First Lessons in Life 65 



A boat says to him : 



"Keep in harmony with the Law and I 

 am your swift and willing servant. But if 

 you take your hand off that sheet in a gale, 

 or forget to ease my sail to that cat's-paw in 

 the wind, I'll dump you overboard." 



A boat never talks for the pleasure of hear- 

 ing her own voice. She means it, and it is 

 not necessary to repeat it. One ducking is 

 enough. 



The love which a boat inspires in a boy is 

 not quite like any other. It is more com- 

 plex and broadens his mental and spiritual 

 horizon in proportion to its complexity. 

 He may love a horse, or a mule, or a dog 

 simply for his own sake. 



A boat inspires all this and more. He 

 soon learns that a boat has a soul born of 

 the union of Labour with Nature. Though a 

 boat is made of wood and nails and rope and 

 cotton, the putting together of those pieces 

 by human hand and brain gives it the im- 



