t length, in one of these fits of
excitement, he committed a misdemeanor for which he was expelled from
college. Soon after this, he became very dissipated, abandoned his
studies, and finally became a sot. People wondered how such a lovely
young man could fall into such ruinous courses. A young lady, conversing
about him, said she remembered that, when he was a little boy, just
beginning to study Latin, she saw his mother bring him a loaf of cake
and a glass of wine for a lunch. She then thought that perhaps he would
become a drunkard, and so it turned out. Beware of the first glass.

GOING TO THE THEATRE.

William R. was a young man of good habits--a lovely youth, "the only son
of his mother, and she was a widow." He was sent from the country, where
he had been brought up, to the city of New York, where he was employed
as a clerk. Hearing much of the _Theatre_, and seeing it puffed in the
newspapers, he thought he would _go once_, just out of curiosity, to see
what was done there. But, he was so fascinated with what he heard and
saw there, that he went again; just as some birds are so charmed with
the gaze of the serpent, as to run straight into his mouth! There
William fell into evil company, who enticed him away to the haunts of
infamy. Intoxicated with these things, he continued to frequent the
theatre until the expense was more than his earnings. He then began to
steal money from his employer. He was detected and fled. After some
time, his friends, hoping he had learned something from experience, sent
him to another city. For a time he seemed to be thoroughly reformed. But
evil habits once acquired are not easily overcome. He soon fell into the
same round of folly and sin, till he lost his character and his
employment, and in his despair, committed suicide!

Here, again, my readers will see that TOTAL ABSTINENCE is the only safe
rule. This boy's ruin was the consequence of going to the theatre _just
once_. If he had resisted an idle curiosity in the beginning, he would
have been saved. There are some things that we ought not to desire to
see. Among these, are the things that are done at theatres and other
places of amusement and pleasure, which abound in cities. It is
dangerous to look upon them. It is like looking down from a giddy height
upon a rapid current of water. It turns the head, the foothold is
endangered, and the life put in jeopardy.

_The Passion for Gaming._

The following anecdote shows the st