Then the master giveth him golden hire, And how happy the heart of the weaver is The years of a man are the looms of God, Till the mystic web is done. Weaving blindly, but weaving surely, We may not know how the right side looks; But, looking above for the pattern, The perfect Pattern is there. 2 If he keeps the face of the Savior His toil shall be sweeter than noney; His weaving is sure to be right. High Noon. A. G. CHESTER. Time's finger on the dial of my life Points to high noon. And yet the half-spent day Leaves less than half remaining! For the dark, Bleak shadows of the grave engulf the end. To those who burn the candle to the stick, To cleanse the clouded windows of our souls Three things I learned—three things of precious worth— To guide and help me down the western slope. I have learned how to pray, and toil, and save; This alone is gain. ELLA WHEELER WILCOX. What Is Life? Ah, what is life? 'Tis but a passing touch upon the world; ANNA KATHERINE GREEN. Life an Image of God. Throughout this beautiful and wonderful creation there is never-ceasing motion, without rest by night or day, ever weaving to and fro. Swifter than a weaver's shuttle, it flies from birth to death, from death to birth; from the beginning seeks the en1 and finds it not; for the seeming end is only a dim beginning of a new out-going and endeavor after the end. As the ice upon the mountain, when the warm breath of the Summer's sun breathes upon it, melts and divides into drops, each of which reflects an image of the sun, so life, in the smile of God's love, divides itself into separate forms, each bearing in it, and reflecting, an image of God's love. -Longfellow. Life Not What It Seems. Life Life, my young friends, is not what it seems to be to you. Life is not a sailing under fair skies and across tranquil seas, until you shall drop your anchor in Fair Havens at the end. Life is not a yachting excursion through the many-islanded Mediterranean, or around the creeks and bays of our lovely shores. Life is not sailing up and down some romantic Clyde, or still more romantic Rhine. Life means being ont on the open sea. means roughing it. Life means storm; means fog, and unsightly mud-banks, on which you may run and be stranded. Life means roaring reefs and sunken rocks. Life means (to change the metaphor) snares and traps set with devilish skill for unwary feet, all round about. "Sirs," says the preacher, says Paul, says God himself, "I perceive that this voyage is to mean trouble, distress and trial, do as we may and go as we may. This was said, remember, while they were still in the harbor. "In any case, our voyage is to mean trouble, trial and hardship." And I say the same. Oh, it is unwelcome; it is irksome doctrine. Time was when I do not think I believed it myself. Time was when life seemed-well, what could our ideas of life be, my young friends, other than just what we gathered from those books we read, those novels which were continually in our hands? Life was to be an adventure—a glorious adventure. Life was to be romance. Life was to be success, joy and gladness. Hear it, although it may seein to be a wet blanket thrown over your romancing spirit — your enthusiastic soul: "Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives." We shall barely be saved, if we are saved at all-saved by the skin of our teeth, and we shall land on the eternal shore with nothing but what we stand in.—MCNEILL. How to Carry Life's Burden. Christ saw that men took life painfully. To some it was a weariness, to others a failure, to many a tragedy —to all a struggle and a pain. How to carry this burden of life had been the whole world's problem. It is still the whole world's problem. And here is Christ's solution: 66 Carry it as I do. Take life as I take it. Look at it from My point of view. principles. Take My yoke and learn of Me, and you will For My yoke is easy, works easily, sits right upon the shoulders, and therefore My burden is light."-HENRY DRUMMOND. find it easy. Interpret it upon My A Solemn Thing to Live. Most people say: "It is a solemn thing to die." And so it is. Death takes us from those we love, bears the |