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And spend less than you earn,
Have foresight to discern,

That he alone is free
Who scorns the luxury,
That tempts men to forget
The penalties of debt;
For even gyves of gold
Will canker hearts they hold.

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37. DESPAIR.

Oh! why cast down my soul?
Oh why despair?
Why murmur at thy lot

Of grief and care;

Through every scene of pain,
Let not thy heart complain,
For peace will yet remain
If God be there.

The glorious morning's light
Dawns bright and fair;

But soon the heavens grow black,

The lightenings glare.

Yet the red lightening's way

And the sun's cheering ray,

The self-same love display,
For God is there.

Then welcome, O my soul!

The will divine;
And to Almighty love

Thyself resign.

Since love divine appears
To wipe away my tears,
And banish all my fears,

His will be mine! *

-DR. TUCKERMAN.

From Mary Carpenter's Meditations.

No circumstances are so desperate which Providence may not relieve.

Have ye vices that ask a destroyer?
Or passions that need your control?
Let Reason become your employer,

And your body be ruled by your soul.
Fight on, though ye bleed in the trial,
Resist with all strength that ye may;
Ye may conquer Sin's host by denial,
For "Where there's a will there's a way."

Have ye Poverty's pinching to cope with?
Does Suffering weigh down your might?
Only call up a spirit to hope with,

And dawn may come out of the night.
Oh! much may be done by defying
The ghosts of Despair and Dismay;
And much may be gain'd by relying

On "Where there's a will there's a way."

Should ye see afar off that worth winning,
Set out on the journey with trust;
And ne'er heed if your path at beginning
Should be among brambles and dust.
Though it is but by footsteps ye do it,

And hardships may hinder and stay;

Keep a heart, and be sure you'll get through it,
For "Where there's a will there's a way."

-ELIZA COOK.

Let no man who owns a Providence, become desperate under any calamity, or strait whatsoever.

Then, while there's work for you to do,
Stand not despairing by,

Let "forward" be the move ye make,
Let "onward" be your cry;

And when success has crowned your plans,
'Twill all your pains repay,

To see the good your labour's done;

Then droop not on your way.

Beware of desperate steps. The darkest day,
Live till to-morrow, will have pass'd away.

-CowPER.

Never despair of God's blessings here, or of his

reward hereafter.

-WAKE.

38. DHRUVA.

Dhruva's father had two wives; the favourite Suruchi was proud and haughty: the second, his mother, Sunîti was humble and gentle. Suruchi had a son, named Uttama. While quite a child Dhruva was contemptuously treated by Suruchi, and she told him that her own son Uttama would alone succeed to the throne. Dhruva and his mother submitted, and he declared that he wished for no other honours than such as his own actions should acquire. He was a Kshatriya, but he joined a society of Rishis, and becoming a Rishi himself he went through a rigid course of austerities, notwithstanding the efforts of Indra to distract him. At the end he obtained the favour of Vishnu who raised him to the skies as the pole-star.*

One day Dhruva tried, like his elder brother, to take a seat in his father's lap, but he was contemptuously treated both by the king and his favourite wife. Dhruva went sobbing to his mother who told him in consolatory terms that fortune and favour were not attainable without hard exertions.

A wise man will be contented with that degree which appertains to him. But if you continue to feel hurt at the words of your step-mother, endeavour to augment that religious merit which bestows all good. Be amiable; be pious; be friendly; be assiduous in benevolence to all living creatures. For prosperity descends upon modest worth, as water flows towards low ground.f -ADVICE TO DHRUVA BY HIS MOTHER.

* From Dowson's Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion &c. + Vishnu Purana-from the works of H. H. Wilson.

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