1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



773 



Our Homes 



By A. I. Root 



Train up a child in the way he should go, and 

 when he is oid he will not depart from it. — Pkov. 22:6. 



Thou shalt teach these words diligently unto thy 

 children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest 

 in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, 

 and when thou liestdown and when thou rlsest up. 

 — Deut. 6:7. 



A few days ago T met an old friend — one 

 who started in with bees about the time I 

 did, some forty years ago. He and I have 

 been quite intimate for many years, but I 

 had not seen him for some time. Just a few- 

 days ago I met him here in our apiary. By 

 the way, I think I had quite a hltle to do 

 with his yetiing married years ago. He is 

 quite deaf, and rather backward about get- 

 ting acquainted; but I urged him, as usual, 

 not only to keep bees, but to have a wife 

 and some children. When I saw this bright 

 little boy he was leading by the hand I put 

 out my hand to him and remarked, "And 

 this is your boy, is it, Mr. D.?" 



"Oh, no! he is my grandchild.''' 



And this reminded me once more of how 

 the years rush by as M'e get along in the TO's, 

 and we almost fail to notice it. By the way, 

 when I first became acquainted with Mr. D. 

 he was skeptically inclined, and he and I 

 had some long talks in regard to the mat- 

 ter. Well, I think he has got past the skep- 

 tical age, for I have been informed that his 

 good wife is quite a prominent worker in 

 the W. C. T. U. in their locality. Aii^ong 

 other things I said : 



"I suppose you are still a bee-keeper, Mr. 

 D.?" 



"Oh, yes! and I had a splendid crop of 

 honey last season. I shall keep bees as long 

 as I live. ' ' 



"And are you still reading my Home talks 

 in Gleanings?" 



"Why, Mr. Root, of late I forget every 

 thing I read so quickly that it does not seem 

 to be of any use for me to try to read much 

 if any thing lately, and on that account I 

 have not had Gleanings for some little 

 time." 



At the above we both laughed, and I was 

 just wondering how many other people, like 

 my good frank friend D., have been doing 

 the same thing while getting along toward 

 70. I suppose, if we put it short, he meant 

 that every thing nowadays "goes in one ear 

 and out the other." 



Well, my story this morning, or at least 

 a part of it, is to illustrate this very point. 

 A few days ago our general manager, Mr. 

 Calvert, said he was going away for about 

 two weeks to attend the National Council 

 of Congregational Churches in conjunction 

 with the annual meeting of tlie missionary 

 societies. Well, before he started he said: 



" Father, would you like to teach my Sun- 

 day-school class during the two Sundays T 

 shall be away?" 



I replied at once that I should be very 

 glad to take the class, for I enjoy teaching 

 (especially among people where I am ac- 

 quainted) better than any thing else, and 

 tliere the matter ended. 



After making the promise I forgot all 

 about it; and when the first Sunday came 

 I went and sat down in the Men's Brotlier- 

 hood class, in the charge of our pastor, as 

 honest and innocent as could be. When 

 the next Sunday came, another son-in-law, 

 Mr. L. W. Boyden, came and said, "Father, 

 I shall have to be a^ay to-morrow; and 

 wouldn't you like to take my class of boys? 

 They are very good boys, and well behaved, 

 except Johnnie Smith, who is too wideawake 

 to every thing that is going on to stick to 

 business very much, even during the brief 

 hour of Sunday-school." 



I replied as before that I would really en- 

 joy teaching his class; and, so far as Johnnie 

 Smith was concerned, I said he was a par- 

 ticular friend of mine, and I was sure I could 

 keep him within bounds. And then, as be- 

 fore, I entirely/ forgot all about it. 



After the preaching service I took Mrs. 

 Root down home in my electric automobile, 

 and was just starting back to the Brother- 

 hood meeting as usual, entirely forgetting 

 that I had promised to teach two different 

 classes on that bright Sunday. Just as I 

 was starting back, however, Huber called 

 me across the way and said something as 

 follows: 



"Father, Johnnie Smith was running 

 your electric automobile all over town dur- 

 ing preaching service." 



I stopped; in fact, I was almost stunned 

 to think that any boy should take my auto- 

 mobile without leave, and especially if he 

 ran it around town during preaching service. 

 And then I began to say to myself, "John- 

 nie Smith! Johnnie Smith! What was it I 

 heard about Johnnie Smith not long ago?" 

 And then I said to myself, "Why, now I 

 do recall that I was to teach Mr. Boyden's 

 class;" and, looking at my watch, I said, 

 "Why, that class of boys, Johnnie Smith 

 among them, are even now in their class 

 waiting for their teacher." 



I can not remember that my little prayer, 

 "Lord, help," welled up within my heart, 

 but it ought to have done so. I hurried 

 back, took the class, and had a very pleasant 

 time indeed with the boys. Johnnie Smith 

 was especially attentive, and showed that 

 he understood his lesson, and he w-as really 

 a model Sunday-school boy. In closing the 

 lesson I said something like this: 



" Boys, is it possible that any one of you, 

 with your bright and intelligent faces and 

 neat tidy appearance, will ever 'go to the 

 bad ' ? Will any one of you ever be led so 

 far astray as to commit crime, get into pris- 

 on, and, may be, end in suicide? God for- 

 bid." 



They all looked me full in the face when 

 I uttered these words, and I felt in my heart 

 the blessings of the Holy Spirit as I bade 

 them good by. Let me digress a little righi 

 here. 



