141 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Feb; 



est course he nodded hiis head in assent that 

 he was a bad boy. 



" But you want to be a good boy, don't 

 you?" 



The sp( 11 seemed to be a pretty bad one 

 this time, and 1 wondeied a little how he 

 would answer. He considered the matter 

 for awhile, but his face did not soften a par- 

 ticle. After some deliberatinu he shook his 

 head slijjhtly, but >et very perceptibly, in- 

 dicatinfr that he did not even %oant to be 

 good. His mother replied that he would be 

 good if we would just give him a little time; 

 and, sure enough, after sntlicient delibera- 

 tion he picked up his knife and fork and 

 looked up with a smile, as much as to say, 

 " Now, papa, I want to be goud, and 1 ain 

 good." 



Well, my case had this difference. It 

 really seemed as if weeks and months were 

 not going to be sufficient time for me to go 

 back and express my readiness to obey — 

 that is, in one particular direction. I had 

 decided a dozen times to tell my wife, and 

 ask her to pray for me— yes, just as I used 

 to do years ago, when I was taking the first 

 faltering steps from darkneps into light. 

 The only difficulty in the way was, that she 

 has 710W too much faith in her husband to 

 believe that Jiny dnn-jer threatened. I did. 

 however, muster up courage enough to say 

 something like this : 



" Your husband is being hard pressed by 

 Satan." 



She looked at me a little bit w^onderingly, 

 and then replied : 



"What, this morning V " 



" No, not this morning particularly, but 

 for quite a time past." 



She left the room, but did not say any 

 thing more, and did not ask for any partic- 

 ulars. I was rather glad she didn't. I ex- 

 pected she would pray for me. I went out 

 on the sidewalk ; and as I breathed the 

 fresh air, something prompted me to speak 

 aloud (it was before daylight had even ting- 

 ed the east); and as no one in our neighbor- 

 hood except myself gets up at this time of 

 day, I knew I could tell my Savior aloud 

 what 1 wished to say, without any danger of 

 being heard. The prayer I breathed, as 

 nearly as I can remember, was this : 



" O Lord, help thy servant in his helpless- 

 ness." 



I can not now remember exactly the 

 words I used to express the next thought. 

 I know this, however : The request was in 

 a shape I never put it before. It was 

 more humble. My feeling was, that, so far 

 as any thing I could do was concerned, it 

 amounted to nothing, so was not worth 

 mentioning. And it included, also, the 

 thought that all the Christian character that 

 had been built up in years past, and on 

 which I prided myself so much, was of no 

 account ; salvation could not come through 

 A. I. Root at all, and that there was no use 

 in depending upon him any longer. He 

 himself was clay or dust of the earth. At 

 times I may have felt a little proud of my 

 past record. Perhaps I was inclined to fall 

 back upon it sometimes. This disposition 

 was all gone. In its place w^as a feeling that 

 Christ Jesus, and he alone, without help on 



my part, was to dispel the cloud. Like Da- 

 vid, I asked him to create in me a clean 

 heart, and renew a right spirit within me. 

 Since then I have tried to think of the 

 words that I used. It was a simple sen- 

 tence, but I presume I shall never be able 

 to recall it. In an wslant I felt I was free. 

 A. I. Hoot started down the sidewalk, but 

 it was another man that entered the door of 

 the factory. The A. I. Root that had a fan- 

 cy for specks of cloud that had something 

 curious about them had vanished. The A. I. 

 Root who sits here dictating the^e words to 

 you is the one who loves Christ Jesus and 

 him alone. His image is fiist, and above all 

 and over all; therefore deliverance — yes, 

 emancipation, at least for the time being- 

 has come. Therefore I can present to you, 

 dear brother and dear sister, with a stronger 

 faith than 1 have ever done it before, the 

 text, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and 

 are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 



Just a week has passed since the above 

 was written. JSI o glimpse of temptation has 

 come in the line indicated. When Chris- 

 tian, in Pilgrim's Prdgress, felt his burden 

 tumble from his back and roll away, he 

 looked at it in astonishment, and wondered 

 how it was possible he had ever cared to lug 

 it about so long. Just so do I look at the 

 sin from which I had been delivered. When 

 the lame man, in answer to Peter's invita- 

 tion, rose up and walked, he doubtless look- 

 ed in astonishment at the good stout limbs 

 that were given him in exchange for the 

 poor weak deformed ones. And so it is 

 with me. I do not know how it comes 

 about that such a change has been wrought 

 in me. Like the blind man I can only say, 

 " One thing I know : that, whereas I was 

 blind, now I see." By quoting these words 

 I do not mean to boast of being (even now) 

 better than people in general, for I hope I 

 am cured, at least for a time, of that atti- 

 tude of heart. Neither do I at present just 

 see what bearing this has on the tobacco 

 question. It has, however, given me a won- 

 derful faith in the matter. God can and does 

 deliver in an instant from the gnawings and 

 galling bondage of an evil appetite or an 

 evil habit. An earnest study of his sacred 

 word, and a grasping hold of the promises 

 contained therein, can never come amiss ; 

 and with the prayer that this little story 

 may help some other one to find relief 

 through Christ Jesus from the burdens im- 

 posed by sin, I close. 



PjaiCB LISTS RECEIVED. 



Since our last issue we have received price lists of queens, 

 bees, and apiaiian supplies in general. from the following par- 

 ties, who will be Klaa to furnish them to applicants. Tnose 

 marked with a star (*) also deal in fine poultry. 



J. Van Deusen & Sons. Sprout Brook, N. Y. 



E. Kretchnier, Red Oak, la. 

 Jerry A. Roe, Union City, Ind. 

 Leininger Bros., Douglas, O. 



J. W. Bittenbender, Kuo.wille, la. 

 W. J. Row, tSreensljurs;-, Pa. 

 I. R. Good, Vawter Park, Ind. 



F. A. Eaton. Bluftton, O. 



E. L. Pratt, Marlboro, Mass. 



J. D. Goodrich, East Hardwick, Vt. 



H. D. Davis & Co., Bradford. Vt. 



G. H. Kii'kpatrick, Portland, Ind. 

 C. F. Rood, Romeo, Mich. 



