town, which may be a real town (village, farm, or house), and he must
return with a receipt for it. He must wear a coloured rag 2ft. long
pinned on to his shoulder. He must start at least four miles away from
the town he is going to. Besiegers who have to spot him can place
themselves where they like, but must not go nearer to the headquarters'
building than three hundred yards. (Best to give certain boundaries that
they know or can recognise.) Anyone found within that limit by the
umpire will be ruled out as shot by the defenders at headquarters. The
dispatch runner can use any ruse he likes, except dressing up as a
woman, but he must always wear the red rag on his shoulder. To catch
him, the enemy must get the red rag from him. Ten hours may be allowed
as the limit of time, by which the dispatch runner should get his
message to headquarters and get back again to the starting-point with
the receipt. This game may also be made a life-and-death venture, in
which case any scout who volunteers to risk his life (_i.e._ his scout's
badge) in getting through with a dispatch, gains the badge "For Merit"
if he wins; but if he fails, he loses his scout's badge (fleurs-de-lis),
and cannot get it again, although he may still remain a member of the
corps. The enemy win three marks each if they spot him, and lose three
marks if he succeeds. To win a badge of merit there must be not less
than two patrols out against him. A similar game can be played in a
city, but requires modifications to suit the local conditions.
For Exploration Practice, see Appendix, Part VI., for imitating
exploring expedition in Africa, Arctic regions, etc.
DISPLAY.
Act a scene of castaways on a desert island. They make camp fire: pick
seaweed, grass, roots, etc., and cook them: Make pots, etc., out of
clay: Weave mats out of grass: Build raft, and if water is available get
afloat in it: put up a mast and grass mat sail, etc.: and punt or sail
away, or can be rescued by sighting ship and making smoke signals or
getting a boat's crew of sailors to come and fetch them.
SCOUTING FOR BOYS.
CONTENTS OF PARTS IV., V., and VI.
PART IV.
ENDURANCE AND HEALTH.
CHIVALRY AND BRAVE DEEDS.
DISCIPLINE.
PART V.
SAVING LIFE AND FIRST-AID.
PATRIOTISM AND LOYALTY.
PART VI.
SCOUTING GAMES, COMPETITIONS, AND PLAYS.
WORDS TO INSTRUCTORS.
WHAT PARTS I. and II. CONTAIN.
Part I.--SCOUTCRAFT.
SPECIAL FOREWORD FOR INSTRUCTORS.--The Boy
Scouts scheme and its easy application _to all existing
organisations_.
SCOUTCRAFT.--Its wide uses and wide interest.
SUMMARY OF SCOUT'S COURSE OF INSTRUCTION,
showing the scope of Scout's work.
ORGANISATION.--Dress, secret signs, scouts' songs,
and tests for badges of honour.
SCOUTS' LAW AND SCOUTS' HONOUR under the
guiding motto "Be Prepared."
SCOUTING GAMES AND PRACTICES for indoors and
out of doors, in town and in country.
Part II.--TRACKING and WOODCRAFT.
OBSERVATION and its value; how to use your eyes,
nose, and ears, and how to follow a night trail.
SPOORING.--Tracks of men and animals and games
in tracking.
READING "SIGN" and making deductions from it.
WOODCRAFT.--How to stalk and how to hide properly.
ANIMALS.--How to stalk and know them--a better
game than stamp collecting.
BIRDS, FISHES, AND INSECTS all scouts should know.
PLANTS AND TREES.
GAMES AND COMPETITIONS in Tracking, Stalking, and
Woodcraft.
Part IV. FORTNIGHTLY. Price 4d. net.
SCOUTING
FOR BOYS
(LIEUT. GEN. BADEN POWELL C.B.)
[Illustration: The Boy Scout in Action.]
PUBLISHED BY HORACE COX, WINDSOR HOUSE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, LONDON, E.C.
Scouting for Boys.
A HANDBOOK FOR INSTRUCTION
IN
GOOD CITIZENSHIP,
by
Lieut.-General R. S. S. BADEN-POWELL, C.B., F.R.G.S.
_All communications should be addressed to_--
LIEUT.-GENERAL BADEN-POWELL,
BOY SCOUTS' OFFICE,
GOSCHEN BUILDINGS,
HENRIETTA STREET,
LONDON, W.C.
_by whom Scouts will be enrolled, and from where
all further information can be obtained._
Copyrighted by Lieut.-General R. S. S. BADEN-POWELL, C.B., F.R.G.S.
1908.
PART IV.
CONTENTS: CHAPTER VI.
ENDURANCE FOR SCOUTS;
Or, How to be Strong.
HINTS TO INSTRUCTORS for Helping in a Great National Work.
CAMP FIRE YARNS.
17.--HOW TO GROW STRONG: Endurance for Scouting; Body Exercises;
Care of the Body, Nose, Ears, Eyes, Teeth, etc.
18.--HEALTH-GIVING HABITS: Keep Clean; Don't Smoke; Don't Drink;
Avoid Self-Abuse; Rise Early; Laugh and Grow Fat.
19.--PREVENTING DISEASE: Camp Doctoring; Fighting the Microbes;
Proper Food; Clothing; Use of Drill.
PRACTICES, GAMES, AND BODY EXERCISES. BOOKS ON HEALTH.
CONTENTS: CHAPTER VII.
(_Commences on page 240._)
CHIVALRY of the KNIGHTS.
HINTS TO INSTRUCTORS.
CAMP FIRE YARNS.
20.--CHIVALRY TO OTHERS: Knight Errantry; Helpfulness; Courtesy.
21.--SELF-DISCIPLINE: Honour; Obedience; Courage; Cheeriness.
22.--SELF-IMPROVEMENT: Religion; Thrift; How to get on.
PRACTICES, GAMES, DISPLAYS, ETC., IN CHIVALRY.
BOOKS TO READ.
ENDURANCE FOR SCOUTS.
HINTS TO INSTRUCTORS.
HOW TO HELP IN A GREAT NATIONAL WORK.
_Recent reports on the deterioration of our race ought to act as a
warning to be taken in time before it goes too far._
_One cause which contributed to the downfall of the Roman Empire was the
fact that the soldiers fell away from the standard of their forefathers
in bodily strength._
_Our standard of height in the Army was 5ft. 6in. in 1845; it was_ FOUR
INCHES _less in 1895. In 1900 forty-four men in every thousand recruits
weighed under 7st. 12lbs.; in 1905 this deficiency had increased to
seventy-six per thousand._
_This year our recruits were two inches below the standard height of men
of their age_, viz., _eighteen to nineteen, and six pounds under the
average weight_.
_Three thousand men were sent home from the South African War on account
of bad teeth._
_Reports on school children, made by the London County Council, show
that out of 700 examined only twenty had sound teeth, 323 had more than
five teeth decayed._
_Out of 1,521 examined for adenoids in the throat 29 per cent. had
enlargements, 10 per cent. required operation. Out of 1,000 boys of
thirteen, sons of rich or well-to-do persons, examined by Dr. Clement
Dukes, 526 had knock-knees, 445 had curvature of the spine, 329 flat
feet, 126 pigeon-breasts--all preventable deformities. In this case,
however, the teeth were well cared for._
_Deafness from adenoids and weak eyesight are also very prevalent among
them._
_Dr. Wright Thomson, in the "British Medical Journal," September 14th,
1907, shows how town children suffer greatly from defective sight, which
might be, to a great extent, remedied by special exercises for the eyes
and by good feeding._
_The report [see Blue Book C. D. 3637] last year on the school children
of Glasgow showed their average weight and height were very much below
the standard; and these varied almost exactly according to the number of
rooms occupied by the family, that is, according to the air space
available._
_These and the many similar reports show that much_ PREVENTABLE
_deterioration is being allowed to creep in among the rising
generation_.
_Then there is also prevalent a great amount of illness resulting from
self-abuse and venereal disease, as well as from drink. Also much pauper
over-population due to want of self-restraint on the part of men and
women._
_The training of Boy Scouts would be therefore incomplete if it did not
endeavour to help in remedying these evils. Some idea is much needed
among boys of their personal hygiene. It has been stated on good
authority that half our losses in the Boer War from sickness might have
been avoided had our men and officers had any knowledge of personal care
of their health._
_No doubt it is the same in peace time, as numbers of men are thrown out
of work by sickness, which might be avoided if they knew how to look
after themselves, and took reasonable precautions._
_Since most of these causes of physical decay are preventable, they open
to instructors a field for doing a work of national value._
_For these reasons the following chapter suggests the instruction of
boys in being PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE for their own Strength, Health and
Sanitary Surroundings._
CHAPTER VI.
ENDURANCE for SCOUTS;
or,
How to be Strong.
CAMP FIRE YARN.--No. 17.
HOW TO GROW STRONG.
Need for Scouts to be strong--Exercises--Care of
Body--Nose--Ears--Eyes--Teeth--Practices.
A SCOUT'S ENDURANCE.
A scout lay sick in hospital in India with that most fatal disease
called cholera. The doctor told the native man in attendance on him that
the only chance of saving his life was to violently warm up his feet and
keep the blood moving in his body by constantly rubbing him. The moment
the doctor's back was turned the native gave up rubbing and squatted
down to have a quiet smoke. The poor patient, though he could not speak,
understood all that was going on--and he was so enraged at the conduct
of his native attendant, that he resolved then and there that he would
get well if only to give the native a lesson. Having made up his mind to
get well he _got_ well.
A scout's motto is "Never say die till you're dead"--and if he acts up
to this it will pull him out of many a bad place when everything seems
to be going wrong for him. It means a mixture of pluck, patience, and
strength, which we call "Endurance."
The great South African hunter and scout, F. C. Selous, gave a great
example of scout's endurance when on a hunting expedition in Barotseland
north of the Zambesi River some years ago. In the middle of the night
his camp was suddenly attacked by a hostile tribe who fired into it at
close range and charged in.
He and his small party of natives scattered at once into the darkness
and hid themselves away in the long grass. Selous himself had snatched
up his rifle and a few cartridges and got safely into the grass. But he
could not find any of his men, and seeing that the enemy had got
possession of his camp and that there were still a few hours of darkness
before him in which to make his escape, he started off southward, using
the stars of the Southern Cross as his guide.
He crept past an outpost of the enemy whom he overheard talking, and
then swam across a river and finally got well away, only dressed in a
shirt, and shorts and shoes. For the next few days and nights he kept
walking southward, having frequently to hide to avoid hostile natives.
He shot deer for food.
But one night going into what he thought was a friendly village he had
his rifle stolen from him, and was again a fugitive without any means of
protecting himself or of getting food. However, he was not one to give
in while there was a chance of life left, and he pushed on and on till
at length he reached a place where he met some of his men who had also
escaped, and after further tramping they got safely back into friendly
country.
But what a terrible time they must have had!
Three weeks had passed since the attack, and the great part of that time
Selous had been alone--hunted, starving, and bitterly cold at night, and
in sweltering heat by day.
None but a scout with extraordinary endurance could have lived through
it, but then Selous is a man who as a lad had made himself strong by
care and exercise; and he neither drinks nor smokes. And he kept up his
pluck all the time.
It shows you that if you want to get through such adventures safely when
you are a man you must train yourself up to be strong, healthy, and
active as a lad.
EXERCISES AND THEIR OBJECT.
