"THE STRENUOUS LIFE"

Mistaken notions of the true meaning of this famous doctrine. — As exemplified by President Roosevelt it does not mean a noisy running up and down the earth, a life without repose, but an orderly life, organized to save time and to get the most out of living. Mr. Roosevelt's wonderful capacity for work and play. A pen picture of the man. Some anecdotes of his athletic feats. His wide range of reading. — Breaking the rule that Presidents shall not leave the country. - The trip to Panama, sailing November 8, 1906. "The strenuous life" in the tropics. Inspiring the men on the canal with a new patriotic determination.

"I WISH to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life-the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach the highest form of success, which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who, out of these, wins the splendid ultimate triumph."

- THEODORE ROOSEVELT. "The square deal," "the big stick," and "the strenuous life" are the three phrases which President Roosevelt has embodied before the world. To

mention them is to call to the mind's eye the sturdy figure of the man who coined them. Some people, however, seem to regard him as the champion of a restless and fruitless activity, of a nervous, noisy, senseless running up and down the earth, and of a life without repose and without reflection; a votary of St. Vitus.

As a matter of fact, no active life could be more methodical, more orderly, than the President's. He keeps himself under the strictest discipline. He never smokes; his days are carefully planned and divided.♦ He is regular in his eating and sleeping, in his work and, in his play. But he has not a minute to lose or waste. Time is priceless to him. He has use for all there is.

It is only by organizing his life that he has been enabled to bear so easily the burdens of power. They are burdens which have crushed some men. He has thrived under them. He has worn joyously the cares of the Presidency which have embittered other chief magistrates. Yet he has received more callers, entertained more guests at his table, read more books, written more letters, made more speeches, gone on more tours, and indulged in more pastimes, than any other President.

His capacity for work is the envy of his countrymen. They never hear that he is too tired or sick to keep an engagement or meet an emergency. He stands before the world an example of rugged strength. In height he measures five feet nine inches. Nature was not generous to him in any way. Physically, he had to make himself what he is. His head itself is shaped for combat. Beneath a broad, full forehead, crowned with brown hair, his blue, near-sighted eyes look out keenly above the short, straight nose with its heavy nostrils, fitted to scent the battle afar. Between a pair of thick lips gleam the teeth in massive jaws which can snap like a spring trap. The neck is a short but sturdy supporter of the head, and rests upon athletic shoulders, which fit into the splendid, arched chest, whose fortysix inches are worthy of a gladiator's pride. His hands are thick and short, and expressive of nervous strength. The thighs of his short legs are sinewy, and the calves are like those of a pedestrian in training. Even his feet, which are large, suggest the strength of the man, and he stands like one well anchored. His walking has become one of the recognized terrors of White House hospitality. An old Har

vard classmate, who had just come to Washington to take an office under the administration, joined him in his favorite afternoon tramp. After trudging breathlessly at the President's heels over a long and exhausting course, their path brought them to a pond. Night was falling, and the President, mischievously choosing to take the shortest way, placed his money and his watch in his hat, and plunged into the water. The new subordinate dutifully followed his chief, but while shaking his clothes on the other side he did venture to ask why such a damp route should have been taken. "Whát difference does it make ?" the President asked. "It was the quickest way, and a little wetting does no harm."

Another novice, who needed to be broken in, was made to scramble up a forty-foot bank after the President. It was a steep and difficult climb. No sooner were they at the top than the President said, "Let's go down."

“And, pray, what did we come up here for?" the green beginner asked.

"Just to see if we could do it," was the reason sufficient to the President.

Once, walking along the shore of the Potomac, the