f> Th E HifiLStiNG S ^ . B I R^ H D Ay B 6 OK, FROM THE LIBRARY OF REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON. D. D. BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO THE LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY ■ . /-V 1 ^^B».«^ ^1 1 ^^^^^^^^^^r ^'m m ^^^B^^^ a' ^^^^^^^K ^m ^Be^^ .k yam -[^yj^^^^B^^ jflp' .^jhI H^^^^^^^^^ ^B' ' fm^^k ^^^^^^^^^^B j^^^BT /^ 'V ^il^^^^^^l ^^^^H ^Hb-yT *,■ r^i j^^flM^^^^^^^^B ^B .-0^C¥mcs /:; THE ^N-v 4 1937 ^ HASTINGS BIETHDAY BOOK. SELECTIONS FROM THE ^VRITIXGS OF H. L. HASTINGS, Editor of " The Christian." COMPILED BY J. IT. T. BOSTON : SrKlPTURAL TRACT REPOSITORY. 47 CORNHILL. Copyright, 1884. BY THE SCRIPTURAL TRACT REPOSITORY, BOSTOX, MASS. Repository Press, 41* Corxhill. PREFACE. • This little book has been compiled with the hope that on whatever page one may look, or in which- ever space he may write, he may not fail to find some word of wisdom, encouragement, or hope which may be to him an inspiration to stronger faith and nobler deeds. Birthdays of famous men and women, and of some less noted but perhaps equally worthy of note, will be found under their respective dates. It is hoped that whatever was worthy of imitation in them may prompt a hearty endeavor on the part of all who wTite their names in such good company to emulate their virtues, while avoiding their mis- takes. " Lives of great men all remind ns We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us, Footprints on the sands of time. Footprints that perhaps another, Sailing o'er life's solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again.*' A New Year. Another year upon the world is dawning, The flitting sliadows flush with ruddy gleam: Along the hill-tops breaks the light of morning, Above the silent hosts who sleep and dream. Another year ! Hope hails it from the mountain, And, tip-toe, waits into its light to peer; While silent Sorrow, by her lonely fountain, Shudders and shrinks with sad and nameless fear. Another year ! Who knows its changeful measure ? What phantom shapes throughout its realms arise ? Who can forsee its mingled woe and pleasure, Its sunny glories and its shadowed skies. Another year ! Ah, boast not of to-morrow, Who can foreknow the changes of his way ? Rejoice with fear, yet sink not down in sorrow; Sufficient is the evil of to-day. "Another year !'' Who knows ? Who dares to say it ? All years and days in God's great purpose dwell ; List to his counsel, heed it, and obey it, And as he gives each moment, use it well. Walk calmly on, on His great love depending, Bold and yet humble, cautious without fear: Then, when all earthly days and years are ending. Thine shall be God's great, happy, glad New Year. January 1. The beginuiDg of a new year is a favorite time for making new promises, vows, and reso- lutions, which are usually broken or forgotten. Such promises amount to but little. The Lord does not ask us to promise^ resolve, covenant, and agree to obey him for months to come ; but he asks us to obey him to-day^ and trust him *^who is able to keep us from fallingy' for strength in the future. One of God's prom- ises is worth ten thousand of man's. If we make fewer promises, and trust more in the promises God has made, we shall find more of blessing and less of disappointment and failure. January 2. To-day is not your lest time to seek salva- tion ; — that time has forever passed. It is not the best time you ever liave seen; but it is the best time that you ever will see. And to-day is God's time, — his appointed, chosen, precious hour of grace. You have his w arrant, his com- mand, his special invitation to come to-day, and find eternal life. Do not neglect, nor despise, nor refuse the gracious call. *' To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. '^ AVhen the judgment trumpet sounds, men will decide quickly — but they will decide too late ! January 1. riiilili Schatf, 1819. Maria Ed^^eworth, 1767. Kdmuad Burke, 17clO. January 2. Geueral James Wolfe, 1727. Titns I/ivliis historian, 1712. Charles James Fox, 1749. Kmg S. Hastings, died, 1854. 25 January 25. An idler is the deviTs apprentice, and it will be strange if he does not soon turn him out a finished workman. A man who is too lazy to work is not usually too holy to sin ; and a min- ister of the gospel who has too much dignity to keep himself steadily employed, may be expected to fall into some snare that Satan sets for men who are not kept busy. There is noth- ing better for the souls and bodies of ministers of the Gospel, than fervent prayer, faithful study of the Bible, devout meditation, and enough good^ honesty Iciborious icorlc to keep them from useless visiting, idling and loafing. January 26. Keep on the safe side. Be sure rather than sorry. Do not give yourself the benefit of every doubt. Be lenient to others' faults, but strict regarding your own. If there be an act which in your own mind is doiibtful or question- able in its character, take the course of wisdom and of prudence. It would be a terrible thing to be mistaken in the final day; it is better to be sure Tiere than to be sorry at the judgment seat of Christ. January 25. Robert Burns, 1750. January 26. Joseph Cook, 1838. January 27. If persons would believe that it is as diffi- cult to make a good poem without practice, as it is to make a good pair of shoes, what quan- tities of ill-assorted rhymes would be burned up at home, instead of being sent to fill the waste basket of some poor editor, who only requires to read a single sentence to see that the writer is not a poet and is never likely to be. As a rule, writing poetry is like preaching the gospel; no one should undertake it if he can avoid it with a clear conscience. If a man can- not help preaching, let him preach ; if he can- not help writing, let him write ; and then others will decide for themselves whether his talk is worth hearing, or his writing worth reading. January 28. Trials make us strong, as the hurricane sends more deeply into tlie earth the roots of trees which withstand its power. Trials make us patient beneath the afflictions and conflicts of this world. Trials fit us for present service and for future glory. Let us thank God for such instrumentalities, and "count it all joy'' when we ''fall into divers temptations." January 27. J..|.;.iin Cliiv^ostoin Wolf<;anrr Gottlifl. Mo/art, 17o»». January 28. i Peter the Great, died. 172". Chailemasine, died, 814. OQ January 29. 8aid Admiral Farragut, on the eve o£ a bat- tle, when enquired of concerning his prepara- tions for defeat: "As to being prepared for (lefeaU I am certainly not, and the man who i< prepared for defeat will be one lialf defeated h- fore he commences. I am prepared for success, and shall do all in my power to secm*e it, and trust to God for the rest." 3Iany persons, while professedly serving the Lord, take great pains to keep a line of retreat open, by which they can turn back to the world without involvini: themselves in any. reproach or disgrace. They are prepared for defeat, and are quite sure to be defeated. Maws stronghold is his integrity; and thi- fortress can never be successfully assailed from without unless there is treachery within. You can hold this fort against all assailants. No one but yourself can make you dishonest; no one but yourself can rob you of your integrity, or debase you by fraud and trickery and vil- lainy. Men may suspect you, slander you, and lie about you, but they cannot make you guilty of the things which they lay to your charge. January 29. .lohn K viand. 1753. Emauuel Swedenborj;, 1688 'J. January 30. Samuel Pri.leaux TieLrellcs, 1813. Charles Uullin, IHGl. 31 January 31. A man who, during the great American con- liict, had been hiding in the mountains to avoid conscription, at last ventured down to a sea- port to learn how the strife progressed. To his surprise he found that the war had ended long- before, and that peace and amnesty had been proclaimed. Just so there are now sinners and doubters w4io are lurking and skulking in the bogs of sorrow, and in the sloughs of despond- ency, and in the thickets of unbelief, who have never heard the word that God hath sent. "Preaching pectce by Jesus Christ,— he is Lord of all.'' They act as if they had never heard that the angels sung, ' ' On earth peace, good will toward men," above the plains of Bethle- hem. And so they are trying to do something, or feel something, or find something by which to malte peace, when peace was made long ago through the blood of the cross, and they have only to accept the message, submit to God and be saved. January 31. n.uM Egede, uiidjjiouary, 16bt). Fiaiiz Schubert, 171>7 ^y^^r Family Hymn. Thou wlio hast f'onut'd the family. And there thy lonely ones didst place; help us now to come to thee. To l)less thy name and seek thy Wu-e. Dwell thou within oui home. (> Loi\l. Not as a strange or transient us' feet. e w ith us in our festal days, Atui may they in thy love be kept; e with us in our tearful ways. For it is written, '".Tesus wept.*' ount us in thy whole family. Scattered through eartliand heaven above, ind each to eadi, and all to thee. With bands of everlasting hue, Lo„.lo„, I'vh. 10, issj. 35 February 1. The man who does business without tak- ing account of stock, and who thinks that a dollar borrowed is the same as a dollar earned, will by-and-by wake up with the consciousness that he has consumed his capital, and used up his credit, and that it is time for him to step down and give place to others better fitted for places of responsibility. The man in business should know where he stands, and what he is doing. He who is too idle to ascertain, or too cowardly to know the facts, is unfitted to con- trol any business. February 2. It is unpleasant to be called a rogue, — it is far worse to he one ; it is hard to be accused as a villain, but it is still harder to know that the accusation is true ; it is a sad thing to be lied about and misrepresented, but it is sadder still to slander and misrepresent another. No slan- der of men can take aw^ay a man's knowledge of the integrity of his own character, the purity of his intentions, and the devoutness of his own life. Nothing but our own sins can rob us of quietness of conscience and peace with God. February 1. Tiberiua Hemsterhuysi, 1(>85. February 2. Hiiiniali ^loie, 1745. Giovanni Pierlnigi da Palestriiia, composer, died, 1594, 37 February 3. Men love to do what the}' can do well. And men can usually do well those things which tliey are accustomed to do continually. A bright needle works easily, a rusty one pulls hard. Machinery deteriorates much faster when lying idle than when kept in regular use. Any man who does onh^ one hard day's work in a week, will naturally suffer much exhaustion from his effort. Let him work regularly six days in the week, and he will do six days' work more easily than he could accomplish one. FelDPuary 4. Taking man's estimate of himself, the facts of human iniquity and ruin are inexplicable. Taking God's estimate of man, all is plain. Then instead of wondering that some go T\Tong. we should wonder that any go right ; instead of being surprised at occasional lapses of per- sons who arc striving to live upright lives, we should rather be surprised at the divine mercy that keeps men from falling, and that brings back the wanderers to the heavenlv fold. February 3. Horace (iieeley, 1811. Frederick \V. Kol»eitsun. 181t . Friedrich Heinrich Wilhelm Gejieniu>, 1786. Jacob Ludwijr Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, 1800. Dr. Eli^^ha Kent Kane, 1822. February 4. sir Robert Peel, state&raaii, llbS. 39 February 5. ''Give, aud it shall be given unto you.'' But what shall I give? Give what you have to give. The widow's mite outweighed the rich man's wealth. Give to the hungry, food, and to the naked, clothing; give comfort to the sick and consolation to the sad ; give words of peace to troubled hearts, and cheerful greetings to dis- tressed and despondent souls; give pardon to those who do you wrong; give compassion to those whose sins and sorrows oppress them; give love, not only to friends, but to foes; and give your heart to Him who gave himself for you. February 6. The ministry of pain has great moral uses. Our days of pain are days of comparative safety. It is true, there may be murmuring and petulance in connection with pain : but our temptations to sin usually come under other circumstances. It is when we are in health and strength and vigor that we are led into paths of iniquity and wrong-doing. It is not in the dark days of adversity that \V(; yield to temp- tation and go astray from God; but it is on our brightest days that ^in casts its deepest shadows. February 5. Dn-1-ht Lvrnan Moody, 1837. OW Borm-mann Bull, ]810. February 6. Aii'lrf^vv Fiillfr, 17o4. Dr. Joseph Prif-^tly, ana Boanlman, Si., 1801. Gen. Win. T. Slii^iTiian. 1S20. :Marv Stnart. Oueen .)t' Scots, bolu-a Scott. 1747. Henry Wilson, ISIJ Philip Mehmctlion, 14i»7. February 17. It is a waste of time to talk to a blind man, and persuade liim to see ; it is a waste of time to talk to a deaf man to induce him to hear ; it is a waste of time to point out the faults of men who never have any faults; it is a waste of time to talk about correcting wrongs to men who alwayjg do right ; it is a waste of time to argue with men who are too wise to be in- structed, and too old to learn ; it is a waste of time to attemjDt to secure one's rights when every attempt to secure right results in the in- fliction of greater wrong, and when every at- tempt to secure justice only insures still greater injustice. February 18. He who accepts position and authority, must with it accept the responsibilities which attach to its exercise. He may hesitate, he may tem- porize, but he must act, and bear the res2)on- sibility of his deeds, however unwillingly they may have been done. If he has not the courage to say ''Xo/" and the strength to stick to it, let him keep out of positions where authority must be exercised and responsibility incurred. February 17. Horace Beu6dict de Saussure, naturalist, 1740. Jean Hnnri Pestalozzi. died, 1827. February 18. Heury Marlyii, iinssionar\ , 1781. Ualileo, 15154. Martin Lutlai , dit^d. 1540. 53 February 19. A wrong confessed can be forgiven, but a wrong that is patched and plastered over with evasions and excuses, only excites our disgust and contempt for the man who will not see his faults, or if he sees them will not own them. Especially is this true when men make great professions of righteousness and purity, while at the same time they are guilty of acts which a decent sinner would scorn to perform. February 20. AVhen Christ was arraigned in the presence of his enemies, lie kept silence. He knew that contradiction was of no avail, that innocence Avas no defense, that nothing but silence would serve liim there. 80 the man who is subjected to false accusations and insinuations, has the right to choose his own time and manner of de- fense. There is a time to speak, and a time to keep silence. Happy are those who know how to discern these times. February 19. Nicholas Copernicus, 147 February 20, February 21. It is fearful to stand and watch the strong, the loved, the noble, as they sink in the quick- sands of intemperance ; and every such example teaches us the solemn lesson that the only safe position is upon the firm and solid ground of total abstinence from all that can intoxicate. If the man who takes the first glass could see himself as he will he lolien he takes the last one^ he Avould need no warning, but would flee from tlie tempter before the serpent had so twined itself about liim that resistance was vain, and escape impossible. February 22. Our estimates of times and seasons partake of our own frailty and imperfection. Tliat which God pronounces near at hand might yet seem far off to finite mortals. An eagle's es- timate of distance is very different from a snail's, and periods which seem to us vast and almost illimitable, are but the dust of rolling ages before Him of whom it is written: ''A thousand years in thy sight arc but as yesterday when it is ])ast, and as a watcli in the night.'' February 21. Anne Grant, poete?*, 17" February 22. <;porcrf Wa>;hineton, 1732. Jnnifs Ruspfll Lowell, If^lO. February 23. "Never trade horses," said the old minister; '4f you want to buy a horse, buy it; and if you want to get rid of a horse, sell it ; but do not swap horses." *'A horse is a vain thing for safety;" and horse-trading is very risky busi- ness for honest men, and especially for minis- ters, to engage in. The "outs" of horses are legion, and an experienced dealer in horse-flesh would, "if it were possible, deceive the very elect ;" and in our opinion it sometimes is pos- sible; and we suspect some of the elect are quite as likely to be deceived in a horse-trade as the non-elect. February 24. One honest confession is worth a dozen plaus- ible excuses, but it is harder to get one confes- sion made than twenty excuses. Confessing faults leads to forsaking them. Making excuses often leads to lying to hide faults ; and the road is a very short one from excuses to evasions, from evasions to deceptions, and from decep- tions to downright falsehoods. I February 23. John H. Vincent, 18.T-. February 24. George William Curtis, 1S24. Kul.ert Fult«m. .ilea, 1815. 59 February 25. There are many persons .who suppose them- selves to be full of courage, when in fact thry are only full of bluster. They talk loud and long and large, and boldly tell you what they will do, or what tliey would do ; but when they come to act, somehow their courage seems to vanish into thin air. They propose to grapple with wrongs, to denounce evils, to root out abuses, and to revolutionize things generally; but when you see them face to face with the evils of which they have complained and the )nen whom they have denounced, it is wonder- ful how quiet and conservative they become. February 25. A newspaper once contained an advertisement for a man to fill a certain position, which con- cluded with, ^' yo discouraged men lued cfpiiilyS' This was worldly wisdom, for a discouraged man counts for very little in this world's battle; he is defeated in advance; he faints in the day of adversity; he falters in the conflict ; he halts in the race; he weakens beneath the burdens and trials of active life. This world can do very little for discouraged men. Such men need the help of a Micrhtier One. and they can have it I February 25. John P. St. John, 1833. February 26. Victor Hu.rro, 1S02. February 27. AV'ords spring from thoughts, and tend to acts. Vile words lead to vile deeds. They familiarize the mind with vice, and break down the barriers of purit3\ Modesty is a safeguard against sin ; — evil words effectually destroy it. A dollar broken into is soon spent, and a pure purpose once polluted by sinful words soon melts away. Many a man has talked himself into sensuality, crime, and ruin. Intimacy with evil in thoughts and words, blinds men to the vileness of iniquity, and prepares them for sinful indulgence, and for ruin at last. February 28. Have your vacations, but not all at once. Leave somebody to keep ship. Do not break up the camp, nor leave the fort ungarrisoned. Take your vacations a few at a time, but keep your work going. Go at it as if you meant business. Never mind what upper-tendom is doing at Newport or Saratoga. Where you go preach Christ, and remember that though the Devil works harder than any one who resists him, he never take any vacations, and does not seem to necjlect his work. February 27. Henry W. Longfellow. 1N>7. February 28. Mary Lyon, 1797, founder of Mt. Holyoke Seminary. February 29. The best demonstration of the truth of Chris- tianity is Christianity itself, exhibited, prac- tised, and manifested to all men. If the sun should be concealed by fogs and clouds for many years, we might need argument to prove its existence. The literature of the ages would be found full of references to the sun and its light, yet we can imagine some skeptic people saying, "What do I care for your old musty parchments and books? I don't read such trash. I have never seen the sun, and I do not believe that there is one.*' But suppose that while men are arguing and quoting history and draw- ing inferences to disprove the existence of the sun, the clouds are riven and flee away, and the glory of the morning sun pours down upon them ! What need is there then of further argu- ment? So let the Gospel of Christ be trans- lated into flesh and blood, into the daily walk, and work, and words of Christian men, and the world cannot resist the evidence of the divine mission of the Lord Jesus Christ. February 29. (rioucchiiio Ru>»)«iiii, couipo»er, 1702. Rex Sanctorum. King of all saints, Sun of celestial glory, Brightness of Him whom mortals cannot see ; Humbly we worship and bow down before Thee, Lifting our praises and our thanks to Thee. All heaven and earth are blazing with thy splendor; ' Systems and suns thy glory sing and shine; We, too, our sacrifice of praise would render : Wilt thou accept our song and own us thine ? Thou who wert rich with Him the High and Holy, Lord of all worlds, enthi'oned in glorious might, Thou who for us didst press the manger lowly. Thou art our King, our Lord, our life and light. Thou art our Shepherd, Saviour, Friend and Father ; We are thy people, thy blood-purchased flock ; With thine OA\-n arm thou dost us safely gather. And give us water from the smitten rock. To thee the veiled Seraphim in glory In ceaseless worship lift the adoring cry; We. joining them, sing Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, who ruleth earth and sky. Reunion. Tho' my tiesh and heart may fail. Fail and fleet forever, Yet my fears .•shall not prevail, Christ shall leave me never. "When time's stormy tempest roar Is forever closing, I shall on the other shore With him be reposing. Loving eyes .shall on me shine, Hands .shall stretch to meet me, Loving arms shall roimd me twine, Loving voices greet me. There my little ones, I know. Round me shall be clinging ; There the loved of long ago AVith me shall be singing. Saviour, come and bring the day, — Day of endless gladness ; Drive our tears and gloom away, Banish all our sadness ; Lot us see the light of hanu-, Hear its music swelling : Bring us through the conquei rd tumb To that Ih'avenlv dwelling. March. 1. ^'I am not eloquent," says one. But elo- quence is not what is wanted. The dying man wants to see, not the greatest talker in town, but the Dian who has been sick just as he is, and who can tell just what cured him. And sinners, longing for salvation, want some sin- ner who is saved, to testify the fact. Can you do it? You need not dispute nor boast nor argue, — just testify. When they brought Paul before the rulers he told what God had done for him. Can you do the same? March 2. We must have our daily soul work between ourselves and God — our secret communion with him, or we shall starve even though surrounded by plenty. We must read our own Bibles, do our own praying, and believing, and weeping before the Lord ; conquer our own enemies in the strength which Jesus gives; and grow in grace and in the knowledge of God singly and in his sight. We cannot be pardoned in masses or saved in crowds. Strait is the gate, — and each must tind it mihI enter it for himself alone. March 1. March 2. John S. 1>. Muiist'll, hymn writer, 1811. Carl Schurz, 18-f'.i. Marcli 3. The curse of labor is a blessing in disguise. Hard work keeps men out of mischief. Satan finds business for the idle. God cursed the ground with thorns and briers, and sent man out of Paradise to subdue the soil and eat his bread in the sweat of his brow. Doing this, men are blessed with good health and appetite, quiet slumber, and divine favor. Seeking to avoid the curse of labor, men plunge themselves into tenfold greater evils. March. 