sunny spots in the journey of the world, by some act of kindness, gentleness, affection, and friendship. The close of each week should be brightened and beautified by some significant manifestation; and thus it would be looked for longingly and lovingly, and turned to again and again in after-time, as a period touched with more than ordinary brightness, and gladdened and beautified by some peculiar charm. We have often looked with interest at the children of toil, as they have hurried home from their daily tasks, on a Saturday afternoon or evening. A lighter step than usual, a brighter eye and a more cheerful spirit, are ever apt to characterize them. They feel that they have thrown by the implements of toil, and the anxieties of labor, for at least one day, and they look for a warmer welcome at home, and a richer smile, for there are few who at such a season, do not bear with them some little tribute of affection, or are not prepared to manifest their generous and kindly feelings, by some gentle and becoming act. The laugh within the sacred precincts of the household, is ever more joyous on a Saturday night. It is a period when the heart overflows, when its natural impulses and instincts have full vent, and when neighborly visits and friendships are indulged and enjoyed, and many little courtesies are exchanged. It is, moreover, a prelude to the hallowed day of rest, a day when the working world ceases from its bustle and its din, and Nature-still, calm and tranquil, seems to partake of that spirit of peace and of religion which is so characteristic of most of the civilized nations of the earth. The close of the week is indeed a period as well of thought as of feeling, a season to forget and forgive-a moment admirably suited to adjust the harsh asperities and sharp collisions that have taken place-a calm and hallowed time, when families should indulge in innocent enjoyments, and all the ties that can unite hearts, hands, and affections, should be renovated, revived, and strengthened. The Habit of Industry.--The Choice of an Occupation. THE "But parents, to their offspring blind, What this, what th' other son shall be."-Gay's Fables. HE most unhappy members of society are the idle or those who have no regular occupation, and no habit of industry. It has been well said that the "success of individuals in life is greatly owing to their learning early to depend upon their own resources. Money, or the expectation of it by inheritance, has ruined more men than the want of it ever did. Teach the young to rely upon their own efforts, to be frugal and industrious, and you will furnish them with a productive capital which no man can wrest from them, and one which they themselves will not feel disposed to yield. Inculcate a habit of industry in early years, furnish some regular course of employment, either professional, mechanical, or artistical, and you will do two important things: First-you will furnish your son with the means of livelihood, and hence of independence-and second, you will keep him from the ways of idleness, and, hence, from many of the temptations which surround the listless and unemployed. A regular occupation is all important. It is essential, as well for peace of mind as for worldly prosperity. Better, far better, to have a boy familiar with the humblest calling, by which he can at any moment earn an honest livelihood, than to have him apt, ready, agreeable, and witty, but at the same time indisposed, or unable, for want of the necessary application and information, to pursue a regular and positive occupation. A good trade, calling, or avocation, is far better for a young man than a small fortune. The former is an independence for life, or so long as he enjoys mental and physical health; while the latter may be squandered in a few years, and the chances are ten to one that it will be, unless habits of economy and industry are inculcated in early youth. The very anticipation of fortune by inheritance is a serious evil in many cases. It relaxes the character, enfeebles the power of selfreliance, induces apathy and indolence, and is too frequently the forerunner of vicious habits and all their evil consequences. Let a youth understand that he can get along in the world without a resort to his own powers of mind and of body, and he will take very little pains to qualify himself for the trials and temptations to which all are more or less subjected. But teach him the great lesson of self-reliance and self-dependence, and the virtue and energy of his character will very speedily be manifested. "No rich man," says an eloquent divine, "no rich man is safe who is not a benevolent man." We may add, that no young man is safe who has not a regular occupation, some visible means of livelihood, which shall engage his head or his hands, interest his thoughts, his feelings, and his heart. Do all parents and guardians duly consider these plain, common-sense truths? Do they remember the high responsibility which devolves upon them, as directors of the minds, purposes, and employments of the young? Do they, when about to urge them to a particular business, consider the disposition and capacity, have reference to the future as well as the present, and endeavor to secure the selection of a path calcu lated to lead to competence and prosperity, one intended for a lifetime and not for the hour, one chosen with a view to all the circumstances of the case, and without reference to vanity and pride? Alas! how many young men have wasted the greenness and flower of their lives upon employments for which they were never suited, which they never would have chosen, had they possessed the slightest knowledge of the world, and which they abandoned at the first favorable opportunity! How apt are parents to desire to see their children merchants and wholesale dealers, who forget that, in order to occupy such positions, they must either, in the first place, be provided with a large amount of capital, or toil on for years, slowly and cautiously, devote themselves night and day to the principles of trade, and be remarkable not only for economy and energy, but for enterprise, tact, and judgment! How many, too, engage their sons as clerks in extensive establishments, forgetful that the chance must be a rare one, which will enable them, on attaining the age of manhood, to start in a like occupation for themselves! The choice of an occupation is indeed a great, a grave matter. Laudable ambition is every way desirable and commendable. But the cases are so frequent in which a false pride induces an erroneous judgment, that we have thrown out these hints for the benefit of the vain, the thoughtless, and the indiscreet. The head of a family who has several sons, may, with propriety, vary their avocations; but it is egregious vanity, to say the least, in a father who has half-a-dozen boys, to suppose that they are all calculated to shine in the higher walks of literature, science, intellect, and commerce. That they are all endowed with extraordinary genius, and suited to "Climb The steep where Fame's proud temple shines afar." Such expectations are likely to end in bitterness and disappointment. The son, too, is often made the victim. He imbibes notions of pride which unfit him for the humbler but not less honorable pursuits of life-fancies it a degradation to resort to a plain, substantial, mechanical, or manufacturing occupationsees a marked distinction between the merchant or professional man, and the mere trader or storekeeper, and drags on a miserable existence of poverty, pride, indolence, and unhappiness. Nay, submit to him. some ordinary mode of livelihood, some calling that may be regarded as rather rough and unpolished, and he will turn from it with contempt. And, strange as the inconsistency may seem, he will rather be a dependent gentleman, than an independent tradesman or mechanic-rather flutter among the follies and frivoli |