Provided a boy is truthful, clean and careful in his language we should not let the pecuniary circumstances of his family enter into consideration; for our desire is to build up a noble manhood in our boys, and how despicable is that man who esteems his friends according to the length of their purses. There is only one way of judging our boy's companions, and that is by knowing them ourselves. This we can do by encouraging him to invite his friends to visit him not always formally, but now and then, as it may happen. We can pleasantly welcome them, but let us be careful not to entertain them too much, for there is nothing a boy hates more than to have a "fuss" made over him. An occasional taffy pulling is not an expensive luxury and a little hot water removes all traces from the kitchen, to which it should be limited. Some time when it is convenient, let us tell our boy to invite some of his friends to spend the evening, and use the best china and the preserves and cake he likes the best. Do not say, "It is only those boys." Let him feel that his guests are well treated, and he will be the more anxious to have friends worthy of the treatment they receive. I think that the clownish behavior of boys arises from the only-a-boy treatment they experience; feeling slighted they instinctively resent it, by being as disagreeable as possible. Nor is it necessary that one's house should be turned into a barn for boys to carouse in. On the contrary, our boy should always tell mother when he wishes to invite a friend, or, if he knows that his friends are coming; not as a rigid rule, but as a courtesy due a lady in her own house; no matter whether the home consists of one room or twenty, the mother is always the hostess, and she can train her son into a well-bred man, or allow him, even though well educated to grow up a boor. Many men owe their success in life to their observance of the minor courtesies in which they were trained by a good mother. These habits and that of correct speech should be insisted upon by every refined mother. There is another, and to me the most important point in the education of our boys, I refer to their religious training. Merely sending them to a short service on Sunday, will never impress boys with the respect they should have for God, and if they are not taught love and reverence for their Heavenly Father, they will disregard the authority of their parents and in after life, defy the laws of the land.