When boys get to be fourteen or sixteen, they begin to think and wonder what they will be when they are men. Very little boys generally mean to be either cab-drivers or engine-drivers; and I did hear of one who meant to have a wild beast show when he grew up. Jack reached the age of twenty-one, and had not decided what he would be. At last the time came when he must make up his mind. After thinking about it very seriously, he thought he would like to be a minister like his father. So he wrote home and told them his decision. His father who had been ill and was unable to use his right hand properly, wrote to him that he must be quite sure that God had called him to this work before he undertook it. "At present," he said, "I think you are too young." Then, referring to his illness, he said: "You see that time has shaken me by the hand; and death is but a little behind him. My eyes and heart are almost all I have left, and I bless God for them." Mrs. Wesley was very glad when she heard that her boy wished to be a minister. "God Almighty direct and bless you," she wrote to him. A few months afterwards, Jack's father wrote, and told him that he had changed his mind about his being too young, and that he would like him to "take Orders," that is, to become a minister, the following summer. "But in the first place," he said, "if you love yourself or me, pray very earnestly about it." To choose to be Christ's minister, a preacher of the gospel, Mr. Wesley knew was a very solemn and responsible choice, and he wished Jack to think very seriously, and to pray very earnestly before he took the important step. [Illustration] [Illustration] CHAPTER V. Books.--Two books that left impressions on Jack.--Must a Christian boy be miserable?--Jack says "No."--So says Jack's mother.--Father gives his opinion.--"The Enchanted Rocks;" a fairy story. I WONDER if any of my readers ever think what the books they read are doing for them, especially the books they are most fond of? Do you know every book you read makes _you_ a little bit different? By _you_, I mean the unseen part of you, your mind and character. I remember, when I was somewhere about the mischievous age of eight or nine, how fond I used to be of getting to the putty round a newly-put-in window pane. It was lovely to press my thimble on it, and see all the pretty little holes it left; or to push a naughty finger deep down into the nice soft stuff. Then, when the putty had dried hard, I used to look with great interest on my work, for every impression was there, and could not now be removed. So it is with books, they make an _impression_ on you; and you are either a little bit better or a little bit worse for every book you read. _Take care only to read those books that will make you better._