110 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Fkb. 1. 



Spirit is to show us our faults and our short- 

 comings. Perhaps we as a family all needed 

 the severe lesson God was teaching us. We 

 had got into a fashion of letting mamma bear 

 too many of the burdens of the household. Her 

 tasks were, it is true, self-imposed. She did 

 them willingly— nay, more: she did them lov- 

 ingly; and so it got to be a sort of fashion to 

 leave things where we used them last, scarcely 

 thinking how much of her time and strength it 

 took to put away things after us— to keep the 

 house neat and tidy, and to minister to all her 

 loved ones. Jesus said he came not to be min- 

 istered unto, but to minister. Now. we should 

 be very careful not to let the rnotlier of the 

 household appropriate all of this beautiful text 

 to herself. Sometimes nothing but affliction 

 and trial like the one we were passing through 

 will help us to realize how we have been living. 

 Oh what resolves, through those days of anxi- 

 ety and su.>pense, to do better, whether God 

 should hear my prayer or not! The climax 

 was coming. Our heavy shoes or boots were 

 exchanged for something that would make no 

 noise: and then we went about the house on 

 tiptoe. Even the nearest friends kept out of 

 the room. The doctor confessed he was unable 

 to produce any thing that would quiet her 

 nerves and not be in danger of doing more harm 

 than good. I was told she begged for morphine. 

 I went into the room on tiptoe. As soon as she 

 saw me she put out her hand iind said some- 

 thing as follows: 



" Dear husband, can't something be given me 

 to make me sleep? 1 shall surely go wild, and 

 lose my mind, unless sleep or rest comes to the 

 aid of my shattered nerves. If morphine will 

 not answer, please give me some chloroform. 

 Have you no chloroform in the house— nothing 

 to give me a moment's rest? I can feel that I 

 am soon to lose consciousness if this terrible 

 strain goes on; and if it is to be, I almost long 

 for the time, if it will help me to be unconscious 

 of my suffering." 



nThe nurse stepped out of the room just then. 

 I had long been feeling that it was my duty to 

 pray with her, as well as for her; but I knew 

 my prayer would have to be brief— that she 

 must not be distressed or frightened. The op- 

 portunity was before me. 1 knelt down by the 

 bedside, just as we two had done every day of 

 our lives for years past, and prayed, as nearly 

 as I can remember, as follows: 



" O Lord, have mercy on thy children in this 

 their great trial. We are weak and helpless, 

 bat thou art mighty Have mercy on the dear 

 wife, and give her the sleep she needs so much, 

 if it be consistent with thy holy will. Amen." 



I then got up. pulled a chair toward her bed- 

 side, took her hand in mine while I placed my 

 other hand across her bewildered brow, pray- 

 ing mentally with every breath I drew that 

 God would answer our prayer. There was no 

 mistake about It. She was becoming more 

 quiet. The labored breathing, the nervous, 

 ndgetty unrest, were quieting down. In fifteen 

 minutes she was asleep. 



"Oh God be praised!" was my mental prayer, 

 while I scarcely dared breathe. Her sleep was 

 somewhat troubled; but it lasted perhaps a quar- 

 ter of an hour, and she awoke much relieved. I 

 remained by her side, and shesleptalittle again. 

 The doctor thought the chloral would perhaps 

 now help her to get rest. It did so, and the 

 crisis was past. In the morning the fever had 

 abated perceptibly. No more chills of any 

 account followed, and she commenced to recov- 

 er. Some of you may ask why I had not knelt 

 by her side and prayed as I did, before. My 

 reply is, that it was somewhat a question as to 

 whether such a course of proceeding would 



have been wise or not. She was already ner- 

 vously unstrung. In her usual health the 

 thought of dangerous sickness, or even death, 

 would not have disturbed her at all; but at 

 this time any little thing, even the flowers, for 

 instance, was in danger of tipping the delicate- 

 ly poised balance in the wrong direction. When 

 in her distress she appealed to me. then was my 

 opportunity. All of the doctor's remedies pro- 

 duced exactly the effect he said they would. 

 He told us there would be a crisis, and almost 

 named the day when it would probably come. 

 After the fever left, the pleurisy set in again 

 with a cough that was somewhat alarming. 

 By careful nursing, and the use of recognized 

 remedies, the congestion (if that is the proper 

 nanif) in that one lung was arrested, and re- 

 covery followed quicker than the doctor or any- 

 body else had anticipated. 



Concluded in our next. 



THE ANTI-SALOON CONGRESS AT COLUMBUS, O., 

 ETC. 



It seems a little funny that, just as soon as I 

 get into one of our large cities, somehow or 

 other I seem to gravitate straight toward a 

 saloon. Now. you need not laugh, for I am 

 talking in sober earnest. By some fatality I 

 also seem to gravitate toward one of the low- 

 down sort. May be you have heard of other 

 people who seem to have the same bent. Again, 

 this thing comes about when I have not the re- 

 motest idea of going into any such place at all. 

 Seems to nae 1 am making matters toorse in- 

 stead of belter, so I think 1 will tell my simple 

 story. 



You see I am one of the executive committee; 

 and when I stepped from the cars out into the 

 streets of the great city it occurred to me. as I 

 was going to meet a good many professional 

 men and great scholars, it was no more than 

 fitting that 1 should step into the first barber- 

 shop and be slicked up generally. Just as I 

 was about to take my seat in the chair, howev- 

 er, I very innocently asked the barber to direct 

 me to the wash room. There, I have forgotten 

 something. 



I did not first go into the barber-shop after 

 all. My first stop was at the Board of Trade 

 rooms where they were registering the names 

 of temperance people. There were a dozen 

 clerks, men and women, just making their pens 

 fly; and when a spruce young chap asked me 

 what church I belonged to I said, " Why, when 

 I am at home I go to the Congregational; but 

 when I am away I seem to belong to the near- 

 est church at hand." 



This seemed to be a sort of innovation on the 

 rush of business, for the whole crowd began to 

 laugh, and finally the clerk spoke out: 



" Why, this is A. I. Root himself, just as sure 

 as you live." 



Then a nice young lady pinxied a beautiful 

 silk badge on my coat. I soon forgot all about 

 the badge, however, and now let us go back to 

 the barber-shop. 



In answer to my request, the barber looked 

 at his partner, and smiled. I do not know but 

 there was a bit of a wink along with the smile. 



" My dear sir, in order to get at the wash- 

 room near by, you will have to go through the 

 saloon." 



Now, I did not feel sure just then that he was 



