1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



3G9 



When these two parties, John and Mary, 

 were well along in life, a circumstance occurred 

 that perhaps helped to hasten the separation. 

 In the town where they lived, the editor of the 

 village paper was getting to be very intemper- 

 ate. He was not only squandering all of his 

 own means, but he had commenced, also, to 

 waste the little property that belonged to his 

 wife before they were married. The wife, in 

 despair, appealed to our friend John. His con- 

 nection with the bank gave him an opportunity 

 of knowing more or less in regard to legal mat- 

 ters, and he was, perhaps, a very good man, 

 under the circumstances, to advise the poor 

 woman. Out of the best of motives he also 

 undertook to see if something could not be done 

 for the intemperate editor. The result was a 

 sort of joint stock company of three — John 

 being one, the editor one, and the editor's wife 

 the third. In this way an i^i temperate man 

 was prevented from using up his wife's proper- 

 ty; and finally he was so far reformed that the 

 paper began to grow, and the printing-office 

 did a thriving business, proving a profitable 

 Investment for all three. Under the circum- 

 stances, the wife's gratitude was unbounded to 

 John for saving not only her property, but her 

 husband from a drunkard's grave. Before 

 John undertook this he consulted with his wife, 

 and had her discuss the matter fully with the 

 editor's wife. Mary declared she was quite 

 willing, under the circumstances, that John 

 should enter into this praiseworthy undertaking. 

 Let me digress a little right here to say that 

 such arrangements are more or less risky and 

 dangerous. Even though John had been at 

 the time a devout Christian, which he was not, 

 and even though this editor's wife had been 

 one of the very noblest and best of women, 

 which I have reason to believe she ivas, I think 

 we should be exceedingly careful indeed how 

 we undertake any thing that invades domestic 

 relations to the extent of the case mentioned 

 above. 



The poor woman, when she saw her property 

 was saved, and her husband too, which was of 

 a thousand times more moment, felt, as I have 

 just said, unbounded gratitude to John. My 

 friends, Satan is not slow to take advantage of 

 such a state of affairs; and it seems a little 

 strange sometimes for us to be obliged to con- 

 fess that there is but a single step (often a very 

 short step) from the noblest and best instincts 

 of humanity down to the lowest and most de- 

 plorable. The man who had been saved from 

 his intemperate habits did not stay saved. He 

 was not saved through Christ Jesus. I do not 

 mean to discourage friendly efforts like the one 

 above; but the man who breaks away from 

 any terrible sin needs Tno?"e than human agency. 

 One night John remarked he would have to 

 go to the bank and finish some urgent business. 

 His wife objected, but he said it had to be 

 done. When he arrived home rather late, his 

 wife had already retired. She asked him if he 

 had been at the bank at work. He was a little 

 surprised at the question, but answered, and, I 

 believe, honestly, that he had. She charged 

 him with falsehood, and finally admitted she 

 followed him when he left home, and saw that 

 he did not go to the bank. Then he remember- 

 ed that, before going to his work, he stopped in 

 for a little chat with a particular friend. She 

 followed him, and saw them through the win- 

 dow. She probably was jealous of the editor's 

 wife at the time; and even though she did not 

 discover that he was anywhere near the woman, 

 she did discover, or, at least, claimed she did, 

 that he was untruthful; and if he was untruth- 

 ful in one thing, why shouldn't he be in an- 

 other? This is a poor sort of reasoning, as all 

 will admit; but when a woman once loses 



faith in her husband she is ready for all sorts 

 of foolish suggestions from the green-eyed 

 monster. John declared he had^ been at his 

 work, and she declared again he had not. Was 

 not this a foolish thing to dispute about? I 

 wonder if it occurs to you, dear friends, just 

 now, that you at times have been perhaps just 

 as inconsistent and unreasonable a> were these 

 two. They were both wrong and wicked. 

 John was tired, and wanted to go to sleep. 

 They had got a going, however: and the poor 

 wife, like other daughters of Eve, could not 

 rest without the last word— and, in fact, I fear 

 there were several " last words." John told 

 her again and again that she must stop and let 

 him have his sleep or he could not get through 

 with necessary duties that were to be perform- 

 ed early in the morning; and finally when she 

 would not stop he left the room and sought a 

 bed in another apartment. I do not know 

 whether he got the needed rest in the other 

 apartment or not. I can thank God, and do 

 thank God almost every day, that 2 can goto 

 sleep quickly and readily under almost all sorts 

 of circumstances; but I am quite sure 1 should 

 never have found any rest or recuperation in 

 that other room. The only possible rest for me 

 would have been after I haa kneeled down by 

 the bedside, my wife kneeling with me, and 

 asked God to forgive two of his children for 

 being bad and wicked, and to help them to do 

 better. I think I may safely say thati before 

 the little brief prayer would be finished, my 

 wife's hand would be in mine, and then we two 

 could go to sleep. You may say, perhaps, I 

 need to thank God for giving me such a wife. 

 I quite agree with you. for I have and do often; 

 but, my dear brother, something seems to tell 

 me that there are very few women in this world 

 of ours who would not go at least half way 

 toward a reconciliation and a settlement of dis- 

 putes of this sort. 



But these two friends of whom I am speak- 

 ing were not Christians. Certainly neither one 

 of them was in a Christian frame of mind that 

 night. John continued to occupy another room 

 from that time on. Friends began to notice the 

 trouble; and Henry, whom I mentioned in the 

 outset of the story (who was also by this time 

 married), came over and plead with John. He 

 asked John to forget and forgive, and to try once 

 more. John replied that he had forgotten and 

 forgiven so many times that the thought of it 

 sickened him. He did not want to try any 

 more; but for Henry's sake he finally yielded. 

 It turned out as the intemperate editor turned 

 out. Without God's grace and God's blessing 

 the same conditions produce the same results 

 again and again. "Ye must be born again," 

 the Savior said, and there does not seem to be 

 any other way but the new birth through 

 Christ Jesus. 



Dreary months passed for these two. Mary 

 finally said she was going home to her father's. 

 John agreed, and suggested that she bad better 

 stay there for all time to come. Preliminaries 

 were aiTanged as to who should have the 

 children, etc., and then she bade adieu to her 

 husband and the children she was to leave with 

 him. 



In a very few days, however, it was whisper- 

 ed that the editor's wife was the cause of the 

 separation. She heard of it, and implored 

 Johw to bring his wife back again, and offered 

 to go with him. By this time the editor was 

 back to his old habits worse than ever, and the 

 poor wife was sinking into an untimely grave 

 from abuse and neglect and privation. The 

 shock and excitement of the scandal made it 

 almost necessary that Mary should go back, to 

 save a life. John sent for his wife to come 

 back. The editor, however, had got some ink- 



