I cannot close this chapter better than by quoting some remarks, made some years ago by one of the London clergy. Preaching to young men upon the words, "Young man, I say unto thee arise!" the preacher said--"We need young men, fired with the thought that they are called by Christ to be the saviours of society from the sins that are wasting it, to render to their country and to humanity the noblest service, by fighting with voice and hand against those deadly foes that menace our very life; and will, if they are allowed to run riot, certainly drag us down to hell. Young men, rise up to stand against it and destroy it. Lift up against it the Standard of the Cross. Be known as Christ's soldiers, banded and pledged to overthrow it. Let your conversation be pure from all taint of uncleanness; and never let the glass rob you of your power to stand up for Christ against sensual sin. Rebuke and frown down the young man's talk, and the habit of life it engenders; you know what I mean. Say to those who love it, it is just this that is destroying us as a people. Unless our young men rise up together, as one man, and make drunkenness and harlotry shameful and hateful, I see no hope for our country, but a hope of growing decay."

Those are wise words, carefully and thoughtfully spoken. God grant, reader, that you and I may lay them seriously to heart.

OUR COMPANIONS.

"A friend I had, long, long ago,

And one I learnt to prize,

He taught a truth that all should know--

In work true honour lies.

A frank and cheerful face had he,

And a heart as light as heart could be.

* * * * *

He has found his rest in Heaven above,

But has left a golden fame;

For the neighbours tell his deeds of love,

And the children bless his name;

And comrades too for many a day

Shall roughly wipe their tears away."

John Burbidge.

There are, perhaps, few things so important to a young man as to make a right choice of companions. How much depends on this. How much of our present and future happiness; nay, more, how much of our eternal welfare depends upon those with whom we mix on earth. Very many a young man has begun life with the best intentions and the holiest desires; and all these have been dashed to the ground by his having made an unwise choice in selecting his companions.

Now there are several things to be thought of in making this choice. And I shall try to put a few of these before you. First, it is most important that your companions should be God-fearing men. I don't think any friendship can be really happy, or even lasting, unless this is the case. For remember that there are friendships which do not end with life; that true friendship, blessed by Almighty God, is only begun here below, and is carried on in that distant spirit-land beyond the grave.

Secondly, don't think that because your companions should be godly men, they must needs be gloomy or dull. A man may be godly, and at the same time quite able to laugh with others, and make as good jokes as they; but his laughter will never be turned against religion, nor his jokes made at the expense of the people of God. A man who is a drunkard, for instance, will never be a good or even pleasant companion for you. His conversation in his sober moments is rarely interesting, and when he is in liquor he is worse than a beast. And as to his example, what can I say of that? It will be an example which God grant, reader, you may never follow; but it is an example which it is better you should not even see. In a word, as a recent writer has put it, my advice to you is, "Make friends with sober men, who can talk and laugh without incessant liquor."

Now it may be you think you are quite strong enough to resist temptation. It may be you think that as you pass through this world yours will be a life of temptation, and you feel that if you can't resist it now, you never will. It was said of Sophronius, a wise teacher in Ancient Greece, that one day when his daughter Eulalia came to ask permission to visit a worldly friend, Lucinda, Sophronius forbade her. And when Eulalia, trusting in her own power to overcome the temptations of her evil companion, replied, "Dear father, you must think me childish if you imagine I should be exposed to danger by going." Sophronius took, in silence, a dead coal from the hearth, and gave it to his daughter. "It will not burn you, my child: take it," said he. Eulalia did so, and behold! her hand was blackened, and, as it chanced, her white dress too. "We cannot be too careful in handling coals," said Eulalia in vexation. "Yes, truly!" replied her father; "You see, my child, the coals, even if they do not burn, blacken."

And so, too, is it with companions. The coals may not burn, but only blacken; and companions may not leave any lasting impression for evil on the heart. Their example may not even appear to the conscience as being black and evil, but they blacken the character, at any rate for the time, none the less, if not in the sight of men, undoubtedly in the sight of God.

And there is one point more. Do remember, that even the worst of us, the most degraded, are being constantly watched by people above us in society. And very often they don't care to have anything to do with us, because of our companions. I once heard a foreman, who employed a great number of hands on a certain work, say of a young man, whose name had been recommended for employment, "He keeps such bad company." And though I knew the young man in question well, and knew that whatever his companions might be, he himself was pure and good, still it was of no use my speaking to the foreman, because he was keeping bad company. Depend upon it, reader, there is truth in words written down in our Father's Book, "Godliness is profitable unto all things, baring promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come[#]."