Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
  Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
  And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
  Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
  An angel writing in a book of gold:—­
  Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
  And to the presence in the room he said,
  “What writest thou?”—­The vision raised its head,
  And with a look made of all sweet accord,
  Answered, “The names of those who love the Lord.” 
  “And is mine one?” said Abou.  “Nay, not so,”
  Replied the angel.  Abou spoke more low,
  But cheerily still; and said, “I pray thee, then,
  Write me as one that loves his fellow-men.”

    The angel wrote, and vanished.  The next night
  It came again with a great wakening light,
  And showed the names whom love of God had blessed,
  And, lo!  Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest.

Leigh Hunt.

THIS WORLD

There is good in life and there is ill.  The question is where we should put the emphasis.

  This world that we’re a-livin’ in
    Is mighty hard to beat;
  You git a thorn with every rose,
    But ain’t the roses sweet!

Frank L. Stanton.

From “The Atlanta Constitution.”

GRAY DAYS

By reckoning up the odds against us and ignoring the forces in our favor, we may indeed close the door of hope.  But why not take matters the other way about?  Why not see the situation clearly and then throw our own strong purpose in the scales?  In the course of a battle an officer reported to Stonewall Jackson that he must fall back because his ammunition had been spoiled by a rainstorm.  “So has the enemy’s,” was the instant reply.  “Give them the bayonet.”  This resolute spirit won the battle.

  Hang the gray days! 
  The deuce-to-pay days! 
  The feeling-blue and nothing-to-do days! 
  The sit-by-yourself-for-there’s-nothing-new days! 
  When the cat that Care killed without excuse
  With your inner self’s crying, “Oh, what’s the use?”
  And you wonder whatever is going to become of you,
  And you feel that a cipher expresses the sum of you;
  And you know that you’ll never,
  Oh, never, be clever,
  Spite of all your endeavor
  Or hard work or whatever! 
  Oh, gee! 
  What a mix-up you see
  When you look at the world where you happen to be! 
  Where strangers are hateful and friends are a bore,
  And you know in your heart you will smile nevermore! 
  Gee, kid! 
  Clap on the lid! 
  It is all a mistake!  Give your worries the skid! 
  There are sunny days coming
    Succeeding the blue
  And bees will be humming
    Making honey for you,
  And your heart will be singing
    The merriest tune
  While April is bringing
    A May and a June! 
  Gray days? 
  Play days! 
  Joy-bringing pay days
  And heart-lifting May days! 
  The sun will be shining in just a wee while
  So smile!