The Young Man's Guide

The Young Man's Guide is a book by William A. Alcott. A note to the reader says that when the writer commenced the work, his object was a mere compilation, since there were many excellent books for young men already in circulation, but none which he thought unexceptionable. The text says that of all persons living, he who does not remember that he has once been young is the most completely disqualified for giving youthful counsel.

The text says there is scarcely anything that should give a parent more pleasure than to see his children, in their earliest years, enjoying that flow of spirits, which leads them forth to active, vigorous, blood-stirring sports. The text says it has often been observed that in fevers and other diseases, medicines never operate well in constitutions which have been accustomed to the use of tobacco. A quoted sufferer says he cannot walk two hundred paces without resting himself, that his feebleness is extreme, and that he has constant pains in every part of the body, but particularly in the shoulders and chest.