, and suffered together, and so had learned
to think and feel in unison. Our spirits had become fused in a
common purpose, and we could sit in silence and not be abashed. We
had become honest with our surroundings, honest with one another, and
honest with ourselves, and so could smile at mere conventions and
find joy in one another without words. We had encountered honest
difficulties--rocks, trees, streams, sloughs, tangles, sand, and sun,
and had overcome them by honest effort and so had achieved honesty.
We had met and overcome big things, too, and in doing so had grown
big. No longer did our hearts flutter in the presence of little
things, for we had won poise and serenity.

The fogs had been banished from our minds; our sight had become
clear; our spirits had been enlarged; our courage had been made
strong, and our faith was lifted up. A new horizon opened up before
us that stretched on and on and made us know that life is a big
thing. The sky became our companion with all its myriad stars; the
sea became our neighbor with all the life it holds, and the landscape
became our dooryard, with all its varied beauty and grandeur. The
ships upon the sea and the trains upon the land became our messengers
of service. The wires and the air sped our thoughts abroad and
linked us to the world. We looked straight into the faces of the big
elemental things of life and were not afraid.

When we came back among our own people, they seemed to know that some
change had taken place and loved us all the more. They came to us
for counsel and comfort, paying silent tribute to the wisdom that had
come to us from the mountain. They looked upon us not as superiors,
but as larger equals. We had learned another language, but had not
forgotten theirs. We nestled down in their affections and told them
of our mountain, and they were glad.

* * * * *

And now I sit before the fire and watch the pictures in the
flickering flames. In my reverie I see my boys and girls, companions
in the mountain-climbing, going upon their appointed ways. I see
them healing and comforting the sick, relieving distress, ministering
to the needy, and supplanting darkness with light. I see them in
their efforts to make the world better and more beautiful, and life
more blessed. I see them bringing hope and courage and cheer into
many lives. They are bringing the spirit of the mountain down into
the valley, and men rejoic