--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Bennett, Fred L. W. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 25 number: 12 published: 1922-10 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Fred L. W. Bennett, "The Drunk", *Improvement Era* 25, no. 12 (October 1922): 1082–1096.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera25012unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera25012unse start_page: 1082 end_page: 1096 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1922-10) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera25012unse publication_year: 1922 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1922, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Drunk The Drunk By Fred L. W. Bennett He was about middle age and of medium height and, dressed as he was in overalls, a casual observer would have taken him for an honest workman. As he appeared to want to speak to the proprietor of the establishment with whom I was talking I stepped to one side, thinking it was one of his men seeking an order. "Oh, don't go away," said the newcomer, "I want to talk to you, too." He seemed a little nervous and incoherent but not conspicuously so. Then he whispered something to my companion that I did not catch, and he replied very promptly: "You are drunk!" "Yes," was the simple acknowledgement. "Where did you g*et it?" was asked. "From Bill' Jones," was the instant reply. (Jones is not the real name.) "Just come out of jail, haven't you?" was the next inquiry, which was answered by another simple and unhesitating "yes." "Well, I shall give you nothing," said the business man. "You would only get drunk again." Although there was something about the fellow that seemed to convey a hint of better days and ejven refinement, in a vague sort of way, I don't think I have fever seen a human being so degraded as he. I have read Count Tolstoi's account of the beg- gars at Moscow before the Revolution and of the beggars in the Holy City, but I doubt whether any of them had become more dehumanized than the specimen before me. No doubt the liquor showed him up to the worst disadvantage. Seeing that we were both young men, and my companion, in particular, was a very robust fellow, the man started other tactics. "I want to get some money for a boxer," he mumbled. "He is to fight— (the name was not distinct) — and is out of work with nothing to eat — give me a quarter." He kept asking for a quarter or "the price" after every sentence like a parrot, and the light from his bleery eyes and the smell of the rubbish he had been drinking was enough to make one sick. Not with a view to getting information but as an idle whim, I asked the fellow what had brought him to his present plight and if he had always been in that condition. To the as- THE DRUNK 1083 tonishment of us both the wretch suddenly pulled himself together. Looking us squarely in the face he said: "As a little boy I wore a big, white collar and went to Sunday school. My father kept a big clothing store, and I had all the comforts and luxuries a child should have. At the age of fourteen I was sent away from home to school. I got in with a set of boys who smoked, and, of course, I had to smoke, too. We smoked a lot for boys of our age and thought our- selves regular fellows. Then one day one of the boys bought a bottle of whisky which we drank in the hills. It seemed great fun, and we naturally got more the first opportunity. With several of those boys I was eventually sent home as a bad boy, but although father got me into another school I never made good. I could not give up my old habits. So I was sent home again and shortly after ran away from home and never returned. In the years that have passed I have been through a great deal and each (experience has dragged me a little lower until you see me as I am today, a miserable outcast." There was absolute silence. I looked at my companion and he had turned slightly pale. The man who had been spieaking surveyed us with the critical eye we had bestowed upon him when he first accosted us. "But who cares?" he asked, almost in a shout. "Who canes? I am one of the failures, that's all! I lost out whilst others conquered." His tone was ironic now. He was no longer on the defensive although he continued to depreciate himself. "I am so foul that society does not want me any longer and yet does not know what to do with me," he hissed. "You call yourselves gentlemen, I suppose, but the difference between us is due only to an accident. If you had had the same temptation I had, you might have besn in the same position. "Curse your respectability. It is only a cloak to hide your selfishness and cowardice. You think of nothing but self whilst prating about your charities and benevolence. I would not have been where I am today, grovelling at your feet, if it had not been for this cigarette and that cursed whisky!" He smashed the cig- arette he was holding to the floor and stamped on it savagely. "You let vultures poison the bodies and corrupt the minds and morals of the young people in the name of personal liberty! Bah! Liberty to drive people to hell — that's what they have. But