The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-09-07
The First "No !" is the Thing

twelve years of age, and he has improved
his water privileges when he has been in
the country, so that he is very beautiful
swimmer. take little pride in his
swimming, for taught him how to do it,
l am delighted as 1 see his long, graceful
stroke, now with arms and body and
legs In a straight line darting forward,
now with broad sweep Of arms and swing
OF legs that seem to move themselves
beneath the surface. When teaching
him told him to watch the frogs and
swim as nearly like them as possible. If
any one wishes to see swimming that
would be perfection in human being, let
him observe frog as he makes his dive
into the water and then note his stroke as
he glides away. Tom has caught the
motion, and he is the most frog like swim
mer that l ever saw.
Tom s father and mother were anxious
that he should know how to swim. His
mother herself, [ must say, does not love
the water, and swimming would be out
of the question for her if it could not be
acquired on dry land, but like sensible
woman, she has done what she could to
have her boys and girls learn the art
AS soon as they have become old enough
to learn she has offered then rewards to
make them at home in the water.
The family is in the country now beside
beautiful lake. The inducements for
the boys to be in the water are very
many. And what fun is there to boy,
like the fun of good swim on a summers
day The danger is that the boys will
do too much of it. So it is that Tom has
had restrictions placed upon him in the
matter. In the very hot day when the
water is warm, believe the rule for him.
is only once day; when the weather is
cooler he must not go into the water so
often.
My grown up readers may think this
all simple thing-to go in swimming
only once day, when fellows hot and
the day is hot" but Tom knows, and all
my boy-readers know that the limitation
is one that demands all boys courage
and constancy to abide by. 1 am happy
to say that my nephew Tom has been
faithful to the restriction, though sorely
tempted at times.
He was telling me yesterday his ex-
perience in the matter. He said that, in
the first of the season, the boys were very
persistent in their persuasions for him to
swim with them oftener than he was
permitted to go. Come, Tom," they
would say, eve are all going in"
NO" Tom would answer, " I cannot;
father does not wish me to 60 in more
than once a day"
But he won't know any thing about
it; come along"
That DON make any difference. I'm
not going" And he would turn away
That sort of conversation occurred several
times. But said Tom to me, they
do not ask me any more now, for they
know it is of no use, and they let me
alone"
commended Tom, of course, on his
obedience and resolution, but I took it as
an opportunity to impress on him great
lesson of life, one that he was learning in
this very experience of his-that the first
step of resistance to temptation is the
one that costs the most, and which, once
taken, makes all the rest easy. If Tom g
companions had seen the slightest hesita-
ton on his part they would have piled
him with double earnestness and with
probable success. If Tom had complied
once with their solicitations they would
have made easy work at any other time,
and Tom would have found it almost i'm
possible to resist. But having tried it
two or three times and found him i'm
movable, they rested upon the fact that
the thing could not be done, and ceased
attempting it, They soon took it as a
settled thing, and as matter of course,
that Tom would not disobey his father in
his swimming, and now they do not think
even to urge the invitation.
Every boy or girl is subject to tempta-
tons Of one sort or another from compan-
ions. Some one may tell me that boys
and girls ought not to have playmates or
friends who will tempt them. Well,
then you must take them out the world
l think. and Toms father and mother
think, that it is better for boy or girl
to be fortified with good principles than
be made weak by a vain attempt to
shield them wholly from the enticements
of evil. The great thing is for boy to
meet temptation boldly, frankly, and
at once, with "Nol' which has mean
ing in it. Some boys will say No." but
it is in such half hearted way that the
tempter knows that it means half &" Yes. Z"
This simply gives an invitation for a