One Young Man | Page 3

about. He writes:
"One afternoon in early autumn a card was put into the hands of every
young man in our office, inviting us to a tea and social evening at the
Y.M.C.A. Headquarters. The chaps said to me, 'Of course you are
going, Baxter?' and I answered, 'Why not?' They, however, seemed to
be of the opinion that the tea was, more or less, a bait to a
prayer-meeting or something of that kind. However, several went,
expecting, and preparing themselves for, the worst. We were welcomed
by a group of gentlemen who seemed to be possessors of smiles of
permanency; they conducted us to a large room already well filled with
others like ourselves, whom we incorrectly judged to be members, as

they seemed to be quite at home. In every corner of the room were
lounge chairs and on the tables games of all description. Here and there
small groups were being entertained by the members, and, judging by
the unrestrained merriment, they were proving themselves very capable
hosts.
"We were told to make ourselves absolutely at home; and although we
entered with zest into all that was going on, I don't think really that we
quite lost the feeling that a prayer-meeting was bound to follow. Much
to our surprise no one came up and spoke to us about our souls; indeed
our hosts led the way into all the fun that was going, and none of them
had the milk-and-bun expression of countenance that we had conjured
up in our mind's eye. You can see what our conception of Y.M.C.A.
members was. We imagined them a narrow-minded set of some mild
kind of religious fanatics."
I promised a veracious chronicle, and I am quoting Sydney Baxter
word for word. I am inclined to believe that here he is expressing his
companions' anxieties rather than his own.
"The tea gong sounded and our hosts led the way to another large room,
and upon the tables was a sumptuous spread. Being young men we did
full justice to it, and throughout the whole of tea time this same
atmosphere of sociability surrounded us.
"After tea we were escorted to the lecture room, and, although it is too
long ago to remember who the speakers were, and what the subjects, I
do know it was most enjoyable. At the conclusion we were given a
hearty welcome to come and use the rooms every evening for reading,
writing, or social intercourse and games. The following morning in the
office we all agreed that we had had a most enjoyable evening, and that
we had badly misjudged the Y.M.C.A. A few of us took advantage of
the invitation and went again, and received the same warm welcome
and had another enjoyable evening. Shortly afterwards three of us
joined the Association. Until this time I had no idea of the magnitude of
the Association's work; my idea was that little existed outside of the
Headquarters and the smaller branches over the country. This was some
eight years ago. Now every one knows the Y.M.C.A. I soon got into the

stream and found I was in the midst of a large number of football,
cricket, swimming, and rowing enthusiasts. The teams that the
Association clubs put into the field and on the river were very strong.
The sports side of the Y.M.C.A. was indeed a revelation."
So it was that Sydney Baxter's evenings and week-ends were often
spent with his fellows in various Y.M.C.A. organisations. He was
anxious to get on, and the Association classes helped him, too, in his
business education. Ambitious of advancement in the office, he had
noted that his schooling was lacking in certain essentials if he was to be
fit when the opportunity arrived. He rose quickly in the business and
was soon doing responsible work. He was one of those fellows who get
ready for the time when their chance may come. It always does come to
such as Sydney Baxter.
The Association tackled the holiday problem for this young man too.
This is how he describes his first visit to one of the Y.M.C.A. hotels.
He calls them hotels himself, and I am not surprised, for such they
really are. A "home," though a beautiful word, does not, somehow, in
this connection convey the proper idea of these Y.M.C.A. holiday
resorts. "A home from home"--well you know!
"I went down entirely on my own. I was at that time a very reserved
chap, and I had misgivings as to the probability of making chums. I
shared my room with a young Frenchman, who fortunately could speak
English quite well, and thus we were saved embarrassing silence and
aloofness.
"Tea gong sounded, and as we made our way into the passage we were
literally carried along in the