girls as there ever was. So to-day there is a demand for a modern type
of chivalry. It is for this reason that the Boy Scouts of America
have come into being; for there is need of service in these days, and
that is represented by the good turn done to somebody every day. Doing
the good turn daily will help to form the habit of useful service. A
boy scout, then, while living in modern times, must consider himself
the heir of ancient chivalry {241} and of the pioneers, and he must
for this reason give himself to ever renewed efforts to be true to the
traditions which have been handed down to him by these great and good
leaders of men. The boy-scout movement is a call to American boys
to-day to become in spirit members of the order of chivalry, and a
challenge to them to make their lives count in the communities in
which they live--for clean lives, clean speech, clean sport, clean
habits, and clean relationships with others. It is also a challenge
for them to stand for the right against the wrong, for truth against
falsehood, to help the weak and oppressed, and to love and seek the
best things of life.

Abraham Lincoln

[Illustration: Portrait of Abraham Lincoln. (tr)]

Perhaps there is no better example of chivalry than the life and
experience of Abraham Lincoln, the greatest of all our American men.
Every boy ought to read the story of his life and come to understand
and appreciate what it means. Lincoln was born in the backwoods of
Kentucky. He was a tall, spare man of awkward build, and knew very
little of the school room as a boy. He fought for his education. He
borrowed books wherever he could. Many long nights were spent by him
before the flickering lights of the log cabin, gleaning from his
borrowed treasures the knowledge he longed to possess. He passed
through all the experiences of life that other scouts and pioneers
have experienced. He split rails for a livelihood, and fought his way
upward by hard work, finally achieving for himself an education in the
law, becoming an advocate in the courts of Illinois. Wherever he
went, he made a profound impression on the lives and minds of the
people and won over his political opponents by his strength, sympathy,
{242} and breadth of mind. At the period when storms threatened to
engulf our Ship of State, he became President of our country. Although
Lincoln was an untried pilot, he stood by the helm like a veteran
master. A man of earnest and intense conviction, he s