who cares? Who cares anyway for the opinion of an old drunken jail bird like me? I am not fit to be on the streets much less tell gentlemen how to run the government. — Goodbye and you!" The fellow seemed to have worked himself drunk again. He staggered out of the store and into the street. We stood 1084 IMPROVEMENT ERA looking after him for a full minute as men in a dream. Then, extending my hand to the merchant I murmured something and went out. Two blocks away I saw the drunk again talking to some one and as I hurried past hoping that I would not be recognized, I heard him say, "Mister — won't — you give me — the price." My Golden Hours When I see my children awaken To the light of another day, With rosy cheeks and shining eyes And hurry away to play; When I hear their merry laughter Outside among the flowers, 'Tis then I'm supremely happy — These are my golden hours. When I watch them greeting their daddy With kisses and clinging arms, My cup of happiness overflows And life has a million charms. When one has been sick and smiles again, I praise all the Unseen Powers For sparing again that joy of joys — These are my golden hours. And when at night they are safe in bed With their touseled heads in sight, I thankfully kneel by their sleeping forms And kiss them all good night. Then daddy comes in to join me there And the kisses fall in showers, Ah, never was mortal so blest as I — These are my golden hours. R 2, Shelley, Idaho Agnes Just Reid. Kindness One of the greatest gifts, to my mind, Is the gracious gift of being kind. Whether at home, in business, or school, Make it a habit, make it a rule To greet each one with a pleasant smile; Show thoughtful interest, you'll find it worth while. At the critical age of a tender young mind, Suggestions and sympathy from one who is kind Can do more towardjshaping a useful career Than harsh criticism, or forcing with fear. Who would teach others, must learn self-control. Kindness, with firmness, enlightens the soul. Ruth M. Penrose Just Commoir Things J. E. Greaves, Ph. D., Prof, of Bacteriology and Physiological Cheniistry, Utah Agricultural College I Common things, unless understood, are not appreciated, as is so well illustrated by the discovery of the diamond fields of South Africa. The story runs that in 1867 a child of a Dutch farmer, Jacobs, found a pretty pebble in a stream in the neighborhood of his home near Hopetown. Be brought it to his mother who was impressed by its brightness. Later when in conversation with a visitor at the farm she casually remarked that her son had recently found a beautiful stone. Schalk van Nilkerk, being a thoughtful, intelligent man, expressed a desire to see it, and after some search it was found lying on the ground just outside the house where it had fallen when the child had used it last as a plaything. Van Nilkerk was impressed by its beauty and offered to buy it. Mrs. Jacobs laughed at the idea of selling so common a thing, and at once gave it to the visitor, who put it into his pocket and later turned it over to a trader with the request that he try to ascertain its nature from any trustworthy mineralogist. It was taken to Colesburg and then dispatched by post to Dr. Atherstone of Grahamstown. It was considered of so little value that it was sent by unregistered mail, sealed in an ordinary envelope. Word was later received that it was a diamond, and this plaything of the child sold for $2,500. This discovery caused a great sensation and everyone com- menced to search through their backyards for diamonds. The search was often crowned with success, and we are told that one farmer was surprised to find diamonds actually imbedded in the walls of his house which had been built of mud from a nearby pond. Most individuals on strolling tthrough a field, meadow, or forest on a warm spring day have been amazed by the number and varieties of animals crawling, hopping, running, and flying about. The observant individual has also noted the number and variety of plants which cover the soil. While contemplat- ing this seething mass of life one may recall that the number of species of catalogued animals is nearing the millions, that the species of insects belonging to one family are as numerous 1086 IMPROVEMENT ERA as the countable stars in the heavens on a clear night, that the number of specimens of plants are measured by the tens of thousands, and that the invisible forms of plant and animal life are even more numerous than the visible. While thus con- templating the great number and variety of Irving forms upon the earth one involuntarily exclaims, "How common is life." But let us examine just a few of these many forms of life and see then what the exclamation becomes. We all recognize that there are no two men exactly alike. The rancher tells us that he has no two cattle alike, the sheep- herder that he has no two sheep alike, the botanist that there are no two leaves or blades of grass alike, the entomologist that there are no two insects alike, and now the biologist tells us that the proteins composing the tissues of one animal are dif- ferent from the proteins composing the other animals. Or in other words, individuality