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LIFE

AND

LITERATURE

OVER TWO THOUSAND EXTRACTS
FROM ANCIENT AND MODERN WRITERS,
AND CLASSIFIED
IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

BY

J. PURVER RICHARDSON.

Copyright 1910

By J. PURVER RICHARDSON

PRESS OF
BROWN-MORRISON CO.
LYNCHBURG, VA.

PREFACE

Good sir, or madam, whosoever thou mayest be, to whom this volume shall come, cast it not aside, but read it. Its quaint, curious, and helpful selections have been gathered through many years of careful research on both sides of the Atlantic. They will make thee wiser and better, and will conduce to the growth of thy mind, and the health of thy body. Let this book be to thee a magazine of literary food, of which thou shalt partake, and which thou shalt assimilate and digest to the constant increase of thy well being.

The gathering of this bouquet of literary gems has been a work of pleasure, but the compiler shall say nothing of himself for, "the least that one can say of himself is still too much."

DEDICATED

AFFECTIONATELY

TO

MY CHILDREN

JOHN PURVER AND ANNIE SUE,

AND

"To mine own People: meaning those within
The magic ring of home—my kith and kin;

And those with whom my soul delights to dwell—
Who walk with me as friends, and wish me well;

And lastly, those—a large unnumbered band,
Unknown to me—who read and understand."

CONTENTS

Life and Literature

A

1

Abilities—No man's abilities are so remarkably shining, as not to stand in need of a proper opportunity, a patron, and even the praises of a friend, to recommend them to the notice of the world.

—Pliny.

2

Absence, with all its pains,
Is by this charming moment wip'd away.

3

Abuse is the weapon of the vulgar.

—Goodrich.

4

It is told of Admiral Collingwood that on his travels he carried a bag of acorns, and dropped one wherever there seemed a likely spot for an oak to grow, that England might never lack ships.

—English Newspaper.

5

Acquaintances—It is easy to make acquaintances, but sometimes difficult to shake them off, however irksome and unprofitable they are found, after we have once committed ourselves to them.

6

Acquaintance softens prejudices.

7

Many persons I once thought great, dwindle into very small dimensions, on a short acquaintance.

—Bacon.

8

Speak out in acts, the time for words
Has passed, and deeds alone suffice.

—Shakespeare.

9

All may do what has by Man been done.

—Young.

10

An act, by which we make one friend, and one enemy, is a losing game; because revenge is a much stronger principle than gratitude.

11

All the world practices the art of acting.

—Petronius Arbiter.

12

Do what you can, when you cannot do what you would.

13

A good action performed in this world receives its recompense in the other, just as water poured at the root of a tree appears again above in fruit and flower.

14

If the world were to see our real motives, we should be ashamed of some of our best actions.

15

Our actions are our own; their consequences belong to Heaven.

—Francis.

16

What thou intendest to do, speak not of, before thou doest it.

17

There is as much eloquence in the tone of voice, in the eyes, and in the air of a speaker, as in his choice of words.

—Rochefoucauld.

18

Actions—What I must do, is all that concerns me, and not what people think.

—Emerson.

19

An actor, when asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury why actors were more successful in impressing their auditors than preachers, replied, "Actors speak of things imaginary as if they were real, while you preachers too often speak of things real as if they were imaginary."

20

ON LEAVING, AFTER A SHORT VISIT.

She gazed as I slowly withdrew;
My path I could hardly discern;
So sweetly she bade me "adieu,"
I thought that she bade me return.

—W. Shenstone.

21

Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man; but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.

—Carlyle.

22

Adversity does not take from us our true friends; it only disperses those who pretended to be so.

23

Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant.

—Horace.

24

He who never was acquainted with adversity, has seen the world but on one side, and is ignorant of half the scenes of nature.

25

In prosperity the proud man knows nobody; in adversity nobody knows him.

—From Scottish-American.

26

The finest friendships have been formed in mutual adversity.

—Latin.

27

It is a disingenuous thing to ask for advice, when you mean assistance; and it will be a just punishment if you get that which you pretended to want.

—Sir A. Helps.

28

Before giving advice we must have secured its acceptance, or rather, have made it desired.

—Amiel.

29

There is nothing more difficult than the art of making advice agreeable.

30

Every man, however wise, sometimes requires the advice of a friend in the affairs of life.

—Plautus.

31

He who gives advice to a self-conceited man, stands himself in need of counsel.

32

Pouring water on a duck's back. (Fruitless counsel or advice).

—Chinese.

33

Most people, when they come to you for advice, come to have their own opinions strengthened, not corrected.

34

CLERICAL AFFECTATION.

In man or woman, but far most in man,
And most of all in man that ministers
And serves the altar, in my soul I loathe
All affectation. 'Tis my perfect scorn;
Object of my implacable disgust.
What! Will a man play tricks, will he indulge
A silly fond conceit of his fair form
And just proportion, fashionable mien,
And pretty face, in presence of his God?
Or will he seek to dazzle me with tropes,
As with the diamond on his lily hand,
And play his brilliant parts before my eyes
When I am hungry for the bread of life?
He mocks his Maker, prostitutes and shames
His noble office, and, instead of truth,
Displaying his own beauty, starves his flock.

—Cowper.

35

The Cure of Affectation—Is to follow nature. If every one would do this, affectation would be almost unknown.

—J. Beaumont.

36

Affectation of any kind, is lighting up a candle to our defects.

—Locke.

37

Affectation is the vain and ridiculous attempt of poverty to appear rich.

—Lavater.

38

How sad to notice in one—changed affections,
A cold averted eye.

—Observer.

39

AFFLICTION.

Be still, sad heart, and cease repining,
Behind the clouds the sun is shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all;
Into each life some rain must fall—,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

—Longfellow.

40

Affliction—For every sort of suffering there is sleep provided by a gracious Providence, save that of sin.

—J. Wilson.

41

Affliction's sons are brothers in distress;
A brother to relieve, how exquisite the bliss!

—Burns.

42

Affronts—Young men soon give, and soon forget affronts; old age is slow in both.

—Addison.

43

Old age is a joy, when youth has been well spent.

44

THE APPROACH OF AGE.

Six years had passed, and forty ere the six,
When time began to play his usual tricks;
The locks once comely in a virgin's sight,
Locks of pure brown, displayed the encroaching white;
The blood, once fervid, now to cool began,
And Time's strong pressure to subdue the man.
I rode or walked as I was wont before,
But now the bounding spirit was no more;
A moderate pace would now my body heat,
A walk of moderate length distress my feet.
I showed my stranger guest those hills sublime,
But said, "The view is poor, we need not climb."
At a friend's mansion I began to dread
The cold neat parlor and gay glazed bed;
At home I felt a more decided taste,
And must have all things in my order placed.
I ceased to hunt; my horses pleased me less—
My dinner more; I learned to play at chess.
I took my dog and gun, but saw the brute
Was disappointed that I did not shoot.
My morning walks I now could bear to lose,
And blessed the shower that gave me not to choose.
In fact, I felt a languor stealing on;
The active arm, the agile hand, were gone;
Small daily actions into habits grew,
And new dislike to forms and fashions new.
I loved my trees in order to dispose;
I numbered peaches, looked how stocks arose;
Told the same story oft—in short, began to prose.

—George Crabbe.

45

Age is a matter of feeling, not of years.

G. W. Curtis.

46

Men are as old as they feel, and women as they look.

Italian.

47

May you all be as old as I,
And see your sons to manhood grow;
And many a time before you die,
Be just as pleased as I am now.

—Bloomfield.

48

Old age and faded flowers, no remedies can revive.

—Chinese.

49

'Twas impious then (so much was age rever'd)
For youth to keep their seats when an old man appear'd.

50

Goethe said: "It is only necessary to grow old to become more indulgent. I see no fault committed that I have not committed myself."

51

The young are fond of novelty,
The old of custom.

52

Speak gently to the aged one,
Grieve not the care-worn heart;
The sands of life are nearly run—
Let such in peace depart!

53

Elderly people look back upon the friends, relatives and acquaintances of thirty, forty or fifty years ago, and say, "There are no friends now-a-days like the old friends of long ago." It is natural for them to think this way, particularly when most of the old friends are dead; but the fact is, that there are friends as true now as ever.

54

These are the effects of doting age,
Vain doubts, and idle cares, and over-caution.

—Dryden.

55

Do you seek Alcides' equal? There is none but himself.

—Seneca.

56

EVIDENTLY UNSATISFACTORY.

"When I look at my congregation," said a London preacher, "I say, 'Where are the poor?' When I count the offertory in the vestry I say, 'Where are the rich?'"

57

ALMSGIVING.

At table, discussing with some friends the subject of raffles, Bishop Wescott said that he objected to them as part of the gambling question, and also on wider grounds. He objected to all the "side means" which were sometimes combined with sales of work for "getting money out of people." Such money, he thought, as distinct from that which is given, was not wanted nor acceptable.

—The Contemporary Review.

58

What stamps the wrinkles deepest on the brow,
It is to be alone, as I am now!

59

The following Hawaiian alphabet, consisting of twelve letters, was in use, and had been for something like a hundred years, when the compiler visited the Islands in 1886. It was given to the Hawaiians by the missionaries, viz.:

a, e, i, o, u, h, k, l, m, n, p, w.

60

THE AMBITIOUS MAN.

A slave has but one master; the ambitious man has as many masters as there are persons whose aid may contribute to the advancement of his fortune.

—La Bruyere.

61

How easy it is to be amiable in the midst of happiness and success!

—Madame Swetchine.

62

The sea of ambition is tempest—tost,
And your hopes may vanish like—foam.

63

To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition.

64

Amusements—The mind ought sometimes to be amused, that it may the better return to thought, and to itself.

—Phaedrus.

65

Thy father's merit sets thee up to view,
And shows thee in the fairest point of light,
To make thy virtues, or thy faults conspicuous.

—Addison.

66

THE QUEST OF ANCESTORS.

"Of all the notable things on earth,
The queerest one is pride of birth."

A few years ago a well-known Bostonian, the descendant of an honored family, began the ancestral quest with expert assistance. All went merry as a marriage bell for a time, when suddenly he unearthed an unsavory scandal that concerned one of his progenitors. Feeling a responsibility for the misdeeds of his great-grandfather, he ordered all investigation stopped, and the disagreeable data destroyed; but he had delved too far. His genealogist had told a friend, and the secret was out beyond recall.

—D. O. S. Lowell.

67

MERIT FROM ANCESTORS.

Were honor to be scann'd by long descent
From ancestors illustrious, I could vaunt
A lineage of the greatest; and recount,
Among my fathers, names of ancient story,
Heroes and god-like patriots, who subdu'd
The world by arms and virtue.
But that be their own praise;
Nor will I borrow merit from the dead,
Myself an undeserver.

—Rowe.

68

He who constantly boasts of his ancestors, confesses that he has no virtue of his own.

—Charron.

69

Never mind who was your grandfather. What are you?

70

A good man's anger lasts an instant,
A meddling man's for two hours,
A base man's a day and night,
A great sinner's until death.

—Persian.

71

Have nothing to do with men in a passion, for they are not like iron, to be wrought on when they are hot.

72

Anger generally begins with folly, and ends with repentance.

—Pythagoras.

73

He who subdues his anger, conquers his greatest enemy.

74

A fit of anger is as fatal to dignity as a dose of arsenic to life.

—J. G. Holland.

75

It is much better to reprove, than to be angry secretly.

76

Catch not too soon at an offence, nor give too easy way to anger; the one shows a weak judgment, the other a perverse nature.

77

He who can suppress a moment's anger, may prevent a day of sorrows.

78

Nothing can be more unjust, or ridiculous, than to be angry with others because they are not of our opinion.

79

When a man grows angry, his reason flies out.

—Spanish.

80

Animals are such agreeable friends—they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.

—George Eliot.

81

HIS CREATURES.

The daughter of an army officer, whose life had been spent in the far west, told the following anecdote: "Indians, when they accept Christianity, very often hold its truths with peculiar simplicity.

"There was near our fort an old chief called Tassorah. One day, when I was an impulsive girl, I was in a rage at my pony, and dismounting, beat him severely. The old man stood by, silent for a moment.

"'What words have I heard from Jesus?' he said, sternly. 'If you love not your brother whom you have seen, how can you love God whom you have not seen?'

"'This horse is not my brother!' I said scornfully.

"The old man laid his hand on the brute's head and turned it toward me. The eyes were full of terror.

"'Is not God his creator? Must He not care for him?' he said. 'Not a sparrow falls to the ground without His notice.'

"I never forgot the lesson. It flashed on me then for the first time that the dog that ran beside me, the birds, the very worms were His, and I, too, was one of His great family."

82

Kindness to animals is no unworthy exercise of benevolence. We hold that the life of brutes perishes with their breath, and that they are never to be clothed again with consciousness. The inevitable shortness then of their existence should plead for them touchingly. The insects on the surface of the water, poor ephemeral things, who would needlessly abridge their dancing pleasure of to-day? Such feelings we should have towards the whole animate creation.

—Sir Arthur Helps.

83

THE GRACIOUS ANSWER.

(The first half of each stanza should be subdued; the last half confident and full of assurance.)

The way is dark, my Father! Cloud on cloud
Is gathering thickly o'er my head, and loud
The thunders roar above me. See, I stand
Like one bewildered! Father, take my hand,
And through the gloom
Lead safely home
Thy child!
The way is dark, my child! But leads to light.
I would not always have thee walk by sight.
My dealings now thou canst not understand.
I meant it so; but I will take thy hand,
And through the gloom
Lead safely home
My child!
The day goes fast, my Father! And the night
Is growing darkly down. My faithless sight
Sees ghostly visions. Fears, a spectral band,
Encompass me. O Father! Take my hand,
And from the night
Lead up to light
Thy child!
The day goes fast, my child! But is the night
Darker to me than Day? In me is light!
Keep close to me, and every spectral band
Of fears shall vanish. I will take thy hand,
And through the night
Lead up to light
My child!
The way is long, my Father! And my soul
Longs for the rest and quiet of the goal;
While yet I journey through this weary land,
Keep me from wandering. Father, take my hand;
Quickly and straight
Lead to Heaven's gate
Thy child!
The way is long, my child! But it shall be
Not one step longer than is best for thee;
And thou shalt know, at last, when thou shalt stand
Safe at the goal, how I did take thy hand,
And quick and straight
Lead to Heaven's gate
My child!
The path is rough, my Father! Many a thorn
Has pierced me; and my weary feet, all torn
And bleeding, mark the way. Yet Thy command
Bids me press forward. Father, take my hand;
Then, safe and blest,
Lead up to rest
Thy child!
The path is rough, my child! But oh! how sweet
Will be the rest, for weary pilgrims meet,
When thou shalt reach the borders of that land
To which I lead thee, as I take thy hand;
And safe and blest
With me shall rest
My child!
The throng is great, my Father! Many a doubt,
And fear and danger, compass me about;
And foes oppress me sore. I can not stand
Or go alone. O Father! take my hand,
And through the throng
Lead safe along
Thy child!
The throng is great, my child! But at thy side
Thy Father walks; then be not terrified,
For I am with thee; will thy foes command
To let thee freely pass;—will take thy hand,
And through the throng
Lead safe along
My child!
The cross is heavy, Father! I have borne
It long, and still do bear it. Let my worn
And fainting spirit rise to that blest land
Where crowns are given. Father, take my hand;
And reaching down
Lead to the crown
Thy child!
The cross is heavy, child! Yet there was One
Who bore a heavier cross for thee; my Son,
My well-beloved. For Him bear thine; and stand
With Him at last; and from thy Father's hand,
Thy cross laid down,
Receive a crown,
My child!

—Henry N. Cobb.

84

Anxiety is the poison of human life.

85

Beware, as long as you live, of judging men by their outward appearance.

—La Fontaine.

86

Appearance—Thou art after all what thou art. Deck thyself in a wig with a thousand locks; ensconce thy legs in buskins an ell high; thou still remainest just what thou art.

—Goethe.

87

A man's reception depends very much upon his coat.

88

APPEARANCES OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD.

Sometimes our estimate of men and women
On short acquaintance is very much at fault.

A gentleman and his wife—Pierrepont by name—passengers on one of the great Atlantic steamers, not knowing any of the other passengers, kept very much to themselves; he usually reading aloud to his wife, and she occupied in some needle work; for this, they were commented upon, and not very favorably, and generally were called the "stupid couple." Little did these same passengers know the true character of that gentleman and lady. An incident that occurred on board soon proved the bravery and heroism of the one, and the gentleness and self-sacrifice of the other. The captain had with him his only son, a boy of some eight summers, a great favorite of all on board from fore to aft. The little fellow, climbing on the side of the ship, somehow fell overboard. The lady happening to be on the other side of the deck, saw the child climb up, and immediately missed him. She quickly laid her hand on her husband's shoulder, looking in his eyes, and cried out, "Oh, save the boy, he has fallen overboard." In one moment he was on his feet, kicked off his canvas shoes, threw his hat on the deck, and turning his face toward the bridge, where he knew some of the ship's officers were always stationed, he called out in a voice which rang like a trumpet call over the ship, "Man overboard." Then, with a quick run and leap, he cleared the rail, and the broken twisting water of the ship's track had closed over him. He was on the surface again in a moment, and taking a glance back at the ship to know his position, stretched out into a long steady stroke in the direction where he knew the child was.

Instantly the captain's hand was on the engine-room telegraph, and down into the depths of the ship went the signals. First to "stop," and the tremor all over the ship ceased. The bell rang again, and the index moved to "astern-slow;" then in a minute or two, to, "half;" then he called out to the second officer—"Man overboard! Stand by to lower away the gig," which was quickly obeyed, and four hands, a coxswain, and a man for the boat's bow were instantly off and rowed fiercely.

In a little while Mrs. Pierrepont—who was on the bridge with Captain Hood—said, "Do you see them; are they together?"

"Yes," replied the captain, "I believe they are." But his voice was now broken, and he took hold of Mrs. Pierrepont's hand. "I have watched my child from here with the glass, till at last he floated so low that I could scarcely see him, and just as he seemed sinking your husband dashed across the spot where he was, and I saw by a wave of his hand towards the ship that he caught him. He is now waiting for the boat."

It was getting dark when they returned. The child, who was shivering, was immediately carried away to have a warm bath, and a little later was in the saloon with dry clothes on, as merry as if nothing had happened.

When Pierrepont stepped on the deck, a rush was made at him, and both hands were shaken till he thought his arms would be pulled off.

The captain said all he had to say in a very few words, and with a hand-grasp which said more than words.

89

A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it.

—Eccles. 6, 2v.; Saint Luke 12, 20v.

90

To love applause is praiseworthy; to seek it is weakness.

91

Eat an apple on going to bed, and you will very soon send the Doctor begging his bread.

92

Appointments may be given,
Not the capacity to fill them well.

93

Dr. Johnson to Boswell—"If general approbation will add anything to your enjoyment, I can tell you that I have heard you mentioned, as a man whom everybody likes. I think life has little more to give."

94

If you arbitrate a dispute between two of your friends, you are sure to make an enemy; if you arbitrate between two of your enemies, you are sure to make a friend.

—Bias, a Greek.

95

Never contend with one that is foolish, proud, positive, testy; or with a superior, or a clown, in matter of argument.

96

ASKING AND BESTOWING ASSISTANCE.

Those who are constrained to solicit for assistance are really to be pitied; those who receive it without, are to be envied; but those who bestow it unasked, are to be admired.

97

Associates—A man should live with his superiors as he does with his fire; not too near, lest he burn; nor too far off, lest he freeze.

—Diogenes.

98

If you always live with those who are lame, you will yourself learn to limp.

—Latin.

99

Never forget that if you are not interesting your audience, you are fatiguing it.

B

100

BEAUTIFUL.

The beautiful are never desolate,
For some one always loves them.

101

Beauty of face is but a fleeting dower,
A momentary gleam, a short-lived flower,
A charm that goes no deeper than the skin;
Beauty of mind is firm enthroned within.

102

There is the beauty of infancy, the beauty of youth, the beauty of maturity, and, believe me, ladies and gentlemen, the beauty of age.

103

Beauty with selfishness, is a flower without perfume.

104

What is beauty?

'Tis the stainless soul within
That outshines the fairest skin.

—Sir A. Hunt.

105

FRAGILE IS BEAUTY.

Fragile is beauty: with advancing years
'Tis less and less, and, last, it disappears.
Your hair too, fair one, will turn grey and thin;
And wrinkles furrow that now rounded skin;
Then brace the mind and thus beauty fortify,
The mind alone is yours, until you die.

106

Beauty without kindness dies unenjoyed and undelighting.

—Johnson.

107

O bed! Delicious bed!
That heaven upon earth to the weary head!

108

Generally men are ready to believe what they desire.

—Caesar.

109

The kindest benefactors have no recollection of the good they do, and are surprised when men thank them for it.

110

A beneficent person is like a fountain watering the earth, and spreading fertility; it is, therefore, more delightful and more honorable to give than receive.

—Epicurus.

111

There is no benefit so small, that a good man will not magnify it.

—Seneca.

112

To receive a benefit is to sell your liberty.

—Laberius.

113

He who receives a benefit should never forget it; he who bestows one should never remember it.

114

To act always from pure benevolence is not possible for finite beings. Human benevolence is mingled with vanity, interest, or some other motive.

115

Bereavement makes the heart tender and sympathetic.

116

If you wish to become acquainted with your betrothed, travel with him for a few days—especially if he is accompanied with his own folks—and take your mother along.

—Unknown.

117

The Bible is
The Index to Eternity;
He can not miss
Of endless bliss
That takes this chart to steer his voyage by.

—Herbert.

118

The following lines of Sir Walter Scott are said to have been copied in his Bible:

Within this awful volume lies
The mystery of mysteries.
Oh! happiest they of human race,
To whom our God has given grace
To hear, to read, to fear, to pray,
To lift the latch, and force the way;
But better had they ne'er been born
Who read to doubt, or read to scorn.

119

Remember, that in prayer, you are speaking to God; that in reading the Bible, God is speaking to you.

120

FACTS ABOUT THE BIBLE.

The learned prince of Grenada, heir to the Spanish throne, imprisoned by order of the Crown for fear he would aspire to the throne, was kept in solitary confinement in the old prison at the Palace of Skulls, Madrid. After thirty-three years in this living tomb, death came to his release, and the following remarkable researches, taken from the Bible, and marked with an old nail on the rough walls of his cell, told how the brain sought employment through the weary years.

The 35th verse, 11th chapter of John, is the shortest.

The 9th verse of the 8th chapter of Esther is the longest.

The 8th verse of the 97th Psalm is the middle verse of the Bible.

Each verse in Psalm 136 ends alike.

The 37th chapter of Isaiah and 19th chapter of 2d Kings are alike.

The word "girl" occurs but once in the Bible, and that in Joel, 3d chapter and 3d verse.

The word "Lord" is found 1853 times, the word "Jehovah" 6855 times, the word "reverend" but once, and that in Psalms 111th chapter and 9th verse.

The four most inspiring promises are in John, 14th chapter, 2d verse, 6th chapter and 37th verse; Matthew, 11th chapter and 28th verse, and in Psalms, 37th chapter and 4th verse.

The finest chapter is in Acts, 26th.

—Christian Observer.

120a

THE BIBLE.

Who, coming to this sacred book, with a sincere desire to know God's will for the direction of his life, will say that he can not find it? Who, desiring to be instructed in the way of salvation "through faith which is in Christ Jesus," will consult its pages, and say it is not made plain to him? Who, coming to it for equipment of his spiritual life, will say that there are still needs of that life which are left unprovided for? Who, seeking direction in the way of the life everlasting, can doubt that, if he faithfully obeys its teaching, he will reach that goal? The Scripture fulfils the ends for which it was given; no higher proof of its inspiration can be demanded. * * * * * What the closing verse of the 20th chapter of John's Gospel says of that book: "But these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye may have life through His name," may with equal truth be applied to the Bible as a whole.

—James Orr, D. D.,
Glasgow.

121

A Little Bird Told Me—The origin of this phrase is doubtless to be found in Ecclesiastes, x, 20:—For a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.

122

Old birds are hard to pluck.

123

A man ashamed of his humble birth is never alone, because all good people are ashamed of him for being ashamed.

124

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting;
The soul that riseth with us, our life's star,
Hath elsewhere had its setting,
And cometh from afar.

—Wordsworth.

125

YOUTH.

My birthday!—What a different sound
That word had in my youthful ears!
And now each time the day comes round,
Less and less white its mark appears.

—Moore.

126

Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others, can not keep it from themselves.

—Barrie.

127

Boasters—For boasters the world has no use; but it is always on the lookout for men who do things. Solomon said: "Let another man praise thee, and not thine own lips."

128

GOOD BOOK-KEEPERS.

Sir Walter Scott, in lending a book one day to a friend, cautioned him to be punctual in returning it. "This is really necessary," said the poet in apology; "for though many of my friends are bad arithmeticians, I observe almost all of them to be good book-keepers."

129

AN EXPERIENCE AND A MORAL.

I lent my love a book one day;
She brought it back; I laid it by:
'Twas little either had to say,—
She was so strange, and I so shy.

But yet we loved indifferent things,—
The sprouting buds, the birds in tune,—
And Time stood still and wreathed his wings
With rosy links from June to June.

For her, what task to dare or do?
What peril tempt? What hardship bear?
But with her—ah! she never knew
My heart, and what was hidden there!

And she with me, so cold and coy,
Seemed like a maid bereft of sense;
But in the crowd, all life and joy,
And full of blushful impudence.

She married,—well, a woman needs
Someone, her life and love to share,—
And little cares sprang up like weeds
And played around her elbow-chair.

Years rolled by—and I, content,
Trimmed my own lamp, and kept it bright,
Till age's touch, my hair besprent
With rays and gleams of silver light.

And then it chanced I took the book
Which she perused in days gone by;
And as I read, such passion shook,
That, I needs must surely cry.

For, here and there, her love was writ,
In old, half-faded pencil-signs,
As if she yielded—bit by bit—
Her heart in dots and underlines.

Ah, silvered fool, too late you look!
I know it; but let me here record
This maxim: Lend no girl a book
Unless you read it afterward!

—F. S. Cozzens.

130

We should make the same use of a book that the bee does of a flower; she steals sweets from it, but does not injure it.

—Colton.

131

Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as the latter.

132

BOOKS.

If thou art borrowed by a friend,
Right welcome shall he be,
To read, to study, not to lend,
But to return to me.

Not that imparted knowledge doth
Diminish learning's store;
But books, I find, if often lent,
Return to me no more.

—Murphy.

133

BOOKS.

The feeling that books are real friends is constantly present to all who love reading. "I have friends," said Petrarch, "whose society is extremely agreeable to me, they are of all ages, and of every country. They have distinguished themselves both in the cabinet and in the field, and obtained high honors for their knowledge of the sciences. It is easy to gain access to them, for they are always at my service, and I admit them to my company, and dismiss them from it, whenever I please. They are never troublesome, but immediately answer every question I ask them. Some relate to me the events of past ages, while others reveal to me the secrets of Nature. Some teach me how to live, and others how to die. Some, by their vivacity, drive away my cares and exhilarate my spirits; while others give fortitude to my mind, and teach me the important lesson how to deport myself, and to depend wholly on myself. They open to me, in short, the various avenues of all the arts and sciences and upon their information I may safely rely in all emergencies. In return for all their services, they only ask me to accommodate them with a convenient chamber in some corner of my humble habitation where they may repose in peace; for these friends are more delighted by the tranquility of retirement than with the tumults of society."

—Petrarch.

134

BOOKS.

Books introduce us into the best society; they bring us into the presence of the greatest minds that have ever lived. We hear what they said and did; we see them as if they were really alive; we are participators in their thoughts; we sympathize with them, enjoy with them, grieve with them; their experience becomes ours, and we feel as if we were in a measure actors with them in the scenes which they describe.

