Chapter 15

My hopes retire; my wishes as before Struggle to find their resting place in vain; The ebbing sea thus beats against the shore; The shore repels it; it returns again.

--W.S. Landor.

Yet Jehovah will command his loving-kindness in the day-time, And in the night his song shall be with me.

--Psalm 42. 8.

Loving Father, I bless thee for thy goodness and tender mercy which is over all. May I trust thy provision and love through all circumstances, and as I trust myself to thee may I have faith to believe that thou wilt give me strength for what I may have to endure, and believe that thou wilt care for me, as thou dost care for all. Amen.

NOVEMBER THIRD

Lucan born A.D. 39.

William Cullen Bryant born 1794.

Francis D. Millet born 1846.

John Watson (Ian Maclaren) born 1850.

Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie (John Oliver Hobbes) born 1867.

Whither, midst falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue Thy solitary way!

Vainly the fowler's eye Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, As, darkly painted on the crimson sky, Thy figure floats along.

He who, from zone to zone, Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must tread alone, Will lead my steps aright.

--William Cullen Bryant.

For Jehovah your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over.

--Joshua 4. 23.

Almighty God, help me to guard against gratification that leads to disappointment, that I may not miss the true way. I pray that thou wilt lift me in my weakness, and carry me over the rough and discouraging places, that I may be made strong in thy loving care, and be able to continue alone. Amen.

NOVEMBER FOURTH

Guido Reni born 1575.

James Montgomery born 1771.

Edmund Keane born 1787.

Ernest Howard Crosby born 1856.

Eugene Field died 1895.

Keep me, I pray, in wisdom's way, That I may truths eternal seek; I need protecting care to-day-- My purse is light, my flesh is weak.

--Eugene Field.

No one could tell me where my Soul might be, I searched for God, but God eluded me. I sought my brother out, and found all three.

--Ernest H. Crosby.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he will direct thy paths.

--Proverbs 3. 6.

My Father, may I not face the going down of the sun to-day, looking at life, in a mirror that reflects my own privileges and prejudices, but may I see it as it is, known to those who are living to make it better. May the days to come prove my sincerity in wanting the truth that I might live by it, and help to do good with it. Amen.

NOVEMBER FIFTH

Hans Sachs born 1494.

Dr. John Brown born 1715.

Benjamin Butler born 1818.

The thing that goes the farthest Toward making life worth while, That costs the least, and does the most, Is just a pleasant smile. That smile that bubbles from a heart That loves its fellow men Will drive away the cloud of gloom And coax the sun again.

--Anonymous.

One whom I knew intimately, and whose memory I revere, once in my hearing remarked that, "Unless we love people we cannot understand them." This was a new light to me.

--Christina G. Rossetti.

Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; So doth the sweetness of a man's friend that cometh of hearty counsel.

--Proverbs 27. 9.

Lord God, I pray that I may be worthy of my friends. May I not fear to go where I am called, and may I go cheerfully, even though the way be dark and lonesome. Amen.

NOVEMBER SIXTH

James Gregory born 1638.

John Bright born 1811.

Sir George Williams died 1905.

Look full into thy spirit's self, The world of mystery scan; What if thy way to faith in God Should lie through faith in man?

--John Bright.

Blessed are they who have the gift of making friends, for it is one of God's best gifts. It involves many things, but above all, the power of going out of oneself and seeing and appreciating whatever is noble and loving in another.

--Thomas Hughes.

Be perfected; be comforted; be of the same mind; live in peace: and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

--2 Corinthians 13. 11.

Lord God, I earnestly entreat thee to show me if I may be cramping the happiness in another's life by forcing in my selfishness and demands. May I understand that perfect gifts are those that come through loving sacrifice. Make me ashamed to ask for what I refuse or prefer not to give. Amen.

NOVEMBER SEVENTH

Sir Martin Frobisher died 1594.

William Stukeley born 1687.

Friedrich Leopold, Count von Stolberg, born 1750.

Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side; Some great cause, God's new Messiah offering each the bloom or blight, Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right; And the choice goes by forever 'twixt that darkness and that light.

--James Russell Lowell.

We cannot command veracity at will; the power of seeing and reporting truly is a form of health that has to be delicately guarded, and as an ancient rabbi has solemnly said, "The penalty of untruth is untruth."

--George Eliot.

Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

--Ecclesiastes 7. 29.

My Father, help me to speak the truth and guard the truth, that righteousness may be an abiding influence in my life. Amen.

NOVEMBER EIGHTH

Edmund Halley born 1656.

John Milton died 1674.

Owen Meredith (Bulwer Edward Lytton) born 1831.

The morning drum-call on my eager ear Thrills unforgotten yet! the morning dew Lies yet undried along my field of noon. But now I pause a while in what I do, And count the bell, and tremble lest I hear (My work untrimmed) the sunset gun too soon.

--Robert Louis Stevenson.

I fear Life's many changes, not Death's changelessness. So perfect is this moment's passing cheer, I needs must tremble lest it pass to less. Thus in fickle love of life I live, Lest fickle life me of my love deprive.

--Owen Meredith.

And Jehovah said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore art thou thus fallen upon thy face?

Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow.

--Joshua 7. 10, 13.

Almighty God, help me in these fleeting days that I may not use my time to consider and hesitate, but be positive in my desires and pursue them. Grant that I may have the strength to hold each day precious, and live it more than consistently. Amen.

NOVEMBER NINTH

Mark Akenside born 1721.

William Sotheby born 1757.

Charles F. Thwing born 1853.

The victor's road is the easy way. Straight it stretches and climbs to where Fame is waiting with garlands gay To wreathe the fighter who clambers there. There's applause in plenty and gold's red gleam For the man who plays on the winning team.

The loser travels a longer lane; Level it leads to a lonely land. There's little glory for him to gain The voices mock him on either hand; But the man who wins in the greater game Is the man who, beaten, fights on the same.

--G. Rice.

The hero is not fed on sweets, Daily his own heart he eats; Chambers of the great are jails, And head-winds right for royal sails.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

He thanked God, and took courage.

--Acts 28. 15.

O Lord, I pray that whether I may be successful in the sight of the world, or whether I may be successful in my own sacrifices, I may have the freedom of courage, and be master of my life. Amen.

NOVEMBER TENTH

Martin Luther born 1483.

William Hogarth born 1697.

Oliver Goldsmith born 1728.

Johann von Schiller born 1759.

Joaquin Miller born 1841.

Henry van Dyke born 1852.

As faith, so is God.

--Martin Luther.

Learn the luxury of doing good.

--Oliver Goldsmith.

Love is the ladder by which we climb up to the likeness of God.

--Johann von Schiller.

And who will walk a mile with me Along life's weary way? A friend whose heart has eyes to see The stars shine out o'er the darkening lea, And the quiet rest at the end of the day-- A friend who knows and dares to say, The brave sweet words that cheer the way Where he walks a mile with me.

--Henry van Dyke.

And whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two.

--Matthew 5. 41.

My Father, may I not dwell in the appearances of life, where I may grow selfish; but live in the realities of simplicity. May I not only seek those who may return me pleasure, but may I find delight in brightening the walk of a weary friend. Amen.

NOVEMBER ELEVENTH

Alfred de Musset born 1810.

Thomas Bailey Aldrich born 1836.

Rev. Joshua Brookes died 1821.

I'll not confer with Sorrow Till to-morrow, But joy shall have her way This very day.

--Thomas Bailey Aldrich.

Shall we have ears on the stretch for the footfalls of sorrow that never come, but be deaf to the whirr of the wings of happiness that fill all space?

--Maurice Maeterlinck.

This day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, punishment will overtake, us; now therefore come, let us go and tell the king's household.

--2 Kings 7. 9.

Loving Father, I pray that thou wilt help me to overcome unhappiness. May I not let depression overpower me, but claim the promises of joy that are open to every life. May I be blest by my own cheerfulness and encourage others to possess it. Amen.

