pulpit in the land might join hands with
the medical profession and cry out with no uncertain sound against the
mighty evils herein stigmatized! It would work a revolution for which
coming society could never cease to be grateful.

7. STRIVE TO ATTAIN A HIGHER LIFE.--Strive to attain unto a higher and
better life. Beware of all excesses, of whatever nature, and guard your
personal purity with sacred determination. Let every aspiration be upward,
and be strong in every good resolution. Seek the light, for in light there
is life, while in darkness there is decay and death. {33}

[Illustration: CONFIDENCE THAT SOMETIMES MAKES TROUBLE.]

* * * * *

{34}

How to Write All Kinds of Letters.

[Illustration]

1. From the President in his cabinet to the laborer in the street; from the
lady in her parlor to the servant in her kitchen; from the millionaire to
the beggar; from the emigrant to the settler; from every country and under
every combination of circumstances, letter writing in all its forms and
varieties is most important to the advancement, welfare and happiness of
the human family.

2. EDUCATION.---The art of conveying thought through the medium of written
language is so valuable and so necessary, a thorough knowledge of the
practice must be desirable to every one. For merely to write a good letter
requires the exercise of much of the education and talent of any writer.

3. A GOOD LETTER.--A good letter must be correct in every mechanical
detail, finished in style, interesting in substance, and intelligible in
construction. Few there are who do not need write them; yet a letter
perfect in detail is rarer than any other specimen of composition.

4. PENMANSHIP.--It is folly to suppose that the faculty for writing a good
hand is confined to any particular persons. There is no one who can write
at all, but what can write well, if only the necessary pains are practiced.
Practice makes perfect. Secure a few copy books and write an hour each day.
You will soon write a good hand. {35}

5. WRITE PLAINLY.--Every word of even the most trifling document should be
written in such clear characters that it would be impossible to mistake it
for another word, or the writer may find himself in the position of the
Eastern merchant who, writing to the Indies for five thousand mangoes,
received by the next vessel five hundred monkies, with a promise of more in
the next cargo.

6. HASTE.--Hurry