Then, you will find that the object of becoming an able and efficient Boy Scout is not merely to give you fun and adventure but that, like the backwoodsmen, explorers, and frontiersmen whom you are following, you will be fitting yourself to help your country and to be of service to other people who may be in need of help. That is what the best men are out to do.
A true Scout is looked up to by other boys and by grownups as a fellow who can be trusted, a fellow who will not fail to do his duty however risky and dangerous it may be, a fellow who is jolly and cheery no matter how great the difficulty before him.
I’ve put into this book all that is needed to make you a good Scout of that kind. So, go ahead, read the book, practise all that it teaches you, and I hope you will have half as good a time as I have had as a Scout.
Chief Scout of the World.
INTRODUCTION
By LORD ROWALLAN
Chief Scout of the British Commonwealth and Empire
To those who are reading this new edition of Scouting for Boys for the first time it may be of interest to set down what information it has been possible to glean about the way in which the book was composed.
Owing to the kindness of Lady Baden-Powell, B.-P.’s private diaries and letters have been read, and from these some fresh facts can be given. Another source of information is the portion of the original manuscript now in the possession of I.H.Q. The story is far from complete, but we now know much more than was available even twelve months ago.