The messengers went forth, and after a long search finally found a man
who seemed happier than all his fellows. And as he sat singing in the
sunshine the king's messengers pounced upon him to take away his shirt;
but lo, when they took his coat off they found he had no shirt!

The story means this, that happiness does not depend upon what you have
or have not. It comes from within, and not from without. If you have the
right spirit you will have a song, riches or not. But if you have not
the right spirit you will not be happy, no matter what you have.




A SERMON FOR THE BOYS


A teacher said the other day that ninety boys out of every hundred who
fail in grammar schools and high-schools smoke tobacco. He says also
that boys who smoke are nearly all unruly and disobedient in school. And
he says again, that boys who get their lessons well and stand high in
grammar-schools take lower marks in high-school if they begin to smoke
in high-school. This ought to be enough to make any boy stop and think
before he begins to smoke, for it shows that it not only hurts a boy's
mind, but his morals also.

I think the reason most boys take up smoking is not because they like
it, but because their schoolmates do it, and they want to be one of "the
crowd." When you boil that down it means either that a boy wants to be
smart, or else he has not courage enough to stand alone; that is, he is
a coward.