of the knees and the friendship of Jesus are full of strength and courage. And the watchword is: "Fear not! Surely, I will be with thee!" Write it on your pennant, young man, as you go forth into life. The brave youth who is on friendly terms with God does not whine about his chances. Like the vikings of old, he longs to "take heaven with the wind in his face. So with the book in your left hand and your right hand holding that of the dearest of Friends, and with your watchword flung to the breeze, meet your opportunity, brave-hearted youth, resolved to win out. THE HANDICAP Never you mind the crowd, lad, Fancy the world a hill, lad, Look where the millions stop; You'll find the crowd at the bottom, lad; There's always room at the top. TH Chapter IV THE HANDICAP In which it is shown how One can HE best beloved of the kings of Judah was Josiah. He came to the throne at eight years of age and immediately "began to seek the Lord." At twelve he undertook the extirpation of idolatry, "breaking down the altars and the groves and beating the graven images into powder." At eighteen he addrest himself to the repairing of the Temple. In one of its storerooms a dust-covered Bible was found, which Shaphan the scribe recognized as the long-forgotten "Book of the Law.” Then followed the most memorable revival in the history of Judah; the covenant was renewed and the Passover kept; "and there was no Passover like that from the days of Samuel the prophet." So reigned Josiah the beloved, who "did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and turned not to the right hand Lor to the left." When he died, at the age of thirty-nine, the singing men and singing women spake his praises; and "the goodness of Josiah" is a proverb to this day. All this is the more remarkable by reason of the fact that circumstances were so decidedly against him. If ever a man was handicapped it was this man, as we shall see. Heredity was against him. There was bad blood in his veins, and "blood tells." His father was Amon, who "did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord"; and his grandfather was Manasseh, whose name was a hissing and a byword. Nevertheless, Josiah was a good man. We are all heirs of our fathers, whether they leave a "last will and testament" or not. There are those who inherit millions; God help them! For there is no position more difficult to fill wisely than that of a rich man's son. But, however the probate court may adjudicate the will, there are some things which our forebears of necessity leave us. They leave us a physical inheritance. You can scarcely meet two friends on the street without one saying, "He is the very image of his father"; and the other, "Yes, but he has his mother's eyes." They leave us a mental inheritance. Our habits of thought are marked out by those who have gone before us. The brood of the skylark sings; so do the children of the poets. It was vain for the father of Blaise Pascal to lock up his mathematical instruments; nature had pointed the lad's eyes toward the stars. They leave us a moral inheritance. All others may fail, this never. Sin is the constant factor in human life. "We're a' John Thompson's bairns." Nor is there a calculable difference in the bequest. There are some who inherit such vices as inebriety and sensuality; vulgar vices that leave their mark patent in sodden flesh and bloodshot eyes. But who shall say that these are less fortunate than those who inherit the more respectable vices, such as envy, avarice, and |