Chapter C: E. Fisher (2)

_O brothers all! come near
And hear
A bird's
Melodious dreaming set to words, and flung
The spring's new leaves and tender buds among,
For very joy of life, and hope, and love
In a world made broad enough
For all God's creatures to be merry in,
With joyous clash and din,
And yet too small
For any greed at all!
Lo! deep and sure
Is cut this truth in heaven's book of gold:
Out of one mother in the garden old
Were born the rich and poor._

MAURICE THOMPSON.

Our Father, may we begin this day with a song in our hearts,--a song as rich and full and free as the bird sings at the earliest dawning of the sun's light,--a song so attuned with infinite life and hope and love that it must be sung. Thou giver of abundance unto the rich and poor alike, help our souls to mount unto the highest reaches of living thoughts and generous deeds, that we may give unto others as Thou givest. Unfettered by unholy passions and freed from the spirit of greed, may we feel the unity of the bonds of a universal brotherhood, and be just and true, honest, and helpful in all our dealings with all men this day. Amen.

HENRIETTA G. MOORE.

April 18

_O spring, of hope and love and youth and gladness
Wing-winged emblem! Brightest, best and fairest!
Whence comest thou when with dark Winter's sadness
The tears that fade in sunny smiles thou sharest?
Sister of Joy! thou art the child who wearest
Thy mother's dying smile, tender and sweet:
Thy mother Autumn, for whose grave thou bearest
Fresh flowers, and beams like flowers,
Disturbing not the leaves which are her winding-sheet._

SHELLEY.

God unchanging, and still the creator of the seasons, we look up to Thee, as the springtide works out the miracle of the resurrection from the sleeping forms of the past season, in confidence and in trust that ever Thou wilt bless us with a nobler, holier, sweeter, more wholesome life, as the seasons come and go. The resources of trusting hearts are always reinforced and reinvigorated by contact with Thy life, Thy power, Thy goodness and Thy love. Out of the winter of our discontent, we enter the springtime of love, that leads us forward in confidence through the glad summer of growth to the soul's fruition and the place of rest and peace in our Father's Home beneath Thine everlasting Love. Amen.

FRANCIS A. GRAY.

April 19

_One sound always comes to the ear that is open; it is the steady
drum-beat of Duty. No music in it, perhaps,--only a dry rub-a-dub.
Ah, but that steady beat marks the time for the whole orchestra of
earth and heaven! It says to you: "Do your work,--do the duty
nearest you!" Keep step to that drum-beat, and the dullest march is
taking you home._

GEORGE S. MERRIAM.

O Thou great impelling Spirit, whom we see manifest in all the world, as we open our eyes to the light of another morning, may we be as responsive to Thy influence as the sun and the flowers which brighten our way. May we be very sensitive to Thy promptings as we go about our day's work. May we be very quick to do the things Thou wouldst have us do. May we give ourselves to Thy service without reserve. When again the night shades draw about us, may our hearts be filled with deepest gratitude for all the experiences of the day, and, deep within, may our spirits be conscious of Thy approving benediction, "Well done, good and faithful servant; enter Thou into the joy of Thy Lord." Amen.

FRANK LINCOLN MASSECK.

April 20

_Thyself and thy belongings
Are not thine own so proper as to waste
Thyself upon thy virtues, they on thee.
Heaven doth with us as we with torches do
Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues
Did not go forth of us, 'twere all alike
As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touched
But to fine issues, nor Nature never lends
The smallest scruple of her excellence
But like a thrifty goddess, she determines
Herself the glory of a creditor,
Both thanks and use._

SHAKESPEARE.

Father, with faith and confidence in Thee we begin the day's duties, with a blithe song upon our lips, expressing the melody of our souls, thanking Thee for opportunities for work, and thought and love. We ask not for more blessings but to be more worthy of those we have, using and not abusing them. May our minds be open to Thy truth, and hearts to Thy love, and when received may we be almoners of both to the waiting world. May we keep by giving Thy love abundantly, and grow through the glory of self-sacrifice. Give us the heart, O God, to sanctify our work and to lift it above drudgery into the divinest service, and give us strength to perform it. Amen.

U. S. MILBURN.

April 21

_A man is simple where his chief care is the wish to be what he
ought to be; that is honestly and naturally human. We may compare
existence to raw material. What it is matters less than what it is
made of; as the value of a work of art lies in the flowering of a
workman's skill. True life is possible in social conditions the
most diverse and with natural gifts the most unequal. It is not
fortune or personal advantage, but our training them to account,
that constitutes the value of life. Fame adds no more than does
length of days; quality is the thing._

CHARLES WAGNER.

