—­Isaiah 43. 4.

Lord God, forbid that I should try to supplant character with manners and worldly goods.  May I remember that thou seest me, and knowest me, and I need no shield from thee.  Help me that I may be found acceptable while thou dost search me to the depths of the soul.  Amen.

MARCH THIRTEENTH

Joseph Priestley born 1733.

Esther Johnson (Stella) born 1681.

Regina Maria Roche died 1845.

    If stores of dry and learned lore we gain
    We keep them in the memory of the brain;
    Names, things, and facts—­whate’er we knowledge call,
    There is the common ledger for them all;
    And images on this cold surface traced
    Make slight impressions and are soon effaced. 
    But we’ve a page more glowing and more bright
    On which our friendship and our love to write;
    That these may never from the soul depart,
    We trust them to the memory of the heart. 
    There is no dimming—­no effacement here;
    Each pulsation keeps the record clear;
    Warm golden letters all the tablet fill,
    Nor lose their luster till the heart stands still.

    —­Daniel Webster.

    I often wonder why it is that we are not all kinder than we are.  How
    much the world needs it!  How easily it is done!  How instantaneously
    it acts!  How infallibly it is remembered!

    —­Henry Drummond.

    Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many
    days.

    —­Ecclesiastes 11. 1.

My Father, thou hast taught me through the gifts of life, that there is no labor or price too dear to pay for love.  I pray to love thee more that I may have more love to bestow on others.  Amen.

MARCH FOURTEENTH

Thomas H. Benton born 1782.

Johann Strauss born 1804.

Victor Emmanuel born 1820.

    Rivers to the ocean run,
      Nor stay in all their course;
    Fire ascending seeks the sun;
      Both speed them to their source;
    So a soul that’s born of God,
      Pants to view his glorious face,
    Upward tends to his abode,
      To rest in his embrace.

    —­Robert Seagrave.

    As the bird trims her to the gale
      I trim myself to the storm of time;
    I man the rudder, reef the sail,
      Obey the voice at eve obeyed at prime;
    Lowly faithful, banish fear,
    The port well worth the cruise is near
      And every wave is charmed.

    —­Ralph Waldo Emerson.

    As the hart panteth after the water brooks,
    So panteth my soul after thee, O God.

    —­Psalm 42. 1.

My Father, I pray that if I meet with difficulty, I may not go backward, nor stand still, and fear to go forward.  Unfold to me the depth and breadth of the ideal and beautiful, that I may not be content to succeed in the shallowness of life:  but may I aspire to the height of the soul, even if I fail to acquire great things.  Amen.