MICROBES AND HOW TO FIGHT THEM.
Disease is carried about in the air and in water by tiny invisible insects called "germs" or "microbes," and you are very apt to breathe them in through the mouth or to get them in your drink or food and to swallow them, and then they breed disease inside you. If your blood is in really good order it generally does not matter, no harm results; but if your blood is out of order from weakness or constipation—that is, not going regularly to the "rear"—these microbes will very probably make you ill. A great point is, therefore, to abolish the microbes if possible. They like living in dark, damp, and dirty places. And they come from bad drains, old dustbins, and rotting flesh, etc.; in fact, generally where there is a bad smell. Therefore, keep your room, or your camp, and your clothes clean, dry, and as sunny as possible and well aired; and keep away from places that smell badly. Before your meals you should always wash your hands and finger-nails, for they are very apt to harbour microbes which have come from anything that you may have been handling in the day.
You frequently see notices in omnibuses and public places requesting you not to spit. The reason for this is that many people spit who have diseased lungs and from their spittle the microbes of their diseases get in the air and are breathed by healthy people into their lungs, and they become also diseased. Often you may have a disease in you for some years without knowing it and if you spit you are liable to communicate that disease to sound people; so you should not do it for their sake.
But you need not be afraid of diseases if you breathe through your nose and keep your blood in good order. It is always well on coming out of a crowded theatre, church or hall, to cough and blow your nose in order to get rid of microbes which you might have breathed in from other people in the crowd. One in every thirty of people that you meet has got the disease of consumption on him—and it is very catching. It comes very much from living in houses where the windows are kept alwaysshut up. The best chance of getting cured of it if you get the disease is to sleep always out of doors.
A scout has to sleep a great deal in the open air, therefore when he is in a house he sleeps with the windows as wide open as possible, otherwise he feels stuffy; and also if he gets accustomed to sleeping in warm atmosphere he would catch cold when he goes into camp, and nothing could be more ridiculous or more like a tenderfoot than a scout with a cold in his head. When once he is accustomed to having his windows open he will never catch cold in a room.
A good many illnesses come from over-eating or eating the wrong kind of food.
A scout must know how to take care of himself, else he is of no use. He must keep himself light and active. Once he has got the right kind of muscles on he can remain fit without further special exercising of those muscles, provided that he eats the right kind of food.
Eustace Miles, the tennis and racket champion, does not go into training before he plays his matches; he knows he has got his muscles rightly formed, and he simply lives on plain, light food always, and so is always fit to play a hard game. He never eats meat.
In the siege of Mafeking, when we were put on short commons, those of the garrison who were accustomed to eat very little at their meals did not suffer like some people, who had been accustomed to do themselves well in peace time; these became weak and irritable. Our food there towards the end was limited to a hunk of pounded-up oats, about the size of a penny bun, which was our whole bread-supply for the day, and about a pound of meat and two pints of "sowens," a kind of stuff like bill-stickers' paste that had gone wrong.
English people as a rule eat more meat than is necessary, in fact they could do without it altogether if they tried, and would be none the worse. It is an expensive luxury. The Japanese are as strong as us, but they do not eat any meat, and only eat small meals of other things.
The cheapest and best foods are Dried Peas, 2d. per lb; Flour, 1s. 4d. per stone; Oatmeal, 2d. per lb.; Potatoes, 1/2d. per lb.; Hominy, 1-1/2d. per lb.; Cheese at 6d. per lb. Other good foods are fruit, vegetables, fish, eggs, nuts, rice, and milk, and one can live on these perfectly well without meat; bananas are especially good food, they are cheap, have no seeds nor pips to irritate your inside, their skin protects them from germs of disease and their flesh is of a wholesome kind and satisfying.
The natives of the West Coast of Africa eat very little else all their lives and they are fat and happy.
If you have lots of fresh air you do not want much food, if on the other hand you are sitting indoors all day much food makes you fat and sleepy, so that in either case you are better for taking a little; still, growing boys should not starve themselves but, at the same time, they need not be like that little hog at the school-feast who, when asked, "Can't you eat any more?" replied, "Yes, I couldeatmore, but I've no room toswallowit."
A great cause of illness nowadays is the amount of medicine which fellows dose themselves with when there is no reason for taking any medicine at all. The best medicine is open-air and exercise and a big cup of water in the early morning if you are constipated, and a pint of hot water on going to bed.
A scout's clothing should be of flannel or wool as much as possible, because it dries easily. Cotton next the skin is not good unless you change it directly it gets wet—it is so likely to give you a chill, and a scout is no use if he gets laid up.
One great point that a scout should take care about, to ensure his endurance and being able to go on the march for a long time, is his boots.
A scout who gets sore feet with much walking becomes useless.
