st of English did not prove as difficult
as he had expected. At all events, he set out to master it.

[Illustration: Edward Bok at the age of six, upon his arrival in the
United States.]

Edward was now confronted by a three-cornered problem. Like all
healthy boys of his age he was fond of play and eager to join the boys
of his neighborhood in their pastimes after school hours. He also
wanted to help his mother, which meant the washing of dishes, cleaning
the rooms in which the family then lived, and running various errands
for the needed household supplies. Then, too, he was not progressing
as rapidly as he wished with his school studies, and he felt that he
ought to do everything in his power to take advantage of his
opportunity to get an education.

Methodically he worked out a plan which made it possible to accomplish
all three objects. He planned that on one afternoon he should go
directly home from school to help his mother, and as soon as he had
finished the necessary chores that would make her life easier he would
be free to go out and play for the rest of that afternoon. On the
following day he would remain in school for an extra hour after the
class had been dismissed and would get the teacher's help on any
lessons that were not clear to him. When that task had been
accomplished he would still have part of that afternoon left for play.
He broached his plan for work at home and study at school on alternate
afternoons to his mother and his teacher. Both approved of the idea
and agreed that it had been well thought out.

Thus Edward Bok learned early in life the valuable lesson of a wise
management of time. Instead of attempting to accomplish various
results in some haphazard fashion, he planned to do only one thing at a
time, yet his plan was so comprehensive that it provided for the
necessary housework, study, and play--the three things that he wanted
to do and felt he should do.

As his evenings were also devoted to various tasks and duties, this
young American-to-be, by using each bit of spare time for some useful
purpose, became early in life the busy person that he has remained to
the present day. Of Edward Bok it may truly be said that he began to
work, and to work hard, almost from the day he set foot on American
soil. He has since realized that this is not the best thing for a
young boy, who should have liberal time for play in his life. Of
course, Edward made the most of the short per