4. Union with Christ is not only inward, secret, and vital, but it is also outward, practical, and visible. The roots of the tree are out of sight, but the branches are in sight, and the fruit can- not be hid. Men may talk of consecration to the Lord, when their lives are devoted to pleas- ing rich men who have money to bestow ; or of walking Jjy faitli^ while spending the Lord's gifts in costly living, expensive wines, and high-priced cigars ; but such persons, with all their self -satisfying confidence in God, and ])oasted knowledge of the gospel, may yet have something to learn of Ilim who was '' meek and lowlv in heart." 70 March 3. Edmund Waller, poet,. IGOo. March 4. Karl Kudolpli Hiigeiibaeh, 1801. March 5. Peter did not need to swear until he took to lying. As long as he told the truth, men had confidence in him; when he began to lie, he had to swear to make men believe it. When a man swears a thing is so, there is some evidence that it is not so. A man who lies is quite likely to swear to it. It is safe to beware of a profane man. '-To swear is neither brave, polite, nor wise." It is a vice without a motive, a sin without a shadow of a rew^ard. It is a vanity in the swearer, and a vexation to all around him. It is contrary to both law and gospel. God forbids it. the statute prohibits it, men despise it, and Christians abhor it. It is neither needful for grace, emphasis, nor assur- rance; and Jesus Christ our Lord has said, '• Swear not at all." Marjh 6. There is a wonderful power in Christian ten- derness. Harsh words are repelled ; careless words are unheeded ; fretful words patter like rain-drops on a close roof; witty words dazzle, and tickle, and are forgotten ; but tender words go down deep into the bottom of the heart, and heal, and soothe, and bless. 72 March 5. '■aac I, Hayes, Arctic explorer. 1832. u!strii H. La\ard, arrhfrolo_'ist. 1S17. Tlif»nias Aiii:H«tiu Anie. composer. fV\f<\, 177S. March 6. Michael An>zelo Ihionaroti, sculpt-^r, HT""'. Admiral Charles John Napier, ITST'. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, 1S.'51. March T. Gk)d calls for witnesses to-day. They may not be able from personal knowledge to tell the vision of a transfigured Christ, or the story of an opened sepulcher and an angelic message on a Saviour's resurrection morn, but they can testify of the present grace of God, and the life-giving, pardoning, healing power of Him who lives to save the lost. They can tell of sins forgiven, of sad hearts cheered, of gracious guidance, and of heavenly joy. And this is what the world needs. Can you do something to supply that need? March 8. It is an evil thing for us to be esteemed above our real character ; to be honored, praised, and trusted, when we should be reproved, and chastened, and watched. Better it is to be lit- tle, and humble, and lowly in heart, and in an obscure and unhonored condition, than to pass a while for twice our value, and finally be branded as a counterfeit and exposed as a cheat. 74 March 7. Sir John Fivderick Herschel, afrtronoiuer, 17 March 8. March 9. The woman who said, "I can forget and for- give, hit I shall alioays remeniber ^^,'' has far too many imitators. True forgiveness is not based on forgetfulness ; nor are we to wait till time has worn aw^ay the sense of wrong, before we pardon a penitent offender. AVhen we do for- give that should forever end the matter. For- getfulness should follow forgiveness. March 10. Growth requires food, and growth in grace requires a gracious diet. If a babe in Christ is fed on newspaper novels, ornamental sermons, rhetorical flowers, musty creeds, and old, dry, sectarian disputes; or if his taste has become so vitiated that nothing but new notions, sensa- tional discourses, theological pickles, condi- ments, and sweetmeats, will satisfy his appe- tite, no healthy growth can be expected; but the convert will fade and droop, as surely as an infant w^ill sicken and pine when fed on chalk and water instead of milk, or on candies and condiments instead of plain, healthy food. March 9. March 10. ChaileH Loyson ( Vvm Hyaciiitlie ), 1827. B^'lljamin 'vV.st. artis^r. <]i.-(l, 1820. 77 March 11. The best arrow is worthless if the bent bow does not drive it home to its mark ; the sudden sword- thrust, which a man can neither dodge nor parry, does more execution than a hundred feints and flourishes. Tlie hasty blow brings fire out of the flint, and a sudden stroke will sometimes awaken a dormant conscience which nothing else could rouse. March 12. The world is full of ups and downs. All around us are men climbing up to be tumbled down, or creeping down to be lifted up. Be- fore destruction is pride; before honor is humility. Satan lifts men up, that he may hurl them down. God casts them down, that he may afterwards lift them up. When men have climbed to the highest point, they have nothing to do but to come down. When they have gone to the lowest depths, then, if they move at all, they must rise. Men seek honor tlirough pride ; God gives them shame to teach them humility. When they learn to choose His way, and receive what He appoints, their short humiliation is succeeded by enduring exaltation. 78 March 11. Francis Wavland, moral philo^ophor, \'\)G, March 12. Bishop Geo. Berkeley, 1684. Torqnato Tasso. Italian poet, 1544. March 13. AVatch tliat tongue. It is your tongue; it belongs to you, and is the only one for which you are responsible. Your neighbors' tongues may need care also, but that is their business^, this is yours. See that it is properly attended to. It needs Avatching. It * 4s an unruly evil ;'' watch it. It '*is a fire:*" watch it. It is a helm which guides the vessel ; let the helmsman keep wide awake. It can bless or it can curse: it can poison or heal ; it can pierce hearts and blight liopes; it can sow discord and separate chief friends. Watch that tongue ! March 14. Many people come to prayer-meeting entirely unfit for any earnest, decisive action. They are like an old, wet, rusty gun. It takes longer to clean it and dry it, than it would to fire a good one a dozen times ; and when you do try to get it off, quite likely the damp powder will fzz! and never explode, or else it will kick and do more damage to friends in the rear, than it does to the foes in front. '' Short and to the point," is a good motto in prayer-meeting. Leave off prefaces and conclusions ; say your word and get through ; tell your story and stop ; fire and fall back, and irive others a chance. March 13. March 14. Humbert, KiiiLT of Italv. l!<44. March 15. In lowliness is security. David walked in the valley, and feared no evil, for the Good Shepherd was wdth him. He who stands on the pinnacle of the temple is quite likely to have Satan there for company ; and his onl}^ object in taking Christ up there was to coax him to cast himself down. Learn to be meek and lowly in heart. God hath respect to the hum- ble, but he knoweth the proud afar oil. Be- ware of climbing with Satan, lest you fall as he fell, — like lightning from heaven. Marcli 16. Persons who become Christians enter upon the road to wealth : for the road to wealth is sim- })ly the path of industry and frugality. The Christian refrains from expensive vices. Habits of intemperance and dissipation are discarded. Recklessness and carelessness are foreign to his profession and character. Gluttony, luxury, and gaudy show, are alike contrary to his tastes and to the rules which guide his conduct. Idle- ness is forbidden. Everything which tends to impair vitality, deteriorate his physical powers, and destroy life, becomes to him a sin. Why then should lie not prosper, and so be able to bless and benefit liis fellows? March 15. l*ie.>idciit Audrew Jackson, 17«»7. Julius Caesiir. kilkd. 44 1).(.'. (iov. Kiitlicott, died, KKJo. March 16. Marcli 17. He who would do good with his worldly pos- sessions should do it now. In this, as in all other acts of obedience to God, the present is the accepted time. One to-day is worth two to-morrows. He who would win the golden stream of worldly wealth, and yet escape the perils of perdition, must make broad channels through which that stream may flow, and bless and water those around him. If he would have the oil in his cruse gush out like a peren- nial fountain, he must borrow empty vessels far and near, and pour it out until all are filled. Marcli 18. The door of heaven's hospital stands open yet. Health has no place there, and the pre- tense of it bars us from the door. But sickness, palsy, pain, ruin, and utter helplessness, — these are the qualifications which recommend us to our Lord. He receiveth sinners, but he receiv- eth them as sinners, and in no other way. He only asks of us to co/zte; '• Come unto me. all ye that labor." ''Whosoever will, let him come." '*If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." *'He that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." This is the sole con- dition. Shall we hesitate to accept it? 84 March 17. Thomas Chalmers, Scottish divine. 1780. Jolm Hastin-^, died. 1811, i^t. (u. March 18. John V. Calhoun. ITS'.'. March 19. It was said of one man, Avhose protracted re- marks in social meetings probably resembled a mathematical line — having ^'length without breadth or thickness," that " he had the gift of continuance, and that w^as about the only gift he did have." This can hardly be regarded as one of the "best gifts." It is a sign of mental infirmity as w^ell as of sjDiritual emptiness, wiien a man's twaddling tongue gets going and never knows when to stop, but pours out a wishy- washy, everlasting stream of empty w^ords wdiich meanders away, no one knows or cares where. March 20. Suppose you are slandered and abused; sup- pose your friends turn away from you; what then? You can make ten new friends by mind- ing your own business and serving God, where you can regain five old ones by quarreling with your enemies for their confidence. Let them alone ; keep about your Master's work ; and by- and-by they will come back with tears in their eyes, confessing how they have been misled and have wronged you. The world is wide enough for earnest souls; if men elbow and crowd you from your rightful place, go out and find anotlier and a l)etter one March 19. Davhl Livinju,'.>toiie, 1817. Rev. Edwanl Bickti.-letli, 1786. March 20. March. 21. . Do not waste all your time in fighting bad men, or in seeking to undo what they have done. You can break up new ground to raise a fresh crop, in less time than you can pick out die tares that Satan has scattered in huddled abundance among the wheat. Let both grow together. Wheat will ripen even in the midst of tares, but in seeking to separate them be- fore the time, the wheat will be ruined and the labor lost. The lesson Christ would teach us is, to do positive work ; to go about our business, and trust in God to crown it with a blessing. March 22. Old age is no good age to repent in. When the fingers are hard and stiff, it is not easy to learn to phiy on an instrument of music. When the heart is hard in wickedness, it is not easy to tune the penitential string. Poison, lying long- in the stomach, is hard to get out. Weeds that have grown long in a field hold their posi- tion against every effort to remove them. Put- ting off salvation gives Satan a plea for right of possession. The longer he remains, the more difficult it is to dispossess him. Sunset is a poor time to begin a day's work ; and work done late is seldom done well. March 21. Kul.ert Hruct', 1U74. Henry Kirke White, poet, 1785. Johann Sebastian Bach. If^f^ri. March 22. r»osa lionhem', 1S22. March 23. Because God has given us a thousand things to eat, it does not follow that we should eat them all at once ; and if, instead of taxing our brains and hands to prepare endless varieties of food for a single meal, we should make the changes from day to day, living upon a more simple, and yet more varied diet, we should find in so doing not only the more natural ap- petite which pertains to simple habits, but also a degree of health, and strength, and freshness of body and spirit, which the jaded creatures of luxury know nothing of. March. 24. If men transacted their own business as they do the Lord's, they would be bankrupt within six months. Such utter shiftlessness and power- lessness, transferred to commercial circles, would send any man to the wall. But if they threw into the work of God the energy which they manifest in secular pursuits, they would go forth strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might ; terrible as bannered legions, con- quering and to conquer. The curse of God is upon him who doeth the work of the Lord negligently. Let us see to it that that curse fall not on us. Marjh 23. August Htrinan Fniiicke, German philaii(lir(ii)isl, 1<',<;; March 24. 91 March 25. How sad that the appetite which God has bestowed, and the means which he grants for its healthful gratification, should be abused to excess and glutton}^, until the nourishment which should sustain our lives is changed to poison, and fills the whole frame with torment and disease! The simple tastes which God im- planted are perverted, and men live to eat, and die of eating. They eat so much that they at last can eat nothing. They revel in delicacies, until they must abstain from necessaries; and often the gluttony of early years is expiated by the torments of dyspepsia, and a diet that beggars would despise. March 26. Some girls, having been accustomed to spend- ing large amounts of money, have never learned economy ; and the poor man that marries one of them will find his nose on the grindstone for life, as he is forced to earn money to be wasted in gaudy finery, which is soon worn, torn, soiled, and cast aside, by a woman who knows not how to save or mend, but who scatters and spends continually without reason or restraint. Such a man, w^ho has chosen fine feathers rather than a fine bird, has a dark future before him. March 25. March 26. Kenjamin Tlioinpson (Count Kuuiford), chemist, 17~>o. March 27. Preaching often runs all around men, and all over them, like a bucket of water sprinkled over a pile of corked bottles. Personal effort uncorks the bottles one by one, puts in a tun- nel, and pours them full of water. Personal work is the most likely to be effectual and enduring. March 28. Men devote their entire energies to their own personal business, and allow the work of the Lord to take its chances for success, with such casual opportunities and efforts as they may be able to afford. Self has the years ; the Lord has the moments. Self has the week ; the Lord has part of Sunday. Self has the dollars ; the Lord has the cents. Self has the loaf ; the Lord has the crumbs. If a man loses a thousand or ten thousand dollars in some ill- starred worldly enterprise, people do not blame him; but if he were to give that amount to the work or cause of God, they would say he was insane, and propose to appoint a guardian to take care of his ])roperty. March 27. Aiifrnst Hahn, theologian, 1702. March 28. March 29. God has ordained woman to be a creature of love. Affection is the instinct and necessity of her nature. This only can lighten her sorrows and sweeten her cares. As a daughter, a sister, a bride, a wife, and a mother, her sphere is one of love. Each new relationship unseals a new fountain of tenderness in her heart. Hence many fail of that full perfection of their being which the sanctities of marriage and mother- . hood alone can give ; or through their own self- ishness live unloved and die unlamented. March 30. A man cannot make a world. No more can he make the wing of a fly. A sun, a star, a bud, or a flower, are equally beyond the reach of human art and power. All these things are the work of God. He who launched the plan- ets to run their glorious circuits through the heavens, watches the innumerable insects in their transient flight. The same light which illuminates each portion of the distant vmiverse, paints the lily and the rose, and show^s, in the earthly beauty which charms the eye, the glory of Him who hath created all things by the word of liis power. March 29. Dr. John Lightfoot. commentator, !()()'_' Irviii Jl:istin;4s, died, 1k;!». March 30. Dr. William Hunter, physician, diid. 1783. 97 March 31. Keep humble. Lambs, not lions ; doves, not eagles; vines, not oaks, — are the emblems of the saved of the Lord. Dives in his life-time has his good things, but Lazarus evil. After- wards Lazarus is comforted and the rich man is tormented. Joseph has the prison and Pot- iphar the palace, Daniel the captivity and Nebuchadnezzar the crown, till God adjusts earth's troubles and lights earth's wrongs, in his own good time. Be lowly. Art thou a defenceless sufferer ? thy Master was led as a lamb to the slaughter. Art thou an outcast in a world of sin? He, too, was despised and re- jected of men. Art thou a helpless, clinging thing? — then take it as a token that thou art a brand I of the true Vine. March 31. l*'lanci^ Joaepli Haydn, compuser. 17J Rene Descartes, philosopher, 159G. Guide of My Youth. Jer. iii. 4. Father in heaven, oh, hear me, I pray, Guide thy young pilgrim o'er life's troubled way; Keep me in pathways of love and of peace, Bring me safe liome where all wanderings shall cease. Hear me, O Saviour, in mercy and truth ; Thou art my Father, the Guide of my youth Dark is the city from which I have come, Wild is the desert thiough which I now roam; Tempests, and dangers, and storms I endure, Snares are around and my path is obscure; Be my protector, in mercy and truth, Thou art my Father, the Guide of my youth. Soon beyond tempests and sorrows of time, I shall be saved in a glory sublime; Then shall I ceaselessly sing my glad song, Praising my Saviour, the faithful and strong; To that bright home do thou lead me in truth, — Thou art my Father, the Guide of my youth. lOO piK^i^ The Children's Prayer. Our Father, God, before thy throne, We, little children, bow the knee, And ask, through Jesus Christ, thy Son, That thou to us wilt gracious be. Forgive each sin in word or thought, And all which has offended thee ; And seal to us the pardon bought By Jesus on the shameful tree. Protect us, Lord, from every harm; Be thou our shield by night or day; Enfold us in thy mighty arm, And let thine angels guard our way. Living or dying, may we rest Beneath thy calm, out spreading wing, Ever beneath thy shelter blest, Sleeping in peace, to wake and sing. To friends and parents. Lord, we praj- The same sweet mercies may be given, To guide them in the narrow way. And crown them heirs of life and heaven. April 1. ' If you ^vere building afire iu au old-fashioned tire-place, you could not build it solely of great logs or sticks. One, two, or three logs or large sticks, are all that could be profitably used, but any quantity of kindlings could be disposed of ; and so. when God's work is revived, it does not commence among the big fore-sticks and bulky l)ack-logs, — the solid men who are too heavy to be easily moved: but rather with little slivers, and splinters; with those who, in the world's eyes, are of small worth or consequence. There the light and heat of blessing is first realized, and the fire kindled whicli wraps the whole church in fiames of love and zeal. April 2. A cup, though very small, may be full. And it matters not how little, or how weak, or how^ feeble a Christian is, if he is only full. And if he is full to-day, he may be full to-morrow ; for Avliile God enlarges his heart to praise his name, he will also increase the tide of blessing to fill the renewed soul. It is for us to inquire to- day, Are we doing all that God requires, and receiving all that he is ready to impart? Are we living up to the full measure of to-day's duties, and to-dav's privile<}:es? 102 Apr:: 1. Dr. Williaui Harvey, discoverer ut" circulati'ju ottlif l^loud, lC>'i Sir Thomas Fowell Buxtoii, philanthropist, 1786. April 2. Auiour Hanultoii, 177-^ April 3. Carelessness of health is a common and cr}'- ing sin. It is nqt merely a misfortune, — it is more than an evil, — it is a great and terrible crime. Sickness imposes burdens upon the race greater than we can estimate. Not only do loss of time, labor, and money, with poverty, want, orphanage and distress, result from sick- ness; but despondency, murmuring, repining, and complaining, with bitter and selfish thoughts, perpetually spring up from physical disease. Most diseases are avoidable; and avoidable sickness is sin. April 4. ' • Many are the afflictions of the righteous. " The world assails, the flesh beguiles, Satan assaults, and the Lord chastens. What then? Endure ! What though your enemies are cruel and your friends; false? What though your house is divided, and traitors are all around you? Suppose enemies do kindle the fire? Suppose Satan does blow the bellows? You will be none the worse for all that : it will only consume your dross and bring you forth, purged from everv defiling thing. April 3. (^forcjf Horbort, poet, 150.'!. Washinj,'tori Ir\ in;.', 1783. April 4. S^. Ambrose, .lied, 307. 105 April 5. It is well for us to know the value of little things; and to learn it, we have but to look about us. Springs are little things ; but they are the sources of mighty rivers. Sands are little things : but they hem in the ocean's rag- ing waves. Seeds are little things; but all the earth smiles w^ith the glory of their fruitfulness. A memento presented by some absent friend is a little thing, but yet it brings to our mind an absent form and a loving face. A lock of hair, a half- worn shoe, an infant's garment, are only little things, but how many eyes gush out with tears as they look upon such memorials of the dead ! April 6. Among the hundreds of men that crowd our prisons and women that throng the chambers of death and of hell are few w^ho have learned honest trades. Industrious persons with trades know what they can do, and know just w^here to go for steady and remunerative w^ork. But others who are too jDroud to learn trades, and too lazy to do drudgery, of course look out for an easier way of getting a living ; and by thef fc, robbery and murder, work out the legitimate result of early idleness, extravagance and pride. April 5. Th<»masHobbes, philosopher, 1588. Gen. Sir Henry Havel ook. 1705. Robert Raikes. die«l. 1811. April 6. John Pierpont, 1785. April 7. The plea that prevails before the Lord, is not iimocence, but peniteuce; not strength, but weakness ; not riches, but poverty ; not fullness, but hunger, misery, wretchedness, and rags. It is by these clasping hands that we take hold upon the Eternal Arm; it is when we lie prone and helpless hi the dust, that this arm is reached down to talce hold on us. The plea of ruin awakes the might of the Redeemer. The cry of the lost brings the Almighty Saviour nigh. The sobs of the wretched prodigal find their answer in such mercy, plenty, and bounty, that the obedient son is envious of the greater favors shown to him who has naught to commend him but his ruin and his need. April 8. Intelligent women make intelligent men. Mothers and sisters lay the foundations for all education, and do much towards erecting the superstructure. One bad woman is said to be worse than ten bad men : — certain it is that one good w^oman can do a work which ten men would strive in vain to accomplish. 