goes back to the proteins making up the tissues of each specific cell. True, all proteins are com- posed of the same nineteen blocks, amino-acids, but these are arranged in different combinations. At first sight it may ap- pear that the number of possible combinations is not sufficient to meet the needs of all, but we need only remember that there are only twenty-six letters in the alphabet ; yet the number of possible words which can be constructed from them are in- finite. In a like manner the number of possible proteins which can be constructed from their building blocks, the amino-acids, are limitless. Three seeds placed side by side do not appear far differ- ent, but we plant them in the soil. Soon they are fanned into active life by the kind rays of the sun. Three tiny plants appear above the ground. Each has sent its tiny roots into the same earth and collected from it the same elements. All by means of their tiny leaves have gathered the same rays from the sun, all have gathered the same gases from the same atmosphere. But one produces a weed, poisonous alike to man and animal; the second a beautiful flower, its parts symmetrically built and touched with the most delicate colors which nicely blend into each other, and the surrounding air1 is laden from it with a deli- cate perfume. The plant from the third is slower in maturing than the others, but it also grows in the same soil and in the same air but produces a delicious fruit which may far surpass any of the delicacies produced by man. Each seed has produced a very different plant and each plant is producing miracles viewed even in the light of modern science. With their leaves they are gathering light and carbon dioxide, with their roots they are drinking in water. All three are brought together in the cell, the laboratory of the JUST COMMON THING9 1087 master chemist. Here the nicely vibrating rays of ultra violet light force carbon dioxide to part with its oxygen to take up water and become a sugar. This condenses with itself and we have starch, woody fiber, and the many other carbohydrates. Still other parts mysteriously take up nitrogen, and we have protein, the basic constituent of living protoplasm. Each plant when grown to maturity produces seeds which are characteristic of the specific plant. These are constructed so they can withstand adverse conditions which would readily kill the growing plant. Moreover, many of them have nice adaptations by which they can travel to new soil, as all in- dividuals rejalize who have watched the wind pick up the dandelion seed and carry it from place to place. Nor do they depend alone upon the wind, as all can testify who have strolled on an autumn day through a weed patch and noted the number and variety of seeds which were clinging to the clothing. The miracles of life are more intensified when we turn from the plant to the animal. Sufficient study will give one a knowl- edge of man-made engines. But how about the living dynamo? Has man yet ever constructed anything half as complicated or half as marvelous as the little red ant? The living animal is often likened to a magnet, a dynamo, or an engine. But this similarity is only superficial. A magnet grows by picking up iron, but the living cell picks up dissimilar substances and transforms them into living tissue. An engine gets from 10 to 15 per cent of the energy of its fuel in a useful form. The liv- ing cell obtains from 20 to 100 per cent of its energy in a useful form. The man-made engine can use its fuel only for the production of energy. The living engine can not only liberate energy in the form of heat, light, and electricity, and use it in productive work, in laughter, or in play, but it also builds from its fuel the very engine. The combustion is not a rapid conflagration in the main firebox which soon reaches its height and quickly dies down. But the combustion in the liv- ing organism occurs in each minute cell, and the energy is nicely liberated to meet the needs of the living engine. This combustion we used to say was due to the cell, but recent ad- vances in chemistry and biology have made it possible to push back the mantle which surrounds the cell and to gather some of the tools with which life acts. With these tools, the enzymes, scientists today are producing wonders. But how different are their action while in the living cell as compared with the dead qell or the test tube of the chemist! In the living cell each re- action is nicely timed to meet all other reactions and to meet the requirements of the living animal. Old tissue is torn out; new is made to take its place. The foods are systematically loss Improvement ERA fragmented so the energy is nicely liberated to meet the needs of the living organisms. However, when the master of cere- monies, life, departs each enzyme works independent of the others. They pull and they tear until they destroy their very home. It is as if they are vying with each other to see which can do the most damage. During life they are like a group of dancers, each in step with the other, but when we separate them from the music, life, each dances independent of the other, and we lose that marvelous