Heavenly Father, our eyes are ever toward Thee. We do not pray for the things of the world. Teach us to walk in Thy truth. Though our days be few, may our lives be hopeful and cheerful. Though our bodies be frail, may we be invincible in spirit. All Thy children are immortal, but it is for us to attain the eternal life. May we know Thee through Jesus. Then days and hours and minutes will disappear in the liberty and glory and peace of the life eternal. Then poverty of worldly goods will be forgotten in the riches of the Spirit. Then the cares of the world that now is will be lost in the joy of the life that is to be. Amen.

REIGNOLD K. MARVIN.

April 22

_A little sun, a little rain,
A soft wind blowing from the west--
And woods and fields are sweet again
And warmth within the mountain's breast._

_So simple is the earth we tread,
So quick with love and life her frame,
Ten thousand years have dawned and fled.
And still her magic is the same._

STOPFORD A. BROOKE.

Gracious God, we thank Thee for the gift of sight whereby we behold the marvels of the outer world. But greater is our gratitude for the inner sight, the power to see things as they ought to be. If we but look deep enough, we find Thy central laws ever at the heart of all life. With such insight, apparent confusion shall not bewilder us, life's cares shall not harden us, the world's show cannot dazzle us. Give us, we pray Thee, unceasing ability to wonder and admire, which brings perpetual youth; to hope, to believe, to trust; to rest content in working with Thee, the Eternal One, Lord of the seasons, this is our heart's desire. Amen.

EDWARD A. HORTON.

April 23

_"What is the secret of your life?" asked Mrs. Browning of Charles
Kingsley; "tell me, that I may make mine beautiful too." He
replied, "I had a friend." Somewhere in her "Middlemarch," George
Eliot puts it well: "There are natures in which, if they love us,
we are conscious of having a sort of baptism and consecration; they
bind us over to rectitude and purity by their pure belief about us;
and our sins become the worst kind of sacrilege, which tears down
the invisible altar of trust."_

WILLIAM C. GANNETT.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for all the sweet and sacred influences of life. Music comes with its invisible fingers to weave a magic charm around our souls;--the home with its love is ours,--but we thank Thee to-day for the sweet and saving influence of friendship,--for the counsel and fellowship of those who are wise and good and faithful to us. We would not walk alone--we would find strength in the strength of others, and faith in other's faith. Let us cherish such fellowships and give back to those, who love us, love again. Amen.

GEORGE L. PERIN.

April 24

_Live in the sunshine, don't live in the gloom,
Carry some gladness the world to illume.
Live in the brightness, and take this to heart;
The world will seem gayer if you'll do your part.
Live on the housetop, not down in the cell;
Open air Christians live nobly and well.
Live where the joys are, and, scorning defeat,
Have a good-morrow for all whom you meet.
Live as a victor, and triumphing go
Through this queer world, beating down every foe.
Live in the sunshine, God meant it for you!
Live as the robins, and sing the day through._

MARGARET SANGSTER.

O God, our heavenly Father, Thou who givest us the sunshine of this new day, Thou who art the God of life and light, we ask Thy help and Thy strength as we again go out to our separate duties and cares. Help us to fill this day with good deeds, to give cheer and comfort to all we meet. May our lips be clean. May our hearts be pure. And when the even time comes, may it find us conscious that we have put no cloud upon the day, that we have walked through its hours true disciples of the Master who went about doing good. Amen.

WILLIAM H. MORRISON.

April 25

_To weigh the material in the scales of the personal, and measure
life by the standard of love; to prize health as contagious
happiness, wealth as potential service, reputation as latent
influence, learning for the light it can shed, power for the help
it can give, station for the good it can do--to choose in each case
what is best on the whole, and accept cheerfully incidental evils
involved; to put my whole self into all that I do, and indulge no
single desire at the expense of myself as a whole; to crowd out
fear by devotion to duty, and see present and future as one; to
treat others as I would be treated, and myself as I would my best
friend; and to recognize God's coming kingdom in every institution
and person that helps men to love one another._

WILLIAM DEWITT HYDE.

For the dear love that kept us through the night,
And gave our senses to sleep's gentle sway,
For the new miracle of dawning light,
Flushing the east with prophecies of day,
We thank Thee, O, our God!

For the fresh life that through our being flows,
With its full tide to strengthen and to bless,
For calm, sweet thoughts, upspringing from repose,
To bear to Thee their song of thankfulness,
We praise Thee, O, our God!

