THE YOUNG M 
 
 OF 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 A LECTURE 
 
 BY THE 
 
 HON. VICE-CHANCELLOR BLAKE 
 
 Toronto : 
 
 Printed and PuBi.rsHED i?y B. J- Hill, 79 Vonge St. 
 
 MDCCCLXXVI. 
 
Entered according to the Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year 
 one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, by Byron J- 
 Hill, in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture. 
 
THE YOUNG MEN 
 
 OF 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 A LECTURE 
 
 BY THE 
 
 HON. VICE-CHANCELLOR BLAKE 
 
 fi'^., S'^)Hu€l Hury^e.'pkKe ^f^r^/f/yj^ 
 
 PRINTED BY B. J. HILL, yg VONGE ST. 
 
 MDCCCLXVI. 
 
'i^ 
 
 FACE. 
 
 At the eighth Annual Convention of the Y. M. C. 
 Associations c*" ^he Provinces of Ontario and Quebec, 
 held in the City of Montreal, September 29th, 1875, and 
 two following days, Mr. Crombie read portions of the 
 lecture "The Young Men of Canada," by the Hon. 
 Vice-Chancellor Blake. 
 
 This lecture Mr. Blake subsequently delivered before 
 a gathering of the young men in the lecture room of the 
 Association building. 
 
 The Directors were so impressed with the excellence 
 of the lecture, that at their regular Monthly Board 
 meeting a resolution was passed expressive of the good 
 which would result from its publication ; a copy of this 
 resolution being sent to Mr. Blake he kindly placed the 
 manuscript at the disposal of the Board ; of the lecture 
 the Board would simply say, Read it ! 
 
it 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 It would be difficult to iiiid in a compass so limited 
 so many lessons of rare excellence. 
 
 No one (young or old) can read them with- t bein 
 benefited. 
 
 g 
 
 In this busy age when men look for exhaustiveness 
 combined with brevity, a lecture in which these points 
 meet so happily will be all the more welcome. 
 
 The Board are pleased to be the medium through 
 which this lecture is placed before the public, and which 
 they hope ere long will find its way into every home in 
 the Dominion. ' ' . 
 
 ^^^^^^ , ; JOHN MACDONALD, 
 
 . . President Y.M.C. A. 
 
 Board Room, 
 
 t. 
 
 June 22, 1876. 
 
ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN 
 
 BY THE 
 
 HON. VICE-CHANCELLOR BLAKE. 
 
 [HERE is much that might be .said this evening 
 pleasing to the heart of the young men of Canada. 
 The country of our birth or of our adoption, with 
 its vast extent and varied beauty, presents to us all that 
 is needed to produce a race of hardy men prepared to 
 take their part in the great work of civilisation, and of 
 Christianising the world. The mind exultingly looks 
 forward to the future of the land so dear to us. We 
 desire to foresee what place will be filled by this no 
 mean portion of the western world, and what effect on 
 the nations of the earth will be produced by this vast 
 Continent with its common language, and its various 
 productions, capable of supplying all that is needed for 
 the wants and luxuries of its people. But I do not 
 intend to enter upon these considerations, nor even to 
 picture what we may fairly expect to see when that 
 relic of barbarism, the unreciprocal Chinese wall, which 
 nc)w separates with its notional division, the one part 
 
€ AN ADDJiESS TO YOUNG MEN. 
 
 of the hemisphere from the other, is demolished, and 
 the rich stores of the land be freely allowed to roll 
 Noith and South and East and West. There is no 
 law whereby rich and favoured lands sustain a people 
 worthy of the splendid provision which Providence has 
 made for them. Thus we leave the sunnv shores of south- 
 ern 'Europe for the bleaker and less favoured land to its 
 north where flourished our forefathers, men firm and 
 strong in mind and body who did, as do their descend- 
 ants now, rule the destinies of the world. The page of 
 history teaches us how complete may be the decline 
 and fall of Empires, and suggests to those who have at 
 heart the interest of their countrv, the careful consider- 
 ation of that which has in the past led to ruin, in order 
 that they may aid in guarding against the result thus 
 learned by this lesson of experience. Corruption and 
 eti'eminacy so gradually creep into a land, and are so 
 fatal in their effects, that they should be combatted 
 and uprooted without mercy. They sap the very 
 vitals of a people, that are by their malign influence 
 either blotted out of being, or are allowed to drag on 
 a miserable existence, the object of the scorn or pity of 
 other nations. 
 
 This is a work in which all can and should help. In 
 order to afford useful aid to the State, the man must 
 be prepared to take his part in the struggle ; and to 
 this end, education and opportunities must not be 
 neglected. Feeling the importance of this subject, I 
 venture this evening to address you principally on the 
 question, " The Young Men of Canada, as preparing for 
 Citizenship." Rest assured that in doing so I feel no 
 
AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. J 
 
 person needs more than myself any advice I may give. 
 I shall endeavour to be as plain and practical as possi- 
 ble, and shall, for the most part, give you the result of 
 my own experience, trusting that to some extent I may 
 be enabled thus to prevent, if it be but one, in some 
 matters, to escape this dear school, in which alone, as 
 says the jn-overb, fools will learn. It is a difficult task 
 to deal otherwise than in general terms with the sub- 
 ject, as the advice given in detail to those desirous of 
 instruction would depen*! to so great an extent upon 
 the particular occupation or profession for which they 
 may be about to prepare, and the position they desire 
 to fill. I am a iirm believer in the great value of 
 simple rules for the guidance of youth, in their prepa- 
 ration for the great battle of life, which we cannot too 
 early make ready to fight ; and am persuaded that a 
 few practical lessons drawn from every-day experience 
 will furnish beginners with aid in this struggle, to the 
 use of which they may be able to look back, as the 
 means of giving them a direction and purpose, without 
 which their victory would not have been gained. The 
 man of forty, now rapid in thought and quick in action, 
 may represent the schoolboy of thirty years ago, then 
 slow and thoughtless, who, by careful training, has 
 so subjected his powers that, like a well regulated 
 machine, they obey his behests ; and, application and 
 concentration, are followed by the determined carrying 
 <:»ut <3f his well matured plans. Each day there is 
 fjurely, yet almost imperceptibly, spun the cobweb so 
 easily broken, but to which, the daily threads being 
 added, you have e re long woven bonds, from which you 
 
$ . AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 
 
 seek hopelessly to burst. Tliat which we call i ,hit is 
 thus formed by the constant repetition of some act of 
 the mind or body, and therefore the vital necessity for 
 giving, at the earliest possible moment, a right direction 
 to our endeavours, so that we be not enslaved in the 
 iron fetters which drag us to the ground, but rather 
 weave a means of aiding in elevating ourselves above 
 the power of those snares which hold captive so many 
 of mankind. Habits have long roots, and the process 
 of eradicating them is both difficult and painful. 
 
 As years roll by the heedlessness of youth gives way 
 to the mourning over neglected opportunities, as we 
 find others stepping into places which we might, but 
 for our misspent time, have well filled ; or, as we feel 
 how inefficiently we pla}' our part in the position we 
 occupy, which, but for the same cause, would have been 
 performed to the satisfaction of ourselves and others. 
 Pursue not the course which will lead you in after life 
 to look back with regret at the bright promise of suc- 
 cess which has been dimmed by the dark clouds of 
 irresolution, half made plans and abandoned undertak- 
 ings ; but buckle on your armour like men, set before 
 you some ennobling, elevating object, as the earthly 
 goal to be reached, and strengthen mind and body, so 
 that naught may be allow^ed to overcome you in the 
 race which you are running. You know not the 
 positions which your fellow-citizens may call upon you 
 to fill. If we find, in aristocratic England, men from 
 the Chief Minister of the Crown downwards selected, 
 irrespective of the length of their purse, or of their 
 ancestral tree, we need not feel surprised that, in our 
 
AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 
 
 new country, the door to fame should be found wide 
 open. May integrity and ability ever be the passport 
 through its poi-tal. 
 