135

BOOK-LENDING.

Those who have collected books, and whose good nature has prompted them to accommodate their friends with them, will feel the sting of the answer made by a man of wit to one who lamented the difficulty which he found in persuading his friends to return the volumes that he had lent them:

"Sir," said he, "your acquaintances find, I suppose, that it is much more easy to retain the books themselves, than what is contained in them."

136

The following gives a pathetic description of a studious boy lingering at a bookstall:

I saw a boy with eager eye
Open a book upon a stall,
And read, as he'd devour it all;
Which, when the stall-man did espy,
Soon to the boy I heard him call,
"You, sir, you never buy a book,
Therefore in one you shall not look."
The boy passed slowly on, and with a sigh
He wished he never had been taught to read,
Then of the old churl's books he should have had no need.

—Mary Lamb.

137

Books that you may carry to the fire, and hold readily in your hand, are the most useful after all. A man will often look at them, and be tempted to go on, when he would have been frightened at books of a larger size and of a more erudite appearance.

—Dr. Johnson.

138

COSTLY, YET USEFUL BOOKS.

How foolish is the man who sets up a number of costly volumes, like superfluous furniture, for mere ornament, and is far more careful to keep them from contracting a single spot of ink, than to use them, as the means of instructing his ignorance, and correcting his faults! Better a man without books, than books without a man.

—Scriver.

139

There are two bores in society—the man who knows too much, and the man who knows too little.

—London Paper.

140

Those who would scorn to "accept"—
Borrow, and keep without qualm.

141

A boy of 17, 18 or 19 has reached an age when he should win his own way, and seek his own sustenance, physical and mental.

142

"My boy," said a father to his son, "treat everybody with politeness, even those who are rude to you, for remember that you show courtesy to others, not because they are gentlemen, but because you are one."

143

GRACEFUL AND GALLANT.

It is reasonably safe to assume from a story in the New York Tribune that the late Henry Harland, the novelist, was seldom kept after school in his boyhood.

Among Harland's early teachers was a charming young lady, who called him up in class one morning and said to him:

"Henry, name some of the chief beauties of education."

"Schoolmistresses," the boy answered, smiling into his teacher's pretty eyes.

—From Youth's Companion.

144

John Ruskin, in one of his lectures, said: "There is just this difference between the making of a girl's character and a boy's: You may chisel a boy into shape as you would a rock, or hammer him into it, if he be of a better kind, as you would a piece of bronze; but you can not hammer a girl into anything. She grows as a flower does—she will wither without sun; she will decay in her sheath as a narcissus will if you do not give her air enough; she must take her own fair form and way if she take any, and in mind as in body, must have always—

"'Her household motions light and free,
And steps of virgin liberty.'"

You bring up your girls as if they were meant for sideboard ornaments, and then complain of their frivolity. Give them the same advantages that you give their brothers; teach them, that courage and truth are the pillars of their being.

Again: "The man's work for his own home, is to secure its maintenance, progress, and defence; the woman's to secure its order, comfort, and loveliness.

"What the man is at his own gate, defending it if need be, against insult and spoil, that also, not in a less, but in a more devoted measure, he is to be at the gate of his country, leaving his home, if need be, even to the spoiler, to do his more incumbent work there.

"And in like manner what the woman is to be within her gates, as the centre of order, the balm of distress, and the mirror of beauty, that she is also to be without her gates, where order is more difficult, distress more imminent, loveliness more rare."

145

You can lead a boy to college, but you can't make him think.

146

PARENTAL AUTHORITY.

The boy who does not respect parental authority, will very soon be apt to repudiate all law, both civil and ecclesiastical, human and Divine.

147

THE BLIND BOY.

"O say! What is that thing call'd light,
Which I must ne'er enjoy?
What are the blessings of the sight?
O, tell your poor blind boy!

You talk of wond'rous things you see,
You say the sun shines bright;
I feel him warm, but how can he
Make it day or night?

With heavy sighs I often hear
You mourn my hapless woe;
But sure with patience I can bear
A loss I ne'er can know.

Then let not what I can not have
My cheer of mind destroy;
Whilst thus I sing, I am a king,
Although a poor blind boy."

—Old Magazine.

148

THE ORPHAN BOY'S TALE.

Stay, lady, stay, for mercy's sake,
And hear a helpless orphan's tale,
Ah! sure my looks must pity wake,
'Tis want that makes my cheek so pale.
Yet I was once a mother's pride,
And my brave father's hope and joy;
But in the Nile's proud fight he died,
And I am now an orphan boy.

Poor foolish child! how pleased was I
When news of Nelson's victory came,
Along the crowded streets to fly,
And see the lighted windows flame!
To force me home my mother sought,
She could not bear to see my joy;
For with my father's life 'twas bought,
And made me a poor orphan boy.

The people's shouts were long and loud,
My mother, shuddering, closed her ears;
"Rejoice! rejoice!" still cried the crowd;
My mother answered with her tears.
"Why are you crying thus," said I,
"While others laugh and shout with joy?"
She kissed me—and with such a sigh!
She called me "her poor orphan boy."

—Mrs. Opie.

149

Emerson said: "Give a boy address and accomplishments, and you give him the mastery of palaces and fortunes wherever he goes; he has not the trouble of earning or owning them; they solicit him to enter and possess."

150

A great man being asked what boys should learn, he replied, "That which they will use when men."

151

It is good to rub and polish our brain against that of others.

—Montaigne.

152

Eaten bread is soon forgotten.

—English.

153

Birth is much, but breeding is more.

154

Good breeding consists in having no particular mark of any profession, but a general elegance of manners.

—Dr. Johnson.

155

Good breeding is the result of much good sense, some good nature, and a little self-denial.

156

Climate—The climate of Great Britain, as that of no other country in a like latitude, derives its peculiarity from its situation and from the prevailing winds, which are from the southwest, except in the months of April and May. The thermometer for six months in the year averages near 60 degrees, and seldom, if ever, drops below 36 degrees during the remaining six months, thus affording, according to all authorities, one of the healthiest climates in the world.

—Students' Reference Work,
Edited by Chandler B. Beach, A. M.

157

The Nobility of Great Britain—The British nobility is the most enlightened, the best educated, the wisest, and bravest in Europe.

158

A brother's sufferings claim a brother's pity.

—Addison.

159

When thy brother has lost all that he ever had, and lies languishing, and even gasping under the utmost extremities of poverty and distress, dost thou think to lick him whole again only with thy tongue?

—South.

160

A Saying of Napoleon—Once at St. Helena, when walking with a lady, some servants came along carrying a load. The lady, in an angry tone, ordered them out of the way, on which Napoleon interposed, saying, "Respect the burden, madam." Even the drudgery of the humblest laborer contributes towards the general well-being of society; and it was a wise saying of a Chinese Emperor that, "If there was a man who did not work, or a woman that was idle, somebody must suffer cold or hunger in the Empire."

—Dr. H. D. Northrop.

161

No one knows the weight of another's burden.

—German.

162

The more we help others to bear their burdens, the lighter our own will be.

163

WHAT WE OWE TO ROBERT BURNS.

Burns has been one of the world awakeners. His voice rang out of the stillness, like the clear sweet notes of a bugle horn, and his songs were sung with a nerve and strength of nature that stirred to its depths the popular heart.

Describing Robert Burns' conversational gifts, Mr. Carlyle wrote: "They were the theme of all that ever heard him. All kinds of gifts, from the gracefullest allusions of courtesy to the highest fire of passionate speech, loud floods of mirth, soft wailings of affection, laconic emphasis, clear piercing insight, all were in him."

He awoke the poor and the despised to the dignity of man as man, irrespective of the accidents of poverty or wealth.

"The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The man's the man for a' that."

Thus helping to deliver men from the debasing worship of sordid gold, and of such rank as kings can confer on even the most worthless.

"The man of independent mind
He looks and laughs at a' that."

He opened the eyes of the Scottish people, at home and abroad, to the glory of their nation's history, and glowing with the hope of a day—

"When man to man the world o'er
Shall brithers be for a' that."

He also opened men's eyes to the hatefulness of all shams and hypocrisies; of meanness, selfishness and pride; of all narrowness and greed and cruelty thus—

"Man's inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn."

And again: He opened men's eyes to the cruelty and injustice of harsh judgment, seen oftenest perhaps in people judging, or misjudging others, who have yielded to temptations, or sunk under debasing influences, to which they themselves have never been exposed. Where has Christian charity and kindly consideration for others been more nobly taught than in these lines:

"Who made the heart, 'tis He alone
Decidedly can try us;
He knows each chord, its various tone,
Each spring, its various bias.
Then, at the balance, let's be mute,
We never can adjust it;
What's done we partly may compute,
But know not what's resisted."

He opened many eyes when he wrote the following:

"O, wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
And foolish notion;
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
And even Devotion!"

164

We all, according as our business prospers or fails, are elated or cast down.

165

I'll give money to any well deserving friend, but in the matter of business, I'll cavil on the ninth part of a hair.

—Shakespeare.

166

Sentiment is not now recognized in business affairs.

167

To business that we love, we rise betime,
And go to it with delight.

—Shakespeare.

168

Keep to Your Calling—Bishop Grostest, of Lincoln, told his brother, who asked him to make him a great man: "Brother," said he, "if your plough is broken, I'll pay the mending of it; or if an ox is dead, I'll pay for another; but a ploughman I found you, and a ploughman I'll leave you."

169

BUSYBODIES.

Who, knowing nothing, claim to know it all.
What each intends, or will intend, they know.
What in the queen's ear the king said, they know.
What never was, or is—they know it, though!

—Plautus.

170

The would-be buyer, alas! so often depreciates.

171

The road to "bye and bye" leads to the town of never.

—Spanish.

C

172

CALAMITY.

Do not insult calamity:
It is a barb'rous grossness, to lay on
The weight of scorn, where heavy misery
Too much already weighs men's fortunes down.

—Shakespeare.

173

I can't, does nothing.
I'll try, effects miracles.
I will, accomplishes everything.

—Unknown.

174

Among the ancient warriors it was a custom, when any one did a meritorious action, to say: "That will be a feather in his cap."

175

Whom the cap fits, let him wear it.

—Latin.

176

Capacity without education is deplorable.

—Saadi.

177

As to cards and dice, I think the safest and best way is never to learn to play them, and so be incapacitated for those dangerous temptations and encroaching wasters of time.

178

Cards were at first for benefits designed,
Sent to amuse, not to enslave the mind.

179

To carry care to bed is to sleep with a pack on your back.

—Haliburton.

180

Put off thy cares with thy clothes; so shall thy rest strengthen thy labour; and so shall thy labour sweeten thy rest.

181

To win a cat, and lose a cow. (Consequences of litigation).

—Persian.

182

Deliberate well on what you can do but once.

183

A life of caution is overpaid by the avoidance of one serious misfortune.

184

Say not always what you know, but always know what you say.

185

Never sign a paper you have not read, nor drink water you have not examined.

186

No two persons are ever more confidential and cordial than when they are censuring a third.

187

There are ceremonious bows that repel one like a cudgel.

—Bovee.

188

Excess of ceremony shows want of breeding—that civility is best which excludes all superfluous formality.

189

The only sure things are those that have already happened.

190

LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

Dr. Chalmers of Scotland, arrived in London, on the 13th of May, 1817, and on the following day preached in Surrey Chapel, the anniversary sermon for the London Missionary Society. Although the service did not commence till eleven o'clock, at seven in the morning the chapel was crowded to excess, and many thousands went off for want of room. He rose and gave out his text from 1 Cor. xiv, 22-25. He had not proceeded many minutes till his voice gradually expanded in strength and compass, reaching every part of the house and commanding universal attention. His sermon occupied about an hour and a half in the delivery. A gentleman wrote to a friend: "I have just heard and witnessed the most astonishing display of human talent that perhaps ever commanded hearing; all my expectations were overwhelmed in the triumph of it."

At an afternoon service he preached in the Scotch Church, in Swallow Street. On approaching the church, Dr. Chalmers and a friend found so dense a mass within, and before the building, as to give no hope of effecting an entrance by the mere force of ordinary pressure. Lifting his cane and gently tapping the heads of those who were in advance, Dr. Chalmers' friend exclaimed, "Make way there, make way please, for Dr. Chalmers." The sturdy Londoners refused to move, believing it was a ruse. Forced to retire, Dr. Chalmers retreated from the outskirts of the crowd, crossed the street, stood for a few moments gazing on the growing tumult, and had almost resolved altogether to withdraw, as access by any of the ordinary entrances was impossible. At last a plank was projected from one of the windows very near the pulpit, till it rested on an iron palisade, and the Doctor and others gained entrance. The impression produced by the service which followed, when all had at last settled down into stillness, was deeper than that made by any of those which preceded it.

—From Memoirs of Thomas Chalmers, LL.D.
By Rev. Wm. Hanna, LL.D.

191

What can be more foolish than to think that all this rare fabric of Heaven and earth could come by chance, when all the skill of art is not able to make an oyster!

192

Times change, and we change with them.

193

When you seek to change your condition, be sure that you can better it.

194

BROTHER AND SISTER.

In a village churchyard in England, there is the following epitaph. It is there applied to a husband; but, by altering a single word, it can be made to apply to brother, sister, or comrade; and the one who fulfils all that is implied in the praise, is surely a most admirable character:

"He was—
But words are wanting to say what;
Think what a husband should be.
He was that."

195

The sun has some spots on his surface, and the best and brightest characters are not without their faults and frailties.

196

The crown jewel of character is sincerity.

197

An appearance of delicacy is inseparable from sweetness and gentleness of character.

—Mrs. Sigourney.

198

THE UPRIGHT CHARACTER.

He is not just who doth no wrong, but he
Who will not when he may; not he who, lured
By some poor petty prize, abstains, but he
Who with some mighty treasure in his grasp
May sin securely, yet abhors the sin.
Not he who closely skirts the pale of law,
But he whose generous nature, void of guile—
Would be,
Not seem to be,
The upright man.

—Philemon, a Greek.
Translated by Millman.

199

As daylight can be seen through very small holes, so little things will illustrate a person's character.

200

CHARACTER SHOULD NOT BE BELOW HOME STANDARD.

Alexander Simpson, the elder brother of Sir James Simpson, watched over the boyhood of the latter with parental care. When the social usages of the town and the prevalent free mode of living presented strong temptations to the boy, Alexander would put his arm round his neck and tenderly warn him: "Others may do this, but it would break a' our hearts and blast a' your prospects were ye to do it." After one such warning, "Jamie was greatly troubled, and cried nearly a' the nicht (night) like to break his heart." He obeyed the warning, and became a celebrated physician in Edinburgh.

201

LITTLE THINGS.

Small kindnesses, small courtesies, small considerations, habitually practiced in our social intercourse, give a greater charm to the character than the display of great talents and accomplishments.

—Kelty.

202

Character—After I have named the man, I need say no more.

—Pliny the Younger.

203

Oaths are not the cause why a man is believed, but the character of a man is the cause why the oath is believed.

—Aeschylus.

204

There is no man suddenly either excellently good, or extremely evil.

—Juvenalis.

205

He who aspires to public position, offers his character for a football.

206

No character is more glorious, none deserving of universal admiration and respect, than that of helping those who are in no condition of helping themselves.

207

Prosperity tries the human heart with the deepest probe, and brings forth the hidden character.

—Tacitus.

208

The history of a man is his character.

209

The firm foot is that which finds firm footing;
The weak falters, although it be standing upon a rock.

210

To be thoroughly good natured, and yet avoid being imposed upon, shows great strength of character.

211

The charitable give out at the door, and God puts in at the window.

—From the German.

212

CHARITY—IN WORD ONLY.

When thy brother has lost all that he ever had, and lies languishing, and even gasping under the utmost extremities of poverty and distress, dost thou think to lick him whole again only with thy tongue?

—South.

213

CHARITY.

That charity begins at home is true,
Yet this is rightly understood by few.
But, lest you should not easily discern,
I counsel you, my friends, this lesson learn;
The home of charity is a mind possess'd
Of wishes to relieve whoe'er's distress'd;
In town, or country, or on foreign shore,
She's ne'er from home when pity's at the door.

214

CHARITY.

Be not frightened at the hard words "imposition," "imposture;" give and ask no questions. "Cast thy bread upon the waters." Some have, unawares, entertained angels.

—Lamb.

215

As charity covers a multitude of sins before God, so does politeness before men.

—Lord Greville.

216

Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.

—Pope.

217

Where there is plenty, charity is a duty, not a courtesy.

—Feltham.

218

We step up, when we stoop down, to help the needy.

219

CHARITY—INGRATITUDE FOR.

Did you ever see the horses taken to water? They rush into some beautiful stream, and drink of it to their heart's content; after which they turn their backs upon it, or stamp in it with their feet, until the water is polluted. This is the price they pay for their refreshing draught. But what, then does the noble river? It immediately floats away the mud, and continues after, as it was before, full and free of access for the same or other thirsty creatures. And so must you also do. If there be a fountain of genuine charity in your heart, it will constantly, and spontaneously overflow, whether those who drink of it are thankful or not. This life is the season for sowing and scattering; we shall reap hereafter.

220

Give freely to him that deserveth well, and asketh nothing.

221

INASMUCH.

I asked for alms!
He flung a coin at me
Contemptuously.
Not without sense of shame
I stooped and picked it up.
Does this fulfil
The Master's will
To give a cup
Of water in His Name?

I asked for bread!
He handed out to me
Indifferently
A ticket for some food.
It answered to my need.
Was this the way
On that great day
Christ stopped to feed
The hungry multitude?

When we shall wait,
After this mortal strife,
Eternal life,
And to His presence go
As suppliants indeed,
Will it be thus
He will on us
In our great need
His priceless gift bestow?

—The Outlook.

222

It is charity not to excite a hope, when it must end in disappointment.

223

When you see a man in distress, acknowledge him at once your fellow man. Recollect that he is formed of the same materials, with the same feelings as yourself, and then relieve him as you yourself would wish to be relieved.

224

Leviticus, xxv, 35.—"And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him; yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee."

Mr. H——, an ingenious artist, being driven out of all employment, and reduced to great distress, had no resource to which to apply except that of an elder brother, who was in good circumstances. To him, therefore, he applied, and begged some little hovel to live in, and some small provision for his support. The brother melted into tears, and said, "You, my dear brother! You live in a hovel! You are a man; you are an honor to the family. I am nothing. You shall take this house and the estate, and I will be your guest, if you please." The brothers lived together without its being distinguishable who was proprietor of the estate, till the death of the elder put the artist in possession of it.

225

UNAWARES.

They said, "The Master is coming
To honor the town to-day,
And none can tell what house or home
He may choose wherein to stay."
Then straight I turned to toiling,
To make my home more neat;
I swept and polished and garnished,
And decked it with blossoms sweet.

But right in the midst of my duties
A woman came to my door;
She had come to tell me her sorrow,
And my comfort and aid to implore.
And I said, "I can not listen,
Nor help you any to-day;
I have greater things to attend to."
So the pleader turned away.

But soon there came another—
A cripple, thin, pale and gray—
And said, "O let me stop and rest
Awhile in your home I pray."
I said, "I am grieved and sorry,
But I can not keep you to-day;
I look for a great and noble guest."
And the cripple went away.

And the day wore onward swiftly,
And my task was nearly done,
And a prayer was ever in my heart
That the Master to me might come.

I thought I would spring to meet Him,
And treat Him with utmost care,
When a little child stood by me
With a face so sweet and fair—
Sweet, but with marks of tear drops—
And his clothes were tattered old;
A finger was bruised and bleeding,
And his little bare feet were cold.

And I said, "I am sorry for you:
You are sorely in need of care,
But I can not stop to give it;
You must hasten other where."
And at the words a shadow
Swept over his blue-veined brow.
"Some one will feed and clothe you, dear,
But I am too busy now."

At last, my toil was over and done,
My house was swept and garnished,
And I watched in the dusk alone;
I waited till night had deepened,
And the Master had not come;
"He has entered some other door," I cried,
"And gladdened some other home!"

Then the Master stood before me,
And His face was grave and fair;
"Three times to-day I came to your door,
And craved your pity and care.
Three times you sent Me onward,
Unhelped and uncomforted;
And the blessing you might have had was lost,
And your chance to serve has fled."

"O Lord, dear Lord, forgive me;
How could I know it was Thee?"
My very soul was shamed and bowed
In the depths of humility.
And He said, "The sin is pardoned,
But the blessing is lost to thee,
For failing to comfort the least of Mine,
You have failed to comfort Me."

226

John Paul, of Siena, was always very liberal to the poor. On his deathbed he exclaimed, "What I have kept, that have I lost, and what I have given away, that I have yet, what I have refused I now regret."

Another is reported to have said: "I have lost everything except what I have given away."

227

A SERMON OF MOHAMMED.

When God made the earth, it shook to and fro till He put mountains on it to keep it firm. Then the angels asked, "O God, is there anything in Thy creation stronger than these mountains?" And God replied, "Iron is stronger than the mountains, for it breaks them." "And is there anything in Thy creation stronger than iron?" "Yes, fire is stronger than iron, for it melts it." "Is there anything stronger than fire?" "Yes, water, for it quenches fire." "Is there anything stronger than water?" "Yes, wind, for it puts water in motion." "O, our Sustainer, is there anything in Thy creation stronger than wind?" "Yes, a good man giving alms; if he gives it with his right hand, and conceals it from his left, he overcomes all things." Every good act is charity; your smiling in your brother's face, your putting a wanderer in the right road, your giving water to the thirsty is charity; exhortation to another to do right is charity. A man's true wealth hereafter is the good he has done in this world to his fellowmen. When he dies, people will ask: "What property has he left behind him?" But the angels will ask: "What good deeds has he sent before him?"

228

Charity—It is another's fault if he be ungrateful; but it is mine if I do not give. To find one thankful man, I will oblige many that are not so.

—Seneca.

229

He gives double who gives unasked.

230

He that cheats me aince (once) shame fa him; but he that cheats me twice shame fa me.

—Scotch.

231

The cheek
Is apter than the tongue, to tell an errand.

—Shakespeare.

232

If you have a word of cheer,
Speak it, while I am alive to hear.

Margaret Preston.

233

You find yourself refreshed by the presence of cheerful people. Why not make earnest effort to confer that pleasure on others?

—L. M. Child.

234

Cheerfulness smoothes the road of life.

—German.

235

Cheerfulness is full of significance: it suggests good health, a clear conscience, and a soul at peace with all human nature.

—Charles Kingsley.

236

Chide a friend in private, and praise him in public.

—Solon.

237

A CHILD'S SERMON.

A writer once told how a little child preached a sermon to him.

"Is your father at home?" I asked a small child at our village doctor's doorstep.

"No," she said, "he's away."

"Where do you think I could find him?"

"Well," she said, with a considering air, "you've got to look for some place where people are sick or hurt, or something like that. I don't know where he is, but he's helping somewhere."

238

A SLEEPING CHILD.

How happy are thy days! How sweet thy repose! How calm thy rest! Thou slumberest upon the earth more soundly than many a miser and worldling upon his bed of down. And the reason is—that thou hast a gracious God and an easy conscience. A stranger to all care, thou awakest only to resume thy play, or ask for food to satisfy thy hunger.

239

A full-blown rose besprinkled with the purest dew, is not so beautiful as a child blushing beneath her parents' displeasure, and shedding tears of sorrow for her fault.

240

A torn jacket is soon mended; but hard words bruise the heart of a child.

—Longfellow.

241

He who does not correct his own child, will later beat his own breast.

242

The future destiny of the child is always the work of the mother.

—Napoleon.

243

A child's eyes! Those clear wells of undefiled thought! What on earth can be more beautiful! Full of hope, love, and curiosity, they meet your own. In prayer, how earnest! In joy, how sparkling! In sympathy, how tender!

—Mrs. Norton.

244

These little shoes! How proud she was of these!
Can you forget how, sitting on your knees,
She used to prattle volubly, and raise
Her tiny feet to win your wondering praise?

—William Canton.

245

INSCRIPTION ON MY LITTLE SON'S SILVER PLATE.

When thou dost eat from off this plate,
I charge thee be thou temperate;
Unto thine elders at the board
Do thou sweet reverence accord;
And, though to dignity inclined,
Unto the serving-folk be kind;
Be ever mindful of the poor,
Nor turn them hungry from the door;
And unto God, for health and food
And all that in thy life is good,
Give thou thy heart in gratitude.

246

Words of praise are almost as necessary to warm a child into a genial life as acts of kindness and affection. Judicious praise is to children what the sun is to flowers.

—Bovee.

247

What the child says out of doors, he has learned indoors.

248

LINES ON MY NEW CHILD-SWEETHEART.

I hold it a religious duty
To love and worship children's beauty;
They've least the taint of earthly clod,
They're freshest from the hand of God;
With heavenly looks they make us sure
The heaven that made them must be pure;
We love them not in earthly fashion,
But with a beatific passion.
I chanced to, yesterday, behold
A maiden child of beauty's mould;
'Twas near, more sacred was the scene,
The palace of our patriot Queen.
The little charmer to my view
Was sculpture brought to life anew.
Her eyes had a poetic glow,
Her pouting mouth was Cupid's bow:
And through her frock I could descry
Her neck and shoulders' symmetry.
'Twas obvious from her walk and gait
Her limbs were beautifully straight;
I stopp'd th' enchantress and was told,
Though tall, she was but four years' old.
Her guide so grave an aspect wore
I could not ask a question more;
But follow'd her. The little one
Threw backward ever and anon
Her lovely neck, as if to say,
"I know you love me, Mister Grey;"
For by its instincts childhood's eye
Is shrewd in physiognomy;
They well distinguish fawning art
From sterling fondness of the heart.
And so she flirted, like a true
Good woman, till we bade adieu.
'Twas then I with regret grew wild,
Oh, beauteous, interesting child!
Why ask'd I not thy home and name?
My courage fail'd me—more's the shame.
But where abides this jewel rare?
Oh, ye that own her, tell me where!
For sad it makes my heart and sore
To think I ne'er may meet her more.

—Thomas Campbell.

249

INASMUCH.

One day a little girl looking out of the window saw a number of poor men from a nearby jail, working in the hot sun of a July day. They looked tired and hot, and she knew they must be thirsty. She remembered Christ's words, "I was thirsty and ye gave Me drink, was in prison, and ye came unto Me," and the thought came to her, "I can do both." With her mother's permission she took a little bucket of cold water, with a dipper, and gave to each man in turn, refilling the bucket several times. As she went from one to another in her white frock, her sweet smile gave even better cheer than the water. The thanks of the prisoners were very hearty. One asked her, "Little lady, what made you do this?"

After a moment's pause, she replied, "That is what Christ said to do, and—I was sorry myself." He lowered his head and said, "God bless you, little Christ-child."

250

A man soon learns how little he knows, when a child begins to ask questions.

251

The child's restless observation, instead of being ignored or checked, should be diligently ministered to, and made as accurate as possible.

—Herbert Spencer.

252

Speak gently to the little child!
Its love be sure to gain;
Teach it in accents soft and mild:
It may not long remain.

—Geo. W. Hangford.

253

I Samuel ii, 18—"Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child; girded with a linen ephod."

The Rev. John Brown was born in 1722, in the county of Perth in Scotland. In a narrative of his experience, he remarks, "I reflect on it as a great mercy, that I was born in a family which took care of my Christian instruction, and in which I had the privilege of God's worship, morning and evening. About the eighth year of my age, I happened, in a crowd, to push into the church at Abernethy, on a Sacrament Sabbath. Before I was excluded, I heard a minister speak much in commendation of Christ; this, in a sweet and delightful manner, captivated my young affections, and has since made me think that children should never be kept out of church on such occasions."

