CHAPTER XIVBe Kind

George T. Angell

CHAPTER XIVBe Kind

The story is related of a king who had a boy in whom he took great delight. He gave him beautiful rooms to live in, with rich pictures and books, and servants to wait on him wherever he went. He also provided teachers who were to impart knowledge to him of things which would make him good and great; but with all this the young prince was unhappy. He wore a frown wherever he went, and was always wishing for something he did not have. At length one day a magician came to court. He saw the scowl on the boy’s face, and said to the king, “I can make your son happy and turn his frowns into smiles, but you must pay me a large sum for telling him the secret.” “All right,” said the king, “whatever you ask I will give.” The price was agreed upon and paid, and the magician took the boy into a private room. He wrote something with a white substance on a piece of paper, then gave the boy a candle, and told him to light it, hold it under the paper, and see what he could read. He then departed. The boy did as he had been told and the white letters turned into a beautiful blue. They formed these words, “Do a kindness to some one every day.” The prince was very much impressed with these words and undertook to put them into practice, and this resulted in his becoming very popular and useful in the realm.

KINDNESS AND UNKINDNESS.

Few words are greater in the English language than kindness. It is as mighty as it is gentle. Few things cost so little, yet benefit so much. But unkindness always arises from a heart inclined more or less to be cruel. Because of this the memory of Nero has been treated with contempt for ages. When a boy, he delighted in torturing flies by pulling off their legs, and then watching them struggle to get away. When he became emperor he burnt the Christians in his gardens, and wished that all the Romans had but one neck that he might cut off their heads at one blow. Thoreau, on the other hand, is revered for his gentle, loving disposition. Though an ardent naturalist he seldom if ever inflicted death for the sake of the furtherance of his scientific observations. About the year 1845 he took to the woods near Walden Pond, Massachusetts, and built a house, to the surprise of the raccoons and squirrels. But the animals soon learned that he meant them no harm. He would lie down on a fallen tree, or on the edge of a rock, and at his call they would come to him. Even the snakes would wind around his legs, and the squirrels would hide their heads in his waistcoat. The fish in the river knew him, and would allow him to lift them from the water. He could pull a woodchuck out of his hole by its tail. Rabbits and birds paid no heed whatever to him while he sat and watched them or plied his work by chopping trees and raising vegetables, and when he built his house over the nest of a woodmouse, which at first became alarmed, it soon became so tame as to pick the crumbs at his feet and nibble the cheese in his hand.

Some years ago, General David S. Stanley was layingout the route for a great railroad across the plains. There were two thousand men, twenty-five hundred horses and mules, and a train of two hundred and fifty wagons heavily laden. One day the general was riding at the head of the broad column, when suddenly his voice rang out: “Halt!” A bird’s nest lay on the ground directly in front of him. In another moment the horses would have trampled on the nestlings. The mother bird was flying about and chirping in the greatest anxiety. But the brave general had not brought out his army to destroy a bird’s nest. He halted a moment, looked at the little birds and then gave the order: “Left oblique!” Men, horses, mules and wagons turned aside and spared the home of the helpless bird. Years after, those who crossed the plains saw a great bend in the trail, which was the bend made to avoid crushing the bird’s nest.

George Stephenson, when a boy, would never rob a bird’s nest, because, as he used to tell his companions: “It grieves the old bird.” One day when his genius was changing the face of the earth by the railway engine, he went to an upper room of his house and closed a window. It had been open a long time because of the intense summer heat, but now the weather was becoming cooler, and Mr. Stephenson thought it would be well to shut it. Two or three days later he chanced to observe a bird flying against it with all its might as if trying to break it. His curiosity was aroused. He went at once and opened the window and as he did so the bird flew straight to one particular spot in the room, where Stephenson saw a nest. The poor bird looked at it and then fluttered to the floor, broken-hearted and almost dead. The great man drew near. There sat the mother bird, and under her wings four tiny ones, all dead. Tenderly he lifted the exhausted bird from the floor and carefully tried to revive it, but it speedilydied. In its beak was a worm it had long struggled to bring to its home and little ones, and as Mr. Stephenson looked, he wept.