 It is, therefore, a matter of vital moment with us to 
 have our young men well fitted to fill the places so 
 freely presented to them, as fit objects of their ambition. 
 Let the grand object of your life stand out, so that 
 when dust returns t > kindred dust, it may need no 
 tablet to tell what you aimed to accomplish. Blemishes 
 will be found, as will be seen in the life even of the 
 best ; but it may have defects and still be far fi-om a 
 lost life. Early learn that life is real, life is short. 
 But a few years work — then, eternal rest. 
 
 Never forget the world is very large, and you are 
 very small. Cut down to the root conceit, and learn to 
 know your own ignorance. Remember, this is the first 
 step to knowledge. He who fancies he knows every- 
 thing knows nothing. Like the man in the valley, he 
 sees, as he believes, all the world within his contracted 
 horizon. When be climbs the mountain a short dis- 
 tance, he sees much before unknown to him, and so he 
 continues his ascent until there is disclosed to his view 
 a vast expanse before unknown, and extending far 
 beyond his reach. So it is with him who rises from 
 the vale of ignorance. 
 
 Let your starting point be the fact that, in nine 
 cases out of ten, the difl:erence between men is not 
 caused so much by the natural ability which the one 
 possesses, as compared with another, as by the deter- 
 mined work or study, which is found in the one and is 
 wanting in the other; and which overcomes the host of 
 
10 AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 
 
 difficulties, which, until grappled with, seem unconquer- 
 able. "The slothful man saith there is a lion in the 
 way ; a lion is in the streets ;" and, while he remains 
 at home mourning over this insurmountable lifficulty 
 in his path, the dilligent man is up and finds the lion is 
 but a chained dog, which in no way interferes with the 
 design he has in hand. - - 
 
 The well written essay, the well delivered address, 
 the well performed work, all repr sent, as a general 
 rule, the effect of labour and time spent in the develop- 
 ment of those faculties or powers which produce the 
 result we see and admire. There is but the one royal 
 road to such success, and by which all difficulties are 
 overcome — labour. Let this be deeply engraven on 
 your mind. 
 
 Give yourself the habit of taking up and accom- 
 plishing with vigour whatever you may be engaged 
 in. Do not be wasting your energy over many mat- 
 ters at the same time. " Whatsoever thy hand findeth 
 to do, do it with thy might." Never belittle your 
 work. Take both your hands to it, and do it. Do 
 not sit dreaming and wasting the precious hours in 
 reveries, but let the matter in hand be the one thing 
 to be accomplished until it is ended. Do it as well as 
 it can be done, and then off to the next — a whole man 
 to one thing at one time. There is great force in the 
 man of one book or one idea. I know not what mav 
 not be accomplished when the whole man is aroused 
 by one all pervading object. The world may still be 
 shaken by those with the zeal and earnestness of an 
 Athanasius, a Peter the Hermit, or a Martin Luther. 
 
AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 11 
 
 There is much truth in the saying of Goethe. " The 
 botanists have a class which they call ' Incompletae.' 
 The same may be said of mankind, that some of them 
 are incomplete, namely, those whose ends and aims are 
 not in keeping with their actions and achievements." 
 
 Cultivate diligently the power of " abstraction " 
 and " concentration," so that you may acquire the 
 habit which will enable you, amidst noise or turmoil, 
 to rivet the mind on the subject which is before it — 
 which will allow you, as it were, to close the shutters 
 to all outside influences, and to turn the eye inwards 
 and work out the problem in hand as if there were 
 naught to interrupt the employment. 
 
 The study of mathematics, and the diligent reading 
 of classics, without the aid of those glories of the 
 dilettante student, keys and translations, are great aids 
 to the strengthening of the mind in this respect. 
 
 " Perseverando " is a winning motto — never give up. 
 What another man can do you can do. Tt may take 
 you longer, and cause you much more toil, but it can 
 be done. Look at Sir Thomas Fowel Buxton as a 
 notable example of a man who acted up to this, and 
 see the noble work he thereby accomplished. 
 
 Bring your faculties to bear not only on your books, 
 but on your fellow men. Test the accuracy of what 
 you read in this way. Endeavour to find out the 
 counterfeit from the real metal. The former may look 
 well until tried, but the want of the true ring will soon 
 disclose to you what it is not. Thus learn at once to 
 bring into play your " observation." Keep your eyes 
 and ears open ; so that at all times you may be learn- 
 
12 AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 
 
 ing something in the great workshop of the world. 
 Seek to know the " how and why ;" determine to ad- 
 mire men not for what they have^ but for what they 
 are. Impress this firmly on your mind, lest the true 
 hearted and the good be forsaken for some "Tom 
 Noddy," whose only title to your friendship is, that an 
 ancestor left him a name or some money, neither of 
 which does he know how to use. 
 
 - Cultivate a'large " loving spirit " : o[)en your heart 
 to your fellow men on the same journey as yourself 
 Answer me not, "Am I my brother's keeper," but 
 study the parable of the Good Samaritan, and rather 
 say, by God's help I will go and do likewise. Show 
 a sympathy for them in their wants and undertakings, 
 and be not like a human oy.vter, closing youi* door at 
 the approach of all. - n .h > 
 
 Study ''moderation;" endeavour to eradicate bigotry, 
 so that you may, without prejudice, consider calmly 
 the views presented to you. A man may have much 
 " moderation " without sinking to what the world, in 
 both religion and politics, is pleased now to call " a 
 moderate man." This moderate man, as our experience 
 shows, often belongs to a class, the less of which we see 
 the better we like it. He clings to the skirts of all, 
 lest he should be deprived of any favours that may be 
 going from either side. His views are so " moderate " 
 that they may be pleasantly modified, so as to suit all 
 men and all occasions. Parasite-like he clings amiably 
 to every one willing to elevate him. There is no dis- 
 tinctive feature which you can attack, none which you 
 can admire. Rely upon it, this trading on so called 
 
AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 13 
 
 " moderation " is, however, soon found out, and ends in 
 the well-merited contempt which should always fall 
 upon so low a method of seeking to obtain success in 
 the world. 
 
 How well does good old John Bunyan deal with this 
 customer — as plentiful then as now. '* Mr. Anything, 
 also, he become a brisk man in the broil, but both sides 
 were against him, because he was true to his name. 
 Yet he had for his malapertness one of liis legs broken, 
 and he that did it wished that it had been his neck." 
 (" Holy War," p. 28.) 
 