254

To impose on a child to get by heart a long scroll of phrases without any ideas, is a practice fitter for a jackdaw than for anything that wears the shape of man.

—Dr. I. Watts.

255

The tear down childhood's cheek that flows,
Is like the dewdrop on the rose.

—Scott.

256

THE CHILD AND THE "RISING DAY"

The following is a true narrative of an experience in life:

It was nearing three o'clock of last Easter afternoon, when a woman, clad in deepest mourning, entered the gates of the beautiful "sleeping place" on Walnut Hill. Her attitude, as she sank upon a carefully tended mound, denoted deep dejection. She had not yet learned that the "tree of death is fruited with the love of God," neither the joy of the "afterward," but knew only the grope of a stricken soul.

In the distance, sat a child upon a grave, alone. Coming nearer, she recognized him as one who had never known a mother, and whose father had lately been taken, leaving him without kindred. The love between that father and child had been passing sweet.

The bereaved lady knew this, and that he had been thrown homeless upon the world. Yet, absorbed in her own grief, had given him little thought. Drawing near, she observed closely the rare beauty of the boy, scarcely five years of age, genius and nobility stamped on his brow, and exquisite tenderness on the mobile lips.

He looked up eagerly, asking fearlessly, "Is your name Mary? Are you the woman who talked with the angel when the stone was rolled away."

"Oh, no, dear," she replied. "Whom are you looking for?"

"For Jesus!" said the boy reverently.

"But he is not here. He is risen."

"Yes, I know, that's it, but I've been waiting here all day for Him to come and raise my papa up. He's late, and I thought maybe He sent you to tell me to wait a little, just as He sent Mary to tell His disciples, you know," said the boy, wistfully.

"Yes, dear, but"—hesitating to shatter the boy's beautiful faith.

"I am tired" (pathetically), "but it is never too late for Jesus," he added bravely, while a tear rolled down the velvet cheek. "He is sure to come, 'cause it is the Rising Day" (exultingly). "Don't you 'member?"

The woman stooped to kiss the child, and began to sob violently, dropping on the grave beside him.

"What makes you cry, lady? Is your papa here to be raised up?"

"No, no, darling, but my sweet daughter is."

"Don't cry, then," stroking the lady's hand. "Jesus never goes by Rising Day. He'll surely come and give you your little girl and me my papa! He'll come to-night. I saw the two men who came from [256:A]Emmaus go by early this morning, and they will be walking back soon in the evening, and Jesus will meet them and turn and walk with them, and they will all be talking gently about the dying and the rising, and the men will not know Him, but I shall, and He will stop here when I call, and raise my papa up."

"How will you know Him, dear boy?"

"By His smile and the Transfiguration picture that papa showed me in his study. But I'll know Him bestest in here," putting his hand on his breast, "by the love!" raising his lustrous eyes to hers.

"Will you know your papa? Are you sure?"

"My papa!" with wondering ecstatic voice. "My own papa! I shall know him by the love, and you your little girl. They will not look the same, 'cause Jesus didn't, but they knew Him by their love!"

"Yes?"

"And we'll know them by our love!" lingering fondly on the repetition with lustrous, far-seeing gaze.

The woman clasped the child to her breast with a passionate embrace, while rising to meet a supreme hour. (The child must not—shall not be disappointed and his beautiful faith shattered).

"Phillip!" she said, "listen. The angel sent me to tell you that Jesus had gone into heaven, and to take you to your papa. Come!"

Without a moment's hesitation he took his messenger's (?) hand and passed out of the gates, looking not backward by a glance. Expectation held him silent, while the woman's face was illumined by a great light. Entering the door of a pleasant house, she passed on through the hall into the dining-room, saying to the maid: "Bring some food for this dear child; he has fasted all day."

A pitcher of milk and a plate of bread and honey were set beside a plate of cold, broiled fish.

"Now I know this is the house," the boy exclaimed exultingly, "for they had the fish, the bread and the honey! It's all here, just the same, and he'll come to-night!"

Turning swiftly to the hall, the woman almost flew along the corridor to meet her husband's steps. Drawing him to one side, she told with rapture of her encounter and the sweet expectancy below.

"Now, Harold, Heaven has sent us a child, who shall be the angel to roll away the stone from our grave. His wonderful vision must not be darkened, neither his faith destroyed. Rise, my husband, to the most glorious hour of your life. 'I shall know him by the love,' he said. Let us see that he does."

Returning for the child and extending her hand with a smile, he eagerly asked, "Will you wash and comb me to meet my papa? It isn't too late yet, is it?"

The voice was half a sob, but full of hope. The ineffable trust pierced her heart while reassuring him with swift, tender tones.

"Come, Phillip, we will go to him," she cried tremblingly.

As she opened the door upon a winning, noble-faced man with tears on his cheek, smiling with outstretched arms upon the boy, he hesitated a moment, took one step forward and then leaped into the open arms, threw his noble head back, and gazed with lustrous, questioning eyes.

"You don't look like my papa, quite."

"No?" (anxiously).

"'Cause you are changed. But I know you by the love, and you know me, don't you?"

"By the love, dear boy," with shining eyes, but marble lips.

The child nestled down upon the breast, his chest heaving, while the man stroked the soft curls, soothing him with every word known to love's alphabet, till finally, crooning a cradle song, the exhausted child fell asleep. He had found a father by the love. His faith was saved, and by it, she who had groped blindly among the tombs had found her Easter.

—From the Christian Observer, March 30, 1904.
By Mrs. Helen Strong Thompson.

FOOTNOTES:

[256:A] St. Luke, xxiv, 13.

257

Say "Yes" and "No" to a child and stick to it. This is the beginning of discipline.

258

The way to spoil a child is to give it all it wants and require nothing in return. The way to make a child grow up sensible and unselfish is to give it little, and require of it much. For it is not what others do for us that benefits us, but what we do for ourselves and others.

259

Some one truly said, the best way for a man to train up a child in the way it should go, is to travel that way sometimes himself.

260

I Kings, i, 6—"His father had not displeased him at any time in saying, 'Why hast thou done so?'"

A young man, as he was going to the place of execution, desired to whisper something into his mother's ear; but when she came, instead of whispering, he bit off her ear, telling her, that it was because she did not chastise him for his faults when a boy, he was brought to such an unhappy end.

261

Could it be believed that a child should be forced to learn the rudiments of a language which he is never to use, and neglect the writing a good hand, and casting accounts?

—Locke.

262

Childhood shows the man, as morning shows the day.

—Milton.

263

Children, a bond of union than which the human heart feels none more endearing.

264

What children hear at home soon flies abroad.

265

CHILDREN.

I never hear parents exclaim impatiently, "Children, you must not make so much noise," that I do not think how soon the time may come when, beside the vacant chair, those parents would give all the world, could they hear once more the ringing laughter which once so disturbed them.

—A. E. Kittredge.

266

Children are certain cares, but uncertain comforts.

267

What is there in nature so dear to man as his own children?

—Cicero.

268

The dutifulness of children is the foundation of all virtues.

—Cicero.

269

His cares are eased with intervals of bliss:
His little children, climbing for a kiss,
Welcome their father's late return at night.

—Dryden.

270

A BAD EXAMPLE.

Whatever parent gives his children good instruction, and sets them at the same time a bad example, may be considered as bringing them food in one hand, and poison in the other.

271

Children have neither past nor future; and what scarcely ever happens to us, they enjoy the present.

—La Bruyere.

272

An honorable life is the best legacy a father can leave to his children.

273

Children should not be flattered, but they should be encouraged. They should not be so praised as to make them vain and proud, but they should be commended when they do well.

274

Children are excellent physiognomists, and soon discover their real friends.

275

Dr. Guthrie—He believed—to use his own words—that "where parents will never punish their children, those children will punish them."

From Dr. Guthrie's Memoir.

276

Indulgence to children breeds ingratitude.

277

A man who gives his children habits of industry, provides for them better than by giving them a fortune.

Whately.

278

Choose rather to leave your children well instructed than rich. For the hopes of the learned are better than the riches of the ignorant.

279

WOULD YOU HAVE ANSWERED SO?

You would not be in a Japanese house long without noticing their extreme politeness, and that this politeness was especially shown by children toward their parents. The one thing that Japanese children must learn is perfect obedience; a child would as soon think of refusing to do a thing altogether, when told, as to ask why he must do it.

A little * * * girl, the child of a missionary, was playing in the street with some Japanese children.

"Mary," called her father from the house, "come in."

As she paid no attention, the others thought she had not heard, and began to say to her: "Your august father is calling you," "Your honorable parent is beckoning to you," and so on.

"I don't care," said Mary.

The children stopped playing and looked at her in astonishment. Her father called her again. This time she answered crossly, "I don't want to come in. What for?"

At this the children picked up their playthings and hurried home, talking excitedly all the way. "Rude little foreigner!" "Bad little girl!" they said, and it was a long time before Mary saw anything of her friends again.

Juniors in Japan.

280

Children—Living jewels, dropped unstained from Heaven.

—Pollock.

281

Children know,
Instinctive taught, the friend and foe.

282

Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time.

283

Children are like the to-morrow of society.

—Whately.

284

Children think not of what is past, nor what is to come, but enjoy the present time, which few of us do.

—Bruyere.

285

Children—I love these little people; and it is not a slight thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us.

—Dickens.

286

Love of children is always the indication of a genial nature, a pure and unselfish heart.

287

MY CHILDREN.

What use to me the gold and silver hoard?
What use to me the gems most rich and rare?
Brighter by far—aye! bright beyond compare—
The joys my children to my heart afford!

288

Children need models rather than critics.

—Joseph Joubert.

289

Spurgeon said: "With children we must mix gentleness with firmness; they must not always have their own way, but they must not always be thwarted. If we never have headaches through rebuking them, we shall have plenty of heartaches when they grow up. If you yield up your authority once, you will hardly ever get it again."

290

Parents deserve reproof when they refuse to benefit their children by proper discipline.

291

My dearest pastime is with children.

292

Children are poor men's riches.

293

Nothing has a better effect upon children than praise.

—Sir P. Sidney.

294

Their Little Needs—It is often asserted that both men and women would be selfish beings but for children. They call out, and refine, and soften the best feelings of the parental heart. Their little needs are so many, and their simple ignorance so affecting, and their very caprices so winning, that love and attention flow out to them almost instinctively.

That must be a hardened nature which can be unmoved by the soft touch, the playful childishness, and the hundred little pranks of a baby.

—Unknown.

295

You can not expect better manners from your children than you teach them. They imitate instinctively.

296

Children should be taught early to sympathize with the deformed, the crippled, and otherwise unfortunate beings: A little dwarfed girl in one of our great cities committed suicide a few years ago because she was so weary of being laughed at and ridiculed by her associates in the streets and at school.

An old street pedlar was set upon by school children and so annoyed and misused that he became insane.

297

MY CHILDREN STILL.

A young preacher recently called upon an eminent Divine, and in the course of conversation asked him how many children he had. "Four, sir," was the reply. At the supper-table, the visitor perceived two beautiful children seated by the side of the mother. Turning to his host, he said, "I thought you had four children, sir: Where are the other two?" Lifting his eyes, the holy man of God pointed upwards, while a sweet smile broke over his countenance. "They are in Heaven," he repeated slowly and calmly; "yet my children still: not dead, but gone before."

298

Dr. Samuel Johnson once said, "Above all, accustom your children constantly to tell the truth; without varying in any circumstance." A lady who heard him said, "Nay, this is too much, for a little variation in narrative must happen a thousand times a day, if one is not perpetually watching." "Well, madam," said the Doctor, "you ought to be perpetually watching."

299

He knows not what love is, that has no children.

300

Children are travelers newly arrived in a strange country; we should therefore make conscience not to mislead them.

301

IT'S ONLY ME.

A lady had two children—both girls. The elder was a fair child; the younger a beauty, and the mother's pet. Her whole love centered in it. The elder was neglected, while "Sweet" (the pet name of the younger) received every attention that affection could bestow. One day, after a severe illness, the mother was sitting in the parlor, when she heard a childish footstep on the stairs, and her thoughts were instantly with the favorite.

"Is that you, Sweet?" she enquired.

"No, mamma," was the sad, touching reply, "it isn't Sweet: it's only me."

The mother's heart smote her; and from that hour "only me" was restored to an equal place in her affections.

302

Children are usually what their mothers were, or are.

—Landor.

303

Be careful to discountenance in children anything that looks like rage and furious anger.

—Tillotson.

304

Children will grow up substantially what they are by nature—and only that.

—Mrs. Stowe.

305

St. Luke, xxiv, 29—"Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."

(Two of the disciples to our Lord on the way to Emmaus.)

306

DESCRIPTION OF THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST.

The following description is alleged to be derived from an ancient manuscript sent by Publius Lentellus, President of Judea, to the Senate of Rome:

"There lives at this time in Judea, a man of singular character, whose name is Jesus Christ. The barbarians esteem Him as their prophet; but His followers adore Him as the immediate offspring of the immortal God. He is endowed with such unparalleled virtue as to call back the dead from their graves and to heal every kind of disease with a word or a touch. His person is tall and elegantly shaped; His aspect, amiable and reverend; His hair flows in those beauteous shades which no united colors can match, falling in graceful curls below His ears, agreeably couching on His shoulders, and parting on the crown of His head; His dress, that of the sect of Nazarites; His forehead is smooth and large; His cheeks without blemish, and of roseate hue; His nose and mouth are formed with exquisite symmetry; His beard is thick and suitable to the hair of His head, reaching a little below His chin, and parting in the middle below; His eyes are clear, bright, and serene.

"He rebukes with mildness, and invokes with the most tender and persuasive language—His whole address, whether in word or deed, being elegantly grave, and strictly characteristic of so exalted a being. No man has seen Him laugh, but the whole world beholds Him weep frequently, and so persuasive are His tears that the whole multitude can not withhold their tears from joining in sympathy with Him. He is moderate, temperate, and wise; in short, whatever the phenomenon may turn out in the end, He seems at present to be a man of excellent beauty and Divine perfection, every way surpassing man."

307

LAST SUPPER.

To turn one's back on the Memorial Supper is to disregard the most tender, and loving, and melting of all our Saviour's commandments. It is not needful to know just how obedience will help us. It is enough to know that it was His dying command that we keep it till He come.

—Henry M. Grout.

308

No man ought to profess the name of Christ who is not willing to do the deeds of Christ.

309

Our Saviour is represented everywhere in Scripture as the special patron of the poor and afflicted.

—Atterbury.

310

IS NOT THIS THE CARPENTER?

Mark, vi, 3.

Yes, yes, a Carpenter, same trade as mine.
It warms my heart as I read that line.
I can stand the hard work, I can stand the poor pay,
For I'll see that Carpenter at no distant day.

—From Thoughts for Every-day Living.

311

He that thinks he hath no need of Christ hath too high thoughts of himself. He that thinks Christ can not help him hath too low thoughts of Christ.

—John Mason.

312

A Christian is the highest style of man.

—Young.

313

He that is a good man, is three-quarters of his way towards the being a good Christian, wheresoever he lives, or whatsoever he is called.

—South.

314

There is no fire without heat,
No light without brightness,
No voice without sound,
No water without moisture,
And there is no Christian
Who is not Christlike.

—Rev. L. W. Irwin.

315

As Henry Drummond, on board a government packet, was steaming away from that group of islands known as the New Hebrides, after having visited the missions there, he was asked by a fellow-passenger who had been visiting the islands for a very different purpose, what good the missionary had been to those people. "My dear young man," said Drummond, "only for the missionary, you and I, instead of being in this cabin, would probably by this time have been inside some of those savages, as you call them, who waved us such an affectionate farewell from their shores." Yes, Christianity is now recognized the world over, as foremost among the moral forces that are civilizing the dark corners of the earth. Even Matthew Arnold was forced to admit that there is no civilization without it. "Show me," he said, "ten square miles outside of Christianity where the life of man or woman is safe, and I'll throw over Christianity at once."

—From the Missionary Outlook.

316

Christmas is truly merry only to those who think of others.

317

PLENTY OF ROOM.

A visiting bishop, in Washington, was arguing with a senator on the desirability of attending church. At last he put the question squarely: "What is your personal reason for not attending?"

The senator smiled in a no-offense-intended way, as he replied: "The fact is, one finds so many hypocrites there."

Returning the smile, the bishop said:

"Don't let that keep you away, senator; there's always room for one more."

—Evening Post.

318

Some bring their clothes to church rather than themselves.

319

Bare communion with a good church can never alone make a good man.

—Dr. South.

320

HOW THE CHURCH MUST GROW.

It has seemed sometimes in recent years as if the deaths were more than the births. This has brought home to the Church the absolute need of the revival of religion if Christianity is not to perish from the world which it has re-made. The Church is not an establishment in the world, but an encampment. She has no natural increase. She lives only by capture, by winning over from the world the citizens that make her number. One must arm another with the Christian panoply, if the Church is to continue.

—The British Weekly.

321

HOW TO WARM UP THE CHURCH.

I was once preaching in Scotland, and when I got to the church it was so cold that I could see my breath three feet away, said Rev. D. L. Moody. I said to the "beadle," as they call him:

"Aren't you going to have any heat in this building?"

He said they had no stoves or any other provision for heat.

"Well, how do you expect people to get warm?"

"Oh!" he said, "we expect the pulpit to warm us up."

Note: In Dr. Guthrie's Autobiography, vol. I, page 125—Describing the first church he became pastor of, in Arbirlot, in 1830, he says: "As to stoves, they were never thought of—the pulpit had to keep the people warm."

322

LATE CHURCH-GOERS.

A minister, observing that some of his people made a practice of coming in very late, and after a considerable part of the sermon was over, determined that they should feel the force of public reproof. One day, therefore, as they entered the place of worship at their usual late hour, the minister, addressing his congregation, said: "But, my hearers, it is time for us now to conclude, for here are our friends just come to fetch us home."

We may easily conjecture what the parties felt at this curious but pointed address.

—Anon.

323

BOTH KEPT AWAKE IN CHURCH.

A country minister in Scotland, who was much annoyed by two members of his congregation, Macpherson and Macintosh, sleeping during the sermon, hit upon a way to put an end to this state of matters. Calling on Macintosh, he said: "By the way, Mr. Macintosh, have you ever noticed Mr. Macpherson sleeping during the sermon?" "Many a time," replied Macintosh, virtuously. "Well, next Sunday you might sit beside Macpherson and try and keep him awake." "I'll do that sir," said Macintosh. Then the minister went to Macpherson and went through the same programme concerning Macintosh.

Next Sunday it was highly amusing to those in the secret to see Macintosh and Macpherson sitting next to each other, both perfectly wide awake.

324

When once thy foot enters the church, beware, God is more there than thou; for thou art there only by His permission. Then beware and make thyself all reverence and fear.

—Herbert.

325

Take the child to church, whether he likes it or not. What he likes has nothing to do with it; what is best for him is the only question.

—Bishop Vincent.

326

There are two classes of people in the church; the one is made up of those who do the hard work of the church, and the other of those who sit at home and—criticise.

—Lutheran Weekly.

327

Men are dependent on circumstances, and not circumstances on men.

—Herodotus.

328

A great merchant was asked by what means he contrived to realize so large a fortune as he possessed. His reply was: "Friend, by one article alone, in which thou may'st deal too if thou pleasest—civility."

329

Civility is a desire to receive civility, and to be accounted well-bred.

—Rochefoucauld.

330

The clergyman who lives in the city may have piety, but he must have taste.

—Emerson.

331

AN IDEAL.

Before me on the mantel-block,
There ticks a busy little clock—
The measurer of time.
It never stops or tries to shirk;
Unceasingly it plies its work
With zeal almost sublime.

Oh could I work as steadily,
Oh could I just as faithful be,
As this minute machine—
My life would be filled with success,
with industry,
with usefulness,
and happiness serene.

M. in Hampden-Sidney Magazine.

332

I do not envy a clergyman's life as an easy life, nor do I envy the clergyman who makes it an easy life.

—Dr. Johnson.

333

A clergyman should never come tired before his people, but rather like an engine when it leaves the round-house, oiled, equipped with fuel and water, and with all its strength waiting to be put forth.

334

In his last annual report, President Eliot states that the average age of students entering Harvard is eighteen years of age and ten months. He then intimates that if students could be induced to enter college earlier, as they did in Emerson's time, there would be fewer failures.

335

When musing on companions gone
We doubly feel ourselves alone.

336

"Aye gang (always go) wi' them that's better than yerself."

—Old Scotch Saying.

If this was done generally, there would be a levelling up, instead of a levelling down.

337

Pleasant company shortens the miles.

338

COMPENSATION.

Mothers of many, with envious eyes,
Gaze as I drive through the evening cool,
Swift as I pass them, we mingle our sighs,
For my arms are empty—and theirs over-full.

"See her," they say, "with her laces and pearls!
All for the rich! 'Tis the world's common rule.
We have but rags for our boys and our girls;
Empty our pockets—her coffers are full."

Mothers! To yours, tender voices reply,
Little ones' hands at your skirts softly pull;
Widowed and lonely and childless am I,
Empty my heart—though my coffers are full.

—Gus Gordon.

339

POOR AND RICH.

Art thou poor, yet hast thou golden slumbers?
O sweet content!
Art thou rich, yet is thy mind perplexed?
O punishment!

340

Every one must see daily instances of people who complain, from a mere habit of complaining.

—Graves.

341

A compliment is usually accompanied with a bow, as if to beg pardon for paying it.

—J. C. Hare.

342

Illuminate me with a ray of your intelligence!

343

Deference is the most complicate, the most indirect, and the most elegant of all compliments.

344

Legitimate Sport—Those who fish for compliments deserve to get a bite.

345

To attempt to advise conceited people is like whistling against the wind.

—Hood.

346

Never seem wiser, nor more learned, than the people you are with.

347

I've never any pity for conceited people, because I think they carry their comfort about with them.

348

Conceit may puff a man up, but never prop him up.

—Ruskin.

349

Many persons are obliged to their imagination for more than three-fourths of their importance.

350

Discuss your plans with many, decide on them with few, or by yourself.

351

Between right and wrong never waver a moment.

—From the German.

352

Confidence always gives pleasure to the man in whom it is placed.

353

No one so sure but he may miss.

—Dutch.

354

Don't cry hurrah till you are over the bridge.

—From the German.

355

Confidence is a plant of slow growth in an aged bosom.

—Wm. Pitt.

356

He who knows the road, can ride at full trot.

—From the Italian.

357

Never put much confidence in those who put no confidence in others.

—Hare.

358

A good conscience is sometimes sold for money, but never bought with it.

359

Money dishonestly acquired is never worth its cost, while a good conscience never costs as much as it is worth.

360

A clear conscience is a good pillow.

—Kingsley.

361

A quiet conscience makes one so serene!

362

Conscience is the chamber of justice.

—Origen.

363

Conscience may be said to be the voice of God within us.

—Aughey.

364

Conscience, that sound of God in the human heart, whose "still small voice" the loudest revelry can not drown.

—W. H. Harrison.

365

Consistency—Thou art a jewel!

366

Is there no constancy in earthly things?
No happiness in us, but what must alter?

367

Do even as you will, that this dispute live not between us as a consuming fire forever!

368

CONTENTION—AVOIDING OF.

Where two discourse, if the one's anger rise,
The man who lets the contest fall is wise.

—Plutarch.

369

"I never complained of my condition but once," said an old man, "when my feet were bare and I had no money to buy shoes; but I met a man without feet, and became contented."

370

It is right to be contented with what we have, but never with what we are.

—Sir James Mackintosh.

371

A favorite saying of the beloved Dr. John A. Broaddus was: "It is better to like what you have, than to have what you like."

—Christian Observer.

372

If you live according to nature, you never will be poor; if according to the world's caprice, you never will be rich.

373

Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air
In his own ground.

374

Since we have loaves, let us look not for cakes.

—Spanish.

375

To be content with little is difficult; to be content with much—impossible.

—Marie Ebner Eschenbach.

376

If thou hast but little, make it not less by murmuring.

—Quarles.

377

Contentment will make a cabbage look as fair as a palace.

—W. Secker.

378

May we never murmur without a cause, nor have cause to murmur.

379

He that is rich need not live sparingly, and he that can live sparingly need not be rich.

380

Some have too much, yet still do crave;
I have little, and seek no more:
They are but poor, though much they have,
And I am rich with little store;
They poor, I rich; they beg, I give;
They lack, I have; they pine, I live.

—Sir Edward Dyer, (Died 1607.)

381

If all the gems of earth were mine
And wealth and power were to me sent,
How infinitely poor I'd be
Without content.

—Annie W. McCoy.

382

Is it possible to find perfect contentment? Some one once said:—"The secret of perfect contentment is, that there isn't any."

383

"It is a great blessing to possess what one wishes," said one to an ancient philosopher, who replied, "It is a greater blessing still, not to desire what one does not possess."

384

Contentment is a pearl of great price, and whoever procures it at the expense of ten thousand desires, makes a wise and happy purchase.

—J. Balgury.

385

He that deserves nothing should be content with anything.

386

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

—Epictetus.

387

When the well is dry, then we all know the worth of water.

388

In conversation avoid the extremes of
Forwardness
and Reserve.

—Cato.

389

Conversation.—To please others we should talk on subjects they like and that interest them; avoid disputes, seldom ask questions, and never let them see that we pretend to be better informed than they are.

—Rochefoucauld.

390

The first ingredient in conversation is truth, the next good sense, the third good humor, and the fourth wit.

—Sir W. Temple.

391

Conversation is the music of the mind; an intellectual orchestra, where all the instruments should bear a part, but where none should play together.

—Colton.

392

Never argue in society; if any person differs from you, bow, and turn the conversation.

—Beaconsfield.

393

I never, with important air,
In conversation overbear.

—Gay's Fables.

394

One of the best rules in conversation is, never say a thing which any of the company can reasonably wish had been left unsaid.

—Swift.

395

Conversation.—As it is the mark of great minds to say many things in a few words, so it is that of little minds to use many words to say nothing.

"So much they talked, so very little said."

396

To say nothing charmingly is a great gift.

397

Conversation.—In general those who nothing have to say contrive to spend the longest time in doing it.

—An Oriental Apologue.

398

With thee conversing, I forget all time.

—Milton.

399

It is better to turn back than to go astray.

—From the German.

400

He who converses with no one, learns nothing.

401

As rust corrupts iron, so envy corrupts man.

—Antisthenes.

402

Corporations have no souls:—Lord Chancellor Thurlow said, "that corporations have neither bodies to be punished, nor souls to be condemned; they therefore do as they like."

403

Corruption is a tree, whose branches are
Of an unmeasurable length: they spread
Ev'rywhere; and the dew that drops from thence
Hath infected some chairs and stools of authority.

—Beaumont and Fletcher.

404

The thatched cottage where one is merry, is preferable to a palace where one weeps.

—From the Chinese.

405

Good counsel never comes too late.

—German.

406

From a safe port 'tis easy to give counsel.

407

He that winna be counselled canna be helped.

—Scotch.

408

In many counsellors there is safety.

—From the Latin.

409

Cheerful looks make every dish a feast,
And 'tis that, that crowns a welcome.

—Massinger.

410

The countenance is frequently more expressive than the tongue.

411

A pleasing countenance is no slight advantage.

—Duport.

412

A smiling countenance indicates courtesy, joy, good humor and happiness.

413

The character of a man's native country is as strongly impressed on his mind as its accent is on his tongue.

—Rochefoucauld.

414

RURAL LIFE.

The fact that the following verses are heard to-day proves their "convenience," to say the least, for they were written by William Livingston in 1747:——

Mine be the pleasure of a rural life,
From noise remote, and ignorant of strife,
Far from the painted belle and white-gloved beau,
The lawless masquerade, and midnight show,
From lapdogs, courtiers, garters, stars,
Fops, fiddlers, tyrants, emperors, and czars!

