Chapter 16

I will not kill or hurt any living creature needlessly, nor destroy any beautiful thing, but will strive to save and comfort all gentle life and guard and perfect all natural beauty on earth. I will strive to raise my own body and soul daily into all the higher powers of duty and-happiness, not in rivalship or contention with others, but for help, delight, and honor of others and for the joy and peace of my own life.

--John Ruskin.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.

--Isaiah 11. 9.

Lord God, I rejoice in the blessedness of peace. May I not try to force peace where cruelty has entered, but keep a watch for what may come into my life. I pray that if I may be in turbulence to-day, thou wilt quiet me with thy peace which knows no fear or wrong. Amen.

NOVEMBER TWENTY-SIXTH

Sir William Ware born 1594.

John Elwes died 1789.

John Loudoun Macadam died 1836.

I'd like a way To change the clouds that bring us sorrow, And build to-day a bright to-morrow; To banish cares that tarry long, And have the days like the blue-bird's song-- I'd like a way.

I'll find a way-- I'll set sail when the breeze is high, And calmly drift when pleasure's nigh; I'll steer a course afar from tears, And take in joy the coming years-- I'll find a way.

I've lost the way! Out through the gloom a beam of light Looks like a purpose looming bright! Up with the sail! I'll out to sea And bring that purpose back with me, Or go its way.

--M.B.S.

Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: He is gracious, and merciful, and righteous.

--Psalm 112. 4.

My Father, I pray that I may not through indifference wander without a purpose, or through discouragement stumble through the darkness. May I be drawn to the light by the vision of hopeful and useful days. Amen.

NOVEMBER TWENTY-SEVENTH

Horace died B.C. 8.

Marquise d'Aubigné Maintenon born 16324.

General Artemus Ward born 1727.

Fanny Kemble born 1809.

Alexandra Dumas died 1895.

Be this thy brazen bulwark of defense, to preserve a conscience void of offense, and never turn pale with guilt.

--Horace.

Is life a noxious weed which whirlwinds sow? A useless flint o'er which the waters flow? Not so! A life well spent has not its weight in gold; It is the clearest crystal earth doth hold, A gem beside which suns seem dull and cold.

--Robert Louis Stevenson.

That they may lay hold on the life which is life indeed.

--1 Timothy 6. 19.

Lord God, I pray that my life may not be impoverished by neglect, nor burdened with indulgences, but that it may be kept in condition for high endeavors. Grant that I may never be content to rest in satisfaction and ease when I could struggle and accomplish a good work. Amen.

NOVEMBER TWENTY-EIGHTH

William Blake born 1757.

Anton G. Rubinstein born 1829

Washington Irving died 1859.

The sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow from which we refuse to be divorced. Every other wound we seek to heal, every other affliction to forget. Take warning by the bitterness of this thy contrite affliction over the dead, and henceforth be more faithful and affectionate in the discharge of thy duties to the living.

--Washington Irving.

Joy and woe are woven fine, A clothing for the soul divine; Every grief and pine Runs a joy with a silken twine.

--William Blake.

Ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

--John 16. 20.

Heavenly Father, grant that I may not lose the kindness that I may give and receive to-day. I thank thee for the memories of yesterday, the hope of to-morrow, and the wisdom of to-day. May I have a vision of immortality that will keep me through the closest sorrow. Amen.

NOVEMBER TWENTY-NINTH

Sir Philip Sidney born 1554.

A. Bronson Alcott born 1799.

Wendell Phillips born 1811.

Louisa M. Alcott born 1832.

Truth is sensitive and jealous of the least encroachment of its sacredness.

--A. Bronson Alcott.

Faith that withstood the shocks of toil and time, Hope that defied despair, Patience that conquered care, And loyalty whose courage was sublime;

Teaching us how to seek the highest goal, To earn the true success; To live to love, to bless, And make death proud to take a royal soul.

--Louisa M. Alcott.

Nor is it Wiser to weep a true occasion lost, But trim our sails, and let old bygones be.

--Alfred Tennyson.

In hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before times eternal.

--Titus 1. 2.

Heavenly Father, I pray that I may live in truth; and without fear of life or death live content in the faith of eternal life. Amen.

NOVEMBER THIRTIETH

Peregrine White born New England 1620.

Jonathan Swift born 1687.

Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) born 1835.

Winston Churchill born 1874.

He gave it for his opinion that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together.

--Jonathan Swift.

That man may last, but never lives, Who much receives, but nothing gives; Whom none can love, whom none can thank,-- Creation's blot, creation's blank.

--Thomas Gibbons.

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom. For with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again.

--Luke 6. 38.

My Father, preserve my soul from all selfishness. May I delight in thy teaching as I trust in thy word. I pray that I may not only speak truthfully, but that I may leave the door of my spirit open, that truth may always enter and abide continually. Amen.

