r bruised limbs, and putting them on the way of recovery of health and
useful energy--the number of such can scarcely be told, and will never be
known till the great day of accounts. One of these, who in his orisons
will ever remember him, has just read to me, with tears of grateful
attachment in his eyes, portions of a letter of counsel and encouragement
which he received from him in the hour of darkness, and which was but the
prelude to a thousand acts of substantial kindness and of graceful
attention. As the letter contains no secret, and may fall as a fructifying
seed into some youthful bosom that may be entering upon its trials and
struggles, a quotation from it will form an appropriate _finale_ at this
time. He thus writes: 'It will be good news, in all times coming, to learn
that such a life as yours unfolds itself according to its promise, and
_becomes_ in some tolerable degree what it is capable of being. The
problem is your own, to make or to mar--a great problem for you, as the
like is for every man born into this world. You have my entire sympathy in
your denunciation of the "explosive" character. It is frequent in these
times, and deplorable wherever met with. Explosions are ever wasteful,
woeful; central fire should not explode itself, but lie silent, far down
at the centre; and make all good fruits _grow_! We can not too often
repeat to ourselves, "Strength is seen, not in spasms, but in stout
bearing of burdens." You can take comfort in the meanwhile, if you need
it, by the experience of all wise men, that a right heavy burden is
precisely the thing wanted for a young strong man. Grievous to be borne;
but bear it well, you will find it one day to have been verily blessed. "I
would not, for any money," says the brave Jean Paul, in his quaint way. "I
would not, for any money, have had money in my youth!" He speaks a truth
there, singular as it may seem to many. These young obscure years ought to
be incessantly employed in gaining knowledge of things worth knowing,
especially of heroic human souls worth knowing. And you may believe me,
the obscurer such years are, it is apt to be the better. Books are
needful; but yet not many books; a few well read. An open, true, patient,
and valiant soul is needed; that is the one thing needful.' "

THE GENTLEMAN BEGGAR. AN ATTORNEY'S STORY. (FROM DICKENS'S HOUSEHOLD
WORDS.)

One morning, about five years ago, I called by appointment on Mr. John
Balance, the fa