You should therefore take great care to have good, well-fitting, roomy boots, and fairly stout ones, and aslike the natural shape of your bare feet as possible with a straighter edge on the inside than bootmakers usually give to the swagger boot. Scouts have no use for swagger boots.
The feet should be kept as dry as possible; if they are allowed to get wet the skin is softened and very soon gets blistered and rubbed raw where there is a little pressure of the boot.
Of course they get wet from perspiration as well as from outside wet. Therefore to dry this it is necessary to wear good woollen socks.
If a man wears thin cotton or silk socks you can tell at once that he is no walker. A fellow who goes out to a Colony for the first time is called a "Tender-foot" because he generally gets sore feet until by experience he learns how to keep his feet in good order. It is a good thing to soap or grease your feet and the inside of your socks before putting them on.
If your feet always perspire a good deal it is a useful thing to powder them with powder made of boric acid, starch, and oxide of zinc in equal parts. This powder should be rubbed in between the toes so as to prevent soft corns forming there. Your feet can be hardened to some extent by soaking them in alum and water, or salt and water.
Keep your boots soft with lots of grease, mutton fat, dubbin, or castor oil—especially when they have got wet from rain, etc. Wash the feet every day.
Scouts have to drill to enable them to be moved quickly from one point to another in good order. Drill also sets them up, and makes them smart and quick.
It strengthens the muscles which support the body and by keeping the body upright the lungs and heart get plenty of room to work, and the inside organs are kept on the proper position for proper digestion of food and so on.
A slouching position on the other hand depresses allthe other organs and prevents them doing their work properly, so that a man in that position is generally weak and often ill.
Growing lads are very apt to slouch and should therefore do all they can to get out of the habit by plenty of physical exercises and drill.
Stand upright when you are standing and when you are sitting down sit upright with your back well into the back part of the chair. Alertness of the body whether you are moving, standing, or sitting means alertness of mind and it is a paying thing to have because many an employer will select an alert-looking boy for work and pass over a sloucher. When you have to stoop over writing at a table or even tying a boot-lace do not round your back but tuck in the small of your back which thus helps to strengthen your body.
How not to sit.How not to sit.
How not to sit.
How not to sit.
How to sit.How to sit.
How to sit.
How to sit.
Drill.—On the word "Alert" the scout stands upright with both feet together, hands hanging naturally at the sides, fingers straight, and looking straight to his front.
On the word "Easy" he carries the right foot away six inches to the right, and clasps his hands behind hisback, and can turn his head about. At the word "Sit Easy" he squats down on the ground in any position he likes. "Sit Easy" should usually be given whenever you don't want the boys to be at the "Alert," provided that the ground is dry.
On the command "Quick March," boys move off with the left foot leading, at a smart pace, swinging the arms freely, as this gives good exercise to the body and muscles and interior organs.
Walking for Exercise.Walking for Exercise. 1.—The right way. 2.—A common way. 3.—A very usual way.
Walking for Exercise. 1.—The right way. 2.—A common way. 3.—A very usual way.
Walking for Exercise. 1.—The right way. 2.—A common way. 3.—A very usual way.
At the command "Double" boys run at a jog-trot with short sharp steps, hands swinging loosely, not tucked up at the side.
On the command "Scout Pace" the boys march at the quick march for fifty paces then double fifty paces, and so on alternately running and walking, until the word is given "Quick March" or "Halt."
"Right turn" each boy turns to the right.
"Follow Your Leader." "Leader Right Turn"—the leading man turns to his right, the remainder move up to the place where he turned and then follow after him.
"Front Form" (when "following the leader"). Those in rear run up and form in line alongside the leader on his left.
"Cone Exercises."—Standing at the "Alert" raise both hands as high as possible over the head, and link fingers, lean backwards, then sway the arms very slowly round in the direction of a cone so that the hands make a wide circle above and round the body, the body turning from the hips, and leaning over to one side then to the front, then to the other side and then back; this is to exercise the muscles of the waist and stomach, and should be repeated say six times to either hand. With the eyes you should be trying to see all that goes on behind you during the movement.
"Body-bending" or "Cone" Exercise."Body-bending" or "Cone" Exercise.Note.—The arrow—>means when to draw in breath; theO—>means when to breathe out.
"Body-bending" or "Cone" Exercise.Note.—The arrow—>means when to draw in breath; theO—>means when to breathe out.
"Body-bending" or "Cone" Exercise.Note.—The arrow—>means when to draw in breath; theO—>means when to breathe out.
"Touch the Toes."—From the position of "Alert" raise the hands above the head then bend slowly forward and touch the toes with the fingers, or knuckles of clenched fists, then slowly rise to the original position and continue the motion a dozen times, the knees not to be bent in performing this exercise. This makes the body supple, and strengthens the back and legs.
