Mark this.  Prayer is armor for the battle of life.  If you give up your morning petitions, you will suffer for it; temptation is before you, and you are not fit to meet it; there is a guilty feeling in the soul, and you keep at a distance from Christ.

Be sure the hour of prayer broken in upon by sleepiness can never be made up.  Make it a principle, young Christian, to begin the day by watching unto prayer.  “The morning hour has gold in its mouth;” aye, and something better than gold—­heavenly gain.

[Illustration:  The Early Morning Reading]

[Illustration:  “Why don’t you take that fellow in hand.”]

TAKING HIM IN HAND

Two boys met in the street and the following conversation ensued:—­

“Isaac,” said George, “why don’t you take that fellow in hand? he has insulted you almost every day for a week.”

“I mean to take him in hand,” said Isaac.

“I would make him stop, if I had to take his ears off.”

“I mean to make him stop.”

“Go and flog him now.  I should like to see you do it.  You can do it easily enough with one hand.”

“I rather think I could; but I’ll not try it to-day.”

At this point in the conversation the school-boys parted, as they were on their way home, and their roads led them in different directions.

The boy alluded to was the son of an intemperate man, who was angry with Isaac’s father, in consequence of some effort to prevent his obtaining rum.

The drunkard’s son took up the cause of his father, and called Isaac hard names every time he saw him pass; and as he did not do anything by way of retaliation, he went farther and threw stones at him.

Isaac was at first provoked at the boy’s conduct.  He thought he ought to be thankful that his father was prevented, in some degree, from procuring rum, the source of so much misery to himself and family.

But when he thought of the way in which he had been brought up, and of the poor lad’s ignorance and wretchedness, he pitied him and ceased to wonder, or to be offended at his conduct.

But Isaac resolved, indeed, to “take him in hand,” and to “stop him,” but not in the sense in which his schoolfellow understood those terms.

The boy’s name was James, but he was never called anything but Jim.  Indeed, if you were to call him by his true name, he would think you meant somebody else.

The first opportunity Isaac had of “taking him in hand” was on election day.  On that day as Isaac was on his way home, he saw a group of boys a little off the road, and heard some shouting and laughing.

Curiosity led him to the spot.  He found that the boys were gathered around Jim, and another boy, a good deal larger than he was.  This boy was making fun of Jim’s clothes, which were indeed very ragged and dirty, and telling how he must act to become as distinguished a man as his father.