—Christian Advocate

415

THE COUNTRY.

A breath of unadulterated air,
The glimpse of a green pasture, how they cheer
The citizen, and brace his languid frame.
Even in the stifling bosom of the town;
A garden, in which nothing thrives, has charms
That soothe the rich possessor.
And are these not all proofs that man immured
In cities, still retains his inborn inextinguishable
Thirst of rural scenes, compensating his loss
By supplemental shifts the best he may?

416

LOVE OF COUNTRY.

Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
"This is my own—my Native Land!"
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned
As home his footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on a foreign strand?
If such there breathe, go—mark him well;
For him no minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim—
Despite those titles, power and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung.

—Sir Walter Scott.

417

The wise men of Greece were asked which was the best governed country. Clemenese replied, "the people who have more respect for the laws than the orators."

418

He who loves not his country, can love nothing.

419

A great deal of talent is lost to the world for the want of courage.

—S. Smith.

420

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.

—Emerson.

421

The courtesy with which I receive a stranger, and the civility I show him, form the background on which he paints my portrait.

422

Courtesy on one side, never lasts long.

423

Men dream in courtship, but in wedlock wake.

—Pope.

424

Courtship and Marriage.—"Their courtship was carried on in poetry." Alas! many a pair have courted in poetry, and after marriage lived in prose.

—Foster.

425

Courtship may be said to consist of a number of quiet attentions, not so pointed as to alarm, nor so vague as not to be understood.

—Sterne.

426

Covetousness.—A young man once picked up a sovereign lying in the road. Ever afterward, in walking along, he kept his eye fixed steadily upon the ground in hopes to find another. And in the course of a long life he did pick up, at different times, a goodly number of coins, gold and silver. But all these years, while he was looking for them, he saw not that the heavens were bright above him, and nature beautiful around. He never once allowed his eye to look up from the mud and filth in which he sought his treasure; and when he died—a rich old man—he only knew this fair earth as a dirty road to pick up money as you walk along. Thus you see the desire of having is the sin of covetousness.

—Dr. Jeffrey.

427

The coward only threatens when he is secure.

—Goethe.

428

The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

429

Credit, like a looking-glass, broken once, is gone, alas!

430

He who doesn't take care of his credit will soon have none to take care of.

431

There are two directly opposite reasons why some men cannot get credit—one is because he is not known—the other because he is.

432

THE CRITIC.

The critic stood with scornful eye
Before a picture on the wall:
"You call this art? Now see that fly,
It is not natural at all.

It has too many legs, its head
Is far too large—who ever saw
A fly like that, so limp and dead,
And wings that look as if they—pshaw!"

And with a gesture of disgust
He waved his hand, when lo! the fly
Flew from the picture. "Ah! some dust,"
The critic said, "was in my eye."

—Henry Coyle.

Some one has said that finding fault is done on a smaller capital than any other business, and it is a very fascinating business, too, for people of—small calibre.

433

A man must serve his time to every trade,
Save censure; critics all are ready-made.

—Byron.

434

The culture of a man is like the changing of raw material into the manufactured article. The uncultured man is comparatively helpless and worthless.

—The Religious Telescope.

435

Curiosity! who hath not felt
Its spirit, and before its altar knelt?

436

Custom forms us all;
Our thoughts, our morals, our most fixed belief
Are consequences of our place of birth.

—Hill.

D

437

Daughter.—To a father waxing old nothing is dearer than a daughter; sons have spirits of higher pitch, but less inclined to sweet endearing fondness.

—Euripides.

438

BEREFT OF AN ONLY DAUGHTER.

This day my loved one leaves me, and my heart
Is heavy with its grief: the streams of sorrow,
Choked at the source, repress my faltering voice.
I have no words to speak; mine eyes are dimmed
By the dark shadows of the thoughts that rise
Within my soul. If such the force of grief
In an old hermit parted from his nursling,
What anguish must the stricken parent feel
Bereft forever of an only daughter!

Weep not my daughter, check the gathering tear
That lurks beneath thine eyelid, ere it flow
And weaken thy resolve; be firm and true—
True to thyself and me, the path of life
Will lead o'er hill and plain, o'er rough and smooth,
And all must feel the steepness of the way,
Tho' rugged be thy course, press boldly on.

Honor thy betters; even be respectful
To those above thee. Should thy wedded lord
Treat thee with harshness, thou must never be
Harsh in return, but patient and submissive.
Be to thy menials courteous, and to all
Placed under thee considerate and kind:
Be never self-indulgent, but avoid
Excess in pleasure; and, when fortune smiles
Be not puffed up. Thus to thy husband's house
Wilt thou a blessing prove, and not a curse.

439

See here it is dawning
Another bright day:
Think wilt thou let it
Slip uselessly away?

440

He mourns the dead who lives as they desire.

—Dr. E. Young.

441

One of the Fathers said: "That there is but this difference between the death of old and young men,—that old men go to death, and death comes to young men."

—Bacon.

442

THE REPROOF OF A FOOL.

There was a certain nobleman who kept a fool, to whom he one day gave a staff, with a charge to keep it till he should meet with one who was a greater fool than himself. Not many years after, the nobleman fell sick, even unto death. The fool came to see him: his lord said to him—"I must shortly leave you." "And whither are you going?" said the fool. "Into another world," replied his lordship. "And when will you come again? Within a month?" "No." "Within a year?" "No." "When then?" "Never." "Never!" said the fool, "and what provision hast thou made for thy entertainment there, whither thou goest?" "None at all." "No!" said the fool, "none at all! Here then, take my staff; for with all my folly, I am not guilty of any such folly as this."

443

The divinity who rules within us, forbids us to leave this world without his command.

—Cicero.

444

When a man dies, they who survive him, ask what property he has left behind. The angel who bends over the dying man, asks what good deeds he has sent before him.

445

Happy is, or ought to be, the man who owes nothing.

446

If you would avoid paying debts, avoid incurring them.

447

But wealth and power have no immortal day,
For all things ripen only to decay.

448

DECISION.

Lose this day loitering,—'t will be the same story
To-morrow, and the next more dilatory;
The indecision brings its own delays,
And days are lost lamenting over days.
Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute,
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Only engage, and then the mind grows heated,—
Begin,
And then the work
Will be completed.

—J. W. Von Goethe.

449

Let him that hath done the good office conceal it; let him that hath received it disclose it.

450

NOBLE DEEDS.

He built a house, time laid it in the dust;
He wrote a book, its title now forgot;
He ruled a city, but his name is not
On any tablet graven, or where rust
Can gather from disuse, or marble bust.
He took a child from out a wretched cot,
Who on the state dishonor might have brought,
And reared him to the Christian's hope and trust.
The boy to manhood grown, became a light
To many souls, preached for human need
The wondrous love of the Omnipotent.
The work has multiplied like stars at night
When darkness deepens; every noble deed
Lasts longer, than a granite monument.

—Sarah H. Bolton.

451

"He wishes well" is worthless, unless the deed go with it.

—Plautus.

452

Deformed.—Mock not at those who are misshapen by nature. He that despiseth them despiseth God that made them.

—Dr. Fuller.

453

Away with delay! it always injures those that are prepared.

—Lucan.

454

Do not delay: the golden moments fly!

—Longfellow.

455

True delicacy, that most beautiful heart-leaf of humanity, exhibits itself most significantly in little things.

456

Nothing prevents our being natural so much as the desire to appear so.

—Rochefoucauld.

457

Remember that your dependents have seldom a full power of replying to you; and let the recollection of that make you especially considerate in your dealings with them.

—Sir Arthur Helps.

458

Honorable descent is in all nations greatly esteemed; besides, it is to be expected that the children of men of worth will be like their fathers.

—Aristotle.

459

When any great design thou dost intend,
Think on the means, the manner, and the end.

—Sir J. Denham.

460

The desires of man increase with his acquisitions.

—Dr. Johnson.

461

DESTINY.

Ships that pass at night, and speak each other in passing,
Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness:
So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another,
Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.

—Longfellow.

462

INSCRIPTION FOR A SUN-DIAL.

The shadow by my finger cast
Divides the future from the past:
Before it sleeps the unborn hour
In darkness, and beyond thy power:
Behind its unreturning line,
The vanished hour, no longer thine:
One hour alone is in thy hands—
The Now on which the shadow stands.

—Henry Van Dyke.

463

RISE ABOVE YOUR DIFFICULTIES.

Not till after the death of a member of Parliament, a prominent county magistrate, the owner of large estates, and an active, public-spirited man in all local and national matters, was it known by those who had not seen him, that it was but the misshapen block of a man that had lived this active, manly life.

He was born with neither legs nor arms. After his death his story was told: how he resolved, when but a boy, to act and live as did other boys, without regard to his horrible misfortune; how he persisted in studying every book, in learning every game, in joining in every amusement possible to him, with his companions. How, to the last year of his life, he held himself to be as responsible as other men, and bravely paid every tithe of duty to God and to his fellows.

Even in lesser matters in life he pressed to the front. He was the most genial, witty guest at social dinner tables. Strapped to his horse, he hunted foxes in Yorkshire, or tigers in India, and with his brothers made long journeys in other parts of the world. Everywhere his cheerfulness and gaiety gave new life to duller souls.

Is there no lesson for us all in the life of this gallant gentleman?

—Youth's Companion.

464

Dr. Roux, the celebrated French physician, said: "The greater part of preparation for the digestion of food takes place in the mouth."

465

True dignity exists independent of—
"Studied gestures or well-practiced smiles."

466

We have all met with a great many disappointments, and if we live much longer, shall likely meet with many more.

467

Discontented People.—You have such a February face,
So full of frost, of storm, and cloudiness.

468

'Tis not my talent to conceal my thoughts,
Or carry smiles and sunshine in my face,
When discontent sits heavy at my heart.

—Addison.

469

Discontent is a man's, and a woman's, worst enemy.

470

DISCONTENT.

Thinkest thou the man whose mansions hold
The worldling's pomp, and miser's gold,
Obtains a richer prize
Than he, who, in his cot at rest,
Finds heavenly peace a willing guest,
And bears the promise in his breast
Of treasures in the skies?

—Mrs. Sigourney.

471

Be discreet in all things, and so render it unnecessary to be mysterious about anything.

—Wellington.

472

Thy friend has a friend, and thy friend's friend has a friend;—be discreet.

473

Woe unto him that increaseth that which is not his!

—Habakkuk 2, 6v.

474

No man's disposition will alter, say what we may.

475

Shut not thy purse-strings always against distress.

—Charles Lamb.

476

Thou, who feelest not for the distress of others,
Meritest not to be called by the name of man.

477

It is better occasionally to be deceived in people than for one to be always distrustful.

478

God and the doctor we alike adore
In times of danger, only,—not before:
The danger past, both are alike requited;
God, is alas!—forgotten, and the doctor—slighted.

—Anon.

479

Did you never observe that dogs have not the power of comparing? A dog will take a small bit of meat as readily, when both are before him.

—Dr. Sam'l Johnson.

480

THE FAITHFUL DOG.

When wise Ulysses, from his native coast
Long kept by wars, and long by tempests tost,
Arrived at last, poor, old, disguised, alone,
To all his friends, and ev'n his queen, unknown:
Chang'd as he was with age, and toils, and cares,
Furrow'd his rev'rend face, and white his hairs,
In his own palace forc'd to ask his bread,
Scorn'd by those slaves his former bounty fed,
Forgot of all his own domestic crew;
The faithful dog alone his master knew!
Unfed, unhous'd, neglected, on the clay
Like an old servant, now cashier'd he lay;
And, tho' e'en then expiring on the plain
Touch'd with resentment of ungrateful man,
And longing to behold his ancient lord again.
Him, when he saw—he rose, and crawl'd to meet,
'Twas all he could, and fawn'd, and kiss'd his feet,
Seized with dumb joy: then, falling by his side,
Own'd his returning lord, look'd up, and died.

—Pope.

481

Food remains for three days in the stomach of the dog, because God knew that his food would be scanty.

—From the Talmud.

482

If you are in doubt whether to write a letter or not—don't! The advice applies to doubts in life besides that of letter writing.

—Zoroaster.

483

Our doubts are traitors,
And make us love the good we oft might win,
By fearing to attempt.

—Shakespeare.

484

THE ORPHAN BOY'S DREAM.

The room is old—the night is cold,—
But night is dearer far than day;
For then, in dreams, to him it seems
That she's returned who's gone away!
His tears are pass'd—he clasps her fast,—
Again she holds him on her knee;
And, in his sleep, he murmurs deep,
"Oh! mother, go no more from me!"

485

Dreams.—Children of night, of indigestion bred.

—Churchill.

486

We sacrifice to dress, till household joys
And comforts cease. Dress drains our cellar dry,
And keeps our larder lean; puts out our fires,
And introduces hunger, frost and woe,
Where peace and hospitality might have reign'd.

—Cowper.

487

Those who think that in order to dress well, it is necessary to dress extravagantly or grandly, make a great mistake. Nothing so well becomes true feminine beauty as simplicity.

No real happiness is found
In trailing purple o'er the ground.

—Geo. D. Prentice.

488

Numbers vi, 3.—"He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink."

A heathen king, who had been for years confirmed in the sin of drunkenness by the evil practices of white men on the Sandwich Islands, had been led to forsake the dreadful habit. He said lately to a missionary, "suppose you put four thousand dollars in one hand, and a glass of rum in the other; you say, you drink this rum, I give you four thousand dollars, I no drink it; you say you kill me, I no drink it."

489

THE RIGHT ANSWER.

In an address to a temperance society, Admiral Capps told a story which is printed in the New York Tribune.—A man who had ruined his health with alcohol sat looking sadly at his wife, to whom he had made many promises of reform.

"Jenny," he said, "you are a clever woman, a courageous, good woman. You should have married a better man than I am."

She looked at him, thin-limbed and stoop-shouldered, prematurely old, and answered, quietly, "I did, James."

490

Genesis ix, 21—"Noah drank of the wine, and was drunken."

A person in Maryland, who was addicted to drunkenness, hearing a considerable uproar in his kitchen one night, felt the curiosity to step without noise to the door, to know what was the matter; when he found his servants indulging in the most unbounded roars of laughter at a couple of negro boys, who were mimicking himself in his drunken fits!—as how he reeled and staggered—how he looked and nodded—and hiccupped and tumbled. The pictures which these children of nature drew of him, and which had filled the rest with such inexhaustible merriment, struck him with so salutary a disgust, that from that night he became a perfectly sober man, to the great joy of his wife and children.

491

From drink, with its ruin, and sorrow and sin,
I surely am safe if I never begin.

492

Pray tell me whence you derive the origin of the word dun? The true origin of this expression owes its birth to one Joe Dunn, a famous bailiff of the town of Lincoln, England, so extremely active, and so dexterous at the management of his rough business, that it became a proverb, when a man refused to pay his debts, "Why don't you Dun him?" that is, why don't you send Dun to arrest him? Hence it grew a custom, and is now as old as since the days of Henry VII.

—Mulledulcia.

493

Knowledge is the hill which few may hope to climb;
Duty is the path that all may tread.

—Lewis Morris.

494

When a minister preaches his sermon, he should do so fearlessly, i. e. like a man who cuts up a big log,—let the chips fall where they may.

495

Do what you ought, come what may.

—French.

496

Duty:—I hate to see a thing done by halves; if it be right, do it boldly; if wrong, leave it undone.

—Gilpin.

497

Whosoever contents himself with doing the little duties of the day, great things will, by-and-by, present themselves to him for their fulfilment also.

—Howard Pyle.

498

We make time for duties we love.

—Unknown.

E

499

One should choose a wife with the ears, rather than with the eyes.

—Spanish.

500

What is told in the ear, is often heard a hundred miles off.

—Chinese.

501

'Tis easy for any man who has his foot unentangled by sufferings, both to exhort and to admonish him that is in difficulties.

—Aeschylus.

502

If you take things easy when you ought to be doing your best work, you will probably have to keep hard at work when you might be taking it easy.

503

Nothing is easy to the unwilling.

—From the German.

504

He that eats longest lives longest.

505

Half of what we eat is sufficient to enable us to live, and the other half that we eat enables the doctors to live.

—Dr. Osler.

506

Economy is the easy chair of old age.

507

He that will not economize may some day have to agonize.

—Confucius.

508

Economy is no disgrace; it is better living on a little, than living beyond your means.

509

In abundance prepare for scarcity.

—Mencius.

510

Lay up something for a rainy day; it may be needed some day.

511

Economy is something like a savings-bank, into which we drop pennies and get dollars in return.

—H. W. Shaw.

512

Take care to be an economist in prosperity: there is no fear of your being one in adversity.

—Zimmerman.

513

For age and want, save while you may,
No morning sun lasts a whole day.

514

Economy is too late at the bottom of the purse.

515

Spend not when you must save,
Spare not when you must spend.

—Italian.

516

Every man must educate himself. His books and teacher are but helps; the work is his.

—Webster.

516a

Scottish Education. "A boy was compelled by the poverty of his parents to leave school and take temporary work as an assistant to Lady Abercombie's gardener. When his services were no longer required, the lady gave him a guinea and said, 'Well, Jack, how are you going to spend your guinea?' 'Oh my lady,' he replied, 'I've just made up my mind to tak' a quarter o' Greek, for I hadna got beyond Latin when I left school."

—Dr. J. Herr.

517

Nearly all things are difficult before they are easy.

—From the French.

518

There is as much eloquence in the tone of voice, in the eyes, and in the air of a speaker, as in his choice of words.

—Rochefoucauld.

519

EXTERNAL SIGNS OF EMOTIONS AND PASSIONS.

One would not imagine who has not given particular attention, that the body should be susceptible to such variety of attitudes and emotions, as readily to accompany every different emotion with a corresponding expression. Humility for example, is expressed naturally by hanging the head; arrogance, by its elevation; and languor or despondence, by reclining it to one side. The expressions of the hands are manifold by different attitudes and motions; they express desire, hope, fear; they assist us in promising, in inviting, in keeping one at a distance; they are made instruments of threatening, of supplication, of praise, and of horror; they are employed in approving, in refusing, in questioning; in showing our joy, our sorrow, our doubts, our regret, and our admiration.

—Lord Hames.

520

The evil one does not tempt people whom he finds suitably employed.

—Jeremy Taylor.

521

To be employed is to be happy.

—Gray.

522

Do good to thy friend, that he may be more thy friend; and unto thy enemy, that he may become thy friend.

523

He who has a thousand friends,
Has never a one to spare,
And he who has one enemy,
Will be apt to meet him everywhere.

524

Boswell said of Dr. Johnson—"Though a stern true-born Englishman, and fully prejudiced against all other nations, he had discernment enough to see, and candour enough to censure, the cold reserve too common among Englishmen towards strangers. 'Sir,' said he, (Johnson) 'two men of any other nation who are shown into a room together, at a house where they are both visitors, will immediately find some conversation. But two Englishmen will probably go each to a different window, and remain in obstinate silence. Sir, we as yet do not enough understand the common rights of humanity.'"

525

Rochefoucauld said, "The truest mark of being born with great qualities is being born without envy."

526

If we did but know how little some enjoy the great things they possess, there would not be so much envy in the world.

527

All matches, friendships, and societies are dangerous and inconvenient, where the contractors are not equal.

—Estrange.

528

Equivocation is first cousin to a lie.

—From the French.

529

What has been done amiss should be undone as quickly as possible.

530

Beware of errors of the mouth.

—Hindu.

531

The man who never makes any blunders, seldom makes any good hits.

532

Etiquette.—Good taste rejects excessive nicety; it treats little things as little things, and is not hurt by them.

533

Certain signs precede certain events.

—Cicero.

534

AVOIDING THE SUGGESTION OF EVIL.

Sir Peter Lely made it a rule never to look at a bad picture, having found by experience that whenever he did so, his pencil took a tint from it. Bishop Home said of the above: "Apply this to bad books and bad company."

535

I am endowed by God with power to conquer all evil.

Ursula.

536

How quickly and quietly the eye opens and closes, revealing and concealing a world!

537

OTHER'S EYES.

Achilles: This is not strange, Ulysses,
The beauty that is borne here in the face
The bearer knows not, but commends itself
To other's eyes: nor doth the eye itself,
That most pure spirit of sense behold itself,
Not going from itself, but eye to eye oppos'd
Salutes each other.

—Shakespeare.

538

The silent upbraiding of the eye is the very poetry of reproach; it speaks at once to the imagination.

—Mrs. Balfour.

539

Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears.

—Plautus.

540

Old men's eyes are like old men's memories; they are strongest for things a long way off.

541

The eyes of other people are the eyes that ruin us. If all but myself were blind, I should never want a fine house nor fine furniture.

—Franklin.

542

The eyes are the windows of the soul.

—Hiram Powers.

543

We always weaken whatever we exaggerate.

—La Harpe.

544

He who has seen much of the world, is very prone to exaggeration.

545

Every man is bound to tolerate the act of which he has himself given the example.

—Phaedrus.

546

Noble examples excite us to noble deeds.

547

He who makes excuses, himself accuses.

548

A man must often exercise, or fast, or take physic, or be sick.

—Sir W. Temple.

549

I am no longer the fool I was, I have learned by experience.

550

All is but lip-wisdom, which wants experience.

—Sir Philip Sidney.

551

Among all classes of society we see extravagance keeping pace with prosperity, and indeed outstripping it, realizing Archbishop Whately's paradox: "The larger the income, the harder it is to live within it."

—Hugh S. Brown.

F

552

A clouded face
Strikes deeper than an angry blow.

553

FACE PICTURES.

We write our lives upon our faces, deep,
An autograph which they will always keep.
Thoughts cannot come and leave behind no trace
Of good or ill; they quickly find a place
Where they who will may read as in a book,
The hidden meaning of our slightest look.

554

Nature has written a letter of credit on some men's faces which is honored wherever it is presented.

—Thackeray.

555

The surest way not to fail, is to determine to succeed.

—Sheridan.

556

THE MOUNTAIN FLOWER.

In Ross-shire, Scotland, there is an immense mountain gorge. The rocks have been rent in twain, and set apart twenty feet, forming two perpendicular walls two hundred feet in height. On either side of these natural walls, in crevices where earth has collected, grow wild flowers of rare quality and beauty. A company of tourists visiting that part of the country were desirous to possess themselves of specimens of these beautiful mountain flowers; but how to obtain them they knew not. At length they thought they might be gathered by suspending a person over the cliff by a rope. They offered a Highland boy, who was near by, a handsome sum of money to undertake the difficult and dangerous task. The boy looked down into the awful abyss that yawned below, and shrunk from the undertaking; but the money was tempting. Could he confide in the strangers? Could he venture his life in their hands? He felt that he could not; but he thought of his father, and, looking once more at the cliff, and then at the proffered reward, his eyes brightened, and he exclaimed: "I'll go if my father holds the rope." Beautiful illustration of the nature of faith.

557

Faith builds a bridge from this world to the next.

—Dr. Young.

558

To be trusted is perhaps a greater compliment than to be loved.

559

He who believes in nobody knows that he himself is not to be trusted.

—Auerbach.

560

Trust not him that hath once broken faith.

—Shakespeare.

561

It goes a great way toward making a man faithful, to let him understand that you think him so.

—Seneca.

562

All that a man gets by being untruthful is, that he is not believed when he speaks the truth.

563

Telling an untruth is like leaving the highway and going into a tangled forest. You know not how long it will take you to get back, or how much you will suffer from the thorns and briers in the wild woods.

564

There is no greater mistake in social life than indulging in over-familiarity. Intercourse, even between intimate friends, should have some dignity about it.

565

A family is a little world within doors; the miniature resemblance of the great world without.

—J. A. James.

566

Where can one be happier than in the bosom of his family?

—Young.

567

FAMILY REUNION.

We are all here—
Father, mother, sister, brother,
All who hold each other dear.
Each chair is filled, we're all at home;
To-night let no stranger come.
It is not often thus around
Our old, familiar hearth we're found
Blessed, then, the meeting and the spot:
For once be every care forgot;
Let gentle peace assert her power,
And kind affection rule the hour:
We're all, all here.

—Charles Sprague.

568

Farewell! a word that must be, and hath been—
A sound which makes us linger;—yet—farewell.

—Byron.

569

FAREWELL.

If thou dost bid thy friend farewell,
But for one night though that farewell may be,
Press thou his hand in thine.
How canst thou tell how far from thee
Fate or caprice may lead his steps ere that to-morrow comes?
Men have been known lightly to turn the corner of a street,
And days have grown to months,
And months to lagging years, ere they
Have looked in loving eyes again....
Yea, find thou always time to say some earnest word
Between the idle talk, lest with thee henceforth,
Night and day, regret should walk.

—Unknown.

570

MAN AND THE FARM.

It is a common complaint that the farm and farm life are not appreciated by our people. We long for the more elegant pursuits, or the ways and fashions, of the town. But the farmer has the most sane and natural occupation, and ought to find it sweeter, if less highly seasoned, than any other. He alone, strictly speaking, has a home. How many ties, how many resources, he has!—his friendship with his cattle, his team, his dog, his trees; the satisfaction in his growing crops, in his improved fields; his intimacy with nature, with bird and beast, and with the quickening elemental forces; his co-operations with the cloud, the sun, the seasons, heat, wind, rain, frost. It humbles him, teaches him patience and reverence. Cling to the farm, make much of it, put yourself into it, bestow your heart and brain upon it.

—John Burroughs.

571

A HINT TO A FARMER.

Shun thou seats in the shade, nor sleep till the dawn! in the season
When it is harvest-time, and your skin is parched in the sunshine.

572

MY FATHER.

How beautiful is the following picture by Caroline Anne Bowles, only child of Captain Charles Bowles, of Blackland, England. Born 1787:

My father loved the patient angler's art,
And many a summer's day, from early morn
To latest evening, by some streamlet's side,
We two have tarried; strange companionship!
A sad and silent man; a joyous child!
Yet those were days as I recall them now
Supremely happy. Silent though he was,
My father's eyes were often on his child
Tenderly eloquent—and his few words
Were kind and gentle. Never angry tone
Repulsed me if I broke upon his thoughts
With childish question. But I learned at last,
Learned intuitively to hold my peace.
When the dark hour was on him, and deep sighs
Spoke the perturbed spirit—only then
I crept a little closer to his side,
And stole my hand in his, or on his arm
Laid my cheek softly: till the simple wile
Won on his sad abstraction, and he turned
With a faint smile, and sighed and shook his head,
Stooping toward me; so I reached at last
Mine arm about his neck and clasped it close,
Printing his pale brow with a silent kiss.

—From Littell's Living Age.

573

Love for a Father.—In the year 1773, a gentleman in England, whose health was rapidly declining, was advised by his physicians to go to Spa for the recovery of his health. His daughters feared that those who had only motives entirely mercenary would not pay him that attention which he might expect from those who, from duty and affection united, would feel the greatest pleasure in ministering to his ease and comfort; they, therefore, resolved to accompany him. They proved that it was not a spirit of dissipation and gaiety that led them to the springs, for they were not to be seen in any of the gay and fashionable circles; they were never out of their father's company, and never stirred from home, except to attend him, either to take the air or drink the waters; in a word, they lived a most recluse life in the midst of a town then the resort of the most illustrious and fashionable personages of Europe. This exemplary attention to their father procured these three amiable sisters the admiration of all the visitors at Spa, and was the cause of their elevation to that rank in life to which their merits gave them so just a title. They were all married to noblemen: one to the Earl of Beverly, another to the Duke of Hamilton, and a third to the Duke of Northumberland. And it is justice to them to say that they reflected honor on their rank, rather than derived any from it.

—Arvine.

574

MY FATHER.

