1879 



GLEANIKGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



409 



The contents of thin leaf and the one following arc, 

 not directly connected with the subject of bee-culture. 

 On this account, I make no charge for them, and, if you 

 choose, you can cut them out without reading. 



And we know th:it nil things wo-k toge her for 

 good to them that Love God.- Rom. viii. :.'<. 



IF we accept this, my friends, there is 

 Jj[ certainly little cause for a Christian to 



' worry, or be discontented, no matter 

 what turns up. All he has to look out for is 

 to be sure that he does not delude himself 

 by thinking he loves the Lord, when, in 

 reality, he loves the approbation of the world, 

 or something of that sort ; to illustrate : 



Just after I had knelt in prayer last Sab- 

 bath evening at the young people's prayer 

 meeting, one of our number asked me if I 

 would sit up that night and take care of a 

 sick family. In my prayer, I had asked God 

 to show us the evil in bur own hearts, and 

 heli^ us to correct it ; to help us to see our 

 faults, as other people saw them ; to help us 

 to put our religion into practical every day 

 life, as well as to talk about it ; to give us of 

 the spirit of Christ, and bring us near to 

 him, even though the way led us through 

 disagreeable duties. I prayed with unusual 

 energy, for I had just returned from a very 

 pleasant Bible class which is now established 

 at the infirmary, at 4 o'clock, every Sabbath 

 afternoon, and I felt the approving voice of 

 my Savior, for having gone off on such an 

 errand, through a rather cold rain storm. 



"Mr. Boot, will you go and sit up with Mr. 

 M's family ? I sat up last night, and I will 

 sit up again to-night, if I meet with no bet- 

 ter success in getting help than I have had 

 so far." 



I looked him full in the face, and, if I hes- 

 itated a little in answering, it was so brief a 

 hesitation that I hardly think he noticed it. 

 Brief as it was, however, the following 

 thoughts rushed through my mind during 

 the interval. 



Excuse number one. I am an invalid; it 

 is not two months since the Dr. said, if I did 

 not go off and leave my business, I would 

 not live half my life out. It is absolutely 

 necessary that I get to bed at 9 o'clock, every 

 night, or I have faint and dizzy spells. Why, 

 just think of it I sometimes I feel as if my 

 life almost depended on my taking a bee 

 line home, and getting my tired head on a 

 pillow, even before nine o'clock. Of course, 

 I ought not to go when there are plenty of 

 well men andfwomen all around. 



Excuse number 2. I know nothing about 

 taking care of sick folks; it isn't in my line. 

 Some folks can work about a sick bed as 

 handily as can be, but I should certainly be 

 more trouble than 1 was worth. Why, if 

 my wife went away, and left me to prepare 

 a single meal, myself, I always ate it raw, 

 because I could not handle things in the 

 kitchen. Why, I have not watched with 

 any body that was sick for 24 years, by 

 actual count. 



Excuse number 3. I suppose I saved 

 this one until the last, because I was rather 



ashamed of it. I have got lots of work to do 

 to-morrow, and a great many hands to take 

 charge of. Men who employ a great many 

 hands cannot be expected to sit up with the 

 sick, for it hinders a great many other peo- 

 ple. If I did any thing, I would hire one of 

 my hands to sit up. I am willing to do that, 

 and, now I think of it, the proper way is to 

 hire a regular nurse right along ; and, as no 

 one should pay all the expense, the right 

 way is for some one to pass around a sub- 

 scription paper. I have not time to do that, 

 but I will head the paper, with a good start. 



Mind you, I only thought all these excuses, 

 and at almost the same instant a better spirit 

 reminded me of how often I had told the 

 young people there that, if they would only 

 push ahead and trust God, he would give 

 health, strength, ability, and every thing else 

 for the work, and it came right up before me ; 

 now, old fellow, is the time to put your own 

 preaching in practice. It would have been 

 a comparatively easy matter to go and ask 

 my wife to come and help, and then let her 

 do it all, but I knew she had been up all 

 night with a relative the night before, and 

 that better voice bade me ask God to help 

 me, and scrape up energy enough to make 

 myself, at least, good for something in a sick 

 room, even if it was for almost the first time 

 in my life. As I went along the walk with 

 my friend, I prayed that God would fit me, 

 in strength, wisdom, and skill, for this new 

 work, in the same way I had asked for and 

 received so many other things. 



In two small rooms, I found a family of 

 six. The father was just down with the ty- 

 phoid fever ; a boy of six was just recovering 

 from the same disease ; a girl, a little older, 

 was just recovering from the dysentery, and 

 kept" the mother almost constantly trying to 

 allay a distressing cough ; another little girl 

 of three years called in plaintive tones for 

 mamma to get her to sleep ; while poor, 

 tired, overworked mamma carried about 

 with her a baby of 6 weeks old. Both rooms 

 were filled with the various cups and medi- 

 cines pertaining to the fever in question. 

 The Dr., who is a good friend of mine, seem- 

 ed pleased to turn them over to me, and as 

 he gave me directions, I began to feel happy 

 already. The mother's face looked strangely 

 familiar, and I soon found she and I had 

 been schoolmates, L'2 years ago. The father 

 was an inventive mechanic, and had just 

 finished and started to work a machine that 

 was earning him good wages ; but, alas ! 

 there he lay helpless. My great big selfish 

 self began to loom up awfully, and while I 

 asked God to forgive me for the grumbling I 

 had all along been guilty of, I began wonder- 

 ing what my wife would do if she were there. 

 In the first place, my Sunday shoes vt squeak- 

 ed" so that I waked all the children up every 

 time I walked across the floor ; and, after 

 trying the sick man's slippers, I found I 

 could go much the stillest in my stocking 

 feet. A friend was with me as an assistant, 

 but, as he, too, had hands to take charge of 

 on the morrow, I persuaded him to lie on 

 the lounge and sleep, while I took care of 

 the sick, calling him whenever I needed him. 

 I deserved no credit for this, for, to my own 

 astonishment, I really enjoyed the work so 