 There are at present many worthy decendants of 
 the "Trimmer" family. How admirably does Macaulay 
 describe him who gloried in the appellation Viscount 
 Halifax. " He sneered impartially at the bigotry of 
 the Churchman and at the bigotry of the Puritan. He 
 was equally unable to comprehend how any man should 
 object to samts' days and surplices, and how any man 
 should persecute any other man for objecting to them. 
 In temper, he was what, in our time, is called a Con- 
 servative ; in theory he was a Republican. Even 
 when his dread of anarchy, and his disdain for vulgar 
 delusions led him to side for a time with the defenders 
 of arbitrary power, his intellect was always with Locke 
 and Milton. Indeed, his jests upon hereditary mon- 
 archy were sometimes such as would have become a 
 member of the Calf's Head Club, rather than a Privy 
 Councillor of the Stuarts. In religion he was so far 
 liora being a zealot, that he was called, by the un- 
 oliaritable, an atheist ; but this imputation he vehe- 
 mently repelled, and, in truth, though he sometimes 
 
14? AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 
 
 gave scandal by tlie way, in which he exerted his rare 
 powers both of argumentation and of ridicule on serious 
 subjects, he seems to Iiave V)een by no means unsus- 
 ceptible of religious impressions. 
 
 He was the chief of those politicians whom the two 
 great parties called Trimmers. Instead of quarrelling 
 with this nickname, he assumed it as a title of honour, 
 and vindicated with great vivacity the dignity of the 
 appellation. Everything good he says trims between 
 extremes. The temperate zone trims between the cli- 
 mate in which nien are roasted, and the climate in 
 which they are frozen. The English Church trims 
 between the Anabaptist madness and the papist 
 lethargy. The English constitution trims between 
 Turkish despotism and Polish anarchy. Virtue is 
 nothing but a just temper between propensities, any 
 one of which, if indulged in to excess, becomes vice ; 
 nay, the perfection of the Supreme Being Himself con- 
 sists in the exact equilibrium of attributes, none of 
 which could preponderate without disturbing the whole 
 moral and physical order of the world. Thus Halifax 
 was a trimmer on principle." ; . i^- ; -^ . 
 
 The fences of our country afford a pleasant place of 
 refuge for such gentry. The uncharitable might be 
 led to say that their deserts would be meted out to 
 them if a single rail were afforded them for a resting 
 place. Away, I say, with a system as dishonouring 
 to God as it is degrading to ourselves Let truth 
 never be sacrificed to expediency. Even peace pur- 
 chased at such a price is obtained at more than it is 
 worth. Be not afraid to express your views upon, and 
 
AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 15 
 
 by your acts to discountenance, such a coui*se of con- 
 duct. This may be done while you preserve a kindly 
 feeling to him who unthinkingly pursues this devious 
 path, or penitently forsakes it when the light beams 
 upon his former darkness. I beseech you whatever 
 else you may omit of what you hear to-night, carry 
 away with you and act upon the determination never 
 to let anything interfere with your fearlessly following 
 out the dictates of your conscience, although such a 
 course may be at variance with what expediency or 
 worldly wisdom would advise. Early learn the differ- 
 ence between a man and a weathercock, and exchange 
 not your manhood for the emblem of fickleness. I know 
 nothing we stand so much in need of to-day as an in- 
 dependence of thought and action begotten of the same 
 holy fear that actuated " the children of the captivity" 
 when demands were made of them by royalty, to which 
 their consciences could not submit. The king desired 
 to make it fashionable not to acknowledge God, and to 
 kneel down before any image he might set up. He 
 selected a lion's den and a burning fiery furnace as the 
 Coventry into which the disobedient were to be thrust. 
 Yet what honour did men then earn for their God and 
 themselves, by a casting of earthly consequences to the 
 winds, and acknowledging the despised " God of Dan- 
 iel " as He whom they were bound to serve. Fashion, 
 frivolity, wealth, place demand of the multitude that 
 they kneel down and worship them — a violation of 
 these demands is looked upon as an unpardonable of- 
 fence. The charmed circle is only open to those who 
 worship the image they choose to set up. The 
 
If AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 
 
 fingers of the hand upon thf^ wall plainly write thereon 
 '* tekel." To the worldling this is incomprehensible. 
 Let the Christian have power rightly to inter{)ret it so 
 that of him it may not be said : " Thou hast j)raised 
 the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and 
 stone, which see not nor hear, nor know : and the God 
 in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy 
 ways hast thou not glorified." I entreat of you to be 
 bold enough to form your own opinions, and to act 
 upon theui : never lose your individuality ; rise above 
 that abominable " fear of man which bringeth a snare ;" 
 find out what, to the best of your ability, you conceive 
 to Vje your duty, and do it; do not be squaring your 
 convluct by that of your neighbour ; take a higher and 
 better standard than the ever changing and never to 
 be de])ended upon morality of the world, and up to that 
 standard walk, whatever may be the consequences. 
 The opposition and sneers of the world, like the wind 
 against the well-rooted tree, should be but a cause of 
 strength in place of weakness. — Be not liAkewarm. It 
 is better to be hot or cold. Make your choice, and, 
 when that is done, let nothing interfere with it. 
 
 I cannot better enforce the need and benefit of dili- 
 gence in business than by quoting the following admir- 
 able view of the subject to be found in the last edition 
 ' of Dr. Talmage's " Around the Tea Table." 
 
 " We have long been acquainted with a business firm 
 whose praises have never been rung. I doubt w^hether 
 their names are ever mentioned on exchange. They 
 seem to be doing more business and have more branch 
 houses than the Stewarts or Lippincott's. You see 
 
AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 17 
 
 their names almost everywhere on the door. It is tlie 
 th-m of Push and Pull. They generally have one of ^.heir 
 partner's names on the outside of the door and the 
 other on the inside : "Push" on the outside and "Pull" 
 on the inside. I have found their business houses in 
 New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Boston, London, 
 and Edinburgh. It is under my eye, whether 1 go to 
 buy a hat, a shawl, or a paper of pins, or watch, or 
 leam of foolscap. They are in all kinds of business : 
 and from the way they branch out, and put up new 
 stores, and multiply their signboards on the outside 
 and inside of doors, I conclude that the largest busi- 
 ness firm on earth to-day is Push and Pull. 
 
 " When these gentlemen join the Church, they make 
 things go along vigorously. The roof stops leaking ; 
 ^, new carpet blooms on the church floor ; the fresco is 
 retouched ; the high pulpit is lowered till it comes 
 into the same climate with the pew ; strangers are 
 courteously seated ; the salary of the minister is paid 
 before he gets hopelessly in debt to butcher and baker; 
 and all is riglit, financially and spiritually, because 
 Push and Pull have connected themselves with the 
 enterprise. 
 
 A new parsonage is to be built, but the movement 
 does not get started. Eight or ten men of slow circu- 
 lation of blood and stagnant liver put their hands on 
 the undertaking, but it will not budge. The proposed 
 improvement is about to fail, when Push comes up be- 
 hind it and gives it a shove, and Pull goes into the 
 front and lays into the traces ; and lo ! the enterprise 
 iadvances, the goal is reached ! And all the people who 
 2 
 
18 AN ADDUESS TO YOUNG MEN. 
 
 had talked about the improvement, but done nothiii<( 
 towards it, invite the strangers who come to towzi to 
 go u|) and see owr parsonage. 
 
