NOVEMBER FIFTEENTH

William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, born 1708.

William Cowper born 1731.

Sir William Herschel born 1738.

Johann Lavater born 1741.

Richard Henry Dana born 1787.

Ida Tarbell born 1857.

    The parting sun sends out a glow
      Across the placid bay,
    Touching with glory all the show—­
      A breeze!  Up helm!  Away!

    Careening to the wind, they reach,
      With laugh and call, the shore. 
    They’ve left their footprints on the beach,
      But them I hear no more.

    —­Richard Henry Dana.

    Art little?  Do thy little well: 
      And for thy comfort know
    The great can do their greatest work
      No better than just so.

    —­Goethe.

    But be thou an ensample to them that believe, in word, in manner of
    life, in love, in faith, in purity.

    —­1 Timothy 4. 12.

Lord God, grant that if I may be complaining of what Providence has not sent me, I may not be neglecting what Providence has given me.  May I not pause too long over what I have done, or over what I might have done, but may I be appreciative of what thou dost expect of me and endeavor to accomplish it.  Amen.

NOVEMBER SIXTEENTH

Tiberius born B.C. 42.

Gustavus Adolphus killed 1632.

Francis Danby born 1793.

    Judge not the workings of his brain
      And of his heart thou canst not see;
    What looks to thy dim eyes a stain
      In God’s pure light may only be
    A scar, brought from some well-won field,
      Where thou would’st only faint and yield.

    And judge none lost; but wait and see,
      With hopeful pity, not disdain;
    The depth of the abyss may be
      The measure of the height of pain
    And love and glory that may raise
     The soul to God in after days!

    —­Adelaide A. Procter.

    I am more afraid of deserving criticism, than of receiving it.

    —­William Gladstone.

    Judge not, that ye be not judged.

    —­Matthew 7.1.

Lord Jehovah, judge of all mankind, forbid that I should set myself as a judge of another’s life, and neglect to live for the higher judgment of my own.  May I not be absorbed in that which thrives in darkness, but live in the light of honesty and gentleness.  Amen.

NOVEMBER SEVENTEENTH

Queen Mary of England died 1558.

Joost van den Vondel born 1587.

George Grote born 1794.

There are evergreen men and women in the world, praise be to God!—­not many of them, but a few.  They are not the showy folk.  (Nature is an old-fashioned shopkeeper; she never puts her best goods in the window.) They are only the quiet, strong folk; they are stronger than Fate.  The storms of life sweep over them, and the biting frosts creep round them; but the winds and the frosts pass away, and they are still standing, green and straight.

    —­Jerome K. Jerome.