nxiety lest he might not this evening win it back.

"There were many others present, and all, more or less, sunk in
dissipation, had reached various stages on the road to ruin. Their
faces, however, looked gay, and, as Willie glanced from one to another,
he seemed pleased and attracted.

"One of them offered him a seat at the table, and all urged him to take
it. He did so, and the young man at his right filled a glass with bright
wine, and handed it to him. He hesitated, then took it and raised it to
his lips. Just then I touched him on the shoulder. He turned, saw me,
and instantly the glass fell from his hand, and was broken. I beckoned,
and he rose and followed me. The gay circle he had left called loudly
upon him to return; one of them even laid a hand upon his arm, and tried
to detain him; but he would not listen or stay--he shook off the hand,
and we went on. Before we had got outside the building, the man whom I
had first noticed, and whom I knew to be the most artful of the company,
came out from a room near the door, which he had reached by some other
direction, and, approaching Willie, whispered in his ear. Willie
faltered, turned, and would perhaps have gone back; but I stood in front
of him, held up my finger menacingly, and shook my head. He hesitated no
longer, but, flinging aside the tempter, rushed out of the door, and was
instantly down the long flight of steps. I seemed to move with great
rapidity, and was soon guiding my son through the intricate, crowded
streets of the city. Many were the snares we found laid for the unwary.
More than once my watchful eye saved the thoughtless boy by my side from
some pitfall or danger, into which, without me, he would have fallen.
Occasionally I lost sight of him, and had to turn back; once he was
separated from me by the crowd, and missed his way, and once he lingered
to witness or join in some sinful amusements. Each time, however, he
listened to my warning voice, and we went on in safety.

"At last, however, in passing through a brilliantly-lighted street--for
it was now evening--I suddenly observed that he was absent from my side.
I hunted the streets, and called him by name; but there was no answer. I
then unfolded my wings, and, soaring high above the crowded town,
surveyed the whole, hoping that in that one glance I might, as I had at
first done, detect my boy.

"I was not disappointed. In a gorgeous hall, dazzlingly lit, and filled
with a fashionable crow