 *' Push and Pull are wide-wake men. They never 
 stand round with their hands in their pockets, jjs 
 though feeling for money tliat they cannot lind. They 
 have made up their minds that there is a work fur 
 them to do ; and without wasting any time in reverie, 
 they go to work and do it. They start a ' Life Insur- 
 ance Company.' Push is the President and Pull the 
 Secretary. Before you know it, all the people are run- 
 ning in to have their lungs sounded, and to tell how 
 many times they have had the rheumatism ; how old 
 they are; whether they ever had 'fits;' and at what 
 age their father and mother expired ; and putting all 
 the family secrets on paper, and paying Push and Pull 
 $200 to read it. ,,, 5- ^, 
 
 When this firm starts a clothing-house, they make 
 a great stir in the city. They advertise in such a strong 
 and emphatic way tha.t the people are haunted with 
 the matter, and dream about it, and go round the block 
 to avoid that store door, lest they be persuaded in and 
 induced to buy something thev cannot afford. But 
 some time the man forgets himself, and finds he is in 
 front of tte new clothing store, and, Ji-t the first glance 
 of goods in the shop window, is tempted to enter. 
 Push comes up behind him and Pull comes up before 
 him, and the man is convinced of the shabbiness of his 
 present appearance — that his hat will not do, that his 
 coat and vest and all the rest of his clothes, clean down 
 to his shoes, are unfit ; and before one week is past ^ 
 
AN ADDUKSS To YOUNG MEN. 19 
 
 boy runs up the stops of this customer with a ])asteV>oard 
 box marked ' From the clothing establisliiuent of Push 
 and Pull, CCD; " 
 
 These men can do anything tliey set their hands 
 to — publish a news|)a))er, lay out a street, l)uild a 
 house, control a railroad, manage a church, revolution- 
 ize a city. In fact any two industrious, honourable 
 men can accomplish wonders. One does the out-door 
 woi'k of the store, and the other the in-door work ; 
 one leads, the other follows ; but both working in one 
 direction, all obstacles are levelled before them. 
 
 I wish that more of our young men could graduate 
 from the store of "Push and Pull." We have tens of 
 thousands of young men doing nothing. There must 
 be work somewhere, if they will only do it. They 
 stand around with soap locks and scented pocket-hand- 
 kerchiefs, tipping their hats to the ladies: while, in- 
 stead of waiting for business to come to them, they 
 ought to go to work and make a business. Here is 
 the l^ddei' of life. The most of those who start at the 
 jbop of the ladder spend their life by coining down, 
 whilst those who stai-t at the bottom niay go up. 
 Those who are born with a gold spoon in their mouth 
 soon lose the spoon. The two school bullies that used to 
 flourish their silk pocket-hg^ndkerchiefs in niy face and 
 with their ivory-handled, four-bladed knives punch 
 holes through my kite— one of them is in the peniten- 
 tiary, and the other ought to be. Young man, the 
 war of life is up-hill, sind our load heavy, Better take 
 ofl' your kid gloves, and pateijt leathers, and white vest, 
 and ask Push witl? his stout shoulder and Pull with his 
 
to AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MKN. 
 
 stronf^ gi'ip to keep you. Energy, pluck, courage, ob- 
 stinate determination are to be cultivated. Eat strong 
 meat, drop pastries, stop reading sickly novelettes, 
 ])ray at both ends of the day and in the middle, look a 
 man in the eye when you talk to him, and if you want 
 to be a giant, keep your head out of the lap of induU 
 gences that would put a pair of shears through your 
 locks. If you cannot get the right kind of business 
 partner, marry a good honest wife. Fine cheeks and 
 handsome curls are very well, but let them be mere in- 
 cidentals. Let our young men select practical Wornen: 
 there are a few of them left, With such an one you 
 can get on with almost all the heavy loads of life, 
 You will be "Pull," and she will be "Push," and if you 
 do not get the house built, and the fortune established, 
 send me word, and I will tear this article up in such 
 small pieces that no one will ever be able to find it. 
 
 Life is earnest work, and cannot be done with the 
 tips of the fingers. We want more crowbars, and fewer 
 gold tooth-picks. The obstacles before you cannot be 
 looked out of countenance by a quizzing glass. Let 
 sloth and softliness go to the wall. But three cheers 
 for "Push and Pull," and all their branch business 
 houses!—" (Around the Tea Table) " p. 181 ! 
 
 Cultivate your memory. Eveii in this busy world 
 you can do so, no matter what the character of your en- 
 gagements may be. Take, if it cannot be more, but 
 one verse of the Bible in the morning, and learn it per- 
 fectly. It will be something for you to feed on through 
 the day. Weave it as a golden thiead, interspersing 
 all your work. 
 
AN ADDRKSS TO YOUNG MEN. 21 
 
 Be accurate and punctual. You have no more right 
 to steal a man's time than you have to steal his money. 
 
 Practice reading, meditation, writing and speaking, 
 so that you may become a full, exact and ready man. 
 
 See that you properly digest what you read, make 
 it your own, ponder over and weigh it. Have a set 
 purpose in your reading. The attendance from time to 
 time at associations where the members are calle<l upon 
 to s})eak and writo on various subjects is in this view 
 most useful to young men, as an opportunity is thus 
 given to put the reading for three or six months into 
 the shape of an essay or address, and an object to 
 stir you up to read with care and to retain what you 
 do read is thus afforded. Lord Brougham, no mean 
 authority in such a matter, strongly counsels the at- 
 tendance of young men at debating societies and urges 
 them to learn there as soon as possible the use of their 
 tongues. It is worthy of note that his first rule to a 
 speaker is preparation; his second rule, preparation; 
 and his third rule, preparation. That, he says, was 
 the key to his success. 
 
 Exercise, I beg of you, the utmost caution in the 
 selection of your companions, both living and dead. 
 Im])erceptibly you imbibe their views. It is much 
 easier for you to descend to their level, than you will 
 find it to ascend when your eyes become opened to the 
 injury you have received by such contact. Shun re- 
 ligiously aught found in them that is immoral or 
 impure. Seek companions from whom you can learn, 
 and seek to enjoy their society, not because of some 
 passing jest or song, which wiles away the time, but 
 
22 AN ADDRKSS TO VOUNG MEN. 
 
 because of those lasting and useful qualities wh^ch will 
 aid in building up your own character. There are the 
 two distinct chxsses, and a young man has no right, 
 with his eyes open, to make any mistake in the choice 
 before him. Never read an immoral book. Pollute 
 not your mind with images and ideas which will recur, 
 although you strive earnestly to obliterate them. Make 
 and keep the same resolution as to infidel [mblications. 
 You have not the time to peruse those works which 
 have over and over again refuted the sophisms with 
 which the unwary are led astray. Why should you 
 allow your mind to dwell on anything written against 
 the sovereignty of Him, whom you are enabled to call 
 your Father, and whose tender love seeks to win you 
 more completely to Himself With what pleasure and 
 reverence we read the roll of Old Testament worthies, 
 who, through faith in Jehovah, were, by Him, enable<l 
 to show forth His power, and recognised Him as the 
 hearer and answerer of prayer ; who experienced God 
 as their refuge, and " a very present help in time of 
 trouble," and that " underneath were the everlastins^ 
 arms ; ' ond when we find men giving heed to, in place 
 of" avoiding profane and vain babblings and oppositions 
 of science, falsely so called ;" when we find the clay 
 saying to Him that fashioned it, " He made me not," 
 we might well cry out, " Woe unto him that striveth 
 with his Maker ;" and, as we again peruse that glori- 
 ous chapter the eleventh of Hebrews, our left hand 
 nervously plays with the sacred pages of the inspired 
 word, until it almost involuntarily points to the excla- 
 mation of the Psalmist, " The fool hath said in his 
 
AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 23 
 
 heart there is no God ;" and to his fitting rebuke ; 
 " He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : the Lord 
 shall have them in derision." 
 