The brave Colonel John Sobieski thought the unwanton killing of birds nothing short of murder. Speaking of one of his hunting trips he said, “Sauntering leisurely along under tall elms, I heard a bird singing, and looking up, I saw a wee bit of a bird perched upon a lofty limb, singing very sweetly. Without a moment’s thought, and without the slightest idea that I could hit so small a mark, I up and banged away. I saw some feathers fly, and the little songster came dropping down from branch to branch, and fell at my feet. I stooped down and picked it up. It was a tiny little thing, not much bigger than my thumb, of a yellowish-green color, as beautiful as it could be. Then, like a flash, the thought came to me, ‘What a contemptible deed I have done. Here was one of God’s beautiful creatures that had just as much right to existence as I, and its life, doubtless, was as sweet to it as mine was to me, and at that very moment that it was singing its beautiful songs to make the world more pleasant and glorious, I had brutally shot it to death.’ I carefully buried it among the leaves, and then promised myself that I would never again wantonly destroy life. I regard this the greatest crime I ever committed.”

Sometimes boys are unkind to dumb animals, teasing them for sport or imposing on them for gain. Few animals show more fidelity and attachment to us than the dog and horse. What warnings the former gives! How faithfully he watches by day and night! With what cheerful alacrity the “Shepherd” goes for the cattle and the “Mastiff” protects thehome! How many lives have been saved from a watery grave by the “Newfoundland,” or from a snowy one by the “St. Bernard!”

Walter Scott tells of a dog which saved his master from being burned alive. The dog of Montargis vainly defended his master against the enemy, but successfully led to the discovery of the murderer. A pet spaniel saved the life of William the Silent by scratching his face, when asleep. A body of Alva’s Spanish troops surprised Dutch William’s camp, and though his guards perished, he effected his escape by mounting a horse. In the excavation of the buried city of Herculaneum, the skeleton of a dog was found stretched over that of a boy twelve years of age, which he endeavored to save from death by suffocation or fire. All that remained to tell the story of its fidelity was a collar with an inscription that told how on three occasions it had saved the life of its master, once from the sea, once from robbers, and once from wolves.

Of the horse many beautiful and pathetic stories are related. It is said they never forget a road once traveled, and are very loving in their attachment. During the Peninsular war a trumpeter of French cavalry was killed. Many days after the engagement, his body was found, guarded by his faithful charger, which had stayed by its dead master, protecting his body. When found, the poor horse was in a sad condition; so great was its grief, that even after the trumpeter had been buried it required great persuasion to be prevailed upon to eat.

Some animals can take their part, as many a boy, through lacerated fingers and severe wounds and bruises, knows. But there are many which cannot, yet every one is entitled to and appreciates kindness. “There is,” as Ruskin said, “a flash of strange light through which their life looks out and up to our greatmystery of command over them, and claiming the fellowship of the creature, if not of the soul.”

Boys should be kind to one another. Unkind acts are lasting as indelible ink; they are like letters written in lemon-juice, which become legible when brought before the fire; they stir the heart, awaken memory, and distress the soul. A prominent lawyer who became attorney general of Missouri relates that while in Governor Steward’s office, a convict was brought in from the penitentiary to receive a pardon at the Governor’s hands. The convict was a steamboat man, with the rough manners of his class. Looking at him the Governor became greatly affected. Then he signed the document which restored the man’s liberty, but before handing it over said, “You will commit some crime, I fear, and will soon be back in prison.” The man protested that such a thing should never again happen. “You will go back to the river and be a mate again, I suppose?” asked the Governor. The man said that was his intention. “Well, I want you to pledge me your word that when you are mate again you will never take a billet of wood, and drive a poor sick boy out of his bunk to help load your boat on a stormy night.” The man promised that he never would, and in surprise asked the Governor why he desired such a pledge. “Because,” answered he, “some day that boy may become Governor, and you may want him to pardon you for some crime. One stormy black night, many years ago you stopped your boat on the Mississippi to take on a load of wood. There was a boy on board working his passage from New Orleans to St. Louis, but he became sick and was lying in his bunk. You had enough men to do the work, but you went to that sick boy, drove him to the deck with blows and curses, and kepthim toiling like a slave till the load was complete. I was that boy. Here is your pardon. Never again be guilty of so brutal an act.” The prisoner took the pardon, covered his face and went out, ashamed of his conduct, and greatly affected by the charity of one who showed mercy when he could have had revenge.

