In the midst of a great emergency, while baffled and opposed by his allies, he said, "Having done all that is possible, we should submit with patience." Last and chiefest of blessings is Hope, the most common of possessions; for, as Thales the philosopher said, "Even those who have nothing else have hope." Hope is the great helper of the poor.

It has even been styled "the poor man's bread." It is also the sustainer and inspirer of great deeds.

It is recorded of Alexander the Great, that when he succeeded to the throne of Macedon, he gave away amongst his friends the greater part of the estates which his father had left him; and when Perdiccas asked him what he reserved for himself, Alexander answered, "The greatest possession of all,--Hope!" The pleasures of memory, however great, are stale compared with those of hope; for hope is the parent of all effort and endeavour; and "every gift of noble origin is breathed upon by Hope's perpetual breath." It may be said to be the moral engine that moves the world, and keeps it in action; and at the end of all there stands before us what Robertson of Ellon styled "The Great Hope." "If it were not for Hope," said Byron, "where would the Future be ?--in hell! It is useless to say where the Present is, for most of us know; and as for the Past, WHAT predominates in memory ?--Hope baffled.

ERGO, in all human affairs it is Hope, Hope, Hope!" [179].