O Thou, who art infinite in wisdom, in power and in love, we comfort ourselves, strengthen ourselves, inspire ourselves as we remember that, in all the exigencies of life, beneath us are Thy everlasting arms and watching over us is Thy all-seeing eye. We have chosen Thee as our God in joy and our God in sorrow. So may it be that when all about us seems transient and the very foundations of the world seem taken away, we may be assured that Thou and Thy providence are permanent, and that in Thy universe there can be no real loss and no abiding wrong. Amen.

GEORGE E. HUNTLEY.

Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears,
With all the hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
We know what Master laid thy keel,
What Workmen wrought thy ribs of steel,
Who made each mast, and sail, and rope,
What anvils rang, what hammers beat,
In what a forge and what a heat
Were shaped the anchors of thy hope!
Fear not each sudden sound and shock,
'Tis of the wave and not the rock:
'Tis but the flapping of the sail,
And not a rent made by the gale!
In spite of rock and tempest's roar,
In spite of false lights on the shore,
Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea!
Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee,
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,

Are all with thee,

are all with thee! HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW.

We bless Thee, Father of all souls, for our Republic, the genius of which contemplates for each and every citizen the right to think his own thoughts, and to enjoy the fruits of his own industry. Help us to cherish and hold these rights sacred. Above all, help us to use them in the spirit of the Christian religion which teaches us to do unto others as we would be done by. Amen.

HENRY N. COUDEN.

Only a day at a time.

There may never be a to-morrow.

Only a day at a time, and that we can live, we know. The trouble we cannot bear is only the trouble we borrow, And the trials that never come are the ones that fret

us so.

Only a step at a time. It may be the angels bend o'er

us.

To bear us above the stones that wound our feet by

the way.

The step that is hardest of all is not the one just before

us.

And the path we dread the most may be smoothed another day.

ANONYMOUS.

Our Father, help us to realize that the great God who made heaven and earth, infinite in mercy, love and power, is our Father. Help us to step into the child place and claim our childhood. As, in walking through the dangerous streets, the child puts its hand in the strong, loving hand of its father, so may we put our hands in Thine. Lead Thou us on. May we walk through this day in company with Thee. May we rest this night in Thee. And when the morning of a new day breaks, may we still be with Thee. Help us to trust Thee where we cannot trace the way. Amen.

O. J. WHITE.

I am but clay in thy hands, but thou art the all-loving artist;

Passive I lie in thy sight, yet in my selfhood I strive So to embody the life and love thou ever impartest That in my sphere of the finite I may be truly alive.

Knowing thou needest this form, as I thy divine inspiration,

Knowing thou shapest the clay with a vision and purpose divine,

So would I answer each touch of thy hand in its loving creation,

That in my conscious life thy power and beauty may shine.

CHRISTOPHER PEARSE CRANCH.

O Thou Eternal God above, we recognize that Thou art all in all, and that in and from Thee we live and move and have our being. May we ever remember that Thou art the life of heaven, even as the soul is the life of the body, and that Thy will is done therein, even as the body responds to the will of the soul. May we shun all evils as sins against Thee; so that not only our internal man but our external man may come into Thy image and likeness, and we may completely be Thy children. Amen.

HENRY H. GRANT.

I try to fix my eyes upon my book;
But just outside a budding spray
Flaunts in new leaves as if to say,
"Look! — look!"

I trim my pen, I make it fine and neat,
There comes a flutter of brown wings,
A little bird alights and sings;
"Sweet! - sweet!"

O little bird, O go away! be dumb!
For I must ponder certain lines;

And straight a nodding flower makes signs,

66

Come!

come!"

GERTRUDE HALL.

Dear Father, the dawning of this new day seems very wonderful to us. How full of beauty the world is! We pray this morning for a life so simple that communion with nature shall bring us greatest joy. Everywhere we look are evidences of Thy love, in the breath of flowers, the perfume of new-mown hay, the hills and mountains that are kissed by Thy sunlight, the songs of birds. Speak to us, Heavenly Father, through these sweet voices, that our lives may be in harmony with all that is good. Thus our souls shall be made beautiful. Amen.

FLORENCE H. PERIN.