 Beware of that fearful snare the love of money. 
 Remember how utterly degrading to you it is, when 
 you give yourself up to its search. It chills and freezes 
 the better feelings of your nature. It blinds yon to 
 the good qualities of the poor, and leads you to worship 
 not the man, but his equipage or banker's balance. 
 
 After this homely manner a coloured preacher once, 
 following the satirical Dean, impressed this subject 
 upon the minds of his hearers, not many of whom, I 
 fancy, were gifted with much of this world's goods : 
 " Dearly beloved brethren, the Lord shews how little 
 He thinks of riches by the class of men He generally 
 gives them to." How wonderfully it improves a man 
 in our weak sight, Shakespeare tell us : — 
 
 " what a world of vile, ill favoured faults, looks 
 handsome in £300 a year !" 
 
 And how truly is its effect delineated by Milton : — 
 
 "Mammon, the least erected Spirit that fell from 
 Heaven, for e'en in Heaven his looks and thoughts 
 were always downward bent, admiring more the riches 
 of Heav'n's pavement, trodden gold, than ought divine 
 or holy, else enjoyed in the vision beatific." 
 
 There is an admirable little work by Professor 
 Blackie, of Edinburgh, styled "Self Culture," which all 
 young men should read, that thus treats of this mat- 
 ter: — 
 
 "If Great Britain be unquestionably the richest coun- 
 try ^'n the world — so much so indeed that Sydney Smith, 
 
24 AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 
 
 always witty and always wise, felt himself justified in 
 saying that it is "the only country in which poverty is a 
 crime;" then cei-tainly it is of paramount importance 
 that every young man when starting in the race of 
 life in this country, should stamp into his soul the 
 fundamental principle of all moral philosophy, that 
 the real dignity of a man lies not in what he has, but 
 in what he is. "The Kingdom of Heaven is within 
 you" — not without. Beware, therefore, of being in- 
 fected with the moral contacjion which more or less 
 taints the atmosphere of every rich trading or manu- 
 facturing community; the contagion which breeds a 
 habit of estimatinor the value of men bv the external 
 af)[)aratus of life, rather than by its internal nobility. 
 
 A dwarf, perched upon a lofty platform, looks over 
 the heads of the multitude, and has no doubt this ad- 
 vantage from his position. So it is with the rich man, 
 who is merely rich ; he acquires a certain social positicm, 
 and from this, perhaps, gets M. P. tagged to his name ; 
 but, take the creature down from his artiticial elevation, 
 and look him fairly in the face, and you will find that 
 he is a figure too insignificant to measure swords with. 
 Fix this, therefore, in your minds, before all things, 
 that there are few things in social life more contemi)t- 
 ible than a rich man who stands upon his riches. By 
 the very act of placing so high a value on the external, 
 he has lapsed from the true character of his kind, and 
 inverted the value of the poles of human value. Have 
 money, by all means, as much as to enable you to ])ay 
 your tailor's bdl ; but never set your heart on what 
 the}^ call niaking a fortune. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, 
 
AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 2o 
 
 and St. Paul (1 Tim., vi. 9,) all agree in stating, with 
 serious emphasis, that money-making is not an ennob- 
 ling occupation, and that he who values money most, 
 values himself least. Stand strictly on youi* moral 
 and intellectual excellence, and vou will find in the 
 lonof run, when the true value of thinors comes out 
 that, there is not a duke or a millionaire in the land 
 who can boast himself your superior. . . 
 
 The sublime prayer of Agur to be found in the Book 
 of Proverbs, cannot be surpassed : "Give me neither 
 pov^^rty nor riches ; feed me with food convenient for 
 me; lest I be full, and deny thee, and say who is the 
 Lord ? or lest I be poor and steal, and take the name of 
 my God in vain." 
 
 Seek "purity of mind," and let it be accompanied 
 with absolute purity of body. Let there be no infringe- 
 ment of this rule ; no dalliance with temptation. 
 Followthe advice of Timothy, "Flee also youthful lusts." 
 Let your conversation be pure ; seek pure companions 
 and modes of enjoyment ; avoid the companions or 
 society which bring with them temptations, and avoid 
 idleness as one of the most frequent means used by the 
 devil for your ill. 
 
 Forget not that, in the days of Samson, it was the 
 little foxes that spoiled the vines. Sin is the most 
 C(mtagious disease we know of The contagion is car- 
 ried far and near, and at all stages of its course. The 
 thin edjTje of the wedt/e once allowed an entrance all 
 that the devil wants is soon gained. How plausibly 
 the axe begged of the forest to grant it, but a small 
 piece of* wood ; so tritiing a matter could not, it said, 
 
2i) AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 
 
 possibly hurt the vjist woods. The trees concluded 
 tluit the refusal of so reasonable a demand could not 
 justified. Its prayer was granted : but no sooner 
 was the handle given than the axe set vigorously to 
 work, and demolished all before it. Beware, therefore, 
 of giving sin, under any pretext, a handle or a footing. 
 How slight a matter may bring with it a train of un- 
 toward conse(iuences is taught us in the Eastern story, 
 the moral of which it will not harm us to gather and 
 apply. " A dervise of great sanctity one morning had 
 the misfortune, as he took up a crystal cup, which was 
 consecrated to the prophet, to let it fall upon the 
 ground, and dash it to pieces. His son coming in 
 some time after, ho stretched out his hand to bless 
 him, as his manner was every morning ; but the youth 
 i/oino out stumbled over the threshold and broke his 
 arm. As the oKl man wondered at these events, a 
 caravan passed by on its way to Mecca : the dervise 
 approached it to beg a blessing ; but as he stroked 
 one of the holy camels, he received a kick from the 
 beast which sorely bruised him. His horroi- and 
 amazement increased upon him, until he recollected 
 that, through hurry and inadvertency, he had that 
 mornino^ come abroad without washintr his hands." 
 
 Self, with its thousand tongues, cries out for indul- 
 gence. It must be curbed, restrained and ruled. 
 Without self-control there can be no true happiness, 
 and seldom any lasting success. "He that is slow to 
 anger is better than the mighty ; and he +hat ruleth 
 his spirit than he that taketh a city." To the cutting 
 otf the hand and the plucking out the eye thh must 
 be pursued. 
 
AN ADDRESS TO VOUNG MEN. 27 
 
 To what haunts do the use of intoxicating liquor 
 and of tobacco take young men? Their use, perhaps 
 forbidden at home, drives those desirous of partaking 
 of them to phices where gambling, dissipation, and vile 
 companionship are found. Their direct effects are bad; 
 the indirect results seem at the present almost to make 
 them a sure entrance into the path which leads to de- 
 struction. Through drink, in how man}^ instances the 
 first step is taken across the threshold of "the stranger 
 which tlattereth with her words," whose "house iticlin- 
 eth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None 
 that go unto her return again, neither take they hold 
 of the paths of life." 
 
 "Hf^arken unto me therefore, ye children, and at- 
 tend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart 
 decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. Her 
 house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers 
 of death." 
 
 Honest water never ma<le any sinner. Do not form, 
 or, if formed, give up those habits which are needless 
 and expensive, and to so many the means of death to 
 body and soul. You may not suffer from their abuse; 
 no matter, come over and strengthen the army of those 
 who, to aid others and to endeavor to extinguish this 
 our national vice, have abandoned stronf^ di .nk. I say 
 advisedly, "come,'' as T, following the example of many 
 who, doubtless did not choose to ask others to abandon 
 what they clung to tliemselves, have become a total 
 abst.aner, desiring, under the peculiar circumstances of 
 our country, and seeing the fearful scoui-ge that is 
 thus brought upon us, no better warrant than the 
 
28 AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 
 
 words of St. Paul: " Wherefore if meat make mv 
 brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world 
 standeth, lest I make my brother to offend." 
 
