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254 —he may have been years in doing so—that his pace accelerates, and people generally begin to see that he will get into trouble. His excesses lead him to neglect his business, and he loses caste in the commercial world, besides which his proceedings so impair his constitution and sap his energy th;at he becomes incapable of sustained exertion. Of course, his moral tone is lowered, so lowered indeed, in many instances, that he is not ashamed to sponge upon his friends and play the part of an amateur sharper. When he has sunk to this depth his parents, perchance, come to his assistance, and his father gives him another start in life, and yet another. But these only lead to further break-downs, and, consequently, he is at last either shipped off abroad or becomes a vagabond, who walks on the face of the earth, an eyesore to his friends and a torment to himself.

Now people who go to the "bad" in the manner indicated have, strictly speaking, only themselves to blame, and it may be argued that those who choose to make fools of themselves ought not to be shielded from the effects of their folly. Nevertheless, it may be pointed out that the offenders frequently wander astray at first as much through inadvertence as by virtue of their innate depravity. Putting on one side the fact that example is a potent force, which weak-natured people often find it impossible to resist, it may be safely asserted that many persons commit themselves imprudently in their desire to do something, and from the horror of sitting still with folded hands doing nothing. Thus, there is reason to believe that if homes were made more attractive, and if those who live in them were always provided with something to do, which would have the effect of exciting their interest and rousing their energies, they would not be led to seek diversions at a public billiard-room or a fast theatre. As it is, too many mothers are impatient of what disturbs the established order of things, and too many fathers are inclined to sulk and snarl if their comfort is in any way interfered with. Perhaps they ought not to be severely blamed on this account, for it is natural for elderly people to study their own comfort, and to be blind to many things which they ought to see, so long as they are not disturbed. But, then, neither should young men who are not of a literary turn of mind and there fore care not for books—by the way, we cannot all be literary—be severely censured for seeking what their nature demands in quarters where they are exposed to danger. Let it be remembered that the man whose heart is thoroughly in his work or in his pleasures, is not likely to be tempted by attractions which, if denuded of their "naughtiness," and the false atmosphere by which they are surrounded, would excite the contempt of every reasonable person. It is the excitement which people derive from playing with edged tools, rather than a love of the took themselves, which induces those who are "going to the bad" to trifle with them. The moral to be drawn from this is so obvious that we hope that the time will shortly arrive when reeking bar-parlours, the 'foetid haunts of sharpers, and highly embellished female divinities, will cease to do the amount of mischief which they now, unhappily, effect, to the discredit alike of the intelligence, morality, and taste of those who are injured by them.

 

St. Petersburg.

The following correspondence between Nelson and Suvorof, which belongs to the collection of Baron Bühler, the amiable director of the archives of the ministry of foreign affairs at Moscow, is probably (although once printed in the Russkii Arkhiv) for the first time presented to the knowledge of the English public.

The letter of Nelson was received by Marshal Suvorof at Prague, where, he stopped for some time on his return to Russia from Switzerland. His answer was drawn up by Baron Andrew Bühler (the father of its present possessor), although the part printed in italics was added by Suvorof himself. In consequence of an observation of Bühler, that the letter of Nelson was, in many respects, very remarkable, Suvorof handed it to him, with the words, "If the Englishman's fly-tracks please you, keep them as a souvenir."

The letter of Suvorof, which still retains its envelope with the huge seal of the field-marshal, was obtained in London, many years ago, by Admiral Tchitchagof, and given to Baron Bühler. It is addressed: A Son Excellence, My Lord Baron Nelson, Amiral des flottes de Sa Majesté Britannique dans la Mediterranée, Chevalier des plusieurs ordres, etc., à Palerme." the word "Bronte," in Nelson's