Chapter 13

Heavenly Father, may I not confuse my life with rebellion, but through thy guidance find peace. Help me through the perplexities that may keep me from the quietness of to-day. Keep me in sight of the great plan of life, that I may grow steadfastly toward thee. Amen.

SEPTEMBER NINETEENTH

Battle of Poitiers 1356.

Hartley Coleridge born 1796.

President Garfield died 1881.

Be not afraid to pray--to pray is right. Pray if thou canst, with hope; but ever pray Though hope be weak, or sick with long delay; Pray in the darkness, if there be no light. Far is the time, remote from human sight, When war and discord on earth shall cease: Yet every prayer for universal peace Avails the time to expedite.

--Hartley Coleridge.

More things are wrought by prayer Than the world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day. For what are men better than sheep or goats That nourish a blind life within the brain, If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those who call them friend? For so the whole world is every way Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.

--Alfred Tennyson.

Continue stedfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving.

--Colossians 4. 2.

O Lord, give me the desire to pray, and teach me to pray as thou wouldst have my needs. Sustain me, that I may overcome my weaknesses, and strengthen me, that I may have thine approval. May I be reverent and unselfish as I come to thee in prayer. Amen.

SEPTEMBER TWENTIETH

Battle of Salamis B. C. 480.

Alexander the Great born B. C. 356.

Robert Emmet died 1803.

David Ross Locke (Petroleum V. Nasby) born 1833.

'Tis weary watching wave by wave, And yet the tide heaves onward; We climb, like corals, grave by grave, That pave a pathway sunward. We're driven back, for our next fray A newer strength to borrow; And where the vanguard camps to-day, The rear shall rest to-morrow.

--Gerald Massey.

Be like the bird, that, pausing in her flight A while on boughs too slight, Feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, Knowing that she hath wings.

--Victor Hugo.

Trust in Jehovah, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on his faithfulness.

--Psalm 37. 3.

Eternal God, help me to realize that life is not only endless but, whether I live in love and obedience, or wait in neglect and indifference, that I can never separate myself from thee. May I be diligent in worthy endeavors to do my best for thee. Amen.

SEPTEMBER TWENTY-FIRST

Girolamo Savonarola born 1452.

Emperor Charles V died 1558.

Sir Walter Scott died 1832.

It is the secret sympathy, The silver link, the silken tie, Which heart to heart and mind to mind In body and in soul can bind.

--Sir Walter Scott.

No action, whether foul or fair, Is ever done, but it carves somewhere A record, written by fingers ghostly, As a blessing or a curse, and mostly In the greater weakness or greater strength Of the acts which follow it.

--Henry W. Longfellow.

And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.

--Judges 7. 17.

Loving Father, may I remember that from the beginning, all things were created beautiful and were given for love. I pray that I may be willing to be guided to the beautiful things of life and receive from them the delight of thy love. Amen.

SEPTEMBER TWENTY-SECOND

Peter Simon Pallas born 1741.

Michael Faraday born 1791.

Theodore Edward Hook born 1788.

Man learns to swim by being tossed into life's maelstrom and left to make his way ashore. No youth can learn to sail his life-craft in a lake sequestered and sheltered from all the storms, where other vessels never come. Skill comes through sailing one's craft amidst rocks and bars and opposing fleets, amidst storms and whirls and counter currents.

--Newell Dwight Hillis.

O, a trouble's a ton or a trouble's an ounce, Or a trouble is what you make it! And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts, But only--how did you take it?

--Edmund C. Vance.

And thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

--Hebrews 6. 15.

Tender Father, may I not encourage the disposition to enlarge and make much of the troubles and disappointments of life, and make light of the joys and privileges. I pray that I may keep a large place for happiness. Amen.

SEPTEMBER TWENTY-THIRD

Karl Theodore Körner born 1791.

Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen born 1848.

Wilkie Collins died 1889.

M.F.H. De Haas died 1895.

When over the fair fame of friend or foe The shadow of disgrace shall fall; instead Of words to blame, or reproof of thus and so, Let something good be said.