 It is an excellent saying of good Bishop Hall, " He 
 that would be safe from the acts of evil must widely 
 avoid the occasions." The butterfly once asked the 
 owl how she should deal with the fire, which had 
 siiii^ed her wini^s; and the owl counselled her, in 
 reply, not to behold so much as its smoke ! ;, , , 
 
 It is not enough that we determine to commit no 
 sin : we must carefully keep at a distance from all 
 approaches to it. By this test we ought to try our 
 ways of spending our time — the books that we read, 
 the families that we visit, the society into which we 
 go. We must not content ourselves with saying "there 
 is nothing positively wrong here ;" we must go further 
 and say, " is there anything heie which may prove to 
 me the occasion of sin?" Worldly amusements must 
 be thus scanned. It may be difficult in some instances, 
 to show that they are, in themselves, positively un- 
 scriptural and wrong ; but there is little difficulty in 
 sliowing that the tendency of almost all of them is 
 m'st injurious. They sow the seed of an earthly and 
 seiisual frame of mind. They war against the life of 
 faith. They promote an unhealthy and unnatural 
 craving after excitement. They minister to the lu.^t 
 of the ilesh and the lust of the eye, and the pride of 
 life. They dim the view of heaven and eternity, and 
 give a false colour to the things of time. They indis- 
 pose the heart for private prayer and scripture reading, 
 and calm communion with God. The man who mingles 
 
AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 29 
 
 in them is like one who gives Satan vantage-ground. 
 He hjus a battle to tight, and he gives his enemy the help 
 of sun and wind and hill. It would be strange indeed 
 if he did not find himself continually overcome. — 
 (** Ryle's Y. M. E. p. 53). 
 
 Amusements you must have — relaxation of mind 
 and body is absolutely necessary if you want to do 
 yourself or your work justice. Time thus spent is 
 neither misspent nor lost. The bow always bent soon 
 does but poor and little execution. The time properly 
 utilized in healthful play is much more than made up 
 in the facility and ease with which the task, forsaken 
 meanwhile, is afterwards taken up and accom})lished. 
 The hour or two of rest which, used in open-air exer- 
 cise, sends the blood flying through your body, causing 
 the canals laden with health and sustenance to visit 
 and repair the waste in every part of the frame, dispels 
 the doubts and difficulties which our work and fatigue 
 were conjuring up — with ease and ^.leasure you accom- 
 plish the allotted task, and the mountain of Avork, 
 which, when wearied, you almost h(>pe'essly gazed at, 
 is soon levelled at your feet by the healthy and vigor- 
 ous strokes of your refreshed arm. But remember, as 
 says Adams, on 2nd Peter, " Pleasure nmst first have 
 the warrant that it be without sin ; then the uieasure 
 that it be without excess." I cannot help often re- 
 gretting that in this country, where we may fairly say 
 we are all working men, we have introduced amongst 
 us, almost exclusively, pleasures and amusements 
 entirely unfitted to the tastes and wants of so many. 
 A young man, who has a due regard for his God, his 
 
30 AN ADDKESS TO YuUNG MEN. 
 
 employer, or liimsclf, will not spend the cvenin*^ in 
 such dissipation as takes liim lionie at two or tliree in 
 the morning, unfit for the proper jieribrmance of the 
 day's duties. 1 do not go so far as Tliackeiay, who 
 tells us " that any man that dances is an ass, and that 
 he that seeks his wife in a ball room is doubly an ass." 
 But 1 most stienuously contend that our young lady 
 IViends can and should do much in initiating a class of 
 amusements which will furnish a far larger amount of 
 healthy enjoyment than we have at the present, and 
 will encourage a taste for wholesome reading and pur- 
 suits in place of the frivolity and folly which are so 
 rife at present. Let our lady friends remember that 
 they virtually close the door, in many cases, to the 
 true, the serious, the deserving, by the style and hours 
 of their entertainments; that they encourage greatly 
 that, the fruit of which they may live bitterly to 
 njpent, and that they are lending themselves, in many 
 cases, to what their consciences cannot approve. 
 
 It is not necessar}^ to life, joy, or pleasure that wo 
 should turn night into day. People can be happy 
 from eight till eleven, better than from eleven to 
 three ; and, in the former case, they need not neglect 
 any duty either of body or soul, whereas in the latter 
 it is more than probable that both will suffer. Have 
 the old charms of music, reading, and conversation 
 ended ? Let us try and win back our vitiated tastes 
 to these old improving recreations, held at reasonable 
 hours, from which no person need be debarred. A 
 most pleasing feature in the many-s'ded philan- 
 thropy of the present day is the havi^ig entertain^ 
 
AN ADDRESS TO YUUNG MEN. 81 
 
 iiients for tlioso unhappily deprived of their reason, 
 but it strikes uic as searcely consistent witli conn i ion 
 sense and the true dignity of men that we, happily 
 outside tliose prison walls, should outrival the inmates 
 of lunatic avsylums in the frivolity, bufibonery and 
 want of sense of so-called fashionable pleasures and 
 anmsements. The fool inside Bedlam may well laugh 
 at the fool outside of it so acting, claim him for his 
 full brother, and beat against the bars which so un- 
 reasonably separate the one from the other. 
 
 By taking part in, or sanctioning any such niutles 
 of spending our time, we soon lose our proper tone, 
 and assist in lowering the standard of good sense, 
 morals, and decorum. 
 
 Seeing the immense advantage he has, when people 
 are to a certain extent off their guard, and when com- 
 panions and associations can be worked for his advan- 
 tage, the devil has, with deep design, taken especial 
 control of amusements of all sorts. The light, the 
 freshness, the open air to be found in cricket, lacrosse 
 and croquet do not suit much the Prince of Darkness, 
 and his sable majesty makes comparatively slow work 
 there, He triumphs at billiards. It is an absorbing 
 and expensive game. Kind friends are always pre- 
 pared to teach it to you, but always at your own ex- 
 pense. The light, the heat, the late hours, the occas- 
 ional glass, the flaming cigar, the gambler's thirst 
 for more while his hand is in, or his desire to retrieve 
 his loss, if he be unfortunate, all combine to prepare a 
 field for temptation, which, in very many instances, 
 has proved fjita^l Money must be found to answer 
 
32 AN ADDRESS TO YUUNG MEN. 
 
 these continuous draws. The employer's till suilers ; 
 altered l)ooks must be kej)t ; deficiencies are, at 
 length, found out. The terrible disaster bursts U{)on 
 the unfortunate youth : a blasted character is ex- 
 changed for that good name which is " rather to 
 be chosen than riches ;" misery and disgrace are 
 brought upon the family thus unfortunately situated, 
 and, if the culprit escapes the felon's d(jck, it is be- 
 cause he has had twenty-four hours' warning which 
 has enabled him to make good his escape. I am con- 
 fident in what I say, I in no way exaggerate results. 
 Money thus lost, and the gambler's spii'it thus learned 
 and cultivated lead to those painful ])aragraphs daily 
 occurring in the papers, adding to the long list of 
 lost situations, blighted reputations, and perished 
 souls. I fear we must give up this amusement for 
 the present, unless we are fortunate enough to have 
 the use of a private table. 
 
