December and May were both one. He may have been thankful for flowers, but he did not complain about thorns. His heart was not easily broken. When his troops were hungry and in rags he spoke to them only the more kindly. When too feeble to fight he could retreat. He could wait as long as any general living. When the roads were good he advanced more easily; but when mud and snow were deep he still advanced. When the great Benedict Arnold, one of his most trusted friends, betrayed a most valuable garrison Washington closed up the open gate in a few hours. When Congress was without sense and without skill, Washington was on hand with both, at all hours, with a wisdom that never left him for a moment in seven years. Never before had the world seen such a clear grasp of the value of human liberty and such a uniform realization of means to an end. His mind did not flash like a cannon or like a meteor. It poured out constantly, like the sun. The calmness which he possessed was not that of insensibility, but it was that of an unchanging power. He lived in a group of years in which each day was great. In a time when a little republic was lying under the wheels of old iron chariots, how could any small hours come? The age not only lifted Washington up to a high level, but it compelled him to remain there until he was taken down for burial. Even when he retired to Mount Vernon to find years of peace, the Nation followed him and made him act as chief of the army, and of an army the most illustrious of that had ever carried spear or gun. His heart failed but once, and that was when he sunk in

any

Let me

death, saying:

"You can do nothing for me.

die in peace."—SWING.

The Hope of the Nation.

The truth for us to remember at all times, and especially in these times, is the truth that the hope of a nation is not in its forms of government, nor in the wisdom and equity of its executive, nor in the justice and purity of its administration, so much as in the elevation and redemption of individual character among its people. -H. C. Potter.

Lincoln.

There is no name more deserving of imperishable fame than Abraham Lincoln. He is embalmed in song, recorded in history, eulogized in panegyric, cast in bronze, sculptured in marble, painted on canvas, enshrined in the hearts of his countrymen, and lives in the memories of mankind. Some men are brilliant in their times, but their names fade from the memory of the world. Some are not honored by their contemporaries, but in subsequent ages their memories are recalled with gratitude. But here is one who was more honored than any other man while living, more revered when dying, and destined to be loved to the last syllable of recorded time. He has this three-fold greatness: Great in life, great in death, great in the history of the world. He was the stanchest patriot, the greatest statesman, the truest friend, the kindest father, the purest husband and the noblest citiIn nothing are the sagacity and might of Lincoln's

zen.

statesmanship more apparent than in his determination.

to save the Union. without slavery.

erence prevailed.

He would have the Union—with or He preferred it without, and his pref

Time has justified the wisdom of his

statesmanship. When Lincoln was murdered the South lost its best friend.---BISHOP NEWMAN.

PEACE.

A consistent Christian may not have rapture. He has that which is much better than rapture-calmness--God's serene and perpetual presence.-F. W, ROBERTSON,

Through Peace to Light.

I do not ask, O Lord, that life may be
A pleasant road;

I do not ask that Thou wouldst take from m↑

Aught of its load.

I do not ask that flowers should always spring
Beneath my feet;

I know too well the poison and the sting
Of things too sweet.

For one thing only, Lord! dear Lord! I plead:
Lead me aright

Though strength should falter, and though bezr
should bleed-

Through peace to light.

I do not ask, O Lord, that thou shouldst shed