There is a great deal of nonsense in fashion in the way of bodily
exercises; so many people seem to think that their only object is to
make huge muscle. But to make yourself strong and healthy it is
necessary to begin with your inside and to get the blood into good order
and the heart to work well; that is the secret of the whole thing, and
physical exercises should be taken with that intention. This is the way
to do it:
(_a_) MAKE THE HEART STRONG, in order to pump the blood properly to
every part of the body and so to build up flesh, bone, and muscle.
_Exercise_: The "Struggle" and "Wrist Pushing." See Page 219.
(_b_) MAKE THE LUNGS STRONG, in order to revive the blood with fresh
air.
_Exercise_: "Deep breathing." See Page 227.
(_c_) MAKE THE SKIN PERSPIRE, to get rid of the dirt from the blood.
_Exercise_: Bath, or dry rub with a damp towel every day.
(_d_) MAKE THE STOMACH WORK, to feed the blood.
_Exercise_: "Cone," or "Body Bending," and "Twisting." See Page 237.
(_e_) MAKE THE BOWELS ACTIVE, to remove the remains of food and dirt
from the body.
EXERCISE: "Body Bending" and "Kneading the Abdomen." Drink plenty of
good water. Regular daily "rear."
(_f_) WORK MUSCLES IN EACH PART OF THE BODY, to make the blood
circulate to that part, and so increase your strength.
_Exercise_: Running and walking, and special exercises of special
muscles, such as "Wrist Pushing," etc.
The secret of keeping well and healthy is to keep your blood clean and
active. These different exercises will do that if you will use them
everyday. Someone has said, "If you practise body exercises every
morning you will never be ill: and if you also drink a pint of hot water
every night you will never die."
The blood thrives on simple good food, plenty of exercise, plenty or
fresh air, cleanliness of the body both inside and out, and proper rest
of body and mind at intervals.
The Japs are particularly strong and healthy, as was shown in the late
war with Russia. There was very little sickness among them and those who
were wounded generally very quickly recovered because their skin was
clean and their blood was in a healthy, sound condition. They are the
best example that we can copy. They keep themselves very clean by having
two or three baths every day.
They eat very plain food, chiefly rice and fruit, and not much of it.
They drink plenty of water, but no spirits. They take lots of exercise.
They make themselves good-tempered and do not worry their brain. They
live in fresh air as much as possible day and night. Their particular
exercise is "Ju-Jitsu," which is more of a game than drill and is
generally played in pairs. And pupils get to like the game so much that
they generally go on with it after their course of instruction has
finished.
By Ju-Jitsu, the muscles and body are developed in a natural way in the
open air as a rule. It requires no apparatus, and once the muscles have
been formed by it they do not disappear again when you cease the
practices as is the case in ordinary gymnastics.
Admiral Kamimura, the great Admiral of our friends the Japanese,
strongly recommends all young men and lads to practise Ju-Jitsu, as it
not only makes them strong, but also quick in the mind.
THE NOSE.
A scout must be able to smell well in order to find his enemy by night.
If he always breathes through the nose and not through the mouth this
helps him considerably. But there are other reasons more important than
that for always breathing through the nose. Fifty years ago, Mr. Catlin
in America wrote a book called "Shut your mouth and save your life," and
he showed how the Red Indians for a long time had adopted that method
with their children to the extent of tying up their jaws at night to
ensure their only breathing through their nose.
Breathing through the nose prevents germs of disease getting from the
air into the throat and stomach, it also prevents a growth in the back
of the throat called "adenoids" which are apt to stop the breathing
power of the nostrils, and also to cause deafness.
For a scout nose-breathing is also specially useful.
By keeping the mouth shut you prevent yourself from getting thirsty when
you are doing hard work. And also at night if you are in the habit of
breathing through the nose it prevents snoring, and snoring is a
dangerous thing if you are sleeping anywhere in an enemy's country.
Therefore practise keeping your mouth shut and breathing through your
nose at all times.
EARS.
A scout must be able to hear well. Generally the ears are very delicate
and once damaged are apt to become incurably deaf. People are too apt to
fiddle about with their ears in cleaning them by putting the corners of
handkerchiefs, hairpins and so on into them, and also stuffing them up
with hard cotton wool, all of which are dangerous with such a delicate
organ as the ear, the drum of the ear being a very delicate,
tightly-stretched skin which is easily damaged. Very many children have
had the drums of their ears permanently injured by getting a box on the
ear.
EYES.
A scout, of course, must have particularly good eyesight; he must be
able to see anything very quickly and to see at a long way off. By
practising your eyes in looking at things at a great distance they will
grow stronger. While you are young you should save your eyes as much as
possible, or they are not strong when you get older: therefore avoid
reading by lamplight as much as possible and also sit with your back or
side to the light when doing any work during the day; if you sit facing
the light it strains your eyes.
The strain of the eyes is a very common failure with growing boys,
although very often they do not know it, and headaches come most
frequently from the eyes being strained; frowning on the part of a boy
is very generally a sign that his eyes are being strained.
A scout, besides having good eyesight, must be able to tell the colour
of things which he sees. Colour blindness is a great infliction which
some boys suffer from. It takes away a pleasure from them, and it also
makes them useless for certain trades and professions.
For instance, a railway signalman or engine-driver or a sailor would not
be much good if he couldn't tell the difference between red and green.
It can very often be cured, and a simple way of doing this, if you find
you are rather colour blind, is to get a collection of little bits of
wool, or paper, of every different kind of colour, and pick out which
you think is red, blue, yellow, green, and so on, and then get someone
to tell you where you were right and where wrong. Then you go at it
again, and in time you will find yourself improving, until you have no
difficulty in recognising the right colours. It is better still to
practise by looking at coloured lights at night in chemists' shops,
railway signals, etc.
TEETH.
A would-be recruit came up to the recruiting officer to be enlisted
during the Boer War. He was found to be a sufficiently strong and
well-made man but when they came to examine his teeth they found that
these were in bad condition, and he was told that he could not be
accepted as a soldier. To this he replied: "But, sir, that seems hard
lines. Surely we don't have to eat the enemy when we've killed them, do
we?"
A scout with bad teeth is no use at all for scouting work, because he
has to live on hard biscuits and hard meat which he cannot possibly eat
or digest if his teeth are not good, and good teeth depend upon how you
look after them when you are young, it means that you should keep them
very carefully clean. At least twice a day they should be brushed, when
you get up in the morning and when you go to bed, both inside and out,
with a tooth brush and tooth powder; and should be rinsed with water if
possible after every meal but especially after eating fruit or acid
food.
Scouts in the jungle cannot always find tooth brushes, but they make
substitutes out of dry sticks which they fray out at the end and make an
imitation of a brush.
Three thousand men had to be sent away from the war in South Africa
because their teeth were so bad that they could not chew the hard
biscuits, etc., on which they had to live there.
[Illustration: Camp Toothbrush.]
"Out West," in America, cowboys are generally supposed to be pretty
rough customers, but they are in reality peace scouts of a high order.
They live a hard life doing hard and dangerous work far away from towns
and civilisation--where nobody sees them. But there is one civilised
thing that they do--they clean their teeth every day, morning and
evening.
Years ago I was travelling through Natal on horseback, and I was anxious
to find a lodging for the night, when I came across a hut evidently
occupied by a white man, but nobody was about. In looking round inside
the hut, I noticed that though it was very roughly furnished there were
several tooth-brushes on what served as a wash-hand stand, so I guessed
that the owner must be a decent fellow, and I made myself at home until
he came in, and I found that I had guessed aright.
HINTS TO INSTRUCTORS.
_PRACTICES IN DEVELOPING STRENGTH._
MEASUREMENT OF THE BOY.
_It is of paramount importance to teach the young citizen to assume
responsibility for his own development and health._
_Physical drill is all very well as a disciplinary means of development,
but it does not give the lad any responsibility in the matter._
_It is therefore deemed preferable to tell each boy, according to his
age, what ought to be his height, weight, and various measurements (such
as chest, waist, arm, leg, etc.). He is then measured, and learns in
which points he fails to come up to the standard. He can then be shown
which exercises to practise for himself in order to develop those
particular points. Encouragement must afterwards be given by periodical
measurements, say every three months or so._
_Cards can be obtained from the "Boy Scouts" Office, Henrietta Street,
London, W.C., which, besides giving the standard measurements for the
various ages, give columns to be filled in periodically showing the
boy's re-measurements and progress in development. If each boy has his
card it is a great incentive to him to develope himself at odd times
when he has a few minutes to spare._
_Teach how to make camp tooth brushes out of sticks. "Dragon-root"
sticks for cleaning teeth can be got at chemists' shops as samples._
GAMES TO DEVELOP STRENGTH.
BOXING, wrestling, rowing, skipping, cock-fighting, are all valuable
health aids to developing strength.
OLD SPOTTY-FACE (To develop eyesight).--Prepare squares of cardboard
divided into about a dozen small squares. Each scout should take one,
and should have a pencil and go off a few hundred yards, or, if indoors,
as far as space will allow. The umpire then takes a large sheet of
cardboard, with twelve squares ruled on it of about three inch sides if
in the open, or one and a half to two inches if indoors. The umpire has
a number of black paper discs (half an inch diameter) and pins ready,
and sticks about half a dozen on to his card, dotted about where he
likes. He holds up his card so that it can be seen by the scouts. They
then gradually approach, and as they get within sight they mark their
cards with the same pattern of spots. The one who does so at the
farthest distance from the umpire wins. Give five points for every spot
correctly shown, deduct one point for every two inches nearer than the
furthest man. This teaches long sight.
[Illustration: "Spotty-face" for Strengthening the Eyesight.]
"QUICK SIGHT" can also be taught with the same apparatus, by allowing
the scouts to come fairly close, and then merely showing your card for
five seconds, and let them mark their cards from memory. The one who is
most correct wins.
"THE STRUGGLE."--Two players face each other about a yard apart, stretch
arms out sideways, lock fingers of both hands, and lean towards each
other till their chests touch, push chest to chest, and see who can
drive the other back to the wall of the room or on to a goal line. At
first a very short struggle is sufficient to set their hearts pumping,
but after practice for a few days the heart grows stronger and they can
go on for a long time.
[Illustration: The "Struggle" for Strengthening the Heart.]
"WRIST PUSHING" by one man alone. Stand with both your arms to the front
about level with the waist, cross your wrists so that one hand has
knuckles up, the other knuckles down. Clench the fists.
Now make the lower hand press upwards and make the upper hand press
downwards.
Press as hard as you can with both wrists gradually, and only after
great resistance let the lower push the upper one upwards till opposite
your fore-head, then let the upper press the lower down, the lower one
resisting all the time.
These two exercises, although they sound small and simple, if carried
out with all your might, develop most muscles in your body and
especially those about the heart. They should not be carried on too long
at a time, but should be done at frequent intervals during the day for a
minute or so.
"WRIST PUSHING" can also be played by two boys half facing each other,
each putting out the wrist nearest to his opponent, at arm's length;
pressing it against the other's wrist and trying to turn him round
backwards.
BOOKS TO READ.
"Cassell's Physical Educator," by E. Miles (Cassell & Co.). A complete
compendium of all kinds of Physical Training for boys and girls.
"Ju-jitsu." Price 6d. (Published by Richard Fox.)
"School Games," by T. Chesterton. (Educational Supply Association.)
"Boxing," by A. J. Newton, 1s. (C. A. Pearson Ltd.)