NOVEMBER TWELFTH

Saint Augustine died A. D. 354.

Richard Baxter born 1615.

Amelia Opie born 1769.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton born 1815.

Thomas Lord Fairfax died 1671.

In life it is difficult to say who do you the most mischief--enemies with the worst intentions or friends with the best.

--Edward Bulwer.

The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel.

--William Shakespeare.

Where persons who ought to esteem and love each other are kept asunder, as often happens, by some cause which three words of frank explanation would remove, they are fortunate if they possess an indiscreet friend who blurts out the whole truth.

--Thomas B. Macaulay.

Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, Who did eat of my bread, Hath lifted up his heel against me.

--Psalm 41. 9.

Lord God, help me to consider more carefully what I offer to my friends; and may I not be critical of what I receive from my friends. May I not be a hindrance instead of a help to those who would have my companionship. Amen.

NOVEMBER THIRTEENTH

Sir John Moore born 1761.

Robert Louis Stevenson born 1850.

Sir John Forbes died 1861.

Little do we know our own blessedness; for to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the True Success is to labor.

--Robert Louis Stevenson.

Whether thy work be fine or coarse, planting corn or writing epics, so only it be honest work, done to thine own approbation, it shall earn a reward to sense as well as to the thought.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Nature gives to labor; and to labor alone. In a very garden of Eden a man would starve but for human exertion.

--Henry George.

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

--Galatians 6. 4.

My Father, make pure living clear to me, that I may not be deceived in my work; and may I not use my working hours searching for more suitable work, but may I be sure in what I am that I may feel secure in what I undertake to do. Amen.

NOVEMBER FOURTEENTH

Bishop Hoadley born 1676.

Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel born 1805.

Robert Smythe Hichens born 1864.

Give us, O give us, the man who sings at his work! Be his occupation what it may, he is better than any of those who follow the same pursuit in silent sullenness.

--Thomas Carlyle.

What doctor possesses such curative resources as those latent in a single ray of hope? The mainspring of life is in the heart. Joy is the vital air of the soul, and grief is a kind of asthma complicated by atony.

--Amiel.

I will sing unto Jehovah as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.

--Psalm 104. 33.

Loving Father, restore the spirit of gentleness and meekness if it may be withered within me, that I may be contented. May I make it a habit to be happy over my work and cheerful about my duties. May I never lose the view of the glory of thy kingdom. Amen.

NOVEMBER FIFTEENTH

William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, born 1708.

William Cowper born 1731.

Sir William Herschel born 1738.

Johann Lavater born 1741.

Richard Henry Dana born 1787.

Ida Tarbell born 1857.

The parting sun sends out a glow Across the placid bay, Touching with glory all the show-- A breeze! Up helm! Away!

Careening to the wind, they reach, With laugh and call, the shore. They've left their footprints on the beach, But them I hear no more.

--Richard Henry Dana.

Art little? Do thy little well: And for thy comfort know The great can do their greatest work No better than just so.

--Goethe.

But be thou an ensample to them that believe, in word, in manner of life, in love, in faith, in purity.

--1 Timothy 4. 12.

Lord God, grant that if I may be complaining of what Providence has not sent me, I may not be neglecting what Providence has given me. May I not pause too long over what I have done, or over what I might have done, but may I be appreciative of what thou dost expect of me and endeavor to accomplish it. Amen.

NOVEMBER SIXTEENTH

Tiberius born B.C. 42.

Gustavus Adolphus killed 1632.

Francis Danby born 1793.

Judge not the workings of his brain And of his heart thou canst not see; What looks to thy dim eyes a stain In God's pure light may only be A scar, brought from some well-won field, Where thou would'st only faint and yield.

And judge none lost; but wait and see, With hopeful pity, not disdain; The depth of the abyss may be The measure of the height of pain And love and glory that may raise The soul to God in after days!

--Adelaide A. Procter.

I am more afraid of deserving criticism, than of receiving it.

