1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



343 



and boys, and my attention was called by 

 hearing some one earnestly condemning the 

 Bible. I passed by hastily, and tried not to 

 hear the words, but I caught enough to 

 know that they referred to a vision of diffi- 

 cult interpretation. The statements were 

 presented so that a most disgusting story 

 was made, and tbe narrator then de- 

 clared that this was just what the 

 Bible taught, and church people held 

 up, as the law of God. The listeners, 

 some of whom were boys, drank in the state- 

 ment with open mouths, and I fear decided 

 in their own minds that the saloon adjoin- 

 ing was a safer place to go to, than the 

 church a little beyond. This teaching was 

 from the same man who used to be so active 

 in the temperance work. Why did he take 

 so much pains, as he sat idly there, to preju- 

 dice minds which probably looked up to him 

 as authority (for he was a well read man) 

 against the Bible. His statement had al- 

 most a Satanic ingenuity about it, I thought, 

 as I went over the ground afterward. When 

 one knows he is selling himself to Satan, 

 why must he take up a tirade against the 

 Bible? 



Would it be safe to say, when you hear a 

 man declaiming against the Bible and Chris- 

 tian people, that it is because he has some 

 secret sin, cherished and kept from the sight 

 of men, and that it is Satan, his master, who 

 is speaking through him? Suppose it should 

 get to be the current impression among peo- 

 ple, that he who loudly parades his skepti- 

 cism has a guilty conscience that impels this 

 stream of evil and bitterness. 



The utterances of the boy on the street 

 were, without question, those of one pos- 

 sessed by the Evil One, and one is forcibly 

 reminded of the way in which devils took 

 possession of people in olden time. 



And, behold, they cried out, saying - . What have we 

 to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou 

 come hither to torment us before the time? 



—Matt. viii. 29. 



The saloon keeper but a few doors from 

 the spot is one whom I have met in jail, and, 

 of all the utterly hopeless, bitter, hard, un- 

 feeling, specimens of humanity I have met, 

 this man was one of the worst. Imagine 

 him standing behind his bar, after this deed. 

 The slave dealers down south used to rob 

 mothers of their sons, it is true; but they 

 only carried off and sold the body, while the 

 boy might be a good Christian boy, in spite 

 of anything they could do. This man, night- 

 ly robs the mother of her son, and sends his 

 soul to perdition; does it, too, all for a few 

 cents. We thought awhile ago, that we 

 would never stand by, and see such scenes 

 enacted. Header, are you not this minute 

 standing by, and seeing just such scenes en- 

 acted, as I have just pictured? You think 

 our people should revolt, and declare they 

 would not live in a community where one 

 man holds another in bondage? Good; give 

 me your hand; let the world know there are 

 just two, if no more, that will not stand by 

 tamely, and see our fellows wronged in this 

 way. If the world is too much for us, and 

 we are crowded down out of sight, let us die 

 in a good cause, as did oar fathers before us. 



For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and 

 whosoever will lose his life lor my sake shall llnd it. 



Matt. xvi. 25. 



But what shall we do, Mr. Boot? What 

 did you do with that boy? Why, I had a 

 talk with him, after he was sober, and now 

 he goes to our young men's prayer meeting 

 and attends Sabbath School regularly. That 

 is the way I would let the world know I 

 would not have such work. Do you not re- 

 member, "Not by might,' 1 &c? 



By the way, have I ever told you they have 

 made me superintendent of the Sabbath 

 School? About 300 children, and 25 teach- 

 ers, the secretary told me we had enrolled 

 last sabbath, and to think that in a few short 

 years (since I commenced serving my Sav- 

 ior and writing these Home Papers here to 

 you), this should all have come about, to be 

 sure, seems preposterous. — The idea of put- 

 ting all this responsibility into the hands of 

 one who is but a child in christian work! 

 but so it has come about, in some queer way, 

 and I presume I should try to think the Lord 

 has done it, and so do the best I can. If our 

 people ever think I am not just the right one 

 for the place, I am ready to step down and 

 out, with just as pleasant a smile, as I step- 

 ped up. i suppose it came about something 

 in this way: you know I had a class of boys, 

 to whom I could not do any good, or at least 

 I thought I couldn't. In answer to prayer, 

 I was directed to go and visit them at their 

 own homes, and it resulted in the weekly 

 meetings with them, as I have told you. By 

 the way, those have been dropped, tempora- 

 rily, just because of the time it would take 

 from the tilling of your orders. Well, after 

 I had got such a hold on the boys that they 

 would listen to me in almost anything, in 

 some way it got into the minds of the peo- 

 ple that I could control a great many boys, 

 and so they gave me the whole school. Do 

 you not see? 



Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will 

 make thee ruler over many things. 



And — 



And whosoever will be chief among- you, let him 

 be your servant:— Matt. xx. 27. 



Suppose I had got discouraged and given 

 up, and said I could not do any thing with a 

 lot of boys who would be so "cantankerous," 

 and would not listen to a word I had to say. 



Fear not, little flock: for it is your Father's good 

 pleasure to give you the Kindom.— Luke, xii. :>2. 



Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be 

 afraid.— St. John, xiv. 27. 



Several of those boys are now at work with 

 us here, and more respectful, industrious, 

 and better behaved boys one could not well 

 ask for. 



Did you never notice what a cordial and 

 friendly way many of the German people 

 have, compared with the cold business hab- 

 its of most of the Americans? Even the let- 

 ters from our German bee-friends seem full 

 of this kind of brotherly love, and make 

 one's heart involuntarily warm toward these 

 brothers across the water. Some years ago, 

 a pretty, black eyed, German girl came into 

 my place of business, and, after a pleasant 

 salutation, told me that her name was Caro- 

 line S., and that her brother was a jeweler 

 too ; and, after some little purchase, went 

 away with a pleasant "Good day," thatmade 

 one feel like parting from a friend. She 

 came in often afterwards, and, by her pleas- 



