And so, too, is it with companions. The coals may not burn, but only blacken; and companions may not leave any lasting impression for evil on the heart. Their example may not even appear to the conscience as being black and evil, but they blacken the character, at any rate for the time, none the less, if not in the sight of men, undoubtedly in the sight of God. And there is one point more. Do remember, that even the worst of us, the most degraded, are being constantly watched by people above us in society. And very often they don’t care to have anything to do with us, _because of our companions_. I once heard a foreman, who employed a great number of hands on a certain work, say of a young man, whose name had been recommended for employment, "He keeps such bad company." And though I knew the young man in question well, and knew that whatever his companions might be, he himself was pure and good, still it was of no use my speaking to the foreman, because he _was_ keeping bad company. Depend upon it, reader, there is truth in words written down in our Father’s Book, "Godliness is profitable unto all things, baring _promise of the life that now is_, and of that which is to come[#]." [#] Tim. iv. 8. *THE BOOKS WE READ.* "There is a Book, who runs may read, Which heavenly truth imparts, And all the lore its scholars need Pure eyes and Christian hearts. The works of God, above, below, Within us and around, Are pages in that Book to show How God Himself is found." _John Keble._ There are few things which have so mighty a power for good or evil, on the lives of most of us, as the books we read. Nor is it easy for us to read nothing but what is profitable and good. From the Bible, of course, we can always get wholesome reading, and always gain fresh stores of knowledge; but we cannot always be reading the Bible. And there are in these days many books and papers which a young man may come across, which can hardly fail to do him harm; books with perfectly innocent titles, and apparently quite harmless, and yet the reading they contain is as poison to the human soul. But there are plenty of good books too, thank God; and almost every village has its library, and every cottage home its books.