Part 14
_Drudgery is the gray angel of success.... Look at the leaders in the professions, the solid men in business, the master-workmen who begin as poor boys and end by building a town to house their factory-hands, they are drudges of the single aim.... "One thing I do."... Mr. Maydole, the hammer-maker of Central New York, was an artist: "Yes," he said, "I have made hammers for twenty-eight years." "Well, then you ought to be able to make a pretty good hammer by this time." "No, sir," was the answer, "I never made a pretty good hammer--I make the best hammer made in the United States."_
WILLIAM C. GANNETT.
O Lord, we remember our daily duties before Thee, the hard toil which Thou givest us in our manifold and various avocations, and we pray Thee that there may be in us such a confidence in our nature, such earnest obedience to Thee, we reverencing all Thy qualities and keeping Thy commands, that we shall serve Thee every day, making our life one great act of holiness unto Thee. May our continuous industry be so squared by the golden rule that it shall nicely fit with the interests of all with whom we have to do, and so by our handicraft all mankind shall be blessed. Amen.
THEODORE PARKER.
August 25
_His larger life ye cannot miss In gladly, nobly using this._
BAYARD TAYLOR.
_There are saints enough if we only know how to find them--sainthoods of the fireside and of the market place. They wear no glory round their heads; they do their duties in the strength of God; they have their martyrdoms and win their palms, and though they get into no calendars, they leave a benediction and a force behind them on the earth when they go up to heaven._
PHILLIPS BROOKS.
Our Father, in Whose life are our lives, help us to use all things nobly and so find joy in Thee. We thank Thee for faithful souls who in humblest station have reflected Thy life and have worked for blessing. In Thy strength they have sought to build Thy kingdom, and though they have had no glory of men they yet have wrought for Thee and have won place in Thy heart. Because they have aided the world and others have entered into their labors their good work shall remain and its quiet influence shall be a benediction. Though they have lived obscure lives and have filled obscure places they have been precious in Thy sight and are numbered with Thy saints. May we, like them, eternally serve Thee. Amen.
GEORGE H. YOUNG.
August 26
_We can't choose happiness either for ourselves or for another; we can't tell where that will lie. We can only choose whether we will indulge ourselves in the present moment, or whether we will renounce that for the sake of obeying the divine voice within us,--for the sake of being true to all the motives that sanctify our lives. I know this belief is hard; it has slipped away from me again and again; but I have felt that if I let it go forever, I should have no light through the darkness of this life._
GEORGE ELIOT.
O God, Thou knowest the hours in which we desire Thee. Thou knowest that Thou hast made us to love truth and to walk in the light and when we are unjust, unkind, unloving, then we are not true to ourselves,--then we forget that we are living souls and that Thou art our Father. Let us not draw nigh to Thee with our lips while our hearts are far from Thee, but, knowing how dependent and frail we are, may we feel that it is a good and helpful thing to draw nigh unto Thee by faith and prayer,--and to take thought of that Infinite Love which holds us all in its arms of strength and mercy. Lift up our minds today, warm our affections, and deepen within us the feeling of reverence, of gratitude, and guide all the longings of our hearts aright. Amen.
JOSHUA YOUNG.
August 27
_Life may be given in many ways, And loyalty to truth be sealed As bravely in the closet as the field, So bountiful is fate; But then to stand beside her, When craven churls deride her, To front a lie in arms and not to yield, This shows, methinks, God's plan And measure of a stalwart man, Limbed like the old heroic breeds, Who stands self-poised on manhood's solid earth, Not forced to frame excuses for his birth, Fed from within with all the strength he needs._
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.
Heavenly Father, in this new day may we recognize a new opportunity for seeking Thy purpose in us; to become stronger children of Thine, and worthier followers of Thy Son. Whatever be our trial give us courage to stand without compromise, for that which we believe to be true; give us grace to rise superior to praise or blame, timidity or self-interest; to be loyal to the best in us, and be ever ready to protest against wrong and injustice. Help us to know ourselves as temples of Thine; to know that the essential principal in us is not dust, but God; to rise to that dignity of sonship that compels one to choose the right and say: "Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise." In His name. Amen.
