every crook and cranny of our hearts and minds lest we venture forth
with any such impedimenta. There is no excuse, and we have no one to
blame if we allow any of them to journey along with us. We know whether
they are there or not just as we would know _Courage, Trust and Honor_
were they perched behind us on the saddle.

It is idle to squeal if through association with the former we find
ourselves ditched before we are well under way--for it is coming to us,
sooner or later. We might go _far_, as some have done, through the lanes
and alleys of ill-gotten gains and luxurious self-indulgence, but we
would pay in the end. So, why not charge them up to "profit and loss" at
the start and kick them off into the gutter where they belong? They are
not for us on our eventful journey through life, and the time to get rid
of them once and for all is when we are young, and mentally and
physically vigorous. Later on when the fires burn low and we still have
them with us they will be hard to push aside.

"To thine own self be true," says the great Shakespeare and how can we
be true to our own selves if we train with inferiors? We are known by
our companionships. We will be rated according to association--good or
bad. The two will not mix for long and we will be one sort of a fellow
or the other. We can't be both.

There was a time, long years ago, in the days of our grandfathers, when
men went to the "bow-wows" and, later on, "came back" as it were, by
making a partial success in life--measured largely by the money they
succeeded in accumulating. That was before the "check-up" system was
invented. Today things are different. Questions are asked--"Where were
you last?"--"Why did you leave there?"--"Have you credentials?"--and
when we shake our weary head and walk away, we fondly wish we had "taken