Thro’ this new year I pray Thee give to me 

A heart of joy that can sing songs to Thee 

E’en in the night, or when life’s tedious ways 

Seem to press heavily thro’ all the days:

Joy that will lie far deeper than the tears 

That rise unbidden at unuttered fears ;

Or, like a fathomless abyss, is still 

And silent, wrapt in a more perfect will, 

Which suffers not a lesser need to break 

The peace which God alone can give or take.

Give me this inward joy that I may pour 

On other hearts from out my golden store

The gladness of a heart made one with Thee, And radiant with a calm serenity ;

So that no loss or sorrow or distress

Has power to mar the greater blessedness, Most fervently I pray Thee give to me 

A singing heart for others and for Thee.

The kindly welcome given to my other little books, ‘Being and Doing’ and ‘Character and Conduct,’ must be my excuse for adding another collection of extracts to the number now in circulation.

The quotations are gathered from the books of many earnest thinkers, and deal with Life in all its length and breadth, with ourselves, our characters, our plain unvarnished faults and weaknesses, our often untoward circumstances, and with all that drags us down;-  with our purposes, our religion, our love and friendships, and with all that uplifts us;-  with our relation to others, our influence and responsibilities, and finally with those stages of our journey which bring us to the Road’s Last Turn and to the Silent Land.

CONSTANCE M. WHISHAW