d; 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 passing 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 banter