The Triumphant Life of Theodore Roosevelt edited by J. Martin Miller

6o THE LAUNCHING OF A MAN
desires and his purposes. His lack of muscular powers caused
him to suffer throughout his boyhood days, in comparison
Avith his schoolmates and companions.
With the will power that has carried him over so many
obstacles, Theodore resolved to overcome his impediment of
a delicate frame. He turned his effort and time to developing
the strength which Nature had denied him and which he so
much desired. He went about this task systematically. He
was out of doors in the open air continually. He exercised
by means of walking and horseback riding, and other physical
exercises. We have in this robust man to-day an example of
what determination and a systematic course of physical culture
will do for a delicate young person.
At school Theodore Roosevelt was from the first a good
student and a model scholar. We have read of many great
men who were dullards at school. It is recorded that General
Grant, who graduated in the class of '44, was almost at its foot,
and that Walter Scott, the great novelist, was most stupid at
school. Neither could apply himself to a book. They devel-
oped great talent, however, later in life. They began to be
great men at about the age that Theodore Roosevelt was
when he entered the White House as the nation's Chief Exec-
utive. Theodore Roosevelt, however, was a bookworm from
his earliest days, and his devotion to study was inspiring for
his fellow students.
A LOVE STORY
An interesting romance is told of Theodore's early life.
He became acquainted with Edith Carow, a girl of his own
age. She was a fellow student at school and belonged to his
same social set. A most charming romance continued between
the two from the time they were mere children until he