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 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
Good temper can be attained by a boy who wants to have it. 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 used, like smoking, by boys who want to try to show off how manly they are, but it only makes them look like fools. Generally, a man who swears is a man easily upset, who loses his head in a difficult situation.
He is not, therefore, to be depended upon.
You want to be quite undisturbed under the greatest difficulties; 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 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 wearer’s sleeve, “with which an offender was so washed that a man would scarce hear an oath for a week.”
CAMP FIRE YARN NO. 22
SELF-IMPROVEMENT
Religion - Thrift - How Scouts Make Money
How to Get On
HINTS TO INSTRUCTORS
This camp fire yarn opens to instructors a wide field for the most important work of all in this scheme of Boys 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-EDUCATION, that is, what a boy learns for himself, is what is going to stick by him and to guide him later on in life far more than anything that is imposed upon him through “instruction” by a teacher.
This is true of Religion as of secular subjects. The work of the teacher, or Scoutmaster, is merely to encourage him in his effort and to suggest the right direction for it.
The boy is naturally inclined to religion, but to instruct him in the Points which may appeal to the adult has often the result of either boring him off it or of making him a prig.
A sure way to gain his whole-hearted realization of God is through Nature Study, and of his Christian duties through the Scout’s practice of Good Turns, the Missioners’ Badge work, etc.
SUNDAY SCOUTING.— In Christian countries Boy Scouts should, without fail, attend church or chapel, or a church parade of their own, on Sundays. The afternoon walk might then be devoted to quiet scouting practices, such as “Nature Study” by exploring for plants or insects, observing animals or birds; or in town or bad weather visiting good picture galleries, museums, etc.; also “Knight Errantry,” doing good turns by collecting flowers and taking them to patients in hospitals, reading newspapers to the patients and so on. Sunday is a day of rest; loafing is not rest. Change of occupation from the workshop to the fields is rest; but the Sabbath is too often a day of loafing, and, morally, made the worst day in the whole week for our lads and girls. Combine with the instruction of your Church the study of God in Nature, and the practice of good turns on God’s day.
SELF-IMPROVEMENT.— Much distress and unemployment results when boys have been allowed to come to manhood without any trade at their command. They have little with which to earn a living or make their spare time interesting. it is here that the Scoutmaster can do invaluable work for the boy, by helping him to map out his future, and by encouraging him to take up hobbies and handicrafts.
