August 13

He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.—Ps. cxii, 7.

There is no chance, no destiny, no fate

Can circumvent or hinder or control

The firm resolve of a determined soul.

Gifts count for nothing; will alone is great;

All things give way before it, soon or late.

Each well-born soul must win what it deserves.

Let fools prate of luck. The fortunate

Is he whose earnest purpose never swerves,

Whose slightest action or inaction serves

The one great aim.

ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.

If the heart is fixed, everything is fixed; the whole life is braced and firm. When you say your heart is fixed, do you mean that you have chosen your guiding star, and that you mean to follow it to your life's end. Any man who has really settled his leading purpose, as he himself is willing it should stay settled forever, has said to himself in substance: "I take the highest ideal I can discover as the objective point to strive for, to move toward, to grow up to. If it is my Maker's will that I should seek for perfection, it shall be my will also, and everything shall bend to that. I will have no other business. If the star keeps rising, I will keep rising. If God lets me live eternally, I will eternally live in His order."

CHARLES P. ENNIES.