The young men of the great city.

Date:
[between 1850 and 1859?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The young men of the great city. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the great step in life must be taken. The sheltering protection of home must be withdrawn, and the wide, wide, world must be entered. Surely it is a fair world. As the lad bids farewell to those who have hitherto been his loving counsellors, or the companions of his child- hood, he speedily forgets the grief of parting, in view of the brightness of the prospect before him. As he surveys the world thus early presented to his eye, it seems very attractive. The dull realities of life, its sorrows and its trials, are at present hidden from his sight. All is bright and glittering. The thoughts which fill his mind are very varied. Ambition, success, the love of dis- tinction, pleasure—all, it may be, find a place there. Follow him into the counting-house or the shop, and you will find him diligent, earnest, and anxious to please; in his leisure hours, and they are, for the most part, not improperly occupied. For a short period it seems as though a shield were thrown over him. Ere long, however, he must submit to the common lot, and tempta- tion in its hundred forms will cross his path. How will he meet it? Is he endued with the power to say No, or will he weakly yield ? Look not coldly on. On his conduct NOW are depending interests of the most momen- tous character. It is no shght struggle that is passing in that heart; nor is the temptation wanting in specious pretence. If it be an invitation to the theatre, the drama is not necessarily demoralismg; to the casino, dancing is a very harmless thing in itself; to the card or billiard-table, I need not play for xnoney; to the Sunday walk, I must have exercise and recreation, and.;