trove to
maintain the glory of our flag and to keep the Union un-broken.
Hundreds of stories are told of his great heart and almost boundless
sympathy for others. The generals of the Civil War were deeply
attached to him, and the rank and file of the sold-iers who fought
under these generals loved and revered him. He was familiarly known as
"Honest Abe." He could always be relied upon to give help and
encouragement. His smile cheered the defenders of the Union, and his
wise counsel gave heart to the men who were helping him to shape the
destinies of the nation. At the close of the war which saw the Union
more firmly established than ever, he fell by the hand of the
assassin, mourned deeply both by his own country and by the world at
large.

The further we get from the scene of his life and work the more firmly
are we, his countrymen, convinced of his sincerity, strength, wisdom,
and bigness of heart. The two men who stand out preeminently in
history among great Americans are Washington and Lincoln, the former
as the founder of the Union and the latter as the man who gave it
unbreakable continuity and preserved it, as we hope and believe, for
all time.

[Illustration: Using every opportunity.]

Lincoln's life and career should be the study and inspiration of every
boy scout. He became familiar with all of the things for which the Boy
Scouts of America stand. He was a lover of the wild things in the
woods, and loved and lived the life of the out-of-doors. He had a high
sense of honor and was intensely chivalrous, as the many hundred
stories told about {243} him testify. He did many times more than one
good turn a day; he sincerely loved his country; he lived, fought, and
worked for it; and finally he sealed his loyalty by giving his life.
The path that he travelled from the log cabin to the White House
clearly shows that an American boy who has well defined ideas of truth
and right, and then dares to stand by them, can become great in the
councils of the nation. The life, then, of Abraham Lincoln should be a
steady inspiration to every boy who wishes to call himself a scout.

Challenge of the Present

Thus we see that chivalry is not a virtue that had its beginning long
ago and merely lived a short time, becoming a mere story. Chivalry
began in the far-distant past out of the desire to help others, and
the knights of the olden days did this as best they could. Later the
new race of men in America took up the