as a little fellow, and he could tame
and ride the wildest horse as well as the best man among them.

One day a great idea came into the heads of the Frankish warriors. They
thought they would leave their old homes on the banks of the Rhine and
go and settle in a new country called Gaul. It would have been easy
enough, perhaps, if there had been nobody there but the natives and the
wild beasts, but that was not the case.

The Romans were there. I am sure you have heard of the Romans and how
very strong and warlike they were. Their soldiers conquered the world
and were very seldom beaten. They had an army in this country of Gaul.

Clovis was not afraid of the Romans, however, and he marched against
them. The two armies stood facing each other and the two leaders came
out to speak together in an open space between the camps.

The Roman general was very big and grand, and he had Roman soldiers on
each side of him in splendid uniform. Clovis was accompanied by some of
his brave followers. When the Roman leader saw Clovis, he burst out
laughing and cried, "Why, he's a boy! A _boy_ has come to fight against
the Romans!" He thought it was so funny that a boy of sixteen should
dare to fight against him that he couldn't do anything but laugh. Clovis
did not like this at all, and he shouted back, "Yes, but the boy will
conquer you!"

[Illustration: "YES, BUT THE BOY WILL CONQUER YOU!"]

Then came the battle, and the Roman general found it wasn't so funny
after all. For the boy did conquer him and he ran away. Afterwards the
Franks gained the country for themselves and called it their own name,
France.

I believe in boys. I think they can do almost anything. I believe in
girls, too, just as much. The girls did not fight in this battle I have
been telling you about, but there is another and better kind of battle
in which boys and girls fight side by side.

The old kind of battle in which men were killed, and little children
lost their fathers, was very bad and very sad, at the best. In the new
kind of battle people don't kill each other, and yet they fight very
hard against their enemies and have to be very brave.

Let me tell you about a few of these battles. One that is going on now
is the battle against Disease. Very likely you have heard the grown
folks talk about consumption, and saying that it is one of the worst
enemies of our American people, and kills thousands and thousands every
year. Men and women and boys and