CAMP FIRE YARN.--No. 18.
HEALTH-GIVING HABITS.
Keep Clean--Don't Smoke--Don't Drink--Avoid Self-Abuse--Rise
Early--Laugh and Grow Fat.
HOW TO KEEP HEALTHY.
All the great peace-scouts who have succeeded in exploring or hunting
expeditions in wild countries have only been able to get on by being
pretty good doctors themselves; because diseases, accidents, and wounds
are always being suffered by them or their men, and they don't find
doctors and chemists' shops in the jungles to cure them. So that a scout
who does not know something about doctoring would never get on at all;
he might just as well stay at home for all the good he will be.
Therefore, practise keeping healthy yourself, and then you will be able
to show others how to keep themselves healthy too.
In this way you can do many good turns.
David Livingstone, the great missionary and peace-scout, endeared
himself to the natives by his cleverness as a doctor.
Also, if you know how to look after yourself you need never have to pay
for medicines. The great English poet, Dryden, in his poem, "Cymon and
Iphigenia," wrote that it was better to trust to fresh air and exercise
than to pay doctors' bills to keep yourself healthy:
Better to hunt in fields for health unbought
Than fee the doctor for a nauseous draught;
The wise, for cure, on exercise depend;
God never made his work for man to mend.
KEEP YOURSELF CLEAN.
In the war in South Africa we lost an enormous number of men dying from
disease as well as from wounds. The Japs, in their war, lost very few
from sickness, and a very small proportion of those who were wounded.
What made the difference? Probably a good many things. Our men were not
so particular as to what water they drank as the Japs were, and they ate
more meat than the Japs; but, also, they did not keep themselves or
their clothes very clean--it was often difficult to find water. The
Japs, on the other hand, kept themselves very clean, with baths every
day.
If you cut your hand when it is dirty it is very likely to fester, and
to become very sore; but if your hand is quite clean and freshly washed
no harm will come of it, it heals up at once. It was the same with
wounds in the war; they became very bad in the case of men who had not
kept themselves clean.
Cleaning your skin helps to clean your blood. The Japs say that half the
good of exercise is lost if you do not have a bath immediately after it.
It may not be always possible for you to get a bath every day, but you
can at any rate rub yourself over with a wet towel, or scrub yourself
with a dry one, and you ought not to miss a single day in doing this if
you want to keep fit and well.
You should also keep clean in your clothing, both your underclothing as
well as that which shows. Beat it out with a stick every day before
putting it on.
And to be healthy and strong you must keep your blood healthy and clean
inside you. This is done by breathing in lots of pure, fresh air, by
deep breathing, and by clearing out all dirty matter from inside your
stomach, which is done by having a "rear" daily, without fail; many
people are the better for having it twice a day. If there is any
difficulty about it one day, drink plenty of good water, both morning
and evening, and practise body-twisting exercises, and all should be
well.
Never start work in the morning without some sort of food inside you, if
it is only a cup of hot water.
Never bathe in deep water very soon after a meal, it is very likely to
cause cramp, which doubles you up, and so you get drowned.
SMOKING.
A scout does not smoke. Any boy can smoke; it is not such a very
wonderful thing to do. But a scout will not do it because he is not such
a fool. He knows that when a lad smokes before he is fully grown up it
is almost sure to make his heart feeble, and the heart is the most
important organ in a lad's body. It pumps the blood all over him to form
flesh, bone, and muscle. If the heart does not do its work the body
cannot grow to be healthy. Any scout knows that smoking spoils his
eyesight, and also his sense of smell, which is of greatest importance
to him for scouting on active service.
[Illustration: The boy who apes the man by smoking will never be much
good.]
[Illustration: A strong and healthy boy has the ball at his feet.]
Sir William Broadbent, the great doctor, and Professor Sims Woodhead
have both told us what bad effects tobacco smoking has on the health of
boys. Numerous well-known sportsmen and others in all kinds of
professions have given up the use of tobacco as they find they can do
better without it. Lord Roberts and Lord Wolseley as soldiers, Lord
Charles Beresford as a sailor, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the judge,
Sir William Grantham, all do not smoke, nor do Dr. Grace the cricketer,
Mr. Noble and seven of the chief Australian cricketers, Mr. Eustace
Miles the champion tennis player, Basset the football player, Hanlon the
sculler, Weston the pedestrian, Taylor the golf player, Burnham the
scout, Selous the hunter, and very many other celebrated men. They are
all non-smokers.
The railway and post office authorities in America will not employ boys
who smoke. I know one big employer who not only does not smoke, but will
not employ a boy who does. So with a great many other employers in Great
Britain. In Japan no boy under twenty is allowed to smoke, and if he
does his parents are taken up and fined.
Professor Osler, in speaking against tobacco, said it would be a good
thing if all the beer and spirits in England could be thrown into the
sea one day, and if, on the second day, you dumped all the tobacco there
too it would be very good for everyone in England--although unhealthy
for the fish.
No boy ever began smoking because he liked it, but generally because
either he feared being chaffed by the other boys as afraid to smoke, or
because he thought that by smoking he would look like a great man--when
all the time he only looks like a little ass.
So don't funk, but just make up your own mind for yourself that you
don't mean to smoke till you are grown up; and stick to it. That will
show you to be a man much more than any slobbering about with a
half-smoked cigarette between your lips. The other fellows will in the
end respect you much more, and will probably in many cases secretly
follow your lead. If they do this you will already have done a good
thing in the world, although you are only a boy. From that small start
you will most probably go on and do big things as you grow up.
DRINKING.
A priest in the East End of London has lately stated that out of a
thousand cases of distress known to him only two or three were not
caused by drink.
A soldierly-looking man came up to me one night and brought out his
discharge certificates, showing that he had served with me in South
Africa. He said he could get no work, and he was starving. Every man's
hand was against him, apparently because he was a soldier. My nose and
eyes told me in a moment another tale, and that was the real cause of
his being in distress.
A stale smell of tobacco and beer hung about his clothes, his
finger-tips were yellow with cigarette smoke, he had even taken some
kind of scented lozenge to try and hide the whisky smell in his breath.
No wonder nobody would employ him, or give him more money to drink with,
for that was all that he would do with money if he got it.
Very much of the poverty and distress in this country is brought about
by men getting into the habit of wasting their money and time on drink.
And a great deal of crime, and also of illness, and even madness is due
to the same habit of drinking too much. Liquor--that is beer or
spirits--is not at all necessary to make a man strong and well. Quite
the contrary. The old saying, "Strong drink makes weak men," is a very
true one.
Yet £166,400,000 were spent last year alone on drink in the United
Kingdom--enough to have made every family in the country better off by
£15 if they had drunk water. And this £15 would be increased to £22 if
the men gave up tobacco.
It would be simply impossible for a man who drinks to be a scout. Keep
off liquor from the very first, and make up your mind to have nothing to
do with it. Water, tea, or coffee are quite good enough drinks for
quenching your thirst or for picking you up at any time, or if it is
very hot lemonade or a squeeze of lemon are much better refreshment.
A good scout trains himself pretty well to do without liquid. It is very
much a matter of habit. If you keep your mouth shut when walking or
running, or chew a pebble (which also makes you keep your mouth shut),
you do not get thirsty like you do when you go along with your mouth
open sucking in the air and dry dust. But you must also be in good, hard
condition. If you are fat from want of exercise you are sure to get
thirsty and want to drink every mile. If you do not let yourself drink
the thirst wears off after a short time. If you keep drinking water on
the line of march, or while playing games, it helps to tire you and
spoils your wind.
It is often difficult to avoid taking strong drinks when you meet
friends who want to treat you, but they generally like you all the
better if you say you don't want anything, as then they don't have to
pay for it; if they insist you can take a gingerbeer or something quite
harmless. But it is a stupid fashion when, in order to prove that you
are friends, you have to drink with each other. Luckily it is dying out
now; the best men do not do it because they know it does them no good.
Wasters like to stand about a bar talking and sipping--generally at the
other fellow's expense, but they are wasters, and it is as well to keep
out of their company, if you want to get on and have a good time.
EARLY RISING.
The scout's time for being most active is in the early morning, because
that is the time when wild animals all do their feeding and moving
about; and also in war the usual hour for an attack is just before dawn,
when the attackers can creep up unseen in the dark, and get sufficient
light to enable them to carry out the attack suddenly while the other
people are still asleep.
So a scout trains himself to the habit of getting up very early; and
when once he is in the habit it is no trouble at all to him, like it is
to some fat fellows who lie asleep after the daylight has come.
The Emperor Charlemagne, who was a great scout in the old days, used
always to get up in the middle of the night.
The Duke of Wellington, who, like Napoleon Bonaparte, preferred to sleep
on a little camp bed, used to say, "When it is time to turn over in bed
it is time to turn out?"
Many men who manage to get through more work than others in a day, do so
by getting up an hour or two earlier. By getting up early you also can
get more time for play.
If you get up one hour earlier than other people you get thirty hours a
month more of life than they do; while they have twelve months in the
year you get 365 extra hours, or thirty more days--that is, thirteen
months to their twelve.
The old rhyme has a lot of truth in it when it says,
"Early to bed and early to rise,
Makes a man healthy, and wealthy, and wise."
SMILE.
Want of laughter means want of health. Laugh as much as you can: it does
you good; so whenever you can get a good laugh on. And make other people
laugh too, when possible, as it does them good.
If you are in pain or trouble make yourself smile at it: if you remember
to do this, and force yourself, you will find it really does make a
great difference.
If you read about great scouts like Captain John Smith, the
"Pathfinder," and others, you will generally find that they were pretty
cheery old fellows.
The ordinary boy is apt to frown when working hard at physical
exercises, but the boy scout is required to smile all the time: he drops
a mark off his score whenever he frowns.
HOW TO KEEP HEALTHY.
_PRACTICES._
DEEP BREATHING.--Deep breathing is of the greatest importance for
bringing fresh air into the lungs to be put into the blood, and for
developing the size of the chest, but it should be done carefully,
according to instructions, and not overdone, otherwise it is liable to
strain the heart. The Japs always carry on deep breathing exercise for a
few minutes when they first get up in the morning, and always in the
open air. It is done by sucking air in through the nose until it swells
out your ribs as far as possible, especially at the back; then, after a
pause, you breathe out the air slowly and gradually through the mouth
until you have not a scrap of air left in you, then after a pause draw
in your breath again through the nose as before.
Singing, if carried out on a system like that of Mr. Tomlin's, develops
simultaneously proper breathing and development of heart, lungs, chest,
and throat, together with dramatic feeling in rendering the song.
[Illustration: "Japanese Cock Fighting" to Strengthen the Legs.]
For instance, his method of "Hooligan Taming" is to get a large crowd of
wild lads together, and to start shouting a chorus to piano
accompaniment--say, "Hearts of Oak." He shouts the suggestion of a story
as they go along with it; how they are marching boldly to attack a fort
which they mean to carry in style for the glory of themselves and their
country, when suddenly they become aware that the enemy does not know of
their approach, so they must creep and crawl, "in a whisper," as they
stealthily get nearer to the fort. Closer and closer they come with
gradually increasing tone. Now charge on up the hill, through shot and
shell, a scramble, a rush and a fight, and the fort is theirs. But there
are wounded to be picked up tenderly, and the dead to be laid out
reverently with quiet and measured song, solemn and soft.
[Illustration: "Body Twisting" for Stomach Muscles.]
