George Frederick Watts born 1817.

John Keats died 1821.

Margaret Deland born 1857.

Labor is life! 'tis the still water faileth;
Idleness ever despaireth, bewaileth:
Keep the watch wound, or the dark rust assaileth;
Flowers droop and die in the stillness of noon.
Labor is glory! the flying cloud lightens;
Only the waving wing changes and brightens,
Idle hearts only the dark future frightens,
Play the sweet keys, wouldst thou keep them in tune.

--Frances S. Osgood.

KEATS

Palled death, with kisses ghostly,
Wooed and won him while too young,
And the world reveres him mostly,
For the songs he might have sung.

--Samuel A. Wood.

Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the
curtains of thy habitations; spare not: lengthen thy cords, and
strengthen thy stakes.

--Isaiah 54. 2.

Almighty God, I pray for the will to do my finest work. Disclose to me
if I am being detained by serving selfishness in myself or in others.
Lead me to what is right for me to do; and may I diligently tarry in
it. Amen.

FEBRUARY TWENTY-FOURTH

Samuel Lover born 1797.

Robert Fulton died 1815.

George William Curtis born 1824.

'Tis not to enjoy that we exist,
For that end only; something must be done;
I must not walk in unreproved delight
These narrow bounds, and think of nothing more,
No duty that looks further and no care.

--William Wordsworth.

We weave our thoughts into heart-spun plans,
And weave secure for a fitful day,
But lose in the web of earthly things
The pattern of sublimity.

Shall days spring up as wild vines grow,
Unheeding where they climb or cling?
Consider, child, before you sow,
And wait not until harvesting.

--M.B.S.

Jehovah is my strength and my shield;
My heart hath trusted in him, and I am helped:
Therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth;
And with my song will I praise him.

--Psalm 28. 7.

Loving Father, command my judgment for the influences which I permit
to come into my life. Grant that I may not delay my purposes for the
lack of comforts which are so often made more than life. With thy
strength may I be steadfast in what I would achieve. Amen.

FEBRUARY TWENTY-FIFTH

William Seely died 1521.

Sir Christopher Wren died 1723.

Jane Goodwin Austin born 1831.

Camille Flamma