The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-06-07

thing You can do Of an evening is to DO moth
ing. No man goes wrong when he IS st work.
But at night-that is when the battle begins;
when the young man shuts his books. locks
his desk. puts on his hat and goes out into
The busy streets, free for the evenlng-.tnen
che dangerous time commences. PROBABLY
he is dull and tagged and iistless, lonely and
tired and disconnected. The devil dogs his
footsteps. He is tempted at every street
corner. That is how men go wrong having
nothing else TO do they do eyli. Lie IL so
m~onotonous. and the daily round 50 oppTes-
sive-and thus killing time they are apt TO Kill
themselves-in seeking for ~pleasureable ex-
element they find a slippery path which may
end in degradation and despair.
The remedy Is simple and obvious. Wemust
fill our life so full of good that there shall be
no room for evil. Dizziness can be charmed
away by music. depression can be banlshed
by vigorous exercise, andthese pleasures never
harmed any man. The best exercise and
pastimes." said Luther, ARE music and gym
nastics. the former dispelling mental care and
melancholy thought. the latter producing
elasticity of body and preserving health"
The grand old reformer was right. and music
and muscle remain 70 TINS day the best and
safest amusements we can ENJOY.
1t is always "a great safeguard for n young
man to have a hobby n hobby he can be en-
thusiastic about, one that will exercise both
body and brain. How many men have found
ia tho study and practice of music II delight
full means Of redeeming the evening! What
n power it yields. How 1t revives the best
feelings and Touses the nOblest emotions. We
are not surprised TO read that When the evil
spirit was upon Saul David took a harp and
played; 80 Saul was refreshed and was well
and the evil spirit departed from him." Gods
sweet messenger OF song knows well how 70
calm a worried brain and cheer a fretful spirit.
But men who are tied TO q desk or confined
to a warehouse all day will want TO ride a
more spirited hobby. Then | would suggest
cycling. What! In the evening" Yes. Ill
the evening: and winter evenings. too. !
know nothing more exhilarating than q ten
miles spin on a frosty moonlight night, when
the air ~ crisp and the roads are hard. and
the silver lamp of night reveals the broad ex-
panse of country to our admiring view. On,
ON we pedal, swiftly and merrily, and our
hearts are buOyant, our appetltes keen, and
our enjoyment simply boundless.
But do you object TO cycling on account o
the expense of buying a machine or the fire.
quent spells of wet weather! Then JOIN a
good gymnasium. What happy. healthy
hours can be spent with bar and bell, horse
and trapeze. While we gain firm limbs, strong
muscles and stout hearts. And this Is not ali
for a course of gymnastics IS no small help in
developing a manly character. 1t not only
fosters endurance, perseverance, and pluck,
but the cheerful rivalry, the constant effort TO
attain a higher standard of agility and
stronghold this tends to make a man chival-
Tous and modest aud brave.
need not refer TO cricket or photography,
or any of the popular hobbies In which so
many young men find wholesome delight.
But l must suggest that, for q man engaged
in business, there can be no more fascinating
pastime than a systematic and intelligent
study of the best books. "A good book I"
said Milton, lis the life-blood of a master
spirit; and the best works of master spirits
were never SO readily accessible as they are to-
day. The greatest books are now the cheap
est. For a mere tribe you can have opened Do
you vast stores of the highest wisdom, you
can DO transported from a dull, work-a-day
world into gardens of undimmed beauty.
where the flowers of gracious poetry never
fade, and the leaves of noble biographies
never wlther.
The love of good books is one of the
strongest defenses against temptation. Ii
provides a man with q new and brighter
world, into which he can retire at will and
hold intercourse with the wise and good.
Nothing III Dickens works is more touching
than the picture of his own child life which
ne gives in David Copperfeld." He shows
how easilyhe might have gone wrong had it
not been for cue great power and influence
that cast a spell over him-the love of books.
in his dismal and solitary garnet he was not
alone, for he had the cheerful companionship
of his books, and they kept him pure in
thought. shrewd in intellect. and right in life,
even IN the midst of a crowded city, with its
MJftau uauBofS anu temptations. What
books did for Charles Dickens they will do
tor US. The Apostle Paul never gave limo
thy better advice than when he urged the
young man TO give attendance to reading"
The ~despotism of habit is so strong that it is
extremely important the taste for reading
fhould be cultivated in youth. Have we not
known men who have sacrificed every hour
TO business, eschewing oil pleasure, quenching
th intehectual yearnings. until money-mak-
Ing has become the one dominant passion of
their lives We know the result. They be-
come rich, retire from business and are mis-
tnaoie. IL Is positively wicked 10 neglect the
mind until 1t becomes duh and stunted and
Useless, at least for the study of any other
voiumes than the ledger or the bank-book'
lou VIII be all the better business men il you
Eoto your desk every morning fresh and
Happy, because the evening has been devoted
70 study which has gratihed the fancy and
fnrcned the mind. The great thing is To
nave some hobby, some scientific. literary or
lthieuc occupation, outside the line of daily
There Is yet another way Of redeemino the
evening and by no means the least important
Nothing will contribute so much 10 real deem
nnfaliing happiness as one or TWO nights a
week spent in trying to mitigate the suffer
ing end enlighten the ignorance Of our fellow
pen. like to think OF Ion Keith F~alconer.
The brilliant university. man. the champion