I have a Father!
It needeth not that I should see His face,
When each new day brings token of His grace.
Who can deny the Power that brings to pass
The yearly miracle of springing grass?
Who can withhold allegiance, that sees
The harvest glory of the fruited trees?

575

Confessing a fault makes half amends.
Denying one doubles it.

576

Not to repent of a fault, is to justify it.

—Pliny.

577

Whoever thinks a faultless one to see
Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er will be.

—Pope.

578

Faults.—Every man has a bag hanging before him, in which he puts his neighbors' faults, and another behind him in which he stows his own.

—Shakespeare.

579

Better find one of our own faults,
Than ten
Of our neighbor's.

580

A GREAT MAN'S FAULTS.

Lord Bolingbroke was one evening at a large party. Political subjects were talked of, and the conversation finally turned on the famous Duke of Marlborough. Every one had something to say against him, many blaming his avarice. Bolingbroke was silent. One of the company inquired, "How is it that you say nothing? You knew him better than all of us, and could tell us a good deal about him." Bolingbroke replied, "He was a great man, and I have forgotten all his faults."

581

Each should be sure of an untarnished name,
Before he ventures others' faults to blame.

582

The greatest of faults, is to be conscious of none.

583

Wink at wee (little) faults; Your ain are muckle.

—Scotch.

584

He who asks timidly courts a refusal.

585

There is pleasure in meeting the eyes of one on whom you are going to confer a favor.

—La Bruyere.

586

FAVORITISM.

A little figure glided through the hall.
"Is that you, Pet?" the words came tenderly.
A sob—suppressed to let the answer fall,—
"It isn't Pet, mama, it's only me."

The quivering baby-lips! They had not meant
To utter any word that could plant a sting,
But to that mother-heart a strange pang went;
She heard, and stood like a convicted thing.

One instant, and a happy little face
Thrilled 'neath unwonted kisses rained above;
And from that moment "Only Me" had place
And part with Pet in tender mother-love.

587

We like better to see those on whom we confer benefits, than those, alas! from whom we receive them.

588

It is not the quantity of the meat but the cheerfulness of the guests, which makes the feast.

—Lord Clarendon.

589

Feast to-day with many makes fast to-morrow.

—Plautus.

590

FEASTING AND FASTING.

Accustom early in your youth
To lay embargo on your mouth;
And let no rarities invite
To pall and glut your appetite;
But check it always, and give o'er
With a desire of eating more;
For where one dies by inanition,
A thousand perish by repletion:
To miss a meal sometimes is good,—
It ventilates and cools the blood.

—Raynard.

591

Every young man has a fine season in his life when he will accept no office, and every young woman has the same in hers, when she will accept no husband; by and by they both change, and often take one another into the bargain.

—Richter.

592

FIDELITY.

He was—True as the needle to the pole,
Or as the dial to the sun.

593

MY OWN FIRESIDE.

Let others seek for empty joys
At ball or concert, rout or play;
Whilst, far from fashion's idle noise,
Her gilded domes, and trappings gay,
I while the wintry eve away,—
'Twixt book and lute the hours divide
And marvel how I e'er could stray
From thee—my own Fireside!

594

All that a fish drinks goes out at the gills.
(Spent as soon as got.)

595

Did we not flatter ourselves, the flattery of others could never hurt us.

—Rochefoucauld.

596

Boswell: "No quality will get a man more friends than a disposition to admire the qualities of others. I do not mean flattery, but a sincere admiration." Johnson: "Nay, Sir, flattery pleases very generally. In the first place, the flatterer may think what he says to be true; but in the second place, whether he thinks so or not, he certainly thinks those whom he flatters of consequence enough to be flattered."

—Boswell's Johnson.

597

Flowers.—These children of the meadows, born of sunshine and of showers!

—Whittier.

598

Flowers.—Pretty daughters of the Earth and Sun.

599

What a desolate place would be a world without a flower! It would be a face without a smile—a feast without a welcome Are not flowers the stars of the earth? and are not the stars we see at night the flowers of heaven?

600

It is my faith that every flower which blows
Enjoys the air it breathes.

—Wordsworth.

601

How many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

—Gray.

602

I never cast a flower away,
The gift of one who cared for me;
A little flower—a faded flower,
But it was done reluctantly.

—L. E. Landon.

603

Flowers are the pledges of fruit.

—From the Danish.

604

He who gives advice to a fool, beats the air with a stick.

605

None is a fool always, everyone sometimes.

606

Infallible Test.—A theological student, supposed to be deficient in judgment, was asked by a professor, in the course of a class examination, "Pray, how would you discover a fool?" "By the questions he would ask," was the rather stunning reply.

607

One never needs one's wits so much as when one has to do with a fool.

608

Nothing is so silly as to insist on being the only person who is right.

609

How ill white hairs become a fool and jester.

610

If all fools wore white caps, the majority of us would look like a flock of geese.

611

Young folks tell what they do, old ones what they have done, and the others (fools) what they intend to do.

612

Where force prevails, right perishes.

—Spanish.

613

If there is a harvest ahead, even a distant one, it is poor thrift to be stingy of your seed-corn!

—Carlyle.

614

A FOREST IDYL.

Stranger, if thou hast learned a truth which needs
No school of long experience, that the world
Is full of guilt and misery, and hast seen
Enough of all its sorrows, crimes and cares
To tire thee of it, enter this wild wood
And view the haunts of Nature. The calm shade
Shall bring a kindred calm, and the sweet breeze
That makes the green leaves dance, shall waft a balm
To thy sick heart.

—Bryant.

615

A retentive memory may be a good thing, but the ability to forget is the true token of greatness.

616

If there be
One of you all that ever from my presence
I have with sadden'd heart unkindly sent,
I here, in meek repentance, of him crave
A brother's hand, in token of forgiveness.

617

'Tis easier for the generous to forgive
Than for the offender to ask it.

618

THE ALTERNATIVES.

A gentleman went to a friend, in great anger at a real injury he had received, which he intended to resent. After relating the particulars, he enquired if it would not be manly to resent it? His friend replied, "Yes; it would doubtless be manly to resent it, but it would be godlike to forgive it."

619

FORGIVENESS.

How beautifully falls
Forgiveness—'tis the attribute of God—
From human lips that bless'd word, Forgive;
Thrice happy he whose heart has been so schooled
That he can give it utterance; it imparts
Celestial grandeur to the human soul,
And maketh man an angel.

620

We forgive just as long as we love.

621

FORGIVE.

Hast thou a grudge within thy breast,
Which time will not repair?
Is hatred still a lurking guest
To intercept thy prayer?
"Forgive, and thou shalt be forgiven"
Is the decree of heaven.

"Till seven times! shall I forgive?"
Was asked our gracious Lord,
List to his answer, heed and live,
"Seventy times seven" 's His word.
"Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven;"
Doubt not the word of heaven.

—Unknown.

622

He that cannot forgive others, breaks down the bridge over which he must pass himself, for every one has need to be forgiven.

—Lord Herbert.

623

The world never forgives; it is only God and our mothers that can do that.

—Ellen F. Fowler.

624

Forgiveness that covers only part of the wrong, is like two fingers given in a handshake.

—Wells.

625

SUPPOSE YOU TRY FORGIVENESS.

The story is told of a British soldier who had broken every rule of the army and on whom every form of punishment had been inflicted without avail. He sinned again. His commanding officer was in despair as to what should be done. A fellow officer said, "Suppose you try forgiveness." The guilty soldier was summoned. On being asked what he had to say in palliation of his offense, he hung his head and replied: "Nothing, except I'm very sorry." "Well," said the officer, "We have decided to forgive you." The culprit looked dazed, burst into tears, saluted, and went out to become one of the best soldiers in the army.

—From The Rise of a Soul.
By James I. Vance.

626

Individuals sometimes forgive, but bodies and societies never do.

627

Nothing is more dangerous to men than a sudden change of fortune.

—Quintilian.

628

The continuance of good fortune forms no ground of ultimate security.

629

Fortune gives too much to many, but to none enough.

—Martial.

630

Good-fortune comes to some people while they are asleep, i. e., without their seeking it.

631

Good fortune that comes seldom, comes more welcome.

—Dryden.

632

How often it is, in the twinkling of an eye one vicissitude of fortune follows another.

—Horatius.

633

That which we acquire with most difficulty, we retain the longest; as those who have earned a fortune are usually more careful of it than those who have inherited one.

—Cotton.

634

Fortune knocks once at least at every one's door.

635

If fortune favors you, do not be too elated; if she frowns, do not despond too much.

636

Manners often make fortunes.

637

Fortune sometimes makes quick despatch, and in a day
May strip you bare as beggary itself.

—Cumberland.

638

The Result of Fortune:—The generality of men sink in virtue as they rise in fortune.

—Sir J. Beaumont.

639

Don't live in hope with your arms folded. Fortune smiles on those who roll up their sleeves and put their shoulders to the wheel.

640

Whil'st fortun'd favour'd; friends, you smil'd on me:
But, when she fled, a friend I could not see.

—Burton.

641

GOD IN THE HEART.

Collins, the freethinker, met a plain countryman going to church. He asked him where he was going. "To church sir." "What to do there?" "To worship God." "Pray, whether is your God a great or little God?" "He is both, sir." "How can He be both?" "He is so great that the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him, and so little that He can dwell in my heart." Collins declared that this simple answer had an effect upon his mind such as all the volumes which learned men had written against him had not.

642

The bird once out of hand is hard to recover.

—From the Danish.

643

FREEDOM WEEPS.

A time like this demands
Strong minds, stout hearts, true faith and ready hands;
Men whom the lust of office cannot kill,
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy,
Men who possess opinion and a will,
Men who have honor, men who will not lie,
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And scorn his treacherous flatteries without winking,
Tall men, sun crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty, and in private thinking;
For while the rabble with their thumb worn creeds,
Their large professions, and their little deeds
Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps!

—Unknown.

644

He who attacks an absent friend, or who does not defend him when spoken ill of by another—that man is a dark character; beware of him.

645

Be my friend, and teach me to be thine!

646

TIMON'S SOLILOQUY.

My shadow, wheresoe'er I wend,
Is with me, like a flattering friend.
But chiefly when the sun in June
Is climbing to its highest noon,
My fond attendant closes near,
As I were growing still more dear;
And then, to show its love complete,
Falls even servile at my feet,
Where, proud of place, it scarcely nods
Before the temple of the Gods.
But when the evening sun descends,
It seems to seek for other friends,
Making a dial of the town,
To tell that Timon's day goes down;
And when the stormy night comes on,
I look, and lo! my shade is—gone.

—Atlantic Monthly.

647

Ah, how good it feels;
The hand of an old friend!

648

If you want enemies, excel others; if you want friends, let others excel you.

649

A man may have a thousand intimate acquaintances and not a friend among them all. If you have one friend, think yourself happy.

650

Go slowly to the entertainment of your friends, but quickly to their misfortunes.

651

LEAVE A FRIEND.

Leave a friend! So base I am not. I followed him in his prosperity, when the skies were clear and shining, and will not leave him when storms begin to rise; as gold is tried by the furnace, and the baser metal is shown, so the hollow-hearted friend is known by adversity.

—Metastasio.

652

Do not lose sight of old attachments for the sake of making new friendships.

653

A man who is fond of disputing, will, in time, have few friends to dispute with.

654

AN OLD RHYME.

I once had money and a friend,
By both I set great store;
I lent my money to my friend,
He was my friend no more.

If I had my money and my friend,
As I had once before,
I'd keep my money to myself,
And lose my friend no more.

—Living Age.

655

If you have a friend worth loving,
Love him. Yes, and let him know
That you love him, ere life's evening
Tinge his brow with sunset glow;
Why should good words ne'er be said
Of a friend till he is dead?

656

It is more dishonorable to distrust a friend than to be deceived by him.

—Rochefoucauld.

657

No life is so strong and complete, But it sometimes yearns for the smile of a friend.

—Wallace Bruce.

658

He was never a friend who ceased to be so—for a slight cause.

—Seneca.

659

A friend cannot be known in prosperity; and an enemy cannot be hidden in adversity.

660

When a friend asks, there should be no tomorrow.

661

The best mirror is an old friend.

662

I am not of that feather to shake off my friend when he must need me. I do know him, a gentleman that well deserves a help, which he shall have: I'll pay the debt and free him.

—Shakespeare.

663

A cut or slight from a foe or stranger, may be scarred over, but a stab from a friend you love hardly ever heals.

—H. L. Meader.

664

He that telleth thee that thou art always wrong, may be deceived; but he that saith that thou art always right, is surely not telling the truth.

665

No man can be happy without a friend, nor be sure of his friend till he is unfortunate.

666

He that ceases to be a friend never was a good one.

667

A FRIEND THAT STICKETH CLOSER THAN A BROTHER.

One there is above all others,
Well deserves the name of Friend!
His is love beyond a brother's,
Costly, free, and knows no end:
They who once His kindness prove,
Find it everlasting love!

—Newton.

668

If you wink at your friend's vices you make them your own.

669

Without a friend the world is but a wilderness.

—German.

670

Absolute friends are very rare.

671

Friends, but few on earth, and therefore dear.

—Pollok.

672

It is to chance we owe our relatives, to choice our friends.

673

Equals make the best friends.

674

False friends are like our shadows, keeping close to us while we walk in the sunshine, but leaving us the instant we cross into the shade.

—Bovee.

675

There are plenty acquaintances in the world, but very few real friends.

—Chinese.

676

By my skill I have got many acquaintances, my manners very many friends.

677

Friends are lost by calling often, and calling seldom.

678

CHOOSING FRIENDS.

We ought always to make choice of persons of such worth and honor for our friends, that, if they should even cease to be so, they will not abuse our confidence, nor give us cause to fear them as enemies.

—Addison.

679

Let us make the best of our friends while we have them, for how long we shall keep them is uncertain.

680

Friends are like melons. Shall I tell you why?
To find one good, you must a hundred try.

—Claude Mermet.

681

Friends are sometimes like titled husbands, easy to get, if you have enough money.

—H. L. Meader.

682

Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.

683

My treasures are my friends.

684

Without friends, no one would choose to live, even if he had all other good things.

685

Old friends and old ways ought not to be disdained.

—Danish.

686

FRIENDS—PAUCITY OF

Friends, but few on earth, and therefore dear.

—Pollok.

687

The poor man's assets are his friends.

688

Purchase not friends by gifts; when thou ceasest to give such will cease to love.

—Fuller.

689

RECOGNITION IN HEAVEN.

Baxter said:—"I must confess, as the experience of my own soul, that the expectation of loving my friends in heaven principally kindles my love to them while on earth. If I thought I should never know, and consequently never love them after this life, I should number them with temporal things, and love them as such; but I now delightfully converse with my pious friends, in a firm persuasion that I shall converse with them forever; and I take comfort in those that are dead or absent, believing that I shall shortly meet them in heaven, and love them with a heavenly love."

690

A gift kept back where it was hoped, often separateth chief friends.

691

Strange to say,—I am the only one of my friends I can rely upon.

—Terence.

692

There is no living without friends.

—Portuguese.

693

True friends anticipate each other's wants.

694

Friends are sometimes like mushrooms, they spring up in out-of-the-way places.

695

At the gate of abundance there are many brothers and friends; at the gate of misfortune there is neither brother nor friend.

696

It is one of the severest tests of friendship to tell a man of his faults. So to love a man that you cannot bear to see the stain of sin upon him, and to go to him alone and speak painful truths in touching, tender words,—that is friendship, and a friendship as rare as it is precious.

697

Henceforth there shall be no other contention betwixt you and me, than which shall outdo the other in point of friendship.

698

Cultivate your neighbor's friendship; he needs you and you need him.

699

Friendship often ends in love;
But love, in friendship
—Never.

700

Renewed friendships require more care than those that have never been broken.

—Rochefoucauld.

701

Need for making Acquaintance.—If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone. A man should keep his friendship in constant repair.

—Sam'l Johnson.

702

Suspicion kills friendship.

—Hugh Black.

703

Who friendship with a knave hath made,
Is judg'd a partner in the trade.

704

What need of years, long years, to prove
The sense of friendship, or of love!

705

There is truly nothing purer and warmer than our first friendship, our first love.

—Jean Paul Richter.

706

The permanency of most friendships depends upon the continuity of good fortune.

707

Quickly made friendships, are often eagerly and quickly ended.

708

FRIENDSHIP—RARITY OF.

Rare is true love: true friendship is still rarer.

—Rochefoucauld.

709

Real friendship is like a sheltering tree.

710

He is my friend that helps me, and not he that pities me.

711

Friendship has a power
To soothe affliction in her darkest hour.

—H. Kirke White.

712

O summer friendship,
Whose flattering leaves, that shadow'd us in
Our prosperity, with the least gust drop off
In th' autumn of adversity!

—Massinger.

713

THE HIGHER FRIENDSHIP.

Love Him, and keep Him for thy Friend, who, when all go away, will not forsake thee, nor suffer thee to perish at the last.

—Thomas A'Kempis.

714

True friendship is one of the greatest blessings upon earth; it makes the cares and anxieties of life sit easy; provides us with a partner in every affliction to alleviate the burthen, and is a sure resort against every accident and difficulty that can happen.

715

True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it is lost.

—Colton.

716

Those who speak always and those who never speak, are equally unfit for friendship.

717

He who never gives advice, and he who never takes it are alike unworthy of friendship.

718

He who is worthy of friendship at all will remember in his prosperity those who were his friends in his adversity.

719

Value the friendship of him who stands by you in a storm; swarms of insects will surround you in the sunshine.

720

No matter how poor and mean a man is, his friendship is worth more than his hate.

721

Good fruit never comes from a bad tree.

—Portuguese.

722

There is nothing like fun, is there? I haven't any myself, but I do like it in others.

—Haliburton.

723

Groping for the Door.—O door, so close, yet so far off!

—Miss Mulock.

724

If you would have your name chime melodiously in the ears of future days, cultivate faith, and not doubt, giving unto every man credit for the good he does, and never attribute base motives to beautiful acts.

—Unknown.

725

Future:—The future does not come from before to meet us, but comes streaming up from behind over our heads.

—Rahel.

726

Future—to be met without Fear:—Look not mournfully into the past,—it comes not back again; wisely improve the present,—it is thine; go forth to meet the shadowy future without fear, and with a manly heart.

—Longfellow.

G

727

One thing obtained with difficulty is far better than a hundred things procured with ease.

—The Talmud.

728

Gain, has oft, with treacherous hopes led men to ruin.

—Sophocles.

729

Either hand must wash the other;
If you take, then you must give.

730

Gain has a pleasant odor.

731

Prefer loss before unjust gain; for that brings grief but once; this forever.

—Chilon.

732

Gain at the expense of reputation should be called loss.

733

No pains, no gains.

—Italian.

734

It is impossible to be just, if one is not generous.

—Joseph Roux.

735

Justice should precede generosity.

736

Generosity should never exceed ability.

—Cicero.

737

A GENTLEMAN.

Show me the man who can quit the brilliant society of the young and listen to the kindly voice of age, who can hold cheerful converse with one whom years have deprived of charms. Show me the man of generous impulses, who is always ready to help the poor and needy; who treats unprotected maidenhood as he would the heiress surrounded by the protection of rank, riches and family; who never forgets for an instant the delicacy, the respect, that is due a woman in any condition or class. Show me such a man and you show me a gentleman—nay, more, you show me a true Christian.

738

It's not the gay coat makes the gentleman.

739

The man who is kind and obliging and is ready to do you a favor without hope of reward, who speaks the truth—is a gentleman,
In any garb,
And wherever he may be found.

740

Propriety of manners and consideration for others are the two main characteristics of a gentleman.

741

REAL AND ARTIFICIAL GENTLEMEN.

A friend of mine, not long ago, coming over from Ireland, heard a man asking, in reference to another, who he was. "I don't know," was the reply; "but he's quite a gentleman. He always wears a tall hat." Indeed, there are those who seem to be incapable of valuing their fellow-men by anything except their clothes. A story is told of a Persian prince, which well illustrates such worldliness. Dressed as a poor man, this prince went to a feast. He was pushed here and there, could not get to the table, and had soon to withdraw. On going home, he dressed himself in his best, placing jewelled slippers on his feet, and putting on a cloth-of-gold cloak. Then he returned to the feast, where matters were immediately altered. The guests made room, and the host, rushing up, cried, "Welcome, my lord! What will your lordship please to eat?" The prince's answer was very expressive. Stretching out his foot, so that his slipper sparkled and glittered, he took his golden robe in his hand, and said with bitter irony, "Welcome, my lord coat! welcome, most excellent robe! What will your lordship please to eat? For," said he, turning to his surprised host, "I ought to ask my coat what it will eat, since the welcome was solely to it."

742

We never teach men to be gentlemen, but we teach them everything else; and they never pique themselves so much on all the rest, as on knowing how to be gentlemen. They pique themselves only on knowing the one thing they have not learnt.

743

The true gentleman is he who does not plume himself on anything.

—Rochefoucauld.

744

Let him speak who received; let the giver hold his peace.

745

Give freely to him that deserveth well and asketh nothing; and that is a way of giving to thyself.

—Fuller.

746

Better a penny given with a smile than a pound given with a frown.

747

To give so as to bestow a favor and not create an obligation, is a delicate art.

748

He gives twice who gives quickly, according to the proverb; but a gift not only given quickly but unexpectedly, is the most welcome of all.

749

He who sedulously attends, pointedly asks, calmly speaks, coolly answers, and ceases when he has no more to say, is in possession of some of the best mental gifts of mankind.

750

THE BEST GIFTS.

The best of gifts to mortal man is health;
The next, the bloom of beauty's matchless flower;
The third is blameless and unfraudful wealth;
The fourth with friends to use youth's joyous hour.

—Millman.

751

THE DYING GIRL TO HER LOVER.

Fare thee well, love, fare thee well,
From the world I pass away,
Where the brightest things that dwell
All deceive and all decay;
Cheerfully I fall asleep
As by some mysterious spell,
Yet I weep to see thee weep—
Fare thee well, love, fare thee well!

Tell of me, love, tell of me,
Not amid the heartless throng,
Not when passion bends the knee,
Not where pleasure trills the song.
But when some most cherish'd one
By your side at 'eve shall be,
Ere your twilight tales are done,
Tell of me, love, tell of me!

Leave me now, love, leave me now,
Not with sorrow, not with sighs,
Not with clouds, love, on thy brow,
Not with tears, love, in thine eyes.
We shall meet, we know not where,
And be blest, we dream not how,
With a kiss and with a prayer
Leave me now, love, leave me now!

—By Winthrop M. Praed.

752

ADVICE TO A GIRL.

Never love unless you can
Bear with all the faults of man!
Men sometimes will jealous be
Though but little cause they see,
And hang the head as discontent,
And speak what straight they will repent.

Men, when their affairs require,
Must awhile themselves retire;
Sometimes hunt, and sometimes hawk,
And not ever sit and talk:——
If these and such-like you can bear,
Then like, and love, and never fear!

—Thomas Campion.

753

THE EDUCATION OF GIRLS.

The Princess of Wales has decided views on the education of children. Her Royal Highness, it appears, strongly objects to "cramming" children with useless learning, which she declares is a mere waste of time.

The Princess considers it harmful to force a child in studies which are distasteful to it, and that the child should be allowed to abandon that study, and take up one it likes better.

Similarly, she disapproves of advanced arithmetic for girls. She considers that all that most girls need ever know about arithmetic, is addition and subtraction, "enough to know how to do their housekeeping and pay their debts," she says.

—London Paper.

754

No one can give what he has not.

—Latin.

755

Not every one that dances is glad.

—French.

756

THE HOUR GLASS

Is an emblem of human life. Behold! how swiftly the sands run, and how rapidly our lives are drawing to a close! We cannot, without astonishment, behold the little particles which are contained in this machine; how they pass away almost imperceptibly! And yet, to our surprise, in the short space of an hour, they are all exhausted. Thus wastes man! To-day he puts forth the tender leaves of hope; to-morrow, blossoms, and bears his blushing honors thick upon him; the next day comes a frost, which nips the shoot; and when he thinks his greatness is still aspiring, he falls, like autumn leaves, to enrich our mother earth.

757

The Greatness of God.—Said Dr. Guthrie, "If philosophy is to be believed, our world is but an outlying corner of creation; bearing, perhaps, as small a proportion to the great universe, as a single grain bears to all the sands of the seashore, or one small quivering leaf to the foliage of a boundless forest." Yet even within this earth's narrow limits, how vast the work of Providence! How soon is the mind lost in contemplating it! How great that Being whose hand paints every flower, and shapes every leaf; who forms every bud on every tree; who feeds each crawling worm with a parent's care, and watches like a mother over the insect that sleeps away the night in the bosom of a flower; who throws open the golden gates of day, and draws around a sleeping world the dusky curtains of the night; who measures out the drops of every shower, the whirling snowflakes, and the sands of man's eventful life; who determines alike the fall of a sparrow and the fate of a kingdom; and so overrules the tide of human fortunes, that whatever befall him, come joy or sorrow, the believer says—"It is the Lord; let Him do what seemeth Him good."

758

But as it is written, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."

—I Cor. 2, 9v.

759

Every little blade of grass declareth the presence of God.

—From the Latin.

760

THE FATHER'S LOVE.

Rest and be still:
Nought happens thee but of His blessed will.
There's not a wind that blows,
There's not a lily grows
Without His bidding—and His child shall He
Forget and leave uncomforted? Nay, see
How not a small brown sparrow (sorry thing!)
Without His hand can droop or raise a wing!
And thou art better far unto thy God!
Lo! if He calls thee to a way untrod
Where stones and rugged places tear thy feet,
And bitter herbs alone are for thy meat,
Or if He set thee high, and with a song
Fill thy rejoicing mouth, and make thee strong;
Yet know thou this: He loves thee just as dear
When dimpling laughter lights thy face, or tear
With bitter tear goes chasing down thy cheek,
And thy poor heart may break but cannot speak!

Rest and be still.
God hath not good and ill.
All that He sends is good, altho' our eye
For weeping scarce His rainbow can descry.
He is our Father, and His name is Love.
E'en when thy grief is greatest—look above!
Look up! look up! and thou shalt surely see
A Father's loving face down-bent to thee!

—Deborah.

761

The more a man denies himself, the more he shall obtain from God.

—Horace.

762

THE LOVE OF GOD.

The following beautiful lines were composed in 1779, by a distinguished scholar—at the time partially insane.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
Were the whole earth of parchment made,
Were every single stick a quill,
Were every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God alone,
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor would the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from earth to sky.

763

Whoever devotes himself to the veneration of God, whatever road he may choose, will come to God, and that the means to this, is, to avoid hurting any living being.

Be true and thou shalt be free;
Truth belongs to thee, and thy success to the creator.

From the Persian.
—By David Shea and A. Troy.

764

Who comes to God an inch, through doubtings dim,
In blazing light God will
Advance a mile to him.

—Sayings of Rabia.

765

A gold key is apt to open every door.

—Massinger.

766

THE GOLDEN RULE.

If I should see
A brother languishing in sore distress,
And I should turn and leave him comfortless
When I might be
A messenger of hope and happiness—
How could I ask to have what I denied
In my own hour of bitterness supplied?

If I might share
A brother's load along the dusty way,
And I should turn and walk alone that day—
How could I dare,
When, in the evening watch, I knelt to pray
To ask for help to bear my pain and loss,
If I had heeded not my brother's cross?

And so I know
That day is lost wherein I fail to lend
A helping hand to some wayfaring friend;
But if it show
A burden lightened by the cheer I sent,
Then do I hold the golden hours well spent,
And lay me down to sleep in sweet content.

767

GOLF AND MATRIMONY.

