out the aid of experimental religion. Pride of birth, of character, of education, a strong instinctive admiration of mercantile justice, freedom from the pressure of strong solicitation, with other causes, may have sustained them under their circumstances; but I contend that no young man can rationally hope to pass the ordeals of life in safety, unless his outward virtues derive vitality and vigor from an inward religous life. To be perennial, the stream must proceed from a living spring; to be fruitful, the tree must spread its roots in a congenial soil: so, to insure the possession of uprightness through the manifold trials of human life, the soul of a man must be in harmony with its Creator,- through faith in Him, it must derive strength to resist wrong, to desire and to will right, when standing in the plunging torrent of evil influences which is ever dashing down the highways of trade. Greatly good men are always "like solitary towers in the city of God; and secret passages, running deep beneath external nature, give their thoughts intercourse with higher intelligences, which strengthens and controls them;" and this secret intercourse

with God is necessary for you, if to be greatly good

Religion never fails to make its possessor a man of integrity. Its primary idea is a surrender of the man, soul and body, to God and to his teachings. A deliberate casting off of any one moral principle, known to be a Divine precept, is an act of apostasy from religion. It is a disavowal of the previous act of surrender, a violation of the sacred covenant. Hence, religion and integrity are as inseparable as a cause and its sequence. To embrace the former, is, of necessity, to secure the latter. To yield fully to the indwelling Spirit, who chooses the religious heart for his temple, is to be in a state where the loftiest and sublimest integrity is "spontaneous and inevitable, the outward blossoming and fruitfulness of a heavenly life. It is like the skylark's hymn, the violet's fragrance, the breath of the sweet south, the morning star's sweet effulgence. The soul obeys the desires of her Divine Lord with the ineffable delight, tenderness and constancy, of the bride."*

*Rev. T. L. Harris.

Religion should, therefore, be your first object of pursuit, if you desire to wear the ornament of an upright character. Place yourself in the hands of Jesus Christ. Yield your spirit, as an instrument of power, to the touch of his fingers, and suffer him to call forth its delightful harmonies. Let his power be your dependence; his grace your strength. Thus will your moral sense be keen, clear, sensitive; your moral power, equal to the most powerful tests; your integrity, of the purest character; and your success in life greatly promoted.

6*

CHAPTER IV.

INTELLIGENCE AN ELEMENT OF SUCCESS IN LIFE.

THINK it is the Germans who

have a pretty legend, of a gentle

man for whom some enamored

fairy wrought a precious talisman, which had the power to attract all persons who came near the wearer to himself. The charm wrought powerfully on the companions of the fortunate nobleman; and he was loved

with wondrous affection by a large circle of admiring friends.

If such a talisman were attainable, at the cost of much labor, suffering, and even of danger, many a young man would seek it with incredible industry. His imagination would be charmed by the idea. He would be ready to attempt the ascent of the Andes,

or the exploration of the dreary realms of the Ice King, around the poles.

But when that same young man is told that, unless neutralized by moral deficiencies, knowledge is really a precious talisman, commanding the respect and influencing the opinions and conduct of all minds within his sphere of action, elevating its possessor to influence, to honor, and, possibly, to fortune, he turns away with apathy, perhaps with scorn. He disdains mental toil. However physically industrious he may be, he is intellectually too lazy to read, reflect, and study. Books are the objects of his fixed dislike. He would be delighted to wield a commanding influence, to make a deep mark in the world; but, he is too slothful, too sensuous, to prosecute the studies, which, by expanding, strengthening, and developing the intellect, lead to high achievements and eminence. He prefers to waste his leisure hours in idle lounging, in frivolous amusement, in unprofitable companionships. What is the consequence? It requires no prophetic afflatus to predict