How Girls Can Help Their Country. Baden-Powell Agnes

      The body responds very readily to proper care and attention. In fact one may have the kind of body that she wishes, if a beginning is made in youth, and a plan persistently followed. The joyful exercise of vigorous outdoor games gives the finest type of training to the body, and at the same time the player enjoys the fun. To be happy and merry has a good effect itself on the body, while being angry or morose actually saturates the body with slow poisons. The body and mind are very closely related. Things that are good for one are good for the other. A girl who develops a strong agile body, at the same time improves her brain. A girl with weak, flabby muscles cannot have the strength of character that goes with normal physical power. It has been said, that "health is the vital principle of bliss, and exercise of health."

Be Helpful

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      To make others happy is the Scout's first wish. When you come home from work or school turn your thoughts to those you love at home and try to see what you can do to lighten their burdens or cheer them. It is not beyond the power of a girl to make home peaceful and happy. Perhaps there are little ones to think of. They are quick to copy and every good action and kind word of yours may have an effect on them through their whole lives.

      Do a Good Turn to some one every day. That is one of the Scout laws. Tie a knot that you will have to untie every night, and before you go to sleep think of the good turn you did that day—if you find you have forgotten, or that the opportunity has not arisen that day, do two next day to make up for it. By your Scout's oath you know you are in honor bound to try to do this. It need be only a small thing. Help some one across the street or show him the way to the place he wishes to go. Aid a person overburdened with packages, or pick one up that has dropped. Any little thing of this sort will count.

Habits

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      "'Tis today we make tomorrow." One of our wisest men has said that each one of us is a bundle of habits. We are so made that once we perform any act, that particular thing is ever afterward easier to do. We tend to do the things we have already done. By selecting the right things to do and always doing them, we actually are making our destiny. Each one of us has her character made by her habits. Habits are repeated acts, and we may choose what our habits should be by choosing our acts. As Scouts we choose to be happy, loyal, helpful girls. As we practice the Scout laws they become a part of us.

Modesty

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      Girl Scouts have often been complimented for their modest bearing. One does not hear them talk about what they have done, or what they are going to do. They just do the thing and say nothing about it. They go about their business or pleasure quietly and gently, and never draw attention to themselves unnecessarily by behaving noisily and talking or laughing loudly in public. They should be particularly careful of this when in the company of boys or men. Girls and boys should be comrades and should never do anything to lose the respect of older men and women.

      Girls of good feeling should be especially careful to be modest in dress and deportment on social occasions. Unfortunately many girls who are perfectly innocent and unconscious, cause comment and are the cause of improper feelings being aroused among their companions. Girls should not risk, by their manner of dress or method of dancing, bringing temptation to others. It is easily possible for a girl to exert an excellent influence upon her friends by setting a proper example.

Reading

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      Wherever you go you will have the choice of good or bad reading, and as reading has such a lasting effect on the mind, you should try to read only good things. If you find that you are tempted by reading rubbish, it is easy to stop doing so. Once you know what your fault is you can fight it squarely. Ruskin says, "All your faults are gaining on you every hour that you do not fight them."

      The thing is, when there is danger before you, don't stop and think about it—the more you look at it the less you will like it—but take the plunge and go boldly in at it, and it will not be half as bad as it looked, when you are once in it. This is the way to deal with any difficulty in life. If you have a job, or if any trouble arises which seems too difficult to meet, don't shirk it—just smile, and try and think out a way by which you may get successfully through with it. Read in Æsop's Fables how the old man advised his son that it was easy to break a bundle of rods, but only if you took them one at a time.

Economy

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      More women are engaged in housekeeping than in all the other professions and employments combined. This is a difficult profession and requires knowledge and training, if good results are to be secured. Housekeepers need to have a plan, and especially a budget of expenses. One of the chief duties of housekeeping consists in seeing that there be no waste of any kind. The efficient housekeeper prevents a waste of food, of light, fuel, and of every other item. The wise individual gives special care to preventing a waste of time on the part of herself and others. The real orderly Girl Scout has a place for everything and keeps everything in its place. She has a time for performing each of her duties and does it at that time.

Thrift

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      It seems easy to learn how to spend money, but it is an art to learn how best to spend. Scouts gain experience by being allowed to purchase for the company, also by keeping the accounts, and they should always keep their own accounts neatly. We have to keep accounts when we grow up, and it is well to get into the way of measuring our expenditure from the first. You will remember that one of the Scout laws is to BE THRIFTY. The girl who begins making money young will go on making it as she grows older. It may be difficult at first, but it will come easier later on, especially if you earn money by hard work. If you try to make it only by easy means you are bound to lose after a time. Any number of poor girls have become rich, but in nearly every case it was because they meant to do so from the first. They worked for it and put every penny that could be spared into a savings account. The history of the majority of the world's greatest millionaires is that they began life without a dollar. To become a first-class Scout a girl must have a certain amount in the savings bank before she can have the honor of receiving her badge. By saving only two cents a week at least a dollar a year is saved.

Employment

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      "Stick to it" the thrush sings. One of the worst weaknesses of many people is that they do not have the perseverance to stick to what they have to do. They are always wanting to change. Whatever you take up, do it with all your might, and stick to it. Besides the