"Squatting Exercise."—From the position of the "Alert" bend the knees and slowly lower the body into a squatting position, the back being kept upright; after amomentary pause slowly rise to the standing position again, repeat this a dozen times standing on the toes throughout. The hands may be resting on the hips or held out straight to the front in line with the shoulders. This exercise strengthens the leg and feet muscles.
"Leg Raising from the Back."—Lie on your back and slowly raise the legs till they are upright above you, then slowly lower them almost to the ground and raise them again, several times in succession. This strengthens the stomach muscles.
"Ju-jitsu"—contains numerous interesting games to teach grips and holds, and development of muscles.
"Doctoring"—each scout in turn acts as an explorer or missionary, with a few simple remedies. Three patients are brought to him in succession to be treated, each having a different disease or injury. He has to advise or show what treatment should be carried out.
All ordinary boys' games, where all are players and none lookers-on, are good for health and cheerfulness—"Leap-frog," "Rounders," "Squash-football," "Tip-and run."
"Japanese Physical Training," by Irving Hancock. (Pub. Putnam.)
"How to be well and strong," by W. Edwards. 4d. (Melrose.)
"Walking," by C. Lang Neil. 1s. (C. A. Pearson Ltd.) Useful hints on walking, training, mountain-climbing, food, etc.
"Modern Physical Culture," by C. Lang Neil. 1s. (C. A. Pearson Ltd.) Gives summary of various systems: Curative exercises; hints on food, on organs of the body, etc.
"Health and Strength." Monthly Journal. 2d.
CHIVALRY OF THE KNIGHTS.
One aim of the Boy Scouts scheme is to revive amongst us, if possible, some of the rules of the knights of old, which did so much for the moral tone of our race, just as the Bushido of the ancient Samurai Knights has done, and is still doing, for Japan. Unfortunately, chivalry with us has, to a large extent, been allowed to die out, whereas in Japan it is taught to the children, so that it becomes with them a practice of their life, and it is also taught to children in Germany and Switzerland with the best results. Our effort is not so much to discipline the boys, as to teach them to discipline themselves.
It is impossible in so short a space as I have at my disposal to do more than touch upon subjects which the instructor may elaborate for himself. The different qualities which the Knight's Code demanded are here grouped under the three heads:
1.—Chivalry to Others.2.—Discipline of Self.3.—Self Improvement.
1.—Chivalry to Others.2.—Discipline of Self.3.—Self Improvement.
1.—Chivalry to Others.2.—Discipline of Self.3.—Self Improvement.
1.—Chivalry to Others.
2.—Discipline of Self.
3.—Self Improvement.
CHAPTER VII.CHIVALRY of the KNIGHTS.
Knights Errant—Helpfulness to Others—Courtesy to Women.
"In days of old, when knights were bold" it must have been a fine sight to see one of these steel-clad horsemen come riding through the dark green woods in his shining armour, with shield and lance and waving plumes, bestriding his gallant war-horse, strong to bear its load, and full of fire to charge upon an enemy. And near him rode his squire, a young man, his assistant and companion, who would some day become a knight.
Behind him rode his group, or patrol of men-at-arms—stout, hearty warriors, ready to follow their knight to the gates of death if need be. They were the tough yeomen of the old days, who won so many of her fine fights for Britain through their pluck and loyal devotion to their knights.
In peace time, when there was no fighting to be done, the knight would daily ride about looking for a chance of doing a good turn to any wanting help, especially woman or child who might be in distress. When engaged in thus doing good turns he was called a "Knight Errant." His patrol naturally acted in the same way as their leader, and a man-at-arms was always equally ready to help the distressed with his strong right arm. The knights of old were the patrol leaders of the nation, and the men-at-arms were the scouts.
You patrol leaders and scouts are therefore very likethe knights and their retainers, especially if you keep your honour ever before you in the first place and do your best to help other people who are in trouble or who want assistance. Your motto is, "Be Prepared" to do this, and the motto of the knights was a similar one, "Be Always Ready."
Chivalry—that is, the order of the knights—was started in England some 1500 years ago by King Arthur.
On the death of his father, King Uther Pendragon, he was living with his uncle, and nobody knew who was to be King. He did not himself know that he was son of the late King.
Then a great stone was found in the churchyard, into which a sword was sticking, and on the stone was written:
"Whosoever pulleth this sword out of this stone is the rightwise King born of all England."
All the chief lords had a try at pulling it out, but none could move it.
