of sympathy which has enabled his Majesty to win the heart of the civilized world and earn the title of King Edward the Peace-Maker. As all true hearts are acting and speaking on all occasions with the dignity of true royalty knowing as if by instinct what to say and when to say it with happy effect, his Majesty has been a beneficial power on the side of peace and good will among the nations. A Roman Emperor is said to have once remarked "that the people are fashioned according to the example of their King and edicts are of less power than the model his life exhibits." The great example of our Sovereign as a peace-making force distinguished in his life by the great virtue of sympathy, ought to be a lesson to inspire and guide us in our own lives, whatever the sphere in which our lot is thrown, leading us to exercise whatever influence we possess on the side of concord and harmony in these days when controversies, sects, parties, and divided opinions are to jostle us at almost every step. It is not the formal discharge of our duty as his Majesty's subjects that has called us together here. The occasion is more solemn than that. We rejoice in the celebration of his Majesty's birthday anniversary and we rejoice in the thought suggested always by his Majesty's acts but impressed now even more on our minds and hearts by the celebration-the thought that we have here the noble example of our King-Emperor, Edward VII, ruling as a limited monarch but winning with unlimited power, born of sympathy, the hearts of his people and the praise of the civilized world, an example teaching each of us that each in his own sphere, high or low, can and ought to strive to make life sweet by striving in the cause of peace, good will and harmony.

-MR. JUSTICE CHANDAVARKAR.

*Speech at a Hindu Celebration in Bombay, reported in the Bom

bay Gazette of the 28th June 1904.

I hope that the reign of Edward the VII, so auspiciously begun, will live in the annals of India and in the hearts of its people. We pray that under the blessing of the Almighty Ruler of the Universe, his sovereignty and power may last for long years; that the wellbeing of his subjects may grow from day to day; that the administration of his officers may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; and that the security and beneficence of his Dominion may endure for ever. Long live the King-Emperor of India.*

-LORD CURZON.

Hail! Emperor-King, and ever may thy reign
In righteousness established be, and peace.

* From His Excellency's speech at the Delhi Coronation: from the Bombay Gazette of the 2nd January 1903

132. SECRET.

A secret is in my custody, if I keep it; but should it escape me, it is I who am the prisoner.

-ARABIC PROVERB.

A secret is like a hole in your coat: the more you try to hide it, the more it reveals itself.

Never confide in a young person, new pails leak.

He who trusts a secret to his servant, makes his own man his master.

-DRYDEN.

Disclose a secret to a fool and he will cry it from the housetop.

-HINDUSTANI PROVERB.

None are so fond of secrets as those who do not mean to keep them; such persons covet secrets, as a spendthrift covets money, for the purpose of circulation. -COLTON.

An indiscreet man confided a secret to another, and begged him not to repeat it. "It's all right," was the reply. "I will be as close as you were."

He, who admits that he has a secret to keep, has by so doing revealed one half of it, and the other will soon follow.

133. SELF-EXAMINATION AND

IMPROVEMENT.

Next to the knowledge of others comes the knowledge of ourselves; and it requires no less diligence, but rather more, to get a true and exact information of ourselves than of others. For that oracle "Know thyself," is not only a rule of general prudence, but has also a principal place in politics. A man must, therefore, make a thorough examination, not partially like a self-lover, into his own faculties, powers, and abilities, and again into his defects, inabilities and obstacles, summing up the account, so as to make the latter constantly appear greater, and the former rather less than they are.

-BACON.

The most perfect conviction of the obligation of virtue, and the strongest moral feelings, will be of little use in regulating our conduct, unless we are at pains to attend constantly to the state of our own character, and to scrutinize with the most suspicious care the motives of our actions. Hence the importance of the precept so much recommended by the moralists of all ages,-" Know thyself."*

Study thyself what rank or what degree,
Thy wise Creator has ordain'd for thee.

-DRYDEN.

Of all studies, study your present condition.

• From Stewart's Philosophy.

Few sufficiently practise the habit of self-examination. Through life man is liable to error, and requires check, rebuke and counsel. He should personify his own conscience. He should be his own good spirit hovering over himself in moments of passion; temptation and danger, and reminding himself that he owes a duty to his maker, with which the opinions and consequences of the world have nothing to do.

Know yourself-in talents and capacity, in judgment and inclination. You cannot master yourself unless you know yourself. There are mirrors for the face, but none for the mind. Let careful thought about yourself serve as a substitute. When the outer image is forgotten, keep the inner one to improve and perfect. Learn the force of your intellect and capacity for affairs, test the force of your courage in order to apply it, and keep your foundations secure and your head clear for everything.

That deep thinker and acute reasoner, Dr. Barrow has remarked that "it is a peculiar excellency of human nature, and which distinguishes man from the inferior creatures more than bare reason itself, that he can reflect upon all that is done within him, can discern the tendencies of his soul, and is acquainted with his own purposes."

This distinguishing faculty of self-inspection would not have been conferred on man, if it had not been intended that it should be in habitual operation. It is surely as much a common law of prudence, to look well to our spiritual as to our worldly possessions. We have

* From Gracian's Art of Worldly Wisdom, translated from the Spanish by Jacobs.