HERBERT H. GRAVES.
August 28
_All we have willed or hoped or dreamed of good, shall exist; Not its semblance, but itself; no beauty, nor good, nor power Whose voice has gone forth, but each survives for the melodist, When eternity affirms the conception of an hour. The high that proved too high, the heroic for earth too hard, The passion that left the ground to lose itself in the sky, Are music sent up to God by the lover and the bard; Enough that he heard it once: we shall hear it by and by._
ROBERT BROWNING.
O God, our heavenly Father! we come before Thee at this morning hour, thanking Thee for Thy loving care, that has protected us through the night, and for the blessed sleep, that has brought refreshment to our bodies and minds. We are grateful, O Father, for this new day, rich in hope and promise and opportunity, and we pray that, as its hours pass, we may be kept very near to Thee, that the "Words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart, may be acceptable in Thy sight," that when the day is done, and we come to Thee at its close, we need in no wise to be ashamed. Amen.
NELLIE MANN OPDALE.
August 29
_How often does the chopper of some stone, While toiling at his task of heave and shock, Find in the heart-space of a severed rock The impress of some fern that once had grown, Full of aspiring life and color-tone, Deep in the forest where the shadows flock, Till, caught within the adamantine block, It lay for ages hidden and unknown! So many a beauteous thought blooms in the mind But unexpressed, droops down into the soul And lies unuttered in the silence there Until some opener of the soul shall find The fern-like fossilled dream, complete and whole, And marvel at its beauty past compare._
ALFRED L. DONALDSON.
O mighty Potter, to whose steadfast eyes A thousand years lie open as one day, Thy patient hand set firm on life's great wheel This heavy, shapeless clay.
Rough and imperfect, yet it owns Thy touch; Spare not, nor stay, the pressure of Thine hand; Make known Thy power; and soon, or late, let love Perfect what love hath planned! Amen.
L. H. HAMMOND.
August 30
_The dark green summer, with its massive hues, Fades into Autumn's tincture manifold; A gorgeous garniture of fire and gold The high slope of the ferny hill indues. The mists of morn in slumbering layers diffuse O'er glimmering rock, smooth lake, and spiked array Of hedgerow thorns a unity of gray. All things appear their tangible form to lose In ghostly vastness. But anon the gloom Melts, as the sun puts off his muddy veil. And now the birds their twittering songs resume, All summer silent in the leafy dale. In spring they piped of love on every tree, But now they sing the song of memory._
HARTLEY COLERIDGE.
Ever blessed Father, in Whose pleasant world we are glad to awake again, looking forward to a happy and useful day, we beseech Thy loving guidance through these hours. May we look abroad with gratitude and love upon this beautiful earth, doubly beautiful in the waning summer time, when a new splendor comes across the hills, and Thou dost reveal Thyself, as of old, in the burning bush. Grant that we may look through nature up to nature's God. Grant that the mists of doubt and uncertainty which often hide Thee from us may be dispersed in the sunlight of a happy faith, and that the heart, so often sad and silent, may once more lift its cheerful song to Thee. Amen.
ALFRED GOODING.
August 31
_No rare creative inspirations throng My quiet spirit, silent, sad and lone; No Sapphic flame hath on its altar shone; No music to my nature doth belong. Thou art the sunlight, I am Memnon's stone, Thou art the zephyr, I give back its song; The harp Æolian can do no wrong To the soft airs which wake an answering tone: Upon my soul, Oh, then breathe tenderly; Subdue the discord, still the jarring strain; So may the harp-strings yield but melody. If notes discordant give thy keen ear pain, Set the fine chords again to harmony; Let but sweet echoes of thyself remain._
ADA FOSTER MURRAY.
