We have said that in London the work was at first wholly religious.  In this country, however, the social and intellectual element in young men was immediately recognized and measures taken to satisfy them.  Therefore pleasant rooms were at once secured, carpeted, furnished, hung with pictures, and supplied with papers, magazines, and books; and, as the work enlarged and additional and more commodious rooms were obtained, the literary class and the occasional lecture in the room at the Tremont Temple building, expanded, in its first own building at the corner of Tremont and Elliot Streets, into evening classes, social gatherings, readings, and concerts; and here first we were able to give to our members who wished them the advantages of the gymnasium and bathrooms.  And when, through the munificence of the business men, the Association was enabled to take possession of its present building, certainly excelled by no other in the world, either in beauty of exterior or accommodation, every appliance for physical, social, intellectual and spiritual work has been made possible.

[Illustration]

Visit the building with us.  There it stands, at the corner of two broad streets, and in the midst of the finest public and private buildings in the city.  Unique in architecture, simple in design, warm in color, and beautiful in its proportions, it is a building of which Boston may well be proud, while every Christian man must rejoice in the thought that it is built for His glory whose blessed emblem crowns its top-most gable.  By its broad stone staircase, under the motto of Associations, “Teneo et teneor,” and through its vestibule, we enter the great reception-room.  Immediately on the left, a white marble fountain supplies ice-cold water to all who wish it; beyond, richly carpeted and well furnished, the walls hung with good paintings, are the two parlors.  Here the members have withdrawing-rooms equal to those even in this favored neighborhood.  The few whom we find here certainly appreciate their comfort.  The pleasant room adjoining is that of the general secretary, where he is usually to be found, and where each member is cordially welcomed for converse or advice.  Beyond, again, is the office, where three men find it no sinecure to attend to the continuous stream of comers for welcome, membership, or information.  The library is a large, handsome, sunnyroom, well furnished with shelves, but not these so well with books; and yet, from twenty to fifty men are here quietly reading.  The next room is for general reading.  Around the walls on every side are papers from almost everywhere, and on the tables all the periodicals of this country, and many from abroad.  All about the room sit or stand the readers, many, for the time, at home again as they gather the local news of their own town or village.  The room beyond is called the “game-room.”  At each little table sit the chess or draught-players, while many interested are looking on.