682 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



0aR pQMEg. 



Foi'Iwill fiivo yoii ii mouth of wisdom, wliieh all 

 your adversaiies sluill not he able to g-aiiisay nor re- 

 sist.- Like 21: 15. 



A good deal has been said about the un- 

 certainty of things pertaining to the life 

 beyond.' Unbelievers boldly challenge us to 

 prove what we claim and believe; and as 

 God has not seen fit to tell us very mnch about 

 this unknown world beyond, we can not always 

 answer their (juestions. In fact, I have often 

 thought it just as well not to say very much. 

 Then the question arises. " Have we, after all, 

 any well-detined faith or sure grounds for be- 

 lieving there is a hereafter at all?" The text 

 before us tiiis rainy morning (at least it is a 

 rainy moi-ning here in Medina), however, gives 

 us the promise that we shall be supplied with 

 -wisdom suHicient to answer all our adversaries, 

 ■and that they shall not be able to gainsay nor 

 resist the truth wo shall be able to present to 

 them. And now. dear friends. I have chosen 

 this text for our talk to-day. because I feel that 

 I have something in my possession that none of 

 you will be abl(> to gainsay nor i-esist. I do not 

 mean in tlie way of argument, for it is too sa- 

 cred and solemn a thing to argue about. But 

 I feel in my heart that you will not want to 

 gainsay nor resist what I have to present be- 

 fore you. Most of you are my personal friends; 

 and even if you are not, I am sure you are open 

 to reason and justice. 



We have been having quite rainy weather. 

 From reports, I judge that it has been rainy al- 

 most everywhere. We are so much in the 

 habit of expecting a drouth during the last of 

 August and first of Sei)tember that it seems a 

 little funny to find the ground so wet that one 

 ■can scarcely step on it. and to long for sun- 

 shine as we often do in January and February. 

 It has been raining more or less every day for a 

 week; and after it I'ained st(>adily for so long, 

 and we felt pretty sure that it was going to let 

 np. it just turned in and rained harder and 

 harder. I was up in the tnorning befoi'e it was 

 ■quite daylight, as usual. Notwithstanding the 

 rain. I looked over all the buildings, outdooi's 

 and in, to see if the water was doing any dam- 

 age. Although we are up above low ground, 

 we have had considerable tiouble at different 

 times by water coming into our basements; and 

 in oiu' efforts to carry tlie water away, scnver- 

 pi pes and tile have been laid so thickly under 

 our grounds that one can hardly dig anywhere 

 without striking them. In the' progress of our 

 new building, many of these old outlets for 

 water are tui'ued up; and as it was during the 

 montli of August, no one exjMK'ted water enougii 

 to do harm, even if they were not just then 

 properly connected again. Well. I went around 

 into all the basemeiits. and had the satisfaction 

 of linding them all dry, sw(>et. and clean. No 

 rush of waters poiu'ing in greet<'d my ears or 

 eyes. We have had in times past so much of 

 this kind of work — water covering the base- 

 ment floors, damaging goods, setting things 

 floating, etc., and then leaving a disagreeable, 

 damp, moldy, musty smell for w(^eks afterward 

 that I had got pretty thoroughly roused up 

 about it. As an illustration of .some of my 

 trials, let me r(>late a little circumstance. 



I think it was in the; month of .June. After 

 dinner my wife i)assed down tiirough the wax- 

 room and out thi'ougli the machine-shop. A 

 very heavy thunder-shower was under way, and 

 she came rushing to me a good deal out of pa- 

 tience. She said the water was pouring into 

 the door of the machine-shop like a small mill- 

 race, and half a dozen men w(M'e standing 



ai'ound. laughing to se<' it come in. I was down 

 there in no time, and gave them some pretty 

 sharp I'cproof about not stirring themselves 

 when they saw the damage to property that 

 was going on. Some of them excused themselves 

 by saying thai they did not work in that room 

 — thi'y were only passing through after dinnei'. 

 Others said they did not know what to do. 



•■Here! follow me," said I. Shovels and 

 pickax were right in sight. There had boon 

 some changes made in the railroad track in front 

 of the door, allowing the w atcr that came down 

 the ditch to come straight into the door instead 

 of following its accustomed channel. With my 

 hands and such tools as I could grasp hastily I 

 commenced damming up the water. With three 

 or four to assist me. in less than live minutes 

 the Mater was stoijped. and tiu'ned where it 

 ought to go. Then with scooiJ-shovels and saw- 

 dust from the adjoining room we had the water 

 removed. Hut tiie lioor was soaked, and a good 

 deal of water had got under it: and it is not at 

 all sti-ange, that, soon after, the Health Com- 

 mission pronounced that aiiartment unwhole- 

 some. Von can readily understand from the 

 above why it is that I become pretty vehement 

 when anybody by heedlessness lets water into 

 any of the lower rooms. Please let us now go 

 back to the moi'ning in (luestion. 



I felt haiJi)y to think that every thing was 

 safe and sound. I assisted in getting the mar- 

 ket-wagon off, and then went to breakfast. 

 After breakfast it began to rain still harder, 

 and T discovei'cd that a large r<'servoir we are 

 making tosupply a sti-am-jiump for fire i)urposes 

 had caved in on one side, and the outlet was 

 sto]jped. When the workmen w<'re digging the 

 reservoir. I was assured that the water-conductor 

 from the i-oof of the saw-room was securely 

 tixed so as to carry away any water in case of 

 rain. And not only was tln^ outlet stojjped, but 

 th,' horses had evidently backed the wagon 

 against this temporary water-pipe, and it was 

 thrown out of place. The water fnmi the roof 

 of the lai'ge factory was pouring into the reser- 

 voir, endangering the walls that supported our 

 steam-boihn's. At such a time I generally fix 

 my mind on some si)ecial man who knows how 

 to'do the work under consideration. My special 

 man had not come, and, in fact, nobody was 

 around who would be of any particular use in 

 such an emergency. It wanted somebody with 

 rubber boots and \\ateri)roof coat. I soon found 

 one man to heljj me; but before the outlet was 

 opened, the rain l)ecame so severe that it was 

 tilling ui) the cellar of the new building also. 

 Finally, to my great relief, one of the men I 

 wanted came ai'ound quite leisurely, asking me 

 if there was something I wanted him to do. I 

 felt provoked that he should ask such a ques- 

 tion. But I kept the feeling down, and pleas- 

 antly told him what was wanted. Before the 

 passage was fairly opened here, I found that the 

 water was going Into the basement of tlie sair- 

 room building. It was the old story over again. 

 A big sti-eam was pouring in. and the baskets 

 and other things were beginning to float about. 

 I felt as if I could not have this tlooi- soaked up 

 with water again. I could not wait for rubber 

 boots nor for rubber coat; in fact, I do not often 

 have such things of my own, because I lend 

 them to somebody before I have had them a 

 week. 1 found a c()ui)l(^ of men. and gave them 

 some shovels, and told them to stop the water 

 from going into the basement. 



'• Well, how shall we stop it?" 



"Cut a little ditch hastily, and carry it along 

 outside, instead of letting it run toward th(i 

 building." 



•• But we can't make water run up hill," 

 remarked one, by way of objection, while he 

 stood still witli his shovel, out in the rain. 