O Thou Who art the source of all that is and the giver of all that makes life blessed, we thank Thee that Thy providence abides through every change and that Thou dost cheer the loneliest lot with the comfort of Thy presence. Thou hast been with us in times past and now on this last day of the summer months, we would thank Thee for the blessings of the closing season and ask for the continuance of Thy unfailing care and the enrichment of our souls with the gifts of Thy Spirit. Bring us into harmony with all that is pure and good, and enable us to walk in the light of Thy favor and in the paths of Thy commandments. Amen.
CHARLES H. VAIL.
September 1
_'Neath harvest moon the stricken summer lies Still smiling bravely in her brightest bloom, Her heart yet holds no hint of gloom, No trace of sadness in her sunlit eyes. We love thee, Summer, child of Paradise-- A myriad host announce thy coming doom Chanting the requiem of thy wintry tomb, While lovingly look down the tender skies; A holy hush is in the hazy air As in thy radiant beauty thou dost sleep! Nature, arrayed in rainbow colors fair, Is strong of heart her vigil long to keep: We know the secret thou dost seek to tell,-- Thou art immortal, Summer, fare thee well._
ANNA A. GORDON.
Heavenly Father, behind all changes dost Thou lurk in eternal constancy. Never lingering, each good of life gives place to the better Thou hast in store, and in glory and gladness resigns to that which comes after. From the good that is, may we learn to pass cheerfully to the better that is to be,--from the cool morning and sunny noon to the purple gloaming and the star-lit night, from the tender spring and glowing summer to the golden autumn and snow-pure winter, from the sweet life that now is to that fulness of realization whose sweeter splendors eye hath not seen nor the heart of man conceived. We place our hands in Thine and would walk with Thee in holiest trust and serenest peace. Amen.
THOMAS W. ILLMAN.
September 2
_"I will be happy all the day Let come what may." 'Twas early morning when the word was said, And like a journey 'cross a weary plain There stretched the hours, but I was comforted As heart and voice sung o'er the sweet refrain, "I will be happy all the day Let come what may."_
_"I will make hope and only hope My horoscope." The sombre, brooding clouds of discontent Oppress one's spirit like a throbbing pain; One frets and moans in one's environment, But with a look ahead I sing again, "I will make hope and only hope My horoscope."_
FREDERICK A. BISBEE.
Yea, Lord, we thank Thee that we may hope and be happy all the day for Omnipotence is our Father and our changeless Friend, and we have naught to fear. We are glad of life and thank Thee for all that makes it heroic or beautiful or sweet. We rejoice in our home, in our dear ones, and in the precious human loves that reflect the love divine. Pardon our sins, we pray Thee, and work out Thy purposes in us. May we work and hope on and be glad in Thee filling this day so full of useful employ that when the night shall come, we shall lie down to sleep upon Thy loving children like tired but happy children, and so find rest and refreshment for another day with men and Thee. Amen.
CARL F. HENRY.
September 3
_There's a dance of leaves in that aspen bower, There's a titter of winds in that beechen tree, There's a smile on the fruit, and a smile on the flower, And a laugh from the brook that runs to the sea._
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.
_O sweet September! thy first breezes bring The dry leaf's rustle and the squirrel's laughter, The cool, fresh air, whence health and vigor spring And promise of exceeding joy hereafter._
GEORGE ARNOLD.
O Lord, we thank Thee for the spring, which brought her handsome promise, for the gorgeous preparation which the summer made in his manly strength, and we bless Thee for the months of autumn, whose sober beauty now is cast on every hill and every tree. We thank Thee for the harvests which the toil and the thought of man have gathered already from the surface of the ground, or digged from its bosom. We bless Thee for the other harvests still growing beneath the earth, or hanging abundant beauties in the autumnal sun from many a tree, all over our blessed Northern land. Amen.
THEODORE PARKER.
September 4
_Do right, and God's recompense to you will be the power to do more right. Give, and God's reward to you will be the spirit of giving more: blessed spirit, for it is the Spirit of God Himself, whose Life is the blessedness of giving. Love, and God will pay you with the capacity of more love; for love is Heaven, love is God within you._
FREDERICK W. ROBERTSON.
