Then the next member in each boat was passed over to the other, and so on, till the whole starboard side of the Zephyr was manned by Butterflies, and the larboard side of the Butterfly by Zephyrs.

“Ready—­up!” said the coxswains, as they proceeded to get under way again.

Thus, with the two clubs fraternally mingled, they slowly pulled towards the nearest shore, while the band played its sweetest strains.  The spectators still lingered; and as the boats neared the land, they were greeted with repeated cheers.  Then, side by side, they pulled slowly along the shore, within a few rods of the lake’s bank, till they reach the Butterflies’ house, where they all landed.

And thus ended the famous boat race, over which the boys had been thinking by day and dreaming by night for several weeks.  The occasion had passed; and if it was productive of any evil effects in the minds of those who engaged in it, they were more than balanced by the excellent discipline it afforded.  They had learned to look without envy upon those whom superior skill or good fortune had favored, and to feel kindly towards those over whom they had won a victory.  It was a lesson which they would all need in the great world, where many a race is run, and where the conqueror is not always gentle towards the conquered—­where defeat generates ill-will, envy, and hatred.

“A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another,” said Jesus—­not only love one another when the sky is clear, and the waters are smooth, but when the clouds threaten, and the stormy sea lashes with its fury; not only when the arm of friendship and kindness holds us up, but when all hearts seem cold, when all hands are closed, and all faces frown upon us.  It was this divine command that the circumstances of the boat race tended to exemplify; and I am sure that both the conquerors and the conquered were better prepared for the duty of life than if they had had no such experience.

I do not mean to say that every boat race is a good thing, most especially when it is made to be a gambling speculation by staking money on the result—­only that this one was, because those who conducted it made it subservient to the moral progress of the boys.

“Well, Frank, I am glad you won the race,” said Tony, with a smile which testified to his sincerity.  “Fortune favored us at the bridge, and gave us the opportunity of winning the honors.”

“And the profits too, Tony.  Fifty dollars is nothing to us now,” added Fred, with a laugh.

“Thank you, Tony,” replied Frank.  “You are so noble that you almost make me regret we won.  But, my dear fellow, you have won a greater victory in your own heart.  I can envy you the possession of such noble feelings.”

“Pooh, Frank!”

“I am sure I don’t value the victory, because it has been won over you.”

“We trained ourselves to feel right about the matter whichever way the race went.”