h, which were once
as white as ivory, were now blackened by the use of poisonous medicine,
given to counteract a still more poisonous and loathsome disease. The
frame, which had once been as erect as the stately cedar of Lebanon,
was, at the early age of thirty, beginning to bend as with years. The
voice, which once spoke forth the sentiments of a soul of comparative
purity, now not unfrequently gave vent to the licentious song, the
impure jest, and the most shocking oaths, and heaven-daring impiety and
blasphemy. The hands which were once like the spirit within, were now
not unfrequently joined in the dance, with the vilest of the vile!

I looked, too, at his external circumstances Once he had friends whom
he loved to see, and from whom he was glad to hear. Now it was a matter
of indifference both to him and them whether they ever saw each other.
The hopes of parents, and especially of 'her that bare him' were laid
in the dust; and to the neighborhood of which he had once been the
pride and the ornament, he was fast becoming as if he had never been.

He had travelled first with two horses, next with one; afterward on
foot with a choice assortment of jewelry and other pedlar's wares; now
his assortment was reduced to a mere handful. He could purchase to the
value of a few dollars, take a short excursion, earn a small sum, and
return--not to a respectable house, as once,--but to the lowest of
resorts, to expend it.

Here, in 1821, I last saw him; a fair candidate for the worst
contagious diseases which occasionally infest that region, and a pretty
sure victim to the first severe attack. Or if he should even escape
these, with the certainty before him of a very short existence, at
best.

This is substantially the history of many a young man whose soul was
once as spotless as that of C. S. Would that young men knew their
strength, and their dignity; and would put forth but half the energy
that God has given them. Then they would never approach the confines of
those regions of dissipation, for when they have once entered them, the
soul and the body are often ruined forever.

There are in every city hundreds of young men--I regret to say it,--who
should heed this warning voice. _Now_ they are happily situated,
beloved, respected. They are engaged in useful and respectable
avocations, and looking forward to brighter and better scenes. Let them
beware lest there should be causes in operation, calculated to sap the
founda