"Thou, who the elements defied! The spoiler--invidious, slow, (He spares not youth, nor wealth nor pride), And laid thee low! "And he who all thy perils shared, Thine aged sire, of thee bereft, To muse on all thy courage dared, Is lonely left. "Thus, while though all the wave-washed north Is told to thrilling ears the tale, Each heart is sad, each lyre gives forth A sound of wail. "Yet trust we to thine anxious eye Did heaven's own beacon fire appear, To guide thee, 'neath the dark'ning sky, Thy course to steer. "Trust that the Saviour was to thee The ark upon the 'whelming wave, The life-boat, 'mid the yawning sea Of sin to save. "That now, where joy, and light, and peace, Are by His living presence poured, Where storms are o'er and tempests cease, Thy bark is moored." CHAPTER XVII. "BEING DEAD, YET SPEAKETH." "What wouldst thou be? A blessing to each one surrounding me, A chalice of dew to the weary heart, A sunbeam of joy bidding sorrow depart, To the storm-tossed vessel a beacon-light, A nightingale song in the darkest night, A beckoning hand to a far-off goal, An angel of love to each friendless soul-- Such would I be. Oh, that such happiness were for me."--Frances Ridley Havergal. It would be little use either to write or read any biography or record of deeds and lives, unless some good lessons could be learnt from the same. But "Lives of great men all remind us We may make our lives sublime, And departing leave behind us, Footprints on the sands of time." From the life of Grace Darling several sermons could be preached, especially for those members of her own sex who are interested in her and her heroic exploit. Nor need the preacher be at a loss for texts, for Grace is an illustration of the words of the wise man in the last chapter of the Book of Proverbs. Several of the verses especially appear adapted to show what kind of girl she was; and if the reader will take a few, it will be seen how aptly in her own life she exemplified the teaching, which she must often have read, and with which she must have been very familiar.