rhythm which is characteristic of life. Hence, after examining living plants and animals we again exclaim, "How common," but we involuntarily add, "How mar- velous." MjoreoVer, such an examination begets in the mind of man a reverence which is akin to worship, and we can readily understand how Dr. Hodges of Princeton could have said in all solemnity, just before the performing of an experi- ment, "Boys, remove your hats. I am going to ask God a question." Logan, Utah Nicotine for Rats and Men By Will H. Brown In a well known city are two manufacturing plants. One makes a rat poison, sure to kill, on every package of which are these words: "This is Pure Nicotine." The other establishment manufactures cigars and cig- arettes, also containing "pure nicotine," but not advertised as poison. One product kills rats and the other kills men and boys. One kills quickly, the other slowly. A five-year old boy found a fragment of a cigar in a discarded coat, swallowed it, and died within a few minutes. Tobacco is killing men and boys all over the world, by the slow process of nicotine poison, thus prolonging the suffering, instead of making short work of it, as! in the; case of rats. "Why not have a law requiring that every package of cigarettes be labeled as pure poison — likewise every cigar, and every plug, or sack of tobacco? If this were done, the tobacco men would complain of depression in their business more than they are doing. In order to stimulate sales there has been such a slashing of prices on cigarettes as to arouse practically every organ of the trade to a serious discussion of the subject. The Tobacco Record says the situation has become so critical through price-cutting that it has "so thoroughly demoralized the trade in at least three states (men- tioning Wisconsin and Minnesota), that there has been serious talk among the dealers of taking such ill-advised action as to join hands with the enemies of tobacco in seeking the passage of laws that would prohibit the sale of cigarettes in their respective states. Oakland, Cat. . I ' ', j I ' ; ' Doing Common Things in an Uncommon Way A study for the Advanced Senior Class M. I. A. 1922-23 By Dr. George H. Brimhall, President Emeritus Brtigham Young University Lesson IV — Believing Belief is the product of evidence, interest, and will. There is a psychological truth wrapped up in the saying, "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." We are often deceived as to the honesty of our beliefs. We find ourselves believing in the direction of our interests right against evidence, and by applying a little common thinking to our believing we find that interest is the predominating element in some of them. Three Kinds of Believing 1. Believing with a reasonable doubt. This kind of be- lieving is unfinished and may be called hope-believing, as hope temporarily fills the place of evidence not yet produced. This incomplete believing is unsafe as material upon which to base an important decision. It should always be put on the waiting list as an applicant for a leading role in the drama of our lives. Courts of justice bar it as unfit for any part of a final verdict. 2. Believing with the possibility of a doubt. Here the mind is in a state of unsatisfied certainty. The possibility of error somewhere causes a hesitancy, and shadows of doubt hover in the mind, and we are at the point where we can say, "In all probability this is true, but there is a possibility of its not being true." This form of belief is strong, but not safe for great issues. The possibility of a doubt is a bar to a capital punishment ver- dict. 3. Believing without the possibility of a doubt. At this point belief is crvstalizing into knowledge. Doubt has all van- ished; its place has been filled by conviction of its existence. Neither mist nor shadow remains, and one can say, "I cannot doubt in this case." On such a belief only can important issues be safely decided. Special Fields for Uncommon Believing I. Believing against immediate interests. It is uncommon for employers to believe that profiteering on the toil of men 1090 IMPROVEMENT ERA should be reckoned with, as a form of human enslavement, and it is very uncommon for employees to believe that loafing on the employer's time should be dealt with as down-right dis- honesty. 2. Believing in doing what is right and letting the con- sequences follow. This high grade, uncommon believing is specific; it is not a blanket form of believing, it is a conviction that fits the events of each hour. The person who believes this believes it for himself now. Now, now all the time. Not simply sometime, and for somebody else; he believes it without the possibility of a doubt, i.e., he cannot doubt if he tries. 