108 April 7. Williaii. Wordsworth, 1770. St. Francifi Xavier, 1506. April 8. April 9. How many kind thoughts die nnbom; how many kind words are stifled unspoken. Hearts hunger for a word of appreciation and praise, and would leap for gladness, if they knew the kindness that others feel toward them; but while they plod on in doubt and darkness, w^e stifle kindly aspirations, and the cheering thought and sympathizing word die ^vithin our liearts and make no sign. Why need we be so reticent concerning things that are good? Most people are outspoken enough when angry or discontented. April 10. Away with monumental humbugs. A loaf of bread given to feed a man when alive does more good than a thousand-dollar grave-stone after he is dead. Let Pharisees build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous when they are dead. Be it ours to hunt out the living saints of God, and l)y w^ord and act do them the good that they need, be- fore the grave has hidden them from our view, and w^e are left to waste our zeal in empty honors and in worthless praise, no April 9. Adelina Patti, 1843. April 10. Felicien David, musician, 1810. Hn;.^o rirotiu^, theolofjian. 1583. Dr. Thomas Hastings, acred 20, and his wite .Su^^anna, aged 1'). embarked on the Elizabeth . ar Ipswicli, En.' . 1B.34. and set- tled at WaT.rr..\\ii. :\Ia«->. i: 1 April 11. AVhen sur^^^eons wish to dissect the ]>raiii, they phice it in alcohol, which hardens it so that they can cut and handle it conveniently. The man who drinks alcohol is picHing hk Ire in in advance^ and thus becomes so stupid in his mental faculties that only the most power- ful stimulants, in large and increasing doses, will rouse him to any mental etfort. The brain may be thus abused for a time, but at last it will take a most terrible revenge. Stupor, hor- ror, and despair, drive the victim of appetite to the mad-house and the tomb. April 12. Wives need love. Their hearts yearn 'for it as much as in the days of girlhood. They often pass their womanhood in anxious care and wear- ing labors. In the anguish of maternity they enter into new spheres of existence, whose only light is love. Whether woman's course is to be sadness or joy, sunshine or gloom, depends upon love. A long, hard, Aveary day of toil is amply paid for with a single smile ; and one tender, loving clasp makes her forget a whole life-time of care and conflict, and bless the day she found a husband with a heart so true and a hand so strong. April II. April 12. Heuiy Clay, 17 April 13. Take care of yourself or no one will take care of yon. You have no right to yield your judg- ment to the seductions and temptations of friends. Every man must bear his own bur- den ; and if we, by weakly yielding to the in- fluence of others, impair our health, diminish our usefulness, or peril our lives, we must en- dure the results of our folly ; and none of those who have misled us can feel the sufferings which their temptations have occasioned. April 14. Hundreds of young girls who w^ork in shops and factories, and earn from twenty ta forty dollars per month, will at the end of the year have less money and less health, and less com- fortaUe clothing, than their grandmothers had who did housework for fifty cents a v/eek half a century ago. They fool away their earn- ings, and after a few years, they are broken in health, ignorant of the arts of honest life, skilled in flirtation, enamored of novels, with a heap of tawdry finery, but with ''nothing to wear" which is comely and decent; and wdth neither wisdom, experience, nor health neces- sary for those who would lay deep and broad the firm foundations of a happv Christian home. 114 April 13. Geor<::e Freaerick Hamk'l, died, 1759. April 14. Horace Bushiiell. 1802. April 15. He who would gain wealth must preserve health. He who would enjoy wealth when gained must retain health. Health is wealth. The man who is sound in heart, and soul, and body, without a dollar in his pocket, is richer far than he who, along with uncounted hoards and lands outstretching his vision, is yet wretched, nervous, dyspeptic and discontented. He who loses health to gain wealth may soon see the time when he would part with all his hoards to bring back his lost health again. April 16. Peacemakers must keep close mouths. Hear, and say nothing. Give counsel, but keep se- crets. Secret-keepers build up dykes against slander, and prevent gossip from deluging the community. We have sometimes seen a con- flagration stayed by a solid brick wall in the middle of a block of buildings. Just like that wall stands the secret-keeper in the midst of broils and contentions. Each party tells its story ; each story drops like a stone in the cen- ter of the sea, and is never heard from again. How many quarrels such persons settle ! — no one seems to know how, but all are glad the trouble is done with. April 15. .loliM Lotliiop Motley, LL.D., histoiian, 1814. April 16. Sir John Franklin, 1780. Sir Hans Sloane, M. D., orifjiuator of the British Museum, 1660. Louis Adolphe Thiers, PresiJeut of France, 1797. April 17. ''Be reconciled to thy brother." If he sin, rebuke him. If he repent, forgive him. If he sin seven times, or seventy times seven, still forgiving love must ever meet returning peni- tence. But there must be no holding back the truth. There must be no denial or concealment of facts on either hand. Standing at the altar, consider if thy brother hath aught against thee. Is there a real or fancied wrong? ' ' Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go and be recon- ciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Only then will God accept the offer- ing, and send the blessings of his peace. April 18. It takes good people to have good meetings. Christians who serve God at home have little difficulty in worshiping him when assembled. But men who live in sin at home are not changed by going to church. A man w4io would rather talk, and joke, and smoke, than to pray; or one who prefers a newspaper or a novel to his Bible when at home, is not changed in heart or nature by stepping into a prayer- meeting, or mingling with people who love the Lord. He was dead out of meeting, and he is dead when in it. April 17. IJi^hop Edward Stilliuj^tieet, IGo Benjamin Franklin, died, 1700. April 18. April 19. An old man is like an old wagon ; with light loading and careful usage it will last for years ; but one heavy load or sudden strain wall break it and ruin it forever. So many people reach the age of fifty, sixty, or even seventy, meas- urably free from most of the pains and infirm- ities of age, cheery in heart and sound in health, ripe in wisdom and experience, with sympathies mellowed by age, and with reasonable prospects for continued usefulness. Let such persons be thankful, but let them also be careful. An okl constitution is like an old bone; broken with ease, mended with difticulty. . April 20. Times of heaviness are often times of safety. Tlie soul is put to the proof ; there is no time for sleep, or slumber, or pleasure; we must stand our ground, that Ave be not defeated in the fray. Heaviness makes us watchful, and keeps us soberly to our work. Heaviness makes us prayerful, and drives us to the merc3^-seat. Heaviness hushes our idle talk, and inclines us to reflect upon our ways. Heaviness recalls our faults, and frailties, and Aveaknesses, and drives us to Jesus for healing and for help. 120 April 19. April 20. David Biainerd, niis>ionarv, 1718. Xapoleon III. ( riiarle> Louis Xapoloon FJouapartt- "i. 18ns. April 21. At every step there are by-ways tliat lead to death; at every moment there are dangers that may sweep us to the tomb ; at every tm-n there are snares that would entrap our feet. A single mistake may ruin every earthly hope. An hour's neglect may blast the joys of years. A mo- ment's sin may fill a life with grief. Every act we do" may tell for weal or w^oe ; for not a day goes by without witnessing the wreck of joy, the blighting of hope, the breaking of hearts, and the quenching of mortal life. April 22. Earth has no holier place than the home where ''effectual, fervent prayer " ascends from day to day, and where ' ' thanksgiving and the voice of melody " j^roclaim the creature's glad- ness in the Creator's love. On such a house the lieavenly benediction sweetly rests. Angels encamp around about it for protection, and murmurs of praise rise from it to the heavenly throne; and however darkness may prevail around, there is light within that dwelling, for the word and Spirit of the Lord are there. April 21. Il.-inuld Heber, 1783. Fi"ic.lii. Edward Gibbou, 1737. ^ April 28. Prof. Ezra Abbot, 1819. Earl of Shaltesburv, 1801. April 29. Many a husband owes much of his goodness and of his peace to the gentle grace of a loving, patient, faithful, blessed wife. And manj^ a man who stands high in the strength of his companion's holy love, if he were joined to a drunken, cursing fury of a wife, would either suffer martyrdom till death released him from her power, or would sink in discouragement and become a worthless, spiritless thing. Oh, if wives will draw nearer to God, and seek to grow in grace, and in all holy and endearing excellencies, they will often find their husbands become better, purer, and nobler men. April 30. ■ Is not Christ's church bigger and older and grander and truer and letter than any man- made, man-named, and man-ruled society? May not a man drink of the living water unless it comes through some other man's service- pipe? Is there no way to send up, and draw from the fountain head? Must a godly man be met with distrust because he cannot frame to pronounce the shibboleths of party, and preaches neither Paul, nor Apollos, nor Cephas, nor Luther, nor Calvin, nor Wesley, but Jesus Christ and him crucified? 130 April 29. April 30. Mathuliu Jacques Brisson, naturalist, 172o. Duke of Argyll, 1823. Seed-Time. Great Husbandman, at thy command We sow thy seed with liberal hand, And, mindful of thy heavenly call, Onward we go, forsaking all. On, through the sad and weary years. We sow the precious seed with tears; And stay our hearts in faith sublime, With prospects of the harvest time. Not long shall we in sorrow go, Xot long endure earth's toil and woe; For He who bids us sow and weep, Shall call us then in joy to reap. Then shall each tearful sower come, And bear his bheaves triumphant home; The voice long choked with grief shall sing, Till heaven with shouts of triumph ring. Thick on the hills of light shall stand The gathered sheaves from every land, While they that sow, and they that reap. The Harvest Home in glory keep. 133 May 1. When vexed, or tempted to discontent and fault-finding, think how much worse off many others are, and thank God for the blessings which you possess. If your food is plainer than the luxurious fare of princes and epicures, hun- gry thousands would be thankful to get what you now enjoy; and if your clothes lack the richness and beauty of those worn by tlie votaries of fashion, yet how many haggard, ragged, shivering sons of want and sorrow would gladly take your poorest garments, and thank God for the comfort they would afford. May 2. Why cannot men separate in peace? If a man leaves one religious society and unites witli another — neither of which can honestly lay any valid exclusive claim to divine or apostolic origin, — why should he be abused for thus using his liberty? Why need men give a part- ing kick instead of a parting blessing? Why not let the parting words be kind and tender, causing him to feel that his absence is regretted, and that his return will be welcomed with de- light? May 1. .lusepli Addison, essayist, IGT'J. Mrs. H. L. Hastings ( Harriet Frances Baruett). May 2. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, ITGU. KobertHall, 17G4. May 3. '•He saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them." How aptly do these words express the condition of the greater part of mankind, sorely laboring, and yet effecting no success by their labor. But when such was the condition of the disciples, Christ *'saw them,*' came near them, and brought them deliverance. He "talked with them, and saith unto them. Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid; and the wind ceased, and m- mediately the ship was at the land whither they went." May 4. Oh for a larger, broader, deeper, purer, faith and love, which, while it cannot sanction e\^l and sin and worldliness and pride, even though it be in "good and regular standing " in "the straitest sect," but recognizes a grape, a thorn, a fig, or a thistle, wherever it may. happen to grow ; yet makes its possessor, like David, * ' a companion of all them that fear God;'' and adopts the words of Jesus Christ, — "He that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven, the same is mv mother and sister and brother." 136 May 3. Deau Humphrey Prideaux, theologian, 1648. Nicrolo Machiavelli. Italian statesman, 1469. May 4. John T. Audubon, about 1780. William Hicklincr Presoott, 179C. May 5. God pardons royally. His gifts are not ac- cording to our deservings, but according to his abundant goodness, according to the exceeding- riches of his grace, — according to the greatness of his power, and above all that we can ask or think. Shall we measure the depths of his ocean by the size of our tiny porringers? Shall we estimate the heights of his heavens by the stretch of our little kite-strings? Must we be eternally counting up our merits and our demerits, and telling the Lord what we deserve and do not deserve, and what we think he can afford to do for us, all things considered? May 6. Owe no man anything but love. Live poor till you can live free. Pay at once, that others may pay you. Sell, give alms, be bound for no man's debts ; keep square and know where you stand ; buy only what you need ; lend only what you are willing and able to lose ; work as for eternity, as stewards of the Lord, and have your books always ready for the Master's strict inspection. May 5. Napoleon Bonaparte, died, 1821. May 6. May 7. Make home the brightest and dearest spot on earth. Let smiles and sunshine gather there. Let grace hallow all that love bestows. Let the Heavenly Father l}e the head of the family. Let home be so cheerful and pleasant that chil- dren will not desire to leave it, but will cling there like birdlings to their nests, until at last, full-fledged, they can speed away in safety and in peace. May 8. Pray to God to give you a quiet heart, and be content with such things as you have. Waste no time in idle regrets or useless longings. Do the very best you can just where you are to-day, and trust in God to open to you a wider door, and lead you in a more pleasant path, as he shall see is for your best good. Be faithful over a few things now, and you shall in due time be made ruler over many things, and enter into the joy of your Lord. May 7. May 8. May 9. Pay up! If you have money, pass it along. Haul out the old purse, and hand over the dol- lar: you owe it; it is not yours; pay it I Per- haps you never ought to see another dollar till you learn what money is made for, and cease to hoard it up. Pass it along, pay your debts, and trust in God to bring it back again in his own good time. Money is made to be used, and the way to use it is to pay your debts. A few dollars ttsed in a community will pay all the debts, and leave everybody clear; a few dol- lars hoarded makes everybody trouble, and does no one any good. May 10. Books can be neglected and forgotten. They lie upon the shelf, and no man sees or knows their contents. But the earnest fidelity of a living Christian man, who walks up and down the earth bearing a message for his Maker, can- not so easily be forgotten or disregarded. And when Christianity is thus made practical, and the lives of God's saints, holy, heroic, and self- sacrificing, are seen from day to day as living examples of the power of Christ, men can but feel the influence of a Christianity which pro- duces such effects. May 9. Capt. John Browii; of Osif.iwattomie, 1«00. May 10. Bishop Arthur Cleveland Coxe, 1818. Jared Sparks, historian, 1789. May 11. Sometimes we only learn by experience (lie plague of our own hearts. Like the vic- tim of some insidious disease, beautiful to be- hold, the very picture of health to the sight of the inexperienced gazer; the practiced eye dis- cerns disease in the flesh, rottenness in the bones, the plague doing its secret work, the leprosy preparing for its loathsome and mortal developments. The revelation of this inward plague must come. Happy are they who do not wait till it comes in their own dark, terrible experience, but who, walking with God, see themselves as God beholds them. May 12. Whatever words of bitterness and scorn we may utter will be very likely to be repaid with interest; and if we deal violently, our violent dealings shall come down upon our own pates, xso man is fit for independence but he who depends upon God. Depending upon him, we shall walk carefully before him, mindful of his commands, watchful for his glory, careful of the feelings and rights and necessities of others, and we shall find, while we are blessing the world, our own hearts shall be blessed of the Lord. May 11. William Pitt, Earl of Chfitham, died, 1788. May 12. Roberto. Winthrop, LL. D., orator, 1809. Linngeus, botanist, 1707. May 13. If the j)resident of the United States should come to town, half the boys, and men, too, would be glad of the chance to hold his horse even, because they would think it an honor to wait upon a man of such eminent position. But is it not an honor to do something for the Lord, for the Christ that died for us, for the Saviour who redeemed us? We cannot do much. He does not beg it as if he was needy, l)ut he does give us the privilege of showing our gratitude to him for all his mercies. Let us embrace the opportunity with joyful hearts, and obey the Lord in all things. May 14. Independence is not a human attribute. Men boast of being independent thinkers, while nearly all which they know has been received from others, and the independent thoughts of wdiich they are so proud are frequently simply an utter lack of all intelligent thinking, or illogical deductions from facts which have no existence. So men claim the right to do as they please, and to say what they choose, and to liave their way, forgetting that God has made us to be nuitual lielpers, and imposed upon us a mutual dependence on each other. 146 May 13. Maria Theresa, C^ueen of Hungary and Bolicmia, 1717 May 14. Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, 1685. 147 May 15. An open life is the only true life. Secret sin is the great mistake of mankind. God is for the penitent, no matter how low he may have fallen, and against the hypocrite, no matter how high he has climbed. It will be small comfort for a man who plunges into hell to think, "No one suspects that I am here." Of all the fatal delusions which the light of the great white throne shall dispel, the delusions of those who sin in secret will be among the saddest. The dark record of their sins will be produced. The hidden stains will be revealed. "God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. " May 16. Look after the young. Young friends are long friends. The parents are passing away; lay hold on the children. Soon the aged may no more give you welcome to tiieir dwellings, but if you watch over the young, and seek to guide, and help, and bless them, you will find their greeting as hearty, and their love as ten- der, as has been that of the friends you have cherished in days past. May 15. Aletternicli, Austriau statesmau, 1773. Daniel O'Loimell, Iiis^h patriot, died, 1847. May 16. Secietaiv William H. Seward. 1801. May IT. To live quietly, make the best of those iu whose company your lot is cast. Shun subjects about which you differ, as a sailor would shuu a sunken rock. Be as shy of getting the last word as you would be of a loaded bomb-shell. Do not let familiarity take the place of courte- sy, lest it end in mutual contempt. Do not find fault needlessly ; and when compelled to blame others, do it kindly and privately. Do not expect others to think and reason just as you do, nor call them fools for differing with you. There are more things in heaven and earth than were ever dreamed of in your phi- losophy, and some of these may lead you to change your mind. May 18. No man can know tliat he is saved, until he has first known himself lost. The knowledge of ruin precedes the knowledge of redemption. And all this knowledge is from God. God will surely show us ourselves in some way. Unwill- ing as we are to learn the lesson, we must learn it here or hereafter. At the throne of grace or at the throne of judgment, God will reveal to man his real nature. 150 May 17. l>i. Edward Jeuuer, 1749. May 18. Charles Fiederick Hudson, 1821. May 19. Reserve your words. Many a preacher of the gospel has ruined his influence by gabbling and story-telling, and vain and hasty talk. Silence jjrepares one to speak with power. Some of the mightiest preachers of the word of God have been so silent and reserved as to have been deemed unsocial by silly women and gabbling men, who had nothing to talk about higher than weather, politics, gossip, and scandal. Men who hold their tongues and use their brains, can come before the assembly with hearts in- diting good matter, and pour forth the words of salvation like clouds filled with rain. May 20. The only way for a man to escape being found out, is to pass for what he is. The only way to maintain a good reputation, is to have a good character which deserves it. It is easier to cor- rect our faults than to conceal them. It is ea- sier to repent of sins than to cover them. Half the labor it costs to serve the devil on the sly, will enable us to serve the Lord openly and above-board. Secret sin ends in public shame. Judas began with pilfering slyly, and ended with treachery and suicide, which ^' was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem." 152 May 19. Prof. John Wilson, philosopher and poet, 1785. Johann Gottlieb Fichte,])hilosopher, 1762. Armour Haniilton, died, 1859, a^od 84. May 20. John Stuart Mill. 1800. Cliristophpr Coliiml-ms. died. 'i:)OC,. 