"A scout is cheerful. He smiles whenever he can. His obedience to orders is prompt and cheery. He never shirks nor grumbles at hardships."
"Mark Tapley," in Martin Cuzzlewit, was a big-hearted, simple man who believed in being cheerful. He liked cheerfulness so much that for the most part it came very easy to him; but he was ambitious for a stronger and more thorough-going cheerfulness, which would carry him over difficult obstacles, through dark times and hard places. So he put his will into his cheerfulness and took it seriously, which is a ting that many people don't know enough to try to do. Such people think that cheerfulness is something light and easy-going, full of laughter and jokes that just tumble out of your mouth without any effort; it is true that this one kind of cheerfulness, but not the only kind, and not the best kind. Probably Mark Tapley would not have understood what we were talking about, if we had told him that is cheerfulness had its roots in courage, patience and good conscience; but his cheerfulness could never have had the strength to persist through discouraging and depressing influences unless all these other good things had been alive inside of him.
When everything is pleasant and comfortable around us and we are having a good time, it is easy enough to be cheerful; when other people are doing what we like and giving us our own way, it is easy enough to have a smiling face; but when things are going against us, and we are required to give up what we care for most, then it is not small matter to keep on with our duty cheerfully, and we feel the need of a groundwork of strength such as Mark Tapley had in him.
On course, in one sense, we can't be really cheerful if we are doing what we don not want to do; and therefore cheerfulness in obedience to orders implies that we should really want to obey even when the job to be done is particularly disagreeable to us. In other words, our sense of duty and satisfaction in performing it must be great enough to overbalance the unpleasantness of our task. This means courage and patience, -- courage to overcome our personal disinclination, and steadfast patience to keep on under adverse circumstances until our duty has been fully done. When we can act in this spirit under trying conditions, our cheerfulness will have a secure foundation; but anybody can see that unless a man had a good conscience his cheerfulness might be marred at any time by fear of being found out, or even by self-reproach. The chiding of conscience may be successfully smothered for a long time, and the conscience itself may be dulled so that it no longer troubles us; but no one can count upon immunity of this kind as a permanent thing, and a bad conscience may rise up and confront us at any unexpected moment and undermine our courage when we are most in need of a stout heart.
I knew a man once who had lived an evil life for a long time and finally changed and reversed his course completely; but, even after he had lived an upright life for years, his courage was weakened and depressed by the habit of an evil conscience which he had acquired in the past. It was a serious disadvantage to him; for, when he was accused of wrong-doing of which he was innocent, the old habit of bad conscience made him appear guilty and even feel as if he were guilty, when he knew that he was innocent.
When we have been out for a day's hike in the country, there is nothing more delightful that the spirit of good cheer that we feel as we sit or lie around the campfire, refreshed by the evening meal, and sing our songs, listen to stories, and talk over the events of the day.
All this is good, and we should be profoundly thankful for the good times, the good health, and the good friends that come along with it; we should, however, not only value our own enjoyment but also the opportunity it gives us to contribute something to the enjoyment of the others. As every man should take his full share of work to be done, so every man should take whatever opportunity may be afforded him of contributing to the good cheer of other people. Thus, if we get the chance, we must not only listen to the others but tell a story or sing a song ourselves.
There is a word which is often misused and which means living together or uniting together in the enjoyment of life. "Conviviality" is a thing to be honored and practiced as a source of infinite refreshment among friends. There can be no conviviality without cheerfulness; and, as was said in the chapter on courtesy, cheerfulness of heart and manner are both necessary to give grace an effectiveness to courtesy. The union of dignity and cheerfulness unlocks many doors; and, if we care to trace it to its source, we will find it springing originally from a good conscience, courage, and patience.
The scout's smile is not only connected with his manners, but with his conscience, his endurance,
and his strength of heart.