It generally begins with smoking. They think it fine to smoke, so they
suck and puff at cigarettes, partly because these are cheap, and
partly because a pipe would make them sick.
The reason why half of them do it is because they are arrant cowards,
and are afraid of being laughed at by the other boys if they don't do
it. They think themselves tremendous heroes, while in reality they are
little asses. Then they like to use swear words because they think
this makes them appear tremendously ferocious and big. Also they think
it the height of manliness to tell smutty stories and to talk dirt.
But these things don't say much for the boy who does them. He
generally curls up and hides them directly a man is present. He only
produces them for swanking in the presence of other boys, This shows
that he is not really very proud of his accomplishments, and the boy
who has a sense of honour in him knows at once that such things are
against his conscience-law and he will have nothing to do with them.
This often puts him in a difficult position when among boys who are
showing off, as they will be ready to jeer at him; but if he has
honour and pluck--in a word, if he is a true Scout--he will brave it
out and, as a result, he will come out the only real man of the party.
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