Boy Scouts Handbook Part 55

Cheerfulness

As has been said, whatever a scout does should be done with cheerfulness, and the duty of always being cheerful cannot be emphasized too much.

Why don't you laugh, and make us all laugh too, And keep us mortals all from getting blue?

A laugh will always win.

If you can't laugh--just grin.

Go on! Let's all join in!

Why don't you laugh?

Benjamin Franklin said: "Money never yet made a man happy, and there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness, One's personal enjoyment is a very small thing, but one's personal usefulness is a very important thing." Those only are happy who have their minds fixed upon some object other and higher than their own happiness. Doctor Raffles once said, {245} "I have made it a rule never to be with a person ten minutes without trying to make him happier." A boy once said to his mother, "I couldn't make little sister happy, nohow I could fix it, but I made myself happy trying to make her happy."

There was once a king who had a tall, handsome son whom he loved with his whole heart, so he gave him everything that his heart desired--a pony to ride, beautiful rooms to live in, picture books, stories, and everything that money could buy. And yet, in spite of this, the young prince was unhappy and wore a wry face and a frown wherever he went, and was always wishing for something he did not have. By and by, a magician came to the court, and seeing a frown on the prince's face, said to the king, "I can make your boy happy and turn his frown into a smile, but you must pay me a very large price for the secret." "All right," said the king, "whatever you ask, I will do." So the magician took the boy into a private room, and with white liquid wrote something on a piece of paper; then he gave the boy a candle and told him to warm the paper and read what was written. The prince did as he was told. The white letters turned into letters of blue, and he read these words; "Do a kindness to some one every day." So the prince followed the magician's advice and became the happiest boy in all the king's realm.

To be a good scout one must remain cheerful under every circ.u.mstance, bearing both fortune and misfortune with a smile.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Cheer up.]

Character

If a scout is cheerful, follows the advice of the magician to the king's son, and does a good turn to some one every day, he will come into possession of a strong character such as the knights of the Round Table had; for, after all, character is the thing that distinguishes a good scout from a bad one. Character is not what men say about you. A great writer {246} once said, "I can't hear what you say for what you are," and another one said, "Your life speaks louder than your words."

It was not the words of the knights of old that told what they were.

It was their strong life and fine character that gave power to their words and the thrust to their spears.

It is necessary that a boy should live right and possess such a character as will help him 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 and alone.

Will

Another thing that entered into the make-up of a knight was an iron will. He had staying powers because he willed to stick; and the way he trained his will to do the hard things was to keep himself doing the small things. Not long ago, there was a lad whom the boys nicknamed "Blockey" and "Wooden Man." 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 change came over Blockey and he began to train his will.

He worked hard in the gymnasium: 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 all came about because he had trained his will so that when he made up his mind to do a thing, he did it.

Thrift

Another thing which entered into the training of a knight was his readiness to seize his opportunities. The motto of the scout is "Be Prepared." He should be prepared for whatever opportunity presents itself. An interesting story is told by Orison Swett Marden. He says that a lad, who later became one of the millionaires of one of our great Western cities, began his earning career by taking advantage of an opportunity that came to him as he was pa.s.sing an auction shop. He saw several boxes of a kind of soap which his mother was accustomed to buy from the family 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 bantering tone that he would buy all that the boy could bring to his store at {247} nine cents a pound. The boy hurried back to the auction and bought the soap at six cents a pound. It was in this way that he made his first money in trade and laid the foundation of his fortune.

The knight never waited for opportunity to come to him. He went out looking for it, and wore his armor in order that he might be ready for it when it came. There is a story of a Greek G.o.d who had only one lock of hair upon his forehead. The remainder of his head was shining bald.

In order to get this ancient G.o.d's attention, it was necessary to grip him by his forelock, for when he had pa.s.sed, nothing could check his speed. So it is with opportunity, and the hour of opportunity. A good scout is ready for both and always grips "time by the forelock."

Individuality

If the foregoing qualities enter into a scout's training, an individuality will be developed in him, which will make itself known and felt.

Every scout should read over the following list of scout virtues, and should strive at all times to keep them before him in his training, thus making them a part of his life:

Unselfishness: The art of thinking of others first and one's self afterward.

Self Sacrifice: The giving up of one's comfort, desires, and pleasures for the benefit of some one else.

Kindness: The habit of thinking well of others and doing good to them.

Friendliness: The disposition to make everyone you meet feel at ease, and to be of service to him if possible.

Honesty: The desire to give to every one a square deal and the same fair chance that you yourself wish to enjoy. It means also respect for the property and rights of others, the ability to face the truth, and to call your own faults by their right name.

Fair Play: Scorning to take unfair advantage of a rival and readiness even to give up an advantage to him.

Loyalty: The quality of remaining true and faithful not only to your principles but also to your parents and friends.

Obedience: Compliance with the wishes of parents or those in places of authority.

Discipline: That self-restraint and self-control that keep a boy steady, and help him in team work.

Endurance: A manly moderation which keeps a boy fit and strong and in good condition.

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Self Improvement: The ambition to get on in life by all fair means.

Humility: That fine quality which keeps a scout from boasting, and which generally reveals a boy of courage and achievement.

Honor: That great thing which is more sacred than anything else to scouts and gentlemen; the disdain of telling or implying an untruth; absolute trustworthiness and faithfulness.

Duty to G.o.d: That greatest of all things, which keeps a boy faithful to his principles and true to his friends and comrades; that gives him a belief in things that are high and n.o.ble, and which makes him prove his belief by doing his good turn to some one every day.

This list of virtues a scout must have, and if there are any that standout more prominently than the others, they are the following:

[Ill.u.s.tration: Scout protecting child from mad dog.]

Courage

It is horrible to be a coward. It is weak to yield to fear and heroic to face danger without flinching. The old Indian who had been mortally wounded faced death with a grim smile on his lips and sang his own death song. The soldier of the {249} Roman legions laughed in the face of death, and died often with a "Hail, Imperator!" for the Roman Caesar upon his lips.

One of the stories connected with the battle of Agincourt tells us that four fair ladies had sent their knightly lovers into battle. One of these was killed. Another was made prisoner. The third was lost in the battle and never heard of afterward. The fourth was safe, but owed his safety to shameful flight. "Ah! woe is me," said the lady of this base knight, "for having placed my affections on a coward. He would have been dear to me dead. But alive he is my reproach."

A scout must be as courageous as any knight of old or any Roman soldier or any dying Indian.

Loyalty

Loyalty is another scout virtue which must stand out prominently, because it is that which makes him true to his home, his parents, and his country. Charles VIII, at the Battle of Foronovo, picked out nine of his bravest officers and gave to each of them a complete suit of armor, which was a counterpart of his own. By this device he outwitted a group of his enemies who had leagued themselves to kill him during the fight. They sought him through all the ranks, and every time they met one of these officers they thought they had come face to face with the king. The fact that these officers hailed such a dangerous honor with delight and devotion is a striking ill.u.s.tration of their loyalty.

The scout should be no less loyal to his parents, home, and country.