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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1. 



mother." This includes remembering parental 

 ties, even though a new home be started under 

 another roof. What is more beautiful than to 

 see a young couple, just starting in life, honor 

 the father and the mother— yes, the two fathers 

 and the ftco mothers? Here comes one of the 

 first tests of loyalty— the husband to the wife 

 and the wife to the husband. As you value 

 your peace of mind, and the peace of mind of 

 your dear companion in life, let me entreat you, 

 dear reader, to be very tender and kind to the 

 father-in-law and to the mother-in-law. Then 

 Paul addresses the fathers: " Provoke not your 

 children to wrath; but bring them up in the 

 nurture and admonition of the Lord." From 

 this we gather that such earnest, faithful words 

 were needed by the Ephesians, long ago, just as 

 they are needed now. Perhaps I should say 

 here, that this whole subject was brought viv- 

 idly to my mind by a home sermon from our 

 good pastor, Rev. J. R. Nichols, of this place; 

 and I have his permission to use some of his 

 ideas and illustrations in this talk to-day, be- 

 fore I close. First, however, I want to take up 

 seriously and soberly the subject that was di- 

 verted into pleasantry a few months ago. Even 

 though some of the friends were inclined to 

 poke fun at me, I am sure that, in their Inmost 

 hearts, they said, "Yes, Mr. Root is right, and 

 his exhortations are sound and true." There 

 never can be too many homes in our land; and 

 there will always be danger when any individu- 

 al—man, woman, or child— has no home. If a 

 child loses its parents, one or both, a home 

 should be provided for it. It seems that, 

 through God's wisdom, there are necessarily 

 some homes where the parents have no children 

 of their own. Let such look after the orphan 

 children of their neighborhood. Every grown- 

 up man and woman should have a home. A 

 pleasant, attractive, comfortable home is the 

 best safeguard the world has ever given or can 

 give against vice. It is one of the best step- 

 ping-stones to a godly and Christian life. While 

 I do not think it needful to advise that young 

 people should be in haste to marry, say while 

 in their teens, I do believe great good would 

 come, and that much misery and perhaps crime 

 might be prevented if marriage were to follow 

 pretty soon after emerging from the teens. The 

 laws of our land have placed the majority pret- 

 ty near this point, as you may notice. The boy 

 is supposed to be a man when he is 21, and a 

 girl is a woman at 18. When there are good 

 reasons for postponing the marriage for a little 

 time — say for finishing an education, or some- 

 thing of that sort- it may be well to wait a lit- 

 tle: bur my opinion is, that dangers often come 

 in, as a consequence of delay. God said, " It is 

 not good that man should be alone," and I think 

 we all suffer loss, more or loss, when we neglect 

 or forget this great truth which seems to be so 

 much a part of our being. The first step toward 

 establishing a home is in choosing a partner for 

 life. Quite a few have asked me — some perhaps 

 seriously, and some in pleasantry — whether my 

 advice was to be taken by women as well as 

 men. I have not space to go into this subject 

 right here; but I can answer this much: I do 

 think that many women remain single because 

 they demand too m-uc/i.. I do not mean by this 

 that a good woman should bind herself for life 

 to a vicious or bud man. But I do think she 

 would be f r better off as the companion of 

 some man, if he is honest and true, even if he 

 has not the brilliancy and talents that some 

 men have. Many of our hest men never gave 

 much indication of what they were going to be 

 when they were 20 or 2.5 years old; and I think 

 I may add that thousands upon thousands 

 would 7ier'e7' have proved themselves benefac- 

 tors to the race as they have done had it not 



been for the help and encouragement of the 

 wife of their youth. Look about you and see. 

 Had they never been married they would never 

 have been great; and I believe this is true of 

 women also, to a certain extent. I am almost 

 ready to say that a good man has no business 

 being a single man after he is 2.5 or 30. It looks 

 bad. and it is bad. It is one evidence that he is 

 not as good a man as he might be. You may 

 take exceptions to what I am saying now; but I 

 feel sure that I am right. There can be no real 

 home without a wife. Now, pardon me when I 

 say, neither can there be any perfect home — 

 such a one as God intended to be a reflection of 

 heaven here upon earth — until the home is 

 lightened and brightened by the prattle of chil- 

 dren. Of course, as I have said, there are cases 

 where it seems to be God's will there should be 

 no children of your own. In that case it is your 

 privilege to furnish a home and be father and 

 mother to some of the homeless and motherless 

 little ones. " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto 

 one of the least of these (little ones), ye have 

 done it unto me." Take a little homeless wan- 

 derer, that seems to be adrift in the world; and 

 while you minister to its physical, mental, and 

 spiritual wants, remember the promise that it 

 is your privilege, in so doing, to minister to the 

 Savior himself. Now for the home relations. 



One reason why I felt in those years gone by 

 that God called me to talk and plead in this di- 

 rection of Our Homes, was because of the woii- 

 derful transforming power that the Holy Spirit 

 made in our own home. Please do not under- 

 stand me as conveying the impression that my 

 home was an unpleasant one. God forbid ! It 

 ivas a pleasant one. It was a little paradise here 

 upon earth; but I did not hiiow it nor see it nor 

 appreciate ittillthe Holy Spiritopened my eyes. 

 An intemperate man once attended a series of 

 revival meetings. Although he did not come 

 out very strong for Christ Jesus, he said to me 

 one morning something like this: 



" Mr. Root, I do not know that I understand 

 exactly what conversion is; but it seems to me I 

 am getting a glimpse of it. When I go home 

 nowadays I look at my wife and children with 

 a new feeling that I never had before. I did 

 not realize before what a good wife it has been 

 my fortune to be with all these long years. I 

 did not appreciate my children as I do now. 

 Under the influence of this new life, every thing 

 looks brighter and better; and I am filled with 

 thanksgiving and joy that God has given me 

 so much to be thankful for." This friend had 

 got it exactly. When the Holy Spirit opens up 

 and illuminates the heart, the recipient sees 

 new beauties, new joys, and new causes for 

 thanksgiving and praise that he never saw be- 

 fore. I hardly need tell you that skepticism and 

 unbelief furnish nothing of this sort. There Is 

 a kind of skepticism, that perhaps there is no 

 particular name for. that prompts one to think 

 he does not have a fair chance in this world— 

 that his children are not such as he has a right 

 to expect, and the dear wife is not as good, a one 

 as he ought to have; in fact, that he is a great 

 deal too good for the company God has— stop! 

 stop! Such a man does not think about Odd at 

 all. It is Satan, the old enemy of mankind 

 himself, who is constantly making a man dis- 

 satisfied, and who is trying to get him to grum- 

 ble and complain. When you take God into 

 vour home, his influence ennobles every thing. 

 I do not mean that it blinds your eyes to the im- 

 perfections of others, or that it would induce 

 you to relax your energies in setting to rights 

 things that are wrong. On the contrary, the 

 Holy Spirit is a constant stimulus to that which 

 is better in every direction. It opens up to you a 

 thousand ways in which you can make your 

 wife and children not only happier and better, 



