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surrendered soul. But we fail to maintain the state of willing surrender, and the plan fails. The custom most generally, under such circum stances, is to doubt the plan, that it was a gift of God. Why not doubt ourselves in the operation of the plan which was, perhaps, the gift of God? The whole teaching of the surrendered life is this: Jesus Christ cannot work a man who works him self. Dead to Self, Alive to Christ. There is a story told of St. Francis who was the head of an ancient order of monks. That on one occasion he demanded of all his subjects absolute obedience to his will. There was a certain monk who proved refrac tory; he would not obey. Finally, the order was given that this monk should be buried alive; that his grave should be dug sufficieently deep to bury him standing. When the grave was ready the monk was put into it, and the order was given to shovel in the dirt. When the dirt came up to his shoulders, 'St. Fran cis asked, “Are you dead?” and the monk, still stubborn, said “No.” “Shovel in the dirt,” said St. Francis. Finally, the dirt came up to his chin, and St. Francis asked again, “Are you dead, you monk?” The monk’s reply this time was, “I am dead, my lord.” Then said St. Francis, “Shovel out the dirt, for the monk is just ready to live.” What a truth he spoke; provided Jesus is in the place of St. Francis. No man is ready to live whose will is not surrendered to the will of Christ. We cannot be disciples of His and listen to the de mands of other people. No leader can lead a great movement unless he can direct his forces. His eyes must survey the field, and arrange and organize the army according to the needs, or else he will fail to meet his responsibility. The leader knows his field and his forces as nobody else does. It is so with Jesus. He will not allow even moth er or father, wife or children, to come between Him and the disciples. This is not a jealous whim, it is in keeping with a great recognized principle; the government must be governed by the governor. Thank God for the one Master of our lives! Would we know our duty? Then go to Him, with our wills surrendered to His will, and light will come. Our Greatest Delight. Let us not regard this surrender as a hardship. There is nothing easier if we properly understand our Master. In the days of the cruel Inquisition a girl, who re fused to bow to the priest, was being carried out to be shot. She was made to sit upon her own coffin. Just before the place was reached where she was to give up her life for her faith, a man rushed up and said, “What will it take to buy the life of that girl?” An enormous price of money was stated, and the man quickly said, “I will pay the price.” It was done. The girl was taken down and given her liberty. What do you think was the first thing she did? She crouched at his feet, and lifting her hands, said, “Oh, sir, let me be your slave. I would love to serve a man so good as you.” This is a faint picture of Jesus, it is very faint I know, but nevertheless it gives us a hint of Him. When the devil had us on the way to hell, Jesus came and purchased our freedom. He did not pur chase it with money, oh no, money could not buy it; He purchased it with His own blood shed upon the cross. What should be our attitude to Him today? Shall we not be as appreciative of the purchase of the eternal life as the condemned girl of this temporal life? God help us! Let us today lay our wills, our plans, our lives, good, bad or indifferent they may be, aside and prostrate ourselves before our risen Lord, and de isire to be only His slave. It will be mighty good to serve a Master so thoughtful, and so attentive, and so willing to serve us. The Golden Age for April 5,190 G. True and False Optimism. The day is dark and dreary. A sail vessel is being mercilessly driven by a Mediterranean gale. The crew of the ship have lost their reckoning. They have been without food many days. Part of the cargo has been thrown overboard. The storm contin ues. The darkness is yet darker. There is nothing in the surroundings to inspire hope. In the midst of all this, and even more, Paul, the apostle, even though a prisoner, stands forth and says to all on board, “be of good cheer.” This was a marvel ous speech, under all the circumstances. Even a vis ion of angels, such as assured him, would hardly have been enough under the conditions, to allay the fears of some men. Paul was an optimist. His op timism was of that deep type which rests, not on a sanguine temperament, nor prosperous surround ings, but on the certainty and goodness of the di vine purpose which secures the fall of the sparrow ■—which, in fact, runs through all creation—which comprehends the small and the great—the good and the bad. Paul’s optimism was true, because it had a sure enough foundation; and moreover, because it was open-eyed. It did not rest on ignorance. It was not short-sighted. Looking on the bright side, as he had a right to do, in spite of all threatening dan gers, he says, “Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer.” Nevertheless, in the very next breath, he declares, “Howbeit, we mqst be east upon a certain island.” Paul ’s optimism was not blind to the dangers that threatened. He saw difficulties, disasters and hard ships. He did not shut his eyes, but opened them and rose above all that was