153 May 21. Do right everywhere, and trust in God to give victory and rest. Do not follow the mul- titude to do evil. Do not be a time-server nor a tool. Stand boldly up for truth and right- eousness, and ever live with a solemn conscious- ness of direct and personal responsibility to God. Make no compromise with error, sin, and wrong; strike no bargains with Satan; every- thing which he proposes is a trap, everything that he promises is a delusion and a snare. Man is weak, Satan wily, — only God is true. Trust in him; do right everywhere, and he will protect and direct you, and save you at the end. May 22. Moses' complaint, when called by the Lord to deliver Israel, was that he was ''slow of speech;" but he found before he got through the wilderness that he talked plenty fast enough ; yes, altogether too fast for his own good. And it is curious that this very man, w^ho declined to act as the Lord's messenger because he w^as so slow of speech, by his rashness and haste in speaking "unadvisedly" with his lips lost his portion of the inheritance in Canaan, and died outside the borders of the promised land. May 21. Elizabeth Fry, 1780. lliHi.ilpli Hcnnann liOtze, pliilosophcr, 1HI7 May 22. Rev, Newman Hall, 1810. Alexandei- Pope, poet, 1(1^ liichaifl \Vaf(iiei-, coini»oser, 1H13. May 23. One important condition of success is wait- ing. There are processes in nature, in provi- dence, in grace, which cannot be hurried. There are things to be done which not only re- quire labor and skill, but also time. No human power can dispense with this element. There are things which can only be had by those who icait. The whole history of God's dealing wdth man in the world illustrates this. "The hus- bandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain." There is no other way of obtaining it — he must wait. May 24. One man can not do everything, be every- thing, nor have everything. We have, each of us, all we can attend to to do our own business ; why should we envy others their talents, their work, or their w^ages? They have their duties to do, and to their own Master they stand or fall. We have as many talents as we shall im- prove, as much prosperity as we deserve, and all the responsibility w^e shall wish to answ^er for in the day of judgment. May 23. Xhomasj Hood, poet, 17i>8. Dr. Wm. Hunter, anatomihl, 1718. Hiram Armour Hastings, died. 1849. May 24. Queen Victoria, 1819. Nicholas CopeiTiicu.s, died, 1543 157 May 25. Aside from secret indulgence in known and cherished sins, there is nothing more danger- ous to a young and impressible, mind than to be placed in constant and tolerant association with wrong. To look silently upon iniquity; to hush the indignant outcry of a manly con- science ; to bow to evil which seems too strong to be resisted ; to watch the windings of the crooked serpent, and yet feel no desire to bruise his infernal head; and thus to harden the con- science, and drift into the current of worldly, selfish craft, till every trace of honor and up- rightness has vanished away, — this is fearful in the extreme. May 26. Self-murder is a crime, whether in a minister or a gambler, a glutton or a drunkard ! Over- work is wrong ; and there is no more piety in a man's overdriving himself, than there is in his overdriving a horse. It is best for men to be careful. It would be sad to receive the curse of a suicide when expecting the crown of a martyr. May 25. l>r. John Pve Smith, Biblical t?cholar, 1774. ^ William Paley, died, 1805. May 26. Count Nicholas Louis Zinzendorf, 1700, Thf Venerable Bede. ecclos. historian, died, 735. 169 May 27. That was a striking thing said of one of the Hebrew kings, when the work and its results, of his successful reign, were being summed up : ''He did it with all the heart, and prospered." This doing things with a hearty enthusiasm is often what makes the doer a marked person, and his deeds effective. The most ordinary ser- vice is dignified when it. is performed in that spirit. Every employer wants those who work for him to put heart into toil. Such do not need constant w^atching. He can trust them in his absence. The places of honor and profit naturally fall to them. May 28. It is w^ell for the Christian to have a few things settled beyond disj)ute; and one of the first things to be determined is, ^'I tcill obep God,'''' Many professors of godliness have nev- er decided this matter, and consequently when bidden of the Lord to do anything, the devil tells them not to do it ; and then they have a long mental conflict, a regular field-fight with Satan, every time they are called upon to con- fess the Lord, before they can make up their minds whether to do it or not. 160 May 27. Buibop Geo. W. Doaue, 1799. May 28. Louis John Kandolph Agassiz, naturalist, 1807. William Pitt, Jr., 1759. Thomas Moore, Irish poet, 1779. 161 May 29. One half of our troubles would vanish if we were possessed by a spirit of calm content. A thousand things which we fear, never come to pass ; and a thousand things which do come to pass would disturb us very little if we had the spirit of contentment within. Poverty may press us, but he who has contentment is richer than he would be with a mine of gold. Fears may assail us, but he who is really contented with the present has little to fear for the future. That God who has guided him all his days to the present time, will not leave him nor forsake him in his time of need. May 30. I will tell you what I would do, if I thought the world owed me a living. I would get me a lioe^ and go out somewhere, where I could get a good chance at the world, and commence to dig, and drop in a few seeds here and there, as I had opportunity ; and I think if the world really owed me a living, by sticking close to it with my lioe, I could collect the debt in the course of tlie season. This s^ems tlie readiest way I can think of to collect what tlie world owes us. 162 May 29. i'atiitk Ucniy, orator aud statesman, ll'M). May 30. May 31. Suppose the returning prodigal had talked on this wise : "I think, father, I am unworthy of any better clothes than I have, till I can earn them. As it regards food, I have no objection to your feasting over my return, but I prefer not to eat any of the 'fatted calf;' indeed, I am unworthy to sit at the table, and while you are having your feast, I think I will take a dry morsel and sit down in the back kitchen and eat it alone; I am so unworthy." What would, what could a father have said to such cant and nonsense as that? And if the prodigal had talked thus, and disturbed the whole house by long speeches about his '^un- worthiness," would he not have been voted a bore, and received more credit for impertinence than for humility? May 31. JoUu A. Aiidiew, Gov. of Mass., 1818. Alexander Crudou, 1701. 165 Even-Song at Sea* Soft the silent surges sleep In the bosom of the deep ; Winds are hushed, and waves are still* All obe}' their Maker's will. Thus may we at twilight's hour Hear Thy soothing word of power. Lord, within our troubled souls Hush each tossing wave that rolls. JS. S. "■Hanoverian,''^ Sunday Eve, May 28, 1882. The Wild-Wood Maiden. O wild-wood maiden, free as air, With woods and birds and blossoms round thee, Far from earth's pomp and show and care, — Sweet nature with her charms has bound thee. The opening buds are thy delight, The birds and blossoms give thee pleasures, The lilies float in softest light, Before thee earth unfolds her treasures. Thy soul doth purer gladness feel In woods with notes of birds resounding, Than heroes know when cannons peal, Or through fame's tinimp their names are sounding God keep thee ever true and strong, Fresh as the lilies and the roses; And fill thy mouth with gladsome song To Him who all thy life disposes. And if the day shall ever come, When earthly pomp and show, beguiling, Shall wean thee from thy lowly home With trees and flowers and sunshine smiling, — O, think of Him who gave thee life; And robed the world with richest beauty, And turn thee back from earth's wild strife. To purity and love and duty. 167 June 1. Keeping in the middle of the road we avoid the ditches on either side. If, instead of dis- puting over what they believe, people would spend their time in inquiring w^hat God has said, they would find less to dispute about, and more to agree upon, and would be greatly profited and instructed. Men argue long to prove that the Scripture favors or opposes something which is not mentioned in the Bible at all. Why not drop unscriptural phrases and statements, and take the Scripture itself and believe it? June 2. We need a new translation of the Bible; — not a translation w^hich, by changing a word here, and substituting another there, shall make the book of God the organ of a sect, or the pack-horse of a one-sided theology; but a trans- lation of the Holy Scriptures into flesh and blood; into palpable realities; into the living, breathing acts and elements of Christian life; — a translation, not into words but into deeds, wliich shall commend itself to every man's con- science in the sight of God. 168 June 1. Henry Francis Lyte, 1703. Jerome of Prague, martyred, 1416. June 2. June 3. Godliness is gain, and contentment is also gain, but "godliness icith contentment is great gain,'^ " having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come." A man^s life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth. Contentment is not from without, but from within. When persons are possessed by the demon of discontent, no sur- roundings can satisfy them, nothing on earth can make them glad. But those whose hearts are filled with contentment, find roses growing on all the thorns around them, and pluck flow- ers where others only find briers, weeds, and brambles. June 4. If a man would know that he is saved, the first thing necessary is for him to Je saved. It is entirely useless for a man to undertake to know anything which is 7iot so. Suppose a sick man should say, ''I wish that I knew that I was well;'- or suppose a blind man should say, *'I wish I knew that I could see;" of what use would such knowledge be? If a man could see, he would know it : and if he can not, of what use is it for him to try to know that he can see, when every one else knows that he can not? June 3. Kicliard Cobden, statesman, 1804. June 4. Sir Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1833. George III. of England, 1738. June B. The man who wishes to know that a farm is his, should buy it and pay for it ; and when he has done this and put his title on record, if he gives no mortgages, and there are no judgments or claims standing against him, he Tcnows per- fectly well to w^hom that farm belongs. Just so you may know yourself to be a child of God. Accept w^hat God has offered; forsake what God has forbidden: follow where the Saviour leads you ; fulfill the will of God with steady, constant, and ceaseless devotion, and you will Icnoici whether you are saved ; your family will know it, and your neighbors will know it also. June 6. Let faith in God's word die out in any com- munity, and it will soon be found that that is a good country to emigrate from. No advantages of soil or climate or government can make a na- tion happy, peaceful, or prosperous, unless they regard the word of God, and fear and love the Lord their Maker. June 5. A<1aiii Smith, political economist, 1723. r.aion Carl .AFaria Von Weber, cojnpnser, ut with Christ for our pilot, His word for our guide, All the tempests and storms we shall safely outride. We fear not the sea, though it tosses and rolls, Since the hope sure and steadfast lias anchored our souls, And the bright star of promise illumines our way To the isles of the blest in the regions of dav. July 1. Health aud happiness are nearly related to each other. When one is lost the other fre- quently departs. Hence health, as well as hap- piness, is a Chiistian duty, and this is none the less important because it is so little understood. Ignorance of this duty leaves men to pursue, without restraint or hesitation, such courses of imprudence, indulgence, and excess, as with all the certainty of mathematical sequence lead to infirmity, imbecility, bodily disease and prema- ture and suicidal death. July 2. Do not worm out secrets or pry iuto other people's faults. Conduct yourself prudently, and you will have all the secrets you will wish for, entrusted to you. Do not make many promises to keep secrets. Some things it would be wrong to know and not reveal. Say to a person of doubtful character, ^*I cannot prom- ise to keep secret what perhaps ought not to be so kept." Let your reputation for discretion be sucli that no promise need be exacted when delicate matters are confided to you. 200 I J July 1. July 2. Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, poet, 1724. Aichb'p. Thomas Cranmer. 1489. 201 July 3. Many persons mistake flattery for friendship, and regard candor as a mark of ill-will. The flatterer praises to please. The true friend re- proves to profit. The true friend does not flatter, when he sees reproof and criticism are needed; and a pure and upright nature is un- willing either to flatter or to be flattered. Those who flatter to the face often slander behind the back ; while those who reprove faithfully in our presence are the most staunch defenders of the absent when others assail them. July 4. Carelessness of the feelings, the interests, and the rights of others, may seem to us a token of our independence ; but it will soon bring re- sults fatal to our happiness and our comfort. If we say what we like, we shall hear what we do not like; and if we do what pleases us, others will do what will not please us. If we insist on having our own way, we shall find it the hardest way we ever did have ; and in tak- ing too good care of ourselves, the Lord will get very little chance to take care of us. Love will make friends, indifference will make stran- gers, and hatred will make foes. 202 I July 3. Friedrich Overbtck, painter, 178'J. July 4. Xathanael Hawthorne, 1804. Quiet and diet are the best medicines. On the grave-stone of one man was inscribed, * ' 1 was well, wanted to be better, took physic, and here I am.'' A person has a hoarseness of the voice. If he would keep the mouth shut for twenty-four hours, not speaking at all, or never above a whisper, the trouble would disappear ; but no ! he must talk and sing and dose, until the difficulty is aggravated and assumes a criti- cal or a chronic form, and he has trouble as long as he lives. Often quiet and repose would ])e an ample remedy for this and many other difficulties. July 6. If it is right to seek salvation at all, it is right to seek it to-day. If it is right to be a Chris- tian on a death-bed, it is right to be a Christian now. If it is right to do this, it is wrong not to do it. And if it is right to be a Christian now, it is wrong to defer it for a single hour. Grod calls men to come to him to-day. When a parent calls a child, every moment of useless delay in answering or obeying is a moment of impudence and disrespect. So every hour you delay your obedience is an hour of insult, pre- sumption, and sin. July 5. Adiiiiral Da\ iil Glascoe Farrugut, U. S. N., 1801. July 6. John Huss, Bohemian reformer, 1373. John Flaxman, sculptor, 1755. July 7. A little cliild is a precious trust, no mattci' how frail or feeble it may be. God has im- planted within the parental heart a deep and yearning love, which is intensified by all the feebleness and frailty and helplessness of in- fancy, and which seeks if possible to preserve and nurture the faint and flickering life. And as in the realm of nature, so in the domain of grace. The little ones that believe in Christ, lightly as they may be esteemed by the great and proud, are yet of untold importance. Many a feeble child of faith grows up into a Chris- tian maturity wiiich astonishes those who have despised the day of small things. July 8. ^'The art of forgetting'' is one of great im- portance, and is not easily learned. A school- boy said he had a bad memory, but he had *'a first-rate forgettery ;" but the trouble with many of us is we forget the things we should remember, and remember many things which it would be well for us to foro-et. July 7. John Hiiss, burned, 1415. July 8. Jean de la Fontaine, fabulist. 1621. July 9. Long visits, long stories, long sermons, long exhortations, and long prayers, seldom profit. Life is short. Time is short. Moments are precious. Learn to condense, abridge, and in- tensify. We can bear things that are dull if they are not too long. We can endure many an ache and ill if it is over soon; but even pleasure grows insipid, and pain intolerable, if they are protracted beyond the limits of reason and convenience. Learn to be short. Talk to the point. If you pray, ask for what you be- lieve you will receive, and get through. If you speak, stick to the main facts, tell your message and hold your peace. If you wTite, boil down two sentences into one, and three words into two. Learn to be short. July 10. Some books are for the young ; some for the old ; some for the rich ; some for the poor ; some for the wise; some for the ignorant; some for the sick ; some for the well ; some for the joy- ous ; some for the sad ; some for the living; some for the dying ; all are circumscribed to special classes, — the Bible alone is a book for all, and contains something fitted to every need, and answering' to ovorv heart and to every condition. July 9. r. p. Blibs, I808. Henry Hallam, historian, 1777. July 10. Joliu Calvin, 1509. Sir William Blackstone, 1723. July 11. The best time to clean up grudges is now, right on the spot. As soon as you see you have done a wrong, right it ; — as soon as you see a wrong in another, reprove it. If you have a difficulty, a complaint, or a grievance, settle it at once ;— ' ' let not the sun go down upon your wrath." This piling up old grudges as they do dirty linen in some countries, and having washing-day come only twice a year, is very poor policy for the children of the Most High. July 12. Beware of craft. By it many have fallen. Oh, it is pitiful to see a man dig down his own character, and destroy his own reputation, and leave his children, for a blot and a hissing, a name that might have been honored far and near in life, and had in sweet remembrance in after times, when all life's toils were o'er. Jesus did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. He is the pattern for his disciples. He walked the straight path. Let us follow him and all will l)e well. July 11. Piesideut John Quiucy AUaujb, 1707. July 12. Cains Julius C;iesar, 100 B, C. .Jo.«iah Wedgewood, potter, 1730. Mrs. Tonna (Charlotte Elizabeth), died, 1840. 211 July 13. Know your business thoroughly. Do it faith- fully. Avoid disputes and strifes. Keep your own secrets. Mind your own affairs, and let others mind theirs. Be courteous to all. Con- fide in few. Do right at all hazards. Think more of what a man is, than of what he has. Never try to outrun God's providence. Do not waste strength in fretting at unavoidable evils. When you are annoyed do not make a fuss about it. Keep a cheerful heart and a calm countenance. Be temperate in all things. Give what God requires, and do not be coaxed to do more because others do. Listen to ad- visers, but let God be your first and last coun- selor in every case. July 14. Some people give prayers without alms, — others give alms without prayers ; but as prayer without effort is as vain as effort without prayer, the better way seems to be to put prayer and alms together, thus praying and . giving, and giving and praying. 212 i July 13. F. A. Krummacher, 17i July 14. diiial Julius Mazaiin, 1602. Ba.-stile destroyed, ITS'J. 213 July 15. Not quite so rough and boisterous ; dou't you know that there is some delicate human crock- ery about you? You may break more in a min- ute than you can mend in a month. You maj- have befooled yourself into the idea that your harshness is a sign of greatness, but you are quite mistaken. The truest-tempered blades have the smoothest edges, and the razor that . has an edge like a handsaw is good for nothinof I but pulling hair. July 16. Be gentle, you teachers and preachers, — we | like the sincere milk of the word, but we don't 1 wish it curdled by your cross looks, neither do J we want it rammed down our necks in the shape j of icicles, or flung in frozen chunks at our poor j devoted heads. Hand it out sweet and warm, and in an edible and drinkable condition, and we will let you see how much we like it. I July 15. Cardiual Henry Edward Mauniuy, IbW. July 16. Sir Jor^hua Reynolds, painter, 1723. July 17. "Come unto Me! " There is a strange direct- ness in the invitation. It is not to go here or to go there, to seek this or to seek that, to ob- tain help in this direction or in that, but it is simply, ^^ Come unto Me!'''' In Christ is our help, he can give us all we need. In him is peace, in him is rest, in him is consolation. From the world's wild deluge of cares and woes . he is our only refuge ; from the weakness of the^ flesh and weariness of the spirit, he alone can give sweet release. July 18. Many a disgraced and ruined man might have been prospered, honored, and blessed, if he had been driven tcitJi hard icorlc^ instead of being left to amuse himself playing the loafer among men, or the dandy among women. A tent- maker's three-cornered needle, or even an old apostolic fishing-net, a wood-saw, or a spade, and a sufl[icient pressure of poverty to induce their vigorous use, would be far more conducive to spiritual health than diligent daily exercise with a croquet-mallet, or regular employment at " bottoming chairs " in some rendezvous for wags, loafers and story-tellers. 216 July 17. Johu Jacul» Astor, merchant, 17G3, Isaac Watt*;, 1674. July 18. Immaniiel Hermann Fichte. philosopher, 1707 Gilbert White, naturalist, 1720. July 19. The devil is usually very careful about the health of Christians. People may work them- selves to death, dance themselves to death, drink themselves to death, or gorge themselves to death, and he has no fault to find; but if a person should injure his health of body or mind by an excessive exertion in the gospel work, then there is trouble enough, and an outcry is raised from Dan to Beersheba. July 20. Forgiveness is cheaper tlian revenge, and is sweeter and more valuable. Prudence, as well as piety, counsels quiet to men under reproof or reproach. If a bee stings you, would you destroy it? Would not a thousand come upon you? If you receive a trifling injury do not be too anxious to avenge it. Let it drop. It is wisdom to say little respecting the injuries you have received. When enemies see that they have hit you, they know where to strike next time, but warfare is tame if no one appears to be hurt. 218 July 19. John Martin, pamter. 