That day there was a tournament at which Arthur's cousin was to fight, but when he got to the ground he found he had left his sword at home, and he sent Arthur to fetch it. Arthur could not find it, but remembering the sword in the churchyard he went there and pulled at it, and it came out of the stone at once; and he took it to his cousin. After the sports he put it back again into the stone; and again they all tried to pull it out, but could not move it, but when he tried he drew it out quite easily. So he was proclaimed King.
He afterwards got together a number of knights, and used to sit with them at a great round table, and so they were called the "Knights of the Round Table." The table is still to be seen at Winchester.
They had as their patron saint St. George, because he was the only one of all the saints who was a horseman. He is the patron saint of cavalry and scouts all over Europe.
St. George is the special saint of England. The battle-cry of the knights used to be, "For Saint George and Merrie England!"
St. George's Day is 23rd April, and on that day all good scouts wear a rose in his honour and fly their flags. Don't forget it on the next 23rd April.
The laws of the knights were these:
"Be Always Ready, with your armour on, except when you are taking your rest at night.
Defend the poor, and help them that cannot defend themselves.
Do nothing to hurt or offend anyone else.
Be prepared to fight in the defence of England.
At whatever you are working try and win honour and a name for honesty.
Never break your promise.
Maintain the honour of your country with your life.
Rather die honest than live shamelessly.
Chivalry requireth that youth should be trained to perform the most laborious and humble offices withcheerfulnessand grace; and to do good unto others."
These are the first rules with which the old knights started, and from which the scout laws of to-day come.
A knight (or scout) is at all times a gentleman. So many people seem to think that a gentleman must have lots of money. That does not make a gentleman. A gentleman is anyone who carries out the rules of chivalry of the knights.
A London policeman, for instance, is a gentleman, because he is well disciplined, loyal, polite, brave, good-tempered, and helpful to women and children.
Captain John Smith, the old English adventurer of three hundred years ago, was a pretty tough customer to deal with, as he had fought in every part ofthe world and had been wounded over and over again; but he also had a good, kind heart within him. He was as good a type of scout as you could find anywhere. One of his favourite expressions was, "We were born, not for ourselves, but to do good to others," and he carried this out very much in his life, for he was the most unselfish of men.
King Richard I., who was one of the first of the Scouts of the Empire, left his kingdom, his family, and everything to go and fight against the enemies of the Christian religion, and very nearly lost his kingdom by doing so, for he was absent for some years, and in the meantime his brother tried to usurp his place. On his way home from the wars in Palestine he was caught by the King of Austria, and was put by him in prison, where he lingered for twelve months. He was discovered by his minstrel, Blondel, who knowing that he must have been captured somewhere went about Europe singing his favourite songs outside the prisons until he was answered from inside; and so he found him and procured his release.
(See "The Talisman," by Sir Walter Scott.)
But self-sacrifice is also to be found among us to-day. Only the other day a lad of eighteen named Currie saw a little girl playing on the railway line at Clydebank in front of an approaching train. He tried to rescue her, but he was lame from an injury he had got at football, and it delayed him in getting her clear. The train knocked both of them over, and both were killed.
But Currie's gallant attempt is an example of chivalry for scouts to follow. It was sacrifice of himself in the attempt to save a child.
"Kindness and gentleness are great virtues," says an old Spanish proverb, and another says, "Oblige without regarding whom you oblige," which means be kind to anyone, great or small, rich or poor.
The great point about a knight was that he was always doing kindnesses or good turns to people. His idea was that everyone must die, but you should make up your mind that before your time comes you will do something good. Therefore, do it at once, for you never know when you may be going off.
So, with the scouts, it has been made one of our laws that we do a good turn to somebody every day. It does not matter how small that good turn may be, if it were only to help an old woman lift her bundle, or to guide a child across a crowded street, or to put a halfpenny in the poor-box. Something good ought to be done each day of your life, and you should start to-day to carry out this rule, and never forget it during the remaining days of your life. Remember the knot in your necktie and on your scout's badge—they are reminders to you to do a good turn. And do your good turn not only to your friends, but to strangers and even to your enemies.
When the Russians were besieged in Port Arthur by the Japanese in 1905, the Japs got close up to their forts by digging long, deep trenches, into which the Russians were not able to shoot. On one occasion they were so close that a Russian soldier was able to throw a letter into the Japanese trench. In this letter he said that he wanted to send a message to his mother in Russia, as she was very anxious about him; but as Port Arthur was now cut off from all communication he begged that the Japs would send the message for him; and he inclosed a note for his mother and a gold coin to pay the cost.
The Japanese soldier who found the note, instead of tearing up the letter and keeping the money, did what every scout would do, took it to his officer, and the officer telegraphed the Russian's message to his mother, and threw a note back into the enemy's fort to tell him that he had done so.
