The fourth rule is worthy of meditation and prayer; “When you attain that which you have desired, you shall think more of the kindness of your fortune than of the greatness of your skill.  This will make you grateful and ready to share with others that which Providence hath bestowed upon you; and truly this is both reasonable and profitable, for it is but little that any of us would catch in this world were not our luck better than our deserts.”  I shall omit the lesson in arithmetic to-morrow and have, instead, a lesson in life and living, using these four rules as the basis of our lesson.  My boys and girls are to have many years of life, I hope, and I’d like to help them to a right start if I can.  Some of my many mistakes might have been avoided if my teachers had given me some lessons in the art of living, for it is an art and must be learned.  These rules would have helped, could I have known them.  I am glad to know that my pupils have faith in me.  When I pointed out a nettle to them one day, they avoided it; when I showed them a mushroom that is edible, they accepted the statement without question.  So I’ll see what I can do for them to-morrow with these four rules.  Then, if we have time, we shall learn the lines of Mrs. Higginson: 

  “I know a place where the sun is like gold,
    And the cherry blooms burst with snow,
  And down underneath is the loveliest nook,
    Where the four-leaf clovers grow.

  One leaf is for hope, and one is for faith,
    And one is for love, you know,
  And God put another in for luck—­
    If you search, you will find where they grow.

  But you must have hope, and you must have faith,
    You must love and be strong—­and so,
  If you work, if you wait, you will find the place
    Where the four-leaf clovers grow.”

CHAPTER XXXI

MOUNTAIN-CLIMBING

Mountain-climbing is rare sport.  And it is sport if only one has the courage to do it.  We had gone to the top of Vesuvius on the funicular railway; but one man decided to make the climb.  We forgot the volcano in our admiration of the climber.  Foot by foot he made his way zigzagging this way and that, slipping, falling, and struggling till at last he reached the summit.  Then, fifty throats poured forth a lusty cheer to do him honor.  He was not good to look at, for his clothing was crumpled and soiled, the veins stood out on his neck, his hair was tousled, his face was red and streaming with sweat; yet, for all that, we cheered him and meant it, too.  He acknowledged our applause in an honest, simple way, and then disappeared in the crowd.  He was not posing as a heroic figure, but was just an honest mountain-climber who accepted the challenge of the mountain and won.  In our cheering we did just what the world does:  we gave the laurel wreath to the man who wins in a test of courage.