178'J. July 20. Francesco Petrarch, poet. 1304. Qiit July 21. If a man has tumbled into the gutter I can get square with him by lying down by his side, and besmearing myself as thoroughly as he has. So I can get square with a man who has wronged me by wronging him, — in other words I can make myself as mean and despicable as he has himself, and thus get square with him : but what do I gain? There are now^ two mean men where there was one before I Two liars where there was one! Two slanderers where there was one ! And in trying to get square with my neighbor, I have disgraced and degraded myself. July 22. It is true that all men may know more than one man may know, but it is also true that one man may know more than ten men : and that one man, informed upon a given point, may know more than ten thousand men who are ignorant concerning it. Hence, in estimating the strength or weakness of a position, we must leave numbers out of the question. The strong- est side is the true side ; the safest side in all great questions is the right side ; and the finally victorious side is the side of God. of truth and righteousness. July 21. Jacques Olfenbach, 1819. Matthew Prior, poet, 1664. Robt. Burns, died, 1796. July 22. Anthony Ashley Cooper, first Earl of Shaftesbury, 1621. Giuseppe Garibaldi, 1807. July 23. There is a time to be silent. We are to bo always ^ ' ready to give to every man that asketJi^ a reason of the hope that is within us. But it does not follow^ that we are to be eternally pes- tering and tormenting, and bumble-beeing about those who do not asl^, and are not willing to receive a reason for the Christian hope. We are to follow the example of Him who did not strive, nor cry, nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets, but who, in lowliness and humility, radiated light and blessing on every hand. Our w^orks may convince some on whom our word? would wasted. July 24. The service of God is a service of loving liberty. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. The only restraints which he imposes are those required for our own preservation and well-being. Our abuse of freedom calls for fresh restraints ; and the wrong we do ourselves and others requires the interposition of Divine authority. Hence every wrong act impairs our freedom. They who will not be loving servants of the Lord soon become the degraded bond- slaves of the devil. July 23. July 24. John Philpot Cuvraii. Tiish banister, 1750. July 2H. Many a man in business looks back and thinks, ''I would give thousands to-day for the information which would have cost very little had I enjoyed the opportunity of gaining it in my youth. But it is too late now. Then time was plenty, but now in the rush and hurry of active life, time is too short, cares are too press- ing, and I can never do what I might have done, or be what I might have been." Let those who thus feel their own deficiences, persuade and encourage those who are younger to improve life's morning, that by using all diligence in seed-time they may rejoice when the harvest comes. July 26. It is a positive disgrace to any girl to marry when unfitted for the duties of domestic life. It is as much a shame as for a dunce to open an academy, a landsman to undertake to com- mand a ship, or a cobbler to try to build a cathedral. It is taking an important position when unable to properly perform its duties, and betraying the trust of the confiding by acting the part of an incompetent and an impostor. July 25. July 26 225 July 27. There are no arguments like facts ; and God's providences are facts. Ten thousand voices from the past proclaim them to the world, and ten thousand voices from the living present echo and indorse the proclamation. And this evidence is cumulative. If every trace and record of God's providences up to to-day were instantly blotted out and forgotten, new facts would be developed to-morrow, and living men and women would at once arise and testify to fresh experiences of the gracious guidance of tlie unseen hand of God. July 28. A man who has truth in the inward parts, who lives an upright and transparent life, is honest, frank and outspoken. And while he is under no sort of obligation to tell all he knows, or confide his affairs to meddling busy-bodies, yet when he speaks he speaks words of truth and soberness, and tells the truth as it is, and states facts as they are. On the other hand, men who are wedded to poUcy^ and are contin- ually looking out for consequences, can rarely l)e depended upon to state facts correctly, or answer questions honestly. July 27. Thomas Campbell, poet, 1777. July 28. 227 July 29. If you want to keep your place, make your- self so generally useful and profitable to your employer that he cannot get along without you, and yet be so quiet and unassuming that he will have no trouble in getting along with you, and then you will be likely to stay till you wish to leave, instead of going when some one else wants you to go. The way to keep a place is to fill it ; — and if it is too small for you, run over a little into some vacant place, till you find a bigger one. The men who can be spared are the men who are in constant fear of doing loo much. July 30. How many a man will behave himself for weeks either to win a smile from some face which has shamed his evil conduct by its honest and rebuking glance, or to regain the esteem of some earnest woman, who has told him ''what was what.'' But a woman must have character if she would have influence. Show, sham, and pretense are not enough; there must be reality, w^eight, and worth. She must stand above others if she would beckon them upward to a better and higher life, and should be a pat tern of those virtues which she would inculcate, J July 29. July 30. Saiuuel Rogers, poet, 1763. J'jly 31. Society having licensed men to make folks insane, appoints other men to take care of the madmen, to protect society from their frenzied rage, and to lock them up behind iron bars till their madness has subsided. They cannot watch them constantly ; they may guard society in the streets, but how little can they do for the poor wretches who, once within their homes, rave as if seven demons possessed them, and abuse and murder those they have vowed to cherish and protect. An hour's time and a shilling's worth of poison will transform a quiet, inoffen- sive man into a wild, raving maniac, and send him howling through the streets like a mad- man, or raving like a demon into the home which once was full of happiness and peace. July 31. Rev. John Hall, D.D., 1820. 231 ^M0«JSt. Purge Me with Hyssop. Not by tlie blood tbat on altars is poured, Fresh from the beast as a sacritice slain. Shall the lost sinner draw near to the Lord, Seeking his pardon and mercy to gain. Once, when the passover lamb had been slain, liranches of hyssop were dipped in the gore ; Dashed on the lintels, they scattered the st-ain. Then the death-angel knocked not at that door. So on the leprous, unclean and defiled, Branches of liyssop the crimson stain strewed ; Purged from disease, like the flesh of a child, Lepers were cleansed and in beauty renewed. Altars are perished, and passovers gone; Priests now no longer the sacrifice slay; Hyssop and sprinkling no longer are known, — Shadows grow faint with the dawning of day. Christ, for our sins, was a sacrifice slain. Once for the world he expired on the tree. When the death-angel beholds his blood's stain, He shall pass over and we shall be free. Oh let that blood which for sinners was spilt, Now to our hearts by thy grace be applied; Purging sin's leprosy, cleansing its guilt, Through the rich mercy of Jesus who died. Dark are the stains that thy pure eye hath seen, Many the sins that thou only dost know; '* Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean, Wash mo, an«l I shall be whiter than snow.'* 233 August 1. Intelligeuce and iuformatioii are not hercdi tary. The son of a philosopher may be an ignoramus. The wisest men must teach their children the simplest elements of knowledge, or allow them to grow up in ignorance of all that they themselves have learned. The fact that Christian men have investigated and set- tled for themselves the great problems of faith and duty, avails nothing for others, even those most dear to them, who need, each for them- selves, to re-examine and re-settle the same questions. Hence the foundation facts of Christianity require constant re-statement, if we would save the young from doubt and unbelief. August 2. He who reads one book can read others. He who knows one man can know others. Know yourself, and you will know those around you. But if you know not yourself you are very cer- tain to know no one else as you should know them. 234 August 1. George Ticknor, 17'Jl. Dr. Fiobt. ^loiTison, first missionary to the Chinese, died, 1834. August 2. Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman, 1802. 236 August 3. Even Christians put aside matters of intense and eternal interest, saying we have no time to attend to these things. But whose is the time that ice have? Who hath given time, life, health, probation and opportunity? Whose hand holds back the sword that might cut us down, the arrow that might lay us low^? Shall we, living in God's w^orld, subsisting on his bouuty, depending on his goodness, having in ourselves neither strength, nor power, nor op- portunity, refuse his heavenly calls, and claim that we have no thne to attend to His command- ments? August 4. When the grave opens, and we deposit there the blessed forms of those we love, it is good to know that the gates shall open again, and that not at the command of an enemy, but at the bidding of a friend. For He who giveth life, and who giveth little ones to be life's solace and life's joy, has also given a promise to res- cue them from the hand of the destroyer, from the shades of death. August 3. Christine Nilssou, 16-i'o. August 4. Percy Bysshe Shelley, poet, 1702. August 5. I have never observed or learned that rich men are on the whole to be envied more than others. They are no wiser, healthier, or hap- pier than many others. They cannot enjoy their food, or their raiment, or their rest — the gratifications of natural appetites, or of grand and intellectual desires, better than many others who have not their wealth. Besides, wealth costs labor in getting, care in keeping, misery in wasting, penury in hoarding, and perdition in loving it. No hope of such an uncertain and equivocal object as this, can be worthy of my heart's longings. August 6. Plenty of leaders will allow you to be the next greatest man in the crowd, provided you will help them to be the greatest. Place them at the head, and you may stand next. Give them the throne, and you may occupy the foot- stool. But unless you make them greatest, you are nowhere and nobody. Do not doit. They are not the greatest men in creation, nor are you the next greatest. Great men do not need to be exalted. Gold requires no gilding; it is this brass and bogus stuff which requires so mucli galvanizinof and burnishing. August 5. Prof. Robwell Dwight Hitchcock, D.D., LL. P.. 1817 August 6. Nicolas Malebranche. philosopher. iaS8. August 7. If a thing needs doing, go and do it. Do not waste time in waiting for others, or in try- ing to put brains into stupid heads, or zeal into careless hearts. Do not spend your strength in idle dreaming, or in mere enthusiastic utter- ances. We have no book of the resolutions of the apostles, but the Acts of the Apostles is a wondrous story of their heroic and successful faith. August 8. The devil's road is all down hill. No matter how^ high up a person may start, so surely as he walks the devil's path he finds it a continual descent leading to fathomless depths. Espe- cially is this true in the case of those who are enchained by the mocking witchery of the in- toxicating cup. There may be no indications of impending danger or trouble, when the jeweled hand of youth and beauty lifts the sparkling beverage to the ruby lips, or extends the wine-glass to some gay and gallant friend ; and yet tliis is the first act in a drama of misery, the outcome of which is woeful enough to break a lieart of stone. August 7. August 8. August 9. It is impossible for us rightly to estimate the consequences of any sinful act. That which may seem of the smallest moment to us, is per- haps the most important event in our whole lives. The waving of the banner may effect more than the firing of a gun ; and some twink- ling beacon light, lit by a childish hand upon the distant hill, may be fraught with greater consequences than the fierce onset of ten thou- sand men. August 10. Grandeur is not happiness, nor does exalted station bestow^ blessedness or peace. The high- est mountains are thrones of icy barrenness. They gleam with regal beauty, but are never clothed with verdure or with fruit, xind for human sustenance and human habitation, one sweet little valley is worth more than all the snow-crowned peaks that lift their imperial splendoi's beneath the starry skies. It is he Avho is ''meek and lowly in lieart" who gives rest to lieavy-laden souls. 242 August 9. Adoniiam Judsuu, 1788. Johu Diydeii, [joet, 1031. August 10. Rev. John S. Inskin, lbl6. August 11. When people have shown themselves unfit for freedom, then they must feel the hand of power, and bow to force, since they would not yield to love. Those who are fit for freedom keep it; those who are unfit to enjoy it lose it. He who w^ill faithfully serve God needs no other master; he who refuses Christ's easy yoke, must needs wear Satan's hard one. August 12. If strong-minded men are coaxed into rum shops and made crazy, while weak-minded w^omen go to prayer meetings and come home sane; if strong-minded men are enticed into gambling dens and fleeced out of their thou- sands, while weak-minded women are content with the luxury of a cup of tea at a ten-cent sewing circle; who shall say that the weakness of women is not stronger than the strength of men, and that the foolishness of women is not wiser than the wisdom of men? 244 August 11. August 12. Rev. Kowiand Hill, 1744. Robert Soiithey, poet, 1774. The rough seas make the good sailor; and nothiug but battles can produce veterans fit for the fiercest fights. An untried man is but half a man. His strength has never been tested. His powers are unrevealed. Only in the deep waters can we know the strong swimmer's skill. Only the fury of the hurricane can show the might of the eagle's wing. And as only temp- tation and trial can reveal our weakness and our strength, so nothing else can disclose to us the power of Him who watches us in our trials, who helps us in all our infirmities. August 14. The grandest forces in this world are silent and unperceived. They operate unnoticed but yet with resistless power. A child's tin trumpet makes more noise than the attraction of gravi- tation, which binds the whole universe as with chains of adamant, but which w^orks so quietly that it was thousands of years before mortals discovered its existence. August 13. IMulip riiillii)s, Chribtiau vocalist. 18o4. August 14. Geo. Combe, phrenologist, died, 1858. 247 August 15. Young ladies should remember that the Al- mighty knew what was the best shape for a human form, and that the lacings and distor- tions with which the}- disfigure themselves, are as impious as they are unhealthful, as sinful as they are absurd ; and that no person can com- press, restrain, and remodel her external fonn, without deranging, distorting, and displacing those internal organs, upon the normal and healthful condition of which depend peace, happiness, health, and even life itself. August 16. "Blessed are the poor," but that depends upon the kind of poverty. The man who pays five dollars to take his family to the circus half a day, and cannot pay five cents to have them go to meeting a year, is poor, but there is very little blessedness for him. August 15. Sir Waltfi- Srt.it, 1771. Napoleon (1.) Bonapaito, 1760. Thomas de Quincey, 1785. ist 16. August 17. When a man has violated conscience and has departed from God^ his sources of strength are dried up ; like Samson despoiled of his locks, he is weak as other men are, and goes down in the general wreck, feeble when he might have been strong, defeated when he might have been a victor, dishonored when he might have been crowned with glory, lost when he might have been saved. August 18. When throngs of people of every class and condition pour by thousands into some immense barn-like tabernacle to hear the Gospel of Christ from plain, unlettered, earnest men, where cost- ly and elegant churches have stood half empty around them, it may be questioned w^hether, after all, there is not some more potent attrac- tion in the Gospel of Christ which is the power of God unto salvation, than in the plush and velvet, and black walnut and mahogany, which are deemed so necessary for the securing of the hundred-thousand-dollar sinners, who are in such especial need of salvation. 250 August 17. William Carey, pioneer missionary, 178>^. 266 The Cross* O shameful cross ! on thee was hirng The bleeding One who died for me. There mocked by every railing tongue I see my Saviour's agony. O cross of anguish and of shame ! Thou didst a Saviour's grace declare: Thou dost to all the world proclaim The love that did my sorrows bear. Cross of the Lord! no radiant gem, No glistening pearls of lustre rare, Xo monarch's blazing diadem With thy pale splendors can compare. Cross of the Lord ! while others boast Of titles, names, and marks of pride, My heart shall ever glory most In that rough tree where Jesus died. O cross ! thou badge of love divine, Rend my hard heart, subdue my soul ; Oh, crush each lust and slay each sin, And all my life by love control. 266 When We Were Boys. Oh the days when we were boys ! Life had sunshine, health, and joys; Rosy, hearty, fresh and fair, Full of life, we children were. Shoeless, hatless, coatless too, Tlirough rent garments breezes blew; Active, agile, playful, wild, Who is happier than a child? Quick to laugh, and jump, and run, Fond of sunshine, full of fun, Shouting, swinging on the gate, Bound for school—" You'll be too late !" Ah, those days are passed away, Brows are wrinkled, hair grows gray; Yet I love their cheer and noise. And my heart says, " Bless the boys ! " Bless the laughing, shouting boys, With their pleasures, plays, and joys; May they think on God in youth, And grow up in grace and truth. September 1. A world needs not only a Creator but a Sup- porter; one who upholdetli ''all things by the word of his power; " and the miracle of making a world which w^hen once produced would run itself, and develop the ten thousand forms of animal life which fill this mundane sphere, would be a thousand times as great as the mir- acle of creating the world by an act of omnipo- tence, and sustaining and guiding its destiny in such a way that not one sparrow should fall un- noticed to the ground. Mud and monkeys are very poor substitutes for an Almighty Creator and a heavenly Father. September 2. New converts often outdo all others in the intensity of their sectarian zeal; and not in- frequently abuse others who are not as rash and imprudent as themselves. They seem to think that the work of a lifetime may be accomplished in a single day, and they censure others for not accepting in fifteen minutes truths over which they themselves have hesitated for fifteen years. They are often valiant in shouting victory over others' battles, and diligent in reaping the re- ward of others' labors. 268 September 1. September 2. John Howard, philanthropist, 1726. Ernst Curtius, Hellenist, 1814. September 3. A watclimun who utters uu warniug cit at the approach of danger, fails to fulfill the duties of his post. A dumb dog that can not bark, lying down, loving to slumber, greedy, never satisfied, — such a dog, who would care to have him about his premises ? Who would dare to trust to his protection ? And yet there are those who intrude themselves into positions of the utmost responsibility in the church of God, and when once there seem to find their main occupation in keeping themselves in comfort, satisfying themselves, and especially in keeping everything quiet around them. September 4. If people w^ish to fight the rum devil, they must do something besides make speeches and pass resolutions; they must go into business and beat the devil on his own field. A dozen drinking fountains, or a big temperance restau- rant where cheap healthful food canbehad witli no liquor, will do more for temperance than manv a fierce oration about rum and rumsellers. September 3. (lardiHT Colby, founder of Colby UiiiverBity, ISIO. September 4. 271 L.... September H. There are persons whose idea of reform and elevation consists in one spasmodic effort or terrible assault. If they were to raise a build- ing they would probably place a lever under one corner of it, and if possible tip it over, dis- locating it and racking it to ruin, and then out of the wreck select such bricks as they might be able to use, and adjust them to suit them- selves. They are much more skilled in the art of breaking down than of building up ; they can overturn sometimes, but they do not leave things right side up at last. September 6. In prayer you talk with God : in reading his' AVord he talks with you. Can you afford to miss this heavenly conversation ? Can you spare the instructions, the reproofs, the counsels, the encouragements which God bestows ? Can you live the life you desire to live, while you neg- lect his counsels, and do not incline your heart to his reproofs? 272 September 5. Cardinal Riclielieu, 1585. September 6. Marquis de Lafayette, 1757. September 7. The care of a fretful, crying child may do more to develop the ability and humanity of a person, than months of soulless routine work at which one might labor forty years, and not use so much, judgment and sense as would be requisite in the cooking of a dinner, or the turning and refitting of an old garment; and yet there are people who look upon themselves as too intellectual for domestic toil ; forgetting that helpfulness is culture and work is educa- tion. September 8. God is older than creeds ; humanity is older than churches; Christianity is older than sects; and if some of these close corporations, — these churches that have '* no vacancies," would open their doors more widely, and if their leaders would go out and call benighted wanderers in, there would be less throwing stones from the outside, by men who are hungry, lonely, liome- less, faint, and cold. Sepiemcer 7. CJeorges Louis Leclerc Buffon, naturalist, 17<17 Queen Elizabeth, 1533. September 8. riof. Arnold Henry Guyot, geographer, 1807 September 9. Scolding is a poor way of telling anything to people, and especially of proclaiming the Gos- pel of Christ. And yet there are persons who seem to think themselves called to scold the Gospel at congregations. The Gospel is a mes- sage of gladness ; it is good news, glad tidings of great joy; and the service of the Lord is a service of gladness, and blessing, and peace. How unfit then, are hard, angry and bitter words to be the vehicles to convey this message to the ears of sinful men. September 10. God's salvation must be free, or else the poor could not obtain it. It must be simple, or babes could not understand it. It must be easy, or the weak, the young, the helpless and the dis- tressed could never gain it. And so the relig- ion of Christ differs from all other religions, in that it is the gift of God to those who have nothing to offer in return. He gives right roy- ally, — to the poor, to the weak, and to the help- less ; — for it was when we were without strength, in due time, that Christ died for the ungodly. 