Leaves of Life Part 83

Edward Fitzgerald born 1763.

Being not unacquainted with woe, I learned to help the unfortunate.

--Virgil.

There are some hearts like wells green-mossed and deep As ever summer saw, And cool their water is, yea, cool and sweet; But you must come to draw.

They h.o.a.rd not, yet they rest in calm content, And not unsought will give; They can be quiet with their wealth unspent, So self-contained they live.

--Author unknown.

For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be made sorry, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.

--2 Corinthians 2. 4.

Gracious Father, help me to understand that while I may be content to rest with what I have gathered, I cannot preserve the strength of my soul unless I share my possessions. Give me a pa.s.sion for humanity that will advance gifts through love, and offer service without the need of an appeal. Amen.

OCTOBER SIXTEENTH

Bishop Hugh Latimer burned at Oxford 1555.

Albrecht von Haller born 1708.

Noah Webster born 1758.

Robert Stephenson born 1803.

As s.h.i.+ps meet at sea--a moment together, when words of greeting must be spoken, and then away upon the deep--so men meet in this world; and I think we should cross no man's path without hailing him, and if he needs, giving him supplies.

--Henry Ward Beecher.

Nothing is more unaccountable than the spell that often lurks in a spoken word. A thought may be present to the mind, and two minds conscious of the same thought, but as long as it remains unspoken their familiar talk flows quietly over the hidden idea.

--Nathaniel Hawthorne.

And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others?

--Matthew 5. 47.

Heavenly Father, I pray that thou wilt give me a generous heart. May I not lose sight of the truth, that thou hast made others to have the same needs and wants that I may have. May I not through pride or egoism fail to help, and neglecting to speak, miss an opportunity to a.s.sist. May I be self-forgetful in friendly service. Amen.

OCTOBER SEVENTEENTH

Andreas Osiander died 1552.

Frederic Chopin died 1849.

Good name, in man or woman, dear my Lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls; Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands; But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed.

--William Shakespeare.

Keep back your tears when a soul is untrue; "Sorrow is shallow"; and one can wade through The mud and the marshes, and still endure If he finds he has kept his spirit pure.

The rose near died when it fell to its lot To break its heart for forget-me-not; But after its heart was healed by the dew, Right by its side a sweet violet grew!

--M.B.S.

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, And loving favor rather than silver and gold.

--Proverbs 22. 1.

My Father, teach me the value of the possessions that can neither be handled nor seen; and may I not take them away from others. Help me to keep thy commandment "Thou shalt not steal," and interpret it in all its relations to life. Amen.

OCTOBER EIGHTEENTH

Matthew Henry born 1662.

Margaret (Peg) Woffington born 1720.

Helen Hunt Jackson born 1831.

Frederick Harrison born 1831.

Yet I argue not against heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot of heart of hope;, but still bear up and steer right onward.

--John Milton.

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.

No man has learned anything rightly until he knows that every day is doomsday.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

He mourns that day so soon has glided by: E'en like the pa.s.sage of an angel's tear That falls through the clear ether silently.

--John Keats.

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will counsel thee with mine eye upon thee.

--Psalm 32. 8.

My Father, if I may be living in bad habits, help me to get out of them. If I may be neglectful of good deeds, help me to get at them.