September 2

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.—PROV. xi, 30.

Who bids, who bids for the souls of men?

To-day is the harvest white,

And many will reach life's turning-point,

Ere cometh another night.

Who bids for the souls of the noble youths?

Of the maidens so sweet and fair?

Of the aged ones? and of those in life's prime?

And the children, their pride and care?

Gather the harvest in!

Ye know ye live not to yourselves, nor die;

Then let not this bright hour of work go by;

To all who know, and do not, there is sin;

Gather the harvest in.

S. J. STONE.

If events change men, much more persons. No man can meet another on the street without making some mark upon him. We say we exchange words when we meet; what we exchange is souls. And when intercourse is very close and very frequent, so complete is this exchange that recognizable bits of the one soul begin to show in the other's nature, and the second is conscious of a similar and growing debt to the first. . . . It is the Law of Influence that we become like those whom we habitually admire. . . . Through all the range of literature, of history, and biography this law presides. Men are all mosaics of other men. HENRY DRUMMOND.

Simply to be in this world, whatever you are, is to exert an influence—an influence compared with which mere language and persuasion are feeble.

HORACE BUSHNELL.