My boy, be kind. “If a man would have friends, he must show himself friendly.” “A little thought and a little kindness,” said Ruskin, “are often worth more than a great deal of money.” Of Cornelius Vanderbilt it was said, “He was a man of the utmost kindliness, who treated all, of whatever station, with courtesy, and age with deference.” Julian Ralph writing of General Wade Hampton said, “He was a gentleman; and the qualities of mercy, kindliness and protection to the lowly were strong in his blood.” It is kindness in the heart, on the lips and at the finger-tips, which wins the affection not only of beasts and birds, but also of men, women and children.

Be kind in voice. No member has more power of good or evil. A single word may sting like an adder, or soothe like oil. It can thrill to action, drive to madness, or lead to despair. It can cut the heart like sorrow, or cheer like sunshine. Look out for your words. Take care of the tones. It is not always so much what one says as the manner in which it is said. Elihu Burritt wisely remarked, “There is no one thing that love so much needs as a sweet voice, to tell what it means and feels. One must start in youth, and be on the watch night and day, at work and play to get and keep a voice that shall speak at all times the thoughts of a kind heart.”

During the famine in Russia when thousands were reduced to the verge of starvation, Count Tolstoipassed a beggar on the street corner. Stretching out his gaunt hands, the miserable creature asked for alms. Tolstoi felt in all his pockets for a coin to bestow upon him. He turned his pockets inside out, but to no purpose. His money had already been spent in charity and he had nothing. Taking the beggar’s hand in both of his, he said: “Do not be angry with me, brother, I have nothing with me.” The gaunt face lighted up, the man lifted his bloodshot eyes, his blue lips parted in a smile. “But you called me brother; that was a great gift,” he said. Yes, kind words, gentle words, sympathetic words are cheap. They cost nothing, but profit greatly. They are like oil to machinery. They disarm anger and are a tonic to the disheartened. Therefore

“Keep a watch on your words, my boy,For words are wonderful things;They are sweet like the bees’ fresh honey,Like bees, they have terrible stings;They can bless like the warm, glad sunshine,And brighten the lonely life;They can cut in the strife of anger,Yes, cut like a two-edged knife.”

“Keep a watch on your words, my boy,

For words are wonderful things;

They are sweet like the bees’ fresh honey,

Like bees, they have terrible stings;

They can bless like the warm, glad sunshine,

And brighten the lonely life;

They can cut in the strife of anger,

Yes, cut like a two-edged knife.”

Be kind in act. Hands are deaf and dumb, but they should be the instruments of a tender heart, having a soft touch. Gladstone, with an empire on his shoulders, found time to leave Parliament and carry flowers to a little sick crossing-sweeper. A small girl selling chestnuts arrested the attention of a young man who gave her a shilling. Years after a poor man called upon a rich bank director to ask for a position as messenger. The director’s wife recognized him as he passed out. She learned his business with her husband and saidwith earnestness, “Give him the situation.” “Why?” he asked. The wife told the story how he had given her the shilling. The husband was pleased to favor his wife and that night the man received a note as he sat by his sick wife. Opening it, he exclaimed: “Good news, wife! We shall not starve; here is a promise of a situation.” His wife called his attention to something that fell upon the floor. It was a fifty pound note folded in a paper bearing the inscription, “In grateful remembrance of the shilling which a kind stranger bestowed on a little girl selling chestnuts twenty years ago.”

Be kind, my boy. There is a magic charm connected with it. So thought William Cowper, who said he would not trust a man who would with his foot crush a worm. So thought the private secretary of President Lincoln, when he found him in the Capitol grounds trying to put a little bird back to the nest from which it had fallen. So thought George Dana Boardman, who could not enjoy the so-called sports of hunting and fishing, because of the suffering they wrought upon the innocent and helpless. Ah, my lad, just as Androcles extracted the thorn from the lion’s paw, and was afterwards defended by that lion, kindness seldom goes unrecompensed. It gives satisfaction to the donor and comfort to the donee.

“You never can tell when you do an actJust what the result will be;But with every deed you are sowing a seed,Though its harvest you may not see.Each kindly act is an acorn droppedIn God’s productive soil;Which you may not know, yet the tree shall growAnd shelter the brows that toil.”

