While he no longer doubts the care and protection of God, yet he feels that his own strength is not sufficient; that he may err and stumble in the path he has chosen. He does not ask that all should be clear, nor that he should see the long course of his life, but is content to pray Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see 2. After this invocation and prayer, his thoughts turn back into the past, and he remembers that in youth he had not this divine faith, nor did he wish to place his reliance in God. He preferred to lay out his own course and to plan his life far into the future, without the feeling of dependence that now rules him. So he sings: I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou I loved to choose and see my path, but now He remembers that then he loved display and ostentation and was proud, wilful and self-confident; nevertheless, there were times when for a moment he feared, but in spite of that timidity, he went on in his masterful way: I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, The thought of his self-complacency, his pride and arrogance brings out the plea, the supplication, "remember not past years." 3. He remembers that through all his rebellions he has been surrounded by the power and goodness of God, who has led him through all his devious paths, and the feeling comes that the same protecting influence will surround him till doubt is swept aside. So long thy power hath blessed me, sure it still Will lead me on O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till The night is gone. He is confident, too, that the same power will lead him through the dark night of doubt till the angels of love and faith, in whom he once trusted but whom he has doubted for a time, will come. about him and smile their welcome to the light: And with the morn those angel faces smile Which I have loved long since, and lost the while. Poor Richard's Almanac T is doubtful if Journeys Through Bookland contains any other selection so full of meat as this extract (Volume VI, page 407) from the writings of Benjamin Franklin; in fact, it is so full of wisdom on so many homely subjects and contains so much practical advice that no one can master it in a single reading. It is condensed to the utmost limit and every sentence should be weighed and considered. The wise maxims and old saws need to be expanded in thought, illustrated by example and applied to the reader's personal experience. As a whole it is not particularly attractive to young people, but every child can be attracted to parts of it. A little of it to-day, more of it next week, a third part some time in the future, and in time the whole will be assimilated. If the truths in this one selection are thoroughly embedded in the mind of a boy, if the traits of character here taught are made a part of him, he will be a sound man of business, a sensible head of a family and a valuable citizen in a community. Poor Richard's Almanac contains the religion of work, of economy, of prosperity. It is a manly doctrine, a clear-cut, respectable philosophy, a reasonable rule of business activity. Never more than today were the precepts needed. The whole tendency of our modern activities is against its precepts. Disaster and ruin may be seen on every hand and traced directly to the neglect or violation of those sound principles which the wise old Franklin put in such homely words. These maxims of life and policy are not those which it is the special province of the school to teach. They are the elementary law which a boy or girl must learn in his home and see exemplified therein if they are ever to become a practical part of life's equipment. The wisdom of the Almanac is the wisdom of practical experience, the wisdom of those who have lived and worked, who have lost and won. It does not deal with the finer phases of character, but with those practical things which lead to a bread-andbutter success. A boy who knows what Poor Richard teaches and follows his precepts will be a business success. If a parent can grind into the character of his child these lessons of industry, simplicity, tem |