Stránka:roll 1911.djvu/267

246 Boy Scouts once said, "! c?n't he?r wh?t you say for wl?t you ?nother one said, "Your ilfe speaks louder thnn your words." It was not the wools of the knights of old that told wh?t they were. It was their strong life ?nd fine character that gave power to their words and the thrust to their spears. It is necessary that a boy should Hve right ?nd possess such a character as will help h}m to do the hardest things of life. Every boy should remember that he is in reality just what he is when alone in the dark. The great quests of the knights were most often done singly ?nd alone. Will Another thing that entered into the make-up of a i?nlght was an iron will. He ha?l staying powers because he willed to stick; and the way he trained his will to do th? hard things was to keep himself doing the smag things. Not long ago, there was a lad whom the boys nicknamed "Blockey" a?d "Wooden M?n." When they played ball in the school play ground, Blockey never caught the ball. When they worked together in the gymnasium, Blockey was always left out of the game because he couldn't do things, and was slow and unwieldy in his motions. But one day, a great cha?ge came over Blockey and he began to train his will. He worked hard in the gym- nasium: he learned to catch the ball, and, by sticking to it, was not only able to catch the ball but became proficient. Then there came a time when the first one chosen Upon the team was Blockey; and it ag came about because he had trained his will so that when he .made up his mind to do a thing, ? did it. Thrift Another thing which entered into the trzining of a knight was his readiness to seize his opportunities. The motto of the scout is "Be Prepared." He should be prepared for what- .ever opportunity presents itseff. An interesting story is told by Orison Swett Marden.. He says that a l?d, who later became one of the millionaires of one of our great West ern cities, beg?n his earning career by t?l?ing advantage of an opportunity that came to him as he was passing ?n auction shop. He saw several boxes of a kind of soap which his mother was zccustomed to buy from the fam?!y grocer. Hastening to the grocery store he asked the price of the soap. "Twelve cents a pound" was the reply. On being pressed for a lower figure the shopkeeper remarked in a?hantering tone that he would buy all that the boy coul&?b?hlg?-t'b)l?l?l/tore at