This, with other instances of chivalry on both sides, is described in Mr. Richmond Smith's book, "The Siege and Fall of Port Arthur."
GENEROSITY.
Some people are fond of hoarding up their money and never spending it. It is well to be thrifty, but it is also well to give away money where it is wanted; in fact, that is part of the object of saving up your money. In being charitable, be careful that you do not fall into the mistake of false charity. That is to say, it is very easy and comforting to you to give a penny to a poor beggar in the street, but you ought not to do it. That poor beggar is ninety-nine times out of a hundred an arrant old fraud, and by giving your penny you are encouraging him and others to go on with that trade. There may be, probably are, hundreds of really poor and miserable people hiding away, whom you never see and to whom that penny would be a godsend. The Charity Organisation Society knows where they are, and which they are, and if you give your penny to them, they will put it into the right hands for you.
You need not be rich in order to be charitable. Many of the knights were poor men. At one time some of them wore as their crest two knights riding on one horse, which meant that they were too poor to afford a horse apiece.
Then "tips" are a very bad thing.
Wherever you go, people want to be tipped for doing the slightest thing which they ought to do out of common good feeling. A scout will never accept a tip, even if it is offered him. It is often difficult to refuse, but for a scout it is easy. He has only to say, "Thank you very much, but I am a scout, and our rules don't allow us to accept anything for doing a good turn."
"Tips" put you on a wrong footing with everyone.
You cannot work in a friendly way with a man if you are thinking how much "tip" you are going to get out of him, or he is thinking how much he'll have to "tip" you. And all scouts' work for another ought to be done in a friendly way.
Of course, proper pay that is earned by your work is another thing, and you will be right to accept it.
FRIENDLINESS.
The great difference in a Colonial bushman and a stay-at-home Briton is that the Colonial is in shirt-sleeves while the other is buttoned up in his coat, and their characters are much the same. The Colonial is open and cheery with everybody at once, while the Briton is rather inclined to shut himself up from his neighbours inside his coat, and takes a deal of drawing out before he becomes friendly. The free, open-air, shirt-sleeve habits of the Colonial do away with this, and life becomes much more pleasant to everybody all round. A boy scout should remember that he is like the Colonial, and, like Kim, the "friend of all the world."
But don't let your friendliness lead you into that foolery that is too common in England, namely, throwing away your hard-earned savings in "standing treat" to your friends.
One of the stories that the knights used to tell as an example of politeness was that Julius Cæsar, when he was entertained to supper by a poor peasant, was so polite that when the man gave him a dish of pickles to eat, thinking they were the sort of vegetables that a high-born officer would like, Cæsar ate the whole dish, and pretended to like them, although they burnt his mouth and disagreed with him considerably.
In Spain you ask a man the way—he does not merely point it out, but takes off his hat, bows, and says that it will be a great pleasure to him to show it, and walks with you till he has set you properly upon it. He will take no reward.
A Frenchman will take off his hat when he addresses a stranger, as you may often see him do in London, even when he asks a policeman the way.
The Dutch fishermen, big and brawny as they are, take up the whole street when walking down it; but when a stranger comes along they stand to one side, and smilingly take off their caps to let him pass.
A lady told me that when in one of the far westCanadian townships she met a group of wild-looking cowboys walking down the street, she felt quite alarmed. But as they got near they stood to one side, and took off their hats with the greatest respect, and made way for her.
The knights of old were particularly attentive in respect and courtesy to women.
Sir Nigel Loring in "The White Company" is a type of a chivalrous knight of the old times. Although very small, and half blind by reason of some lime which an enemy had thrown in his eyes early in his career, he was an exceedingly brave man, and at the same time very humble, and very helpful to others.
But above all things he reverenced women. He had a big, plain lady as his wife, but he always upheld her beauty and virtue, and was ready to fight anybody who doubted him.
Then with poor women, old or young, he was always courteous and helpful. And that is how a scout should act.
King Arthur, who made the rules of chivalry, was himself chivalrous to women of whatever class.
One day a girl rushed into his hall crying for help. Her hair was streaming and smeared with mud, her arms were torn with brambles, and she was dressed in rags. She had been ill-treated by a band of robbers who roved the country, doing all the harm they could. When he heard her tale King Arthur sprang on to his horse and rode off himself to the robbers' cave, and even at the risk of his own life he fought and defeated them, so that they could no more trouble his people.
When walking with a lady or a child, a scout should always have her on his left side, so that his right is free to protect her.
This rule is altered when walking in the streets: then a man will walk on the side of her nearest to the traffic, to protect her against accident, or mud-splashes, etc.
In meeting a woman or a child, a man should, as a matter of course, always make way for her, even if he has to step off the pavement into the mud.
