12 THE ACORN With patronizing contempt he scorns the man of earnest, thoughtful purpose, who sees his goal far. before him but is willing to pay any honest price to attain it content to work day by day unceasingly, through storm and stress, and sunshine and shadow, with sublime confidence that Nature is storing up every stroke of his effort, that, though times often seem dark and progress but slight, results must come if he have but courage to fight bravely to the end. This man does not live in an air-castle; he is but battling with destiny for the possession of his heritage, and is strengthened in character by his struggle, even though all that he desires may not be fully awarded him. The man who permits regret for past misdeeds, or sorrow for lost opportunities, to keep him from re-creating a proud future from the new days committed to his care, is losing much of the glory of living. He is repudiating the manna of new life given each new day, merely because he misused the manna of years ago. He is doubly unwise, because he has the wisdom of his past experience and does not profit by it, merely because of a technicality of useless, morbid regret. He is living in an air-castle. The man who spends his time lamenting the fortune he once had, or the fame that has taken its winged flight into oblivion, frittering away his golden hours erecting new monuments in the cemetery of his past achievements and his former greatness, making what he ever was ever plead apology for what he is, lives in an air-castle. To the world and to the individual a single egg of new hope and determination, with its wondrous potency of new life, is greater than a thousand nests full of the eggs of dead dreams or unrealised ambitions. Whatever keeps a man from living his best, truest, and highest life now, in the indicative present, if it be something that he himself places as an obstacle in his own path of progress and development, is to him an air-castle. Some men live in the air-castle of indolence; others' in the "air-castle of dissipation, of pride, of avarice, of deception, of bigotry, of worry, of intemperance, of injustice, of intolerance, of procrastination, of lying, of selfishness, or of some other mental or moral characteristic that withdraws them from the real duties and privileges of living. Let us find out what is the air-castle in which we, individually, spend most of our time, and we can then begin a reaction of ourselves. The bondage of the air-castle must be fought nobly and untiringly. As a man spends his hours and his days and his weeks in an air-castle, he finds that the delicate gossamer-like strands and lines of the phantom structure gradually become less and less airy; they THE ACORN 13 begin to grow and firmer, strengthening with the years, until, at last, solid walls hem him in. Then he is startled by the awful realization that habit and habitancy have transformed his air-castle into a prison from which escape is difficult. And then he learns that the most deceptive and dangerous of all things is the-air-castle. What's the Use. "Well, Tom, are you going to the show Friday night?" called out Jim Jackson as they passed out of German class. Tom immediately looked sober, and a perplexed look came over his face as he answered doubtfully, "O-I suppose so." Poor boy, this troubled look was caused by a girl. It had been just three hours and fifteen minutes since he had written this little request: "May I have the privilege of taking you to the Opera House next Friday to see 'The Merchant of Venice?'" and no answer had come yet. "Perhaps she is already engaged," he thought. "I wish I had not written it now, but" he relieved himself, "Maybe she has not been able to open it yet." He took a book and tried to study. But study he could not. Again a thought, "I wonder where she lives," and, "I wonder what she thinks of me." With these tormenting thoughts the dismissal bell rang, "O happy bell!" he thought. Almost at a run he started for the door, but suddenly stopped, for there, surrounded by a crowd of girls was Alice. He was just going to cut for the back door, but too late, she saw him and smiled. This gave him courage, so he tried to advance like a soldier, in perfect order, but he could not. His knees hit together so persistently that it put him out of step. He was so uneasy and excited that he knew his hair was shaking uncombed, while she was cool and composed. He was about to pass and say nothing about the note but study he could not