276 Sepiember 9. Kichard Chenevlx Trench, 1807. September 10. Miiiiy;o Park, African traveler, 1771. September 11. Just as some lying vagabond wheedles an ignorant and self -conceited boy, and makes him believe that his father is a cruel master and an unfeeling foe ; and makes him so reckless that he Avill go to sea, go to war, or go to perdition, — all because a lying villain has filled his mind with prejudice and falsehood, and made him think that no one loves him or cares for him ; so from the beginning of the world it has been Satan's course to persuade men that God was their enemy, that he hated them, that he was filled with wrath and vengeance and indigna- tion towards them, that they themselves might become haters of the God who loves them. September 12. AVhatever sinful men may say, the holy angels sang over Bethlehem's plains, ^' Peace on earth, good will to men." Whatever sinful preach- ers may say, the sinless Jesus said, "God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world througli him might be saved." "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever belie veth in him should not perish, but have everlastino- life." September 11. James Thomson, poet, 1700. September 12. September 13. There are many gentle people in this world, and there are many who do not fail or become discouraged. But the two qualities are dis- united. There are those who perhaps never broke a bruised reed, but then, they never did anything else which required effort or decis- ion; their voices are not heard in the streets, nor are they heard anywhere else where men sJwidd speak boldly on behalf of God and truth. There are plenty of quiet, gentle j^eople in the world, who do not strive or cry. But their gen- tleness is laziness, and their patience is indiffer- ence. God's service requires other characteris- tics and qualifications besides meekness and gentleness. September 14. The management of the devil's Avorld, or of God's universal church, are undertakings too large by far for the servant of God ; and so, as the world rolls on, he attends to his own spe- cific work, and leaves the Lord to care for that which is beyond his reach. God ruled the world before he came into it, and can rule it after lie leaves it, and so he expects God to rule it Avhile he is in it ; not doubting his wis- dom, liis providence, or his power. 280 September 13. SeptemlDer 14. Robert Raikes, founder of Sunday School'?. 1735. SeptemlDer 15. Positive work yields permaneut results. Some men are so , busy taking care of what others have done, that they do little or nothing themselves. They manage "the cause" till there is no '^ cause " left to be managed. Those who attend to their work usually have work to attend to. September 16. He who climbs Alpine summits, and treads paths where avalanches sweep, does not seek out as his guide the most voluble talker, nor yet the most accomplished student ; but rather the man who, year after year, has trod those dark defiles, and climbed those dangerous heights, and who knows beyond a peradven- ture the safest paths and surest hiding-places. And he who sets forth to guide God's pilgrims to the heavenly home, must be the man who knows the way, not by books merely, but by experience ; not by dim remembrances, but by vivid recollection. September 15. Canon Mozley, 1813. Se'czerr.loev 16. September 17. The world has only had one perfect gentle- man, and that was the man Christ Jesus, who was full of the . gentleness of God. How he reproved pride when his disciples strove for the pre-eminence. How he warned them that they knew not what spirit they were of. How he set a little child in the midst of them, in their ambitiousness, for their examj^le and their pattern ! How he blessed the meek with special promises, and how he practiced all he preached^ in that he did not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax. September 18. My business is with God's work, and it is his affair to supply all my need ; and whether he does it by sending the ravens to bring me bread and meat, by multiplying my meal in the barrel and my oil in the cruise, by prospering the labor of my toiling hands, by directing his serv- ants to divide with me the abundance they possess, or by raining manna from the clouds and pouring water from the smitten rock, all these methods are alike to me, — I trust in him for the results. September 17. Rev. John Foster, " The Essayist," 1770. September 18. Samuel Johnson, LL. D,, lexicographer, 1709. 286 September 19. The prescribing of duties and forms and ceremonies for sinners to perform, is like telling a dead man to be active in order that he may live. A thousand voices might have called the ruler's daughter or the widow's son, and yet have called in vain; but the word of Christ broke the dull sleep of death, and bade the slumberers rise. So men may call upon dead sinners to do this thing or that, but only Christ's voice can break their fatal lethargy. And when "He saith awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead," the power to do attends the high command. September 20. Before there can be acceptable service there must be an accepted servant. An alien, an enemy, or a condemned criminal, cannot be rec- ognized as a servant even of a commonwealth. The man must become a citizen, he must be a friend, his crimes must be pardoned before his service can be accepted. And any acts of ser- vice previously performed, would only be an unwarranted intrusion into things with which he has no right to meddle. So no man can be accepted in his service yair the ruin wrought by sin. Man is a wreck, disordered and diseased; the Holy Spirit "helpeth our infirmities." Memory, though a natural gift, becomes impaired ; the Holy Spirit brings all things to remembrance. Conscience, though a natural gift, becomes seared or perverted; the Holy Spirit purges and quick- ens it, and convinces of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Speech is a natural gift, but the Holy Spirit loosens the stammering tongue, and even bestows ability, so that men speak with new tongues, as the Spirit gives them utterance. September 28. It is said of the little ones. *' Their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.'' What are all the mailed troops, all the harnessed warriors surrounding the steps of royalty, compared with this celestial life- guard of the saints? The humblest, most de- spised, unknown believer, has a nobler life- guard than the proudest monach that ever filled a throne on earth. September 27. George Miiller, 1805. Henry Moorhouse, 1840. Geo. Cruikshank, artist, 1792. Thomas Nast, 1840. Samuel Adams, 1722. September 28. Sir William Jones, orientalist, 174G. September 29. When you pray you may not have what you ask for, but it will strengthen you under your disappointment to know that it was God's will to refuse your request, and that he did so be- cause, seeing the future, he intended to give you a higher blessing than the one you would have asked for yourself. Your child cries when you take a dangerous plaj^thing from his hand, or deny him some unsuitable pleasure, but he will thank you when he is older, for this proof of your love. September 30. There are men who hunt, and fish, and starve, for generations, seeing nothing but poverty and want around them; until some stranger comes and finds gold and silver and iron and gems beneath their feet ; drops seeds into the earth, and makes the desert smile; and skirts the arrowy water-course with shops and mills, where streams that have been idle for ages, are taught to do the*work of tens of thousands of men. So there are men who read the Bible and see nothing in it, while othej's find it filled with lioarded wealth. 293 September 29. R«\ . F. H. A. Scrivener, N. T. Revisf-r, \>^\3. Admiral Horatio Nelson. 17r>S. September 30. Richard Brinsley Sheridan, 1751. 207 Straight is the Way. Straight is the way — the door is strait That leads to joys on high ; 'Tis but a few that find the gate, While crowds mistake and die. Beloved self must be denied, The mind and will renewed, Passion suppressed, and patience tried, And vain desire subdued. i Ii5ftijfejer> Homeland. My home is o'er the swelling flood, Where suns no more descend , Within the paradise of God, Where pleasures never end. My King in beauty there enthroned, Angelic hosts behold ; And there I hope, with glory crowned, To walk those streets of gold. O Star of day! thy holy beams Pierce through the shadows gray; We hail with joy thy twinkling gleams. That tell of perfect day ; Soon shall thy glory fill the skies, Thou Hope of seers and kings: The ^un of Righteousness shall rise, With healing in His wings. O day of glory! dawn, and bring Creation's second birth; When morning stars again shall sing O'er this dark, groaning earth. When He who said, " Let there be light! And all things sprang to view. Shall speak again that word of might, '* See, I make all things new." October 1. If you resist evil, and strive for your rights, and fight to have justice done you, you may keep yourself in a perpetual broil, lose much, and gain nothing by the operation. Pass on, and get out of the dust; leave lies, quarrels, and jangles behind you. Most people, when they hear you talked about, would like to know just what you think about the stories. If you stop to bandy words and fight battles, they will conclude you think it a serious matter. If you go about your business they will conclude that if you do not notice it there is no reason why they should. .October 2. A man can only teach what he has learned, and testify what he knows. Hence, desirable as all culture and education may be, it is not the thing that fits men for the ministry of the word of God. A man may know Greek, and not know God. He may have Hebrew, and not have the Holy Ghost. He may understand geology, and be ignorant of grace. Such a man may be a good pedagogue, but he would l)e a blind guide to wandering souls. He must learn before he can teach. 3O0 October 1. Rufus Choate, 170M. October 2. October 3. AVithoui moral integrity there is no founda- tion for confidence in business or in social life ; and anything which tends to weaken the sense of moral responsibility in the human heart, tends directly to produce financial disaster and distress. That man who, through a long series of years, by crookedness, and craft, and guile, and worldly policy, trains up around him a class of men accomplished in all the tricks and arts of commercial deception, may well expect to find the fruit of his labor in universal dis- trust, ending in universal disaster. . October 4. A man may be in error. Try, then, to con- vert him. "But he will not be converted." What then? Love him — love him still; for ''charity never faileth." "Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves ;" then in your knowledge of human weakness and infirm- ity, and in your consideration of human faulti- ness, you will be led to endure with patience the ignorance, dullness, error, and stupidity of those for whom the Good Shepherd hath laid down his life. October 3. George Bancroft, ISOO. October 4. Pre.si. Hayes, 1822. October 5. Men will go at last where they are fit to go ; and those who spend their lives in the service of God, would be poor company for the Devil and his angels, while those who hate God and despise Christians here, must have strange notions if they expect to be forever happy with them hereafter. The disciples ''being let go, went to their own company," So all will go at last. October 6. Do you want to have hard times? I can tell you how . Grumble at your lot ; keep company with drunkards, blasphemers, gamblers, and loafers; avoid churches, chapels, and places of worship; pick out for associates men who will lie, cheat and steal ; owe every man who is pru- dent and industrious a grudge for being better off than you are ; and above all do not read the Bible, but spend your money for novels and story-papers. Attend to all these directions faithfully, and if you do not see hard times at an early opportunity, then I shall despair o your ever sncceedina' in anything you undertake 304 OctoLer 5. .lonatlian Ethvard.>^, 1703. Thomas IIastiu<,'s, cou>poser, 1784. October 6. October T. Among all the fooleries of tlie present day, none are more marked than the matrimonial infelicities that so curse the world. People who are miserable when they are apart, think they will be happy when they are together; and. then finding themselves miserable when to- gether, they think they will be happy if they can only get apart. So they shift the bed and keep the pain. The fact is, the devil is in them, and they are miserable anywhere, whether sin- gle, married, or divorced. And most of the misery they enjoy is the fruit of their own faults or follies or sins. October 8. God loves to guide our feet "into the way of peace ;" and whenever we have found ourselves in dark and devious and perilous paths, we have but to look back and blame ourselves that our eyes were dim, our ears heavy, our wills stubborn, and our hearts hard ; and that in our blindness and stitf-neckedness we rejected the counsel of God to our own disadvantage. October 7. Deau Alford, 1810. October 8. October 9. God's great controversy with man is on a point of time. God siiys "You are a sinner.'' — *'Yes.*' — ' ' You must repent. " — ' ' Yes. " — ' ' Seek God. " — ''I will." — "Doit now." " Xo — not naw.'^ Here is the fatal breach. God says, '''' To-daij if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts." You say " To-morroic shall be as this day and much more abundant." God says, " Behold 7101(1 is the accepted time, and noic is the day of salvation." You wait, and defer, and die, and perish I You linger, but damna- tion lingereth not. You slumber, but judg- ment slumbereth not. You wish to escape, you intend to do so. When will you do it? 'Why not now ? October 10. Be poor as Lazarus, if need be ; but don't die mortgaged to the devil for more than you are worth ; if you do, when the angels come they will not be likely to carry you to any very good place. And do not get in debt and make that an excuse for being stingy and robbing God in tithes and in offerings; but sell, pay up, get clear and square with the world, and then you can live in quietness, and die in peace at last. Octoter 9. Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra, author of Don Quixote.' 1.547 October 10. IJeiijamin West, 1738. Father (^Theobald) Mathew, Irish apostle of temperance, 17'J0. October 11. We are only children here. We must pray for faith to be enabled sincerely to ask, '' Thy will, not mine, be done." But when we are grown older, and have entered into our heavenly home, that '^purchased possession" prepared for those who belong to Christ, then shall we be able to look back to life's teachings, whether of joy or sorrow, and to say from the fullness of our hearts, "He hath done all things well." October 12. To say that a man shall think precisely as I do, is to say that he shall know just w^hat I do, neither more nor less. But surely I would not limit the knowledge of my brother to my own narrow range of thought ; and while the grand essentials of divine truth are ever the same among all who truly love and serve our common Lord, yet forms of thought, and speech, and expression, vary with every varying mind. He who seeks Christian unity must go deeper, and he will find substantial unity of heart in all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. October 11, \)v. Siuiiufl Clarke, philosopher, theoloj,Maii, IGT. OctolDer 12. Hu^'h Miller, geologist, 180L'. Jan Zizka, Hussite leader, died, 1424. 311 October 13. Conscious integrity gives moral strength. An erect man can carr}' a heavier load than one who stoops ; and an upright man has a strength which those who have bowed down to false gods know nothing of. A hollow heart makes a feeble hand. Whenever we try to persuade ourselves that wrong is right, that duty is un- important, that the thing we wish to do we may do even though it be forbidden of God, we may bewilder our conscience, and blind our eyes, and drift away from the path of God's providence and our own duty ; but we are lay- ing up sorrow for ourselves. October 14. Good husbands make good wives, and good wives make good husbands ; and any man who regards his wife as his inferior, or who boasts of his superiority over her, will do well to re- member that he showed something of the ex- tent of his wit and wisdom when he picked out a fool for a wife; while wives making simi- lar comparisons, may participate in the ^ame consolation. 312 October 13. October 14. William Pemi, 1G44. Ida Pfeiffer, traveler, 1704. OctolDer 15. Whatever the Avorldly and profane may saN', and whatever the formal and hypocritical may think, no human influence harmonizes the hearts of the household, strengthens the ties of love, and unites the family in the bonds of peace, like the inlluence of family prayer. It is a point of union between the earth and heaven. Here humility gains its highest elevation in communion with the Father of spirits, and here the Majesty on high humbles itself to fel- lowship with sinners saved by grace ; for here, " The Lord comes down our souls to greet ; And glorv crowns the uiercv-seat." •October 16. Let us stand steadfast for the right ; for with the right is victory. No matter what its fol- lowers may suffer ; right may be outnumbered, out-flanked, out-voted, out-generaled, betrayed and crucified; and yet its direst defeat shall turn to grandest triumj^h, the crown of thorns shall sparkle with eternal lustre, and He w^ho is lifted up in shame and infamy, shall draw all men unto him, and sit at God's right hand, until his enemies be made his foot-stool. 314 I Oototer 15. Evaiigelihta Tonicelli, inventor of baromcttr, 1«/)S (i.n. Irvin M.Dow .-11. U. S. A., 1818, Vir.Lril. H^ I'.. October 16. Koah Webster, 1758. October 17. Young man, possessed of all the grand op- portunities of youthful life in this swift-speed- ing age, can you, will you, lease your soul to Satan for him to raise one crop of ^' wild oats'"? AVill you sell your birthright for a summers purchase? Will you, in the red gleaming of the wine cup, in the deadly hallucinations of nar- cotic drugs, in the poison of tobacco, in the pleasures of riot, in the foul pestilences of dis- ease, in the madness of the gaming table, drown all there is about you of purity, and nobleness, and principle, apd manliness, and become a poor, degraded, wretched thing and die as tlie fool dieth? Octctsr 18. It is not difficult to come; when a voice in- vites us to come^ we have little need of direction. If we are bidden to go, we must learn where to go, and how; but the invitation ^'Come," ex- plains itself. It is easy to come; a child may come ; one may come who is feeble, who is frail, who is infirm; and Christ has said, *'Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will o-ive vou rest.'' October 17. October 18. Matthew Henry, theolos^ian, 1G62. Henry ^Fartyn, missionary and orientalist, died. 1.^12. 317 October 19. It is enou«2:h for us to know that, many and mighty as are the angels of the Most Higli, they are ^'' all ministering spirits," not called, like the messengers of Satan, coming to tip tables and talk nonsense under the guise of ghosts, at the beck and for the delusion of skeptics and infidels, but rather '•^ sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salva- tion," over wliom God has given them charge, to keep tliem in all their ways; and then in such ways and at such times as pleases God, the angel of the Lord who encampeth round about them that fear him, '•'' delkeretli theniy October 20. Ventilate your cliurches. Tliere is no doubt but weariness and the bad air of unventilated rooms is largely responsible for the drowsiness of many persons who, if not fit for pillars in the church, make very sound *' sleepers." The Lord has poured out the air forty miles deep all around us, and it is a pity if his own chil- dren cannot have enough of it to breathe while they are worshiping Him. I October 19. ; Henry L«Mf;h Hunt, poet and essayist, 1784. President John Adams, ITS,*}. October 20. Sir Cliristopher Wren, architect, 1032. October 21. Let it be settled in the depths of your soul, among the first great prineiples of your being, God loves one! Do not mistake the idea, and make it a conditional and uncertain thing. Some say or think, if I am good God will love me, — If I feel happy it is a proof that God does love me; and so they go to work to do something to onalce God love them. Vain at- tempt! It is like water running up hill. ''We love him because He first loved us." ^ October 22. The question of your own personal safety and eternal salvation must be decided by yourself. You intend sometime to be a Christian; but you will never be unless you decide. You may grow old without deciding to do so ; your hair may turn gray without your decision or choice ; you may be ill without decision ; you may die without deciding to die, but you can never be- come a Christian without coming to a decision concerning the matter. There must be some day, some hour, some moment, when you will make up your mind and decide. When shall it be? Why not to-day? October 21. S. T. Coleridge, poet, 177l'. Madame Goldschmidt, "Jenny Lind," 1S21. Rev. Samuel Francis Smith, D.D., author of ^' My Country, 'Tis of Thee,'' 1808. October 22. Dr. Alexander Murray, philologist, 1775. Abb^ Franz Liszt, composer, 1811. 321 *^ October 23, No man is fit to confute a doctrine which he is too indifferent to examine or comprehend. But it would be hard to find many skej)tical writers or speakers who have ever had even a fair look at the opposite side of the question, to say nothing of a practical experience of the gospel of salvation, without which all theories are but shells and husks. As a rule, infidels know no more about real Christianity than a monkey does about evolution. October 24. Young man, do not be a tool ! Know what you are about. Do not be slimed and swal- lowed by '* dear brothers" and ''dear friends." Avoid secret conclaves and dark-lantern lodges and caucuses. Keep out of the toils of schem- ers and intriguers. Understand icliat you do and tcliy you do it. Examine before you ap- prove. Look before you leap. Beware of the wiles of demagogues and wire-pullers. Shun the flatteries of the crafty. "Beware of the Greeks bringing presents." Be the Lord's man, — not for sale to any1)ody nor at any price. October 23. Williaui M. Taylor, 182l». October 24. Daniel Webster, died, 1852. 323 October 25. No external motive can be stronger in its influence upon both saint and sinner, than the consideration of that great event which marks the meeting-place of two eternities, the crisis in the liistor}^ of the world and the race, the hour which bears the burden of immortal destinies, which closes up this present dispensation of mercy to the world, and opens to our view that scene of glory which shall reach throughout all the ages, world without end. October 26. The world is full of talk ; and a great states- man wisely said: ''^luch talking is the enemy of acting." He who plans, contrives, ?ind talks, generally does nothing further; all his enthu- siasm is expended in his fervid utterances; and steam is wasted in whistling, until there is none left to run the train. October 25. Tliumas Bubinj^tou Macaulay, historian, 1800. Octcfcsr 25. Philip Dua.liia^'s, died, 1751. 