So also in riding in a crowded tram or railway carriage no man worthy of the name will allow a woman or a child to stand up if he has a seat. He will at once give it up to the woman and stand himself. As a scout, you should set an example in this by being the first man in the carriage to do it. And in doing so, do it cheerfully, with a smile, so that she may not think you are annoyed at having to do it.
When in the street always be on the look out to help women and children. A good opportunity is when they want to cross a street, or to find the way, or to call a cab or 'bus. If you see them, go and help them at once—and don't accept any reward.
The other day I saw a boy help a lady out of a carriage, and as he shut the door after her, she turned to give him some money, but he touched his cap, and smilingly said, "No, thank you, Marm; it's my duty," and walked off. So I shook hands with him, for I felt that although he had not been taught, he was a scout by nature.
This is the kind of courtesy one wants to see more amongst boys of to-day. Only the other day in London, a girl who had been robbed ran after a thief and pursued him till he dashed down into a narrow alley, where she could not follow, but she waited for him; so did the crowd. And when he came out again, she collared him and struggled to prevent him escaping; but not one of the crowd would help her, although there were men and boys present there. They must have been a poor lot not to help a girl!
Of course, in accidents men and boys will always see that the women and children are safely got out of danger, before they think of going themselves. In two wrecks which occurred in 1906 on the south coast of England, viz., theJebba, and theSuevic, it was very noticeable how carefully arrangements were made for saving the women and children and old people, before any idea was given as to how the men were to be rescued. You should carry your courtesy on with ladies at all times. If you are sitting down and a lady comes intothe room, stand up, and see if you can help her in any way before you sit down.
Don't lark about with a girl whom you would not like your mother or sister to see you with.
Don't make love to any girl unless you mean to marry her.
Don't marry a girl unless you are in a position to support her, and to support some children.
Other ways of doing good turns, are such small things as these: sprinkle sand on a frozen road where horses are liable to slip; remove orange or banana skins from the pavement, as they are apt to throw people down; don't leave gates open, and don't injure fences or walk over crops in the country; help old people in drawing water or carrying fuel, etc., to their homes; help to keep the streets clean by removing scraps of paper.
A Scout looking out ready to help others.A Scout looking out ready to help others.
A Scout looking out ready to help others.
A Scout looking out ready to help others.
Scout's Uniform.—Scout hat; Handkerchief (not a white one) round neck; Shirt (not white); Belt, with pouch; Shorts, with hip pocket; Stockings, with coloured garters; Boots or Shoes, with good nails; Long Stick for feeling way; Whistle; Haversack, with food; Coat rolled, with dry socks and vest inside in pockets.
HINTS TO INSTRUCTORS.
Make each scout tie a knot in his necktie every morning as a reminder to carry out his idea of doing a good turn every day, till it becomes a habit with him.
Take your boys to an armoury, such as the Tower of London or South Kensington Museum, and explain to them the armour and weapons of the knights.
Make a scout bring in a boy, who is a total stranger, as his guest for the evening to play in club games, and hear camp yarns, etc.
"Knight Errantry."—Scouts go out singly, or in pairs, or as a patrol. If in a town, to find women or children in want of help, and to return and report, on their honour, what they have done. If in the country call at any farms or cottages and ask to do odd jobs—for nothing. The same can be made into a race called a "Good Turn" race.
"King Arthur and the Round Table." See Part VI.
Also other stories of chivalry, as in "Stories of King Arthur."
"Ivanhoe," by Sir Walter Scott.
"Stories of King Arthur." Cutler. 3s. 6d.
"The White Company," by Sir Conan Doyle, 1s.
"The Broad Stone of Honour," by Kenelm Digby.
"Fifty-two stories of Chivalry."
"Puck of Pook's Hill," by Rudyard Kipling.
CAMP FIRE YARN.—No. 21.SELF-DISCIPLINE.
Honour—Obedience—Courage—Cheeriness.
The self-disciplined man is described by Browning as:
One who never turned his back but marched breast forward;Never doubted clouds would break;Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph;Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better,Sleep—to wake.
One who never turned his back but marched breast forward;Never doubted clouds would break;Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph;Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better,Sleep—to wake.
One who never turned his back but marched breast forward;Never doubted clouds would break;Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph;Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better,Sleep—to wake.
One who never turned his back but marched breast forward;
Never doubted clouds would break;
Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph;
Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better,
Sleep—to wake.
Lycurgus said that the wealth of a state lay not so much in money as in men who were sound in body and mind, with a body fit for toil and endurance, and with a mind well disciplined, and seeing things in their proper proportions.
