e judges' boat.
"You have won the prize handsomely, Frank, and it affords me great
pleasure to present it to you," said Mr. Hyde, as he handed him a purse
containing the prize. "After the noble expressions of kindness on the
part of your rival, I am sure the award will awaken no feeling of
exultation in the minds of the Zephyrs, and none of envy in the
Butterflies. I congratulate you on your victory."
Frank bowed, and thanked the schoolmaster for his hopeful words; and the
Butterflies gave three cheers again as he took the prize. The Zephyr was
then brought alongside her late rival.
"Starboard oars--up!" said Frank.
"Larboard oars--up!" added Tony.
"What now, I wonder?" queried Fred Harper.
"Forward oarsman, step aboard the Butterfly," continued Frank.
"Forward oarsman, step aboard the Zephyr," said Tony.
Then the next member in each boat was passed over to the other, and so
on, till the whole starboard side of the Zephyr was manned by
Butterflies, and the larboard side of the Butterfly by Zephyrs.
"Ready--up!" said the coxswains, as they proceeded to get under way
again.
Thus, with the two clubs fraternally mingled, they slowly pulled towards
the nearest shore, while the band played its sweetest strains. The
spectators still lingered; and as the boats neared the land, they were
greeted with repeated cheers. Then, side by side, they pulled slowly
along the shore, within a few rods of the lake's bank, till they reach
the Butterflies' house, where they all landed.
And thus ended the famous boat race, over which the boys had been
thinking by day and dreaming by night for several weeks. The occasion
had passed; and if it was productive of any evil effects in the minds of
those who engaged in it, they were more than balanced by the excellent
discipline it afforded. They had learned to look without envy upon those
whom superior skill or good fortune had favored, and to feel kindly
towards those over whom they had won a victory. It was a lesson which
they would all need in the great world, where many a race is run, and
where the conqueror is not always gentle towards the conquered--where
defeat generates ill-will, envy, and hatred.
"A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another," said
Jesus--not only love one another when the sky is clear, and the waters
are smooth, but when the clouds threaten, and the stormy sea lashes with
its fury; not only when the arm of friendship and kindness hol
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