And then they pick up their arms again, and with the prisoners and
spoils of war they march gaily away in triumph, at the full power of
their lungs.
Old English Morris Dances, too, are excellent practice for winter
evenings, with their quaint music and movements.
BOOKS TO READ.
"What's the Harm in Smoking?" By B. McCall Barbour, 1d. (Published by S.
W. Partridge.)
"In My Youth." Same series. Practical Hints on Purity. (B. M. Barbour,
37 Chambers Street, Edinburgh.)
"What a Young Boy ought to Know." By Sylvanus Stall. 4s. Giving
information and warning to boys regarding the organs of reproduction.
"A Note for Parents." By J. H. Bradley. 3d. (Ballantyne Press, London.)
Suggestions for teaching children about reproduction.
CAMP FIRE YARN.--No. 19.
PREVENTION OF DISEASE.
Camp doctoring--Microbes and how to fight them--Proper
food--Clothing--Use of drill and exercise.
CAMP DOCTORING.
Some years ago, when I was in Kashmir, Northern India, some natives
brought to me a young man on a stretcher who they said had fallen off a
high rock and had broken his back and was dying. I soon found that he
had only dislocated his shoulder and had got a few bruises, and seemed
to think that he ought to die.
So I pulled off my shoe, sat down alongside him facing his head, put my
heel in his arm-pit, got hold of his arm, and pulled with all my force
till the bone jumped into its socket. The pain made him faint and his
friends thought I really had killed him. But in a few minutes he
recovered and found his arm was all right. Then they thought I must be
no end of a doctor, so they sent round the country for all the sick to
be brought in to be cured; and I had an awful time of it for the next
two days. Cases of every kind of disease were carried in and I had
scarcely any drugs with which to treat them, but I did the best I could,
and I really believe that some of the poor creatures got better from
simply _believing_ that I was doing them a lot of good.
But most of them were ill from being dirty and letting their wounds get
poisoned with filth; and many were ill from bad drainage, and from
drinking foul water, and so on.
This I explained to the headmen of the villages, and I hope that I did
some good for their future health.
At any rate, they were most grateful, and gave me a lot of help ever
afterwards in getting good bear-hunting and in getting food, etc.
If I had not known a little doctoring I could have done nothing for
these poor creatures.
MICROBES AND HOW TO FIGHT THEM.
Disease is carried about in the air and in water by tiny invisible
insects called "germs" or "microbes," and you are very apt to breathe
them in through the mouth or to get them in your drink or food and to
swallow them, and then they breed disease inside you. If your blood is
in really good order it generally does not matter, no harm results; but
if your blood is out of order from weakness or constipation--that is,
not going regularly to the "rear"--these microbes will very probably
make you ill. A great point is, therefore, to abolish the microbes if
possible. They like living in dark, damp, and dirty places. And they
come from bad drains, old dustbins, and rotting flesh, etc.; in fact,
generally where there is a bad smell. Therefore, keep your room, or your
camp, and your clothes clean, dry, and as sunny as possible and well
aired; and keep away from places that smell badly. Before your meals you
should always wash your hands and finger-nails, for they are very apt to
harbour microbes which have come from anything that you may have been
handling in the day.
You frequently see notices in omnibuses and public places requesting you
not to spit. The reason for this is that many people spit who have
diseased lungs and from their spittle the microbes of their diseases get
in the air and are breathed by healthy people into their lungs, and they
become also diseased. Often you may have a disease in you for some years
without knowing it and if you spit you are liable to communicate that
disease to sound people; so you should not do it for their sake.
But you need not be afraid of diseases if you breathe through your nose
and keep your blood in good order. It is always well on coming out of a
crowded theatre, church or hall, to cough and blow your nose in order to
get rid of microbes which you might have breathed in from other people
in the crowd. One in every thirty of people that you meet has got the
disease of consumption on him--and it is very catching. It comes very
much from living in houses where the windows are kept always shut up.
The best chance of getting cured of it if you get the disease is to
sleep always out of doors.
A scout has to sleep a great deal in the open air, therefore when he is
in a house he sleeps with the windows as wide open as possible,
otherwise he feels stuffy; and also if he gets accustomed to sleeping in
warm atmosphere he would catch cold when he goes into camp, and nothing
could be more ridiculous or more like a tenderfoot than a scout with a
cold in his head. When once he is accustomed to having his windows open
he will never catch cold in a room.
FOOD.
A good many illnesses come from over-eating or eating the wrong kind of
food.
A scout must know how to take care of himself, else he is of no use. He
must keep himself light and active. Once he has got the right kind of
muscles on he can remain fit without further special exercising of those
muscles, provided that he eats the right kind of food.
Eustace Miles, the tennis and racket champion, does not go into training
before he plays his matches; he knows he has got his muscles rightly
formed, and he simply lives on plain, light food always, and so is
always fit to play a hard game. He never eats meat.
In the siege of Mafeking, when we were put on short commons, those of
the garrison who were accustomed to eat very little at their meals did
not suffer like some people, who had been accustomed to do themselves
well in peace time; these became weak and irritable. Our food there
towards the end was limited to a hunk of pounded-up oats, about the size
of a penny bun, which was our whole bread-supply for the day, and about
a pound of meat and two pints of "sowens," a kind of stuff like
bill-stickers' paste that had gone wrong.
English people as a rule eat more meat than is necessary, in fact they
could do without it altogether if they tried, and would be none the
worse. It is an expensive luxury. The Japanese are as strong as us, but
they do not eat any meat, and only eat small meals of other things.
The cheapest and best foods are Dried Peas, 2d. per lb; Flour, 1s. 4d.
per stone; Oatmeal, 2d. per lb.; Potatoes, 1/2d. per lb.; Hominy,
1-1/2d. per lb.; Cheese at 6d. per lb. Other good foods are fruit,
vegetables, fish, eggs, nuts, rice, and milk, and one can live on these
perfectly well without meat; bananas are especially good food, they are
cheap, have no seeds nor pips to irritate your inside, their skin
protects them from germs of disease and their flesh is of a wholesome
kind and satisfying.
The natives of the West Coast of Africa eat very little else all their
lives and they are fat and happy.
If you have lots of fresh air you do not want much food, if on the other
hand you are sitting indoors all day much food makes you fat and sleepy,
so that in either case you are better for taking a little; still,
growing boys should not starve themselves but, at the same time, they
need not be like that little hog at the school-feast who, when asked,
"Can't you eat any more?" replied, "Yes, I could _eat_ more, but I've no
room to _swallow_ it."
A great cause of illness nowadays is the amount of medicine which
fellows dose themselves with when there is no reason for taking any
medicine at all. The best medicine is open-air and exercise and a big
cup of water in the early morning if you are constipated, and a pint of
hot water on going to bed.
CLOTHING.
A scout's clothing should be of flannel or wool as much as possible,
because it dries easily. Cotton next the skin is not good unless you
change it directly it gets wet--it is so likely to give you a chill, and
a scout is no use if he gets laid up.
One great point that a scout should take care about, to ensure his
endurance and being able to go on the march for a long time, is his
boots.
A scout who gets sore feet with much walking becomes useless.
You should therefore take great care to have good, well-fitting, roomy
boots, and fairly stout ones, and as like the natural shape of your bare
feet as possible with a straighter edge on the inside than bootmakers
usually give to the swagger boot. Scouts have no use for swagger boots.
The feet should be kept as dry as possible; if they are allowed to get
wet the skin is softened and very soon gets blistered and rubbed raw
where there is a little pressure of the boot.
Of course they get wet from perspiration as well as from outside wet.
Therefore to dry this it is necessary to wear good woollen socks.
If a man wears thin cotton or silk socks you can tell at once that he is
no walker. A fellow who goes out to a Colony for the first time is
called a "Tender-foot" because he generally gets sore feet until by
experience he learns how to keep his feet in good order. It is a good
thing to soap or grease your feet and the inside of your socks before
putting them on.
If your feet always perspire a good deal it is a useful thing to powder
them with powder made of boric acid, starch, and oxide of zinc in equal
parts. This powder should be rubbed in between the toes so as to prevent
soft corns forming there. Your feet can be hardened to some extent by
soaking them in alum and water, or salt and water.
Keep your boots soft with lots of grease, mutton fat, dubbin, or castor
oil--especially when they have got wet from rain, etc. Wash the feet
every day.
PRACTICES.
DRILL.
Scouts have to drill to enable them to be moved quickly from one point
to another in good order. Drill also sets them up, and makes them smart
and quick.
It strengthens the muscles which support the body and by keeping the
body upright the lungs and heart get plenty of room to work, and the
inside organs are kept on the proper position for proper digestion of
food and so on.
A slouching position on the other hand depresses all the other organs
and prevents them doing their work properly, so that a man in that
position is generally weak and often ill.
Growing lads are very apt to slouch and should therefore do all they can
to get out of the habit by plenty of physical exercises and drill.
Stand upright when you are standing and when you are sitting down sit
upright with your back well into the back part of the chair. Alertness
of the body whether you are moving, standing, or sitting means alertness
of mind and it is a paying thing to have because many an employer will
select an alert-looking boy for work and pass over a sloucher. When you
have to stoop over writing at a table or even tying a boot-lace do not
round your back but tuck in the small of your back which thus helps to
strengthen your body.
[Illustration: How not to sit.]
[Illustration: How to sit.]
DRILL.--On the word "Alert" the scout stands upright with both feet
together, hands hanging naturally at the sides, fingers straight, and
looking straight to his front.
On the word "Easy" he carries the right foot away six inches to the
right, and clasps his hands behind his back, and can turn his head
about. At the word "Sit Easy" he squats down on the ground in any
position he likes. "Sit Easy" should usually be given whenever you don't
want the boys to be at the "Alert," provided that the ground is dry.
On the command "Quick March," boys move off with the left foot leading,
at a smart pace, swinging the arms freely, as this gives good exercise
to the body and muscles and interior organs.
[Illustration: Walking for Exercise.]
At the command "Double" boys run at a jog-trot with short sharp steps,
hands swinging loosely, not tucked up at the side.
On the command "Scout Pace" the boys march at the quick march for fifty
paces then double fifty paces, and so on alternately running and
walking, until the word is given "Quick March" or "Halt."
"Right turn" each boy turns to the right.
"Follow Your Leader." "Leader Right Turn"--the leading man turns to his
right, the remainder move up to the place where he turned and then
follow after him.
"Front Form" (when "following the leader"). Those in rear run up and
form in line alongside the leader on his left.
"CONE EXERCISES."--Standing at the "Alert" raise both hands as high as
possible over the head, and link fingers, lean backwards, then sway the
arms very slowly round in the direction of a cone so that the hands make
a wide circle above and round the body, the body turning from the hips,
and leaning over to one side then to the front, then to the other side
and then back; this is to exercise the muscles of the waist and stomach,
and should be repeated say six times to either hand. With the eyes you
should be trying to see all that goes on behind you during the movement.
[Illustration: "Body-bending" or "Cone" Exercise.]
"TOUCH THE TOES."--From the position of "Alert" raise the hands above
the head then bend slowly forward and touch the toes with the fingers,
or knuckles of clenched fists, then slowly rise to the original position
and continue the motion a dozen times, the knees not to be bent in
performing this exercise. This makes the body supple, and strengthens
the back and legs.