The true knight placed his honour before all things. It was sacred, and he will never do a dishonourable action, such as telling an untruth or deceiving his superiors or employers. A man who is honourable is always to be trusted, and always commands the respect of his fellow men. His honour guides him in everything that he does. A captain sticks to the ship till the last, in every wreck that was ever heard of. Why? She is only a lump of iron and wood; his life is as valuable as that of any of the women and children on board, but he makes everybody get away safely before he attempts to save his more valuable life. Why? Because the ship is his ship, and he has been taught that it is his duty to stick to it, and he considers it would be dishonourable in him to do otherwise; so he puts honour before safety. So also a scout should value his honour most of anything.
Fair Play.—Britons, above all other people, insist on fair play.
If you see a big bully going for a small or weak boy, you stop him because it is not "fair play."
And if a man, in fighting another, knocks him down, he must not hit or kick him while he is down; everybody would think him an awful beast if he did. Yet there is no law about it; you could not get him imprisoned for it. The truth is that "fair play" is an old idea of Chivalry that has come down to us from the knights of old, and we must always keep up that idea.
Other nations are not all so good.
Often we hear of wounded men being again shot and killed in battle when they are lying helpless on the ground. In the South African War, when Major MacLaren, now our Manager in the Boy Scouts, was lying helpless, with his thigh broken by a bullet and his horse shot on top of him, a Boer came up and finding him alive, fired two more shots into him. Luckily he recovered and is alive to-day. But that Boer had no Chivalry in him.
Honesty.—Honesty is a form of Honour. An honourable man can be trusted with any amount of money or other valuables with the certainty that he will not steal it.
Cheating at any time is a sneaking, underhand thing to do.
When you feel inclined to cheat in order to win a game, or feel very distressed when a game in which you are playing is going against you, just say to yourself, "After all, it is only a game. It won't kill me if I do lose. One can't win always, though I will stick to it in case of a chance coming."
If you keep your head in this way, you will very often find that you win after all from not being over-anxious or despairing.
And don't forget, whenever youdolose a game, if you are a true scout, you will at once cheer the winning team or shake hands with and congratulate the fellow who has beaten you.
This rule will be carried out inallgames and competitions among Boy Scouts.
Loyalty.—Loyalty was, above all, one of the distinguishing points about the knights. They were always devotedly loyal to their King and to their country, and were always ready and eager to die in their defence. In the same way a follower of the Knights should be loyal not only to the King but also to everyone who is above him, whether his officers or employers, and he should stick to them through thick and thin as part of his duty.
He should also be equally loyal to his own friends and should support them in evil times as well as in good times.
Loyalty to duty was shown by the Roman soldier of old who stuck to his post when the city of Pompeii was overwhelmed with ashes and lava from the volcano Vesuvius. His remains are still there, with his hand covering his mouth and nose to prevent the suffocation which in the end overcame him.
His example was followed at some manoeuvres not long ago by a cadet of Reigate Grammar School who when posted as sentry was accidentally left on his post when the field day was over. But though night came on and it was very cold—in November last—the lad stuck to his post till he was found in the middle of the night, half-perished with cold, but alive and alert.
Discipline and obedience are as important as bravery for scouts and for soldiers.
TheBirkenheadwas a transport-ship carrying troops. She had on board 630 soldiers with their families and 130 seamen. Near the Cape of Good Hope one night, she ran on to some rocks, and began to break up. The soldiers were at once paraded on deck. Some were told off to get out the boats, and to put the women and children into them, and others were told off to get the horses up out of the hold, and to lower them overboard into the sea in order that they might have achance of swimming ashore. When this had all been done it was found that there were not enough boats to take the men, and so the men were ordered to remain in their ranks. Then the ship broke in half and began to go down. The Captain shouted to the men to jump over and save themselves, but the Colonel, Colonel Seaton, said "No, keep your ranks." For he saw that if they swam to the boats and tried to get in they would probably sink them too. So the men kept their ranks and as the ship rolled over and sank they gave a cheer and went down with her. Out of the whole 760 on board, only 192 were saved, but even those would probably have been lost had it not been for the discipline and self-sacrifice of the others.
Last year a British Training Ship, theFort Jackson, full of boy-sailors was run into by a steamer, but just as on theBirkenheadthere was no panic or crying out. The boys fell in quickly on parade, put on their lifebelts, and faced the danger calmly and well. And not a life was lost.
Discipline.—Gibraltar is a great big fortified rock which belongs to England, down on the South Coast of Spain. One hundred and twenty years ago it was besieged by the Spanish and French armies together.
The Spanish Army attacked Gibraltar on the land side, while the French attacked it by sea, but though they fought hard and with greatest endurance for over three years, the British troops defending the place were a match for them and held out successfully until they were relieved by the Fleet from home.
