684 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



Bi'o. Root, whei'c was that little prayer of yours 

 — tliat waniiug note that you tell us comes to 

 remind you that dauger is near?" 



Well, it did come just about then, and it was 

 n(!edi'd. and I prayed earnestly to be lifted from 

 tlie slougli of despond into which I seemed to 

 be sinking; and it was the answer to this sim])le 

 prayer — a quick swift answer — that has i)rompt- 

 ed me to tell you all I have been telling you this 

 morning. You see, I had got into a way of 

 thinking that I was an abused and injured 

 individual. Were you ever there, my friend? 

 And I was saying mentally that I was not going 

 to bear everybody's burdens any longer; and 

 the answer seemed to be a reply or rebuke or 

 reproof to this attitude of heart. It came in 

 the line of a cou])let of the hymn I have been 

 singing so much of the time during the past two 

 weeks. You will find the hymn on page 647 of 

 our last issue. Her-e are the two lines that 

 Christ Jesus held n\) to me. 



I'll beai' the toil, endure the pain," 

 Supported bj' tliy word. 



Come to think of it, tliere hdd be(>n consider- 

 able "toil," but not much pain: and then I 

 remembered to thank God, not only for energy, 

 but for strength and endurance to stand such a 

 wetting without injury. Some of you may say 

 that such a w(>tting is dangerous. No, it is not 

 —at least not to A. I. Root. If I do not get 

 .chilly after getting wet, it does not hurt me a 

 particle. The last words of the lines, "Support- 

 •ed by thy word," seemed to suggest something 

 just then; and then my tiiouglits ran in line 

 with the Savior's work here on earth; and that 

 old favorite text of mine that has been music in 

 my ears for so long came out shai'p and clear. 

 "Not to be ministerc^l unto, but to minister." 

 Wliy, it is woi'tli all my expei-ience that morn- 

 ing to have such a bright and vivid practical 

 application of tliis wonderfully inspiring text, 

 to the true, faithful follower of Chilst Jesus. I 

 was out of the mud and miry clay in no time — that 

 is. I was out spiritually. ^ly fe(>t were still in 

 my mud-.soaked siioes, and the water was soak- 

 ing through my hat. saturating the few gray 

 hairs that renuiin. Dr()))s of water were still on 

 my nose and clothing, but what did it matter? 

 Christ's promises were ringing through my soul, 

 and a great happiness came over uw. I took up 

 my old hymn, and it never sounded so sweet 

 before — "Ani I a soldier of the cross?" I felt 

 glad that I could answer that I inns (or at least 

 trying to be), and that I had just withdrawn 

 from a hand-to-hand conflict; and then came 

 the words, " Must I be carried to the skies on 

 flowery beds of ease?" I answered at once, 

 ■■ No, no. Let me rather 'bear the toW and 

 'endure the pain,' if. by so doing, I can feel the 

 Master's presence by my side, and my hand in 

 his." "Are thcu-e no foes for me to face ? " Well, 

 I think there are a, few — at least, judging from 

 past experience. " Must I not stem the flood ? '' 

 Well, well. We hail stemmed one " flood " unit- 

 edly, and had come oft' victoiious; and A. I. 

 Root all by himself stt^nmed another little 

 flood, and he, too, came off victorious, and is 

 now rejoicing. 



A word about catching cold. Dear friends. I 

 never catch cold or come to harm of any kind 

 when the blood is coursing through my veins 

 stirred by tiu' enthusiasm of love for Christ 

 Jesus and hunumity in general. When I went 

 over at 11 o'clock to take my usual nap I did 

 fear the consequences of lying down with my 

 clothing so damp; therefore I put my feet into 

 the oven just a, minute. My wife says she is 

 sure I did not have them there more than half 

 a minute. Then I slept half an hour, and awoke 

 rested, well, and happy. 

 We were planning to get off the strawberry 

 .book that day; and it seems to me, as I look 



back, that T never saw work go along so rajndly 

 and j)leasantly before. T told them we wanted a 

 certain number before 3 o'clock. I i)resume I 

 looked i)leasant and happy, and I guess the 

 spirit in my heart must have been contagious, 

 for everybody seemed to catch the spirit of 

 enthusiasm iii getting the books mailed. It did 

 not occur to me that any of the friends around 

 me cared particularly for a book on strawberries, 

 and I was greatly i)leased when the foreman 

 asked how much I would charge them if all the 

 printers clubbed together and took one apiece. 

 I looked up in astonishment. Said I. " Why, 

 bless your heai'ts, boys, if you will read the 

 book through you shall all have one without 

 cost, with the compliments of the author and 

 publisher." Pretty soon the office girls heard 

 of it, and wanted to know if they were included; 

 and it gave me additional pleasure, not only to 

 supply them on the same terms, but every one 

 else in our employ. 



I have sometimes thought that these texts 

 that burst suddenly upon us, or the memory of 

 tlu'se old hymns, braces up the Christian some- 

 thing like martial music in a battle. I have 

 heard that, wIkmi an army was demoralized, 

 and the foe fast gaining the ascendency, the 

 sound of the drum and flfe, with some familiar 

 inspiring air, would of itself rally the demoral- 

 ized forces, and give new courage to the soldiers, 

 to such an extent that they would turn round 

 and gain a victory, even when, to all appear- 

 ance, the cause was hopelessly lost. Now, the 

 Bible promises, and these old hymns that have 

 been almost a battle-cry against evil for ages 

 past. oi)erate in just the same way. Only a 

 few liours before. I felt like throwing a club at 

 tlu' one who bade me good-morning. What a 

 change just the little text and the lines of the 

 hymn had brought! The events of the morn- 

 ing had been only a wholesome school or drill 

 to me. After I had come out victorious over a 

 wrong spirit, it seemed as if the dear Savior de- 

 lighted to pour out his si)irit upon my soul in a 

 way he had never done befort^ As I passed 

 arouiul from oiu' to another of my helpers, they 

 never looked so good and so lovable as they did 

 then. First I inwardly thanked God for giving 

 me a certain oni> to Vie a comiianion and a help- 

 er. Then I discovered that his next neighbor 

 had also grand and nolile qualities; and so on 

 it went from one to another, all over the estab- 

 lishment. Even old Cluirlie. who draws the 

 market-wagon, by the light of the new joy that 

 was fllling my soul seemed a grand, good old 

 faithful servant, notwithstanding some of his 

 notions and que(>r ways. I told my wif'^ that 

 such joy and peace and thankfulness seemed 

 too good for any luiman being, and it almost 

 made me tremble to think that I should prob- 

 ably lose it very soon by some foolish act. I 

 could not but I'cmember the lines ; 



Beulali land, sweet Beuhih land, 

 As on thy higliest mount I stand, 



1 look away across the sea. 



Where mansions are prepared forme. 

 And view the shinhig' glory sliore. 

 My heaven, my home for evermore. 



And then that last verse: 



The zephyrs seem to float to me 

 Sweet sounds of heaven's melody, 

 As ang-els, with tlie white-robed throng-. 

 Join ill the sweet redemption song-. 



Well, dear friend.s. I did stand on the 

 "mount" for iu>arly two whole days; but I 

 canu» down with a tumble Anally. It was not a 

 very big tumble, h()\^■ev(n•, and t soon clamber- 

 ed back pretty nearly but not quite where I had 

 been. I presiune it is not well for us to stand 

 away up entirely clear of Satan's clutches all 

 the time. If we did, we might lose charity for 

 those who are tempted and fall, woi'se than we 



