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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



67 



They all declared they would. 



"What do you think about swearing and 

 profanity? Is it well to have the boys of 

 our nation learn to swear, about as soon as 

 they learn their A B CV If you wanted 

 good trusty men to take care of your busi- 

 ness or property, or to enrortte our 

 laws, or to educate our children, would 

 you have men who do, or who do Hot 

 swear?"' 



"Men and boys who do hot swear," said 

 they with one accord. 



"There is ho mistake about it?' 1 



"None; certainly," said they, as before. 



"Now, my friends, we are coming to busi- 

 ness; boys, upon honor, and before God 

 Whom you have promised to obey when you 

 hear his voice clearly and without any mis- 

 take, tell me if you are in the habit of 

 swearing among yourselves when here 

 alone? 17 



You coidd have heard a pin drop. They 

 glanced at each other, and cast down their 

 eyes. Not before me, but before God, they 

 confessed their guilt, being condemned by 

 their own consciences. Clear and plain 

 came the voice of God from these men who 

 were on their way to the penitentiary, de- 

 claring as their honest convictions, "Thou 

 shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God 

 in vain.'' Clearly they pointed out the way, 

 but, human like, they' followed not in that 

 way. 



Do you ever swear, my friend? and you? 

 and you? and you? If you do. dare you ad- 

 vise that the youth of our nation should be 

 taught it? If so, are you not ready to con- 

 fess this minute, that you are a "sinner in 

 God's sight, condemned by the voice of your 

 own conscience? 



Is it any trouble for us to decide, in the 

 above case, which is the voice of God speak- 

 ing through the people? Whether it is the 

 words that consider the welfare of the fu- 

 ture of our nation, or the oaths that are ut- 

 tered because— — because what? Why does 

 anybody swear? Can anybody tell? Be- 

 cause they are enlisted in God's work, or 

 because they are enlisted in the Devil's 

 work, and are, in very truth, trying to be 

 the Devil's own? 



We do not all swear, but the most of us 

 have our besetting sins, doubtless nearly as 

 bad, in God's sight, as profanity. I wonder 

 how many of us there are who know what 

 duty is, and do it not ; who make no espe- 

 cial* effort to follow the promptings of right 

 that God has implanted in us all. 



.It is true, I get occasionally a letter ob- 

 jecting to the Home Papers, but these are 

 few and far between, compared with the 

 steady stream of hints like the ones below. 



Our Homes in Jan. No. is the best of any jet. 

 That about treating everybody kindly tits my case 

 exactly. We are hurried so sometimes, that it 

 seems almost impossible to do so, but let's carry a 

 pleasant face if nothing more. O. F. Bowen. 



Randolph, N. Y., Jan. 10, 1879. 



To-day, in looking over back volumes, I re-read 

 with interest those first words that told us the story 

 of the new man— of the change that lead to "Our 

 Homes." My wife and I often speak of the lessons 

 of those Home Papers, and assure you that we ap- 

 preciate them. With the friendliest wishes for 

 your success, and trusting that you will ever be 



sustained by Him who never deserts his true dis- 

 ciples, I remain yours fraternally, 



J. P. Swarthout. 

 Crystal Springs, N. Y., Jan. 13, 1879. 



The Home Papers. —Keep up this depai'tment, 

 by all means. I Can't tell you how much good they 

 have done me; but, whenever I have read one of 

 them, I lay down the book, with my heart softened 

 toward all mankind. I feel that away off there in 

 Ohio, you have made me a better husband and fath- 

 er, a better citizen, and 1 hope, a better Christ- 

 ian. Dr. A. H. Brantly. 



Decatur, Ga., Jan., 13, 1879. 



Even those who complain, it seems, read 

 all these papers, and from the way in which 

 they write, I sometimes wonder if they do 

 not read them the very first thing. When 

 they were first started, I expected I should 

 lose subscribers by the course, and was pre- 

 pared to bear the loss ; but somewhat to my 

 astonishment, my circulation has been on a 

 steady increase ever since. At the time I 

 decided on this department, or rather on 

 taking this stand, my circulation did not 

 reach 1,000 at any time in the year ; it is now 

 only the 11th of Jan., and our list has already 

 reached nearly 4,000. I will tell you exactly 

 at the end of the month. I do not say this 

 because I would have anyone take up relig- 

 ion in order to make more money by it, but 

 to show that bringing religion to bear on 

 business will never kill the business. The 

 life of Gleanings is from the ABC class, 

 and this same class have made astonishing 

 progress; astonishing to myself, and to 

 themselves. Is it not possible that "Our 

 Homes"' has helped them to succeed in bee 

 culture? Are not the principles taught there 

 really at the foundation of thesuccessof any 

 business, or we might almost say, any na- 

 tion? What did the boys in the jail say? 

 Any man or boy who is striving for self con- 

 trol, and to become ruler of his own spirit, 

 will be pretty sure to thrive. Do the arts, 

 sciences, and manufactures thrive most 

 where there are communities of skeptics and 

 infidels, or where there are churches, and 

 where the Bible is read in every house daily? 

 The boys in the jail will answer readily, and 

 mankind, almost in a body, will respond 

 amen to their reply. 



My contributors are not first class. In one 

 sense I admit they are not. They are most- 

 ly beginners, and as a rule, they have not 

 large apiaries. They are not able to write 

 fine spun theory, and long controversial ar- 

 ticles. I pray God they may never be. But 

 they do tell u's of their own work at home; 

 of how they save their money by using home 

 made appliances; and how they get yields of 

 honey that might excite the envy of the old- 

 est hands in the business. I have chosen 

 simple, plain articles, with a hope of getting 

 our readers out of the old ruts, and have 

 tried to encourage a spirit of independence ; 

 of going to the bees themselves, and work- 

 ing things out by experiment, rather than 

 by depending too much on what anybody 

 writes. I do not particularly care to have 

 the best bee journal in the' land. I want 

 mine to be good, and others better. If you 

 or your friend think the other journals bet- 

 ter, I have no objection at all. I want to 

 see the other journals do good and thrive, 

 and I am perfectly willing they shall do good 

 in their own way. We are different and 