325 October 27. Avoid stimulants. When weary, rest ; when sleepy, go to bed. They that sleep, sleep in the night. Let the sleeping-room be a good one : clean, sweet, and spacious, with doors or windows opening out into pure air ; and with only the lightest curtains, so that the daylight can come in early and wake you up. Eat lightly at night, if you eat at all. Hearty sup- pers spoil the night's sleep and the next morn- ing's breakfast. Let the stomach have rest, wdth the other portions of the system, during the night. /^Then lie down in the peace of God, and you shall find that ''He giveth his beloved sleep. ''/ October 28. As when one looks upward from the bottom of a deep well(^ he beholds the stars shining down upon him — lights which those who are enjoying the day alone cannot perceive — so from the deepest, most frightful pit of sorrow, the Christian sees the stars of God's promises, fixed and brioht, cheering him to endure to the end. \ 326 October 27. Capt. James Cook, uavigator, 17-S. October 28. Deiiideiius Erasmus, reviver of classic literature, 1467 Johannes Daniel Falk, philanthropist, 1770. I October 29. The little graves shall be opened by and by. The night is dark, but there is a flush of morn upon the mountains, and a gleam of sunlight glows along the distant hills. He who bears the keys of hell and of death, shall come back to open the little graves, and call the sleepers forth. Then cherub forms shall burst the silent tombs, and these green hillocks shall yield their immortal harvest for the garner of our God. October 30. To accomplish anything, we must have an olject in view. We must keep our eye upon that. If we stand between two objects we at- tain neither. If we run two ways we reach nowhere. If we aim at nothing we hit it. A man to be great in any respect must concentrate his powers. Will, thought, judgment, strength, and desire, must all be fixed on one thing. Divide him, and you conquer him; concentrate his powers, and he becomes invincible. October 29. Edmund Ilalley, astronornqf, 1(\56. Jol)ii Keats. j»o<'t, 1705, James Boswell, biographer of Jolmson, 1740. October 30. Adelaide Aime Proctor, poetess, 1825 t Octcter 31. ' Many Christians would like to labor for the salvation of men, if they could do it on a mag- nificent scale. If they could have a great tab- ernacle, with five thousand people inside and as many more trying to get in ; if they could preach like Apollos, and sing like David with his harp of solemn sound ; if they could spread a big net like Simon Peter, and haul in a hun- dred and fifty-three great fishes at once, and have the story reported in the newspapers and proclaimed upon the house-tops, they would be very well content. ( But Christ could preach to a single Nicodemus, or to one poor outcast woman at Jacob's well, words that shall live till heaven and earth shall pass away. 330 October 31. Bishop George Burgess, IbOfl. atejetCTfejer^ "It is Well." 2 Kings iv. 20. Clip from the brow one sunny tress, One cnrl that decked tlie little head; Give the cold clay one last caress, Weep, mother, weep; thy child is dead ! Yet stay the anguish of thy heart, Nor of thy grief with murmur tell ; What though thy hopes like dreams depart ? Still faith confesses, "It is well,'' Takeoff the little shoes, half worn, In thorny paths and rugged ways: Lay off the garments soiled and torn ; Lay down the cares of many days. Xo more thine eyes with sorrows dim, Shall watch those wayward little feet ; But angels bright, and cherubim Shall guide them up the golden street. Safe on that distant shining shore, Where the long-parted ones shall meet. And meeting once, shall part no more — There thou the loved and lost shall greet. November 1. About the most uncommon kind of sense in the world is conmion sense ; by which term we describe the aggregate and final conclusions of men of average intelligence and perception. It lags far behind genius in its loftiest flights, and often reaches after much delay, conclusions at which superior intelligence at once arrives ; but in its cautious hesitation it avoids many rash inferences into which the more intellectual and gifted are frequently betrayed, and reaches con- clusions safe, sound, and abiding. November 2. Scoffers and skeptics think that Christians are weak-minded, and that religion is only fit for women and children. But if piety is a mark of mental weakness, it might be well for some of the drunken lords of creation who talk infidelity while their wives take in washing, if they were a little weaker in mind themselves, instead of being so wise and worthless as they are. If piety proves a woman's weakness, does drunkenness prove her husband's strength? November 1. liishop Goorjje Horno, Biblical expositor, 1730. Balfour Stewart, prof. uat. philosophy, 1828. November 2. Stephen Grellett, 1773. Marie Antoinette, 1755. November 3. Many a man liuds himself beset with calam- ities and troubles, simply because he sees to-day what other people will see to-morrow, or next year, or ten years hence. And during all this time of waiting, a man who is true to his con- victions may be left to light his battle alone; and if he has a faint heart or a feeble hand he will find it difficult to maintain the strife. NovemlDer 4. Some musicians will play an old familiar tune with so many variations that its author would hardly recognize it. And so it is one of the misfortunes of this age to have the Gospel of Christ preached with innumerable variations. The old tune is retained, for there could be neither melody nor harmony w^ithout it-, but every nation, every country and every age has produced its variations ; and on every hand we find names, forms, ceremonies and doctrines, all of which profess to be Scriptural and Chris- tian, but w^hich differ very widely from each other; and more widely still from the Word of God. Is it not time to get back to ^' the truth as it is in Jesus" ? November 3. William Cullen Bryant, 1704. Samuel Ulemetts ( Mark Twain), 1835. Mendelssohn, died, 1847, November 4. James Montgomery, 1771. November 5. Those who scoff loudest scare easiest. When a man is living a humble, trustful, Christian life, he is ready for storm or calm ; but he who mocks at God and judgment in fair weather and on dry land, is likely to weaken terribly when storms and dancrers come. November 6. The angel of the Lord ordered Philip down towards Gaza, and "he arose and went" with- out delay. By this guiding providence, and Philip's prompt obedience, the gospel was sent hito the heart of Ethiopia and into the palace of the queen : and a work was done under the direction of the angel of God and the Holy Ghost, which Philip, acting on ordinary lines of human wisdom, and under the direction of human boards and associations, might not have accomplished in a lifetime. Had Philip waited when the Spirit urged him, and as long as some of us wait, the eunuch would have got half-way to Ethiopia before Philip had decided to speak to him, and when he reached the place, he would have found nothing but a chariot track in the sand. 338 r NoYember 5. November 6. November 7. Talk is cheap, — actions tell what men really believe. "By faith Noah" not only preached righteousness, but also ' ''prepared an arlc to the saving of his house; by the which he con- demned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." The ark preached louder than Noah did, and condemned the world. ^ If you want to know what a man Relieves find out what he is doing. Faith pro- duces action, testimony, and life. November 8. I It is sometimes said that Lt makes no differ- ence what men believe, if they live right. But there is a most intimate connection between right thinking and right acting. No error is harmless, and the cast of mind which accepts and delights in error, is prone to depart from the paths of righteousness in practice as well as in theory. The man who does not render, to God the things that are God's will not be likely to render to Ciesar the things that are Caesar's. A man Avho thinks crookecf will not be likely to act straight. 340 November 7. November 8. Edward Kobeit Bulvver, Lord Lytton (Owen Meredith), 1831. Edward Pocock, D.D., orientali^^t, 1G04. November 9. The devil is wide awake, but a good many Christians seem fast asleep. They are idle while he is busy. In every conflict with error, truth will win, 2)f'ovided it be faithfully p7v- clalmed; but if the advocates of truth keep silence, w^hile the friends of error and falsehood are busy, who* can foresee the results? Let Christian men awake to a sense of tlieir duty and their responsibility, and work while the day lasts, for the night cometh wherein no work can be done. November 10. ' Some people are too busy, and do not find time to pray once in a whole day ; Daniel had only one hundred and twenty princes to look after, a lot of politicians and thieves to watch, and the finances of a government upon his shoulders; and yet three times a day he found time to kneel before God, and pray, with his windows open toward Jerusalem. NovembG November 10. Martin Luther, 1483. Oliver Goldsmith, 1728. Rev, John Gumming, D.D., 1810. Friedrich Schiller, poet, 1759. Granville Sharp, founder of the British " Society for the Abo- lition of Slavery," 1734. November 11. The basis of true Christian unity is union with Jesus Christ who is the head of the bod}'. Men lay down as the basis of their unity, union with some human leader, through the doctrines which he has proclaimed or the forms which he has instituted. Such men are united by external observances, by laws, forms, rites and bands. Their union is the union of staves in a barrel; Christ's union is the union of branches in a vine. The unity which Christ inaugurated embraces the whole family of God. He prayed *' that all may be one." November 12. There is abundant energy wasted in babble and brag, and some people, instead of attending to their own personal work, pay so much atten- tion to reporting and publishing what they call ^'the progress of the cause," that ere they are aware they have no '* cause " to attend to. In- stead of going forth to sow the precious seed, they prefer to stand over a hill of corn with a trumpet, waiting to blow a blast as soon as they see it coming up. November 11. John Albert Fabriciius, Gcruiaii .scholar, 168. December 2. Dora Tedro II., Emperor of Brazil, 1825. December 3. How different from Samson the mighty ath- lete on the wild hills of Judea, was Samson the poor, blind captive, grinding in the Philistine prison-house. No longer a hero, a -warrior, a conqueror, but degraded to do the work of the meanest slave, he was helpless in his captivity and bondage, and was forced to toil on in bit- terness and disgrace. And is not this ever the fate of those w^ho, chosen of God to do this w^ork, fall from their high, estate, and are led captive by Satan at his will? December 4. It is a very hard thing to hide a sin. It is like hiding a seed or a root in the ground. It draws strength in its concealment, and finally pushing up througli the soil brings forth fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundred-fold. Sin is not dead enough to be safely buried. It is like a smoldering flame. It is like a poisonous seed ; it will w^ork ruin in its concealment, and finally break out into open ungodliness, and destroy on every hand. A sin needs to be dragged out of its hiding-place and extirpated. Hiding it only gives it a fresh hold. ^'He that covereth his sins shall not prosper." December 3. Siim'l Ciuiiiptoii, inventor of spinniuj^-niule, 175ii. Gen. Geo. Biiuton McClcllan, U. S. A., 1826. December 4. Rev. Charles F. Deems, D.D., 1820. Thomas Carlyle, 1795. John Kitto, D.D., 1804. Miss Fiances Power Cobbe, 1822. DecemlDer 3. We are told that ^ ' A fool uttereth all his mind : but a wise man keepeth it in till after- wards." So a man -who tells everything he knows, may be set down as a fair specimen of a fool. Again w^e read, ' ' the prosperity of fools shall destroy them." And when we see a man who, because he happens to have a little money, spends his time in dissipation and goes straight to ruin, we may count him for a fool. We are told that ''the folly of fools is deceit." This seems to show that one mark of a fool is to try to deceive people by little tricks and games, pretending to be what he is not, and in various ways imposing upon the credulity of others. The result of it all is, the man finds himself a fool at the end. December 6. With age there is experience; with youth, enterprise ; age has caution ; youth, ardor. If the two can be united, we may have " old men for counsel, and young men for war." But if old men insist on being leaders in war as well as in counsel, and the young wish to monopo- lize both counsel and war, there is little hope that much good will be accomplished. December 5. December 6. Frederick Max Miiller, orientalist, 1823. Warren Hastings, 1732. December 7. Society has immense burdens, and where there is the greatest suffering there is usually the greatest waste. While Ireland groans with famine, whiskey -sellers thrive. The higher wa- ges which many clamor for, simply means less work, more beer, and more time spent loafing about saloons and rum-shops. When men can rule their own appetites, they are likely to im- prove their positions ; but those who are slaves to evil habits need never hope for independence or prosperity. December 8. There is a great difference between leiug good and doing good. Some people suppose that if a man will only do good he is certain to he good. But a man may do a great many good things, and still lack the element of goodness within. He may do them to be seen of men, or to de- ceive people ; and so his well-doing may prove only a cloak for all iniquity. The divine order is not, first do^ and then te^ but first le^ and then do. The fountain is to be made sweet, and then the waters may be ex- pected to be pure. December 7. Jacob Knapp, 1799. Rev. P. 8. Heuson, 1831. December 8. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, 1;542. 373 December 9. Whoever ties his boat to a sinking ship will go down; and whoever links himself with wrong is sure, eventually, to encounter over- throw. There may be temporary prosperity, but there will be final defeat; there may be present success, but there will be eternal ruin. Hence they consult their wisdom and their safety, who cling to the right at whatever cost ; not through stubbornness of will, but through steadfastness of faith and honesty of conscience. December 10. Many lights may be kindled from one glowing torch; and many souls can be saved through one living, loving Christian's efforts. Let us cease to talk of the coldness of others, and get on fire ourselves. Let us talk with Jesus by the way, till our own hearts burn within us as he opens unto us the Scriptures ; andthen other hearts will burn as we tell to them the things that are freely given to us of God. 374 December 9. Gustavus (II.) Adolphus, Kinj? of Sweden. 1594. John Milton, 1608. December 10. William Ho<;arth, satirist and painter, 1G9T. December 11. There are various ways of repairing damaged reputations. Some undertake to do it with pis- tols, others with cowhides; occasionally a man goes into court and gets judgment and dam- ages — sometimes more damages than judgment; in other cases he rushes into print, and says his say, and rejoices if he can get the last word. All these methods have their advantages and defects ; but the Christian's safest course is to so live that if ' ' all manner of evil " be spoken against him, it shall be spoken falsely and for Christ's name's sake. Hence his best answer to slanders and falsehoods is an earnest deter- mination to walk uprightly before God and man. December 12. Men do not always distinguish between char- acter and reputation. Reputation is the stamp on the coin, character is the gold in it. The stamp may be placed upon base metal, and so a worthless man may have a great reputation ; but pure gold is gold, whether it bears any stamp at all ; and so a man may have a right- eous character long after his reputation is gone to the dogs, — or the dogs have gone for his reputation. Decemter 11. Hettoi Herlioz. musical composfT, 1803, December 12. William Lloyd Garrison. 1804. December 13. The royal barbarian, who smashed an offend- ing mirror which gave him iiis first opportunity of seeing himself as others saw him, was a fair type of many who deprecate criticism and are angry with those who tell the truth. For there are comparatively few who are willing to be ''weighed in an even balance," and look the exact facts of their own condition fairly and squarely in the face, and see themselves as God sees them now, and as others will see them in the judgment day. December 14. There are some persons whose ideal of a Christian life is that of an unvarying, unruffled placidity. What they call a "Christian spirit" seems often to be no spirit at all. Their model Christian is a man without points or angles, a sort of human jelly-fish ; or a man who can con- trol his emotions to accomplish his purposes; who can state a falsehood with more unction than an ordinary man can command in telling the truth; and who can do, under the guise of sainthood, things which would shock and dis- gust an ordinary sinner. And yet all this ex- ternal whitewash fails to disguise the odor of the sepulchre beneath. 373 December 13. llev, riiiUi|>b liiooks. iS-'i"). Kev. Arthur remiiyii Staulcy, 181") December 14. Prof. Noah Porter, D.D., LL. D., 1811. Frances Ridley Havergal, 1830. I Geo. Wasliinstoii, died, 1700. 379 December 15. There is so much whitewashing of friends and blackwasliing enemies in political and relig- ious circles, that an endorsement is in many instances a poor recommendation ; and many a man gets on quite as well without it as with it. Those wlio seek endorsements, usually need them. Paul, when jiersecuting the church, was very careful to be well endorsed with letters and authority from the chief priests ; but w^hen lie was sent of God to preach the gospel, we do not hear of his stuffing his pockets with papers containing evidence that he was an honest man, 2 Cor. iii. 1. Dec-ember 16. Waste is sin. Many of the children and young people who waste food, little think how much sweat and toil every morsel of bread costs those who earn it ; and many of the girls who cook great batches of food, and throw- away remnants and fragments that are left, little think that the new^ dress they wanted and cannot have, has been thrown in the slop-pail by their own hands; and that food enough to save the life of some hungry mortal has been earned, bought, cooked, and then thrown awav bv them. December 15. December 16. Geo. Whitefield, 1714. December 17. AVheu one gets his hand in a lion's mouth, it is best for him to get it out just as easily as possi- l)le. A man who will wrong j'ou, will be likely to abuse you if you resent the wrong. A man who misrepresents you, will slander you all tho more if you contradict him; and a man who has damaged you in purse, will damage you in reputation also, if his interests require it. December 18. Beware of bad books. They kill time, waste life, enfeeble the mind, corrupt the soul, and propagate evil like a leprous plague. One bad ]>ook may ruin a thousand souls. The deadli- est poison cannot compare in dire, and subtle, and far-reaching power for evil, with the dis- tilled vileness of a corrupting mind, embodied in a bad book. It looks innocent; no one would suspect its character ; but from the pe- rusal of its pages the young rise up with stains upon them never to be effaced, and go forth to enter upon sinfnl ways which were unknown to them before. Deceinber 17. John G. Whittier, 1807. Sir Humphrey Davy, 17 Ludwig Beethoven, composer, 1770. December 18. Charles Wesley, 1708. Baron Karl Maria F. E. von Weber, 17H6. December 19. If a mau has nothing to say, the sooner he is; done, the better. To lengthen out some ser- mons would be like lengthening out a quart of milk by the addition of three quarts of water. In fact, men who preach fifteen or twenty min- utes, not infrequently piece out their sermons with shreds and patches, extracts and quota- tions, and their ^'beaten gold/' if there is any gold, is so thin that it is good for notliing but pildino'. Deoember 20. The rat who gnawed a file, supposed himself to be making good progress, as he saw the pile of white chips slowly increasing under his la- bors. But when he found he had used his teeth up, it put a different face on the operation. The Bible is a file on which many a rat has tried his teeth. They have been gnawing at it for generations, and making abundance of chips, — but where are they? They are in ob- livion, where others of their imitators will soon be if they do not cease to make war against the Word of God, which ^'liveth and abideth for- ever.'' December 19. Kear Ailuiiial Wm. Edw. Parry, Arctic explorer, 1790. Horatiua Bonar, 1880. December 20. Velt Ludwig vou .Seckendorf, statesman, historian, 1626. Iguatius, martyred, 107. 385 Dscember 21. So long as there is life there will be growth, and so long as there is growth there will be change, and a necessity for restraint and correc- tion. No matter how we may prune a tree, so long as it is growing there is liability to con- tinual alteration ; and the only way to have it fixed, and permanent, and just right, is to kill it. Mummies never make any mistakes. No man that lives gives so little trouble as a graven image, or is so proper, and elegant, and precise as a wax figure. December 22. Some men can drink strong drink moderately ; so some horses might run away with a wagon moderately, — that is, those that are too lazy to go more than five miles an hour, — but would that justify a blackguard in exploding fire-crackers at the heels of a race-horse ? Some men are like a race-horse, and that which moderately excites a sluggish man, starts them on the race of deatli with whirlwind speed. December 21. .Joliu Kepler, astronomer,' 1571. Leopold von Ranke, prof, eccles. history, 179o. Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield), 1804. Landing of the Pil«^rims, 1620. December 22. Ann Hasseltine Judson, first wife of Adonlram Jud.son, 1789. December 23. One of the most quiet and orderly places in this world is a graveyard ; there is no noise, tu- mult, or disturbance there ; and next to it, per- haps, we may place a backslidden, formal Church. Where nothing is done, there is no fear of anything being done wrong. Where there is no action at all, there is no fear of over- action. In the human body the struggles of disease are better than the quietness of death. So in the Church, abnormal action may in some instances be preferable to absolute inaction. December 24. There are limits to human independence, and it is frequently the case that * ' the voice of the people," if not ''the voice of God," is yet the voice of common sense. And the man who pro- poses to defy public opinion should take espe- cial care to be sure of the absolute correctness of his position. December 23. Kobei-t Barclay, Quaker apologist, 1048. Jean Francois Champollion, 1790. December 24. Benj. Kusli, M.D., siguer of Declaration of Independence, lT4o. Matthew Arnold, 1822. 