By VIOLET GLOAG (12J) Ann Street School, Dundee.

What are the Qualities which make a Good Life-boatman ? ONE of the most essential noble qualities that make a good life-boatman is that of bravery. His is not the bravery of the ordinary man who, to save a drowning child, plunges into the water, regardless of the fact that he himself is unable to swim ; his is rather the quiet heroism that recognizes the dangers, yet faces them with dauntless courage and determination. He has to earn his daily bread like other men, yet he is ready and willing to leave all, to make any sacrifices necessary to save unfortunate victims of the angry deep.

This quality of bravery is closely bound to that of unselfishness. He leaves, perhaps, a wife and young children, whom he dearly loves, to go out on the stormy, raging sea, in an attempt to save people whom he prob- ably does not know. Yet their cries are always ringing in his ears, making him forget about his quiet and peaceful life at his own fireside.

He will have to be a God-fearing man, a man who is not afraid to die, and puts his trust in God. He will then know that God will be his Pilot and will come to his aid in the time of anxiety and distress. Through- out his experiences on the raging billows of the tempestuous sea, he will be calm in the knowledge that the Christ Who walked on the sea is near him, too.

Having sailed the seas in all weathers in the course of his daily work—for most of them are fishermen—he acquires an un- rivalled skill in the handling of boats and an intimate knowledge of the varied conditions of the coast. To his intrepidity and cool courage he is, therefore, able to bring a very high degree of seamanship, an instinctive ability to do what is right in moments of supreme danger; for even to the finest life- boatman there must be moments in such a perilous enterprise when he involuntarily closes his eyes to the dangers menacing him.

In such a life of hardship, rugged strength and health are of vital importance. The constant exposure to wild winds, bitter cold and drenching spray would mean severe illness and perhaps death to one who was not hardened to it. It may be a stormy, misty night, the wind blowing a hurricane, the thunder rolling, the only guiding lights the flares of the distress signals and the flashes of lightning which burst at times from the bosom of enormous black clouds. Smothered with foam and drenched with spray, the salt water stinging his weather-beaten face, he toils on. Hunger and thirst he must endure with fortitude. He must struggle against and conquer the desire for sleep, even when his eyes are heavy and his limbs are aching with fatigue. He may injure himself so badly that he will, perhaps, have to suffer great pain, but he must be able to endure it.

Still he must go on with his work and obey commands as though this mishap had never occurred.

In all tests of endurance, leading sportsmen have discovered that to keep a healthy mind in a healthy body, temperance is of great importance. It has been proved that alcohol, while it heats the body for the time being, leaves it finally colder than at first and lowers resistance to disease. Temperance, then, must be looked for in any good life- boatman, for a man whose mind was clouded in any way by drink would be unfit for such a task or for cool, considered judgment and rapid decisions in emergencies.

A good life-boatman, then, must be a strong, healthy man, full of quiet courage and unflinching determination, temperate in habits, skilled in seamanship. His courage must be founded on trust, a trust that keeps him calm yet decisive in a crisis. We thank God that there are such men in our land.

We honour their heroism and the Royal National Life-boat Institution which makes possible their work of rescue..