Now as to the matter of lying.You want to be very careful about lying;otherwise you are nearly sure to get caught.Once caught，you can never again be，in the eyes of the good and the pure，what you were before.Many a young person has injured himself permanently through a single clumsy and ill finished lie，the result of carelessness born of incomplete training.Some authorities hold that the young out not to lie at all.That of course，is putting it rather stronger than necessary;still，while I cannot go quite so far as that，I do maintain，and I believe I am right，that the young ought to be temperate in the use of this great art until practice and experience shall give them that confidence，elegance，and precision which alone can make the accomplishment graceful and profitable.Patience，diligence，painstaking attention to detail—these are requirements;these in time，will make the student perfect;upon these only，may he rely as the sure foundation for future eminence.Think what tedious years of study，thought，practice，experience，went to the equipment of that peerless old master who was able to impose upon the whole world the lofty and sounding maxim that“Truth is mighty and will prevail”—the most majestic compound fracture of fact which any of woman born has yet achieved.For the history of our race，and each individual’s experience，are sewn thick with evidences that a truth is not hard to kill，and that a lie well told is immortal.There is in Boston a monument of the man whodiscovered anesthesia;many people are aware，in these latter days，that that man didn’t discover it at all，but stole the discovery from another man.Is this truth mighty，and will it prevail?Ah no，my hearers，the monument is made of hardy material，but the lie it tells will outlast it a million years.An awkward，feeble，leaky lie is a thing which you ought to make it your unceasing study to avoid;such a lie as that has no more real permanence than an average truth.Why，you might as well tell the truth at once and be done with it.A feeble，stupid，preposterous lie will not live two years—except it be a slander upon somebody.It is indestructible，then，of course，but that is no merit of yours.A final word：begin your practice of this gracious and beautiful art early—begin now.If I had begun earlier，I could have learned how.
Never handle firearms carelessly.The sorrow and suffering that have been caused through the innocent but heedless handling of firearms by the young！Only four days ago，right in the next farm house to the one where I am spending the summer，a grandmother，old and gray and sweet，one of the loveliest spirits in the land，was sitting at her work，when her young grandson crept in and got down an old，battered，rusty gun which had not been touched for many years and was supposed not to be loaded，and pointed it at her，laughing and threatening to shoot.In her fright she ran screaming and pleading toward the door on the other side of the room;but as she passed him he placed the gun almost against her very breast and pulled the trigger！He had supposed it was not loaded.And he was right—it wasn’t.So there wasn’t any harm done.It is the only case of that kindI ever heard of.Therefore，just the same，don’t you meddle with old unloaded firearms;they are the most deadly and unerring things that have ever been created by man.You don’t have to take any pains at all with them;you don’t have to have a rest，you don’t have to have any sights on the gun，you don’t have to take aim，even.No，you just pick out a relative and bang away，and you are sure to get him.A youth who can’t hit a cathedral at thirty yards with a Gatling gun in three quarters of an hour，can take up an old empty musket and bag his grandmother every time，at a hundred.Think what Waterloo would have been if one of the armies had been boys armed with old muskets supposed not to be loaded，and the other army had been composed of their female relations.The very thought of it makes one shudder.
There are many sorts of books;but good ones are the sort for the young to read.Remember that.They are a great，an inestimable，and unspeakable means of improvement.Therefore be careful in your selection，my young friends;be very careful;confine yourselves exclusively to Robertson’s Sermons，Baxter’s Saint’s Rest，The Innocents Abroad，and works of that kind.
But I have said enough.I hope you will treasure up the instructions which I have given you，and make them a guide to your feet and a light to your understanding.Build your character thoughtfully and painstakingly upon these precepts，and by and by，when you have got it built，you will be surprised and gratified to see how nicely and sharply it resembles everybody else’s.