"Come, boys! tip up your bumpers!" exclaimed Haveril, and then singing aloud, followed by the others in chorus, "_For Fred's a jolly good fellow_," &c. Frederick having declined was again pressed to drink, to which he replied--"I am willing to condescend to the wishes of the company in which I may be placed; but when principle is at stake I must necessarily decline sacrificing my honor to the demands of others, even those of my best friends, as I am a pledge-bound total abstainer." "Pooh! pooh!" ejaculated Jenkins, "that's enough of your sophisticated balderdash. Do you not know that a London pledge is not valid in Canada?" "Why, what's the difference," exclaimed Fred, "the principle is the same throughout." "Well, sir, the difference is just this," said Jenkins, "every country has its own laws, and every subject therein is commanded to obey them, and to do so only while he is a resident. The laws of the temperance cause are based upon the same principle." "Philosophically speaking, you cannot assimilate them," replied Fred. "Civil laws differ according to the government of a country, the characteristics of a people, their intellectual, moral and spiritual condition, etc. Whereas, the temperance cause, in its strictest sense, is everywhere identical, and its laws universal; the essence of which in the abstract is simply '_to abstain_' and '_to obey_.' But suppose, for the sake of argument, that you are right in your opinion, I ask then, is there sufficient reason in the act of having withdrawn myself from the country in which I took the pledge, to disannul my responsibility, when I have not withdrawn my name from the Society's list of membership. And again, I ask you, if I desire to remain a total abstainer, wherefore should I compel myself unnecessarily, in order to please others, to sacrifice my liberty to the 'king of evils,' even should I feel no longer bound to obey the laws of the Society." "I say, Fred, for goodness' sake stop," exclaimed Sandie Johnstone, "or else you will sink us so deeply into the ruts of philosophy that our friends will never be able to discover us." "Go on, Fred, go on, you're a brick," cried Haveril. "Give Jenkins another dig with your philosophical pick." "Fair play," shouted Jenkins, "'tis my turn to bait the trap." "Bait it with a bottle of brandy," cried Haveril, "and we'll see who'll bite at it first." "If Jenkins wont, I'll bet you a dollar you will," ejaculated Johnstone. "Yes, Haveril would bite at the very devil if his Satanical Majesty was filled to the teeth with brandy," exclaimed Jenkins, the others chorusing with a series of discordant laughs. "Well, well, gentlemen," exclaimed Fred, "if you desire the continuance of my friendship, and if you wish to respect the dignity of morality and the English language, you must refrain from using such insinuating balderdash and bar-room-slang." "You're right, Fred, stick to your subject and make them all your subjects," said Ernest Stevens.