General Elliot, who had been a Cavalry officer in the 15th Hussars, commanded the troops at Gibraltar, and it was largely owing to his strict discipline that the Garrison succeeded in holding out. Every man had learnt to obey orders without any hesitation or question.
One day a man disobeyed an order, so General Elliot had him up before him and explained that for a man to be insubordinate at such a time showed that he could not be in his right senses; he must be mad. So he ordered that his head should be shaved and that he should beblistered, bled, and put into a strait-waistcoat and should be put in the cells, with bread and water, as a lunatic, and should also be prayed for in church!
Humility.—Humility or being humble was one of the things which was practised by the knights, that is to say that, although they were generally superior to other people in fighting or campaigning, they never allowed themselves to swagger about it. So Don't Swagger.
And don't imagine that you have got rights in this world except those that you earn for yourself. You've got the right to be believed if you earn it by always telling the truth, and you've got the right to go to prison if you earn it by thieving; but there are lots of men who go about howling about their rights who have never done anything to earn any rights. Do your duty first and you will get your rights afterwards.
Fortitude.—Then the knights were men who never said "Die" till they were dead; they were always ready to stick it out till the last extremity, but it is a very common fault with men to give in to trouble or fear long before there is any necessity. They often give up working because they don't get success all at once, and probably if they stuck to it a little longer, success would come. A man must expect hard work and want of success at first.
Very few men are born brave, but any man can make himself brave if he tries—and especially if he begins trying when he is a boy.
The brave man dashes into danger without any hesitation, when a less brave man is inclined to hang back. It is very like bathing. A lot of boys will come to a river to bathe, and will cower shivering on the bank, wondering how deep the water is, and whether it is very cold—but the brave one will run through them and take his header into the water, and will be swimming about happily a few seconds later.
The thing is, when there is danger before you, don't stop and look at it—the more you look at it the less youwill like it—but take the plunge, go boldly in at it, and it won't be half so bad as it looked, when you are once in it.
In the late war between Japan and Russia some Japanese pioneers had been ordered to blow up the gate of a Russian fort so that the attackers could get in. After nearly all of them had been shot down, a few of them managed to get to the gate with their charges of powder. These had to be "tamped" or jammed tight against the door somehow, and then fired. The Japs "tamped" them by pushing them against the door with their chests; they then lit their matches, fired the charge, and blew up the gates, but blew up themselves in doing so. But their plucky self-sacrifice enabled their comrades to get in and win the place for the Emperor.
The knights laid great stress on being never out of temper. They thought it bad form to lose their temper, and to show anger. Captain John Smith, of whom I spoke just now, was himself a type of a cheerful man. In fact, towards the end of his life two boys (and he was very fond of boys) to whom he told his adventures, wrote them down in a book, but they said that they found great difficulty in hearing all that he said, because he roared with laughter so over his own descriptions of his troubles. But it is very certain, that had he not been a cheery man, he never could have got through half the dangers with which he was faced at different times in his career.
Over and over again he was made prisoner by his enemies—sometimes savage enemies—but he managed always to captivate them with his pleasant manner and become friends with them, so that often they let him go, or did not trouble to catch him when he made his escape.
If you do your work cheerfully, your work becomes much more of a pleasure to you, and also if you arecheerful it makes other people cheerful as well, which is part of your duty as a scout. Mr. J. M. Barrie writes: "Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others, cannot keep happiness from themselves," which means, if you make other people happy, you make yourself happy.
If you are in the habit of taking things cheerfully, you will very seldom find yourself in serious trouble, because if a difficulty or annoyance or danger seems very great, you will, if you are wise, force yourself to laugh at it, although I will allow it is very difficult to do so at first. Still, the moment you do laugh, most of the difficulty seems to disappear at once, and you can tackle it quite easily.
Good temper can be attained by a boy who wants to have it, and it will help him in every game under the sun, and more especially in difficulty and danger, and will often keep him in a situation where a short-tempered fellow gets turned out, or leaves in a huff.
Bad language and swearing are generally used, like smoking, by boys who want to try and show off how manly they are, but it only makes them look like fools. Generally, a man who swears is a man easily upset, and loses his head in a difficult situation, and he is not, therefore, to be depended upon. You want to be quite undisturbed under the greatest difficulties; and so when you find yourself particularly anxious or excited, or angry, don't swear, force yourself to smile, and it will set you right in a moment.
Captain John Smith, who neither smoked nor swore, had a way of dealing with swearers, which is also adopted by our scouts. He says in his diary that when his men were cutting down trees, the axes blistered their tender fingers, so that at about every third blow, a loud oath would drown the echo of the axe. To remedy this he devised a plan of having every man's oath noted down, and at night, for every oath, he had a can of water poured down the swearer's sleeve, "with which an offender was so washed, that a man would scarce hear an oath in a week."