O Lord, we thank Thee for Thy manifold gifts unto the children of men. Thou givest life and all the sustenance of life. Thou givest our fair and beautiful world. Thou givest us the power of hope and faith and thought. From Thine own giving may we learn that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Teach us, O Lord, to give more freely and more gladly, and may we learn how our own life, and joy and growth are involved in the spirit in which we give and serve. In all our giving and all our serving may we keep before us the vision of the Master who gave Himself that we might live. Amen.
GEORGE L. PERIN.
September 5
_Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The soul that rises with us, our life's star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And cometh from afar. Not in entire forgetfulness, And not in utter nakedness, But trailing clouds of glory, do we come From God who is our home: Heaven lies about us in our infancy, At length the man perceives it die away And fade into the light of common day._
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.
O Eternal God, Who art without beginning of days or end of years, from Whom cometh all our life; pardon, we beseech Thee, the sins of Thy children, wherein we have darkened Thine own image within us. Let not our light die away amid the common toil and daily care, but so glorify our life with Thy spirit, that we may gladly present both souls and bodies to Thy service an acceptable sacrifice, and, learning to love Thee above all things, may be approved in Thy sight as true disciples of Thy Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
WILLIAM E. GASKIN.
September 6
_A haze on the far horizon, The infinite tender sky, The ripe, rich tint of the corn-fields, And the wild geese sailing high, And all over upland and lowland The charm of the goldenrod-- Some of us call it Autumn, And others call it God._
WILLIAM H. CARRUTH.
Once more, O God, Thou partest the curtains of night to bless us with a new day. In its dawning Thou revealest Thyself to us anew. Fresh beauties break upon our vision; new evidences of Thy goodness appear; new joys rise in our hearts. We thank Thee for the harvest of corn that feeds our bodies and the harvest of beauty that feeds our souls; for the blue of the distant hills and the wide stretch of meadow and prairie; for golden flower and flying bird; for the nearness of Thy presence in the brooding haze; for the thoughts unutterable that rise within us. In thankfulness may we go forth to our daily tasks and live in consciousness of Thy eternal presence and love. Amen.
RODNEY F. JOHONNOT.
September 7
_I come under your windows, some fine morning, and play you one of my adagio movements, and some of you say,--This is good, play us so always. But, dear friends, if I did not change the stop sometimes, the machine would wear out in one part and rust in another. How easily this or that tune flows! you say, there must be no end of such melodies in him. I will open the poor machine for you one moment, and you shall look. Every note marks where a spur of steel has been driven in. It is easy to grind out the song, but to plant these bristling points which make it was the painful task of time._
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.
We thank Thee, Father, for Thy love which, like the morning light, fails not to greet us at each opening day. While its radiant beams light up the pathway from our hearts to Thine, we come, with eager steps, for morning worship and for praise. Take Thou, we pray, the hand outstretched out to Thee and lead us safely through another day. Grant us the strength to do our very best and leave results with Thee. We do not ask for ease, but victory; not for the praise of men, but for the blessing of our God upon our heaven-appointed task. Grant us the joy supreme of knowing, when the sun has set, that we have left undone no duty to our God or fellowman. Amen.
J. W. ANNAS.
September 8
_Admit into thy silent breast The notes of but one bird And instantly thy soul will join In jubilant accord._
_The perfume of a single flow'r Inhale like breath of God, And in the garden of thy heart A thousand buds will nod._
_Toward one star in heaven's expanse Direct thy spirit's fight, And thou wilt have in the wide world, My child, enough delight._
JOHANNA AMBROSIUS.
Our Father In Heaven, as Thou turnest the earth once more toward the light to give us another day may we not forget that all things come of Thee. Thou givest us this beautiful earth, adorned with a thousand varied beauties, crowded with opportunities and possibilities, for our home. Day and night, sunshine and the rain, labor and trial, joy and victory, all are from Thy hand. Whatever the circumstances of our life, whatever our labor and place, help us to remember that life is a school in which to learn, an arena where we may fight and win. May we gain wisdom and strength to win the victory which is life eternal, and in finding that may we find peace and content in Thee. Amen.