Forget not that no fellow-being yet May fall so low but love may lift his head; Even the cheek of shame with tears is wet If something good be said.

--Author unknown.

The right Christian mind will ... find its own image wherever it exists; it will seek for what it loves, and draw out of all dens and caves, and it will believe in its being, often when it cannot see it; and so it will lie lovingly over the faults and rough places of the human heart, as the snow from heaven does over the hard, and black, and broken mountain rocks.

--John Ruskin.

To him that is ready to faint kindness should be showed from his friend.

--Job 6. 14.

Lord God, grant that after years of climbing I may not find the mist in my soul has dulled the vision of thy glory. Keep me from the habit of looking for faults, and missing the virtues in others. Forbid that I should be so occupied in taking measure of other lives that I neglect to measure my own. Amen.

SEPTEMBER TWENTY-FOURTH

John Marshall born 1755.

Zachary Taylor, Virginia, twelfth President United States, born 1784.

S.R. Crockett born 1860.

Get the truth once uttered, and 'tis like A star newborn that drops into its place, And which, once circling in its placid round, Not all the tumult of the earth can shake.

--James Russell Lowell.

If you would be well spoken of, learn to speak well of others. And when you have learned to speak well of them, endeavor likewise to do well to them; and reap the fruit of being well spoken of by them.

--Epictetus.

He that slandereth not with his tongue, Nor doeth evil to his friend, Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor; He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

--Psalm 15. 3, 5.

Lord God, I bless thee for the lives of men and women who are willing to be led by the truth, and who are worthy to follow thee. I pray that thou wilt make me truthful, and keep me steadfast, that none may go astray by the uncertainty of my way. Amen.

SEPTEMBER TWENTY-FIFTH

William Romaine born 1714.

Felicia D. Hemans born 1793.

W.M. Rossetti born 1829.

Not as the conqueror comes, They, the true-hearted, came; Not with the roll of the stirring drums, And the trumpet songs of fame:

Amidst the storm they sang, And the stars heard and the sea; And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang To the anthem of the free.

Ay, call it holy ground, The soil where first they trod; They have left unstained what there they found-- Freedom to worship God.

--Felicia D. Hemans.

But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid.

--Micah 4. 4.

Eternal God, may I look to the Pilgrims and learn that to pray by faith with the heart is not to pray by faith of the imagination. Help me to pray, and have faith to struggle for that which I would rightfully have. Amen.

SEPTEMBER TWENTY-SIXTH

Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood born 1750.

Dr. Mary Walker born 1832.

Irving Bacheller born 1859.

Frederic William Faber died 1863.

God is never so far off as even to be near-- He is within: Our spirit is the home he holds most dear. To think of him as by our side is almost as untrue As to remove his throne beyond the starry blue.

--F.W. Faber.

Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee! E'en though it be a cross That raiseth me; Still all my song shall be-- Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee!

--Sarah F. Adams.

My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

--Job 27. 6.

My Father, may I consider the place in which I stand: and may I not be deceived in thinking I am near thee while I am living far away. Teach me the way to draw nearer to thee each day, until my spirit may continually dwell with thee. Amen.

SEPTEMBER TWENTY-SEVENTH

George Cruikshank born 1792.

Samuel Francis Dupont born 1803.

Aimé Millet born 1819.

Henri Frédéric Arniel born 1821.

The man who has no refuge in himself, who lives, so to speak, in his front rooms, in the outer whirlwind of things and opinions, is not properly a personality at all; ... he is one of a crowd.

--Amiel.

Happy the heart that keeps its twilight hour, And in the depths of heavenly peace reclined, Loves to commune with thoughts of tender power-- Thoughts that ascend, like angels beautiful.

--Paul Hamilton Hayne.

The art of meditation may be exercised at all hours and in all places; and men of genius in their walks, at table, and amidst assemblies, turning the eye of the mind inward, can form an artificial solitude; retired amidst a crowd, calm amidst distractions, and wise amidst folly.