"As an illustration of the enthusiasm with which golf is pursued by its votaries," says Harper's Weekly, "the following anecdote is told of a well known Scotch author, and a young friend of his. The two had spent the whole day on the links, and had had some close and exciting matches; as they left for home the elder man remarked:

"'Do you think ye could play again to-morrow, laddie?'

"'Well,' answered the youth, 'I was going to be married to-morrow, but I can put it off.'"

768

All things come round to him who will but wait and work.

769

Every person is responsible for all the good within the scope of his abilities.

770

Doing good is the only certainly happy action of a man's life.

—Sir P. Sidney.

771

The pleasure of doing good is the only one that never wears out.

772

The good we have received from a man requires us to be tender of the evil he does us.

773

Seeking others' good, we find our own.

774

What is the difference between being good and bad? The good do not yield to temptations, and the bad do.

The definition was so simple and so wise, that Leonard was more struck with it than he might have been by an elaborate sermon.

—Sir E. B. Lytton, Bart.

775

TOO LATE.

And as each day, that ne'er returns,
But joins the past,
Comes and goes by, the rich man toils
Hard at his task,—
No time for thought or anything
But just his wealth.
Can he be dreaming life's for aye?
Now fails his health,
And death comes in and beckons him away.

Good that was in his hands to do,
He left undone,
Forgetting, in his race for wealth,
Life's setting sun!
His thoughts all lay in how to make
One dollar seven:
And then, too late, he found, for gold
There's no demand in heaven.

776

GOOD-BY.

"Farewell! farewell!" is often heard
From the lips of those who part:
'Tis a whispered tone,—'tis a gentle word,
But it springs not from the heart.
It may serve for the lover's closing lay,
To be sung 'neath a summer sky;
But give to me the lips that say
The honest words, "Good-by!"

"Adieu! adieu!" may greet the ear,
In the guise of courtly speech:
But when we leave the kind and dear,
'Tis not what the soul would teach.
Whene'er we grasp the hands of those
We would have forever nigh,
The flame of friendship bursts and glows
In the warm, frank words, "Good-by."

The mother, sending forth her child
To meet with cares and strife,
Breathes through her tears, her doubts, and fears
For the loved one's future life.
No cold "adieu," no "farewell," lives
Within her choking sigh,
But the deepest sob of anguish gives,
"God bless, thee, boy! 'Good-by!'"

—Anonymous.

777

The sign of goodness in the young is to love the old; and in the old to love the young.

778

To all, to each, a fair good night,
And pleasing dreams, and slumbers light.

—Sir Walter Scott.

779

The Cross is the guarantee of the Gospel; therefore it has been its standard.

—Amiel.

780

There is so much bad in the best of us,
And so much good in the worst of us,
That it hardly behooves any of us,
To talk about the rest of us.

—Robert Louis Stevenson.

781

Leviticus xix. 16.—"Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people."

At a small town in ——shire lives a decent honest woman, who has for more than forty years gained her livelihood by washing in gentlemen's families. She gives the highest satisfaction to all her employers, and has, in several instances, been the whole of that time in the employ of the same families. Indeed, those whom she has once served never wish to part with her. She has one distinguishing excellency, it is this: through all this course of years,—forty—she has never been known, by either mistress or servant, to repeat in one house what was said or done in another.

—John Whitecross, Edinburgh, 1835.

782

Tale-bearers, as I said before, are just as bad as the tale-makers.

—Sheridan.

783

The inquisitive are the funnels of conversation; they do not take in anything for their own use, but merely to pass it to others.

—Steele.

784

What future misery ought they to endure who talk of what is not good in others.

—Chinese Maxim.

785

If families have no sons devoted to letters, whence are the governors of the people to come?

(Necessity for general education.)

—Chinese.

786

He governs best who governs least.

—Latin.

787

GRACE.

Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some that want it, but canna get it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
And sae the Lord be thankit.

—Burns.

788

REBUKED BY A KING.

The king of one of the Friendly Islands became a Christian, and once went on board of a British vessel, where he was invited to dine with the officers. Observing he did not taste his food, the Captain inquired the cause; when the simple native replied, that he was waiting for the blessing to be asked. All felt rebuked, and the king was desired to say grace, which he did with becoming solemnity.

789

Expect not praise from the mean,
Neither gratitude from the selfish.

790

THANKS—FOR FAVORS.

Your bounty is beyond my speaking;
But though my mouth be dumb, my heart shall thank you;
And when it melts before the throne of mercy,
My fervent soul shall breathe one tear for you,
That heaven will pay you back, when most you need,
The grace and goodness you have shown to me.

791

God judges your gratitude more by your hands than by your hymns.

792

Many a thanksgiving sermon mistakes glorification of self for gratitude to God.

793

May we look around us with pleasure,
And above us with gratitude.

794

GRATITUDE.

Nought so becomes a man as gratitude
For good received; Noble deeds are still
The offspring of benevolence, whilst he
With whom remembrance dies of blessings past
Is vile and worthless.

—Sophocles, born 496, B. C.

795

It is much better to make presents in articles than in money, because gratitude for the latter is spent as soon as that is.

—Jean Paul Richter.

796

Gratitude, we find in the dictionary, but not often in the heart of man.

797

When the tree is felled, its shadows disappear.

(Desertion of the great by their parasites.)

—Chinese.

798

AGAINST EXCESSIVE GRIEF.

(From a letter addressed to the Countess of Essex on the loss of her only daughter.)

"I know no duty in religion more generally agreed on, nor more justly required by God Almighty, than a perfect submission to His will in all things; nor do I think any disposition of mind can either please Him more, or become us better, than that of being satisfied with all He gives, and contented with all He takes away. None, I am sure, can be of more honor to God, nor of more ease to ourselves. For, if we consider Him as our Maker, we cannot contend with Him; if as our Father, we ought not to distrust Him: so that we may be confident whatever He does is intended for good; and whatever happens that we interpret otherwise, yet we can get nothing by repining, nor save anything by resisting.

Submission is the only way of reasoning between a creature and its Maker; and contentment in His will is the greatest duty we can pretend to, and the best remedy we can apply to all our misfortunes."

799

GOD'S SURE HELP IN SORROW.

Leave all to God,
Forsaken one, and stay thy tears;
For the Highest knows thy pain,
Sees thy sufferings and thy fears;
Thou shalt not wait His help in vain;
Leave all to God!

Be still and trust!
For His strokes are strokes of love,
Thou must for thy profit bear;
He thy filial fear would move,
Trust thy Father's loving care,
Be still and trust!

Know God is near!
Though thou think Him far away,
Though His mercy long have slept,
He will come and not delay,
When His child enough hath wept,
For God is near!

Oh, teach Him not
When and how to hear thy prayers;
Never doth our God forget;
He the cross who longest bears
Finds his sorrows' bounds are set;
Then teach Him not!

If thou love Him,
Walking truly in His ways,
Then no trouble, cross or death
E'er shall silence faith and praise;
All things serve thee here beneath,
If thou love God.

From the German of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick, 1667. Translation of Catherine Winkworth, 1855.

800

He grieves more than is necessary who grieves before it is necessary.

—Seneca.

801

"A great Latin poet said nearly two thousand years ago:

'If you would draw tears from the eyes of others,
Yourself the sign of grief must show.'"

—From W. J. Bryan's speech in Japan.

802

They truly mourn that mourn without a witness.

—R. Baron.

803

There is no grief that time will not soften.

—Cicero.

804

He mourns indeed who mourns when he's alone.

805

"Maybe the remark of a child I once overheard helped me to learn to complain and grumble as little as possible," said Dr. Burt. "While I was studying at Wilbraham Academy I spent a few days with this child's father, a good man but a chronic growler. We were all sitting in the parlor one night, when the question of food arose. The child, a little girl, told cleverly what each member of the household liked best. Finally it came to the father's turn to be described as to his favorite dish.

'And what do I like, Lucy, my pet?' he said, laughingly.

'You,' said the little girl, slowly—'well, papa, dear, you like most anything we haven't got.'"

806

Guilt is always cowardly.

—From the Latin.

807

Dr. Guthrie tells an anecdote in which he humorously introduces a Brechin citizen, alive in his youthful days:—"An honest countryman came one day to Mr. Linton (head master of the grammar school) with a halflin[807:A], a long, empty chap, who had taken it into his head that he would have some little learning. Said the father, 'Mr. Linton, ye see, my laddie's fond o' lear'[807:B], and I'm thinking o' makin' a scholar o' him.' 'But,' said Mr. Linton, looking at the youth, and not seeing any sign that there was much in him, 'What are you to make of him?' 'You see, Mr. Linton,' rejoined the father—and it showed how sound the old Scotchman was—'if he gets grace, we'll make a minister o' him!' 'Oh, but,' says Mr. Linton, 'if he does not get grace, what will you make of him then?' 'Weel, in that case,' said the parent, 'if he disna get grace, we'll just mak' a dominie o' him! '"

—From Memoir.

FOOTNOTES:

[807:A] Half-grown.

[807:B] Learning.

807a

Dr. Guthrie to his Son: "I saw an adage yesterday, in a medical magazine, which is well worth your remembering and acting on, it is this wise saying of the great Lord Bacon's:—'Who asks much learns much.' I remember the day when I did not like by asking, to confess my ignorance. I have long given up that, and now seize on every opportunity of adding to my stock of knowledge."

—From Memoir of Dr. Guthrie.

H

808

HA AND AH!

Ha, is an exclamation denoting surprise or joy; ah, an exclamation expressive of pity or grief.

—Fuller.

809

How use doth breed a habit in a man!—

—Shakespeare.

810

HOW TO CORRECT A BAD HABIT.

Penn was once advising a man to leave off his habit of drinking intoxicating liquors.

"Can you tell me how to do it?" said the slave of his appetite.

"Yes," answered Penn. "It is just as easy as to open thy hand, friend."

"Convince me of that and I will promise, upon my honor, to do as you tell me."

"Well, my friend," said the great Quaker, "when thou findest any vessel of intoxicating liquor in thy hand, open the hand that grasps it before it reaches thy mouth, and thou wilt never be drunk again."

The man was so pleased with the plain advice that he followed it.

—Monthly Magazine.

811

You need not wrestle and strive with the old habit, only just be persistent in forming the good one, and the bad one will take care of itself.

—Ursula.

812

Habit is like a cable; we weave a thread of it every day, and at last we cannot break it.

—Horace Mann.

813

No man is free who is a slave to any kind of useless habit.

—Seneca.

814

Habit, if not resisted soon, becomes necessity.

—St. Augustine.

815

Habit with him was all the test of truth,
"It must be right: I've done it from my youth."

—Crabbe.

816

INNOCENCE AND GUILT.

A painter, desiring to paint a picture of Innocence, found a beautiful boy playing at the side of a stream, who became his model. He painted him kneeling, with his hands clasped in prayer. The picture was prized as a very beautiful one. Years passed away, and the artist became an old man. He had often thought of painting a counterpart, the picture of guilt, as a companion to the other; and at last he executed it. He went to a neighboring prison, and there selected the most degraded and repulsive man he could find. His body and eye were wasted; vice was visible in his very face. But what was the artist's surprise when, on questioning the man as to his history, he found that it was he who, as a lovely boy, had kneeled for him as the model of Innocence! Evil habits had gradually changed him, not only in heart and mind, but in face and form.

817

All habits gather by unseen degrees.
As brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas.

—Dryden: Ovid.

818

Old habits are hard to break; new habits are hard to make.

819

Taste may change; our inclinations never change.

820

Habits are soon assumed—acquired—but when we strive to strip them off,—if of long standing—'tis being flayed alive!

—Cowper.

821

To stop the hand, is the way to stop the mouth.
(If a man will not work, neither shall he eat.)

—Chinese.

822

ELOQUENCE OF THE HANDS.

The hands are, by the very instincts of humanity, raised in prayer; clasped in affection; wrung in despair; pressed on the forehead when the soul is "perplexed in the extreme;" drawn inward, to invite; thrust forth objectively, to repel; the fingers point to indicate, and are snapped in disdain; the palm is laid upon the heart, in invocation of subdued feeling, and on the brow of the compassioned in benediction. The expressive capacity of the hands was never more strikingly displayed than in the orisons (prayer) of the deaf and dumb. Their teacher stood with closed eyes, and addressing the Deity by those signs made with the fingers which constitute a language for the speechless. Around him were grouped more than a hundred mutes, following with reverent glances every motion. It was a visible, but not an audible, worship.

823

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HAND.

A dispute arose among three ladies as to which had the most beautiful hands. One sat by a stream, and dipped her hand into the water and held it up; another plucked strawberries until the ends of her fingers were pink; and a third gathered violets until her hands were fragrant. An old, haggard woman, passing by, asked, "Who will give me a gift, for I am poor?" all three denied her; but another who sat near, unwashed in the stream, unstained with fruit, unadorned with flowers or perfume, gave her a little gift, and satisfied the poor woman. Then the woman asked them what was the subject of their dispute; and they told her, and lifted up before her their beautiful hands. "Beautiful indeed!" she exclaimed, as she saw them. But when they asked her which was the most beautiful, she said: "It is not the hand that is washed clean in the brook; it is not the hand that is coloured with crimson tints; it is not the hand that is perfumed with fragrant flowers; but the hand that gives to the poor, that is the most beautiful."

824

TRUE HAPPINESS.

True happiness
Consists not in the multitude of friends,
But in the worth and choice: nor would I have
Them popular:
Let them be good that love me, though but few.

—Ben Jonson.

825

Happiness consists in being perfectly satisfied with what we have got, and with what we haven't got.

826

Happiness consists not in possessing much, but in being content with what we possess. He who wants little, always has enough.

827

A cottage will hold as much happiness as would stock a palace.

—Hamilton.

828

With "gentleness" his own character, "comfort" in his house, and "good temper" in his wife, the earthly felicity of man may be said to be complete.

—From the German.

829

What dangers threaten a great reputation!
Far happier the man of lowly station.

830

We are happy in this world just in proportion as we make others happy.

831

A HAPPY COUPLE.

I think you the happiest couple in the world; for you are not only happy in one another, but happy in yourselves, and by yourselves.

—Congreve.

832

Surely happiness is reflective, like the light of heaven; and every countenance bright with smiles, and glowing with innocent enjoyment, is a mirror transmitting to others the rays of a supreme and ever-shining benevolence.

—Washington Irving.

833

To rejoice in the happiness of others is to make it our own; to produce it, is to make it more than our own. There is happiness in the very wish to make others happy.

—Dr. Chalmers.

834

Unmixed happiness is not to be found in this world.

835

Hatred always hurts the hater most of all.

836

It is the nature of the human disposition to hate him whom you have injured.

—Tacitus.

837

I am almost frozen by the distance you are from me.

838

If a man makes me keep my distance, the comfort is, he keeps his at the same time.

839

Health is rightly appreciated only when we are sick.

—German Proverb.

840

A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.

841

He that is well does not know how rich he is.
Better a healthy beggar, than a sick king.

—German Proverb.

842

It is better to have less wealth and more health.

843

Health is so necessary to all duties, as well as pleasures of life, that the crime of squandering it is equal to the folly.

844

HEALTH.

Thou chiefest good,
Bestow'd by Heaven, but seldom understood.

—Lucan.

845

The only way for a rich man to be healthy is, by exercise and abstinence, to live as if he were poor.

—Sir W. Temple.

846

An innocent heart suspects no guile.

—Portuguese.

847

A BROKEN HEART.

Dr. Mitchell of Philadelphia, in lecturing to his pupils upon the diseases of the heart, narrated an anecdote to prove that the expression "broken heart" was not merely figurative. On one occasion, in the early period of his life, he accompanied, as surgeon, a packet that sailed from Liverpool to one of the American ports. The captain frequently conversed with him respecting a lady who had promised to become his bride on his return from that voyage. Upon this subject he evinced great warmth of feeling, and showed Dr. Mitchell some costly jewels, ornaments, etc., which he intended to present as bridal presents. On reaching his destination, he was abruptly informed that the lady had married some one else. Instantly the captain was observed to clap his hand to his breast, and fall heavily to the ground. He was taken up, and conveyed to his cabin on board the vessel. Dr. Mitchell was immediately summoned; but, before he reached the poor captain, he was dead. A postmortem examination revealed the cause of his unfortunate disease. His heart was found literally torn in twain! The tremendous propulsion of blood, consequent upon such a violent nervous shock, forced the powerful muscle tissues asunder, and life was at an end. The heart was broken.

848

Every heart has its secret sorrow, which the world knows not; and oftentimes we call a man cold when he is only sad.

849

PARTING.

To know, to esteem, to love,—and then to part,
Makes up life's tale to many a feeling heart.

—Coleridge.

850

Some men's hearts are as great as the world, and still have no room in them to hold the memory of a wrong.

851

How small is the human heart, and yet even there, God enters in.

852

A ROYAL HEART.

Ragged, uncomely, and old and gray,
A woman walked in a Scottish town;
And through the crowd, as she wound her way,
One saw her loiter and then stoop down,
Putting something away in her old, torn gown.
"You are hiding a jewel!" the watcher said—
(Ah, that was her heart, had the truth been read.)
"What have you stolen?" he asked again;
Then the dim eyes filled with a sudden pain,
And under the flickering light of the gas
She showed him her gleaning. "It's broken glass,"
She said. "I hae lifted it up frae the street
To be oot o' the rood o' the bairnies' feet!"
Under the fluttering rags astir
That was a royal heart that beat!
Would that the world had more like her
Smoothing the road for its bairnies' feet!

—W. H. Ogilvie.

853

IS IT INSTINCT?

Ye who know the reason, tell me
How is it that instinct
Prompts the heart to like or not like
At its own capricious will?
Tell me by what hidden magic
Our impressions first are led
Into liking or disliking,
Oft before a word is said?

Why should smiles sometimes repel us?
Bright eyes turn our feelings cold?
What is it that comes to tell us
All that glitters is not gold?
Oh! no feature, plain or striking,
But a power we cannot shun
Prompts our liking and disliking,
Ere acquaintance hath begun.

Is it instinct? or some spirit
Which protects us, and controls
Every impulse we inherit,
By some sympathy of souls?
Is it instinct? is it nature?
Or some freak or fault of chance,
Which our liking or disliking
Limits to a single glance?

Like presentiment of danger,
Though the sky no shadow flings;
Or that inner sense, still stranger,
Of unseen, unuttered things?
Is it? oh! can no one tell me,
No one show sufficient cause
Why our likings and dislikings
Have their own instinctive laws?

854

The Bitterness of Estrangement.—To be estranged from one whom we have tenderly and constantly loved, is one of the bitterest trials the heart can ever know.

—Prynne.

855

There is no place where weeds do not grow, and there is no heart where errors are not to be found.

856

We open the hearts of others when we open our own.

857

Earth hath nothing more tender than a woman's heart, when it is the abode of piety.

858

And yet when all is thought and said,
The heart still overrules the head.

859

The All-Seeing Eye, whom the sun, moon and stars obey, and under whose watchful care even comets perform their stupendous revolutions—pervades the inmost recesses of the human heart, and will reward us according to our merits.

860

There's many a good bit o' work done with a sad heart.

861

To meet, to know, to love—and then to part,
Is the sad tale of many a human heart.

—Coleridge.

862

The heart is a small thing, but desireth great matters. It is not sufficient for a kite's (bird of the hawk kind) dinner, yet the whole world is not sufficient for it.

—Quarles.

863

MY HEART.

The heart resembles the ocean! has storm, and ebb and flow;
And many a beautiful pearl lies hid in its depths below.

—Heine.

864

The turnpike-road to people's hearts, I find,
Lies through their mouths; or I mistake mankind.

—Dr. Warton.

865

The merry heart goes all the day,
While a sad one tires in a mile-a.

—Shakespeare.

866

DISSENSION BETWEEN HEARTS.

Alas! how slight a cause may move
Dissension between hearts that love—
Hearts that the world in vain had tried,
And sorrow but more closely tied;
That stood the storm when waves were rough,
Yet in a sunny hour fell off,
Like ships that have gone down at sea,
When the ocean was all tranquility!
A something light as air—a look—
A word unkind or wrongly taken;
Oh, love that tempests never shook,
A breath—a touch like this hath shaken.

—Thomas Moore.

867

Men, as well as women, are much oftener led by their hearts than by their understandings; indeed nine times in ten it is so.

868

HEAVEN.

If God hath made this world so fair,
Where sin and death abound,
How beautiful, beyond compare,
Will Paradise be found!

—Montgomery.

868a

Let others seek earth's honors; be it mine
One law to cherish, and to track one line—
Straight on towards heaven to press with single bent,
To know and love my God, and then to die content.

—Newman.

869

Many a man who prides himself on doing a cash business, regards his debts to Heaven with indifference.

870

THE DELIGHTS OF HEAVEN.

"Of the positive joys of heaven we can form no conception; but its negative delights form a sufficiently attractive picture,—no pain; no thirst; no hunger; no horror of the past; no fear of the future; no failure of mental capacity; no intellectual deficiency; no morbid imaginations; no follies; no stupidities; but above all, no insulted feelings; no wounded affections; no despised love or unrequited regard; no hate, envy, jealousy, or indignation of or at others; no falsehood, dishonesty, dissimulation, hypocrisy, grief or remorse. In a word," said Professor Wilson, "to end where I began, no sin and no suffering."

871

BELIEVE AND LIVE.

O how unlike the complex works of man,
Heaven's easy, artless, unencumbered plan!
No clustering ornaments to clog the pile;
From ostentation, as from weakness free,
It stands majestic in its own simplicity.
Inscribed above the portal, from afar,
Conspicuous as the brightness of a star,
Legible only by the light they give,
Stand the soul-quickening words—Believe and Live.
Too many, shocked at what should charm them most,
Despise the plain direction, and are lost.
Heaven on such terms! (they cry with proud disdain,)
Incredible impossible, and vain!
Rebel, because 'tis easy to obey;
And scorn, for its own sake, the gracious way.

872

IS THAT ALSO THINE?

A beautiful reply is recorded of a peasant, whose master was displaying to him the grandeur of his estates. Farms, houses, and forests were pointed out in succession, on every hand, as the property of the rich proprietor, who summed up finally by saying, "In short, all that you can see, in every direction, belongs to me." The poor man looked thoughtful for a moment; then, pointing up to heaven, solemnly replied, "And is that, also, thine?"

873

THE BETTER LAND.

"I hear thee speak of the better land,
Thou callest its children a happy band:
Mother! oh where is that radiant shore?
Shall we not seek it and weep no more?
Is it where the flower of the orange blows,
And the fire-flies glance through the myrtle boughs?"
"Not there, not there, my child!"

"Is it where the feathery palm trees rise,
And the date grows ripe under sunny skies?
Or 'midst the green islands of glittering seas,
Where fragrant forests perfume the breeze,
And strange, bright birds, on their starry wings
Bear the rich hues of all glorious things?"
"Not there, not there, my child!"

"Is it far away, in some region old,
Where the rivers wander o'er sands of gold?—
Where the burning rays of the ruby shine,
And the diamond lights up the secret mine,
And the pearl gleams forth from the coral strand?
Is it there, sweet mother, that better land?"
"Not there, not there, my child!"

"Eye hath not seen it, my gentle boy!
Ear hath not heard its deep songs of joy;
Dreams cannot picture a world so fair—
Sorrow and death may not enter there;
Time doth not breathe on its fadeless bloom,
For beyond the clouds and beyond the tomb,
It is there, it is there, my child!"

—Mrs. Hemans.

874

Plants look up in heaven, from whence
They have their nourishment.

875

Help, when we meet them,
Lame dogs over stiles.

876

It is not enough to help an erring brother out of the mire,—we must help to get him upon a rock.

877

History is little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.

—Gibbon.

878

My precept to all who build is, that the owner should be an ornament to the house, and not the house to the owner.

—Cicero.

879

HOME.

Cling to thy home! if there the meanest shed
Yield thee a hearth and shelter for thy head,
And some poor plot, with vegetables stored,
Be all that Heaven allots thee for thy board,—
Unsavory bread, and herbs that scattered grow
Wild on the river brink or mountain brow,
Yet e'en this cheerless mansion shall provide
More heart's repose than all the world beside.

—From the Greek of Leonidas.

880

DEFINITIONS OF "HOME."

Having offered a prize for the best definition of "Home," London Tit-Bits recently received more than five thousand answers. Among those which were adjudged the best were the definitions as follows:

A world of strife shut out, a world of love shut in.

Home is the blossom of which heaven is the fruit.

The best place for a married man after business hours.

Home is the coziest, kindliest, sweetest place in all the world; the scene of our purest earthly joys, and deepest sorrows.

The place where the great are sometimes small, and the small often great.

The father's kingdom, the children's paradise, the mother's world.

881

The ornaments of a home are the friends who frequent it.

—Emerson.

882

God hath often a great share in a little house, and but a little share in a great one.

883

Home is the grandest of all institutions.

—Spurgeon.

884

Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest;
Home-keeping hearts are happiest,
For those that wander they know not where
Are full of trouble, and full of care;
To stay at home is best.

—Longfellow.

885

There's little pleasure in the house when our gudeman's awa'.

—W. J. Mickle.

886

How many fine, well furnished and pretentious houses we now see around us, occupied and owned by successful people, in which there is hardly a market-basket full of books! Evidently showing that the material is of more importance than the intellectual.

—Observer.

887

We neglect the things which are placed before our eyes, and regardless of what is within our reach, we pursue whatever is remote. This is frequently and properly applied to the rage for visiting foreign countries, in those who are absolutely unacquainted with their own.

Abroad to see wonders the traveler goes,
And neglects the fine things which lie under his nose.

888

A man without a home is like a bird without a nest.

889

Many a home is nothing but a furnished house.

890

ONE'S OWN HOME.

Travel is instructive and pleasant, but after all there is nothing so enjoyable as the independence and the luxury of one's own home. Travel is pleasant, but home is delightful!

891

Without hearts, there is no home.

—Byron.

892

A man unconnected is at home everywhere; unless he may be said to be at home nowhere.

—Dr. Sam'l Johnson.

893

HOME—DEVOID OF LOVE.

He enter'd in his house—his home no more,
For without hearts there is no home—and felt
The solitude of passing his own door
Without a welcome.

—Byron.

894

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.

—Payne.

895

THAT LAND THY COUNTRY.

There is a land, of every land the pride,
Beloved by Heaven o'er all the world beside;
Where brighter suns dispense serener light,
And milder moons emparadise the night;—
There is a spot of earth supremely blest,
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest
Where man, creation's tyrant, casts aside
His sword and sceptre, pageantry and pride,
While in his softened looks benignly blend
The sire, the son, the husband, brother, friend;—
"Where shall that land, that spot of earth, be found?"
Art thou a man?—a patriot?—look around!
O, thou shalt find, where'er thy footsteps roam,
That land thy country, and that spot thy home!

—Sir Walter Scott.

896

It is a great happiness, if after being absent from home for a time you find no troubles awaiting your return.

897

Filling a house with bargains is apt to keep a couple from owning the house in which they place them.

898

'Tis sweet to hear the watch-dog's honest bark
Bay deep-mouthed welcome as we draw near home;
'Tis sweet to know there is an eye will mark
Our coming, and look brighter when we come.

—Byron.

899

My house, my house, though thou art small,
Thou art to me a palace.

900

TRUE NATURE OF HOME.

This is the true nature of home—it is the place of Peace; the shelter not only from all injury, but from all terror, doubt and division. In so far as it is not this, it is not home; so far as the anxieties of the outer life penetrate into it * * * it ceases to be home; it is then only a part of that outer world which you have roofed over and lighted fire in.

—John Ruskin.

901

THE WANDERER'S RETURN.

He seeks the tranquil scenes of early days,
Leaving the dazzling haunts of vain ambition;
And now, he longs to meet a kindly gaze
And hear a warm and cheering recognition.

