27. AS THY DAY THY STRENGTH

SHALL BE.

THERE are stepping-stones in the deepest waters
That firmly meet the tides of human life;
And havens safe from every storm that gathers;
And issues out of every human strife.

There is no cloud that sunshine does not follow,
Nor pain without its solace in the end;

There is no day but that the coming morrow
Will bring some balm, the passing ills to mend.

There are no ties so precious in the binding
That threatened parting does not endear them,
Nor offerings of good that in the giving

Return no mercies which they fitly emblem.

Ah, there are no hopes with full fruition here,
Nor fears that compass half their fancied ills;
And there is no mortal scheme from doubting clear,
Nor earthly joy that e'er the spirit fills.

But onward, upward, to cheer the tiresome way,
There beams perennial Light above the grave;

And solace promised, a joy without alloy,

To prove that trials here but bless and save.
From the "New York Churchman." (H. B. C.)

ALL-SUFFICIENT STRENGTH.

HE who bridles the fury of the billows, knows how to

put a stop to all the secret plans of the wicked.

RACINE.

28. IF I WERE A VOICE.

If I were a voice, a persuasive voice,
That could travel the wide world through,
I would fly on the beams of the morning light,
And speak to men with a gentle might,

And tell them to be true.

I'd fly, I'd fly o'er land and sea,
Wherever a human heart might be,
Telling a tale, or singing a song,

In praise of the right, in blame of the wrong.

If I were a voice, a consoling voice,

I'd fly on the wings of air;

The homes of sorrow and guilt I'd seek,
And calm and truthful words I'd speak,
To save them from despair.

I'd fly, I'd fly o'er the crowded town,
And drop like the happy sunlight down
Into the hearts of suffering men,
And teach them to rejoice again.

If I were a voice, a pervading voice,

I'd seek the kings of earth;

I'd find them alone on their beds at night,

And whisper words that should guide them right, Lessons of priceless worth.

I'd fly more swift than the swiftest bird,
And tell them things they never heard,
Truths which the ages for aye, repeat,
Unknown to the statesmen at their feet.

If I were a voice, an immortal voice,
I'd speak in the people's ear;
And whenever they shouted "Liberty!"
Without deserving to be free,

I'd make their error clear.

I'd fly, I'd fly on the wings of day,
Rebuking wrong on my world-wide way,
And making all the earth rejoice, -
If I were a voice, an immortal voice.

CHARLES MACKAY.

29. LOOK NOT UPON THE WINE.

Look not upon the wine when it is red within the cup!
Stay not for pleasure when she fills her tempting beaker up!
Though clear its depths, and rich its glow,

A spell of madness lurks below.

They say 't is pleasant on the lip, and merry on the brain; They say it stirs the sluggish blood, and dulls the tooth of

pain;

Ay! but within its glowing deeps

A stinging serpent, unseen, sleeps.

Its rosy lights will turn to fire, its coolness change to thirst; And, by its mirth, within the brain a sleepless worm is

nursed;

There's not a bubble at the brim

That does not carry food to him.

Then dash the brimming cup aside, and spill its purple wine; Take not its madness to thy lip; let not its curse be thine. "Tis red and rich, but grief and woe

Are in those rosy depths below.

NATHANIEL PARKER WILLIS.

30. THE ALCOHOLIC AND THE

TOBACCO HABIT.

WRITTEN at Portland Maine, April 8, 1894, for " Beacon Lights of Patriotism," "hoping these few lines may be useful to young people," — by General NEAL Dow, immediately after his ninetieth birthday anniversary.

FOR many years it has been a matter of wonder to me that so little care is taken by parents and teachers to inform children and young people, and that, thoroughly, of the danger which invariably threatens all persons who contract the alcoholic and tobacco habits.

But very little, if anything was said about this when I was a boy, but, somehow, I escaped that great danger, while many, if not most of my playfellows and schoolmates, fell victims to those habits, and died from the effects, many years ago. My parents, and all my ancestors, both maternal and paternal, were Friends; and it is an important part of the discipline of those excellent people, so to live that their personal influence shall always be for the right, and never for the wrong. It is in that way, perhaps, that I imbibed the conviction, very early in life, that the use of intoxicating drinks of any kind, and of tobacco, as well, was always dangerous, and safe

never.

Young people cannot know much about the world, nor about men; and thus they are led to accept habits, manners, and customs as right and proper, because supported by the example and practice of very respectable people. That, surely, is a very dangerous rule to follow, because there are always a great many people who are called respectable, and yet it would be very perilous for young persons to follow their example and habits. No one was ever injured in health or morals by abstinence from tobacco and strong drink, while millions have been ruined by indulgence in both, or either of them.

NEAL DOW.

PART X.

AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE CONSUMMATED.

1. PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADDRESS AT GETTYSBURG, November 19, 1864.

FOURSCORE and seven years ago, our Fathers brought forth upon this continent a new Nation, conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men were created equal. Now we are engaged in a great Civil War, testing whether that Nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of the war. We are met to dedicate a portion of it as the final resting-place of those who have given their lives that that Nation might live.

It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this; but, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. The world will very little note, nor long remember, what we say here; but it can never forget what they did here.

It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work that they have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us; that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause