and you know,
"So may we in bonds of love,
Each living creature bind,
And make them gentle as a dove,
If we are only kind."
There is something very attractive about a kind man; and we should be that, for we live in lands where Jesus has been heard of, and He has filled the earth with kindness.
A street-car line was held up once in Brooklyn, the city with its roar and busy bustle, all because a kitten had got on the rails. In China, they would not have bothered, but we have learned to be kind, to be friends even to animals.
"C" means courtesy, the behaviour of a lady and gentleman in heart and home and street.
I met an Indian in the North land, which I have told you about in my talks in "Boucher" and "Betsy," whose name was John Everett.
He had been a pagan Cree, but his tribe were now Christian. His clothes were not the best and he was a poor fisherman, living in an Indian hut, but I could have put him into Buckingham Palace; and while a lot of things would have been new to him, he would not have disgraced himself, for he was a perfect gentleman.
Courtesy means being courtly; that is, fit to stand in a court and not be ashamed of your actions. Here is a definition I read of a gentleman, and which I pass on to you:
"A gentleman is clean inside and out—a man who looks neither down to the poor nor up to the rich; who is considerate of women, of children and of everybody; who is too generous to cheat and too brave to lie; who takes his share of the world and lets others have theirs; who can win without bragging and lose without squealing."
But I can add three more letters, just as sometimes you see men whose names have a lot of honours tacked on. John Smith, M.A., LL.D., C.M.S. So I would like to confer on you not only K.C., but also R.S.P.