DECEMBER

He comes--he comes--the Frost Spirit comes: You may trace his footsteps now On the naked woods and the blasted fields, And the brown hill's withered brow. He has smitten the leaves of the gray old trees, Where their green came forth, And the winds, which follow wherever he goes, Have shaken them down to earth.

He comes--he comes--the Frost Spirit comes! Let us meet him as we may, And turn with the light of the parlor fire His evil power away; And gather closer the circle round, Where the firelight dances high, And laugh at the shriek of the baffled fiend, As his sounding wing goes by.

--John G. Whittier.

DECEMBER FIRST

Dr. George Birkbeck died 1841.

Queen Alexandra born 1844.

R.W. Dale born 1829.

Ebenezer Elliott died 1849.

We would fill the hours with the sweetest things, If we had but a day: We should drink alone at the purest springs, In our upward way: We should guide our wayward or wearied will, By the clearest light: We should keep our eyes on the heavenly hills, If they lay in sight: We should be from our clamorous selves set free, To work and pray: And be what the Father would have us to be, If we had but a day.

--Margaret E. Sangster.

Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

--Philippians 4. 8.

Gracious Father, help me to understand that my life grows out of what I put into my days. Forgive me for the unspoken words and the kind deeds which I kept for rare days, and had so few occasions to use. May I be as useful in kindness as I am in work, remembering that to thee every day is a golden day. Amen.

DECEMBER SECOND

David Masson born 1822.

John Brown hanged, Charlestown, West Virginia 1859.

Hugh Miller died 1856.

The solitude of life is known to us all; for the most part we are alone, and the voices of friends come only faint and broken across the impassable gulfs which surround every human soul.

--Hamilton Mabie.

To have an ideal or to have none, to have this ideal or that--this is what digs gulfs between men, even between those who live in the same family circle, under the same roof, or in the same room. You must love with the same love, think with the same thoughts as some one else if you are to escape solitude.

--Amiel.

The plans of the heart belong to man; But the answer of the tongue is from Jehovah.

--Proverbs 16. 1.

Lord God, help me to take in the glory of life, that my spirit may never be lonely, even though I may have to be much alone. I pray that thou wilt spare me the loneliness and the solitude that may be brought on by selfishness. Make me considerate of others. May I soar above the disappointments and losses that may come to me, and stay where I may have thy companionship. Amen.

DECEMBER THIRD

Samuel Crompton born 1753.

Sir Frederick Leighton born 1830.

Robert Louis Stevenson died 1894.

To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying "Amen" to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive.

--Robert Louis Stevenson.

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.

--Thomas Carlyle.

The hero is the man who is immovably centered.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water.

--Hebrews 10. 22.

Gracious Father, grant that I may not be content to follow through ignorance and indolence and be led to the lowly paths of life. Make my Hie positive; and from my surroundings may I look out and struggle to mount to the highest ideals, that I may be qualified to select the best in life. Amen.

DECEMBER FOURTH

Cardinal Richelieu died 1642.

William Drummond died 1649.

Madame Recamier born 1777.

Thomas Carlyle born 1795.

John Kitto born 1804.

It is with a man's soul as it is with nature: the beginning of Creation is--Light. Till the eye have visions the whole members are in bonds. Divine moment, when over the tempest-tost Soul, as once over the wild-weltering Chaos, it is spoken: Let there be Light!

--Thomas Carlyle.

What in me is dark Illumine, what is low raise and support; That to the light of this great argument I may assert eternal Providence And justify the ways of God to men.

--John Milton.

For thou art my lamp, O Jehovah; And Jehovah will lighten my darkness.

--2 Samuel 22. 29.

My Lord, forgive me if I have allowed bitterness and misery to darken my life, for my soul yearns continually for the light. In thy compassion lead me to the "sunny side of the road where the beautiful flowers grow," that my path may be made bright and cheerful all the rest of the way. Amen.

DECEMBER FIFTH

Martin Van Buren, New York, eighth President United States, born 1782.

Christina G. Rossetti born 1830.

Alice Brown born 1857.

A cold wind stirs the blackthorn To burgeon and to blow, Besprinkling half-green hedges With flakes and sprays of snow.

Through coldness and through keenness, Dear hearts take comfort so: Somewhere or other doubtless These make the blackthorn blow.

--Christina G. Rossetti.

There are some men and women in whose company we are always at our best. All the best stops in our nature are drawn out by their intercourse, and we find a music in our souls never there before.

--Henry Drummond.

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works.

--Hebrews 10. 24.

My Father, I thank thee for life. Make me sensitive to the unseen influences that bring thy messages. May I be led where great riches may be found through small kindnesses, and where I may learn from the meek the beauty of earth. Amen.

DECEMBER SIXTH

General George Monk born 1608.

Warren Hastings born 1732.

Dr. Richard Barham born 1786.

That low man seeks a little thing to do, Sees it and does it: This high man, with a great thing to pursue, Dies ere he knows it. That low man goes on adding one to one, His hundred's soon hit: This high man, aiming at a million, Misses an unit. That, has the world here--should he need the next, Let the world mind him! This, throws himself on God, and unperplexed Seeking shall find him.

--Robert Browning.

Hitch your wagon to a star.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Jehovah, will I seek.

--Psalm 27. 8.

Almighty God, show me what thou hast given for me to do, that I may not leave undone that which is mine. Forgive me for useless planning and blind asking for the things which cannot be mine. I pray that my work may be honest work, well done, and acceptable for thy service. Amen.

DECEMBER SEVENTH

Cicero assassinated B.C. 43.

John Dalton born 1766.

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, born 1542.

It is virtue--yes, let me repeat it again--it is virtue alone that can give birth, strength, and permanency to friendship. For virtue is a uniform and steady principle ever acting consistently with itself.

--Cicero.

A common friendship--who talks of a common friendship? There is no such thing in the world. On earth no word is more sublime.

--Henry Drummond.

But thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need.

--Deuteronomy 15. 8.

Lord God, wilt thou reveal to me my weakness if I may be insincere; and give me the strength that I lack to keep me true. May I not take advantage of the ignorant, or thoughtlessly lead the innocent into temptation. Grant that I may be a trustful and kind friend. Amen.

DECEMBER EIGHTH

John Pym died 1643.

Richard Baxter died 1691.

Thomas De Quincey died 1859.

Elihu Burritt born 1810.

Robert Collyer born 1823.

Into the dusk of the East, Gray with the coming of night, This may we know at least-- After the night comes light! Over the mariners' graves, Grim in the depths below, Buoyantly breasting the waves, Into the East we go.

On to a distant strand, Wonderful, far, unseen, On to a stranger land, Skimming the seas between; On through the days and nights, Hope in each sailor's breast, On till the harbor lights Flash on the shores of rest!

J.H. Jowett.

So he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

--Psalm 107. 30.

Lord God, I pray that thou wilt provide me with thy indwelling peace. May it keep me reconciled to the decline of years, and enable me to bear the earthly separation from those whom I love. May I always have hope and trust in thee. Amen.

DECEMBER NINTH

John Milton born 1608.

Sir Anthony Van Dyck died 1641.

Joel Chandler Harris born 1848.

Doth God exact day labor, light denied? I fondly ask: but Patience, to prevent That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need Either man's work, or his own gifts; who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best; his state Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed, And post o'er land and ocean without rest; They also serve who only stand and wait."

--John Milton.

"'Tain't on'y chilluns w'at got de consate er doin' eve'ything dey see yuther folks do. Hit's grown folks w'at oughter know better," said Uncle Remus.

--Joel Chandler Harris.

Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God with reverence and awe.

--Hebrews 12. 28.

My Father, teach me to select my work from that which is noble and true. May I not mold my life in affectation or feel that I must imitate the lives of others, but grant that I may perfect my life through experiences which are worthy of increasing endeavors. Amen.

DECEMBER TENTH

Thomas Holcroft born 1745.

Dr. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet born 1787.

Eugene Sue born 1804.

Be of good cheer. Do not think of to-day's failures, but of success that may come to-morrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will have a joy in overcoming obstacles--a delight in climbing rugged paths which you would perhaps never know if you did not sometimes slip backward, if the road were always smooth and pleasant. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.

--Helen Keller.

We rise by things that are beneath our feet, By what we have mastered by good and gain, By the pride deposed and passion slain, And the vanquished ills that we hourly meet.

--J.G. Holland.

He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with, me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne.

--Revelation 3. 21.

My Father, I pray that I may not be given to contradicting and doubting, nor take for granted that which needs to be considered. Grant that I may have the faith and strength of heart to fulfill the longings of my soul. Amen.

DECEMBER ELEVENTH

Sir Roger L'Estrange died 1704.

Dr. William Cullen born 1712.

Colley Cibber died 1757.

Lord, subdue our selfish will; Each to each our tempers suit, By thy modulating skill, Heart to heart, as lute to lute.

--Charles Wesley.

One of the last, slowly murmured sayings of Whittier, was this: "Give--my--love--to--the--world." And this is the world's supreme need to-day; more than our eloquence, or our knowledge, or our wealth, or all else besides, it needs our love. True, even love may sometimes err; but the cure for love's mistakes is just more love; we often blunder because we do not love enough. God help us all that, like Whittier, we may live and die, giving our love to the world.