 The devil's playthings, cards, should, I think, be 
 disposed of in the like manner. If the matter be 
 doubtful let the doubt dispose of it. Give them up. 
 Would it be treading on too tender ground to say a 
 word as to the theatre ? Much has been said as to the 
 vast good done by the stage. The noble men and wo- 
 men who have so well delineated the finest characters 
 that the mind of man has produced; and the spleur 
 did lessons to be learned from the faithful portraiture 
 of the great and the good on the one hand, and of sleek 
 hypocrisy and villany on the other, have been often, 
 presented to us. All this I admit. But, for once that 
 we have the true, the beautiful, or the good presents 
 
AN ADDRESS To YoUNG MKN. 3*3 
 
 i3<l to US ]u)\v ol'k'ii liavc we a very different ])ictiire ? 
 How suldoin is it .soiiglit to use this great power to 
 elevate, aii<I how often is it eni])loye(l to re[)resent wliat 
 our eliiklrtii are ten thousand times better without 
 s(!eing. I am not discussing the (juestion wlieihor the 
 people's taste will or will not rise to that which is 
 re(piired to enjoy our classic productions, but am deal- 
 ing with matters simply as we find tlieni. 
 
 liulfalo JJiil, Texas Jack, and a day in Sing Sing 
 will have, I should judge, about as deviating a tenden- 
 cy as the perusal of that corru})t literature, the olf- 
 s[)ring of a vitiated taste craving for the sensational, 
 and which is answered an<l sup])lied by such produc- 
 tions as "Wild Oats," "The Day's Doings," "The New 
 Sensation," "The Illusti-ated Police Gazette," "New 
 York Novelties," and such like garbage, to peruse which 
 our street ai*abs, and their elders in groups flatten their 
 noses so diligently against the window j)anes where 
 they are di>i)layed. If, on the stage, the ladies do as 
 little in the way of ro))ing themselves, when they are 
 dispbiying what they suppose to be their charms, as 
 we find in the photogiuphs of them dis[)layed in our 
 shop windows, I can scarcely wonder that respecta- 
 bility and decency should be driven out of such doors. 
 
 One of the questions most frequently asked by those 
 sincerely desirous of knowing what is sinful in such 
 matters, and what is not, is, what rule should be my 
 ffuide ? How can I know when I am treading on for- 
 bidden ground ? I have the will to do right, but T 
 have no means of ascertaining whether I am about to 
 offend or not. To these I would answer, I know of 
 none, but the one general well defined rule, which 
 3 
 
34 AN ADDUKSS TO YOUNG MKN. 
 
 should be to you like tlio law of the Modes and Per- 
 sians, which altorcth not — whatever inteHcres with 
 your couuuunion with God is not a lawful j)lea.sui-e or 
 occupation. The company into which you cannot ask 
 your God to enter is not the company into which his 
 follower should willingly go. God has given you a 
 conscience. Let His witness, dwelling in your h(;art, 
 speak on this point. When He demands of you " What 
 doest thou hero, Elijah ?" if you cannot answer satis- 
 factorily this question, come out of the cave, no mattei* 
 how a})parently safely you are dwelling, and depend 
 upon it, the sacritico you nudvo to the (lemand of your 
 God, will result in His vouchsafing to you the still 
 small voice of His approval, in which He so graciously 
 speaks to His people. Consider the great iu^portanco 
 of that which we are now discussing. If balls, parties, 
 theatres, billiards, gambling, horse-racing, and the like, 
 increase your love for Qod's Word, or foster withir^ 
 any a devotional spirit I say to such an one by all 
 means spend your life in suoh concerns. But do not 
 answer that this is their effect until, as in the sight of 
 God, you have asked and replied to the inquiry. If, 
 on the other hand, in others, they beget a separ£^,tion 
 from the Saviour, coldness in f)rayer, a distaste to thq 
 Bible, in God's name give them up at once, however 
 dear to you, or seemingly innocent they rnay be. 
 
 This very imperfect sketch, too much prolonged I 
 fear, would be deficient indeed, did I not point you to 
 the means of filling out and giving life to the otherwise 
 dry bones that form the skeleton, did I not pointedly 
 refer to that true mainspring of a noble and earnest 
 life. There Js but the one foundation: "The fear of 
 
AN ADDUKSS To YOUNG MKN. S') 
 
 the Lord is the bof^inriinir of wisdom: a good under- 
 standing have all they that do His comniandnionts ; 
 His praise onduretli for ever." " Wherewithal shall a 
 young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto, 
 acconlinic to Thy word." " Let us hear the conclusion 
 
 * — - 
 
 of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His command- 
 ments : for this is th«3 whole duty of man." 
 
 The Jew, in his wanderings, looked upwards, and 
 moved not, unless as led by the cloud or pillar. So we, 
 in our [)ilgrimage in our wilderness, must ever look a- 
 bove and seek ibr guidance, journeying as directed by 
 our Father, leading us by His Holy Spirit. 
 
 There are many things convenient and pleasant; th(^ 
 Scripture says tliero is but one thing needful. Re- 
 member one mark of true citizenship is the seeking 
 a city yet to come. Looking off unto Jesus, we alone 
 are able to obey the apostolic injunction, " Be ye sep- 
 arate." 
 
 Let not yourself sink down to the low standard of 
 the world. You will need OTcat strencjth from God to 
 prevent this. It is a strong temptation to men, by a 
 seemingly short cut, to actjuire wealth and position. 
 
 You sec those who, — in what the world mildly calb, 
 a momentaiy forgetful ness, or a temporary delusion, — 
 in what might not inapprojjriately be styled a monient 
 of abstraction, quietly laying their hands on what be- 
 longs to others, — dwelling in their mansions, rejoicing 
 in their tine equipages, and defiantly flaunting their 
 shame in the face of their fellow creatures — men whom 
 you know should be placed where, for the future, 
 others Would bo safe from their depredations — men 
 who, but for what is called their position, and but for 
 
3ti AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MCN. 
 
 the extent of their crime, would receive the puiiisli- 
 inent which daily is nieted out to some poor outcast, 
 the child of ignoranco and woe, and who, surrounded 
 with want and tenii)tati()n, steals, not from tlie love of 
 evil as does his wealthy brother, l)ut to give him bi-oad 
 to allay the pangs of hunger, — and seeing this you 
 repiiie at your humble lot of toil which scarcely gives 
 you the necessaries of life. 
 
 My iriend, if you could only look tlu'ough the glare; 
 and glitter of the wealthy sinner, and view tlie wretch- 
 ed skeleton, his constant visitant, you would cast his 
 wealth to the winds, and rejoicingly claim your unsul- 
 lied name and your integrity, which gives you a true 
 strenu'tli and standing that cannot i^e otherwise ol>- 
 tained. Perhaps you sit doubtfully meditating on 
 these things. Let the grand refrain of that glorious 
 Psalm come pealing down through the many centuries 
 in which it has afforded consolation : — 
 
 " Fret not thyself because of evil d(^crs, neither be 
 thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For 
 they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither 
 as the jifreen herb. I have seen the wicked in ijreat 
 power, and spreading hmiself like a green bay tree. 
 Yet he passed away, and lo ! he was not ; yea I sought 
 him, but he could not be found. Mark the perfect 
 man, and behold the u})right : for the end of that man 
 is peace. But tlie ti^ansgressors sha,ll be destroyed 
 together: the end of the wicked shall ho cut otf." — 
 Ps. XXX vii. 
 
