m true virtue, strong temperance
proclivities and a true piety; and to accomplish these ends we endeavor
to stimulate their own exertions for a better knowledge of God, and for
a determined self-control."

And again he says: "Almost every day we hear from some one who has been
with us under treatment, who has been cured. Their struggles had been
fierce, and the battle sometimes would seem to be against them; but, at
last, they have claimed the victory. In my experience, I have found that
so long as the victim of strong drink has the will, feeble as it may be,
to put forth his efforts for a better life, an 4 his constant struggle
is in the right direction, he is almost sure to regain his will power,
and succeed in overcoming the habit. By exercise, the will gains
strength. The thorns in the flesh of our spiritual nature will be
plucked out, the spiritual life will be developed, and our peace shall
flow as the river. This condition we constantly invoke, and by all the
means within our reach we try to stimulate the desire for a better life.
I am pleased to say our efforts in this direction have not been in vain.
For nearly twenty years we have been engaged in this work, and we have
now more confidence in the means employed than at any other period.
Situated, as we are, in the midst of a great city, with a Christian
sympathy constantly active and co-operating with us, no one can remain
in the institution without being the recipient of beneficial
influences, the effect of which is salutary in the extreme. I am fully
satisfied that the 'Washingtonian Home' is greatly indebted to these
moral agencies for its success."

The following letter, received by us, from Otis Clapp, who has been for
sixteen years president of the "Washingtonian Home," will give the
reader a still clearer impression of the workings of that institution.
It is in answer to one we wrote, asking for information about the
institution in which he had been interested for so many years:

"BOSTON, August 9th, 1877.

"DEAR SIR:--Your letter is received, and I am glad to learn that
your mind is directed to the subject of the curse and cure of
drunkenness. This is one of the largest of human fields to work in.
The 'Washingtonian Home' was commenced in a very humble way, in
November, 1857. An act of incorporation was obtained from the
State, March 26th, 1859.

"The institution has, therefore, been in existence nearly twent