hey have developed certain
faculties by their exercise, and established in themselves the _habit of
courage_. They were not born with any longing to do these daring acts,
nor with any particular aptitude for them. They have been guided nearly
always by the drift of life and by opportunities that presented. As to
fear, they have the same capacity for it that we all have, and are
serene in their peril only because they feel themselves, by their
patience and skill, well armed against it. The steeple-climber would be
afraid to go down in a diving-suit, the lion-tamer would be afraid to go
up in a balloon, the pilot would be afraid to swing on the flying-bars,
and so on.

I will even go further, and say that the average good citizen who is
sound of body has as great capacity for courage as any of these men. He
could develop it if he cared to; he would develop it if he had to. That
is the main point, after all: these men _must_ be brave, they _must_
conquer their fear, and the only trouble with the average man is that
nothing ever occurs to show him and those who know him what fine things
he could do if the pressure were put upon him. Yet any day the test may
come to any one of us--pain to bear, losses to bear, bereavement to
bear. And then the _great_ test.

Well, perhaps these humble heroes whose lives we have glanced at may
give us a bit of their spirit for our own lives, the brave and patient
spirit that will keep us unflinchingly at the hard thing, whatever it
be, until we have conquered it. And perhaps we too may feel impelled to
cultivate the habit of courage. That would be a fine inspiration indeed,
and I can only hope that my readers may feel it.

* * * * *

Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired.

Page 82, "that" changed to "than" (buoyant than is good)

Page 266, "that" changed to "than" (than the regular)

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