--Disraeli.

Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.

--Psalm 4. 4.

Heavenly Father, save me from being so poor in spirit, that I will have to be sustained by the bright spirits of others. May I be continually refreshed by the spirit of life that may be found at all times. Amen.

SEPTEMBER TWENTY-EIGHTH

Francis Turner Palgrave born 1824.

Frances E. Willard born 1839.

General John D. French born 1852.

Mary Anderson born 1859.

Unless there is a predominating and overmastering purpose to which all the accessories and incidents of life contribute, the character will be weak, irresolute, uncertain.

--Frances E. Willard.

Life is not an idle ore, But iron dug from central gloom, And heated hot with burning fears, And dipt in baths of hissing tears, And battered with the shocks of doom To shape and use.

--Alfred Tennyson.

He that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed.... A double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

--James 1. 6, 8.

O God, help me to be positive. May I not want to be in so many places, and in so many things, that I can never be found in anything. Help me to know that a purpose secured is worth many attempts, and that to have a character I must build it. Amen.

SEPTEMBER TWENTY-NINTH

Pompey killed B.C. 48.

Robert Lord Clive born 1725.

Horatio Nelson born 1758.

O strange and wild is the world of men Which the eyes of the Lord must see-- With continents, inlands, tribes, and tongues, With multitudes bond and free! All kings of the earth bow down to him, And yet--he can think of me.

For none can measure the mind of God Or the bounds of eternity, He knows each life that has come from him, To the tiniest bird and bee, For the love of his heart is so deep and wide That it takes in even me.

--Mary E. Allbright.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father: but the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

--Matthew 10. 29, 30.

Almighty God, cause me to look out this morning, and open wide my eyes, that I may see what great preparation thou hast made that I might live. May I be ashamed to start wrong and be unworthy of the glory of this day. Amen.

SEPTEMBER THIRTIETH

George Whitefield died 1770.

William Hutton born 1723.

John Dollond died 1761.

Up, up, my soul, the long-spent time redeeming; Sow thou the seeds of better deeds and thought; Light other lamps while yet thy lamp is beaming-- The time is short.

Think of the good thou might'st have done when brightly The suns to thee life's choicest season brought; Hours lost to God in pleasure passing lightly-- The time is short.

If thou hast friends, give them thy best endeavor, Thy warmest impulse, and thy purest thought, Keeping in mind and words and action ever-- The time is short.

--Elizabeth Prentiss.

What is your life? For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

--James 4. 14.

Loving Father, help me to realize that I am not living in the right way nor the right place if I am discontented, or happy in trifles and untruth. Help me to find my place, and with thy help may I stand firm and confident. Amen.

OCTOBER

The morns are meeker than they were, The nuts are getting brown; The berry's cheek is plumper, The rose is out of town. The maple wears a gayer scarf, The field a scarlet gown; Lest I should be old-fashioned, I'll put a trinket on.

--Emily Dickinson.

OCTOBER FIRST

Saint John Viscount Bolingbroke born 1678.

Pierre Corneille died 1684.

Rufus Choate born 1799.

He speaks not well who doth his time deplore, Naming it new and a little obscure, Ignoble and unfit for lofty deeds. All times were modern in the time of them, And this no more than others. Do thy part Here in the living day, as did the great Who made old days immortal.

--Richard Watson Gilder.

He who is false to present duty breaks a thread in the loom, and will find the flaw when he may have forgotten the cause.

--Henry Ward Beecher.

For use almost can change the stamp of nature, And master the devil, or throw him out With wondrous potency.

--William Shakespeare.

And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his chamber toward Jerusalem;) and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

--Daniel 6. 10.

Heavenly Father, help me to get away from doubt that leads to despair. Give me a vision of hope that is stayed on faith. May I be conscious and appreciative of my privileges while they come to me and make them immortal. Amen.

OCTOBER SECOND

Aristotle died B.C. 322.

Major John Andre hanged 1780.

William Ellery Channing died 1842.

