came more
perceptible; the intense blue of the sky began to soften; the smaller
stars, like little children, went first to rest; the sister beams of the
Pleiades soon melted together; but the bright constellations of the west
and north remained unchanged. Steadily the wondrous transfiguration went
on. Hands of angels, hidden from mortal eyes, shifted the scenery of the
heavens; the glories of the night dissolved into the glories of the
dawn. The blue sky now turned more softly gray; the great watch-stars
shut up their holy eyes; the east began to kindle. Faint streaks of
purple soon blushed along the sky; the whole celestial concave was
filled with the inflowing tides of the morning light which came pouring
down from above in one great ocean of radiance; till at length, as we
reached the Blue Hills, a flash of purple fire blazed out from above the
horizon, and turned the dewy teardrops of flower and leaf into rubies
and diamonds. In a few seconds, the everlasting gates of the morning
were thrown wide open, and the lord of day, arrayed in glories too
severe for the gaze of man, began his state."

Nothing but the morning itself is more beautiful than this sublime
description.

The best of the day is the morning. The brain is clearer, the nerves
more steady, the physical powers at their best before the sun reaches
its zenith. Weariness waits for noon, and the wise man chooses the
morning as the period for his most exacting toil.

Of all the year, the spring-time is the fairest. Nature wakes from the
restful sleep of winter. Grasses grow, flowers bloom, trees put forth
their leaves, birds build their nests, and he who hopes for harvest lays
the foundations of his future gain. The whole year is lost to him who
sleeps or idles away the seed-time. Late planting will grow, perhaps, if
excessive heat does not kill the seed or wither the shoot; but before it
comes to fruitage the frosts of autumn will blight it, flower and stem
and root. Man cannot alter God's plan. There is a time to sow and a time
to reap.

Life has its seasons also--its spring-time, its winter; morning, noon,
and night. The Scriptures enjoin us to work while it is called day; for
the night cometh when no man can work. In the parable the rich man who
went on a journey appointed each servant a task. To each of us is
entrusted some treasure; each is commanded to work. To labor is man's
appointed lot. This is his supreme mission in the world. He cannot avoid