As if by a preconceived purpose to accelerate his sweeping mental changes the preacher that morning took his text from the Proverbs of Solomon, wherein he stated that wisdom is more valuable than gold or rubies. The speaker illustrated his sermon by showing the value of an education. He mentioned the happiness of the men and women who knew the structure of vegetation, of animals, and the laws which control their life. He mentioned cases of self-made men who had read good books and whose minds could walk with God through his wonderful natural creations. He spoke of the uselessness or curse of possessions which the owner cannot enjoy for lack of knowledge. He said that the discipline of obtaining wisdom was in itself of great value and that God promised riches, and honor to the man who would earn them. He also said that the Lord started many of us into life with nothing for the loving purpose of developing our capacity and inclination to know and enjoy more. The happiest boy is the one who makes his own toys. The application of the sermon brought forth the exhortation to read instructive books, to examine more closely the works of nature and the laws which control our being. "Learn something every day," said the preacher, and he closed with the quotation from Luther, "Not a day without learning another verse" ("_Nulla dies sine versu_"). The young farmer was an only son. But his parents had wisely kept him from selfishness and egotism. He had been taught to work and to be grateful for the necessities of life. He had a loyal disposition and loved his parents with a half-worshipful devotion. He had been contented, industrious, careful, and honest. His only pride seemed to be in the distance he could see and in the large burden he could shoulder or carry. He had left school because his father needed him on the farm and he had abandoned the expectation of further education. But on that Sunday he held a long conference with his mother and father concerning his ambition to be something more than a country farmer. He read to them the editorial which had so moved him, and tearfully said: "I want to be great like them! I must improve my mind. I must increase my skill. I must have more influence and do more good. I must get more wisdom and more understanding. This farm is too small a place for me. I will stay at home if I can, or as long as I can, but I must begin to study to-morrow, and never thereafter lose a day. God helping me, I will be something worth while." His parents, with sad hearts, saw the reasonableness of his ambition and gave their consent to his proposed education. He began to read selected books at home, but he soon saw the great advantage of academic instruction in some well-equipped institution. He attended a high school in a near-by village and an academy in another part of the country. He was the leader of his classes and a close student of languages and natural science. He had obtained a