 The wise man says : " The curse of the Lord is in 
 the house of the wricked ; but he blesseth the habita- 
 tion of the just." Prov. iii. 83. " The house of the 
 
AN ADDRESS TO YOHNG MHX. 37 
 
 wicked shall be overthrown ; but the tabernacle of th(^ 
 uj)right shall flourish." Pro v. xiv. 11. 
 
 Value your Testament, and strive, with God's helj*, 
 to live by no lower teaching than i-; theie found. Be 
 not ashamed to show 3a)ur colours. Let not your CHiris- 
 tianity 'oe of that khid which begins and ends with 
 merely pinning your faith to some denomination, or 
 beconnng a bigot ; but k't it be of the stamp which 
 takes the ])recepts of our blessed Saviour and acts 
 upon them. Make your own His divine sermcm on 
 the mount, and then see how you can stoo[) to the every 
 day littleness, meanness and dishonesty of the worlti. 
 
 Do not forget self-examinauicm at stated jXiriods. 
 "God has divided for us our time. Our Jife has, b^- 
 His appoJntment, something like the hands of a clock, 
 or the stroke of a bell, to mark its progi-ess. . . The 
 year, the month, and the day are God's divisions of 
 
 time The day is the least in j)oint of duration ; 
 
 but it may also be truly said of the day that it is th(^ 
 rudiment of the whole. The day is a life in little, a 
 miniature life. Let a convex mirror be suspended 
 overhead in a ro(nn, so as to foi'm a small anole with 
 the wall ; you will see all the whole room in it, wide 
 as it may be, with all the details of the furniture and 
 all the company. And how is this V Every object is, 
 of course, greatly reduced in size, so that every scpiare 
 yard of space in the room appeals as a S(|uare inch of 
 space, or less, in the mirror ; still there is nothing 
 which finds its place in the room which floes not also 
 find a jn-oportionate jtlace in the nniror. So it is with 
 the day and the lifetime : the day is the convex mirror 
 of the life. Do you desire a summary estimate of a 
 
38 AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN. 
 
 man's whole character, as it will appear upon a calm 
 review fifter he is laid in his coffin ? Study him for a 
 <lay only, from his rising to his lying down, and it is 
 enough ; the germs of the life are in the day, ?rnd that 
 microscopic view, aided by a little effort of imagination, 
 puts you in possession of the whole truth respecting 
 him. Is it not written, * He that is faithful in that 
 which is least is faithful also in much ; and he that is 
 unjust in the least is unjust also in much.' " Goulburn's 
 Per. Piety." p. !i48). 
 
 Use your Bible. Listen to the striking admission 
 found in a leading article in the- greatest organ of pub- 
 lic opinion in the civilised world, the Times of the 
 2()th August, l8i-7: "We question if any person of 
 nny class or school, ever read the Scriptures regularly 
 and thoroughly without being, or becoming, not oidy 
 religious, but sensible and consistent." 
 
 Rightly u. e your Sabbath, your Church, and your 
 Sal>bath school. It is a remarkable saying of good 
 Chief Justice Hale: "Of all the persons who were 
 convicted <»f capital crimes while he was upon the 
 Bench^ \\v. found only a few who would not confess, 
 on enquiry, that they began their career of wiekedness 
 by a neglect of the Sabbath." 
 
 Do not give a lagging support, which occasiims you 
 to be almost carried on the shoulders of others. Be 
 not afrai<l to come out, and j repare yourself to aid in 
 everything, within your power, which has for its object 
 tl»e auudiorating the condition of your fellow-men. 
 Move through the world ixivino: and receivincf i^ood. 
 You may have but the one talent : do not let it lie 
 rusting, Imt make the most of it by constant use; — no 
 
AN ADDRESS TU YolJNG MEN. :JU 
 
 more tlian tliis can be a.sked of any one. "Unstal)le 
 a,s water, thou slialt not excel." Build then upon tl>e 
 j)ronusc of the unchangeable one, "I will never leave 
 thee." "Ye cannot serve God and Mannnon;" leave 
 the devil and his works; it is trejison to be found on 
 his irn^und (jr wearinj:^ his coloi's. The world will seek 
 to wile you into its circle, and will say to you, as Pha- 
 roah to the Israelites, "Only ye shall not go very far 
 away." Guard the springs. We know what proceeds 
 out of the heart ; therefore give heed to the words of 
 the wise man, " My son, give me thy heart." 
 
 Remember, Christian young man, that " Righteous- 
 ness exalteth a nation ; but sin is a reproach to any 
 people." (Prov. xiv. 35.) It is therefore your duty hy 
 all means in your [)ower, to vsee that this ti'ue exalta- 
 tion is the lot of your land. Ye are the salt of the 
 earth. Your presence .should be felt. Your personal 
 contact should inspire others with that which you 
 possess. You fail to act the |)art of men if you only 
 sit still and declaim agaiu^jt iniquity in either high or 
 low ])laces. No man is without his influence. The 
 world is not to be handed over to the devil and his 
 followers ; evil is to be overcome with good, and how- 
 ever much we may shrink from the contact, we are 
 wanting in our duty to our God and our Country if 
 we do not, like true men, ])repare to tight her batthis, 
 raising aloft our banner, on which we inscribe " Holi- 
 npss to the Lord." 
 
 V The path of the worldly man grows darker and 
 darker every year that he lives : the path of the 
 Christian is 'as a shining light, brighter and brighter 
 to the very end. His suii is just rising, when the sun 
 
40 AN ADDUKSS To YoUNii MEN. 
 
 ol tin: worldly is si/tting fur ever; his best tilings are 
 Jill l)('L!;iiinini^ to blossom and bloom for ever, wlien 
 those "f tile worldly are all slipping out of his hands 
 and ]>assing away." (" Kyle's Y. M. E." |). (i>). 
 
 Panhni the lenixth to which I have run in those su^•- 
 gestions — my excuse is the vast importance of the mat- 
 ters touched upon. Do not reject them. Test them. 
 Put such of them as, after due deliberation, you ap- 
 prove of, in force at once. Drive procrastination from 
 y(jur path. How many ar^ wrecked l)y iier Syren 
 .song: " 1 will to-morrow, yes, I will, I will be .sure to 
 do it. T(j-morrow conies, to-morrow goes, and still it 
 is, ril do it. And so repentance is delayed from one 
 day to another, until the day of death is one and judg- 
 ment is the other." 'I'o-nKjrrow is the devil's day: to- 
 day is God's. 
 
 Pi'epare this night for the race. At once "let us lay 
 aside every weight and the sin which <loth so easily " 
 beset us, and let us run with patience the race which 
 is set Ijcfore us." 
 
 Nought will suj)port you amidst calumnies, mis- 
 foituiies, the falseness of friends, and the bitterness of 
 enemies, but the divine promise, "Thou wilt keep him 
 in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon Thee, because 
 he trustetli in Thee." Thus supported, a Wilberforce or 
 a Jolin Howard can smile s»'renely at malevolence and 
 sutlering : and thus you will be lifted so far above all 
 earthly ti'ouble, that already, amidst that which makes 
 many droop, with the piercing eye of faith, reaching to 
 our far-otl Father-land, we triumphantly exclaim : We 
 are "no morestranf^ers and foreiirners.butfellow-citizcns 
 with the saints and of the household of God."