3. Believing in ourselves in the midst of failure. What this means is wonderfully set forth in Kipling's "If." The whole poem is worth a place in the memory of anyone who believes in doing common things in an uncommon way. When courage dies, we are dead within ourselves. Self encouragement is an indis- pensable tonic for the stricken soul. 4. Believing in humanity in spite of its iveakness. To disbelieve in humanity is to disbelieve in oneself. To doubt that the world is getting better is to show an ignorance of his- tory and a doubt in destinv. It would be difficult to find a group of more disobedient children than that of the first familv. (See Pearl of Great Price. Book of Moses 5:13-27.) A much larger percent of the inhabitants of the earth are worthy of a place in the ark than was saved in the davs of Noah. Where would we find a citv containing less than five good people? 5. Believing in God's promises when their fulfilment seems impossible or delayed. Holding the belief in their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, made it possible for the Israelites to raise large families. Their belief in the promised gathering has held them intact as a race during the long years of their dis- persion while deprived of national existence. Holding to a belief in our blessings is part of holding to the faith. Counting one's blessings should go farther than remember- :^t; those we have, and have had; it should include a faith and a recollection of those officially promised to us. Firmly believ- ing in promises, even If it should not prolong life, will make it fuller and stronger while it lasts. 6. Believing that "virtue is its own reward." We may miss being rewarded for doing good, but we cannot fail to be rewarded by the good we do. 7. Believing that vice is its own penalty. We may evade being punished for our sins, but we cannot escape being pun- ished by them. 8. Believing that heaven-making is better than heaven- DOING COMMON THINGS IN AN UNCOMMON WAY 1091 hunting. A life of "Here am I, Lord," has much more spiritual enjoyment in it than one of "Where art thou, Lord?" 9. Believing that the only way to ever have peace is to stop preparing for tmr. Paved roads, good schools, public parks and reclaimed deserts are pathways to heaven. Battleships, big guns, army outfits, are highways to the other place. Questions and Problems 1. On what does our belief depend? 2. What is meant by believing beyond the possibility of a doubt? 3. Discuss the effects on our belief of finding fault (a) with persons, (b) places, (c) institutions. 4. Distinguish between belief and faith. Talmage's Articles of FtMth, Lecture V, pp. 98-104. 5. Discuss the possibility of the following statistics causing people to believe in "Mormonism" and yet still lack faith: For the year 1920 birth per thousand were: "Mormon" 38 United States 24.4 Marriages per thousand: "Mormon" 15.5 United States 9.5 Deaths per thousand: "Mormon" 9 United States 15 Divorces per ten thousand: "Mormons" 6 United States 11.2 6. What does heaven-making mean to you? 7. Relate the circumstance of Henry Ward Beecher being unusually corrected by Edward Bok, in Americanization, (Chapter 8), and tell how Mr. Beecher uncommonly rebuked immodesty of dress, (Chapter 8). Lesson V. — Desiring What Desiring is and Does Desiring is the soul's reach for enjoyment, and that reach may be low or common, or it may be uncommon or high. Com- mon desiring leaves us, at many points, on the border line of animality, where man is "sensual, carnal, and devilish." Un- common desiring lifts us to the borderland of Divinity in ful- filment of the Beatitude (Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God). Our desires reveal ourselves to ourselves. A man is as he thinks. A man is as he remembers. A man is as he imagines. A man is as he believes; but more still, a man is as he desires. A Classification of Desires Desires may be, as to their origin, placed in three groups: '1. Desires of physical origin. 2. Desires of intellectual origin. 3. Desires of habit origin. Physical Desires. The desire of physical origin (or body- 1092 IMPROVEMENT ERA born) are the natural appetites or cravings for physical pre- servation, growth and perpetuity. They are good servants but cruel masters. They are capabilities, without which we should cease to live; under which we would live basely, and over which we shall live gloriously. Intellectual Desires. Desires of intellectual origin include our ambitions for power, position, possession, and condition — the yearnings for the good, the true, and the beautiful, are among the highest desires. As the thinking, remembering, imagining and believing are constantly expanding, the desires of intellectual origin are constantly being modified and multi- plied. Every new belief brings with it some modification of an old desire or a newly created one. Increase of intelligence means extension and elevation of desire. Habit Desires. All artificial appetites, the desire for com- pany, relatives, associates, and friends, are of this type. The lone man on the island is fittingly made to say, "Society, friend- ship and love, I long for your charms, but in vain. O, had I the wings of a dove, how soon I would taste you again." The desire for locality comles in this class. So intense is this yearn- ing in some cases that, if not gratified, it causes physical decline and even death. Homesickness is no imaginative ailment. The desire for a return of the good old times is one of habit origin. The desire for recurrence of pleasurable experiences might claim admission into all three of these