early habit of impure thought. To a young man who has become poisoned in this way, women all appear to be vicious or weak; and when a young man loses his respect for the sex made sacred by the relations of mother and sister, he stands upon the crumbling edge of ruin. His sensibilities are killed, and his moral nature almost beyond the reach of regeneration. I believe it to be true that a man who has lost his belief in woman has, as a general thing, lost his faith in God.

The only proper way to treat such a habit as this is to fly from it—discard it—expel it—fight it to the death. Impure thought is a moral drug quite as seductive and poisonous to the soul as tobacco is to the body. It perverts the tone of every fibre of the soul. One should have more respect for his body than to make it the abode of toads and lizards and unclean reptiles of al' sorts. The whole matter resolves itself into this: A young man is not fit for life until he is clean-clean and healthy, body and soul, with no tobacco in his mouth, no liquor in his stomach, no oath on his tongue, no snuff ir his nose, and no thought in his heart which if exposed would send him sneaking into darkness from the presence of good women. I know a man who believes that the regeneration of the world is to be brought about by a change of diet. If he will add the policy of utter cleanliness to his scheme, I will agree not to quarrel with him.

LETTER V.

THE BLESSINGS OF POVERTY-OFFICE AND EFFECT OF A

PROFESSION.

The labor we delight in physics pain.

SHAKSPERE

Worth makes the man, and want of it the fellow;
The rest is all but leather and prunello.

POPE

there is anything in the world that a young man

I fore is

should be more grateful for than another, it is the poverty which necessitates starting life under very great disadvantages. Poverty is one of the best tests of human quality in existence. A triumph over it is like graduating with honor from West Point. It demonstrates stuff and stamina. It is a certificate of worthy labor, faithfully performed. A young man who cannot stand this test is not good for anything. He can never

rise above a drudge or a pauper. A young man who cannot feel his will harden as the yoke of poverty presses upon him, and his pluck rise with every difficulty that poverty throws in his way, may as well retire into some corner, and hide himself. Poverty saves a thousand times more men than it ruins, for it only ruins those who are not particularly worth saving, while it saves multitudes of those whom wealth would have ruined. If any young man who reads this letter is so unfortunate as to be rich, I give him my pity. I pity you, my rich young friend, because you are in danger. You lack one great stimulus to effort and excellence which your poor companion possesses. You will be very apt, if you have a soft spot in your head, to think yourself above him, and that sort of thing makes you mean, and injures you. With full pockets and full stomach, and good linen and broadcloth on your back, your heart and soul will get plethoric, and in the race of life you will find yourself surpassed by all the poor boys around you, before you know it.

No, my boy, if you are poor, thank God and take courage; for he intends to give you a chance to make something of yourself. If you had plenty of money, ten chances to one it would spoil you for all useful purposes. Do you lack education? Have you been cut short in the text books? Remember that education,

like some other things, does not consist in the multitude of things a man possesses. What can you do? That is the question that settles the business for you. Do you know your business? Do you know men, and how to deal with them? Has your mind, by any means what soever, received that discipline which gives to its action power and facility? If so, then you are more of a man, and a thousand times better educated, than the fellow who graduates from a college with his brains full of stuff that he cannot apply to the practical business of life-stuff the acquisition of which has been in no sense a disciplinary process, so far as he is concerned. There are very few men in this world less thar nirty years of age, and unmarried, who can afford to be rich. One of the greatest benefits to be reaped from great financial disasters, is the saving of a large crop of young men.

In regard to the choice of a profession, that is your business, and not mine, nor that of any of your friends. If you take to a trade or profession, don't be persuaded out of it, until you are perfectly satisfied that you are not adapted to it. You will receive all sorts of the most excellent advice, but you must remember that if you follow it, and it leads you into a profession that starves you, those who gave '-' never feel bound

to give you any money. You have got to take care of

yourself in this world, and you may as well choose

your own way of doing it, always remembering that it is not your trade nor your profession which makes you respectable. This leads me to a matter that I may as well dispose of here as anywhere.

I propose to explain what I meant in a previous letter by the counsel to "let no man know by your dress what your business is. You dress your person, not your trade." As the proper explanation of this involves a very important principle, I will devote the rest of this letter to its development and illustration. The fault. found with this counsel is that it has always been considered best to dress according to one's business and position.

Manhood, and profession or handicraft, are entirely different things; and I wish particularly that every young man engaged in reading these letters should understand the reason why. God makes men, and men make blacksmiths, tailors, farmers, horse jockeys, tradesmen of all sorts, governors, judges, &c. The offices of inen may be more or less important, and of higher or lower quality, but manhood is a higher possession than office. An occupation is never an end of life. It is an instrument put into our hands, or taken into our hands, by which to gain for the body the means of living until sickness or old age robs it of life, and we pass on to the world for which this is a preparation. However