ndings--that constitutes much of the charm of it all. There is
nothing so refreshing and invigorating as that. But on the other hand
to an entire stranger who has no guide, it is apt to be confusing and
wearisome. And the tiresome side often overcomes the pleasant side. Now
this is what I am saying, that, if there are just a few together, and
this experienced traveler, who is also a dear friend, is one of them,
the trip is radically changed. You move in a new world. He can talk
Dutch in Holland, and German in Germany, Swedish in Scandinavia, and
French in Switzerland. He sees the baggage past the customs officials,
and provides restful stopping places, and keeps the disagreeables away
from you. He knows the places to visit, and is familiar with the
historic occurrences, and is a quiet, cheery companion, and _if_ with it
all he has an unlimited letter-of-credit, and makes you feel that
somehow you are favoring him by letting him help you out when you run
short--that, I say, would be _the ideal way of traveling_.

Now why take so much time speaking about all that? Listen! I will tell
you why. Living is like traveling. Life is a journey. It is a trip
through a strange land where you have never been before, and you never
know a moment ahead where you are going next. Strange languages, strange
scenes, strange dilemmas; new tangles, new experiences, and some old
ones with new faces so you do not know them. It is just as chock-full of
pleasure and enjoyment as it can be, if you could only make some
provision for the drudgery and hard things that seem to crowd in so
thick and fast sometimes, as to make people forget the gladness of it.

Now I have something to tell you that seems too utterly good to be
believed, and yet keeps getting better all the way along. It is this:
the Master has planned that your life journey shall be a personally
conducted one on this ideal plan. It was said a night or two ago that
the Master has thought into your life and made arrangement for all its
needs. Let me add to-night this further fact: _He has arranged with His
best friend, who is an experienced traveler, to go with you and devote
Himself wholly to your interests._

Some of you, I am afraid, will smile, and think that I am just indulging
in a fancy sketch--drawing on my imagination. And so I pray our Master
to burn into our hearts that it is plain, matter-of-fact truth, for
every day life. I would say that it is cold fact were it not that su