but in general, it holds good. If the habits are depraved and
vicious at that age, there is little hope of amendment. But if they
are correct--if they are characterized by virtue, goodness, and
sobriety--there is a flattering prospect of a prosperous and
peaceful life. Remember, the habits are not formed, nor can they be
corrected, in a single week or month. It requires years to form
them, and years will be necessary to correct them permanently, when
they are wrong. Hence, in order to possess good habits at maturity,
it is all-important to commence schooling the passions, curbing the
appetites, and bringing the whole moral nature under complete
control, early in youth. This work cannot be commenced too soon. The
earlier the effort, the easier it can be accomplished. To straighten
the tender twig, when it grows awry from the ground, is the easiest
thing imaginable. A child can do it at the touch of its finger. But
let the twig become a matured tree before the attempt is made, and
it will baffle all the art of man to bring it to a symmetrical
position. It must be uprooted from the very soil before this can be
accomplished. It is not difficult to correct a bad habit when it
commences forming. But wait until it has become fully developed, and
it will require a long and painful exertion of every energy to
correct it.

Permit me to enumerate a few of the more important habits, which the
young should seek to cultivate.

First of all--the most important of all--and that, indeed, which
underlies and gives coloring to all others--is the habit of
TEMPERANCE. Surely it is needless for me, at this day, to dwell upon
the evils of intemperance. It cannot be necessary to paint the
bitter consequences--the destruction to property, health,