Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by

ARTEMAS B. MUZZEY,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.

PREFACE.

THIS little book has been written in the hope of doing something for those who hold in their hands the destinies of our community and country. Its word is direct; and comes from a heart that is still young, and in sympathy with all that is noblest in those it addresses, while not inexperienced in the temptations here so plainly set forth. A youth once myself, I know full well both the aspirations and the enticements of that period of life. If I seem to some an alarmist, they should reflect that age is fast introducing among us those vices that beset the old world. I have seen enough, at home and abroad, to convince me that our moral Mentors are in danger of losing sight of those sins which are the more terrible for their secrecy.

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