dark, discouraging and forbidding, and said, “Be of good cheer.” This kind of optimism we may take as a model for our own. It is exemplary. It was rightly rooted, rightly qualified and properly balanced. As we see it every man is bound to be an op timist, but not necessarily a foolish optimist. Optimism is the essence of true religion. Chris tianity is, and has been from the beginning, a reli gion of cheerfulness. It was announced as “glad tidings.” It was preached as “good news.” It is our right and duty to be joyful and hopeful. Why live in apprehension, and die in alarm? God rules. His only synonym is love, and believe it, there is no danger that the universe will get off the track. Life’s disasters cannot fatally hurt us. A man may get a warrant for his fears, when he has buried his Bible and shut his eyes to Nature’s teachings, but he cannot get it from faith in God, based on right sources of information. There is no warrant for pessimism in the revelations God makes of himself. With these revelations before us we cannot do other than be cheerful, even under the multitudinous trials of life. Now, while we ought to cultivate an optimism of the kind we see in the most eminent men, care is to he taken that it is to be seasoned with common sense. There is very little good in the cheerfulness which is blind to danger, insensible to difficulties, and ignorant of delays to success. There are people who will face the most tremendous crises, and go out to meet the most serious difficulties with per fect serenity, not realizing the danger. God’s providential purposes in this world are not doubtful, but certain and for the the best, nevertheless the process of teaching those results depends on human wisdom, human courage, and human faithfulness. If we lose sight of this, no measure of hopefulness will avert calamities, or circumvent difficulties. A captain sails from New York for Liverpool. He has a splendid crew and a staunch ship, and not withstanding his well-grounded hope of reaching, in due time, the port of destination, there is, nev ertheless, a most careful handling of the ship. That captain does not forget that the ability of his ves sel and his crew to cope with all the perils to navi gation, does not lessen the realitv of these perils “by so much as a hair.” It would be folly for the captain, because the ship is strong and well equip ped, to throw off all responsibility and trust to luck to reach his destination. No matter what his confidence in his ship and crew, he will still main- tain all his respect for fogs, and will be on the watch for vagrant icebergs. Now, here is a lesson for us all who are proud of our optimism, and who love to see the world all sunshine and smiles. Be hopeful, yes, and joy ous, and confident, but do not forget that obstacles and dangers are in the way and that trials await you. And no matter what these are, your optimism, if true—if it be based on faith in the God of loving purpose, will triumph. The three Hebrews were truly optimistic when they said, “we will not bow T to the sound of music. We do not know what our God will do in case we are east into the fiery furnace, but no mat ter, we are sure he will do that which is wisest and best, and we can afford to be true. Let come what may, we will triumph, even if we are consumed.” That was optimism. Be optimistic, but base it on something more enduring than a sanguine tempera ment. H. R. Bernard. The Bible. Book of all truth and grace, Guide for the human race, In every line Thy beauty we can see; May we be led by Thee Into eternity Statutes Divine. Oli, that each soul on earth Would understand thy worth, Thy riches seek. All earthly treasures fade When with Thy precepts weighed, E’en Satan is dismayed When Thou dost speak. W. H. Hornady. The Legend of Mt. Omi. Mt. Omi, on the border of Thibet, Stands sacred in the thought of the Chinese, Ami on its crest a Buddhist shrine is set Which many pilgrims seek in search of peace. Now up the mountain’s slipp’ry sides they toiled Without material aid, for weary years; And weaker pilgrims found their efforts foiled, And fainted on the way amidst their tears. Until a priest, in pity of their plight, And fearing also lest their zeal decline And leave the guardian monks alone the right To worship at the desolated shrine, Decreed that every trav’ller up the mount Should hew one step out of its rocky mass; For his own soul’s good would this action count, And aid as well the feebler ones to pass. So now up twenty thousand steps of stone Mt. Omi palmers climb, and bless the day, Nor can one soul feel weary or alone Where twenty thousand souls have paved the way. This is Mt. Omi’s legend. True or no Let travellers tell. It bears this truth to me That daily over rugged paths I go With ease, where others’ steps have made mine free. And as I upward pass on pilgrim way, In some rough, gloomy place may I have strength To hew my step, some other foot to stay And strengthen, fainting from the journey’s length. Prize Offer For Best Essay. The Golden Age will give a first prize of $50.00 in gold, a second of $25.00 and a third of SIO.OO for the best essay not exceeding 1,000 words, written by any college student, dealing with some phase of the “Making and Meaning of Citizenship.” The contest will close July 4, 1906, and the rules governing the same can be obtained on application to the Contest Editor, Golden Age. 5