A Word For Our Boys.

out of a listless life ; iu those who lead—or rather , who used to lead—in the ordinary course of events , when not on active or foreign service , so indolent a life , except for sporting and other pleasures , called by some frivolous amusements , but still requiring nerve and judgment . But can it be said

that hunting in the midland counties , whore a quick eye and a ready hand is ever required to save many a cropper , and a long , hard day ' s shooting does not hel p to turn out the British officer the man he is ?

And we see often the dandy officer of the ball-room turn out a man of steel , and ready to bear all hardships with the merest private , and lead his men to the deadliest charge , when required , with that gallant " esprit de corps" so especially shown in our own army ? Although

I have taken the case of an officer , I only put forth that as an instance ; for the same amount of gallantry—or call it what you will—is to be seen in all classes of society ; which , I think , shows our present race of young men not to be quite so

degenerate as " Cielebs" would represent , aud consequently not so much beneath the clever and sparkling young women with whom they are to spend their lives . Granted , that very many young ladies are very pleasant , entertaining , aud instructive

companions ; yet , I think it will be admitted , some few ( say very , very few ) are rather bores , aud Charley and Harry are occasionally only too glad to get away from a " quiet evening and a little music " and have a cigar or band of whist at their club , where there is less restraint . I do not

allude to a class of men whose ideas do not go beyond smoking and drinking , and whose natural instinct seems always of a vicious nature and without one elevating thought , these I turn over to the tender mercies of " Cajlebs , " let him deal with them as he listsand crush them without

, mercy , it is but their dessert ; but let us hope they are , as we wish them to be , in the minority , I think we may take the great increase iu all athletic sports , and the zest with which they are followed , as a good sign of our timesand as an index to the

, improvement of our young men . What is more likely to follow a strong , healthy body than a healthy mind 1 and the wellbraced arm which can pull over a fourmile course at racing pace is not less likely

to have a weak head ou its shoulders than the weed with weak eyes and green spectacles who loafs about with a book constantly under his arm , and looking like a sapient blockhead—but perhaps in reality is a very clever young man . It is also a great evil of the present age in many men

to ape an amount of fastness they do not possess , and to be more ashamed of owning to a good action than any amount of folly . We see this from boys at school upwards , who so often try to show themselves up in an exaggerated form of abandonwhichif

, , analysed , would be found only in its mildest form . Men are not always so fortunate as they might be in the matrimonial venture . Tom , for instance , is expected to fall in love with Bella "because the estates join . " Well , who is to blame for this ? But

Bella is in many cases more likely to be ready to ratify the treaty of her sapient parents than Tom ; who , as a rich man , has plenty of girls to fall in love with him , or his estate . Thus , he is apt to look upon Bella—if the marriage takes p lace—as a creature of her parents , and she then looses cast in his eyes . Again , a rich man may

overhear the remark from his true-love , as Hugh Chalcot did , " I do not care for the man , but he is so awfully rich . " Well , this of course is p leasant , and calculated to raise the moral tone of our young men ; even less than the ever-present matchmaking mammawho is the bugbear

, of so many men of property . Again , how many young men are there in the present day with small incomes who would be only too glad to marry and settle down iu a quiet way with the girl of their choice , but which said girl has DressHouseHorses

, , , Carriages , & c , in her mind ; and he who would devote his life to her might as well sigh for the moon . Can we wonder , then , that we have many specimens in the present day of fast young men , and that many are supercilious and

vain—fond of club life ( where , at least , everything is a reality ) , and seek amusements in which the opposite sex take no part ; but with all this let us be thankful that iu all classes may still be found—not always on the surface , iu many cases a long way down , but still there—that almost priceless pearl—the heart aud feelings of a true English Gentleman . R .