“You never can tell when you do an act

Just what the result will be;

But with every deed you are sowing a seed,

Though its harvest you may not see.

Each kindly act is an acorn dropped

In God’s productive soil;

Which you may not know, yet the tree shall grow

And shelter the brows that toil.”

CHAPTER XVBe Generous

INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER XV

By Gen. Thomas J. Morgan

God blesses still the generous thoughtAnd still the fitting word he speeds,And truth, at His requiring taught,He quickens into deeds.—Whittier.

God blesses still the generous thought

And still the fitting word he speeds,

And truth, at His requiring taught,

He quickens into deeds.

—Whittier.

One of the noblest traits which a boy can cultivate in his relations with his fellows is that of generosity. He is a mean fellow who is always thinking and planning for himself only and seeking to get the advantage of others. A noble-hearted, manly boy thinks of the welfare of those around him, and is always ready to lend a hand to those that are in need. Deeds of generosity tend to develop a character which everybody admires. Generosity pays; it begets self-respect; enlarges a boy’s views and sympathies, and brings him into delightful relationship with kindred minds. If you have anything especially good don’t fail to share it with others who have less, or none. Be generous.

T. J. Morgan

CHAPTER XVBe Generous

During one of his wars Napoleon captured two British sailors and confined them in a prison in central France. The men escaped and made their way to Boulogne on the sea coast, without being discovered. For a long time they could get no further. The love of home and liberty at length grew too strong to be resisted, and they resolved to take chances on their departure. With no other tools than their knives the Englishmen made a boat of small pieces of wood. It was a leaky affair when completed, and in order to make it float they had to cover it with some old scraps of sail. Sure of being shot if discovered, and with every chance of being drowned if they reached the open sea, they decided to attempt to cross the stormy English Channel in their rickety skiff. In the afternoon before they were to make the effort they saw an English frigate within sight of the coast, and hastened to launch the crazy craft and tried to reach the vessel. Some French soldiers discovered them, and, leaping into a boat, soon brought them back. The captors were very much astonished at the daring of the sailors, and soon the news of their adventure spread throughout the camp, and the wonderful courage of the two men was the subject of general remark. At length the episode came to the ears of Napoleon. The great soldier was always attracted by a bold deed, and went to look at the boat in which the sailors had started. After seeing it he was more impressed thanever, and had the Englishmen brought before him. “Is it really true,” he said, “that you thought of crossing the sea in this?” “Sire,” said one of them, “if you doubt it, give us leave to go and see us depart.” “I will,” exclaimed the emperor. “You are brave men. I admire courage wherever I meet it. You are at liberty. But you need not risk your lives. I will put you aboard an English ship. When you reach London, tell your countrymen how I admire bravery, even in an enemy.” He gave the sailors money and saw that they were well treated. The French officers were very much astonished, for the captives had been condemned to death, but Napoleon’s generosity granted their freedom, and with it a safe conduct to their homes.

What Napoleon was in this instance every boy can be. Generosity is a beautiful characteristic of a noble soul. As the hands of a clock tell the hour of time, generosity bespeaks heart-felt love and sympathy. And

“The truly generous is the truly wise;And he who loves not others lives unblest.”

“The truly generous is the truly wise;

And he who loves not others lives unblest.”

This word “generous” was once supposed to apply to nobility of descent, but now it applies to nobility of character. It is used in several ways, yet all fit and depend on each other as joists fit in mortises. Some one has defined the word as greatness of mind. Mind, that which Seneca calls “the proper judge of man,” “that which makes,” as Shakespeare said, “the body rich.” Butgreatnessof mind is much more significant. It is like a large number before a cipher. It is, as Johnson said: “Great in great things and elegant in little things.”

“If there is a boy in school,” says Horace Mann, “who has a club foot, don’t let him know you ever sawit. If there is a boy with ragged clothes, don’t talk about rags in his hearing. If there is a lame boy, assign him to some part of the game that does not require running. If there is a hungry one, give him part of your dinner. If there is a dull one, help him to get his lessons. If there is a bright one, be not envious of him, for, if one boy is proud of his talents and another is envious of them, there are two great wrongs and no more talent than before. If a larger or stronger boy has injured you, and is sorry for it, forgive him. All the school will show by their countenances how much better it is than to have a great fuss. And remember Him who said: ‘Love your enemies,’ ‘bless them which curse you.’”

As the North Pole is the opposite to the South Pole, so generosity stands over against selfishness. It glories in the right but scorns the wrong. “What can I do for you, madam?” asked President Jackson of an early caller at the White House. “Mr. President,” replied the visitor, “I am a poor widow and keep a boarding-house on E Street. Mr. H. has boarded with me for several months, but declines to settle his account. He receives a good salary as a clerk in the Treasury Department, but I cannot collect any money of him.” “Why not?” “He won’t pay it, sir.” “How much does he owe you, madam?” “Nearly $200.” “What is his salary?” “Almost $2,000 a year.” “That is a fair income,” said the President, thoughtfully, “he ought to live on that.” “He has paid me nothing for five months, sir. I need the money and came to ask your advice how to get it.” “He admits his indebtedness?” “Yes, sir, but he avoids me, on pay days, and I can get no satisfaction from him, after repeated solicitations.” “He must pay you, madam.” “I hope he can be madeto. I can ill afford to lose it.” “Go to him,” said Jackson, “and get his note at thirty days for the full amount and interest.” “His note, sir! It wouldn’t be worth a penny.” “Get his note,” repeated the President, “and come to me again. We shall see how much it will be worth.” The widow withdrew. “I must have some kind of settlement of our account to-day,” she said to the delinquent boarder at noon, “if you cannot pay me cash you must give me your note at thirty days for the full amount and interest.” “Note? Certainly,” replied the clerk, carelessly, “I’ll give you half a dozen notes if that will do you any good. What are you going to do with it?” he continued, as he handed her the paper, without the slightest intention of paying it at maturity. “Collect it,” replied the landlady, firmly. “Hope you’ll have a good time and be successful at it,” said H., smiling sarcastically. “I certainly shall,” said the widow. “This note squares our account in full. You will please find other accommodations, Mr. H., from to-day.” Mr. H. left as requested, and next morning the widow called on the President a second time. “Good morning, madam,” said he, “did you get the note?” “Oh, yes, sir. He was very ready. But he laughed at me for being so easily satisfied with his mere promise to pay.” “Well, madam,” said the President, as he took the note and wrote boldly across the back, “Andrew Jackson,” “put this in the Washington Bank for collection. You’ve got a good endorser, at all events. The note will be paid at maturity. Good morning, madam.”

In due time the landlady notified H. that his note for $200 was due at the bank, on a certain day, but he only smiled. “But that note will surely be paid,” said the widow, confidently, “for I’ve got a good man’s name on the back of it.” “Have you, indeed?” asked the clerk, with a chuckle. “Who was fool enough to endorse mynote for $200?” Merely out of curiosity to see who the fool was, he called at the bank the day the note was due. But he did not laugh when he read the endorsement. He could not afford to let that name go to protest, so he paid the note at once. Three days later he received the following letter:

Treasury Department.Washington, D. C.,....183..

Treasury Department.

Washington, D. C.,

....183..

Mr. L. H.——Sir:

Mr. L. H.——

Sir:

Your services as clerk in the —th auditor’s office will not be required after this date. By order of the President.

Yours, etc.,...............Secretary, etc.

Yours, etc.,

...............

Secretary, etc.

The word generous is now generally used for liberality. Hon. Chester Kingsley, who has given freely of his means to benevolent objects, tells how when a boy he used to pray God to give him “a hand to get and a heart to give.” Such a prayer was far-reaching. It meant co-operation of hand and heart, a hand to be industrious, a heart to be charitable. Here is a lesson for every boy. Train the hand to make an honest dollar, the heart to consecrate it to noble purpose and the mind to learn discretion in giving.

If there is one thing that creates happiness more than another, it is making some one else happy.

“True happiness (if understood)Consists alone in doing good.”

“True happiness (if understood)

Consists alone in doing good.”

So wrote the poet Thomson. “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” said the most liberal Giver of theages. One needs to give to keep the heart open, to give without looking for returns, though such giving, like the dove of Noah’s ark, always comes back in due season with the olive leaf of reward.

