earnestly to keep it amidst much persecution. On the night after Christmas Day, the people with whom he lodged had a party of friends, and he saw clearly that he was not expected to join them.

He had no friends to go to, being an orphan, and far from any relations; so he went out that dark, cold night, and wandered about for a considerable time. Finding it, however, too cold to remain out of doors for long, and feeling lonely and miserable enough, he went into the Reading-room. It was

well lighted and there was a good fire, so he sat down; but the room was empty. The other members had homes to go to, and were enjoying their Christmas-tide at their own fire-sides with their relations and friends; they had no need to go to the room that night.

There he sat for two long hours; part of the time a kind-hearted woman who lived in the next house came and talked to him, feeling sorry for his loneliness. At length, unable to bear it any longer, he took up his hat and went out. The public-house was near, the door was open, sounds of laughter

and merriment were going on inside. All seemed to invite him in, but still he did not give way. He paced up and down for some time longer, determining not to enter.

At last, overcome by the feeling of loneliness, he entered, was warmly welcomed, and then and there broke his pledge. I have never been able to induce him to take it again, and now he is on the downward path to which drink too surely leads.

CHAPTER IX.

RECREATION.

"JUST in proportion of our keen enjoyment of what is beautiful there follows a great responsibility.

"Surely such a gift was not given to us for mere selfish ends. Close beside us, in our enjoyment, are the dark and dismal sides of human life. Surely what we can do to brighten and cheer them, to impart to them something of what is to us so precious and delightful, our very enjoyment bids us to do. We, the educated; we who have all literature open before us, and can read at leisure the books we like; we who have been trained to appreciate and delight in what is noble and beautiful, who can surround ourselves in our homes with its memorials—surely we have a debt to those whose life is not so brightened.

"That sense, that delight, are God's gifts as much as wealth, or influence, or ability of any sort; and God's gifts are not only to be used and employed, they are also to be shared and communicated."--Dean Church.

One very important consideration in the welfare of boys and young men is healthful

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recreation, both for mind and body. This should never be overlooked by those who are interested in their welfare. This side of their natures has been too long neglected; and although it is now almost universally recognised, there is still much to be done in raising their tone in this respect.

"What do the men you work with generally talk about?" asked the editor of a wellknown publishing firm, who was interested in the welfare of the people.

'Beer, wages, and rats," was the reply, given by an intelligent London artisan, one of the head workmen in a large house of business.

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Nothing else?" continued the editor.

"Not generally," replied the man. "They mostly talk of the public-house where you can get the best beer, of the firm that gives the best wages, and then there's a talk about dogs and rats too; that's about all."

"What do you generally read in the newspapers ?” I asked a number of boys, all of whom were members of the Village Reading

room.

'Murders, Miss," was the unanimous reply.

"Then about the fires, if there is any, and then the police reports."

"Do you not read the war news?" I asked.

"Not often, Miss, unless there's a battle. They're so long about that war in Egypt and in the Soudan, that there isn't much interest in reading about it."

A good Lending Library, where the books are interesting and frequently changed, exerts a considerable influence for good in village life.

"My husband is so taken up with the last book we got from the Library, that he's not been out once to the public since he had it to read; it does seem to interest him so, when he comes back from his work."

"Whenever the boys have got books to read, they'll 'bide in of nights, and never want to go out in the street; you wouldn't believe how they care about reading."

Such remarks, and many others of the same kind, I have frequently heard, and know by experience that they express what is really felt.

"It's a nice thing," many a hard-worked