Careening to the wind, they reach, With laugh and call, the sh.o.r.e.

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 G.o.d, 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 G.o.d'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 G.o.d 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 G.o.d!--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 pa.s.s 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. G.o.d, 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 G.o.d, 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.