Thou knowest our needs, Thy fulness will supply
Our blindness--let Thy hand still lead us on,
Till, visited by the dayspring from on high,
Our prayer, one only, "Let Thy will be done,"
We breathe to Thee, O, God!
Amen.

W. H. BURLEIGH.

April 26

Is it not possible, then, that the hindrances which arrest our
progress, and the obstacles that lie broadly in our path, are the
divinest agents of help which our Creator could give us? The
painful struggles to overcome and remove them develop in us
strength, courage, self-reliance, and heroism. They are the hammer
and chisel that release the statue from the imprisoning
marble,--the plow and the harrow that break up the soil, and mellow
it for the reception of the seed that shall yield an abundant
harvest. Perfection lies that way.

MARY A. LIVERMORE.

We seek Thy face anew this day, O our Father, and ask Thee that Thou wilt help us to live our lives in constant communion with Thee. Let us see Thee at every turn in the way. Let us find Thy hand in all our duties, all our meditations, all our intercourse with men, all our doings and all our deeds. Help us to make Thee our counsellor every hour. Help us to undertake nought without Thy blessings, to finish nought without Thy benediction. Morning and evening may we turn in prayer to Thy throne. At every meal may we seek Thy grace and give Thee thanks. So may we find the blessing of them that abide in Thy house. Amen.

J. COLEMAN ADAMS.

April 27

_I think the sweetest thought, the very central idea, of the
revelation of the character of God to me, is this: that He does
everything out of His supreme will. There is no one thing that I
can say with more heartiness, or that has in it more echoes of joy,
than "Thy will be done." If anything works righteousness in me or
in you, it is God. The nature of God is fruitful in generosity. He
is so good that He loves to do good, and loves to make men good,
and loves to make them happy by making them good. He loves to be
patient with them, and to wait for them, and to pour benevolence
upon them, because that is His nature._

HENRY WARD BEECHER.

Father, we thank Thee for the blessing. We know what are our privileges, we know what are our duties, and we are before Thee again to consecrate this day in all its glory and beauty to Thee, the Father of perfect Love. Thou wilt be with us as we strive to be with Thee. Thou wilt make us strong when we are weak. Thou wilt make us see where we are in darkness. Thou wilt send us forth on Thine infinite mission to the world. Boys or girls, men or women, here we are, the living children of the living God, sent forward by Thee to proclaim it that all may be one as Christ Jesus with Thee and Thou with Him, that this world may be perfected into one, that men may know that Thou art Father and what the Father has given us to do, that each one of us may lift up what has fallen down, that each one may open the eyes that are blind and the ears that are deaf, that each one of us may proclaim the gospel of Thy perfect love. This is our prayer and our hope, in Christ Jesus. Amen.

EDWARD EVERETT HALE.

April 28

_With every rising of the sun,
Think of your life as just begun._

_The past has shrived and buried deep,
All yesterdays; there let them sleep._

_Nor seek to summon back one ghost
Of that innumerable host._

_Concern yourself with but today.
Woo it, and teach it to obey_

_Your will and wish. Since time began
Today has been the friend of man;_

_But in his blindness and his sorrow,
He looks to yesterday and tomorrow._

_You, and today! a soul sublime,
And the great pregnant hour of time,_

_With God himself to bind the twain!
Go forth, I say, attain, attain!_

ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.

Infinitely wise and loving Father, our minds and hearts reach out to Thee in this morning hour thankful that the rest of the night has prepared us for the work of the new day, and that the light brings the call to service. The past cannot be recalled, but today is ours. I and today, with God and in the Spirit of Jesus! Priceless privilege! Grant us, O Father, to use it for Thee, for humanity and "In His name." Amen.

SAMUEL GILBERT AYERS.

April 29

_Life is full of new beginnings. Some change may come, something is
sure to come, to close one chapter and begin another. Life is
planned just so, ... that there should be a break from former link
and habit, often from imperfection and mistake, and a clear, clean
start for the fulfilment of the best one has grown to, even in
desire, unhampered by the poorest one has ever happened to be, or
to get credit for._

MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.

O, Thou who dwellest in the light, help Thy children this morning to see the light of Thy truth and feel the warmth of Thy love. We thank Thee for the open doors of opportunity for helpful service; for the exhibition of kindness and for growth in the kingdom of Heaven. May we clearly see the way to the Eternal life and have strength to walk therein. May we so welcome Thy truth that we shall be free from error and sin. May Thy wisdom so guide our energies that we shall reach after greater perfection. May the evening of this day find us more in harmony with God than we now are. And may the evening of life find us rich in the treasures of heaven. Amen.