"SQUATTING EXERCISE."--From the position of the "Alert" bend the knees
and slowly lower the body into a squatting position, the back being kept
upright; after a momentary pause slowly rise to the standing position
again, repeat this a dozen times standing on the toes throughout. The
hands may be resting on the hips or held out straight to the front in
line with the shoulders. This exercise strengthens the leg and feet
muscles.
"LEG RAISING FROM THE BACK."--Lie on your back and slowly raise the legs
till they are upright above you, then slowly lower them almost to the
ground and raise them again, several times in succession. This
strengthens the stomach muscles.
GAMES.
"Ju-jitsu"--contains numerous interesting games to teach grips and
holds, and development of muscles.
"Doctoring"--each scout in turn acts as an explorer or missionary, with
a few simple remedies. Three patients are brought to him in succession
to be treated, each having a different disease or injury. He has to
advise or show what treatment should be carried out.
All ordinary boys' games, where all are players and none lookers-on, are
good for health and cheerfulness--"Leap-frog," "Rounders,"
"Squash-football," "Tip-and run."
BOOKS TO READ.
"Japanese Physical Training," by Irving Hancock. (Pub. Putnam.)
"How to be well and strong," by W. Edwards. 4d. (Melrose.)
"Walking," by C. Lang Neil. 1s. (C. A. Pearson Ltd.) Useful hints on
walking, training, mountain-climbing, food, etc.
"Modern Physical Culture," by C. Lang Neil. 1s. (C. A. Pearson Ltd.)
Gives summary of various systems: Curative exercises; hints on food, on
organs of the body, etc.
"Health and Strength." Monthly Journal. 2d.
CHIVALRY OF THE KNIGHTS.
HINTS TO INSTRUCTORS.
_One aim of the Boy Scouts scheme is to revive amongst us, if possible,
some of the rules of the knights of old, which did so much for the moral
tone of our race, just as the Bushido of the ancient Samurai Knights has
done, and is still doing, for Japan. Unfortunately, chivalry with us
has, to a large extent, been allowed to die out, whereas in Japan it is
taught to the children, so that it becomes with them a practice of their
life, and it is also taught to children in Germany and Switzerland with
the best results. Our effort is not so much to discipline the boys, as
to teach them to discipline themselves._
_It is impossible in so short a space as I have at my disposal to do
more than touch upon subjects which the instructor may elaborate for
himself. The different qualities which the Knight's Code demanded are
here grouped under the three heads_:
1.--_Chivalry to Others._
2.--_Discipline of Self._
3.--_Self Improvement._
CHAPTER VII.
CHIVALRY of the KNIGHTS.
CAMP FIRE YARN.--No. 20.
CHIVALRY TO OTHERS.
Knights Errant--Helpfulness to Others--Courtesy to Women.
"In days of old, when knights were bold" it must have been a fine sight
to see one of these steel-clad horsemen come riding through the dark
green woods in his shining armour, with shield and lance and waving
plumes, bestriding his gallant war-horse, strong to bear its load, and
full of fire to charge upon an enemy. And near him rode his squire, a
young man, his assistant and companion, who would some day become a
knight.
Behind him rode his group, or patrol of men-at-arms--stout, hearty
warriors, ready to follow their knight to the gates of death if need be.
They were the tough yeomen of the old days, who won so many of her fine
fights for Britain through their pluck and loyal devotion to their
knights.
In peace time, when there was no fighting to be done, the knight would
daily ride about looking for a chance of doing a good turn to any
wanting help, especially woman or child who might be in distress. When
engaged in thus doing good turns he was called a "Knight Errant." His
patrol naturally acted in the same way as their leader, and a
man-at-arms was always equally ready to help the distressed with his
strong right arm. The knights of old were the patrol leaders of the
nation, and the men-at-arms were the scouts.
You patrol leaders and scouts are therefore very like the knights and
their retainers, especially if you keep your honour ever before you in
the first place and do your best to help other people who are in trouble
or who want assistance. Your motto is, "Be Prepared" to do this, and the
motto of the knights was a similar one, "Be Always Ready."
Chivalry--that is, the order of the knights--was started in England some
1500 years ago by King Arthur.
On the death of his father, King Uther Pendragon, he was living with his
uncle, and nobody knew who was to be King. He did not himself know that
he was son of the late King.
Then a great stone was found in the churchyard, into which a sword was
sticking, and on the stone was written:
"Whosoever pulleth this sword out of this stone is the rightwise King
born of all England."
All the chief lords had a try at pulling it out, but none could move it.
That day there was a tournament at which Arthur's cousin was to fight,
but when he got to the ground he found he had left his sword at home,
and he sent Arthur to fetch it. Arthur could not find it, but
remembering the sword in the churchyard he went there and pulled at it,
and it came out of the stone at once; and he took it to his cousin.
After the sports he put it back again into the stone; and again they all
tried to pull it out, but could not move it, but when he tried he drew
it out quite easily. So he was proclaimed King.
He afterwards got together a number of knights, and used to sit with
them at a great round table, and so they were called the "Knights of the
Round Table." The table is still to be seen at Winchester.
ST. GEORGE.
They had as their patron saint St. George, because he was the only one
of all the saints who was a horseman. He is the patron saint of cavalry
and scouts all over Europe.
St. George is the special saint of England. The battle-cry of the
knights used to be, "For Saint George and Merrie England!"
St. George's Day is 23rd April, and on that day all good scouts wear a
rose in his honour and fly their flags. Don't forget it on the next 23rd
April.
THE KNIGHTS' CODE.
The laws of the knights were these:
"_Be Always Ready_, with your armour on, except when you are taking
your rest at night.
Defend the poor, and help them that cannot defend themselves.
Do nothing to hurt or offend anyone else.
Be prepared to fight in the defence of England.
At whatever you are working try and win honour and a name for
honesty.
Never break your promise.
Maintain the honour of your country with your life.
Rather die honest than live shamelessly.
Chivalry requireth that youth should be trained to perform the most
laborious and humble offices with _cheerfulness_ and grace; and to
do good unto others."
These are the first rules with which the old knights started, and from
which the scout laws of to-day come.
A knight (or scout) is at all times a gentleman. So many people seem to
think that a gentleman must have lots of money. That does not make a
gentleman. A gentleman is anyone who carries out the rules of chivalry
of the knights.
A London policeman, for instance, is a gentleman, because he is well
disciplined, loyal, polite, brave, good-tempered, and helpful to women
and children.
UNSELFISHNESS.
Captain John Smith, the old English adventurer of three hundred years
ago, was a pretty tough customer to deal with, as he had fought in every
part of the world and had been wounded over and over again; but he also
had a good, kind heart within him. He was as good a type of scout as you
could find anywhere. One of his favourite expressions was, "We were
born, not for ourselves, but to do good to others," and he carried this
out very much in his life, for he was the most unselfish of men.
SELF-SACRIFICE.
King Richard I., who was one of the first of the Scouts of the Empire,
left his kingdom, his family, and everything to go and fight against the
enemies of the Christian religion, and very nearly lost his kingdom by
doing so, for he was absent for some years, and in the meantime his
brother tried to usurp his place. On his way home from the wars in
Palestine he was caught by the King of Austria, and was put by him in
prison, where he lingered for twelve months. He was discovered by his
minstrel, Blondel, who knowing that he must have been captured somewhere
went about Europe singing his favourite songs outside the prisons until
he was answered from inside; and so he found him and procured his
release.
(See "The Talisman," by Sir Walter Scott.)
But self-sacrifice is also to be found among us to-day. Only the other
day a lad of eighteen named Currie saw a little girl playing on the
railway line at Clydebank in front of an approaching train. He tried to
rescue her, but he was lame from an injury he had got at football, and
it delayed him in getting her clear. The train knocked both of them
over, and both were killed.
But Currie's gallant attempt is an example of chivalry for scouts to
follow. It was sacrifice of himself in the attempt to save a child.
KINDNESS.
"Kindness and gentleness are great virtues," says an old Spanish
proverb, and another says, "Oblige without regarding whom you oblige,"
which means be kind to anyone, great or small, rich or poor.
The great point about a knight was that he was always doing kindnesses
or good turns to people. His idea was that everyone must die, but you
should make up your mind that before your time comes you will do
something good. Therefore, do it at once, for you never know when you
may be going off.
So, with the scouts, it has been made one of our laws that we do a good
turn to somebody every day. It does not matter how small that good turn
may be, if it were only to help an old woman lift her bundle, or to
guide a child across a crowded street, or to put a halfpenny in the
poor-box. Something good ought to be done each day of your life, and you
should start to-day to carry out this rule, and never forget it during
the remaining days of your life. Remember the knot in your necktie and
on your scout's badge--they are reminders to you to do a good turn. And
do your good turn not only to your friends, but to strangers and even to
your enemies.
When the Russians were besieged in Port Arthur by the Japanese in 1905,
the Japs got close up to their forts by digging long, deep trenches,
into which the Russians were not able to shoot. On one occasion they
were so close that a Russian soldier was able to throw a letter into the
Japanese trench. In this letter he said that he wanted to send a message
to his mother in Russia, as she was very anxious about him; but as Port
Arthur was now cut off from all communication he begged that the Japs
would send the message for him; and he inclosed a note for his mother
and a gold coin to pay the cost.
The Japanese soldier who found the note, instead of tearing up the
letter and keeping the money, did what every scout would do, took it to
his officer, and the officer telegraphed the Russian's message to his
mother, and threw a note back into the enemy's fort to tell him that he
had done so.
This, with other instances of chivalry on both sides, is described in
Mr. Richmond Smith's book, "The Siege and Fall of Port Arthur."
GENEROSITY.
Some people are fond of hoarding up their money and never spending it.
It is well to be thrifty, but it is also well to give away money where
it is wanted; in fact, that is part of the object of saving up your
money. In being charitable, be careful that you do not fall into the
mistake of false charity. That is to say, it is very easy and comforting
to you to give a penny to a poor beggar in the street, but you ought not
to do it. That poor beggar is ninety-nine times out of a hundred an
arrant old fraud, and by giving your penny you are encouraging him and
others to go on with that trade. There may be, probably are, hundreds of
really poor and miserable people hiding away, whom you never see and to
whom that penny would be a godsend. The Charity Organisation Society
knows where they are, and which they are, and if you give your penny to
them, they will put it into the right hands for you.
You need not be rich in order to be charitable. Many of the knights were
poor men. At one time some of them wore as their crest two knights
riding on one horse, which meant that they were too poor to afford a
horse apiece.
TIPS.
Then "tips" are a very bad thing.
Wherever you go, people want to be tipped for doing the slightest thing
which they ought to do out of common good feeling. A scout will never
accept a tip, even if it is offered him. It is often difficult to
refuse, but for a scout it is easy. He has only to say, "Thank you very
much, but I am a scout, and our rules don't allow us to accept anything
for doing a good turn."
"Tips" put you on a wrong footing with everyone.
You cannot work in a friendly way with a man if you are thinking how
much "tip" you are going to get out of him, or he is thinking how much
he'll have to "tip" you. And all scouts' work for another ought to be
done in a friendly way.
Of course, proper pay that is earned by your work is another thing, and
you will be right to accept it.
FRIENDLINESS.
