e a woman
crying in the street I want to comfort her. God has given me a quick ear
where grief is concerned--and I am thankful. I wouldn't have it
otherwise--though I have to pay for it.

That woman's tears went through me. Every little while she was counting in
French, "_Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq,_"--then she would weep again and
then she would count.

I said to the nurse, "Nurse, what's the trouble?" and she said, "Sir, her
mind has given way. Before the war she had five handsome sons, and one by
one they have been killed, and now she spends her time counting over her
boys and weeping."

And all that is for you and for me! What sort of people ought we to be, do
you suppose? Are we really worth--_that_?

* * * * *

I was talking to some Canadians one night--and the Canadians are fine boys.
I was putting my foot on the platform, just about to begin, when a bright
young Canadian touched me and said, "Say, boss, can _you_ shoot quick?"
and I replied,

"Yes, and straight."

"Well," he said, "you'll do."

I had a great time with those fellows. Hundreds of those Canadian boys
stood up to say, "God helping me, I am going to lead a better
life!"--hundreds of them. And then I put another test to them. "I want you
all to promise," I said, "that you'll kneel down and say your prayers
to-night in the billet, and those of you who will promise to do that come
up and shake hands with me as you go out." I was kept one half-hour
shaking hands.

Now, there were nine fellows sleeping in one billet and not one knew the
other eight had been to the meeting. They all got mixed up, but all the
nine came up to shake hands, and the one that got back to billets first
told the story afterwards. This one had made up his mind he would kneel
down and say his prayers, but when he returned he found there was no one
there. Somehow he felt different then--he felt he couldn't do it. He was
more afraid of nobody than he would have been of somebody. Then just
suppose the others came back and found him kneeling there!

"I funked it," he said. "I got under the blanket, and tried to say my
prayers under the blanket, but it wouldn't work. Then I heard one man come
into the room, then two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight. And the
eighth man was the champion swearer of the company."

"Boys," said this man, "did you hear him?"

"Yes," they said, "we heard him."

And the little chap under the blanket sa