Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me; yet Thy commandments are my delights.
Ps. cxix. 143.

When black despair beats down my wings,
And heavenly visions fade away —
Lord, let me bend to common things,
The tasks of every day;

As, when th’ aurora is denied.
And blinding blizzards round him beat.
The Samoyad bends, and takes for guide
The moss beneath his feet.
William Canton.

WHATEVER bad times may come, or whatever perplexity, there is almost always close at hand, waiting for one, some plain thing to be done. It may be a mere matter of routine, an item in the day’s regular business; it may be the exercise of some consideration for another; it may be only silent patience; but it is always something. And always one has the choice to do it or decline it. One can go through his work well or shirk it. One can consider his neighbor or neglect him. One can repress the fever-fit of impatience or give it wild way. And the perpetual presence of such a choice leaves no hour without guidance.
George S. Merriam