How changed he seems! Though still in manhood's prime,
Long hath he striven with care, want, and danger;
Their iron grasp has wrought the work of Time,
And all who view him, deem him as a stranger.

He meets with one who knew him when a boy:
How oft, beneath yon trees, in summer weather,
They sat, and pictured scenes of future joy,
When they should tread the far-off world together!

They stand upon the old familiar spot:
One feels long vanished memories steal o'er him;
The other sees, yet recognizes not
His blithe companion in the form before him.

Next comes a friend who in his wavering youth
His footsteps had upheld with patient guiding;
Wise in his counsel, steadfast in his truth,
Prompt in his praise, and gracious in his chiding.

Hath he, indeed, discarded from his mind
The object of his care and admonition?
He hath not—yet he casts no glance behind;
The wanderer fails to make his recognition.

What, doth his image live indeed with none?
Have all expelled him from their recollection?
Lo! a sweet lady comes—the cherished one
To whom he breathed his vows of young affection.

He views her—she has lost the airy grace
And mantling bloom that won his boyish duty;
And yet a winning charm pervades her face,
In the calm radiance of its mellowed beauty.

Can she forget? Though others pass him by,
Failing his former features to discover,
Will not her faithful heart instruct her eye
To recognize her dear, her long-lost lover?

Oh! in that grief-worn man, no trace remains
Of the gay, gallant youth from whom she parted;
A brief and careless glance alone she deigns
To the poor sufferer, chilled and broken-hearted;

Who feels as though condemned to lead henceforth
A strange, a sad, a separate existence,
Gazing awhile on those he loves on earth,
But to behold them fading in the distance.

Lo! a pale matron comes, with quiet pace,
And aspect of subdued and gentle sadness;—
Fondly she clasps him in a warm embrace,
And greets him with a burst of grateful gladness!

"Praise be to Heaven!" the weary wanderer cries,
"All human love is not a mocking vision:
Through every change, in every varied guise,
The son still claims his mother's recognition!"

—From the Danish, by Mrs. Abdy.

902

HOME.

Home's not merely four square walls,
Though with pictures hung and gilded;
Home is where affection calls,
Filled with shrines the heart hath builded!
Home! go watch the faithful dove,
Sailing 'neath the heaven above us;
Home is where there's one to love!
Home is where there's one to love us!

Home's not merely roof and room,
It needs something to endear it;
Home is where the heart can bloom,
Where there's some kind lip to cheer it!

What is home with none to meet,
None to welcome, none to greet us?
Home is sweet,—and only sweet—
When there's one we love to meet us.

903

Beware of those who are homeless by choice! You have no hold on a human being whose affections are without a tap-root!

—Southey.

904

I am as homeless as the wind that moans
And wanders through the streets.

—Longfellow.

905

GIVE GOOD MEASURE.

When I was a young man, there lived in our neighborhood one who was universally reported to be a very liberal man, and uncommonly upright in his dealings. When he had any of the produce of his farm to dispose of, he made it an invariable rule to give good measure, over good, rather more than could be required of him. One of his friends, observing him frequently doing so, questioned him why he did it, told him he gave too much, and said it would not be to his own advantage. Now mark the answer of this man. "God Almighty has permitted me but one journey through the world; and when gone I cannot return to rectify mistakes."

906

To be honest and faithful is to belong to the only aristocracy in the world—and the smallest.

—Israel Zangwill.

907

COMMERCIAL HONESTY.

On one occasion the first Napoleon being informed that a certain army contractor had cheated the government by supplying the troops with very inferior and insufficient food, sent for him to inquire into the affair. "How is this?" said the Emperor: "I understand you have been violating your contract." "Sire," was the answer, "I must live." "No," replied the monarch, "I do not see the must. It is not necessary that you should live; but it is necessary that you should do right."

908

Too much assertion gives ground of suspicion; truth and honesty have no need of loud protestations.

909

REUBEN AND SANDY.

Can any one who was present ever forget the broken voice and streaming tears with which he (Dean Stanley) told the story of two little Scotch boys, Reuben and Sandy? The story was as follows: "On a cold winter day, a gentleman in Edinburgh had, out of pity, bought a box of matches from a poor, little, shivering boy, and, as he had no pence, had given him a shilling, of which the change was to be brought to his hotel. Hours passed by, and the boy did not return. Very late in the evening a mere child came to the hotel. 'Are you the gentleman that bought the matches frae Sandy?' 'Yes.' 'Well, then, here's fourpence out o' yer' shillin'; Sandy canna come. He's verra ill. A cart ran over him and knocked him doon, and he lost his bonnet and his matches and yer sevenpence, and baith his legs are broken, and the doctor says he'll dee; and that's a'.' And then, putting down the fourpence on the table, the poor child burst into great sobs. 'So I fed the little man,' said the narrator; 'and I went with him to see Sandy. The two little things were living almost alone; their father and mother were dead. Poor Sandy was lying on a bundle of shavings. He knew me as soon as I came in, and said, 'I got the change, sir, and was coming back, and then the cart knocked me down, and both my legs were broken; and oh, Reuby, little Reuby, I am sure I am dying, and who will take care of you when I am gone? What will ye do?' 'I took his hand, and said I would always take care of Reuby. He understood me, and had just strength enough to look up as if to thank me; the light went out of his blue eyes. In a moment,

He lay within the light of God,
Like a babe upon the breast,
Where the wicked cease from troubling
And the weary are at rest.'"

910

Honesty.—If he does really think that there is no distinction between virtue and vice, why sir, when he leaves our houses let us count our spoons.

—Dr. Johnson.

911

The birthplace of a man does him no honor,
But a man may do honor to his birthplace.

912

He, the Duke of Devonshire, was not a man of superior abilities, but was a man strictly faithful to his word. If, for instance, he had promised you an acorn, and none had grown that year in his woods, he would not have contented himself with that excuse: he would have sent to Denmark for it, so unconditional was he in keeping his word—so high as to the point of honor.

—Boswell's Life of Johnson.

913

Honor is like the eye which cannot suffer the least injury without damage; it is a precious stone, the price of which is lessened by the least flaw.

—Bossuet.

914

JUDICIAL HONOR.

A poor man claimed a house which a rich man had seized. The former produced his deeds and instruments to prove his right, but the latter had provided a number of witnesses; and, to support their evidence the more effectually, he secretly presented the cadi with a bag containing five hundred ducats, which the cadi received. When it came to a hearing, the poor man told his story and produced his writings, but lacked witnesses. The other, provided with witnesses, laid his whole stress on them and on his adversary's defective law, who could produce none; he, therefore, urged the cadi to give sentence in his favor. After the most pressing solicitations, the judge calmly drew from beneath his sofa the bag of five hundred ducats, which the rich man had given him as a bribe, saying to him very gravely, "You have been much mistaken in the suit; for if the poor man could produce no witnesses in confirmation of his right, I, myself, can furnish him with at least five hundred." He threw him the bag with reproach and indignation and decreed the house to the poor plaintiff.

915

What greater ornament is there to a son than a father's glory; or what to a father than a son's honorable conduct?

916

The honor is overpaid,
When he that did the act is commentator.

—Shirley.

917

By Hook or Crook.—This saying is probably derived from a forest custom. Persons entitled to fuel wood in the king's forest were only authorized to take it of the dead wood or branches of trees in the forest, "with a cart, a hook, and a crook."

—From Mulledulcia.

918

Who bids me hope, and in that charming word
Has peace and transport to my soul restor'd.

—Lord Lyttleton.

919

In all things it is better to hope than to despair.

—Goethe.

920

How often disappointment tracks
The steps of hope!

—Miss Landon.

921

He that lives upon hopes will die fasting.

922

Hoping is the finest sort of courage and you can never have enough of it.

—C. Wagner.

923

Who loses money, loses much;
Who loses friends, loses more;
Who loses hope, loses all: for he that wants hope is the poorest man alive.

924

Were it no for hope the heart wad break.

—Scotch.

925

Our hopes often end in—hopes.

926

The setting of a great hope is like the setting of the sun. The brightness of our life is gone.

—Longfellow.

927

Hope is sometimes a delusion; no hand can grasp a wave or a shadow.

928

So we do but live,
There's hope.

—Terence.

929

Hope.—"Hast thou hope?" they asked of John Knox, when he lay a-dying. He spoke nothing, but "raised his finger and pointed upward," and so died.

—Carlyle.

930

HOSPITALITY.

You must come home with me and be my guest;
You will give joy to me, and I will do
All that is in my power to honor you.

—P. B. Shelley.

931

All our sweetest hours fly fastest.

—Virgil.

932

HOME.

We leave
Our home in youth—no matter to what end—
Study—or strife—or pleasure, or what not;
And coming back in few short years, we find
All as we left it outside: the old elms,
The house, the grass, gates, and latchet's self-same click:
But, lift that latchet,—
Alas! all is changed as doom.

—Bailey: Festus.

933

CHILDREN IN THE HOUSE.

Lady, the sun's light to our eyes is dear,
And fair the tranquil reaches of the sea,
And flowery earth in May, and bounding waters;
And so right many fair things I might praise;
Yet nothing is so radiant and so fair
As for souls childless, with desire sore-smitten,
To see the light of babes about the house.

—Euripides.

934

Often, old houses mended,
Cost more than new, before they're ended.

—Colley Cibber.

935

Though we should be grateful for good homes, there is no house like God's out-of-doors.

—Robert Louis Stevenson.

936

Boswell: "I happened to start a question, whether, when a man knows that some of his intimate friends are invited to the house of another friend with whom they are all equally intimate, he may join them without an invitation." Johnson: "No, sir, he is not to go when he is not invited. They may be invited on purpose to abuse him"—smiling.

937

Houses are built to live in more than to look on; therefore let use be preferred before uniformity, except where both may be had.

—Bacon.

938

It's an unhappy household where all the smiles are dispensed in society and all the frowns at home.

939

He has no religion who has no humanity.

940

Our humanity were a poor thing, but for the Divinity that stirs within us.

—Bacon.

941

With the humble there is perpetual peace.

—Shakespeare.

942

When you see an ear of corn holding itself very high (or a human head) you may be sure there is nothing in it. The full ear is the lowliest; the full head the most humble.

943

Humility is the root, mother, nurse, foundation, and bond of all virtue.

—Chrysostom.

944

Hunger is the mother of impatience and anger.

—Zimmerman.

945

They must hunger in frost who spring-time have lost.

—German.

946

The full stomach cannot comprehend the hungry one.

947

Wait is a hard word to the hungry.

—From the German.

948

HUSBAND—EXCELLENCIES OF A.

Faithful—as dog, the lonely shepherd's pride;
True—as the helm, the bark's protecting guide;
Firm—as the shaft that props the towering dome;
Sweet—as to shipwreck'd seaman land and home;
Lovely—as child, a parent's sole delight;
Radiant—as morn, that breaks a stormy night;
Grateful—as streams, that, in some deep recess,
With rills unhoped the panting traveler bless,
Is he that links with mine his chain of life,
Names himself lord, and deigns to call me wife.

—Aeschylus.

949

Between husband and wife there should be no question as to material interests. All things should be in common between them without any distinction or means of distinguishing.

950

WHAT A SONG DID.

A Scottish youth learned, with a pious mother, to sing the old psalms that were then as household words to them in the kirk (church) and by the fireside. When he had grown up he wandered away from his native country, was taken captive by the Turks, and made a slave in one of the Barbary States. But he never forgot the songs of Zion, although he sang them in a strange land and to heathen ears.

One night he was solacing himself in this manner when the attention of some sailors on board of a British man-of-war was directed to the familiar tune of "Old Hundred" as it came floating over the moonlit waves.

At once they surmised the truth that one of their countrymen was languishing away his life as a captive. Quickly arming themselves, they manned a boat and lost no time in effecting his release. What joy to him after eighteen long years passed in slavery! Is it strange that he ever afterwards cherished the glorious tune of "Old Hundred?"

—Old Magazine.

I

951

The I is worthy of aversion when it is principally confined to the person who uses it.

—Pascal.

952

What am I?
Naught! But the effluence of Thy light divine
Pervading worlds, hath reached my bosom too.
Yes, in my spirit doth Thy spirit shine,
As shines the sunbeam in a drop of dew.
Naught! But I live, and on Hope's pinions fly
Eager toward Thy presence; for in Thee,
I live, and breathe, and dwell, aspiring high,
Even to the throne of Thy divinity.
I am, O God, and surely Thou must be!

—Sir John Bowring's translation of
Derzhavin's "Ode to God."

953

Ideas are like beards; men do not have them until they grow up.

954

A young man idle, an old man needy.

955

Labor is the divine law of our existence; repose is desertion and suicide.

956

If you want anything done, go to a busy man;
Man of leisure never has time to do anything.

957

Lose this day loitering—'twill be the same story
To-morrow, and the next more dilatory.

—Goethe.

958

If any man wish to escape idleness let him fall in love.

959

Better lose your labor than your time in idleness.

—Dutch.

960

Idleness must thank itself if it go barefoot.

—From the German.

961

I would not waste my spring of youth
In idle dalliance; I would plant rich seeds,
To blossom in my manhood and bear fruit
When I am old.

—Hillhouse.

962

Never remain ignorant for the want of asking questions.

963

Ignorance is often a voluntary misfortune.

—From the French.

964

Rather bear the ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of.

—Shakespeare.

965

Man's ills are in the main of his own seeking.

966

Those who imitate us we like much better than those who endeavor to equal us. Imitation is a sign of esteem, competition of envy.

967

LONGING AFTER IMMORTALITY.

It must be so—Plato, thou reasonest well!—
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
This longing after immortality?
Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror,
Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the soul
Back on herself, and startles at destruction?
'Tis the Divinity that stirs within us;
'Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter,
And intimates eternity to man.
The stars shall fade away, the sun himself
Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years,
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
Unhurt amidst the war of elements,
The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds.

—Addison.

968

Impertinence.—That man is guilty of impertinence who considers not the circumstances of time, or engrosses the conversation, or makes himself the subject of his discourse, or pays no regard to the company he is in.

—Fully.

969

Airs of importance are often the credentials of insignificance.

—Lavater.

970

LIVING WITHIN OUR INCOME.

Live within your income. Always have something saved at the end of the year. Let your imports be more than your exports, and you'll never go far wrong.

—Dr. Johnson.

971

All men are not susceptible to improvement.

972

It is better to have nothing to do than to be doing nothing.

—Attilus.

973

Men of all ages have the same inclinations, over which reason exercises no control. Thus, wherever men are found, there are the same follies.

—Fontenelle.

974

What madness to carry all one's income on one's back.

975

Our incomes are like our shoes; if too small, they gall and pinch us; but if too large, they cause us to stumble and to trip.

—Colton.

976

Fickleness.—Was ever feather so lightly blown to and fro, as this Mr. —— ——?

—Shakespeare.

977

Mankind is made up of inconsistencies.

978

BEGIN IT.

Lose this day loitering, 'twill be the same story
To-morrow, and the next more dilatory;
True indecision brings its own delays.
And days are lost, lamenting over days.
Are you in earnest? Seize the very minute;
What you can do, or think you can, begin it;
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
Only begin it and the mind grows heated;
Begin it, and the work will be completed.—

—Goethe.

979

I hate dependence on another's will,
Which changes with the breath of ev'ry whisper,
Just as the sky and weather with the winds:
With the winds, as they blow east or west,
To make his temper pleasant or unpleasant.

—Crown.

980

INDEPENDENCE—CHECKED.

If any man can do without the world, it is certain the world can do quite as well without him.

—Hazlitt.

981

Living to-day on tomorrow's salary is a sure sign of financial indigestion.

982

Seek not every quality in one individual.

983

That is the best gown that goes most up and down the house.

984

THE INEVITABLE.

I like the man who faces what he must,
With steps triumphant and a heart of cheer;
Who fights the daily battle without fear;
Sees his hopes fail, yet keeps unfaltering trust
That God is God, that somehow, true and just,
His plans work out for mortals; not a tear
Is shed when fortune, which the world holds dear,
Falls from his grasp; better with love a crust
Than living in dishonor; envies not,
Nor loses faith in man; but does his best,
Nor murmurs at his humble lot;
But with a smile and words of hope, give zest
To every toiler. He alone is great
Who by a life heroic conquers fate.

—Sarah K. Bolton.

985

The smiles of infants are said to be the first-fruits of human reason.

—Hudson.

986

THE NEW-COMER.

The hour arrives, the moment wished and feared,
The child is born, by many a pang endeared;
And now the mother's ear has caught his cry;
O! grant the cherub to her asking eye!
He comes, she clasps him, to her bosom pressed,
He drinks the balm of life, and drops to rest.
She, by her smile, how soon the stranger knows;
How soon by his the glad discovery shows!
As to her lips she lifts the lovely boy,
What answering looks of sympathy and joy!
He walks—he speaks—in many a broken word,
His wants, his wishes, and his griefs are heard;
And ever, ever to her lap he flies,
Where rosy sleep comes on with sweet surprise,
Locked in her arms, his arms across her flung,
That name most dear forever on his tongue.
As with soft accents round her neck he clings,
And cheek to cheek her lulling song she sings,
How blest to feel the beating of his heart,
Breathe his sweet breath, and kiss for kiss impart,
Watch o'er his slumbers, like the brooding dove,
And if she can, exhaust a mother's love!

—From Littell's Living Age.

987

NO ONE SHOULD BE BLAMED FOR HIS INFIRMITIES.

A hound, who in the days of his youth and strength had never yielded to any beast of the forest, encountered in his old age a boar in the chase. He seized him boldly by the ear, but could not retain his hold because of the decay of his teeth, so that the boar escaped. His master, quickly coming up, fiercely abused the dog. The hound looked up and said: "It was not my fault, master; my spirit was as good as ever, but I could not help mine infirmities. I rather deserve to be praised for what I have been, than to be blamed for what I am."

988

PERSONAL INFLUENCE.

"On a cold winter evening," said Dr. T. L. Cuyler recently, "I made my first call on a rich merchant in New York. As I left the door and the piercing gale swept in, I said:

"What an awful night for the poor?

"He said come back for a moment; and in a very few minutes brought me a roll of bank bills, and said:

"Please hand these for me to the poorest people you know.

"After a few days I wrote him the grateful thanks of the poor whom his bounty had relieved, and added:

"How is it that a man so kind to his fellow creatures has always been so unkind to his Saviour as to refuse him his heart?

"That sentence touched him to the core.

"He sent for me to come and talk to him, and speedily gave himself to Christ. He has been a most useful Christian ever since. But he told me I was the first person who had talked to him about his soul in twenty years. One hour of work did more for that man than the pulpit effort of a life-time."

—Selected.

989

HIS MOTHER'S INFLUENCE.

It is reported that a young man being examined preparatory to joining the church was asked—"Under whose preaching?" The prompt reply—"I was converted under my mother's practising." Did any preacher ever utter so powerful a sermon as the young man embodied in those few words?

990

It is a common thing for men to hate the authors of their preferment, as the witnesses of their mean original.

991

At the first entrance into thy estate keep a low sail; thou mayest rise with honor; thou canst not decline without shame; he that begins as his father ended, will be apt to end as his father began.

992

Some grave their wrongs on marble; He more just,
Stooped down serene, and wrote them on the dust;
Trod under foot, the sport of every wind,
Swept from the earth, and blotted from His mind;
There, secret in the grave, He bade them lie,
And grieved they could not escape the Almighty's eye.

993

One is keen to suspect a quarter from which one has once received a hurt. "A burnt child dreads the fire."

994

The noblest remedy for injuries is oblivion.

—From the French.

995

Hath any wronged thee?
Be bravely revenged;
Slight it, and the work is begun;
Forgive it, and 'tis finished.
He is below himself who is not above an injury.

996

A man hurts himself by injuring me: what, then shall I therefore hurt myself by injuring him?

997

Ink—Described:—The colored slave that waits upon thought; a drop may make a million think.

—Byron.

998

The innocent are gay.

—Cowper.

999

There is no real courage in innocence.

1000

What narrow innocence it is for one to be good only according to the law.

—Seneca.

1001

Better confide and be deceiv'd
A thousand times by treacherous foes,
Than once accuse the innocent
Or let suspicion mar repose.

1002

It is only the vulgar who are always fancying themselves insulted. If a man treads on another's toe in good society, do you think it is taken as an insult?

1003

I once met a man who had forgiven an injury. I hope some day to meet the man who has forgiven an insult.

1004

POLITICAL INTEGRITY.

The borough of Hull, in the reign of Charles II, chose Andrew Marvell, a young gentleman of little or no fortune, and maintained him in London for the service of the public. With a view to bribe him, his old school-fellow, the Lord Treasurer Danby, went to him in his garret. At parting, the Lord Treasurer slipped into his hands an order upon the treasury for £1000, and then went into his chariot. Marvell looking at the paper, called after the treasurer—"My lord, I request another moment." They went up again to the garret, and the servant boy was called—"What had I for dinner yesterday?" "Don't you remember, sir, you had the little shoulder of mutton that you ordered me to bring from a woman in the market?" "Very right. What have I for dinner today?" "Don't you know, sir, that you made me lay up the blade-bone to broil?" "'Tis so; very right. Go away." "My lord, do you hear that? Andrew Marvell's dinner is provided; there's your piece of paper, I want it not. I knew the sort of kindness you intended. I live here to serve my constituents. The ministry may seek men for their purpose; I am not one."

1005

Integrity is to be preferred to eloquence.

—Aeschines.

1006

The integrity of men is to be measured by their conduct, not by their professions.

—Junius.

1007

One of dull intellect cannot come in, nor go away, nor sit, nor rise, nor stand, like a man of sense.

—La Bruyere.

1008

God has placed no limits to the exercise of the intellect he has given us, on this side of the grave.

—Bacon.

1009

Respect other people's opinions;
Intolerance is usually an index of weakness.

1010

Irresolution.—Don't stand shivering upon the bank; plunge in at once and have it over.

—Haliburton.

J

1011

The wife of a distinguished man when asked where her jewels were, replied, "my jewels are my children, my husband, and his triumphs."

1012

MOTHER'S JEWELS.

A lady who was very rich, and fond of pomp and show, after having displayed, in a visit she made, her diamonds, pearls, and richest jewels, earnestly desired Cornelia, the illustrious, to let her see her jewels also. Cornelia dexterously turned the conversation to another subject, to wait the return of her sons, who were gone to the public schools. When they returned and entered their mother's apartment, she said to the rich lady, pointing to them with her hand, "These are my jewels, and the only ornaments I admire."

1013

JOY.

When you first saw the light of this world you were crying, and your friends were full of joy;—Live, so, that when you die, your friends will cry and you will be full of joy.

1014

Of joys departed,
Not to return, how painful the remembrance!

—R. Blair.

1015

I cannot speak, tears so obstruct my words,
And choke me with unutterable joy.

—Otway.

1016

Joy when it's shared, its pleasure doubles,
And sorrow, loses half its troubles.

1017

Johnson: "It is commonly a weak man who marries for love." We then talked of marrying women of fortune; and I (Boswell) mentioned a common remark, that a man may be, upon the whole, richer by marrying a woman with a very small portion, because a woman of fortune will be proportionally expensive; whereas a woman who brings none will be very moderate in expenses. Johnson: "Depend upon it, Sir, this is not true. A woman of fortune, being used to the handling of money, spends it judiciously; but a woman who gets the command of money for the first time upon her marriage, has such a gust in spending it, that she throws it away with great profusion."

—Boswell's Johnson.

1018

Never risk a joke, even the least offensive in its nature and the most common, with a person who is not well-bred, or possessed of sense to comprehend it.

—La Bruyere.

1019

A CONSCIENTIOUS JUDGE.

Sir Matthew Hale was very exact and impartial in his administration of justice. One of the first peers of England went once to his chamber and told him—"That having a suit in law to be tried before him, he was there to acquaint him with it, that he might the better understand it when he should come to be heard in court." Upon which Sir Matthew interrupted him, and said—"He did not deal fairly to come to his chamber about such affairs, for he never received any information of causes but in open court, where both parties were to be heard alike," so he would not suffer him to go on. Whereupon his grace (for he was a Duke) went away not a little dissatisfied, and complained of it to the king, as a rudeness that was not to be endured. But his majesty bade him content himself that he was no worse used, and said—"He verily believed he would have used himself no better, if he had gone to solicit him in any of his own causes."

1020

When we are too young our judgment is at fault; so also when we are too old.

—Pascal.

1021

Give every one the benefit of a doubt. You might be sadly in need of it yourself some day!

—N. S. Murphy.

1022

Gently to hear, kindly to judge.

1023

We shall be judged, not by what we might have been, but what we have been.

—Sewell.

1024

He hears but half, that hears one party only.

—Aeschylus.

1025

Any time is the proper time for saying what is just.

—From the Greek.

1026

Justice and truth may sleep but will never die.

1027

Habits of justice are a valuable possession.

—Antiphones.

1028

Justice means that standard or boundary of right which enables us to render to every man his just due without distinction.

K

1029

"I expect" said one, "to pass thro' this world but once. If therefore there be any kindness I can do, or show, to my fellow-men, let me do it now, as I shall not pass this way again."

—Mrs. A. B. Hegeman.

1030

Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together.

—Goethe.

1031

Kindness has converted more sinners than either zeal, eloquence, or learning.

—F. W. Faber.

1032

A long delay in kindness takes the kindness all away.

1033

To remind a man of a kindness conferred is little less than a reproach.

1034

In the Gentleman's Magazine for September, 1797, published in London, there appears a letter which shows Benjamin Franklin, the philosopher, in the character of a creditor. The letter, which was written in Paris, is as follows:—

April 22, 1784.

I send you herewith a bill for ten louis d'ors. I do not pretend to give such a sum. I only lend it to you. When you shall return to your country you cannot fail of getting into some business that will in time enable you to pay all your debts. In that case, when you meet with another honest man in similar distress you must pay me by lending this sum to him, enjoining him to discharge the debt by a like operation when he shall be able, and shall meet with such another opportunity. I hope it may thus go through many hands before it meets with a knave to stop its progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money. I am not rich enough to afford much in good works, and so am obliged to be cunning and make the most of a little.

1035

If none were sick and none were sad,
We scarcely would be tender.

1036

GRATITUDE OF AN INDIAN CHIEF.

A Scotch Highlander was taken prisoner by a tribe of Indians; his life was about to be sacrificed, when the chief adopted him as his son. They carried him into the interior; he learnt their language, assumed their habits, and became skillful in the use of their arms. After a season the same tribe began their route to join the French army, at that time opposed to the British. It was necessary to pass near to the British lines during the night. Very early in the morning, and it was spring, the old chief roused the young Highlander from his repose: he took him to an eminence, and pointed out to him the tents of his countrymen. The old man appeared to be dreadfully agitated, and there was a keen restlessness in his eye. After a pause—"I lost," said he, "my only son in a battle with your nation; are you the only son of your father? And do you think that your father is yet alive?" The young man replied, "I am the only son of my father, and I hope that my father is yet alive." They stood close to a beautiful magnolia in full blossom. The prospect was grand and enchanting, and all its charms were crowned by the sun, which had fully emerged from the horizon. The old chief, looking steadfastly at his companion, exclaimed: "Let thy heart rejoice at the beauty of the scene! To me it is as the desert; but you are free; return to your countrymen, revisit your father that he may again rejoice when he sees the sun rise in the morning, and the trees blossom in the spring!"

1037

Little acts of kindness are stowed away in the heart, like bags of lavender in a drawer, to sweeten every object around them.

1038

A good man that has done a kindness never proclaims it, but does another as soon as he can; much like the vine which is satisfied by being fruitful in its kind, and bears a bunch of grapes without expecting thanks for it.

1039

There's no dearth of kindness
In this world of ours;
Only in our blindness
We gather thorns for flowers.

—Gerald Massey.

1040

Money can be repaid—
Not kindness such as yours.

—Shakespeare.

1041

Returned Kindness.—When the country near Albany was newly settled, an Indian came to the inn at Lichfield, and asked for a night's shelter, at the same time confessing that from failure in hunting he had nothing to pay. The hostess drove him away with reproachful epithets, and as the Indian was retiring sorrowfully,—there being no other inn for many a weary mile,—a man who was sitting by directed the hostess to supply his wants, and promised to pay her. As soon as his supper was ended, the Indian thanked his benefactor, and said he would some day repay him. Several years thereafter the settler was taken a prisoner by a hostile tribe, and carried off to Canada. However, his life was spared, though he himself was detained in slavery. But one day an Indian came to him, and giving him a musket, bade the captive follow him. The Indian never told where they were going, nor what was his object; but day after day the captive followed his mysterious guide, till one afternoon they came suddenly on a beautiful expanse of cultivated fields, with many houses rising amongst them. "Do you know that place?" asked the Indian. "Ah, yes—it is Lichfield!" and whilst the astonished exile had not recovered his surprise and amazement, the Indian exclaimed—"And I am the starving Indian on whom at this very place you took pity. And now that I have paid for my supper, I pray you go home!"

—Dr. Dwight.

1042

KINDNESS TO INSECTS.

Let them enjoy their little day,
Their humble bliss receive;
Oh, do not lightly take away
The life thou canst not give.

1043

Getting money is not all a man's business: to cultivate kindness, is a valuable part of the business of life.

—Dr. Johnson.

1044

A more glorious victory cannot be gained over another man than this: that when the injury began on his part, the kindness shall begin on ours.

1045

If you grant a favor, forget it;
If you receive one, remember it.

1046

Whoever knows how to return a kindness he has received must be a friend above all price.

—Philoctetes.

1047

Write injuries in the dust and kindness in marble.

1048

DEFINITIONS OF A KISS.

The seal that stamps many a future.

A woman's most effective argument.

Woman's passport to her husband's purse.

A wireless message from the lips to the heart.

1049

A kiss of the lips does not always touch the heart.

1050

Pleasant is the welcome kiss
When the day's dull round is o'er;
And sweet the music of the step
That meets us at the door.

1051

KISSING—PROPRIETY OF.

Some say that kissing's a sin;
But I think it's nane ava,
For kissing has wonn'd[1051:A] in this warld
Since ever that there was twa.
Oh! if it wasna lawfu',
Lawyers wadna allow it;
If it wasna holy,
Ministers wadna do it;
If it wasna modest,
Maidens wadna tak' it;
If it wasna plenty,
Puir folk wadna get it.

—Burns.

FOOTNOTES:

[1051:A] Won.

1052

Knowledge is a comfortable and necessary retreat and shelter for us in an advanced age; and if we do not plant it while young, it will give us no shade when we grow old.

1053

Ask the young people: they know everything!

1054

A Persian philosopher being asked by what method he had acquired so much knowledge, replied, "By not being prevented by shame from asking questions respecting things of which I was ignorant."

1055

Knowledge is not gained on a bed of roses.

1056

If you have knowledge let others light their candles at it.

—Fuller.

1057

Men may acquire knowledge, but not wisdom. Some of the greatest fools the world has known have been learned men.

1058

I have never yet found a man who did not know something of which I was ignorant.

1059

If we do not plant it (knowledge) when young, it will give us no shade when we are old.

1060

Knowledge without practice is like a glass eye, all for show, and nothing for use.

1061

Johnson:—I remember very well when I was at Oxford, an old gentleman said to me,—"Young man, ply your book diligently now, and acquire a stock of knowledge; for when years come upon you, you will find that poring upon books will be but an irksome task."

—Boswell's Johnson.

1062

The Earl of Morton said at John Knox's grave,—
"He lies there who never feared the face of man."

L

1063

LABOR.

The beauty and blessedness of labor are finely presented by John Greenleaf Whittier:—

Give fools their gold, and knaves their power;
Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall;
Who sows a field, or trains a flower,
Or plants a tree, is more than all.

For he who blesses most is blest;
And God and man shall own his worth
Who toils to leave, as his bequest
An added beauty to the earth.

1064

Genius begins great works; labor alone finishes them.

1065

The fruit derived from labor is the sweetest of all pleasures.

—Vauvenargues.

1066

I have also seen the world, and after long experience have discovered that ennui is our greatest enemy, and remunerative labor our most lasting friend.

—Moser.

1067

LABOR.

Some relaxation is necessary to people of every degree; the head that thinks, and the hand that labors, must have some little time to recruit their diminished powers.

—Gilpin.

1068

None so little enjoy life, and are such burdens to themselves, as those who have nothing to do. The active only have the true relish of life. He who knows not what it is to labor, knows not what it is to enjoy. It is exertion that renders rest delightful, and sleep sweet, and undisturbed.

1069

A LABORING SCARECROW.

Two old farmers were walking up a road near Dunfermline, when one of the pair, shading his eyes from the sun, pointed to a distant field and said:

"I wonder if that figure over there is a scarecrow."

He paused and considered the matter for a while, and then, in a satisfied tone, concluded:

"Yes, it must be a scarecrow; it's not moving."

But the other Scot had a sharper pair of eyes, and perhaps a better understanding of human nature.

"No," he said, dryly, "it's not a scarecrow; it's only a man working by the day."

1070

ADVICE TO A YOUNG LADY.

The Rev. Mr. Berridge being once visited by a loquacious young lady, who, forgetting the modesty of her sex, and the superior gravity of an aged divine, engrossed all the conversation of the interview with small talk concerning herself. When she rose to retire, he said, "Madam, before you withdraw, I have one piece of advice to give you; and that is, when you go into company again, after you have talked half an hour without intermission, I recommend it to you to stop awhile, and see if any other of the company has anything to say."

—Old Magazine.

1071

SCOTCH STUDENT AS LAMPLIGHTER.

Many hardships endured by students attending university or college in Scotland have been brought to light from time to time. A student of Anderson's Medical College some years ago fulfilled the duties of lamplighter during his spare hours in a neighboring burgh. He had no other income than the few shillings he received weekly for lighting, extinguishing and cleaning the burgh lamps, and from this he paid his college fees and kept himself fairly respectable. On one occasion he applied for an increase of wages, and was called before the committee. One of the bailies remarked that an able-bodied healthy-looking young man like the applicant, might find some other employment instead of wasting his time as he was doing. The application for an increase was refused. One may conceive the bailie's surprise at a subsequent meeting when the town clerk read a letter from the lamplighter, tendering his resignation, as he had passed his final examination as a fully qualified doctor.

—Glasgow News.

1072

Ah! how sweet it is to remember—the long, long ago.

1073

ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE.

Talking of the origin of language,—Johnson: "It must have come by inspiration. A thousand, nay, a million of children could not invent a language. While the organs are pliable, there is not understanding enough to form a language; by the time that there is understanding enough, the organs are become stiff. We know that after a certain age we cannot learn to pronounce a new language. No foreigner who comes to England when advanced in life, ever pronounces English tolerably well; at least such instances are very rare. When I maintain that language must have come by inspiration, I do not mean that inspiration is required for rhetoric, and all the beauties of language; for when once man has language, we can conceive that he may gradually form modifications of it. I mean only that inspiration seems to me to be necessary to give man the faculty of speech; to inform him that he may have speech; which I think he could no more find out without inspiration than cows or hogs would think of such a faculty."

—Boswell's Life of Johnson.

1074

Laughter.—To laugh, if but for an instant only, has never been granted to men before the fortieth day from his birth, and then it is looked upon as a miracle of precocity.

—Pliny, the Elder.

1075

A good laugh is sunshine in a house.

—Thackeray.

1076

John Dryden said,—"It is a good thing to laugh, and if a straw can tickle a man, it is an instrument of happiness, and of health."

1077

He who laughs overmuch may have an aching heart.

1078

The vulgar laugh and seldom smile; whereas well-bred people often smile and seldom laugh.

1079

Laughing is not always a proof that the mind is at ease, or in composure.

1080

Agree if possible, for the law is costly.

1081

If you've a good case, try to compromise;
If you've a bad one, take it into court.

1082

The law's delay, the insolence of office.

—Shakespeare.

1083

Law is sometimes like a mouse-trap; easy to enter, but not easy to get out of.

1084

FOLLY OF GOING TO LAW.

To go to law is for two persons to kindle a fire at their own cost to warm others, and singe themselves to cinders; and because they cannot agree as to what is truth and equity, they will both agree to unplume themselves, that others may be decorated with their feathers.

—Feltham.

1085

He that goes to law for a sheep will be apt to lose a cow.

1086

A lawyer's office is, I'm sure you'll find,
Just like a mill, whereto for grinding come
A crowd of folk of every sort and kind.

1087

REQUISITES FOR GOING TO LAW.

Wisely has it been said—that he who would go to law,
Must have a good cause,
A good purse,
A good attorney,
Good evidence
And a good judge and jury—and having
all these goods, unless he has also good luck, he will stand
but a bad chance of success.

1088

In a lawsuit nothing is certain but the expense.

1089

The Talmud says that when a man once asked Shamai to teach him the law in one lesson, Shamai drove him away in anger. He then went to Hillel with the same request. Hillel said, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. This is the whole law; the rest merely commentaries upon it."

1090

Two go to law; a third, generally, bears off the spoil.

1091

LEAVING THE LAWYERS A MARGIN.

A man from the country applied lately to a respectable solicitor in this town for legal advice. After detailing the circumstances of the case, he was asked if he had stated the facts exactly as they occurred. "Ou, ay, sir," rejoined the applicant, "I thought it best to tell you the plain truth; ye can put the lees till't yoursel'."

1092

LAWYERS.

I know you lawyers can, with ease,
Twist your words and meanings as you please;
That language, by your skill made pliant,
Will bend to favor every client;
That 'tis the fee directs the sense,
To make out either side's pretence.

—Gay.

1093

Lawyers' gowns are lined with the wilfulness of their clients.

1094

Two lawyers, when a knotty case was o'er,
Shook hands, and were as good friends as before.
"Zounds!" says the losing client, "How come you
To be such friends, who were such foes just now?"
"Thou fool," says one, "we lawyers, tho' so keen,
Like shears, ne'er cut ourselves, but what's between."

1095

Some lawyers have the knack of converting poor advice into good coin.

1096

Laziness grows on people; it begins in cobwebs and ends in iron chains.

1097

No man is so learned, but he may be taught; neither is anyone so illiterate, but he may teach.

1098

The chief art of learning is to attempt but little at a time.

—Locke.

1099

Learning by study must be won,
'Twas ne'er entailed from sire to son.

—Gay.

1100

One pound of learning requires ten of common sense to apply it.

1101

Who swallows quick, can chew but little. (Applied to learning.)

—Chinese.

1102

AUTUMN LEAVES.

"Come little leaves," said the wind one day,
"Come o'er the meadows with me and play;
Put on your dress of red and gold,
Summer is gone, and the days grow cold."

Soon as the leaves heard the wind's loud call
Down they came fluttering, one and all;
Over the brown fields they danced and flew,
Singing the soft little songs that they knew.

Dancing and whirling the little leaves went,
Winter had called them, and they were content.
Soon fast asleep in their earthly beds,
The snow laid a coverlet over their heads.

1103

GENERAL LEE'S REPLY.

After the Civil War many offers of places of honor and fame came to General Robert E. Lee. He refused them all, says Thomas Nelson Page, in his biography of the soldier. The only position which he finally did accept, was the presidency of Washington College,—now Washington and Lee University, at Lexington, Virginia, with a small salary.

On one of these occasions, Lee was approached with the tender of the presidency of an insurance company, at a salary of fifty thousand dollars a year. He declined it, saying that it was work with which he was not familiar.

"But, general," said the representative of the insurance company, "you will not be expected to do any work. What we wish, is the use of your name."

"Do you not think," said General Lee, "that if my name is worth fifty thousand dollars a year, I ought to be very careful about taking care of it?"

1104

Colonel Chesney, of the British Army, said of R. E. Lee: "The day will come when the evil passions of the great civil war will sleep in oblivion, and the North and South do justice to each other's motives, and forget each other's wrongs. Then history will speak with clear voice of the deeds done on either side, and the citizens of the whole Union do justice to the memories of the dead, and place above all others the name of the great Southern chief. In strategy, mighty; in battle, terrible; in adversity, as in prosperity, a hero indeed; with the simple devotion to duty and the rare purity of the ideal Christian Knight,—he joined all the kingly qualities of a leader of men. It is a wondrous future indeed that lies before America; but in her annals of the years to come, as in those of the past, there will be found few names that can rival in unsullied lustre that of the heroic defender of his native Virginia,—Robert Edward Lee."

From "Lee of Virginia,"
—By Edward Jennings Lee, M. D.

1105

He that visits the sick, in the hope of a legacy, I look upon him in this to be no better than a raven, that watches a weak sheep only to peck out the eyes of it.

—Seneca.

1106

Leisure is sweet to those who have earned it, but burdensome to those who get it for nothing.

1107

Full oft have letters caused the writers
To regret the day they were inditers.

1108

Letters which are sometimes warmly sealed, are often but coldly opened.

—Richter.

1109

FOR LIBERALITY.

Though safe thou think'st thy treasure lies,
Hidden in chests from human eyes,
A fire may come, and it may be
Bury'd, my friend, as far from thee.
Thy vessel that yon ocean stems,
Loaded with golden dust and gems,
Purchased with so much pains and cost,
Yet in a tempest may be lost.
Pimps, and a lot of others,—a thankless crew,
Priests, pickpockets, and lawyers too,
All help by several ways to drain,
Thanking themselves for what they gain.
The liberal are secure alone,
For what we frankly give, forever is our own.

—Lord Lansdowne.

1110

LIBERALITY.

The office of liberality consisteth in giving with judgment.

—Cicero.

1111

Libraries are the wardrobes of literature.

—James Dyer.

1112

A lie has no legs and cannot stand; but it has wings, and can fly far and wide.

—Bishop Warburton.

1113

Equivocation is first cousin to a lie.

1114

One lie
Demands for its support a hundred more.

1115

One lie must be thatched with another, or it will soon rain through.

—Owen.

1116

Life is a journey, and they only who have traveled a considerable way in it, are fit to direct those who are setting out.

1117

A term of life is set to every man,
Which is but short; and pass it no one can.

—Burton.

1118

Better, ten-fold, is a life that is sunny,
Than a life that has nothing to boast of but money.

1119

I have found by experience that many who have spent all their lives in cities, contract not only an effeminacy of habit but of thinking.

—Goldsmith.

1120

LIFE—DIFFERENT AGES OF.

At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgment.

—Gratian.

1121

I find one of the great things in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.

1122

There's a Divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them as we will.

—Shakespeare.

1123

The husband and the wife must, like two wheels, support the chariot of domestic life, otherwise it must stop.

1124

NOT A CANDIDATE.

The following well-merited rebuke by a slave to his master, shows that persons occupying mean positions in this life are sometimes superior to those above them.

A gentleman in the enjoyment of wealth, and of high social standing, and wholly given up to the pleasures of this world, knowing that one of his slaves was religious, and happening to see him in the garden near the porch of his house, called him up rather to amuse himself than for any serious purpose. When the slave came to him, cap in hand, he said, "Tom, what do you think of me; do you believe I will be one of the elect when I die?"

With a low obeisance, the slave replied: "Master, I never knew any one to be elected who was not a candidate."

The master, struck with the gentle but just rebuke of the man's answer, turned and entered his mansion, and from that hour became a candidate, living thereafter a good life.

—Belhaven.

1125

Every period of life has its peculiar prejudices: whoever saw old age, that did not applaud the past, and condemn the present times?

—Montaigne.

1126

In life, as in chess, forethought wins.

1127

Yes and No are, for good or evil, the giants of life.

—D. Jerrold.

1128

THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET.

An old gentleman, accounting recently for his age and his happiness, said: "It is quite simple. Lead a natural life, eat what you want,—but of course prudence must be exercised—and walk on the sunny side of the street."

1129

It is to live twice, when we can enjoy the recollections of our former life.

1130

LIFE.

Life! We've been long together
Through pleasant and through cloudy weather;
'Tis hard to part when friends are dear—
Perhaps 'twill cost a sigh, a tear.
Then steal away, give little warning,
Choose thine own time,
Say not "good-night," but in some brighter clime,
Bid me "good-morning."

—A. L. Barbauld.

1131

LIFE—EVANESCENCE OF.

How short is human life! the very breath
Which frames my words, accelerates my death.

—Hannah More.

1132

HUMAN LIFE.

Ah! what is human life?
How like the dial's tardy-moving shade,
Day after day slides from us unperceived!
The cunning fugitive is swift by stealth;
Too subtle is the movement to be seen:
Yet soon the hour is up—and we are—gone.

—Young.

1133

Are we to have a continuous performance by "I did" and "I didn't"?

—Unknown.

1134

Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days be dark and dreary
But—
Behind the cloud the sun's still shining.

—Longfellow.

1135

Every man's life lies within the present; for the past is spent and done with, and the future is uncertain.

—Antoninus.

1136

Lord, help me live from day to day,
In such a self-forgetful way,
That even when I kneel to pray,
My prayer shall be for—others.

1137

No one sees what is before his feet; we all gaze at the stars.

—Cicero.

1138

He who with life makes sport,
Can prosper never;
Who rules himself in nought,
Is a slave ever.

1139

A MISSION FOR EVERY ONE.

Think not thou livest in vain,
Or that one honest pain
Of thine is lost.
He, who in loving care,
Numbers thine every hair,
Knows all the cost.

No lightest care of thine
Escapes His love divine;
No smile's forgot,
Nor cup of water given.
Each tender, loving deed,
Like some strange, precious seed,
Shall bear its fruit in heaven.

Nor dream, if thou wert gone
From out life's troubled throng
Thou'dst not be missed.
Thou knowest not what heart,
That lives in gloom apart,
Would find its sunshine fled
If thou wert dead—
What slender thread of faith would break
If thou shouldest prove untrue.

The flower that blooms in desert place
And lifts its head with winsome grace,
Might sigh: "Alas; ah, me:
Why should I live where none can see?"
But He who made both field and flood,
Hath formed that flower and called it good,
And in His wisdom placed it there
To make the desert seem more fair:
And if He then hath need of flowers
To deck this barren world of ours,
He hath a use for thee!

1140

YOUTH, MANHOOD, OLD AGE.

How small a portion of our life it is, that we really enjoy. In youth, we are looking forward to things that are to come; in old age, we are looking backwards to things that are gone past; in manhood, although we appear indeed to be more occupied in things that are present, yet even that is too often absorbed in vague determinations to be vastly happy on some future day, when we have time.

1141

Our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

—Shakespeare.

1142

LIFE REPRESENTED BY A NEWSPAPER.

This folio of four pages, happy work!
Which not even critics criticize, that holds
Inquisitive attention while I read—
What is it, but a busy map of life,
Its fluctuations and its vast concerns?

1143

The acts of this life are the destiny of the next.

—Chinese.

1144

There are three whose life is no life:—
He who lives at another's table;
He whose wife domineers over him;
And he who suffers bodily affliction.

—Talmud.

1145

Life is too short to be spent in nursing animosities, or in registering wrongs.

1146

Think naught a trifle, though it small appear;
Small sands the mountain, moments make the year,
And trifles, life.

—Young.

1147

THE HAPPIEST LIFE.

Life's fittest station needs must be
Midway between the poor and great:
Above the cares of poverty,
Below the cares of high estate.

—E. C. Dolson.

1148

We find life exactly what we put in it.

1149

The sweetest thing in life
Is the unclouded welcome of a wife.

—N. P. Willis.

1150

As we advance in life we learn the limits of our abilities.

—Froude.

1151

Be ready at all times to listen to others.

1152

A man with an empty stomach is a poor listener.

1153

The only thing certain about litigation is it's uncertainty.

—Bovee.

1154

Little by little added, if oft done,
In small time makes a good possession.

—Hesiod, a Greek, 850 B. C.

1155

What loneliness is more lonely than distrust?

1156

THE THREE LOOKS.

The old man looks down, and thinks of the past.
The young man looks up, and thinks of the future.
The child looks everywhere, and thinks of nothing.

1157

For 'tis a truth well known to most,
That whatsoever thing is lost,
We seek it, ere it come to light,
In every cranny but the right.

—Cowper.

1158

Where you are not appreciated, you cannot be loved.

1159

When people fall in love at first sight, they often live to regret that they didn't take another look.

1160

"I'm sorry that I spelt the word,
I hate to go above you;
Because"—the brown eyes lower fell—
"Because, you see, I love you!"

—John Greenleaf Whittier.

1161

Where there is love, all things interest; where there is indifference, minute details are tedious, disbelief is cherished, and trifles are apt to be thought contemptible.

1162

If he loves me, the merit is not mine; my fault will be if he ceases.

1163

LOVE.

To a man, the disappointment of love may occasion some bitter pangs: it wounds some feelings of tenderness—it blasts some prospects of felicity; but he is an active being; he may dissipate his thoughts in the whirl of varied occupation, or may plunge into the tide of pleasure; or, if the scene of disappointment be too full of painful associations, he can shift his abode at will, and taking, as it were, the wings of the morning, can "fly to the uttermost parts of the earth, and be at rest."

But woman's is comparatively a fixed, a secluded and a meditative life. She is more the companion of her own thoughts and feelings; and if they are turned to ministers of sorrow, where shall she look for consolation? Her lot is to be wooed and won; and if unhappy in her love, her heart is her world—is like some fortress that has been captured, and sacked, and abandoned, and left desolate.

Shall I confess it?—I believe in broken hearts, and the possibility of dying of disappointed love! I do not, however, consider it a malady often fatal to my own sex; but I firmly believe that it withers down many a lovely woman into an early grave. So is it the nature of woman to hide from the world the pangs of wounded affection.

—Washington Irving.

1164

To love and to be loved is the greatest happiness of existence.

1165

WHAT!

Since there's no help for me, come, let us kiss and part—
Alas! I am done, you see no more of me;
But I am sorry, yea, sorry with all my heart,
That thus, you have willed it,—to be free:
Shake hands forever, cancel all our vows,
And when we meet at any time again,
Be it not seen in either of our brows
That we one jot of former love retain.

—Anonymous.

1166

Dr. Doddridge one day asked his little daughter how it was that everybody loved her: "I know not," said she, "unless it be that I love everybody."

—Arvine.

1167

He who is loved by man is loved by God.

—The Talmud.

1168

If there's delight in love, 'tis when I see
That heart which others bleed for, bleed for me.

—Garrick.

1169

Love is the only passion that justifies a perpetual hyperbole, i. e., poetic exaggeration.

—Bacon.

1170

There is an atmosphere in the letters of those we love which we alone—we who love—can feel.

1171

LIFE WITHOUT LOVE.

Life without love is like day without sunshine,
Roses bereft of sweet nature's perfume;
Love is the guide mark to those who are weary
Of waiting and watching in darkness and gloom.

Love to the heart is like dewdrops to violets
Left on the dust-ridden roadside to die;
Love leads the way to our highest endeavors,
Lightens and lessens the pain of each sigh.

Life without love is like spring without flowers,
Brook-streams that move not, or star-bereft sky;
Love creates efforts most worthy and noble,
Prompts us to live and resigns us to die.

—Unknown.

1172

LOVE.

The night has a thousand eyes,
And the day but one;
Yet the light of the whole world dies
With the setting sun.

The mind has a thousand eyes,
And the heart but one;
But the light of a whole life dies
When love is done.

—Francis W. Bourdillon.

1173

One nail by strength drives out another,
So the remembrance of my former love
Is by a newer object quite forgotten.

—Shakespeare.

1174

Love is like the moon; when it does not increase, it decreases.

1175

FORGET THEE?

Behold the sun forget to shine,
The brightest star to twinkle,
The ivy round the oak to twine,
The tearful heart to sprinkle
The sod that wraps affection's grave,
The never silent surging sea
The sandy shore to lash and lave—
Then think that I'll forget thee.

—Winfred.

1176

THE MAIDEN IN LOVE.

Sweet mother, I can spin no more to-day,
And all for a youth who has stolen my heart away.

—Sappho, 600 B. C.
—Translated by Appleton.

1177

We are easily duped by those whom we love.

—Moliere.

1178

MORE THAN HIS SHARE.

"Martha, does thee love me?" asked a quaker youth of one at whose shrine his heart's fondest feelings had been offered up.

"Why, Seth," answered she, "we are commanded to love one another, are we not?"

"Aye, Martha; but does thee regard me with that feeling that the world calls love?"

"I hardly know what to tell thee, Seth; I have greatly feared that my heart was an erring one. I have tried to bestow my love on all; but I have sometimes thought, perhaps, that thee was getting rather more than thy share."

—Christian Observer.

1179

No disguise can long conceal love where it is, nor feign it where it is not.

—Rochefoucauld.

1180

LOVE.

Naught sweeter is than love. Whom that doth bless
Regardeth all things less.
If thou first taste of love, then shalt thou see
Honey shall bitter be!
What roses are, they never know, who miss
Fair Cytherea's kiss.

—Nossis, Greek.
Translated by Lilla Cabot Perry.

1181

How often love is maintained by wealth:
When all is spent adversity then breeds
The discontent.

—Herrick.

1182

The moment one is in love one becomes so amiable.

1183

ONE WHO LOVES.

I had so fixed my heart upon her,
That whereso'er I fram'd a scheme of life
For time to come, she was my only joy
With which I used to sweeten future cares:
I fancy'd pleasures, none but one who loves
And doats as I did, can imagine like them.

1184

The secret of being loved is in being lovely, and the secret of being lovely, is in being unselfish.

1185

A lover never sees the faults of the one he loves till the enchantment is over.

1186

THE TRAGEDY OF FICKLE LOVE.

He came too late! Neglect had tried
Her constancy too long;
Her love had yielded to her pride
And the deep sense of wrong.
She scorned the offering of a heart
Which lingered on its way,
Till it could no delight impart,
Nor spread one cheering ray.

He came too late! At once he felt
That all his power was o'er;
Indifference in her calm smile dwelt—
She thought of him no more.
Anger and grief had passed away,
Her heart and thoughts were free;
She met him, and her words were gay
No spell had memory.

He came too late! Her countless dreams
Of hope had long since flown;
No charms dwelt in his chosen themes,
Nor in his whispered tone.
And when, with word and smile, he tried
Affection still to prove,
She nerved her heart with woman's pride
And spurned his fickle love.

—Unknown.

1187

OH, NO! WE NEVER MENTION HIM.

Oh, no! we never mention him, his name is never heard;
My lips are now forbid to speak that once familiar word:
From sport to sport they hurry me, to banish my regret;
And when they win a smile from me, they think that I forget.

They bid me seek in change of scene the charms that others see;
But were I in a foreign land, they'd find no change in me.
'Tis true that I behold no more the valley where we met,
I do not see the hawthorn-tree; but how can I forget?

For oh! there are so many things recall the past to me—
The breeze upon the sunny hills, the billows of the sea;
The rosy tint that decks the sky before the sun is set;—
Ay, every leaf I look upon forbids me to forget.

They tell me he is happy now, the gayest of the gay;
They hint that he forgets me too,—but I heed not what they say:
Perhaps like me he struggles with each feeling of regret;
But if he loves as I have loved, he never can forget.

—Thomas Haynes Bayley, 1797-1839.

1188

Is it possible a man can be so changed by love that one would not know him for the same person?

1189

Girls we love for what they are; young men for what they promise to be.

—Goethe.

1190

Love is loveliest when embalm'd in tears.

1191

Caresses, expressions of one sort or another, are necessary to the life of the affections, as leaves are to the life of a tree. If they are wholly restrained, love will die at the roots.