144 PERSEVERANCE.

when he first goes aloft, how timidly the
bravest feel their way; how bravely the most
timid mount the dizzy mast after awhile!
And then, which is the better sailor, will de-
pend not so much upon their animal courage,
as upon their common sense, and their habit
of reasoning with themselves.

The first plunges
at once, and would
he persevere, and
think, and reason
with himself, he
would keep ahead
all his life; but he
seldom does, and ©
for that reason is
often outstripped
by the self-distrust-
ful but persevering.

=== The second feels his
‘way, gathers confidence, and by little and little
begins to overlook danger, to forget himself,
and to see nothing but one great object be-
fore him, duty.

Take another example. A five-barred
gate is before yous You are on horseback,