--William Gladstone.

Judge not, that ye be not judged.

--Matthew 7.1.

Lord Jehovah, judge of all mankind, forbid that I should set myself as a judge of another's life, and neglect to live for the higher judgment of my own. May I not be absorbed in that which thrives in darkness, but live in the light of honesty and gentleness. Amen.

NOVEMBER SEVENTEENTH

Queen Mary of England died 1558.

Joost van den Vondel born 1587.

George Grote born 1794.

There are evergreen men and women in the world, praise be to God!--not many of them, but a few. They are not the showy folk. (Nature is an old-fashioned shopkeeper; she never puts her best goods in the window.) They are only the quiet, strong folk; they are stronger than Fate. The storms of life sweep over them, and the biting frosts creep round them; but the winds and the frosts pass away, and they are still standing, green and straight.

--Jerome K. Jerome.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water, That bringeth forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also doth not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

--Psalm 1.3.

Gracious Lord, may I not spend most in equipment and forget the tides, which may desert me on the sands, or the rocks in the channels, which may crush the finest vessel. May I be prepared for the hard knocks if they come, but may I know how to keep clear of them. Amen.

NOVEMBER EIGHTEENTH

Sir David Wilkie born 1785.

Louis J. M. Daguerre born 1789.

Cyrus Field born 1819.

William S. Gilbert born 1836.

If e'er when man had fallen asleep, I heard a voice, "Believe no more," A warmth within the breast would melt The freezing reason's colder part, And like a man in wrath, the heart Stood up and answered, "I have felt."

--Alfred Tennyson.

Faith is the deep want of the soul. We have faculties for the spiritual, as truly as for the outward world. God, the foundation of all existence, may become to the mind the most real of all beings. The believer feels himself resting on an everlasting foundation.

--William Henry Channing.

And they said one to another, Was not our heart burning within us, while he spake to us in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures?

--Luke 24. 32.

Lord God, save me from a hard and doubting heart. May I be trustful and come to thee in faith. All the days of my life may my lips sing thy praise as I unfold thy love and purposes. Amen.

NOVEMBER NINETEENTH

Nicolas Poussin died 1665.

Albert Thorwaldsen born 1770.

James A. Garfield, Ohio, twentieth President United States, born 1831.

Mary Hallock Foote born 1847.

Count Lyoff (Leo) Tolstoy died 1910.

And son I live, you see, Go through the world, try, prove, reject, Prefer, still struggling to effect My warfare; happy that I can Be crossed and thwarted as a man, Not left in God's contempt apart, With ghastly smooth life, dead at heart, Tame in earth's paddock, as her prize.

--Robert Browning.

Be good at the depths of you, and you will discover that those who surround you will be good even to the same depths. Therein lies a force that has no name; a spiritual rivalry that has no resistance.

--Maurice Maeterlinck.

First of all, I must make myself a man; if I do not succeed in that, I can succeed in nothing.

--James A. Garfield.

That we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error.

--Ephesians 4. 14.

Eternal God, I thank thee for all the sterling elements that greaten the individual life. I pray that I may not desire to be kept a small creature, but seek to grow in wisdom and love, and qualify for mighty purposes and achievements. Amen.

NOVEMBER TWENTIETH

Paul Potter born 1625.

Thomas Chatterton born 1752.

William Ellery Channing born 1818.

Sir Wilfred Laurier born 1841.

Then why, my soul, dost thou complain? Why drooping seek the dark recess? Shake off the melancholy chain, For God created all to bless.

The gloomy mantle of the night, Which on my sinking spirits steals, Will vanish at the morning light, Which God, my East, my Sun, reveals.

--Thomas Chatterton.

Lady, there is a hope that all men have-- Some mercy for their faults, a grassy place To rest in, and a flower-strewn, gentle grave: Another hope which purifies our race, That when that fearful bourne forever past, They may find rest--and rest so long to last.

I seek it not, I ask no rest forever, My path is onward to the farthest shores.

--William Ellery Channing.

