y ran away he concluded they weren't worth troubling with anyhow.

And so I say to you, boys and girls, be sure in your own minds that you
are doing right, then go boldly ahead, and you will find the gates down
and the tracks clear. Let this be your motto:

"Silken-handed stroke a nettle,
And it stings you for your pains.
Grasp it like a man of mettle,
And it soft as silk remains."

HIRING A COACHMAN

There is a story that tells of a man who advertised for a coachman, and
three men answered the advertisement. They all made a good appearance,
and the man was at a loss to know which one to choose.

Finally he hit upon this scheme. There was a road near his house that
ran along the edge of a precipice. The man asked each one of these
coachmen in turn how close he could drive to the cliff without going
over. The first said he could drive within six inches of it; the second
said he could drive within two inches of it. When the third man was
asked he said, "I should keep away from it as far as possible."

The man said, "You are the coachman I want."

The way that last coachman felt about the precipice is the way for boys
and girls to feel about temptation. Some things that are wrong are like
thin ice: they tempt you to see how far you can go, and the first thing
you know you are in. A boy, especially, is tempted to be what is known
as a "daredevil;" that is, one who is not afraid of anything. But there
is nothing in it, boys. That sort of thing is not courage: it is
rashness, which is just another name for foolishness.

Shakespeare once said:

"I dare do all that may become a man,
Who dares do more is none."

The really brave boy is not the one that blusters and brags: the brave
boy is usually quiet, but, as we say, "all there" when the pinch really
comes.

Christ was one of the bravest men the world ever knew, and yet He told
us to be afraid, actually afraid, of things that hurt our souls.

Do not see how near the fire you can go without getting scorched; don't
see how near sin you can go without getting caught. It is poor business.
Take this as your motto when you are inclined to tamper with wrong: "Who
eats with the devil needs a long-handled spoon." The farther you keep
away from him, the better.

THE FIERCEST THING IN THE BIBLE

I suppose if I should ask you which is the fiercest animal mentioned in
the Bible, I should get many different answers. Some of you would say
th