A Friend’s Influence Is Worth More than Gold

336 IMPROVEMENT ERA. Nor has he attempted baseness. Ignoble though he may have been with others, he has been all that is noble to me. My will has been subservient to him — my body and soul, never. They are my own, and subject only to my will and to God's." Her dignified serenity exasperated Decius. He advanced to- ward her. "By the gods, I will not be thwarted!" he cried. "You shall yield entirely to my will!" "Stop!" she commanded. "Advance no nearer." She drew a dagger from her robe. "This I took from the body of a Druid priest, knowing that if I fell into such vile hands as yours, it would be needed." "Give me the weapon, rash girl," he said. "Come no nearer!" she repeated. "My soul and body, thanks be to the true God, are pure. I will trust my unstained body to the earth that gave it, and my soul to Him who sent me here, before you shall approach me. When a Christian maiden must choose be- tween death and dishonor, she hesitates not one instant. Back, or I strike!" She pointed the dagger at her breast, and as she did so, her face was lifted to God as if to crave his blessing upon the deed she might be forced to do. With a muttered curse, mingled with a threat, the baffled libertine left the tent. (to be concluded.) A FRIEND'S
INFLUENCE IS
WORTH
MORE
THAN GOLD. It would be interesting to trace the influence of friendship in the careers of the successful men of this country. Many of them owed their success almost entirely to strong friendships. "Men are bound together by a great credit system," says a writer, "the foundation of which is mutual respect and esteem. No man can fight the battle for commercial success single-handed against the world; he must have friends, helpers, supporters, or he will fail." "What is the secret of your life?" asked Elizabeth Barrett Browning of Charles Kingsley. "Tell me that I may make mine beautiful, too."
He answered: "I had a friend." — Success.