380 Deoemter 25. It sometimes seems as if, between men who mnnot tell the truth, and men who do not wish to do it, and men who do not care whether truth is told or not, it is a wonder that we get as much truth as we do in this world. It is quite proper for us to recollect that, if we are misrepresented, we fare quite as well as many other good men have fared before. Perhaps no one was ever more thoroughly misrepresented than the Saviour; and it is enough for the serv- ant to be as his Master. Deoe.^.ber 26. ^ What mighty works are wrought through prayer, no tongue can tell. He who has the ear of kings, may, in an unseen manner, manipu- late human events ; but he who has the ear of the King of kings may sway eternal destinies. He who prays in the Holy Ghost is a worker to- o-ether with God ; and he who can claim the ear ot an eternal King, and pour his petitions from a filial heart, may be more influential in the af- fairs of men than monarchs and statesmen, than courtiers and intricruers. December 25. Sir Isaac ^'ewtuii, 1G42. Edw. T. Taylor (Father Taylor), 17U3. Christmas Evans, Welch preacher, 176G. December 26. Thomas Gray, poet, 1716. December 27. Christians are divided by essentials and non- essentials. The only way for them to unite is to hold fast the essentials, and di'op the non- essentials. The essentials are the things which Christ has commanded ; the non-essentials are the commandments, and teachings, and usages, of men. If we would draw the line here, we should grasp a clue which would lead us out of chaos and darkness into the light of the knowl- edge of the glory of the Lord. December 28. There is no accounting for the whims and caprices of appetite. Sheep love grass, bees love honey, donkeys love thistles, and buzzards love offal. Mental appetites are equally varied and unaccountable. Good, wholesome truth has little or no attraction for some people, but they take to a lie as naturally as a jackal does to a carcass. If there be a false doctrine, they imbibe it; if there be an absurd theory, they swallow it ; if there be an unscriptural system, they adopt it ; and if they can nose out some- thing that smells of smut and scandal, and then whisper or publish it abroad in the earth, they are in their clement. 392 December 27. December 28. Prof. Thomas Henderson, astronomer-royal for Scotland, I7PS. Alexander Keith Johnstone, cjeo^rapher, 1804. 3&S December 29. Tlic unity of Christ's church is the object of his most ardent desires. Five times in that last petition which he offered before his hour of agony, he prayed for his disciples that they might all be one. And if to say, '^I am of Paul, and I of x\pollos,'' was an evidence of carnality in the church at Corinth, how much more the contentions, divisions, names, and schisms which to-day afflict the church, dishonor the Lord, and lie like stumbling-blocks in the path of a groping and misguided world. December 30. God says, ''Repent.'' The sinner answers, ' ^ I mean to. '' — * • Believe. *" — ' ' Yes, I intend to. ■ ' — ** Prepare to meet thy God." — ''Such is my purpose.'' — But ichenf 'MVhatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.'' "Now is the accepted time. "' And the sinner says : ' ' No, not now.''' Here is the fatal decision. God says : ' ' To-day if ye will hear Ms voice, harden not your hearts." And the sinner says: ^'Go thy way for this time ; when I have a conven- ient season I will call for thee." Thus does God invite, beseech, and command, and thus do men hesitate, and delay, till all is lost. 394 December 29. Wm. Euart Gladstone, 1809, Rev. E. H. Chapin, 1814. December 30. DecemlDer 31. All things earthly have an end. Moments end, hours end, days end, years end, lives end, centuries end, this age shall end; and whenthe end is come, no wealth, no power, no wisdom, can bring back that which is gone. There will be a last Sabbath, a last solemn assembly, a last sermon, a last exhortation, a last entreaty, a last invitation, a last warning, a last appeal. There will be a last struggle with conscience, and a last decision, a last refusal to hear the gracious call of God. There will be a last re- jection of offered mercy, a last neglect of the great salvation, a last despising of the riches of God's goodness, a last resisting of the Holy Ghost, a last trampling under foot of the Son of God, a last smile to veil the anguish of a bur- dened heart, a last saying '*Go thy way for this time." Men will not know the last opportunity when it comes, nor believe it is the last till it is gone; but ** There is a line, by us imseeii, That crosses every path ; The hidden boundary between God's patience and his wrath.'' Reader, to-day may be your last day ; ' ^ Be- hold, now is the day of salvation!" December 31. Johann Ga.spar Spurzheim, phrenologist. 1776. Another Year. Beside the fruitless tree the axe was lying, While the Great Planter looked on it and frowned ; "Vainly I've sought for fruit," I heard him crying; *' Cut down the tree : Why cumbereth it the ground? "Year after year, in the autumnal splendor. Other trees bear, the fields with sheaves are crowned. All for my care their fruitful homage render, — This lives in vain : Why cumbereth it the ground? ** Then Mercy spake, and plead for my reprieving; Yearned over me with many a pitying tear ; Loving and longing, hoping and yet grieving; Plead for my life, ** Oh, wait another year." Fast flew that year of sunshine, joy, and beauty, Mercies were poured, to drench the soil around; Love called for love, and grace constrained to duty, — Lord, am I still a cumberer of the ground? Saviour all-pitying, whose divine affection Yearns still above the fruitless cumberers here, While Justice dooms us, thou art our protection; Let Mercy plead, **0h, wait another year." -^% Shall We Meet Beyond the Eiver? Shall We Meet? BY H. I.. HASTINGS. Author'* s Complete Edition, Shall we meet beyond the river. Where the surges cease to roll ? AVhere, in all the bright forever, Sorrow ne'er shall press the soul ? Shall we meet with those departed, "Who have bowed beneath death's wave? Shall we meet the holy mjTiads, \Vho are ransomed from the grave ? Shall xce meet ? Shall we meet ? Say, Brother, shall we meetf Shall we meet in glory's morning, After time's dark, gloomy night? Shall we hail its radiant dawning, Scattering sorrow with its light ? Shall we meet where all time's shadows To oblivion flee away ? Shall we meet amid the brightness Of an everlasting day ? Shall w^e meet with all the ransomed. When our pilgrimage is past ? Shall we reach that blessed mansion We so long have sought, at last ? Shall we meet beyond the desert. Far beyond the weary road ? Shall we meet in joy immortal — Shall we in our flesh see God? Shall we meet in that blest harbor. When our stormy voyage is o'er? Shall we meet and cast the anchor By the fair celestial shore? Shall we rest from all our labors 'Mid the swelling of the tide? Shall we meet and rest forever, By our blessed Saviour's side ? SHALL WE MEL I : Shall w« meet in realms of glory. "With the ransomed and the blest ? Shall we meet with all the holy, When they enter into rest? Shall we meet with those whose brightness Shall the noonday sun outshine ? Who shall bear the Saviour's likeness In its majesty divine ? Shall we meet with many a loved une That was torn from our embrace .' Shall we listen to their voices, And beliold them face to face ? — All the cherished and the loDged fur, Those whose graves are moist with tears? Those whose absence made life weary Through the dark and tedious years ? Shall we meet those buds of promise Blighted by death's chilUng hand V . Shall we see their fadeless beauty Blooming in the goodly laud ? Shall our hearts no more lie bleeding 'Neath the strokes of sorrow's rod ? Shall love's bands no more be sundered, In the paradise of God ? Shall we meet with those invited To the marriage of the Lamb ? Who shall then put on their glory, And forget their earthly shame ? Shall we meet the shining myriads Who the songs of glory sing ? Shall our voices join their praises To the Everlasting Iving ? Shall we meet with Christ our Saviour, When he comes to claim his own ? Shall we know his blessed favor. And sit down upon his throne ? Will he bid us share his glory, Where no shame shall ever be ? Will he bid u^ sing his praises, On that radiant crv^tal sea? SHALL WE MEET? Shall we meet the shining angels Who have guarded us while here ? Shall we listen to their welcomes, And return their words of cheer? Shall we be their bright companions, Far beyond this land of tears? Shall we share their holy raptures Through the lapse of endless years? Shall we meet in yonder city, Where the towers of crystal shine, Where the walls are all of jasper, Built by workmanship divine ? Where the music of the ransomed Rolls in harmony around, And creation swells the chorus, With its sweet melodious sound ? Shall we meet by life's pure river. Where pellucid waters glide ? Where the healing leaves and flowers Deck the shores on either side ? Where salvation's blessed harpings Float in holy -melody ? Where the monthly fruits are ripening On life's fair immortal tree ? Shall we meet, O lonely pilgrim, When the burden we lay down ? Shall we change our cross of anguish For the bright, unfading crown ? Do we love our Lord's appearing ? Shall we gladly see his face ? Shall it beam with smiles of welcome? Shall he bring us endless grace ? Shall we meet, weary wanderer, Say, oh, will you meet me there, When earth's glory shall be darkness, And its joy shall be despair ? 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Crown 8vo. cloth, 319 pp. $1.25 •• Will do good to its readers." — Congregationalist. '' No family library or Sunday school should be with- out this book." — Home Guardian. BosTOV, Mass : H. L. HASTINGS, 47 Corxhill. Li»iul«»n; S. HAtisrKK X: Sons, Limited, 15 Paternoster Row. Publications of H. L. Uastincjs — Home Series, THE FAMILY CIRCLE; Anecdotes and Inci- dents adapted to interest, instruct, and profit the family. By H. L. Hastings. Cr. Svo. cloth. $1.35 " We commend it to the reader." — Heraldand Presbyter. " The pieces are real gems of thought." — Leeds 3Iercury, "Admirably adapted for home and Sunday read- ing." — Hereford Times. (Eng.) ' • We cannot but feel thankful that the author has so well succeeded in bringing these 'gems' together.* — The Weekly Express. *' Because of the brevity and variety of the contents, is liable to win a more permanent place than a series of treatises on one subject." — The Interior. FIRESIDE READINGS FOR HAPPY HOMES j Written and selected by H. L. Hastings. Crown Svo. cloth, pp. 382. $1.35 "Earnest, wholesome and Christian." — Lutheran. " We wish it largesales." — Epis. Methodist. (Baltimore.) " An admirable collection." — Springfield Union. " Has found much favor," — N. Y. Observer. *' Sweet, pleasant and profitable." — Chr. Secretary. "A budget of decidedly good fireside reading." — Herald and Presbyter. " Rich with instruction, and full of Christian nurture, admonition, and inspiration." — JSational Baptist. READINGS FOR LEISURE MOMENTS; A coT- lection of miscellanies, sensible, devout and practical. By H. L. Hastings. Cr. Svo. clo. pp. 382. $1.35 " Much homely, practical wisdom." — Chr. Union. (X.Y. ) " Nothing dull in a single figure." — Chr. Union. (Lond. ) '• Fervently evangelical in spirit." — Carlisle Patriot,Eng. '" One of those blessed books," — Home Guardian. "Every line and word in its right place." — The Sword. "Thoroughly good." — Chelsea Record. "Keenly pointed." — 3Iichigan Christian Advocate. " Sure to be blessed." — N. Christian Advocate. " We do not hesitate to give it warm commendation." — 3fethodist Protestant. (Baltimore,) " We wish there were more editors who possessed the ability to write such articles." — Episcopal Register. Boston-. Mass: H. L. HASTINGS, 47 Cok.vhill. Liindon : S. Baostek & Sons, Limited, 15 raturnoster Row. 1 Publications of II. L. Hastings — Students' Series. CRITICAL GEEEK & ENGLISH CONCORDANCE OF THE New Testament. Prepared by Charles F. Hudson, B. A., under the direction of H. L. Has- tings, editor of The Christian. Revised and com- pleted by Ezra Abbot, D.D., LL.D., Professor of New Testament Criticism in the Divinity School of Harvard University. Crown 8vo. pp. 532. 83.50 IT CONTAINS IN A POCKET VOLUME : I. References to all places where every Greek word in the New Testament may be fonnd, — four or tive con- stantly recurring particles excepted. II. All the English words and phrases by which these Greek words are rendered, both in the text and in the mwgin of the Authorised Version. III. The various readings of Gkiesbach, Lachmann, and Tregelles, and the recently discovered but an- cient SiNAiTic Manuscript. IV. Au index of English words, by which persons entirely unacquainted with Greek can find the original term for any English word in the New Testament. V. Greenfield's Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament. OPINIONS OF THE REVISERS. *' Of special value for the work of revision.'' — Dr. PhilipSchaff. '* Of the greatest use to the revisers." — Dr. J, B. Lightfoot. *' An invaluable help in our re- vision." — Dr. B. F. Westcott. *'I know nothing of the kind so complete." — Dr. Jos. Angus. *' An invaluable lielp to every critical student of the Xew Testament." — Dr. H. B. ilackett. " Worthv of high commendation." — Dr. Timothy Dwight. *' The completest and most useful work of the kind." — Dr. Samuel yewth. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. *• Has advantages over the Englishman's Greek Con- cordance . ' ' — Nation al Bapt ist. •• For those traveling about, its value is very great.'' — <^hristian Worker. " Very valuable for the reader who only understands English." — Christian Banner. •'A thoroughly prepared assistance. ''-5o«/o?i Recorder. *• Of rare accui-acy."— rA€ Xation. Boston, Mass.: H. L. HASTINGS. 47 Coknhh.i Ki'iidon : S. B.vus' lk & s>ons, Liinitod, L"i Paternoster Row. Puhlications of H. L. Hastings — Studefits* Series. THE EEIGN OP CHRIST ON EARTH: or, the Voice of the Church in all Ages, concerning the Com- ing and Kingdom of the Redeemer, with biographical notices, and extracts from the writings of more than five hundred of the most eminent preachers and writ- ers of the Christian Church. By Daniel T. Tayloi;; edited, with an elaborate Preface, by H. L. Hastings. Crown 8v'o. 600 pp. Eleventh Thousand. SI. 25 " I like it and think it fitted to be useful." — H. Bonar. '• Eminently fitted to disarm prejudice." — John Cum- mings, D. D. (London.) "'' We know nothing like it for fullness, accuracy and power of argument in favor of the pre-millennial appear- ing of our Lord from heaven." — National Baptist. " Whatever comes from the consecrated heart and mind of this Christian editor (Mr. Hastings), we think en- titled to careful attention." — Contributor, "A most valuable and interesting book; we strongly recommend it. — Christian Herald, "'Xothing could be better. ... A perfect thesaurus. .... We know of nothing so complete on this impor- tant subject."— jTAe Watchword. '* We see no reason why this should not take the posi- tion of an authoritv on this view of the second coming." — r. M. C. A. Watch man. THE GREAT CONTROVERSY between God and Man: Its origin, progress, and end. A sketch of the course of human history in the light of Divine Reve- lation. By H. L. Hastings. Crown 8vo. Cloth, cheap edition. Eighth Thousand (in press). 75 ct.«i. ''Clearly A\Titten, true to Scriptui'e, and calculated to be very useful." — The Rainbow. THE BIBLE TRIUMPHANT; A Reply to a work entitled "144 Self-Conrradictions of the Bible." By Mrs. H. V. Reed. With an Appendix, containing In- fidel Testimorty to the Truth of the Bible, by H. L. Hastings. Crown 8vo. cloth. 75 cts. BosTox, Mass. : H. L. HASTINGS, 47 Cokxhill. London: S. Bagstek & Soxs, Limited, l'» Paternoster Row. Vuhlications of 11. L. HaMings — Juveniles, TWO HUNDRED GATHERED GEMS of Song and Story. Written and srlected l>y H. L. Has- tings. Square Kuno. pp. 222. 75 cts. '* Beautiful." — Troy DaiJij Times. *' Earnest and evangelical." — Christian Secretary. " ^Exceedingly attractive.'* — Chard and Jhninster News, ** The Eagle advises parents to call for and examine it." Grand Hapids Eagle. ''A book we should think any boy or girl would be glad to get and read." — Morning Star. *' You can hardly find a neater, more acceptable, or more useful present for your boy or girl. We shall take our copy home, and read it to the boys, and we ire- commend all who have children to do the same." — Indiana Farmer. THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. A Children's Khyme of the Oldt-n Time. By H. L. Ha.stjngs. Revised and enlarged edition, in paper boards, crown 8vo, 25 cents; cloth, 40 cts. *' Altogether a charming thing.'' — The Rainbow. " Most interesting.'' — Coventry Times. "The very best child's book I know of. 1 have or- dered thirty-three copies to give away to mv little friends."— i>. T. Taylor. A NEW LEAP, and What Was on It : with other Stories and Bible Picture Lessons, illustrated with more than thirty pictures. By Mrs. Marie L. Seymour. Illuminated board covers. 20 cts. THE UGLY GliNT. By J. K. Hastings. Ilhis- trated with 27 pictures. Suitable for any boy who tfiinks a cigar will make a man of him. 20 cts« " Send for it and give it to the boys." — Ind. Farmer. " "Well adapted to interest and happily impress the minds of children." — Morning Star. HOW THE BABY WAS SAVED, and of^Qx Sto- ries. By J. K. Hastings. 23 illustrations. 20 cts. A story of a baby boy and his little brother asleep in a burning room, who were saved unharmed. BosTOX. Mass : H. L. HASTINGS, 47 Cornhill. London : S, Bagsteb & Soxs, Limited, 15 Paternoster Row. J uhli cations of H. L. Hastings — Miscellaneous. THE TESTIMONY OF HISTORY to the Truth of Scriptures; or Historical Illustrations of the Old Tes- tament. Gathered fiom Ancient Records, Monu- ments and Inscriptions, bv Rev. Geo. Rawlinson, M. A. ; with additions by Prof. H. B. Hackett, D.D., LL.D. Preface by H. L. Hasti^^gs. Paper 50 cts. CI. 75 cts. THE HASTDTaS BIRTHDAY BOOK. Containing pithy selections from the writings of the editor of The Christian for every day in the year, with blanks for autographs, and a heliotype portrait of Mr. Hastings. Compiled by J. H. Tewksbury. An elegant presen- tation volume. 400 pages. Beveled cloth. SI. 00 HOME, MARRIAaE, AND FAMILY RELATIONS in the Light of Scripture. By James Inglis, with a preface and poems by H. L. Hastings. 8vo. Clo. 60 cts. ERRORS OF EVOLUTION, bv Robert Patter- son, D.D. Cloth. ^ $1.00 CONSECRATION-*'! am the Lord's ;" a beau- tiful little devotional book by H. L. HASTI^'GS. Small 32mo. daintily bound in cloth, with attractive cover. 35 cents. SEED TIME AND HARVEST ; or Sow Well and Reap Well. A book for the young. By W. K. Twee- die, D.D., with a preface by H. L. Hastings. Cloth. 248 pp. 75 cts. A LAMP TO THE PATH; or The Word of God in the Heart, the Home, the Workshop, and the Mar- ket-place. By W. K. Tweedie, with introduction by H. L. Hastings. Cloth. 240 pp. 75 cts. GLAD TIDINGS; or The Gospel of Peace. Daily Meditations for Christian Disciples. By W. K. Tweedie, D.D., with a preface by H. L. Hastings. Cloth. 275 pp. 75 cts. BIBLE RHYMES and Bible Lessons, for Sunday Schools and Families. By Anna Bell and H. L. Has- tings. 80 pp. 16mo. 10 cts. Boston, Mass: XL L. HASTINGS, 47 Corxhill. London : S. Baoster & Sons, Limited, 15 Paternoster Row. Publications of H, L, Hastings— Tracfa, PRACTICAL TRACTS. 60 cts. a pound. One Thinff. 8 pa^es. AVill all Men bf Saved ? 24 pages, .fudson's Letter on Dress. The Angel's Message. IG pp. Profitable Business. 16 pp. The INIlglity Motive. 16 pp. A Primitive Missionary Church. 16 pp. Consecration — " I am the Lord's." 16 pages. Conformity to the Will of God, 4 pages. Say, Brother, Shall We Meet? 2 pp. Say Sister, Shall We Meet ? 2 pp. EARNEST QUESTIONS. 4 pp. 60 ots. a pound, 1 Are you a Christian ? 2 Why not Now ',' 3 Are you Pardoned ? 4 Are you Safe ? 5 Are you Saved ? 6 Do you Pray ? OLIVE LEAVES. 4 pp. 60 cts. a pound. 1 Love One Another. 2 One Resting Place. 3 My Friend. 4 Abundant Grjice. 5 Wondi ous Love. 6 Go in Peace. 7 Living Water. 8 The Banner. 9 The Blood of Christ. ENVELOPE TRACTS. 80 cts. a pound. 1 The Little Grave. 8 pp. 2 My Friend. 8 pp. 3 Say, Brother, Shall We Meet? 4 pp. 4 Say, Sister, Shall We Meet? 4 pp. 5 Our Little Ones Who Sleep. 16 pp. *' Shall We ^leet Beyond the Ptiver? " with catalogue of publications, 16 pp., 30 cts. per 100. TALKS TO YOUNG MEN. 80 cts. a pound. 1 Sowing Wild Oats. 2 Sold Cheap. 3 A Mess of Pottage. 4 Don't be a Tool. ANTI-TOBACCO AND TEMPERANCE TRACTS. By George Trask. 60 cents a pound. Eighty-eight kinds. A sample set, paper bound, 40 cts. NUTS FOR SKEPTICS TO CRACK. 2 pages. 60 cts. a pound. 1 The Skeptical Shoemaker. 2 A Healthy Religion. 3 Infidelity in a Timber Camp. 4 Nature and God. 5 The Old Woman's Question. ASSORTED TRACTS. 1000 Pages for $1. Ix>ndon »osToy, Mass.: H. L. HASTIXGS, 47 Corxhill. m : S. Bagster & Sons, Limited, 15 Paternoster Row. The Soeiptural Tract Kepository Was established in 1865, with a view to the publication and distribution of earnest, practical, Scriptural Tracts, PampMets, Books, and Periodicals, Entirely separated from sectarian control, this en- terprise was originated in simple reliance upon the promises and providence of God, in the hope that sinners might be saved, and believers edified, through the proc- lamation of the words of life. The special necessities of ministers, Bible students, believers, skeptics, in- quirers, aged persons, little children, seamen, inmates of hospitals, prisons, etc.. have been considered, and publications prepared to meet their special needs. Though the entire establishment was burned in the Boston fire, November, 1872, the work has gone on, until about three hundred tons of earnest, Scriptural, evangelical literature have been issued, besides large quantities of Bibles and religious books purchased from other publishers. Contributions in aid of the general work are applied according to the wisdom given, and the existing necessities. A large stock of Sunday-School Library books, Gospel Hymns, Scripture Cards, Children's Books, and good books of all kinds for young and old, constantly on hand, or purchased or imported to order. Also, English Reference Bibles, Bagster*s Bibles, Pictorial Family Bibles : Lexicons, Concordances, Com- mentaries, and helps to Bible study, in various lan- guages; Dictionaries, Encyclopnedias, and standard books for public and private Libraries. In the tract department we have a variety of tracts for the unsaved, as well as for believers ,• numerous tracts devoted to the defense of the Scriptures, and the refutation of infidel theories; anti-tobacco and temper- ance tracts: envelope tracts, leaflets, etc. Price of all these by mail, 1000 pages for SI. 00 ; or from 60 to 80 cts. per pound. Catalogues furnished on application. Address orders, donations, and remittances, H. L. HASTINGS, 47 Oornliill, Boston, Mass., U.S.A. London Agents, S. BAGSTER d: SONS, Limited, 15 Paternoster Bow. i Wf ■-^