The great difference in a Colonial bushman and a stay-at-home Briton is
that the Colonial is in shirt-sleeves while the other is buttoned up in
his coat, and their characters are much the same. The Colonial is open
and cheery with everybody at once, while the Briton is rather inclined
to shut himself up from his neighbours inside his coat, and takes a deal
of drawing out before he becomes friendly. The free, open-air,
shirt-sleeve habits of the Colonial do away with this, and life becomes
much more pleasant to everybody all round. A boy scout should remember
that he is like the Colonial, and, like Kim, the "friend of all the
world."
But don't let your friendliness lead you into that foolery that is too
common in England, namely, throwing away your hard-earned savings in
"standing treat" to your friends.
POLITENESS.
One of the stories that the knights used to tell as an example of
politeness was that Julius Cæsar, when he was entertained to supper by a
poor peasant, was so polite that when the man gave him a dish of pickles
to eat, thinking they were the sort of vegetables that a high-born
officer would like, Cæsar ate the whole dish, and pretended to like
them, although they burnt his mouth and disagreed with him considerably.
In Spain you ask a man the way--he does not merely point it out, but
takes off his hat, bows, and says that it will be a great pleasure to
him to show it, and walks with you till he has set you properly upon it.
He will take no reward.
A Frenchman will take off his hat when he addresses a stranger, as you
may often see him do in London, even when he asks a policeman the way.
The Dutch fishermen, big and brawny as they are, take up the whole
street when walking down it; but when a stranger comes along they stand
to one side, and smilingly take off their caps to let him pass.
A lady told me that when in one of the far west Canadian townships she
met a group of wild-looking cowboys walking down the street, she felt
quite alarmed. But as they got near they stood to one side, and took off
their hats with the greatest respect, and made way for her.
COURTESY TO WOMEN.
The knights of old were particularly attentive in respect and courtesy
to women.
Sir Nigel Loring in "The White Company" is a type of a chivalrous knight
of the old times. Although very small, and half blind by reason of some
lime which an enemy had thrown in his eyes early in his career, he was
an exceedingly brave man, and at the same time very humble, and very
helpful to others.
But above all things he reverenced women. He had a big, plain lady as
his wife, but he always upheld her beauty and virtue, and was ready to
fight anybody who doubted him.
Then with poor women, old or young, he was always courteous and helpful.
And that is how a scout should act.
King Arthur, who made the rules of chivalry, was himself chivalrous to
women of whatever class.
One day a girl rushed into his hall crying for help. Her hair was
streaming and smeared with mud, her arms were torn with brambles, and
she was dressed in rags. She had been ill-treated by a band of robbers
who roved the country, doing all the harm they could. When he heard her
tale King Arthur sprang on to his horse and rode off himself to the
robbers' cave, and even at the risk of his own life he fought and
defeated them, so that they could no more trouble his people.
When walking with a lady or a child, a scout should always have her on
his left side, so that his right is free to protect her.
This rule is altered when walking in the streets: then a man will walk
on the side of her nearest to the traffic, to protect her against
accident, or mud-splashes, etc.
In meeting a woman or a child, a man should, as a matter of course,
always make way for her, even if he has to step off the pavement into
the mud.
So also in riding in a crowded tram or railway carriage no man worthy of
the name will allow a woman or a child to stand up if he has a seat. He
will at once give it up to the woman and stand himself. As a scout, you
should set an example in this by being the first man in the carriage to
do it. And in doing so, do it cheerfully, with a smile, so that she may
not think you are annoyed at having to do it.
When in the street always be on the look out to help women and children.
A good opportunity is when they want to cross a street, or to find the
way, or to call a cab or 'bus. If you see them, go and help them at
once--and don't accept any reward.
The other day I saw a boy help a lady out of a carriage, and as he shut
the door after her, she turned to give him some money, but he touched
his cap, and smilingly said, "No, thank you, Marm; it's my duty," and
walked off. So I shook hands with him, for I felt that although he had
not been taught, he was a scout by nature.
This is the kind of courtesy one wants to see more amongst boys of
to-day. Only the other day in London, a girl who had been robbed ran
after a thief and pursued him till he dashed down into a narrow alley,
where she could not follow, but she waited for him; so did the crowd.
And when he came out again, she collared him and struggled to prevent
him escaping; but not one of the crowd would help her, although there
were men and boys present there. They must have been a poor lot not to
help a girl!
Of course, in accidents men and boys will always see that the women and
children are safely got out of danger, before they think of going
themselves. In two wrecks which occurred in 1906 on the south coast of
England, viz., the _Jebba_, and the _Suevic_, it was very noticeable how
carefully arrangements were made for saving the women and children and
old people, before any idea was given as to how the men were to be
rescued. You should carry your courtesy on with ladies at all times. If
you are sitting down and a lady comes into the room, stand up, and see
if you can help her in any way before you sit down.
Don't lark about with a girl whom you would not like your mother or
sister to see you with.
Don't make love to any girl unless you mean to marry her.
Don't marry a girl unless you are in a position to support her, and to
support some children.
PRACTICES.
Other ways of doing good turns, are such small things as these: sprinkle
sand on a frozen road where horses are liable to slip; remove orange or
banana skins from the pavement, as they are apt to throw people down;
don't leave gates open, and don't injure fences or walk over crops in
the country; help old people in drawing water or carrying fuel, etc., to
their homes; help to keep the streets clean by removing scraps of paper.
[Illustration: A Scout looking out ready to help others.]
SCOUT'S UNIFORM.--_Scout hat; Handkerchief (not a white one) round neck;
Shirt (not white); Belt, with pouch; Shorts, with hip pocket; Stockings,
with coloured garters; Boots or Shoes, with good nails; Long Stick for
feeling way; Whistle; Haversack, with food; Coat rolled, with dry socks
and vest inside in pockets._
HINTS TO INSTRUCTORS.
_HOW TO PRACTISE CHIVALRY._
_Make each scout tie a knot in his necktie every morning as a reminder
to carry out his idea of doing a good turn every day, till it becomes a
habit with him._
_Take your boys to an armoury, such as the Tower of London or South
Kensington Museum, and explain to them the armour and weapons of the
knights._
_Make a scout bring in a boy, who is a total stranger, as his guest for
the evening to play in club games, and hear camp yarns, etc._
GAMES.
"KNIGHT ERRANTRY."--Scouts go out singly, or in pairs, or as a patrol.
If in a town, to find women or children in want of help, and to return
and report, on their honour, what they have done. If in the country call
at any farms or cottages and ask to do odd jobs--for nothing. The same
can be made into a race called a "Good Turn" race.
PLAY.
"King Arthur and the Round Table." See Part VI.
Also other stories of chivalry, as in "Stories of King Arthur."
BOOKS TO READ.
"Ivanhoe," by Sir Walter Scott.
"Stories of King Arthur." Cutler. 3s. 6d.
"The White Company," by Sir Conan Doyle, 1s.
"The Broad Stone of Honour," by Kenelm Digby.
"Fifty-two stories of Chivalry."
"Puck of Pook's Hill," by Rudyard Kipling.
CAMP FIRE YARN.--No. 21.
SELF-DISCIPLINE.
Honour--Obedience--Courage--Cheeriness.
TO INSTRUCTORS.
_The self-disciplined man is described by Browning as_:
One who never turned his back but marched breast forward;
Never doubted clouds would break;
Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph;
Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better,
Sleep--to wake.
_Lycurgus said that the wealth of a state lay not so much in money as in
men who were sound in body and mind, with a body fit for toil and
endurance, and with a mind well disciplined, and seeing things in their
proper proportions._
HONOUR.
The true knight placed his honour before all things. It was sacred, and
he will never do a dishonourable action, such as telling an untruth or
deceiving his superiors or employers. A man who is honourable is always
to be trusted, and always commands the respect of his fellow men. His
honour guides him in everything that he does. A captain sticks to the
ship till the last, in every wreck that was ever heard of. Why? She is
only a lump of iron and wood; his life is as valuable as that of any of
the women and children on board, but he makes everybody get away safely
before he attempts to save his more valuable life. Why? Because the ship
is his ship, and he has been taught that it is his duty to stick to it,
and he considers it would be dishonourable in him to do otherwise; so he
puts honour before safety. So also a scout should value his honour most
of anything.
FAIR PLAY.--Britons, above all other people, insist on fair play.
If you see a big bully going for a small or weak boy, you stop him
because it is not "fair play."
And if a man, in fighting another, knocks him down, he must not hit or
kick him while he is down; everybody would think him an awful beast if
he did. Yet there is no law about it; you could not get him imprisoned
for it. The truth is that "fair play" is an old idea of Chivalry that
has come down to us from the knights of old, and we must always keep up
that idea.
Other nations are not all so good.
Often we hear of wounded men being again shot and killed in battle when
they are lying helpless on the ground. In the South African War, when
Major MacLaren, now our Manager in the Boy Scouts, was lying helpless,
with his thigh broken by a bullet and his horse shot on top of him, a
Boer came up and finding him alive, fired two more shots into him.
Luckily he recovered and is alive to-day. But that Boer had no Chivalry
in him.
HONESTY.--Honesty is a form of Honour. An honourable man can be trusted
with any amount of money or other valuables with the certainty that he
will not steal it.
Cheating at any time is a sneaking, underhand thing to do.
When you feel inclined to cheat in order to win a game, or feel very
distressed when a game in which you are playing is going against you,
just say to yourself, "After all, it is only a game. It won't kill me if
I do lose. One can't win always, though I will stick to it in case of a
chance coming."
If you keep your head in this way, you will very often find that you win
after all from not being over-anxious or despairing.
And don't forget, whenever you _do_ lose a game, if you are a true
scout, you will at once cheer the winning team or shake hands with and
congratulate the fellow who has beaten you.
This rule will be carried out in _all_ games and competitions among Boy
Scouts.
LOYALTY.--Loyalty was, above all, one of the distinguishing points about
the knights. They were always devotedly loyal to their King and to their
country, and were always ready and eager to die in their defence. In the
same way a follower of the Knights should be loyal not only to the King
but also to everyone who is above him, whether his officers or
employers, and he should stick to them through thick and thin as part of
his duty.
He should also be equally loyal to his own friends and should support
them in evil times as well as in good times.
Loyalty to duty was shown by the Roman soldier of old who stuck to his
post when the city of Pompeii was overwhelmed with ashes and lava from
the volcano Vesuvius. His remains are still there, with his hand
covering his mouth and nose to prevent the suffocation which in the end
overcame him.
His example was followed at some manoeuvres not long ago by a cadet of
Reigate Grammar School who when posted as sentry was accidentally left
on his post when the field day was over. But though night came on and it
was very cold--in November last--the lad stuck to his post till he was
found in the middle of the night, half-perished with cold, but alive and
alert.
OBEDIENCE AND DISCIPLINE.
Discipline and obedience are as important as bravery for scouts and for
soldiers.
The _Birkenhead_ was a transport-ship carrying troops. She had on board
630 soldiers with their families and 130 seamen. Near the Cape of Good
Hope one night, she ran on to some rocks, and began to break up. The
soldiers were at once paraded on deck. Some were told off to get out the
boats, and to put the women and children into them, and others were told
off to get the horses up out of the hold, and to lower them overboard
into the sea in order that they might have a chance of swimming ashore.
When this had all been done it was found that there were not enough
boats to take the men, and so the men were ordered to remain in their
ranks. Then the ship broke in half and began to go down. The Captain
shouted to the men to jump over and save themselves, but the Colonel,
Colonel Seaton, said "No, keep your ranks." For he saw that if they swam
to the boats and tried to get in they would probably sink them too. So
the men kept their ranks and as the ship rolled over and sank they gave
a cheer and went down with her. Out of the whole 760 on board, only 192
were saved, but even those would probably have been lost had it not been
for the discipline and self-sacrifice of the others.
