit, and dust of the earth,--
This is the making of man,
This is his problem of birth;
Born to all holiness, born to all crime,
Heir of both worlds, on the long slope of time
Climbing the path of God's plan;
Dust of the earth in his error and fear,
Weakness and malice and lust;
Yet, quivering up from the dust,
Flame of the spirit, unleaping and clear,
Yearning to God, since from God is its birth--
This is man's portion, to shape as he can,
Flame of the spirit, and dust of the earth--
This is the making of man._

PRISCILLA LEONARD.

O God, Thou art the Father of our spirits, but our spirits have come to us through ways of flesh. We are both spiritual and carnal. Our spirits seek Thee evermore, but our flesh turns away from Thee and strives to drag us down. Between our best and our worst is bitter conflict. Help us to the discovery that all that lives is in like conflict, and that there can be no virtue and no glory except in overcoming. Make us see that the spirit is stronger than the flesh because it is of God, and that in the obedience and inspiration of Jesus, Thy Son and our Brother, we may at last be enthroned with Him. Amen.

CEPHAS B. CRANE.

February 28

_Neither let mistakes nor wrong directions, of which every man, in
his studies and elsewhere, falls into many, discourage you. There
is precious instruction to be got by finding we were wrong. Let a
man try faithfully, manfully, to be right; he will grow daily more
and more right. It is at bottom the condition on which all men have
to cultivate themselves._

THOMAS CARLYLE.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father,--in Thine own loving way Thou dost bless us when we do the right; when we fall into mistakes so teach us by Thy judgments that we become wise unto salvation. Help Thy children to recognize their proneness to blunder, that they learn to walk circumspectly. When we fall into the wrong, grant that we lie prone not long but arise undismayed to greater effort. Bring to bear upon us the influences of the Holy Spirit, that we strive earnestly and devoutly to be right at the centre of our being; that rightness be the fabric of our life. To Thee be all glory evermore. Amen.

EDWARD A. PERRY.

February 29

_Henceforth I learn that to obey is best,
And love with fear the only God, to walk
As in His presence, ever to observe
His providence, and on Him sole depend,
Merciful over all His works, with good
Still overcoming evil, and by small
Accomplishing great things--by things deemed weak
Subverting worldly strong, and worldly wise
By simply meek, that suffering for Truth's sake
Is fortitude to highest victory,
And to the faithful death the gate of life--
Taught this by His example whom I now
Acknowledge my Redeemer ever blest._

JOHN MILTON.

O Thou Eternal One before whom from day to day we walk and on whom we ever depend, help us to-day to love whatever is good and beautiful and to follow obediently the behests of Thy Spirit. May we overcome evil with good; and may we accomplish whatever tasks the hours as they pass demand of us, whether small or great, with such strength as may be vouchsafed us and with a wisdom begotten of meekness. If we must suffer for truth's sake may we manifest such humility and fortitude as shall be conducive to the highest success. Open for us hourly the gates of life, as those who endeavor to be faithful to their high calling. These favors we ask in the name of Him who redeems our lives from all evil and crowns us daily with His loving kindness. Amen.

EDWARD DAY.

March 1

_All the strength of the world and all its beauty, all true joy,
everything that consoles, that feeds hope, or throws a ray of light
along our dark paths, everything that makes us see across our poor
lives a splendid goal and a boundless future, comes to us from
people of simplicity, those who have made another object of their
desires than the passing satisfaction of selfishness and vanity,
and have understood that the art of living is to know how to give
one's life._

CHARLES WAGNER.

Heavenly Father, help us to be like Thyself, as manifested in the person of Jesus Christ, Thy Son! It was His will to do the will of His Father by living and dying for others. Teach us so to live. Help us to learn by positive personal experience that supremest joy comes only "in ministering unto others." Teach us what Jesus meant when He said: "I am among you as he that serveth." Plant deeply within us His passion for a life of service. May our morning hours be gladdened and inspired by this divine purpose. Let Thy holy will be done in us this day. Amen.

CHARLES PARKHURST.

March 2

_The year's at the spring
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hill-side's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven--
All's right with the world!_

ROBERT BROWNING.

Father in Heaven, refreshed and heartened by the night, we begin again with Thee the high adventure of our life. Add to the beauty of the world about us a finer spiritual beauty in our souls. Save us from our own undoing. If our thoughts are dark, shine in upon them with Thy glory; if they be bright, make them to light the pathway of another. Have us wholesomely to forget ourselves, in the joy of Thy good world, the promise of our imperfection and the trust in God that maketh not afraid. And when the duties of the day are done, dismiss us, Thy well-meaning children, with a quiet mind to rest. Amen.

ALBERT WELLMAN HITCHCOCK.

March 3

_We will do something worth doing--that is the resolution for you
and me._

EDWARD EVERETT HALE.

_We admire the man who embodies victorious efforts, the man who
never wrongs his neighbor, who is prompt to help a friend, but who
has those virile qualities necessary to win in the stern strife of
actual life._

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

Father of Lights in whom is no darkness at all, and in whose light we see light, help us to clearly see and never forget that only right deeds are worthy of a child of Thine. May we in no moment forget that to yield to the wrong is to bring upon us Thy just condemnation and sow for us a sure reaping of sorrowful repentance. By doing the things we know to be right and worth doing, the things worthy of our true selves and of our Father and of our Master whose we are, may this day, through us, yield some benefit to other children of Thine, and bring to us the sweet reward of Thine approval. Amen.

OSCAR F. SAFFORD.

March 4

_It is worth a thousand pounds a year to have the habit of looking
on the bright side of things._

SAMUEL JOHNSON.

_Not by appointment do we meet delight and joy;
They wait not our expectancy;
But round some corner in the street of life,
They, on a sudden, greet us with a smile._

GERALD MASSEY.

Our Father, at the beginning of a new day, refreshed by the night's rest, we turn to Thee for strength for the day's task. We know not what the hours hold for us, but this we do know, that come what may, Thou wilt go with us to bless, to cheer; we shall not walk or work alone. As we faithfully and cheerfully perform our work, conscious of Thy presence, there will come joys and smiles unexpected and unsought. This is Thy way of teaching us faithfulness and endurance. May we soon learn, that if we would make the day happy and worth while, we must not seek our own pleasure and good, but that of our brethren. May we so live that when the night shadows are again upon us, there shall be no cause for shame or regret. In the Master's spirit! Amen.

O. HOWARD PERKINS.

March 5

_Not in dumb resignation we lift our hands on high;
Not like the nerveless fatalist, content to do and die.
Our faith springs, like the eagle's, who soars to meet the sun,
And cries exulting unto Thee, "Oh, Lord, Thy will be done."_

_Thy will! It bids the weak be strong; it bids the strong be just;
No lips to fawn, no hand to beg, no brow to seek the dust,
Wherever man oppresses men beneath the liberal sun,
O Lord, be there, Thine arm made bare, Thy righteous will be done._

JOHN HAY.

It is with the beautiful assurance of Thy love and kindness, our Father, that we draw nigh unto Thee. It is Faith that seems to give us wings by which we rise above the darkness, into Thy Presence of light and love. We feel our divine relationship to Thee, so that we lift up our hands to Thee, as the child to the parent. We are content to do Thy will, because we know then just what it is to love Thee. Our Master taught us this great lesson by His own faith in Thee. To do Thy will means strength to the weak, hope to the hopeless. To the sorrowing there can be seen, beyond the tear, the rainbow of Thy promise. Thus, as we realize our sonship will we work to make all men feel their own power, and all become one in Thy great love. May Thy Kingdom come and Thy will be done, in Christ our Lord. Amen.