“We pray especially for our native land;--for her peace,--her prosperity,--her liberties,--and her honour. We pray for our king, and for all who are in authority over us. We pray particularly for those by whose command we are engaged in this arduous work. Bless them in their persons, in their families, and in the discharge of their official duty. Prosper, we beseech thee, the work itself in which we are engaged. May it remain long after our eyes have ceased to behold it. Long after our ashes are cold in the dust, may he that was ready to perish have cause to bless the memory of those by whom it was reared. “We pray for the people of our land. Purify them unto thyself a peculiar people, zealous of good works: Bless them in their commerce, and in their harvests: Bless them in the pursuits of honest industry: Bless them in the relations of domestic life: Bless them, above all, with spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. “May the sons and daughters of affliction be enabled to profit by the bitter lesson with which thou hast seen it meet to visit them. Restore the sick to usefulness, or prepare the dying for judgment and eternity. May the living lay it to heart that they must die, and act as it becometh those who know not how soon they shall be called hence. “Our friends and families, from whom we are separated for a time, we commit to thy protection, O God of love! Unspeakably precious is the thought, that thou carest for them,--that thine eye is upon them continually,--and thine everlasting arms around them. Grant that, in thy good time, we may meet them in peace;--Grant that we may be united hereafter in that land where separation and pain are unknown for ever. “Our enemies we beseech thee to forgive and bless. Bless us, even us also, O our Father! Give us thy grace in every season of trial;--give us thy protection in every hour of danger. Prepare us for the dispensations of thy Providence;--prepare us for the discharge of duty;--prepare us for the inheritance of the just. “And may grace, and mercy, and peace, from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be with us for ever.” [Sidenote: Some of the artificers decline working on Sunday.]