Last year a British Training Ship, the _Fort Jackson_, full of
boy-sailors was run into by a steamer, but just as on the _Birkenhead_
there was no panic or crying out. The boys fell in quickly on parade,
put on their lifebelts, and faced the danger calmly and well. And not a
life was lost.
DISCIPLINE.--Gibraltar is a great big fortified rock which belongs to
England, down on the South Coast of Spain. One hundred and twenty years
ago it was besieged by the Spanish and French armies together.
The Spanish Army attacked Gibraltar on the land side, while the French
attacked it by sea, but though they fought hard and with greatest
endurance for over three years, the British troops defending the place
were a match for them and held out successfully until they were relieved
by the Fleet from home.
General Elliot, who had been a Cavalry officer in the 15th Hussars,
commanded the troops at Gibraltar, and it was largely owing to his
strict discipline that the Garrison succeeded in holding out. Every man
had learnt to obey orders without any hesitation or question.
One day a man disobeyed an order, so General Elliot had him up before
him and explained that for a man to be insubordinate at such a time
showed that he could not be in his right senses; he must be mad. So he
ordered that his head should be shaved and that he should be blistered,
bled, and put into a strait-waistcoat and should be put in the cells,
with bread and water, as a lunatic, and should also be prayed for in
church!
HUMILITY.--Humility or being humble was one of the things which was
practised by the knights, that is to say that, although they were
generally superior to other people in fighting or campaigning, they
never allowed themselves to swagger about it. So Don't Swagger.
And don't imagine that you have got rights in this world except those
that you earn for yourself. You've got the right to be believed if you
earn it by always telling the truth, and you've got the right to go to
prison if you earn it by thieving; but there are lots of men who go
about howling about their rights who have never done anything to earn
any rights. Do your duty first and you will get your rights afterwards.
FORTITUDE.--Then the knights were men who never said "Die" till they
were dead; they were always ready to stick it out till the last
extremity, but it is a very common fault with men to give in to trouble
or fear long before there is any necessity. They often give up working
because they don't get success all at once, and probably if they stuck
to it a little longer, success would come. A man must expect hard work
and want of success at first.
COURAGE.
Very few men are born brave, but any man can make himself brave if he
tries--and especially if he begins trying when he is a boy.
The brave man dashes into danger without any hesitation, when a less
brave man is inclined to hang back. It is very like bathing. A lot of
boys will come to a river to bathe, and will cower shivering on the
bank, wondering how deep the water is, and whether it is very cold--but
the brave one will run through them and take his header into the water,
and will be swimming about happily a few seconds later.
The thing is, when there is danger before you, don't stop and look at
it--the more you look at it the less you will like it--but take the
plunge, go boldly in at it, and it won't be half so bad as it looked,
when you are once in it.
In the late war between Japan and Russia some Japanese pioneers had been
ordered to blow up the gate of a Russian fort so that the attackers
could get in. After nearly all of them had been shot down, a few of them
managed to get to the gate with their charges of powder. These had to be
"tamped" or jammed tight against the door somehow, and then fired. The
Japs "tamped" them by pushing them against the door with their chests;
they then lit their matches, fired the charge, and blew up the gates,
but blew up themselves in doing so. But their plucky self-sacrifice
enabled their comrades to get in and win the place for the Emperor.
GOOD TEMPER AND CHEERINESS.
The knights laid great stress on being never out of temper. They thought
it bad form to lose their temper, and to show anger. Captain John Smith,
of whom I spoke just now, was himself a type of a cheerful man. In fact,
towards the end of his life two boys (and he was very fond of boys) to
whom he told his adventures, wrote them down in a book, but they said
that they found great difficulty in hearing all that he said, because he
roared with laughter so over his own descriptions of his troubles. But
it is very certain, that had he not been a cheery man, he never could
have got through half the dangers with which he was faced at different
times in his career.
Over and over again he was made prisoner by his enemies--sometimes
savage enemies--but he managed always to captivate them with his
pleasant manner and become friends with them, so that often they let him
go, or did not trouble to catch him when he made his escape.
If you do your work cheerfully, your work becomes much more of a
pleasure to you, and also if you are cheerful it makes other people
cheerful as well, which is part of your duty as a scout. Mr. J. M.
Barrie writes: "Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others, cannot
keep happiness from themselves," which means, if you make other people
happy, you make yourself happy.
If you are in the habit of taking things cheerfully, you will very
seldom find yourself in serious trouble, because if a difficulty or
annoyance or danger seems very great, you will, if you are wise, force
yourself to laugh at it, although I will allow it is very difficult to
do so at first. Still, the moment you do laugh, most of the difficulty
seems to disappear at once, and you can tackle it quite easily.
Good temper can be attained by a boy who wants to have it, and it will
help him in every game under the sun, and more especially in difficulty
and danger, and will often keep him in a situation where a
short-tempered fellow gets turned out, or leaves in a huff.
Bad language and swearing are generally used, like smoking, by boys who
want to try and show off how manly they are, but it only makes them look
like fools. Generally, a man who swears is a man easily upset, and loses
his head in a difficult situation, and he is not, therefore, to be
depended upon. You want to be quite undisturbed under the greatest
difficulties; and so when you find yourself particularly anxious or
excited, or angry, don't swear, force yourself to smile, and it will set
you right in a moment.
Captain John Smith, who neither smoked nor swore, had a way of dealing
with swearers, which is also adopted by our scouts. He says in his diary
that when his men were cutting down trees, the axes blistered their
tender fingers, so that at about every third blow, a loud oath would
drown the echo of the axe. To remedy this he devised a plan of having
every man's oath noted down, and at night, for every oath, he had a can
of water poured down the swearer's sleeve, "with which an offender was
so washed, that a man would scarce hear an oath in a week."
BOOKS TO READ.
"Courage." By Charles Wagner. (Published by T. Fisher Unwin, London.)
"Golden Deeds." (Macmillan.)
"Parents and Children." Miss Charlotte Mason.
"Duty." By Samuel Smiles, 2s. (Murray.) (Published by Kegan Paul.)
PRACTICE IN SELF-DISCIPLINE.
Practice unselfishness by a picnic to which all contribute what they are
able to, according to their means. No remarks to be allowed on the
amounts given.
GAMES.
Call for volunteers for some dangerous enterprise, such as "Dispatch
Running," or some other game made dangerous by the condition that if the
scout selected to do the dangerous job fails he will lose his life; that
is, will forfeit his scout's badge permanently. If he succeeds he may
get up to 15 marks towards a badge of merit.
Any games such as football, basketball, etc., where rules are strictly
enforced, are good for teaching discipline and unselfishness.
Ju-jitsu has many excellent points, too, in that direction.
"Bowmanship."--Crossbow shooting. Scouts should, if possible, make their
own crossbows.
"Longbowmanship" as by the archers of the Middle Ages. Scouts to make
their own bows and arrows if possible. Read Aylward's doings in "The
White Company."
"Quarter Staff Play" with scouts' staves, as played by the yeomen and
apprentices in old days.
CAMP FIRE YARN.--No. 22.
SELF-IMPROVEMENT.
Religion--Thrift--How to get on.
TO INSTRUCTORS.
_This camp fire yarn opens to instructors a wide field for the most
important work of all in this scheme of Boy Scouts, and gives you an
opportunity for doing really valuable work for the nation._
_The prevailing want of religion should be remedied by a practical
working religion rather than a too spiritual one at first._
SELF-EMPLOYMENT.--_A great amount of poverty and unemployedness results
from boys being allowed to run riot outside the school walls as loafers,
or from being used early in life as small wage-earners, such as errand
boys, etc., and then finding themselves at the commencement of manhood
without any knowledge of a trade to go on with, and unable to turn their
hand to any work out of their one immediate line. They are helpless and
unemployable. It is here that as instructor you can do invaluable work
for the boy, by getting each in turn to talk privately over his future,
and to map out a line for himself, and to start preparing himself for
it. Encourage him to take up "hobbies" or handicrafts._
_The suggestions offered here are, owing to the want of space, very
limited in number, but your own experience or imagination will probably
provide many more._
DUTY TO GOD.
An old British chieftain, some thirteen hundred years ago, said:
Our life has always seemed to me like the flight of a sparrow
through the great hall, when one is sitting at meals with the
log-fire blazing on the hearth, and all is storm and darkness
outside. He comes in, no one knows from where, and hovers for a
short time in the warmth and light, and then flies forth again into
the darkness. And so it is with the life of a man; he comes no one
knows from where; he is here in the world for a short time till he
flies forth again, no one knows whither. But now you show us that if
we do our duty during our life we shall not fly out into darkness
again when life is ended, since Christ has opened a door for us to
enter a brighter room, a Heaven where we can go and dwell in peace
for ever.
This old chief was speaking for all the chiefs of northern England when
King Edwin had introduced to them a knowledge of the Christian religion;
and they adopted it then and there as one more comforting to them than
their old Pagan worship of heathen gods; and ever since those days the
Christian religion has been the one to rule our country.
Religion is a very simple thing:
1st. To believe in God.
2nd. To do good to other people.
The old knights, who were the scouts of the nation, were very religious.
They were always careful to attend church or chapel, especially before
going into battle or undertaking any serious difficulty. They considered
it was the right thing always to Be Prepared for death. In the great
church of Malta you can see to-day where the old knights used to pray,
and they all stood up and drew their swords during the reading of the
Creed, as a sign that they were prepared to defend the gospel with their
swords and lives. Besides worshipping God in church, the knights always
recognised His work in the things which He made, such as animals,
plants, and scenery. And so it is with peace scouts to-day that wherever
they go they love the woodlands, the mountains, and the prairies, and
they like to watch and know about the animals that inhabit them and the
wonders of the flowers and plants. No man is much good unless he
believes in God and obeys His laws. So every scout should have a
religion.
There are many kinds of religion such as Roman Catholics, Protestants,
Jews, Mohammedans, and so on, but the main point about them is that they
all worship God, although in different ways. They are like an army which
serves one king, though it is divided into different branches, such as
cavalry, artillery, and infantry, and these wear different uniforms. So,
when you meet a boy of a different religion from your own, you should
not be hostile to him, but recognise that he is like a soldier in your
own army, though in a different uniform, and still serving the same king
as you.
In doing your duty to God, always be grateful to Him. Whenever you enjoy
a pleasure or a good game, or succeed in doing a good thing, thank Him
for it, if only with a word or two, just as you say grace after a meal.
And it is a good thing to bless other people. For instance, if you see a
train starting off, just pray for God's blessing on all that are in the
train and so on.
In doing your duty towards man, be helpful and generous and also always
be grateful for any kindness done to you, and be careful to show that
you are grateful.
Remember that a present given to you is not yours until you have thanked
for it. While you are the sparrow flying through the Hall, that is to
say, while you are living your life on this earth, try and do something
good which may remain after you. One writer says:
I often think that when the sun goes down the world is hidden by a
big blanket from the light of Heaven, but the stars are little holes
pierced in that blanket by those who have done good deeds in this
world. The stars are not all the same size; some are big, some
little, and some men have done great deeds and others have done
small deeds, but they have made their hole in the blanket by doing
good before they went to Heaven.
