struggles of him, who, knowing all the dangers, yet confident in the protection of a Divine Arm, and the guidance of the Omniscient Eye, calmly and warily goes forth to build up a reputation, and sustain the great interests of society, and develop his high powers in noble action for the uplifting of humanity. But there is fear, and uncertainty, and anticipated evil, that make the heart sink, when the youth whose only aim is, perchance, to rear a fortune, engages in the enterprise, with no friend, divine or human, to guide him, and suffers himself to be swayed by every impulse in the pursuit of present pleasure.

The ancients tell us of the three sister sirens, who, residing on the coast of Sicily, attracted to the shore, by the enchantment of their singing, any unhappy voyager who happened to sail within the sound of their voices. No sooner, however, was he once within their power, than they cruelly destroyed him. There was heavenly enchantment in their singing, but certain death in their embrace; the power of their melody at a distance was ravishing, but the end of the delirium was ruin. The bones of their victims lay heaped and bleaching in the sun. Yet, although these were visible from afar, no sooner did the breeze bear the delicious strains of their music full upon the ear of the forewarned sailor, than, reckless of consequences, he made for the shore, and added another to the sad trophies of their power. Ulysses, with a wariness which well became so princely a leader, stopped the ears of his companions; and causing himself to be bound to the mast, commanded them wholly to disregard his orders while they were passing the enchanted ground. No sooner, however, did he hear their voices, than, struggling to release himself, he ordered the sailors to row for the shore. But they,

true to his previous command, and insensible to the witchery that overpowered his judgment, disobeyed, and passed on safely. When the Argonauts, in their famous expedition for the golden fleece, traversed the same waters, Orpheus, whom they carried with them, by his divine strains, surpassing those of the sirens, preserved the sailors from the fatal seduction.

Without a fable, we have in our cities three monstrous sirens, whose seductive melody attracts thousands to their fatal embrace. There are other seductions, it is true, and other evils; but amidst them all, the wine-cup, and the harlot's chamber, and the card-table, are pre-eminent. These address themselves to our unguarded youth; these steal away money, mind, conscience, and leave them broken and blighted forever. Toward these a thousand fingers point, a thousand avenues open, and a thousand voices urge. The minor temptations which first beset their path often conduct to these perilous enchantments. Could the bones of their victims be heaped around the doors within which they ply their fiendish trade; could the skeletons of the once bright and noble whom they have ruined in fortune, in body, and in soul, be gathered there, the frightful pile would o'ertop the very houses, and stern reality cast into the shade all the grim and monstrous imaginations of ancient fable. Some there are, of clear judgment, and stern purpose, and wary conduct, who, like Ulysses and his companions, in spite of the rebellious impulses of the inferior nature, resist the tempters at the outset, and soon pass beyond their power. Others, like Orpheus and the Argonauts, by the aid of heavenly powers and the strength of religious principle, and under the daily guidance of the Divine Word and Spirit, overpower the seductions of earth, and conquer the sensual and impure. But many there are—

a vast army in multitude-who, possessing neither the cool temperament, and the clear judgment, and the firm purpose of the one, nor the humble faith and devout spirit of the other, are always in imminent peril. Pleasure, at first their recreation, is ever seeking to become the chief object of life. She cries to them, as nightly they pass her thronged threshold:

"Here dwell no frowns, nor anger; from these gates
Sorrow flies far; see, here be all the pleasures

That fancy can beget on youthful thoughts,

When the fresh blood grows lively, and returns
Brisk as the April buds in primrose season.

And first, behold this cordial julep here,

That flames and dances in his crystal bounds."- COMUS.

Companions already initiated persuade some; desire already ripened into lust impels others; curiosity to know the world and understand the mysteries of this enchanted palace, of which they had heard afar, draws not a few within the evil precinct. Here and there, a soul, strong in its integrity, repels the seducer.

"Were it a draught for Juno when she banquets,

I would not taste thy treasonous offer: none
But such as are good men can give good things;
And that which is not good, is not delicious
To a well-governed and wise appetite."

The number who approach the shore and enter the palace where these sirens live; who come forth yearly, diseased and dishonored; who offer their health, and fortunes, and prospects, and peace of mind, and everlasting well-being upon these bloody altars, is large enough to waken the deepest solicitude in every Christian heart. We would appeal, in these pages, to this multitude of the young who yearly enter our cities, and set before them the power and the fearfulness of these temptations. We would argue the matter with those

whose years and position give to all their doings a commanding influence, and we would persuade them to make war upon those customs of society by which the net is spread for the innocent, the habits of vice confirmed in those already corrupted, and the efforts of good men to rescue the lost wholly counteracted. It is in behalf of absent fathers, and mothers, and sisters, who have sent hither the pride of the domestic circle, in the hope that he would honor those from whom he sprang, and rise to a position of respectability and usefulness; it is in behalf of the grandest interest for this world and that which is to come-of the youth in our cities, by whom all our most precious civil and religious institutions must soon be upheld — that we would here speak. May this voice not be wholly lost amidst the roar of earthly business, nor the seductions of pleasure and the demands of a frivolous literature prevent the young man whose eye may rest on these pages from giving heed to the lessons of wisdom, which are able to confer upon him the purest happiness of time and the salvation of eternity.

THE WINE-CUP.

"Let us reason together."

MIGHTIEST of the temptations which assail young men in these our larger towns and cities, and most successful in the debasement of their manhood, is the intoxicating bowl. Poetry has wreathed it with the most fragrant garlands; Custom has stamped it the most essential element of a genial hospitality; Beauty has pressed it to their lips with all the silent eloquence of love; Care and Disappointment have fled to it as a refuge; while Mirth and Wit have crowned it king of all good fellowship. Sparkling in wine-cups, creaming in bowls, foaming in tankards, in hue various as the colors of the rainbow, in taste mingled to suit all palates, this Spirit of Intoxication weaves, in all places of festive resort, the infernal web of his enchantments. An officer of state, he palsies the arm of justice; a hero at weddings and feasts, he lends wit to the brainless and folly to the wise; in all times of political excitement, he is the chief demagogue; in all seasons of wide-spread pestilence he is the most beloved physician; in war, his presence inspires courage; in peace, it rouses the sluggish currents of the blood; toil comes to him for help, and idleness for enjoyment; health for recreation, and sickness for health; heat for refrigeration, and cold for warmth fashion grows riotous at the sight of his rubi