te of all hindrances,
opposition, and with much personal sacrifice, a purpose which he must
know to be unworthy. Now, I will give you an illustration of what I
mean by an example. And first, I would remind you that all my heroes
hitherto have been those who showed their moral courage about worthy
objects; for instance, Washington, Howard, Colonel Gardiner, the young
man in the American revival. But the person whose moral courage I am
now going to mention was not on other occasions one of my heroes, but
his conduct on one particular occasion is specially to the point just
now. For I want you to see, dear boy, that true moral courage is shown,
not in sticking to a thing just because you have said it, when you must
know that you ought not to have said it, but in giving up what you have
said, and bearing the reproach of doing so, when you have become
convinced that you have said or undertaken what was wrong. It is duty,
in fact, that makes all the difference."

"I see it, auntie; and who's your hero now?"

"Frederick the Great of Prussia, Walter."

"What! the man who ridiculed that good officer's religion?"

"The same; but remember that, while he ridiculed religion, he was
constrained to honour that officer for his consistency. But his moral
courage was exhibited on a very different occasion. Now, you must
remember what sort of a man Frederick was,--he just resembled a spoiled
child, who could not brook the slightest thwarting of his will or
pleasure. In some things he was a miser, and in others just the
reverse. He wore his uniform till it was patched and threadbare, while
he gave two dollars each for cherries in the winter. He would pay
enormous sums to secure a singer, and then refuse to allow the opera-
house to be lighted with wax-candles, so that the pleasure of the
evening was spoiled by the smell of tallow. He was, unhappily, well-
known in the army for two peculiarities,--first, a temper of such iron
unforgiveness that, if he had taken offence at any one, that man's
career was closed, he was never employed again; and, second, a memory of
such tenacity that not a hope existed of entrapping him into
forgetfulness.

"Now, among his officers there was a colonel, a very brave man, and a
capital soldier, who, on one occasion, had made some slight military
slip or blunder. This drew on him the king's displeasure, and was never
forgotten. So his pension or half-pay allowance was made the very
lowest his