classes, but habit has the strongest claim upon it. Uncontrolled, it hurts happiness to death, and pursues joy to its destruction. Controlling our desires. Desiring beyond the Taw is all too common. Our first step then in control of desire is a mental refusal to desire beyond the law of righteousness. Desiring beyond this law is breaking the Tenth commandment, which contains the psychological essence of the four preceding ones. No one deliberately lies without coveting something. Stealing is always antedated by an unlawful desire. To desire sex rela- tionship out of wedlock is mentally robbing someone of chastity. Some Uncommon Desiring 1. Desiring to have righteous desires. Upon this desire is based the possibility of meriting the promises in the Beatitude, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteous- ness: for they shall be filled." 2. Desiring the power to control our desires. This desire is one of the ascending steps toward the rank of greatness. (See Proverbs 16:32.) DOING COMMON THINGS IN AN UNCOMMON WAY 1093 3. Desiring for faith. The faith that brings with it the comfort depicted in the 23rd Psalm; the faith that brings the assurance expressed in Job 19:25; the faith that enabled a veteran Latter-day Saint always to say in the face of seeming unfairness and dark misunderstandings, "God is just, and 'Mor- monism' is true." 4. Desiring to serve, (a) To serve God by yielding to him the obedience of confidence, as did the first man after the Fall. (See Pearl of Great Price, Book of Moses 5:6). (b) To serve humanity by helping persons and institutions with kind words and courageous work. 5. Desiring that other peoples' joys may be equal to those I enjoy. That they may have just as good possessions, just as much popularity, just as good opportunities, just as good everything, as I have. 6. Desiring to do common things in an uncommon way. Desire to make the self uncommon where it is common, by being at one's best and doing one's best. Questions and Problems 1. In making a psycho-analysis of a person's character, which would be of most value, knowledge of their thoughts, of their beliefsi, or of their desires? Give reasons for your choice. 2. Which shows our character most, the kind of people with whom we associate or the kind with whom we like to associate? Why? 3. What is meant by taking a mental stand against letting a desire go beyond the law? 4. What does it mean to "hunger and thirst after dighteousness"? 5. Why would it be impossible for a person of impure desire to even desire to see God? 6. Which in your opinion is most desirable desire? 7. What uncommon thing did Edward Bok do to get women to read newspapers? (Chaper 10.) "^w. Lesson VI — Willing Explanation and Definition The word willing in this lesson is not a participle, it is a verb. It means something more than assent or acquiescence, or compliance. It means striking and holding to some purpose. It is more than purpose, it is purpose plus determination to execute or accomplish. It is the self, or I, commanding or directing the self as me. When one says "I will," it is equiva- lent to saying to himself, "you shall." Willing is free agency in action. Some Common Forms of Willing 1. Willing with an impulse. This is a method which char- acterizes an explosive will. Like the "hasty spark" that calls 1094 IMPROVEMENT ERA it forth, explosive willing is short lived. The explosive will never hesitates. It calls into lines the executive forces either to help, hinder, or hurt, on dangerously short notice. It waits not upon deliberation, but rushes off at the call of snap judgment. Willing from impulse is. uneconomic as it wastes times and energy by making retraction and reparations unreasonably neces- sary. 2. Willing without a sense of responsibility. This is care- less willing — a sort of half-hearted determination. The expres- sion, "I guess I'll do it," has behind it this state of mind, it indi- cates mental flabbiness. 3. Willing with an interest. There is a kind of common willing that is wed to some special interest, in which case real will is only fifty percent of the procedure. The sentence, "I will do it just because I want to", expresses the state iof mind in this kind of willing. 4. Willing with a habit. When a person can give no other explanation for a choice of action than that he is in the habit of it, it is plain that he willed with a habit, that the habit has him instead of his having the habit. 5. Willing with the crowd. Who has not had the I-will- if-you-will state of mind. This is a sort of social willing, lack- ing in courage. It is a kind of mental leaning on the other fel- low. In it there is a lack of erectness and self-rootedness that marks a strong character. 6. Willing for convenience. This form of willing is little more than wishing. It may contain intention, but real deter- mination is absent. Persons with wills of convenience will pay a debt if the bill is presented just when they have plenty of money, but at no other time, unless compelled. They will keep a promise if something does not make it inconvenient to do so. They are partly weak and partly wicked. 