I was number "8" in the now famous St. Mark's Boys' Club of New York City -- the first boys' club started in America. That was over twenty years ago. Since then I have conducted a number of clubs of my own. My first attempt was with a mass club which had a membership of over five hundred, and which was composed principally of newsboys and bootblacks. This was followed, in another city, by a group club which was limited to eight members. During the past five years my interest in boys' work has been centered in self-government clubs. The material in this book is the result of this varied experience. Abstract theories have been avoided. Nothing is suggested but what has been actually tested and found helpful, either by myself or by some other practical worker. The book is founded upon a series of articles written by the author for the Sunday-School Times and an article printed more recently in the Outlook. - Preface.