A poor fatherless boy, according to a German legend, had gathered in the woods a dish of strawberries. Returning home, a venerable old man startled him by calling out, “My lad, let me have thy full dish and thou take my empty one.” Pity for the old man’s weakness and helplessness overcame the boy’s reluctance to part with his berries, and he made the exchange. Soon he filled the empty dish and returned with it to his mother, to whom he told the story of his adventure. “Ah, happy are we, my child,” she exclaimed, “the dish is pure gold.” Though simple the story, it illustrates this profound truth, that the simplest and freest gifts return to us in richer and more acceptable favors. Then

“Give to the world the best you have,And the best will come back to you.”

“Give to the world the best you have,

And the best will come back to you.”

A poor soldier one day called at the shop of a hair-dresser, who was busy with his customers, and asked relief, stating that he had stayed beyond his leave of absence, and unless he could get passage on a coach, fatigue and severe punishment awaited him. The hair-dresser listened to his story respectfully and gave him a guinea. “God bless you, sir!” exclaimed the soldier, astonished at the amount, “how can I repay you? I have nothing in the world but this,” pulling a dirty scrap of paper from his pocket. “It is a receipt for making blacking, and is the best that was ever seen. Many a half guinea I have had for it from the officers, and many bottles have I sold. May you be able to get something for it to repay you for your kindness to apoor soldier.” Oddly enough, that dirty piece of paper proved worth half a million pounds to the hair-dresser. It was no less than the receipt for the famous Day and Martin’s blacking, the hair-dresser being the late wealthy Mr. Day, whose factory is one of the notable sights of the English metropolis.

Be generous, my boy. Not in one thing, but many. In chemical galvanism, it is the number, not the size, of the cells, which increases the power of the battery. In generosity, it is not the large gift, but the number of little gifts; not the one kind word, but the many. Not the great acts, but the continued small ones. To your enemy manifest generosity in forgiveness; to your opponent, tolerance; to your parents, deference; to yourself, respect; to all, charity.

“Count that day lost whose low descending sunViews from thy hand no worthy action done.”

“Count that day lost whose low descending sun

Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”

CHAPTER XVIBe Careful of Your Company

INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER XVI

By Neal Dow

Be cautious with whom you associate, and never give your company or your confidence to persons of whose good principles you are not certain.—Bishop Coleridge.

NOcompany is far preferable to bad, because we are more apt to catch the vices of others than virtues, as disease is far more contagious than health.—Colton.

Avoid as if struck with leprosy, anyone who is profane, who smokes, who is untruthful, who is unmindful of the rights and feelings of others, and do not forget that strong drink leads directly to all evil. Avoid it as you would a fatal disease.

Neal Dow

CHAPTER XVIBe Careful of Your Company

There is a well established rule, by which one is judged by the company he keeps. No word of explanation need be given, for the companions he selects and in whose circle he moves speak louder than words. The choice of associates is a very important one. As in a vitiated air, it is hard for a strong constitution to escape sickness, so however firm and settled a boy’s principles might be, there is danger of losing them by the influence and example of corrupt companions.

It is said to be a property of the tree-frog to acquire the color of any object to which it adheres for a short time. Thus if found on growing corn it is commonly a dark green, and if found on the white oak, it has the color peculiar to that tree. Just so is it with boys. One usually resembles those with whom he associates and becomes like them. Unconsciously he takes on their image, thinks and acts like them, and is a just photograph of them. If the companions are of high moral standard they will prove a blessing, but if slovenly and unclean in appearance, unbecoming in language, impolite in action, they will be a curse. The boy who associates with these invites an unsavory reputation; and sooner or later, no matter what excellent qualities he may have, will be contaminated as is silver when kept in contact with copper.

IMPOSSIBLE TO BE GOOD AND KEEP BAD COMPANY.

In no little degree is one influenced by the speech, manners and habits of companions. “Is example nothing?” asks Edmund Burke. “It is everything. Example is the school of mankind, and it will learn at no other,” he answers. It is because of this that many lawbreakers come from the best families through evil associations. “May it please the Court,” said a convicted criminal when asked if he had anything to say before sentence of death was passed upon him, “bad company has been my ruin. I received the blessings of good parents, and in return promised to avoid all evil associations. Had I kept my promise, I should have been saved from this shame and been free from the load of guilt that rests upon me. I, who once moved in good society, am lost, and all through evil companions.” Many inexperienced boys form the idea that by associating with rough, fast lads they might influence them to be better, or by seeing the evil effects would learn to abhor wickedness the more. These thoughts are foolish in the extreme, and if put into practice, deprave nine times out of ten.

