Contracting Social Evils 203 



In every instance it is well for the parents to remind 

 the boy of the great interest they have in his welfare, 

 of how deeply he may grieve them by taking up any 

 of the evil practices in question, and of the high ideal 

 which they hold in mind for his future. 



Farm parents will need to keep up an intimate and 

 frank exchange of ideas with their youthful son on 

 the general subjects discussed in this chapter. They 

 may ask him to repeat all he has heard and to relate 

 all he has seen, good and bad, they then offering 

 their corrections and admonitions. The especial 

 danger is that the boy may acquire evil forms of 

 speech, pernicious ideas for his secret thoughts, and a 

 too low estimate of the worth of humanity. The 

 vile companion is especially inclined to make the 

 youth believe that there is no purity of character 

 among girls and women a most lamentable state 

 of mind for a boy or a man of any age. 



The boy in the country is not only very much in 

 danger of having his mind contaminated by the evil 

 speech and the evil misinformation mentioned above, 

 but there is always the possibility of his being enticed 

 by some older and depraved companion into the 

 company of evil women. Strange to say, there are a 

 few men who seem to plan deliberately this form of 

 downfall for innocent boys and to regard the success 

 of their vile plot in the light of a mere joke. It is 

 perhaps a fault of society that such men are per- 

 mitted to run at large. And it is especially the fault 