Try and make your hole in the blanket by good work while you are on the
earth.
It is something to _be_ good, but it is far better to _do_ good.
THRIFT.
It is a funny thing that out of you boys who now read these words, some
of you are certain to become rich men, and some of you may die in
poverty and misery. And it just depends on your own selves which you are
going to do.
And you can very soon tell which your future is going to be.
The fellow who begins making money as a boy will go on making it as a
man. You may find it difficult to do at first, but it will come easier
later on; but if you begin and if you go on, remember, you are pretty
certain to succeed in the end--especially if you get your money by hard
work.
If you only try to make it by easy means--that is by betting, say, on a
football match or a horse-race--you are bound to lose after a time.
Nobody who makes bets ever wins in the end; it is the book-maker, the
man who receives the bets, that scores over it. Yet there are thousands
of fools who go on putting their money on because they won a bit once or
hope to win some day.
Any number of poor boys have become rich men--but in nearly every case
it was because they meant to do so from the first; they worked for it,
and put every penny they could make into the bank to begin with.
So each one of you has the chance if you like to take it. The great
owner of millions of pounds, J. Astor, began his career as a poor
boy-pedlar with seven German flutes as his stock-in-trade. He sold them
for more than he gave and went on increasing his business.
The knights of old were ordered by their rules to be thrifty, that is to
save money as much as possible, not to expend large sums on their own
enjoyment, but to save it in order that they might keep themselves and
not be a burden to others, and also in order that they might have more
to give away in charity; and if they had no money of their own, they
were not allowed to beg for it, they must work and make it in one way or
another. Thus money-making goes with manliness, hard work, and sobriety.
Boys are not too young to work for money.
Mr Thomas Holmes, the police-court missionary, tells us how hundreds of
poor boys in London are working pluckily and well at making their
living, even while doing their school work. They get up early, at
half-past four in the morning, and go round with milk or bakers' barrows
till about eight, and after that off to school; back in the afternoon to
the shop to clean the pails and cans. They save up their money every
day; those who have mothers, hand it over to them; those who have not,
store it up or bank it. They are regular men before they are twelve
years of age, and good examples to other boys wherever they may be.
HOW TO MAKE MONEY.
There are many ways by which a scout, or a patrol working together, can
make money, such as:
CARPENTERING.--Making arm-chairs, recovering old furniture, etc., is a
very paying trade. Fretwork and carving, picture-frames, birdcages,
cabinets, carved pipe-bowls, can be sold through a shop.
Get permission to cut certain sticks in hedges or woods and trim them
into walking-sticks, after hanging them with weights attached to
straighten and dry them. Breeding canaries, chickens, rabbits, or dogs
pays well. Beekeeping brings in from £1 to £2 a year per hive, after you
have paid for hive and queen bee or swarm.
You can make novel sets of buttons out of bootlaces. Collect old packing
cases and boxes and chop them into bundles of firewood. Make nets,
besoms, etc., for gardeners. Keeping goats and selling their milk will
pay in some places. Basket making, pottery, book-binding, etc., all
bring money. Or a patrol working together can form themselves into a
corps of messenger-boys in a country town, or they can get an allotment
garden and work it for selling vegetables and flowers, or they can make
themselves into a minstrel troupe, or perform scouting displays or
pageants, etc., like those shown in this book, and take money at the
doors.
[Illustration: HOW TO MAKE BUTTONS OUT OF BOOTLACES. 1.]
[Illustration: 2.]
[Illustration: 3.]
[Illustration: 4. Continue till you have the whole knot doubled or
trebled.]
[Illustration: 5. The loop for attaching the button is moved from its
original position to hang from the centre of the knot.]
[Illustration: 6. Pull all tight, cut off loose end, and the button is
complete.]
These are only a few suggestions; there are loads of other ways of
making money which you can think out for yourselves, according to the
place you are in.
But in order to get money you must expect to work. The actor, Ted Payne,
used to say in one of his plays, "I don't know what is wrong with me, I
eat well, I drink well, and I sleep well, but somehow whenever anybody
mentions the word 'Work' to me I get a cold shudder all over me." That
is what happens to a great many men in England, I am afraid. There are a
good many other chicken-hearted fellows, who, when any work faces them
"get a cold shudder all over them"; or when trouble comes, they go and
take to drink, instead of facing it and working it off.
Start a money-box, put any money you can make into that, and when you
have got a fair amount in it, hand it over to a bank, and start an
account for yourself. As a scout, you have to have a certain amount in
the savings bank before you can become entitled to wear a badge. Save
your pence and you'll get pounds.
(_Scouts' Money Boxes can be obtained from Manager Boy Scouts, Henrietta
Street, London, W.C._)
HOW TO GET ON.
A few years ago the American Government was at war with rebels in the
island of Cuba. (_Point out on map._)
America, as you know, is ruled by a President and not by a King. The
late President, McKinley, wanted to send a letter to Garcia, the chief
of the rebels in Cuba, but did not know how to get it taken to him, as
the rebels were a savage lot inhabiting a wild and difficult country.
When he was talking it over with his advisers, someone said: "There's a
young fellow called Rowan who seems to be able to get anything done that
you ask him. Why not try him?"
So Rowan was sent for, and when he came in the President explained why
he had sent for him, and, putting the letter in his hand, said: "Now, I
want that letter sent to Garcia."
The lad simply smiled and said, "I see," and walked out of the room
without saying another word.
Some weeks passed and Rowan appeared again at the President's door and
said, "I gave your letter to Garcia, sir," and walked out again. Of
course, Mr. McKinley had him back and made him explain how he had done
it.
It turned out that he had got a boat and sailed away in her for some
days; had landed on the coast of Cuba, and disappeared into the jungle;
in three weeks' time he reappeared on the other side of the island
having gone through the enemy and found Garcia, and given him the
letter.
He was a true scout, and that is the way a scout should carry out an
order when he gets it. No matter how difficult it may seem he should
tackle it, with a smile; the more difficult it is the more interesting
it will be to carry out.
Most fellows would have asked a lot of questions--first as to how they
were to set about it, how they could get to the place, where were they
to get food from, and so on; but not so Rowan: he merely learnt what
duty was wanted of him, and _he_ did the rest without a word; any fellow
who acts like that is certain to get on.
We have a lot of good scouts already in England among the District
Messenger Boys in London. These lads, from having difficult jobs
frequently given them and being _expected_ to carry them out
successfully, take them on with the greatest confidence in themselves;
and, without asking a lot of silly questions, they start off in a
businesslike way, and do them.
That is the way to deal with any difficulty in life. If you get a job or
a trouble that seems to you to be too big for you, don't shirk it:
smile, think out a way by which you might get successfully through with
it, and then go at it.
Remember that "a difficulty is no longer a difficulty when once you
laugh at it--and tackle it."
Don't be afraid of making a mistake. Napoleon said "Nobody ever made
anything who never made a mistake."
MEMORY.--Then practise remembering things. A fellow who has a good
memory will get on because so many other people have bad memories from
not practising them.
At the Olympic Theatre, Liverpool, the forgetfulness on the part of the
people in the audience gradually made it necessary for the manager to
keep a special room and ledgers for all lost articles left behind in the
theatre after each performance. But the happy idea struck him of putting
a notice on the curtain by means of a bioscope lantern a few minutes
before the end of the performance saying, "Please look under your seat
before leaving."
This has made a great difference in the number of things left behind.
People used to leave every kind of thing, even medicine bottles, and
false teeth; and once a cheque for £50 was left.
LUCK.--A great coral island is build up of tiny sea insects blocking
themselves together; so also great knowledge in a man is built up by his
noticing all sorts of little details and blocking them together in his
mind by _remembering_ them.
If you want to catch a tramcar when it is not at a stopping station you
don't sit down and let it run past you and then say, "How unlucky I am";
you run and jump on. It is just the same with what some people call
"luck"; they complain that luck never comes to them. Well, luck is
really the chance of getting something good or of doing something great;
the thing is to look out for every chance and seize it--run at it and
jump on--don't sit down and wait for it to pass you. Opportunity is a
tramcar which has very few stopping places.
CHOOSE A CAREER.--"Be Prepared" for what is going to happen to you in
the future. If you are in a situation where you are earning money as a
boy what are you going to do when you finish that job? You ought to be
learning some proper trade to take up; and save your pay in the
meantime, to keep you going till you get employment in your new trade.
And try to learn something of a second trade in case the first one fails
you at any time, as so very often happens.
If you want to serve your King and Country there is the Royal Navy open
to you, a fine service with its grand traditions, its splendid ships,
guns, and seamen. It takes you across the seas to our great Colonies and
to foreign lands, from the frozen Arctic to the tropical coasts of
Africa.
Or there is the Army, with cavalry, infantry, artillery, engineers, and
other branches, in which you can wear the uniform of your country and do
good work in every climate under the sun.
In either service a good and honourable career is open to you--for you
have everything found for you, food, housing, clothing, and hospital,
with good pay and the certainty of promotion and pension for the rest of
your life if you make up your mind to serve loyally, steadily, and well.
In such a career you have plenty of adventure and you are among good
comrades and friends. And if you start early to save your pay, and not
to throw it away as too many do, you can easily put by £25 a year in the
bank.
[_The instructor should similarly give advice on other trades and
professions, especially those in the neighbourhood._]
PRACTICES IN SELF-IMPROVEMENT.
MARKET GARDENING.--The patrol or troop can work an allotment or other
garden and sell the produce for their fund.
FOR A TROOP OR A NUMBER OF TROOPS.--Offer a good prize for the best
article made by a scout with materials which have not cost more than 2s.
Entrance fee to competition 3d.
Have an exhibition of these, coupled with displays and scenes, etc., by
the scouts, and take money at the doors.
At the end sell the articles by auction: the articles which fetch the
highest prices win the prizes.
INSTRUCTION CLASSES in Esperanto, Bookkeeping, Mechanics, Electricity,
and, especially, Shorthand.
ARMY CLASS.--At the Home Office School, Stoke Farm, boys are put through
the same examination as in the Army Schools for promotion certificates.
They thus know their classification should they then go into the Army.
MEMORIZING.--Read something to the boys, a line or two at a time, to see
who can repeat it best. To concentrate the mind and develop memory.
Mr. G. L. Boundy of Exeter has had great success in developing
intelligence amongst his lads by taking parties of them round to see the
different factories in Exeter. They all take notes and rough drawings as
they go along and reproduced them the following meeting, and report on
what they have seen.
INFORMATION ON PROFESSIONS, ETC.
Conditions of service in the Royal Navy, Army, Post, Telegraph, or
Police can be obtained at the nearest Post Office or Police Station.
Conditions of service in the Mercantile Marine or Training for it can be
obtained from the Navy League: Lancashire Sea Training Home for boys
from 13-1/2 to 15-1/2., 28 Chapel Street, Liverpool.
Post Office Savings Bank, Penny Banks and Benefit Societies exist in all
leading towns and will give full information. As an example:
National Deposit Friendly Society, 37 Queen Square, Southampton Row,
London. Payments for children from 6d. a month, adults 2s. 3d. and
entitles them to sick pay, pension, funeral expenses, in addition to
their own cash capital.
So soon as it becomes possible organise an employment agency for getting
your boys in touch with employers, etc.
BOOKS TO READ.
"Thrift," by Samuel Smiles. 2s. (John Murray.)