There is a poisonous reptile mentioned in “In Tropical Africa” that has lived so long in a certain colored gravel that it has taken on the exact color, so that a traveler cannot distinguish the one from the other unless the reptile moves. To come in contact with it is to risk one’s life. So the boy who wilfully courts the company of the bad risks the safety of his character, for “vice,” as Pope said,

“—is a monster with such frightful mien,As to be hated, needs but to be seen;Yet, seen too oft, familiar with its face,We first endure, then pity, then embrace.”

“—is a monster with such frightful mien,

As to be hated, needs but to be seen;

Yet, seen too oft, familiar with its face,

We first endure, then pity, then embrace.”

Chemists tell us that one grain of iodine imparts color to seven thousand grains of water. One bad boy may do more to injure one’s character in a day than a lifetime can remedy. Goodness and badness will associate no more than light and darkness. A rotten apple will corrupt a barrel of good ones, but a barrel of good ones will not restore a rotten one. Separation is the only safe plan.

A great magician once took a company of Bavarian youths to a lonely place and entertained them at their request with his incantations. He drew a circle around them with his sword and warned them not to leave or break over on any account. By his first incantation he surrounded them with armed men, who dared them to conflict, but none of them would be lured or drawn beyond the line he had made with his sword. By the second enchantment he surrounded them with a company of beautiful damsels, who tried every power of attraction they could command. One of the dancing damsels whose beauty exceeded that of the others, advanced to one of the young men and with her enchantments had such an effect upon him that he entirely forgot the restriction and stretched forth his finger beyond the circle to receive the ring which she offered to place upon it. At once she seized him and drew him after her, and it was only through difficulty that he was rescued. What an illustration! This circle is the rule of right, the armed men pride and passion, and the charmer a fair representative of intemperance, vice and sensuality. The only safety for a boy is within the circle of right. To step over its boundary is to enter the domain of wrong. It is being enticed onto enchanted ground where evil lurks in every flower, poison hides in every drink and death watches beside every path. Omy son, “If sinners entice thee, consent thou not. Walk not in the way with them. Refrain thy foot from their path,” and when they bid thee “cast in thy lot among us,” have the courage to refuse.

Avoid vulgar companions. Vulgarity is like a blot on a clean sheet of paper. Though it does not destroy the whole sheet, it damages and discounts it to such an extent, that it is often cast aside as worthless.

Avoid lazy companions. The “do-nothings” are usually the “good-for-nothings.” They are of little use to themselves or anyone else. Industrious people shun them and the ambitious have no respect for them. Many a man who might have been rich and honorable has spent his last days in the penitentiary or poor-house because the early days were spent in idleness. Idleness is the mother of almost every crime, and he who fellowships the idler runs the risk of being criminal. Then

“Eschew the idle life!Flee, flee, from doing naught;For never was there idle brainBut bred an idle thought.”

“Eschew the idle life!

Flee, flee, from doing naught;

For never was there idle brain

But bred an idle thought.”

Avoid sceptical companions. Making religion a mockery is a bad trait in any boy and the sooner his room is considered better than his company, the sooner will the boy be protected from the impure and irreligious. He who neglects the house of God, desecrates the Sabbath and laughs at others who are inclined to be pious is not the right kind of company to keep.

An overseer in a mill found a pin which cost the company nearly five hundred dollars. “Was it stolen?” asked an employe. “Was it a diamond pin?” “Oh,no,” answered the overseer, “it was just such a pin as we use without stint. You see, it happened this way. Calicoes, after they are printed, washed and dried, are smoothed by being pressed over heated rollers. By some mischance, a pin dropped so as to lie upon the principal roller, and became wedged in it, the head standing out a little from the surface. Over and over went the roller, and round and round went the cloth, winding at length on another roller, until the piece was measured off. Then another piece began to be dried and wound, and so on until a hundred pieces had been counted. These were not examined immediately, but removed from the machinery and laid aside. When at length they came to be inspected, it was found that there were holes in every piece throughout the web, and only three-quarters of a yard apart. The pieces averaged about forty yards, which at twelve and a half cents a yard amounted to about five hundred dollars. Of course the goods could not be classed as perfect, so they were sold as remnants at about half the price they would have brought had it not been for that hidden pin.”