7. Willing against belief. This kind of selfish willing is not only common or low grade, it is contemptible. It is a form of self treason. One who does it needs reminding that " a king- dom divided against itself cannot stand." Self confidence is impossible where willing belief is permitted, though there may be in evidence as a substitute an abundance of self conceit. Uncommon Willing 1. Willing to claim no privileges at the expense of the rights of others. This determination has behind it a recognition of the truth that The road to weal Is the good square deal. DOING COMMON THINGS IN AN UNCOMMON WAY 1095 2. Willing to* subordinate ones will to a superior will. The very highest kind of free agency is the agency that can sub- ordinate itself with light and love and liberty. 3. Willing against material interests. A hotel keeper in California said, "I will vote for prohibition because I believe in it, though I know it will cut down my patronage one-half." This was a case of willing against material interests and revealed a character that lived above self -bribery. 4. Willing to fight doubt and foster belief; my belief in myself, in my fellowmen and in God. A resolution full of determination in this direction clears the way for the high and safe standing of one among his fellows and puts one in line for election to the favor of God. (See Compendium Gems, page 269). 5. Willing in the direction of honoring, sustaining, and obeying the law. We honor the law when we speak well of it. We obey the law when we conform to its provisions, we sustain the law when we advocate and help its enforcement. 6. Willing to overcome evil ivith good, (a) In the inner world by talking good thoughts when evil ones intrude, by recollecting the pleasant when unpleasant memories come, by turning to ideals in the presence of evil imaginations, by getting rid of doubt through business with belief, by escaping low desires then fleeing to high ones. (b) In the outer world, by turning away wrath with a soft answer, by smiling when things go wrong, by acting bravely when seized by fear, by giving more than half way to make peace with an enemy. 7. Willing to do less common willing and more uncommon willing. Of all mental operations, willing is the greatest. It is the apex action of the mind. The person of strong willing has the consciousness of being in the care and under the supervision of something safe. Questions and Problems 1. What kind of willing is a person guitly of who selfishly says, "I don't believe in it, but I'll do it anyway?" 2. Illustrate willing against material interests. 3. Under which topic in this lesson would the following best fit in? "Freedom's joy my soul shall thrill In yileding mine to Father's will." 4. What would you think of a marriage vow that contains the expres- sion, "I will try to be true"? 5. How much money could be borrowed on a note that read, "I promise to try to pay?" 6. Wherein does willing differ from intending? 7. What is your opinion as to the prevalence of a lack of confidence in the power to will effectively? 1096 IMPROVEMENT ERA 8. How does just trying to keep the Word of Wisdom affect the power to will? 9. Discuss the difference between willing strongly and being stubborn or obstinate. 10. In what particulars was Edward Bok an uncommon employee? (Chapter 11.) The Romanies By D. C. Retsloff A few weeks ago business forced us to drive along an un- familiar highway: the shades of night in our eyes and the chill of ocean fog in our marrow. Our automobile gave a heave like a working volcano, gasped half a dozen times, sighed dejectedly and stopped. When a reasonable amount of coaxing proved of no avail, we left her and wandered on, strangers in a strange land. An hour later as we rounded a bend, we saw the long flame fingers of a dancing fire in a eucalyptus grove. We left the road and stumbled over the uneven ground into a Gypsy camp. We asked for a bite to eat and offered to pay for the priv- ilege of sleeping under one of their pieces of canvas. Did they turn us away? No. The man to whom we spoke, took us to one of the tents and there a plump, dusky-eyed woman, with cheeks as smooth and brown as a winter russet, gave us dark bread, cheese and goat milk. Her big, looped, gold ear-rings swung against her blue- black hair as she smiled and showed two rows of even, white teeth. The skin on her round arms glowed like polished mahogany when the sleeves of her green blouse fell open as she tied her blue sash closer around her natural waist. After we had finished our meal, she took us to another tent. On a feather mattress under heavy blankets, we forgot our business worries, our tired feet and our stalled machine. Among the Romanies we slept and dreamed of the time when we can borrow a month from the office and roam the sunlit trails, smell the pungent odors from the camp fire and forget the clamoring city where men toil and sweat and cheat and hate. In the friendliness of the Romanies, camped under the eucalyptus trees, near the unfamiliar highway, we were again reminded of the working principles of the Golden Rule and we acknowledged that no matter what the race or color, the same milk of human kindness flows in all veins. San Diego, California