I am not earth-born, though I here delay; Hope's child, I summon infiniter powers, And laugh to see the mild sunny day Smile on the shrunk and thin autumnal hours; I laugh, for hope hath a happy place for me-- If my bark sinks, 'tis to another sea.

--William E. Channing.

The stars shall fade away, the sun himself Grow dim with age, and Nature sink in years; But thou shall flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amidst the war of elements, The wreck of matter and the crush of worlds.

--Thomas Addison.

For with thee is the fountain of life: In thy light shall we see light.

--Psalm 36. 9.

My Father, I would pray that my sense of gloom may not be more than thy grace. May the glorious light of thy love break through my disheartened soul, and reveal the sincerity of thy promises, that I may be happy in thy care. Amen.

OCTOBER THIRD

Robert Barclay died 1690.

George Bancroft born 1800.

William Morris died 1896.

Come hither, lads, and harken, For a tale there is to tell Of the wonderful days a-coming, When all shall be better than well.

Come, then, let us cast off fooling, And put by ease and rest, For the cause alone is worthy Till the good days bring the best.

--William Morris.

Man's life is but a working day Whose tasks are set aright; A time to work, a time to pray, And then a quiet night. And then, please God, a quiet night Where palms are green and robes are white; A long-drawn breath, a balm for sorrow, And all things lovely on the morrow.

--Christina G. Rossetti.

And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.

--Isaiah 61. 11.

Heavenly Father, help me to see that before the night thou hadst planned the morning, and that thou hast never sent the night without the hope of the morning. Before I rest in the night may I be ready for the morning. Amen.

OCTOBER FOURTH

Francis of Assisi died 1226.

Edmund Malone born 1741.

François Guizot born 1787.

Jean François Millet born 1814.

Rutherford B. Hayes, Ohio, nineteenth President United States, born 1822.

M.E. Braddon born 1837.

We ought to rise day by day with a certain zest, a clear intention, a design to make the most of every hour; not to let the busy hours shoulder each other or tread on each other's heels, but to force every action to give up its strength and sweetness. There is work to be done, and there are empty hours to be filled as well.... But, most of all, there must be something to quicken, enliven, practice the soul.

--Arthur C. Benson.

Men's souls ought to be left to see clearly; not jaundiced, blinded, twisted all awry, by revenge, moral abhorrence, and the like.

--Thomas Carlyle.

But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

--Job 32. 8.

Spirit of life, I pray that thou wilt continually live within me. May my days be spent neither in waste nor idleness, but planned to use, with the best that is given me. Amen.

OCTOBER FIFTH

Jonathan Edwards born 1703.

Denis Diderot born 1713.

Horace Walpole born 1717.

Nancy Hanks died 1818.

Chester A. Arthur, Vermont, twenty-first President United States, born 1830.

H.R. Guy de Maupassant born 1850.

Earth gets its price for what earth gives us; The beggar is taxed for a corner to die in, The priest has his fee who comes and shrives us, We bargain for the graves we lie in; At the devil's booth are all things sold, Each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold; For a cap and bells our lives we pay, Bubbles we buy with a whole soul's tasking; 'Tis heaven alone that is given away, 'Tis only God may be had for the asking.

--James Russell Lowell.

The free gift of God is eternal life.

--Romans 6. 23.

Gracious Father, may the world speak to me of thy gifts, and of the peace and power which it freely offers. May I not pass by thy great appeals, and prefer to purchase at a great cost my indolence and dissipation. Amen.

OCTOBER SIXTH

Jenny Lind Goldschmidt born 1820.

Harriet G. Hosmer born 1830.

Charles Stewart Parnell died 1891.

Alfred Tennyson died 1892.

The heart which boldly faces death Upon the battlefield, and dares Cannon and bayonet, faints beneath The needle-points of frets and cares. The stoutest spirits they dismay-- The tiny stings of every day.

Ah! more than martyr's aureole And more than hero's heart of fire, We need the humble strength of soul Which daily toils and ills require. Sweet patience, grant us, if you may An added grace for every day.