--George Jackson.

Love never faileth.

--1 Corinthians 13. 8.

Lord God, help me to see the beauty of the world, and through my duty may I find the love in the world. May I not spend my life in discontent, but may I remember that thou hast said, "The meek shall inherit the earth." Fill my heart with compassion, that I may love my fellow man as I love myself. Amen.

DECEMBER TWELFTH

Chief Justice John Jay born 1745.

Gustav Flaubert born 1821.

Robert Browning died 1889.

A people is but the attempt of many To rise to the completer life of one. And those who live for models for the mass Are singly of more value than they all.

--Robert Browning.

Give me the power to labor for mankind; Make me the mouth of such as cannot speak; Eyes let me be to groping men 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 further on such as thy kingdom seek.

--Theodore Parker.

I was eyes to the blind, And feet was I to the lame.

--Job 29. 15.

Almighty God, wilt thou guide me in the direction where I may choose a useful life; open wide my heart as well as my eyes, that I may early see my work and be diligent in its prosecution. Reveal to me, when I may have failed, that I may do better to-morrow. Amen.

DECEMBER THIRTEENTH

William Drummond born 1585.

Dr. Samuel Johnson died 1784.

Joseph Noel Paton born 1821.

Phillips Brooks born 1835.

Hamilton Mabie born 1846.

When the clouds of sorrow gather over us, we see nothing beyond them, nor can imagine how they can be dispelled; yet a new day succeeded to the night, and sorrow is never long without a dawn of ease.

--Dr. Samuel Johnson.

The fountains of joy and sorrow are for the most part locked up in ourselves.... There come to great, solitary, and sorely smitten souls moments of clear insight, of assurance of victory, of unspeakable fellowship with truth and life and God, which outweigh years of sorrow and bitterness.

--Hamilton Mabie.

And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you.

--John 16. 22.

My Father, may I remember that the days of my life that I give over to grief can never be reclaimed. Help me that I may not want to keep sorrow in my life, but with faith may I believe that "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Amen.

DECEMBER FOURTEENTH

Daniel Neal born 1678.

Rev. Charles Wolfe born 1791.

George Washington died 1799.

Frances Ridley Havergal born 1836.

Seldom can the heart be lonely, If it seek a lonelier still; Self-forgetting, seeking only Emptier cups of love to fill.

--Frances R. Havergal.

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought I summon up remembrance of things past, I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought. And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste

* * * * *

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, All losses are restored, and sorrows end.

--William Shakespeare.

The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of them that are taught, that I may know how to sustain with words him that is weary.

--Isaiah 50. 4.

Gracious Father, keep me cheerful and courageous, that I may not be given to weary murmurings. May my hours of solitude be spent profitably as they pass. Grant that I may be a help to those who are in need of sympathy and encouragement, and through the peace that is given to me help them to a tranquil life. Amen.

DECEMBER FIFTEENTH

Catherine of Aragon born 1485.

George Romney born 1734.

Franklin B. Sanborn born 1831.

Yet frequent visitors shall kiss the shrine, And ever keep its vestal lamp alight; All noble thoughts, all dreams divinely bright, That waken or delight this soul of mine.

--F.B. Sanborn.

One small cloud can hide the sunlight; Loose one string, the pearls are scattered; Think one thought, a soul may perish; Say one word, a heart may break.

--A.A. Procter.

Self-scrutiny is often the most unpleasant, and always the most difficult, of moral actions. But it is also the most important and salutary; for, as the wisest of the Greeks said, "An unexamined life is not worth living."

--J. Strachan.

Try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith; prove your own selves.

--2 Corinthians 13. 5.

Gracious Father, help me that I may not be thoughtless and unkind. May I be gentle and sympathetic. Forgive me for any unhappiness which I may have made, and may it be mine to know the rejoicing that comes hi lifting a discouraged life in time. Amen.

DECEMBER SIXTEENTH

John Selden born 1584.

François La Rochefoucauld born 1610.

George Whitefield born 1714.

Jane Austen born 1775.

So live that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan that moves To that mysterious realm where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not, like the quarry slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him and lies down to pleasant dreams.

--William Cullen Bryant.

As the wind extinguishes a taper but kindles the fire, so absence is the death of an ordinary passion, but lends strength to the greater.

--La Rochefoucauld.

If a man die, shall he live again?

--Job 14. 14.

Heavenly Father, with thy help may I enter into the hope that overcomes the fear of death. May my days be full of aspiration, and through faith may my life move toward the eternal and the sublime. Amen.

DECEMBER SEVENTEENTH

Sir Roger L'Estrange born 1616.

Ludwig van Beethoven born 1770.

Sir Humphry Davy born 1779.

John Greenleaf Whittier born 1807.