January Twenty-Sixth
Lord George Sackville born 1716.
Benjamin Robert Haydon born 1786.
Mary Mapes Dodge born 1838.
General Gordon (Chinese Gordon) killed 1885.
Ave Maria! blessed be the hour,
That time, the clime, the spot, where I so oft
Have felt that moment in its fullest power
Sink o’er the earth so beautiful and soft,
While swung the deep bell in the distant tower
Or the faint dying day-hymn stole aloft,
And not a breath crept through the rosy air,
And yet the forest leaves seemed stirred with
prayer.
—Lord Byron.
I am quite happy, thank God, and like Lawrence, I have tried to do my duty.
—General Gordon (just before death).
For in the day of trouble he will keep me secretly
in his pavilion:
In the covert of his tabernacle will he hide me;
He will lift me up upon a rock.
—Psalm 27. 5.
Heavenly Father, teach me how to breathe in the sweetness of life. Reveal to me the life that will bring peace to the soul. May I not be dismayed, but find the “Peace that passeth all understanding,” the perfect peace that comes from thee. Amen.