Sabbath-schools especially; and their own, more especially than any
other.

Among the early shoppers on Monday morning came Mrs. Evan Roberts.
Shopping, however, seemed to be a small part of her business. She came
directly to young Ried's counter, and addressed him very much as though
she had ceased talking with him but a moment before:--

"Mr. Ried, what can you and I do for those boys during the week?"

But Alfred was at his gloomiest.

"I don't see that we can do anything for them at any time," he said,
dismally. "What is an hour on Sunday, set against all the rest of the
time? They go from the school-room to the rum saloons, and dawdle away
the rest of the day. Yesterday I met that young Colson going into one of
the worst saloons on Dey Street. They are not to blame, either." This
last in a fiercer tone, after a slight pause. "I don't blame them; they
have nowhere else to go, and nothing to do; and it is cold on the
streets, and warm in the saloons."

If he expected the small lady, who was regarding him so steadily, to
take the other side of this question, he was disappointed. She spoke
quietly enough, but with the earnestness of conviction.

"Those are startling facts. I do not see how one could be surprised that
the results are they are; and the practical question forces itself upon
us, What are we to do under the circumstances? Mr. Ried, you have had
your eyes open in regard to this subject for some time; what have you
thought out?"