3. Ample intellectual resources afford a constant reserve. Ignorance is always at a disadvantage. Most of the problems which men meet are simplified and made easy by fuller information, by acquaintance with related subjects. It is marvelous how almost every item of knowledge sooner or later becomes directly serviceable; and how, if not immediately used, it contributes indirectly to help one in his work. A New York capitalist recently said that his college education had been of constant service to him in meeting men, by enabling him to feel that he was their intellectual peer and at no disadvantage in point of culture or discipline. He thus had confidence in taking steps or making decisions where he would otherwise have been in doubt.

There can be no question that people have greater confidence in a leader and hold him in higher esteem if they are sure of his mental equipment. Thorough

training, then, broad culture and information, are a constant reserve which give a man power in every department of service.

4. Executive ability constitutes an important element. It is interesting to observe the differences among men in this regard. Some work with great rapidity and for many hours at a time; their powers of accomplishment are wonderful. Others can do but little; the limit of their working capacity is quickly reached. There are few important positions which do not at times call for ability to do a large amount of work in a short time. Such conditions are not favorable to good work. But speed is indispensable; there is no time for reflection or delay; the opportunity will soon be past; the best possible use must be made at once of the time afforded. An editor, for example, finds it necessary to write on an important matter just before the paper goes to press; a lawyer has to

make a brief, or prepare to try a case, on very short notice; a preacher or a statesman must speak on an important occasion with little time for preparation; an author must furnish an unusual amount of copy within a limited period; an officer in a great corporation is unexpectedly called on for a statement or estimate covering large amounts. In these and multitudes of other cases a man's opportunity comes and is quickly gone; and his value depends upon his capacity for rapid work, for prolonged effort. If this has been tested and proven it becomes to him a reserve power, enhancing the esteem in which he will be held.

One's college days ought, at least, to lay the foundation of this power. No one believes in cramming; hurried and superficial preparation of a lesson is only to be condemned. But the ability to work rapidly, to prepare a lesson thoroughly in a short time, is one of the

most desirable results of a college training. It ought to be attained as early as possible in one's student life. It stands in sharp contrast with the easy-going procrastination which creeps upon too many of us unawares.

5. It would be a serious omission should I fail to add that an intelligent and unwavering faith is an important element in one's reserve power. Faith in one's self, in one's faculties and powers and their ability to respond to the demands which will be made upon them, is right and necessary. It is not o'erweening confidence or conceit, but a calm assurance of one's strength. It is simply trusting one's intellectual powers and relying upon them for their necessary service, just as one trusts his eyes or his ears and knows that they will do their proper work. Faith in others is also right. Not that we are to put ourselves in the power of strangers, or neglect proper precautions; but simply

that we need to trust the men with whom we work and that mutual confidence and interdependence are necessary and promote our peace and efficiency. Faith in [ truth, faith in righteousness, faith in a higher Power which makes for righteousness, faith in a heavenly Father, who loves and cares for his children and who will not desert them in their times of stress and difficulty, contributes, as nothing else can, to one's reserve strength. It was this faith which gave calm assurance and irresistible vigor to Cromwell and his Ironsides, to Luther as he nailed his theses to the church door in Wittenberg, to Savonarola, to John Knox and to every champion of justice and freedom. There is nothing higher or nobler in one's education than to learn the power of a living faith. It is like awaking to one's possibilities and resources. It enables a man to make the most of himself and of his life, to inspire confidence and bring out the