He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay; And he set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he put a new song in my mouth.

--Psalm 40. 2, 3.

My Father, I pray that I may have patience to live through the difficulties of life. May I correct my faults, that they may not destroy my peace and take from me my strength; help me to center my life in brightness and hope. Amen.

NOVEMBER TWENTY-FIRST

Claude Lorraine died 1682.

Bryan Waller Procter (Barry Cornwall) born 1787.

Mary Johnston born 1870.

There is not a creature from England's king To the peasant that delves the soil, Who knows half the pleasures the seasons bring If he had not his share of toil.

--Barry Cornwall.

It may be proved, with much certainty, that God intends no man to live in this world without working; but it seems to me no less evident that he intends every man to be happy in his work. Now, in order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: they must be fit for it; and they must not do too much of it; and they must have a sense of success in it.

--John Ruskin.

Let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need.

--Ephesians 4. 28.

My Father, if my work seems hard to-day, may I not cease working if I grow weary, but may my strength be renewed to continue my work. May the aim of my work be to please thee, and to help in the progress of humanity. Amen.

NOVEMBER TWENTY-SECOND

Saint Cecilia martyred A.D. 230.

Sir Henry Havelock died 1857.

Justin M'Carthy born 1830.

Sometimes the sun, unkindly hot, My garden makes a desert spot, Sometimes a blight upon the tree Takes all my fruit away from me; And then with throes of bitter pain Rebellious passions rise and swell; And so I sing and all is well.

--Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Such songs have power to quiet The restless pulse of care, And come like benediction That follows after prayer.

--Henry W. Longfellow.

Songs consecrate to truth and liberty.

--Percy Bysshe Shelley.

David took the harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

--1 Samuel 16. 23.

Almighty God, I thank thee that thou wilt come to me as my heart cries for need. I bless thee that thou dost come to me as my lips sing thy praise. I pray that I may be saved from a cruel and cheerless heart, and be a sharer of the songs that are sung to the soul. Amen.

NOVEMBER TWENTY-THIRD

Thomas Tallis died 1585.

Franklin Pierce, New Hampshire, fourteenth President United States, born 1804.

Marie Bashkirtseff born 1860.

Asleep, awake, by night or day, The friends I seek are seeking me; No word can drive my bark astray, Nor change the tide of destiny.

The stars come nightly to the sky, The tidal wave unto the sea; Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high, Can keep my own away from me.

--John Burroughs.

If a man could make a single rose we would give him an empire; yet flowers no less beautiful are scattered in profusion over the world, and no one regards them.

--Martin Luther.

Let patience have its perfect work.

--James 1. 4.

My Creator, may I remember that after thou didst create the earth thou didst say it was good. May I love the fragrance and beauty of the flowers which were made to nourish the soul, and the fruits and herbs which were made to nourish the body. May my song of thanksgiving be new every morning, as I awake in the abundance of what thou hast prepared. Amen.

NOVEMBER TWENTY-FOURTH

John Knox died 1572.

Baron Spinoza born 1632.

Grace Darling born 1815.

Frances Hodgson Burnett born 1849.

I waited long until the sky Should give me of its blue To weave and wear, and share, and weave The very stars into. The days they went, the years they went, And left my hands instead Another thing for wonderment, The mending and the bread.

Ah me, and one must set a hand To burnish up the task, And hush and hush the old demand A wakeful heart will ask. But with a star's clear eye on me, O, I can hear it said, "What souls there be that only see The mending and the bread!"

--Josephine P. Peabody.

The riches of a commonwealth Are free, strong minds and hearts of health. And more to her than gold or grain, The cunning hand and cultured brain.

--John G. Whittier.

For the life is more than the food, and the body than the raiment.

--Luke 12. 23.

My Father, I pray that thou wilt help me, that I may not consume my life in preparing clothes and food for my body. Amen.

NOVEMBER TWENTY-FIFTH

Charles Kemble born 1775.

John Bigelow born 1817.

Paul Haupt born 1858.

John Kitto died 1854.