FREDERICK A. TAYLOR.
September 9
_Give me the gospel of the fields and woods-- The sermons written in the book of books; The sweet communion of the things of earth Fresh with the warm baptism of the sun. Give me the offertory of bud and bloom, The perfect caroling of happy birds. Give me the creed of one of God's fair days Wrought in the beauty of its loveliness; And then, the benediction of the stars, His eloquent ministers of the night._
JAMES RAVENSCROFT.
Heavenly Father, we praise Thee for the breaking day, the singing birds, the dew in the meadows, the fragrance of the flowers, ascending like old-time incense from Jewish altar, the sun gilding the hill-tops, the veiled stars, the gliding river, mirroring in its depths, sedge and tree and overhanging sky. Thou hast ordained that we nestle in the bosom of nature and feel the touch of God. Pour strength into our beings from bird and flower, and Thy spirit which moves in them, that our youth may be renewed like the eagle's. So shall the memories of earth enrich our heaven. We praise and supplicate in the name of Jesus. Amen.
L. A. FREEMAN.
September 10
_Just whistle a bit if the day be dark And the sky be overcast: If mute be the voice of the piping lark, Why, pipe your own small blast._
_And it's wonderful how o'er the gray sky-track, The truant warbler comes stealing back. But why need he come? for your soul's at rest, And the song in the heart,--ah, that is best._
PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR.
Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the assurance that all things work together for good to them that love Thee. Help us to live this day in joyous faith in that promise. May we realize that behind all clouds the sun still shines, and that the Father's wisdom never errs, and his love never fails. Give us courage for this day's conflicts, grace for its trials, and strength for its duties. Guide our feet in the way of Thy commandments and fill our souls with the joy of Thy presence. May our lives no less than our lips praise Thee. Amen.
CHARLES F. RICE.
September 11
_For each true deed is worship; it is prayer, And carries its own answer unaware. Yes, they whose feet upon good errands run Are friends of God, with Michael of the sun; Yes, each accomplished service of the day Paves for the feet of God a lordlier way. The souls that love and labor through all wrong, They clasp His hand and make the Circle strong; They lay the deep foundation stone by stone, And build into Eternity God's throne!_
EDWIN MARKHAM.
Our Heavenly Father, we, Thy children, turn to Thee in gratitude and hope for this new day of opportunity. May our high calling in Christ Jesus loom large before our eyes. Deliver us, we humbly beseech Thee, from making ourselves and our concerns chief in thought and effort. May we find our lives in saving those whose sky is dark, whose burdens are heavy, and whose faith is perishing. With zest, as do the angels, when we hear Thy Spirit's voice, may we turn and obey. To let these hours of service prove to us, not only that Thou art, but that Thou art the rewarder of them that diligently seek Thee. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
DEWITT S. CLARK.
September 12
_Good name, in man or woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls. Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands; But he that filches from me my good name, Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed._
SHAKESPEARE.
God of all righteousness and charity, breathe upon me the spirit of thine own charity and righteousness, that I may deal worthily with the good name of every human being with whom I have to do. Help me, that I may bring no injury to the fair fame of any. May the law of kindness be in my lips, and the spirit of helpful justice in my heart. Inspire me to come, whenever I ought, to the rescue of the slandered, that I may deliver them into the liberty of human fellowship. And not to me alone, O God, but to all men, teach this divine lesson of fair judgment and sweet help, that they may live together as children in thy gracious family. Amen.
WILLIAM N. CLARKE.
September 13
_I searched for love in heart of city's hum; I searched for love upon the shining sand Of ocean beach; and then on towering cliffs I sung A pleading song that love unto my heart might come; But love came not._
_I searched for love no more, but labored sore To ease those hearts whom sorrow'd touched before, Faint hope that in sweet work I'd surely find Some compensation for a fate unkind-- When, lo! love came._
BESSIE L. RUSSELL.