ANDREW WILLSON.

April 30

_True worth is in being, not seeming;
In doing each day that goes by,
Some little good--not in the dreaming
Of great things to do by and by,
For whatever men say in blindness,
And spite of the fancies of youth,
There's nothing so kingly as kindness,
And nothing so royal as truth._

_We get back our mete as we measure:
We cannot do wrong and feel right;
Nor can we give pain and gain pleasure,
For justice avenges each slight.
The air for the wing of the sparrow,
The bush for the robin and wren,
But always the path that is narrow
And straight for the children of men._

ALICE CARY.

Almighty Father, who with every morning dost give us a new day and with each day some fresh duty, mercifully equip us for every task that awaits us! Give us eyes to see, and hearts to love the truth and right, and the disposition that makes every duty a delight, and the doing of good to others a sacred privilege. Save us this day from angry passions and low desires. Forgive us when we are selfish; recall us when we go astray; save us from wronging ourselves by thinking ill of others, and in all places and to all people give us the mind which was in Christ Jesus. Amen.

JOHN CUCKSON.

May 1

_To the Woods:--Whoso goeth in your paths readeth the same cheerful
lesson, whether he be a young child or a hundred years old, comes
he in good fortune or in bad, ye say the same things, and from age
to age. Ever the needles of the pine grow and fall, the acorns on
the oak, the maples redden in autumn and at all times of the year
the ground pine and the pyrola bud and root under foot. What is
called fortune and what is called time by men, ye know them not.
Men have not language to describe one moment of your life._

RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

Thou God of Nature and of the human heart, we thank Thee for our human relations, but we thank Thee also for our kinship with the birds. We thank Thee for that instinct which makes us to sympathize with the mating of the bird lovers and for that music of the heart which makes us to love the song of the birds. We pray this morning for a life so simple and natural that we shall be able to enter into sympathetic relations with everything that lives--the flowers of the garden, and the field--the bees that sip the flowers' honey, and the bird that makes her nest among the trees. If Thou speakest to men in the glory of the heavens, Thou speakest also in the manifold voices of all Thy loving creatures. May our ears be trained to hear Thee when Thou speakest thus. Amen.

GEORGE L. PERIN.

May 2

_Hail bounteous May, that doth inspire
Mirth and youth, and warm desire;
Woods and groves are of thy dressing,
Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing,
Thus we salute thee with our early song,
And welcome thee and wish thee long._

JOHN MILTON.

Almighty and All-loving Father, who dost make all the earth to rejoice in the brightness of returning springtime, fill our hearts with like joy and renewal. Graciously awaken in us the life that the cold or care or trouble or sorrow of the world often has caused to fade and go out. As our eyes behold all this outward beauty and glory, give unto us that spiritual vision by which we behold the beauty and glory of divine things. Then when the springtime of our life passes with the summer and the summer ripens into the autumn, and our work is done, may we bring unto Thee the harvest of spiritual riches. Amen.

JAMES DENORMANDIE.

May 3

_Success! It is won by a patient endeavor,
Energy's fire, and the flame-glow of Will;
By grasping the chance with a "Now, now or never!"
Urging on, on! while the laggard stands still._

_Success! It is facing life's trials, undaunted;
Fighting the present--forgetting the past:
By trusting to Fate, though for years she has taunted,
And bearing Time's scars; facing front, to the last!_

_Success! Would you win it and wear its bright token?
Smile and step out to the drummer's light lilt;
Fight on till the last inch of sword-blade is broken.
Then do not say die. Fight on with the hilt!_

MARY MARKWELL.

We thank Thee, Our Father, that Thou hast enriched our being with those faculties which prompt to noble endeavor. We rejoice in our power, guided by Thy free Spirit, both to overcome evil and to do good. Help us, dear Father, to recognize the great incentives of conscience and of duty, assured that in cheerful conformity thereto we shall find the sweetest zest of life. Increase our faith in Thee, O Lord. Enable us more clearly to realize that in the end truth and right will gain the victory. Thus may we be inspired to live brave, true and wholesome lives. May we fight the good fight of faith and win the crown of life promised to all those who follow the conquering Christ. In His name. Amen.

HENRY W. RUGG.

May 4

_The green grass is bowing;
The morning wind is in it;
'Tis a tune worth the knowing,
Though it change every minute.
'Tis a tune of the Spring;
Every year plays it over._

RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

_God does not send strange flowers every year.
When the spring winds blow o'er the pleasant places
The same dear things lift up the same fair faces.
The violet is here._

MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.