--Adelaide A. Procter.

Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea.

--Alfred Tennyson.

Fret not thyself.

--Proverbs 24. 19.

My Father, I pray that I may not be dismayed over life, and its trifles. Help me to master difficulties great and small, and give me patience through all until I reach the untroubled way. Amen.

OCTOBER SEVENTH

Sir Philip Sidney died 1586.

Edgar Allan Poe died 1849.

Oliver Wendell Holmes died 1894.

Mary J. Holmes died 1907.

Yet in opinions look not always back; Your wake is nothing, mind the coming track; Leave what you've done for what you have to do; Don't be "consistent," but be simply true.

--Oliver Wendell Holmes.

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has nothing to do.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.

--Exodus 14. 15.

Heavenly Father, I pray that I may not be so consistent in the small things of life that I will lose the great inspirations that come to the soul. Broaden my life, that I may have the freedom of heart and mind to pass over the failures and interruptions, and with vigorous energy continue in the progress of life. Amen.

OCTOBER EIGHTH

Caroline Howard Gilman born 1794.

Edmund Clarence Stedman born 1833.

John Hay born 1838.

He weren't no saint; them engineers Is pretty much alike-- One wife in Natchez-under-the-Hill, Another one here in Pike; A keerless man in his talk was Jim, And an awkward hand in a row, But he never flunked, and he never lied-- I reckon he never knowed how.

--John Hay.

He is brave whose tongue is silent Of the trophies of his word. He is great whose quiet bearing Marks his greatness well assured.

--Edwin Arnold.

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as the rest of men.

--Luke 18. 11.

Lord God, thou knowest what I am and where I belong. Have mercy upon me and strengthen me, that I may not through weakness stay in the darkness. Lead me out into the light; and may I find my way and be contented with it. Amen.

OCTOBER NINTH

Michael Cervantes born 1547.

Jacques Auguste de Thuanus (De Thou) born 1553.

Charles Camilla Saint-Saëns born 1835.

I will not doubt, though all my ships at sea Come drifting home with broken masts and sails; I shall believe the Hand which never fails From seeming evil worketh good for me; And though I weep because those sails are battered, Still will I cry, while my best hopes lie shattered, "I trust in Thee."

--Ella Wheeler Wilcox.[1]

Cease every joy to glimmer on my mind. But leave, O leave the light of hope behind.

--Thomas Campbell.

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; But when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

--Proverbs 13. 12.

Loving Father, help me to pass by my discouragements of yesterday and look into the hope of to-day. Make me more careful of my strength, and less forgetful of thy promises and of my trust. Amen.

[Footnote 1: Special permission W.B. Conkey, Hammond, Indiana. Copyright 1912.]

OCTOBER TENTH

Henry Cavendish born 1731.

Benjamin West born 1738.

Hugh Miller born 1802.

Giuseppe Verdi born 1813.

Fridtjof Nansen born 1861.

We cannot make bargains for blisses, Nor catch them like fishes in nets; And sometimes the thing our life misses Helps more than the thing which it gets. For good lieth not in pursuing, Nor gaining of great nor small, But just in the doing and doing As we would be done by is all.

--Alice Gary.

True, it is most painful not to meet the kindness and affection you feel you have deserved, and have a right to expect from others; but it is a mistake to complain, for it is no use; you cannot extort friendship with a cocked pistol.

--Sydney Smith.

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

--Matthew 22. 39.

Lord God, help me to understand that true affection is not that which as it gives feels it merits return. May I avoid being selfish and stubborn; and with my affections give peace and joy. Amen.

OCTOBER ELEVENTH

Sir Thomas Wyatt died 1542.

Dr. Samuel Clarke born 1675.

James Barry born 1741.

Ask God to give thee skill In comfort's art, That thou may'st consecrated be And set apart, Unto a life of sympathy; For heavy is the weight of ill In every heart; And comforters are needed much Of Christlike touch.

--Alexander Hamilton.