--Jean Ingelow.

I, and the bird,
And the wind together,
Sang a supplication
In the winter weather.

The bird sang for sunshine,
And the trees for winter fruit,
And for love in the spring time
When the thickets shoot.

And I sang for patience
When the teardrops start;
Clean hands and clear eyes,
And a faithful heart.

--Arthur C. Benson.

Unto thee, O Jehovah, do I lift up my soul.

--Psalm 25. 1.

Lord God, if I am discouraged this morning, may I pause for thine
encouragement. Grant that the fear of the night may make no decline in
my morn, but that "into the future I may fuse the past," and use what
is clearest for to-day. Amen.

JULY TWENTY-FIRST

Matthew Pryor born 1664.

William Lord Russell beheaded 1683.

Robert Burns died 1796.

Our heaven must be within ourselves,
Our home and heaven the work of faith
And thro' this race of life which shelves
Downward to death.
While over all a dome must spread,
And love shall be that dome above;
And deep foundations must be laid,
And these are love.

--Christina Rossetti.

If happiness has not her seat
And center in the breast,
We may be wise or rich or great,
But never can be blest.

--Robert Burns.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of
life.

--Proverbs 4.

My Father, if I choose to be unhappy and miserable, may I not be to
myself and friends as "a harp with one string." Help me to free myself
from thinking and anticipating things that keep me from the pleasure
that I might receive and give. May I have more trust in my friends and
in thee. Amen.

JULY TWENTY-SECOND

Sir John Graham killed 1298.

Pilgrims started for America 1620.

Earl of Shaftesbury (Anthony Ashley Cooper) born 1621.

How comes it to pass, then, that we appear such cowards in
reasoning, and are so afraid to stand the test of ridicule?

--Earl of Shaftesbury.

He that of such a height hath built his mind,
And reared the dwelling of his thoughts so strong,
As neither fear nor hope can shake the frame
Of his resolved powers; nor all the wind
Of vanity or malice pierce to wrong
His settled peace, or to disturb the same:
What a fair seat hath he, from whence he may
The boundless wastes and wilds of man survey?

--Samuel Dan