urse. Nat was wont to
look on the bright side of things, and it was generally fair weather
with him. For this reason, he expected a good crop of squashes,
notwithstanding his father's adverse hints. It was fortunate for him
that he was so hopeful, for it inspired him with zeal and earnestness,
and made him more successful than he otherwise would have been. All
hopeful persons are not successful, but nearly all the successful ones,
in the various callings of life, were hopeful from the beginning. This
was true of Nathaniel Bowditch, the great mathematician, who was a poor
boy when he commenced his studies. He said that whenever he undertook
any thing "it never occurred to him for a moment that he could fail."
This quality thus encouraged him to press on from one success to
another. Hence, in later life, his counsel to youth was, "Never
undertake any thing but with the feeling that you can and will do it.
With that feeling success is certain, and without it failure is
unavoidable." He once said that it had been an invariable rule with him,
"to do one thing at a time, and to _finish_ whatever he began." The
same was true of Sir Humphrey Davy. His biographer says that he never
made any provision for failures, "that he undertook every experiment as
if success were certain." This put life and soul into his acts; for when
a man believes that he shall certainly succeed in a given work, his
success is half secured. Grave doubts about it diminish energy, and
relax the force of the will. Buxton, the distinguished English
philanthropist, is another example of this quality. He was just as
confident that his efforts in behalf of the oppressed would succeed, as
he was of his own existence. He knew that God and truth were on his
side, and therefore he expected to triumph,--and he did. We shall see
that Nat was often helped by his hopefulness.

It was a happy day to Nat when he saw his squashes coming forth to seek
the genial light. Frank Martin was with him when the discovery was made,
and it brightened Nat's hope considerably, if it be possible to make a
bright thing brighter.

"Here, Frank, they are coming. There is one--two--three--"

"Sure enough," answered Frank, "they will all show themselves soon. You
will raise a lot of squashes on this patch of ground. You will have to
drive a team to Boston market to carry them, likely as not."

"I hardly think father expects to see any squashes of _my_ raising,"
said Nat.

"Why not?" i