Thus it is when a boy takes for his companion one whose language is not the most savory, who is inclined to be lazy and sceptical, that he does himself a moral injury which increases with the association. Evil seed is planted in his mind, which, as Seneca said, “is sure to spring up in future resurrection,” discounting his reputation and damaging his character beyond repair.

No boy can be too cautious with whom he associates, and

“Without good company, all daintiesLose their true relish, and like painted grapes,Are only seen, not tasted.”

“Without good company, all dainties

Lose their true relish, and like painted grapes,

Are only seen, not tasted.”

Would you acquire a good reputation? Seek the companionship of good boys. Good begets good. “Flowers planted by the rose smell of the rose.” “Companionship with the wise never fails to have a most valuable influence on the formation of character, increasing resources, strengthening resolves, elevating aims, and enabling one to exercise greater dexterity and ability in his affairs, as well as more effective helpfulness to others.” Thus Allan Cunningham when learning the trade of a stone-mason in Nithsdale, walked all the way to Edinburgh that he might see the face of Sir Walter Scott as he passed along the street. Sir Joshua Reynolds, when a lad of only ten, thrust his hand through a crowd of people that he might touch the Pope—the greatest living person to his mind. Fox acknowledged very frequently his indebtedness to the example and conversation of Edmund Burke; Tyndall speaks of Faraday as a great energy to his life, and later wrote, “His works excite admiration, but contact with him warms and elevates the heart.” Carlyle said, “Hero-worship exists, has existed, and will forever exist, universally among mankind.” Haydn’s hero was Sir Joshua Reynolds; Rogers the poet had his hero in the person of Dr. Samuel Johnson; Hallam his in Tennyson; Tennyson’s was William Ewart Gladstone, and Henry Martyn’s was a big boy who defended him from others who picked on him, and who assisted him in his studies at Cambridge. Unknown to the world the great missionary acknowledged that this boy kept and defended him from evil associates and inspired his soul with the love of truth and the work for which he was called upon to sacrifice his life.

My boy, choose carefully your associates. “Seek at the first,” as Marshall Field wrote, “to cultivate the acquaintance of those only whose contact and influence will kindle high purposes, as I regard the building upof a sterling character as one of the fundamental principles of true success.” See to it that they are modest, studious, truthful, moral; shunning evil places, avoiding questionable amusements, without bad habits and in conduct exemplary. Choose “your superiors if possible, your equals at least, your inferiors never.” Associate with boys who will foster your piety and who will make you wiser and nobler. Lord Brooks so esteemed the friendship of Sir Philip Sydney that he chose for his epitaph: “Here lies Sir Philip Sydney’s friend.”

“Be careful in choosing companions;Seek only the brave and the true;And stand by your friends when in trial,Ne’er changing the old for the new.And when by false friends you are temptedTo do things wrong, which you know,With firmness, with patience and kindness,Have courage, my boy, to say, ‘No!’”

“Be careful in choosing companions;

Seek only the brave and the true;

And stand by your friends when in trial,

Ne’er changing the old for the new.

And when by false friends you are tempted

To do things wrong, which you know,

With firmness, with patience and kindness,

Have courage, my boy, to say, ‘No!’”

CHAPTER XVIIBe Cautious of Baneful Amusements

INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER XVII

By Henry H. Hadley

The youth who bathes in pleasure’s limpid streamAt well-judged intervals, feels all his soulNerved with recruited strength; but, if too oftIt chills his languid virtue.—Mason.

The youth who bathes in pleasure’s limpid stream

At well-judged intervals, feels all his soul

Nerved with recruited strength; but, if too oft

It chills his languid virtue.

—Mason.

My boy and my son, I advise you not to touch a card. Don’t learn the game or watch one. One of my companions fell dead in a gambling house by a pistol shot from his own gun. His name was “Ben” Miller. His partner “Froom” Featherly, said to me, “I wish I lay there with poor Ben. When I learned to play cards at mother’s dining room table she never thought it would come to this. Gambling is so fixed in my mind that I cannot stop.” Drunkenness is insanity of the stomach, gambling is insanity of the morals.

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