1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



187 



also; aDd you can falsify, misrepresent, and ridicule 

 it to your heart's content. Geo. K. Wright. 



Cambria, Niagara Co., N. Y., March 1, 1880. 



Have mercy, I beseech you, friend W. 

 Granting that I am, as you say, untruthful, 

 dishonest, and a hypocrite, is such language 

 as you have used 'the best to make me bet- 

 ter V Even hypocrites are sometimes re- 

 formed, but is it not by kindly telling them of 

 their faults, rather than by harshness and 

 such severe censure V Why, friend W., do you 

 support my journal, or have anything to do 

 with me, if I am so base? I assure you, I had 

 no intention of giving you a thrust of any 

 kind when I wrote what I did in the Janua- 

 ry No. I only remembered that some one of 

 you was skeptical in regard to the drone the- 

 ory, and as I could not remember the name, 

 which I must have in order to find the letter, 

 I gave it from memory, never dreaming that 

 the criticism in the same article was from 

 the same person. If you did not mean to 

 ridicule the Bible, I beg pardon, for I cer- 

 tainly so took it. I certainly have not, in 

 my book, extracted or copied from Quinby 

 or Langstroth, but I have simply verified 

 their statements in my own apiary. If you 

 will pay me a visit, friend W., I will raise 

 some queens, confine them to their hives, 

 without any sort of a drone, until they lay 

 eggs, and you and I see those eggs hatch ; 

 will not that be conclusive? Will it not 

 convince you, without your needing to take 

 my word? I sincerely hope W. O. is a bet- 

 ter Christian than myself, friend W. ; but 

 Christians never compare themselves in that 

 way. If, in studying astronomy, I should 

 find myself unable to compute how far space 

 extends, should I " dry up," and throw 

 away my books and telescopes in disgust ? 

 I can not fathom tornadoes any more than I 

 can space ; but I know our Father in heaven 

 does all things for the best. At this very 

 minute, I am informed that a little child for 

 whom we have been praying is dying. Shall 

 I be so presumptuous as to think I know 

 better what is for the best than He who 

 rules over all? When our petitions are in 

 accordance with his divine purposes, f know 

 our request will be granted ; and, as I pray 

 for you this minute, my friend, that you 

 may have more charity for your fellows, it is 

 with the " Thy will, not mine, be done." 

 Your sixty years of observation I believe to 

 be right on one point at least. A man who 

 brags about his religion is generally a hypo- 

 crite; and, if I have bragged about mine. I shall 

 soon be found out and go down out of sight, 

 as hypocrites generally do, sooner or later. 

 Have I ridiculed or misrepresented, friend 

 W.? I assure you I have not meant to do so. 



"ALMOST THOU PERSUADEST ME TO BE A CHRIS- 

 TIAN." 



Friend Root : — It seems to me that I must come 

 over, spiritually, into your Home Department. My 

 life thus far has been full of trials and tribulations. 

 It seems sometimes as though everything is against 

 me; and when things seem to be most encouraging, 

 and premising good results, the end is nothing but 

 partial success or entire disappointment. There 

 have been times when I would almost embrace ex- 

 treme skeptical views, and I don't know but that, 

 bad it not been for the influences of home, of Chris- 



tian parents, and now a Christian wife, I would have 

 been an extreme doubter. I have been a swearing 

 man, perhaps not so publicly as some, but just as 

 wickedly. I have had wicked thoughts, envious 

 feelings, and told untruths. I have always tried to 

 be honest, but a few years ago I advertised an arti- 

 cle, and, failing to make a good article, sent a poor 

 one, and sometimes none at all, and kept the money. 

 My conscience has never let me rest easy over it. 

 My conscience has also troubled me greatly over an 

 act I committed when a boy. I was not over thirteen 

 years of age. I was in church during communion 

 service with other bo3 r s, and took of the bread as the 

 good deacon passed it to me. I did not take the 

 wine, and the venerable deacon gave me a look that 

 I shall always remember. Now, some may think 

 that a small thing to be troubled about; but God 

 condemns it in severe terms. It is a most solemn 

 occasion, and if the Israelites were killed outright 

 for disobeying God's commands, why may we not 

 also be punished for our most unworthy and wicked 

 deeds? 



Now, friend Root, though others have abused you 

 for your confessions in the Home Papers, I have 

 found much consolation in knowing that a sinful 

 mortal like myself has found peace and happiness, 

 and forgiveness too, by following the teachings of 

 the Cross. 



It begins to dawn upsn me now, that perhaps all 

 my trials have been placed upon me in order that I 

 might see my true spiritual condition. For the past 

 few years I have been trying to pay off several 

 debts that are uprm our property. These were not 

 accumulated wholly by myself, but my now aged 

 father became unfortunately involved, and mort- 

 gaged his farm, and instead of becoming lighter, 

 our debts have grown, and now the holder of the 

 mortgage wants to get hold of our property, and is 

 disparaging its value, and throwing out insinuations 

 about us personally. Now we are brought face to 

 face with the fact that we must put our trust in 

 God, that we may charitably pray for this man and 

 put faith in that passage of Scripture so often quot- 

 ed in your Home Papers, and which is continually 

 in my mind — 



"Commit thy ways unto the Lord; trust also in 

 him, and he shall bring it to pass." 



Now, there is an honorable way out of our embar- 

 rassment, if the Lord will kindly aid us in our ef- 

 forts. My prayers have been for an honorable 

 means, and in my prayers I firmly resolve to seek 

 the kingdom of God. Lately, encouragement seems 

 to come, and I am resolved to knock, that the way 

 and door of salvation may be opened unto me. My 

 wife has prayed for me for several years, kneeling 

 as she retired to rest. I have been indifferent, or 

 appeared to be, to her prayers, but now I am re- 

 solved to kneel with her and ask God's blessing. 

 Now, friend Root, I feel that I need your prayers and 

 your faith to aid me in my spiritual and temporal 

 efforts, that I may, above all, become a Christian, 

 and hold steadfast to the great truths of the Bible. 

 My only excuse for taking so much of your valuable 

 time is, that "Out of the fullness of the heart the 

 mouth speaketb." Hoping God will give you con- 

 tinued prosperity in your good works, I remain- 

 Fraternally yours, Alpha. 



March 7, 1880. 



May God help you, friend A., to become 

 firmly " rooted ami grounded " in the faith 

 that passeth not away. You are on the right 