O God, Father Almighty, who bringest light out of darkness and at whose word night yields to day, we offer Thee glad worship and praise. We thank Thee for Thy gifts which are beautiful and good; for flowers which renew old friendships and awaken new affections; for songs in which voices of all yesterdays sound through today's melodies; for rich memories of the past; for the joy of living now; for the hope of better days; for new expressions of abiding truth and fresh breathings of eternal love; for courage to do right and for confidence in righteousness. May we this day, mindful of earthly duty and of heavenly promise, humbly follow Him "who went about doing good" and "gave Himself a ransom for many." Amen.

W. I. WARD.

May 5

_Bishop Brooks taught me no special creed or dogma; but he
impressed upon my mind two great ideas--the fatherhood of God and
the brotherhood of man, and made me feel that these truths underlie
all creeds and forms of worship. God is love, God is our Father, we
are His children; therefore the darkest clouds will break, and
though right be worsted, wrong shall not triumph. He said: "There
is one universal religion, Helen--the religion of love. Love your
Heavenly Father with your whole heart and soul, love every child of
God as much as ever you can, and remember that the possibilities of
good are greater than the possibilities of evil; and you have the
key to Heaven."_

HELEN KELLER.

Infinite Spirit! We shall not look upon Thee as a friend looketh upon the face of his friend, but may we learn to see Thee in every form of life and beauty and service here in this great world of Nature and of Man. May we discover Thee in the midst of common things and then they shall no more be common, but all things shall be sacred and divine. May we see Thy face in all human faces, clasp Thy hand in all human hands, and when we have walked with a friend, or talked with those we love, may it be as a walk with Thee and a communion with Thee. May we not think of Thee as afar off but always near, making all things holy. May we realize that it is a diviner thing to serve the lowly who need our help than to praise the Infinite who needeth not. May the sense of Thy presence in all things be the inspiration and interpretation of all days for us. Amen.

E. L. REXFORD.

May 6

_The brown, brown woods of March
Are the green, green woods of May,
And they lift their arms with a freer swing
And shake out their pennons gay.
And the brown, dead world of March,
Is the living world of today;
Life throbs and flushes and flashes out
In the color and fragrance of May._

ANONYMOUS.

Infinite Spirit of the winter and the summer and of the night and the morning, Thou hast watched over and guarded, during its winter sleep and rest, this earth which Thou hast made, and which Thou hast made for a purpose--to be beautiful and fruitful in its season, to be a humble and obedient servant of Thy will of goodness. And now, as the woods of May are radiant in the beauty of springtime, and ready to do Thy will; so as we wake to the opportunity of this new day, may we rejoice in the privilege of living to Thee and doing Thy will in the glad service of lives lived as the Master lived. Amen.

GEORGE WALLACE PENNIMAN.

May 7

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

ROBERT BROWNING.

Our Father, in the heaven, we thank Thee for the birth of a new day. May we be full of gladness during its golden hours, may our hearts be tranquil with God's peace. A day is a part of Thy eternity. Thou hast set us in the battle, Thou art watching us in the fight; Thou art training us by well-accepted controversy. May nothing of Thy purpose be lost because of the blinding details of the conflict. Strengthen our hearts to do the work of this day. Help us to be as grateful as we are dependent upon God. Inspire our whole life; help us quickly to learn why we are here, what we are to do while here, and the path that leads home when the work-day is over. In the name of the Christ! Amen.

W. A. WOOD.

May 8

_Then sing, ye birds, sing, sing a joyous song!
And let the young lambs bound
As to the tabor's sound!
We in thought will join your throng,
Ye that pipe and ye that play,
Ye that through your hearts today
Feel the gladness of the May!_

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.

God of the morning, Father of the Soul, we bless Thee for the light, for it is pleasant to behold the world made beautiful by the King of day, and sweet with the melody of the song of bird, and cheerful with the promise of hope in the swelling buds of spring. We join with Thy faithful ones in ascriptions of praise to Thee for the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. Help us to look upon our every faculty of soul, and power of body, as gifts from Thee, to be used for the advancement of love, truth and beauty, in our own hearts, and in the world. Give us Thine own help to bear every burden cheerfully, to stand erect before every responsibility, and if in our efforts to do much good for this day we seem to fail, may we look to Jesus and learn of Him that in a conscience void of offence there is no such thing as failure. Help us to strive with the evil of the world and sin not, that at the close of the day we may look back and say, we have kept ourselves unspotted from the world. Amen.