other expenditure, in order to get quarters which are well lighted. No economy could be more ill advised than the sacrifice of sunlight in family rooms. This element is vital to the good cheer of the entire household; lack of it is enough to impair the health and cloud the temper of the family.

THE COMMON SENSE VIEW OF DRESS

The problem of dress is far from trivial, yet it is not one difficult of solution. When regarded in its business aspect it is well worthy of serious consideration. It is quite impossible, under ordinary circumstances, to separate the clothes from the man in the impression which the latter makes upon those with whom he comes in contact. The young man who fails to clothe himself in keeping with the prevailing modes, and with the character of his occupation, neglects a valuable and often a powerful ally. In so doing he makes a needless sacrifice of an important advantage, one, indeed, of greater consequence than he would believe-greater, perhaps, than could be wished.

Adequate and becoming apparel makes a stronger impression on the person it clothes than on any who observe it. If every business man now going about his affairs in garments which are a little below the reasonable standard of presentableness could be clothed with those which fully meet this requirement, the business world would feel a sudden and unaccountable impulse of no mean proportions.

So far as business apparel is concerned, there is a moderate limit beyond which the most favored may not go and still adhere to the canons of good taste. The suit in which the "merchant prince" goes to his desk does not present to the average observer a richer appearance than the business suit of the proprietor of a small and struggling enterprise, provided the latter dresses as well as he can afford, with due regard to his best interests. In these days, a well-made, well-fitted business suit may be bought for a comparatively modest sum, and little is to be gained in point of appearance by a more lavish expenditure, unless for garments not in keeping with the modest requirements of business use. Good taste is the most reliable guide to the selection and wearing of appropriate apparel.

Few graver mistakes can be made by a young business or professional man than that of withdrawing himself from society.

Such withdrawal is occasionally met with on the part of strong and serious aspirants for success in business, young men with kindling ambition, and of signal energy and ability. They labor under the erroneous impression that even a limited indulgence in the pleasures of social life makes too great a demand on both purse and time.

Social intercourse is a fundamental demand of human nature, and if this is not satisfied the development of the individual is checked and stunted. The normal mind has an irrepressible longing for the friction of social contact which corrects the sharp and unseemly corners and angles of personality, and fits the individual to a unity with his fellows. To neglect this influence is to put aside a sure and beneficent aid to development. The young man who affects the company of men to the exclusion of society in its broader sense, and shuns the private parlor to shine in the club, makes a grievous mistake. The influence of women of refinement and good character is the best that any young man can have, and, without it, he is sure, sooner or later, to suffer in the esteem of others, if not in his own opinion.

THE CHURCH, THE STAGE, AND THE CONCERT

Since money is the theme now under consideration, contributions to the church should not be overlooked. These will naturally be made if there be church membership, as there should be. But, in any event, they are a perfectly legitimate item in the apportionment of a young man's income even in the absence of any denominational connection. The non-church member should contribute on the broad ground that he is better for having something invested in this great civilizing agency. It gives him a personal and vested interest in the greatest moral enterprise of the Christian era.

For the same reason there may be warmly recommended the habit of church attendance independent of church membership or of doctrinal assent, if on no other basis than that of intellectual and moral progress. More exalted issues may follow.

One of the highest privileges of metropolitan life is that of seeing the best the dramatic stage affords, and of hearing the finest music.

Though the variety stage is always to be avoided, high comedy is one of the most refreshing, innocent, and commendable forms of the drama. It relaxes the tension of the mind keyed too high by unremitted attention to business and helps to keep it in normal and wholesome condition.

The best tragedians only should be seen, and those plays only which are free from objectionable features, and which have exalted and unimpeachable motives.

More potent and subtle than the influence of the drama is that exerted by music. It elevates the sentiments, enriching and refining one's nature to a degree little understood. This is particularly true of classical and church music of the highest order. But in this, as in every other expenditure, let the rule be inflexible, never to go beyond one's means, or even so near to the limit as to incur danger of embarrassment, or the use of a farthing not one's own.

HOW TO INVEST SAVINGS

Where to place the savings is an important consideration. not easily covered by general advice. The savings bank is the suggestion which generally comes first to mind, and for very small sums, a few dollars at a time, this may be well. But even here it is most desirable to exercise the greatest caution and to profit by the counsel of elderly and experienced business men in the selection of the bank. It is to be hoped that the government will establish postal savings banks to insure absolute safety of deposits.

As soon as the savings amount to a sufficient sum to warrant it, more profitable investment may be had-with like reliable counsel-in well-secured bonds, or, better still, in the purchase of real estate in a growing city. It is not more difficult to select bonds which afford the maximum of safety than to choose a bank which is proof against dishonest management, or the disastrous runs in time of panic; and the bonds have the

advantage, generally speaking, of bringing a higher percentage of interest than the large bank pays the small depositor. But well-chosen realty in a city of actual and inevitable growth, presents, perhaps, the most solid and remunerative form of invest

ment.

To close this treatment of young men's savings, the writer ventures to versify a proverb worthy of constant remembrance: "Despise not the penny, though petty it sounds,

For pennies breed pennies, and soon become pounds."

THE MAN OF BUSINESS

The Talent for Work

By WILLIAM MATHEWS

[William Mathews, author, was born at Waterville, Me., July 28, 1818. He graduated from Waterville College (now Colby University) and finished his law course at Harvard in 1839. He began the practice of law in his native place, but soon changed his occupation to journalism. In 1856 he removed to Chicago and became librarian of the Young Men's Christian Association there, and in 1862 was elected professor of rhetoric and English in the University of Chicago. Since 1875 he has resided in Boston and devoted his time to literature. is the author of "Getting on in the World," "The Great Conversers and other Essays, " Words-Their Use and Abuse," "Hours with Men and Books, Oratory and Orators," "Literary Style and Other Essays," "Men, Places, and Things," "Wit and Humor-Their Use and Abuse," "Nugæ Literariæ, or, Brief Essays on Literary, Social, and Other Themes."]

IT

He

T is a common mistake to suppose that intellectual cleverness or mental power is the main qualification for success in any career. Far more important than brilliant abilities is a talent for work-for hard, persistent, unremitting toil. Mental cleverness is the edge of the knife which makes it penetrate; but whether it penetrate deeply or not depends more on the force applied to it and the persistence with which it is applied than upon the sharpness of the blade.

The will is the driving wheel which sets all the mental machinery in motion. It is the man who not only resolves to succeed, but who begins and rebegins resolutely again and again after every rebuff, that reaches the goal. Take any calling or sphere of achievement—as literature, for example, a calling in which success would seem to depend chiefly upon intuition or inspiration-what men call "genius "-and what an amount of toil of hard, unremitting, exhausting work-nay, even of drudgery, success in it exacts!