250
��The Boston Young Mens Christian Association.
��[April,
��narrow street — houses all about — the view all brick and slate, — the sunshine never penetrates to him — the air is close and heavy ; not one attraction is there for him here. But on his way from work he must perforce pass many a front, where the electric light casts its brilliant beams quite across the street. Yes, this proprietor can well afford the costly allurement — it pays — a very wrecker's light to lure to destruction. Its bane- ful brightness makes day of that dark narrow street. Within is warmth, companionship, music, wine, play, — all that appeals to a young man's nature. What wonder that he turns in here rather than go on to his cold, dreary room.
Once in, he is welcomed ; hearty good fellows they seem. True, they are very different from his old friends in appearance, manner, and language, and he at first shrinks from them, but the wine-cup soon obliterates distinc- tions, and he feels that he has never met such choice spirits before. Laugh- ing at their jokes and coarse stories, he forgets all in the wild excite- ment of the moment. His voice is now the loudest. He sings, shouts, and, at length, losing consciousness, only wakes sick and utterly miserable. He determines it shall be the last. Never will he be seen there again. But he has entered upon a path of easy descent, and lower and lower he falls. He is hurrying to death.
His employer cares only that he is at his place in the morning and remains there at work till the evening. He cannot follow him, and should the young man's habits become such that it " no longer pays " to employ him, he is dismissed and another is quickly found to take his place. Vast numbers of young men were going down to
��death in the cities, when George Will- iams and his friend determined to do something to keep them from destruc- tion, and thus they formed the first Young Men's Christian Association in the world, on the sixth day of June, 1844.
In the autumn of 1851, a corre- spondent of the Watchman and Re- flector, a religious paper published in Boston, wrote an account of his visit to the London rooms. Captain Sulli- van saw the article, and having him- self visited the London Association, he spoke to others, and the result was a meeting in the vestry of the Central Church, on December 15, 185 1, of thirty-two men, representing twenty congregations of the different denomi- nations.
This meeting was adjourned to Decem.ber 22, at the Old South Chapel, in Spring Lane. A constitution was adopted on December 29. Officers were chosen January 5 and 10, and the work began in earnest.
Mr. Francis O. Watts, of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, was the first presi- dent of this, the first Young Men's Christian Association of the United States. It is a strange coincidence, easily understood by the Christian, that on the twenty-fifth of November, one month previous, without any knowledge on the part of Boston, the first Young Men's Christian Association of America had been organized at Montreal, in Canada.
The constitution adopted was based upon that of the parent Association, and provided that, while any young man could be a member and enjoy all other privileges of the Association, only mem- bers of evangelical churches could hold office or vote. The reason for this was clear and right. Those who originated
�� �
