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GLExVXINGS IN HKE CUJ/rUHE. 



Feb. 



ward told that an evil spirit whispered these 

 words in his ear. Well, now, dear friends, 

 although it is an evil spirit that whispers 

 these things in your ears and mind, it is, in 

 another sense, simply a growth of bad seeds 

 that have been planted. They may have 

 been planted years before, in childhood, but 

 they were planted at some time or other, or 

 no such crop of foul, loathsome, and dis- 

 gusting weeds would ever have intruded 

 themselves where they were not wanted. 

 This woman I spoke of had. at some time or 

 other, heard wicked men or boys swear, or 

 she would not have known what blasphem- 

 ous words are. Xow, if you allow yourself 

 to stay around, or to work where swearing 

 and obscenity go on, you will lind. sooner or 

 later, that bad seeds have been planted, and 

 they will spring up when you least expect it. 

 J3ad examples of every kind are bad seeds ; 

 and whenever we discover that bad seeds 

 are being sown in our minds, or in the minds 

 of our children, we should stop it at once. 

 If Canada thistles were commencing togoto 

 seed across the road from your corn-lield, I 

 you would, if wise, pitch right into them, ; 

 cut them down, and burn them up before : 

 the mischief went further. i 



On another page I have told you how IIu- i 

 Ijer's little mind caught up a'nd saved im- j 

 pressions. These impressions are seeds ; j 

 and if we want our children to grow up 

 pure minded, we want to keep them away 

 from bad talk, bad examples, and every 

 thing that will sow foul seeds to torment 

 and make them unhappy in after life. Pe- 

 ter Henderson, the great market gardener, 

 says the way to fight against weeds is to 

 begin when they are so little that a light, 

 fine-toothed rake will tear them all to bits. 

 A man with such a rake, starting out when 

 the weeds are very small, will accomplish 

 more than ten men with great stout hoes 

 could do when the weeds get to be knee 

 high ; and so it is in this work of reclaiming 

 our nation from crime and vice. Stop the 

 sowing of bad seed in the minds of our little 

 ones while they are yet small, and great 

 crops of crime will be stopped. In the same 

 way we shovdd work in our own hearts when 

 spiteful feelings come up. When a disposi- 

 tion to dwell on the faiUts of our neighbors 

 first begins to manifest itself, with the fine- 

 toothed rake of love and charity, stop the 

 conversation in the outset; break up all 

 these subtile weeds that are getting a start, 

 and let healthy plants, in the shape of good 

 words and encouraging talk, take their 

 place. Do not talk about people in any Avay 

 that would fostfr or encourage this terrible 

 evil of unkind criticism and fault-finding. 

 8top sowing bad seeds, and put good seeds 

 in their place. An hour's work now may 

 save from the penitentiary, prison, and poor- 

 house, a dozen lives fifty years hence. 

 Somebody once asked how early a child's 

 education should commence, and the reply 

 was, '' Fifty years before he is born." There 

 is a great truth here, even though the re- 

 mark may provoke a smile at first thought. 

 You can commence now sowing good seeds, 

 and prei)aring the soil, or tlie world, as it 

 were, for tlie children that shall be boin in 

 Wi)')-. and if vou do not do it now. who will 



do it? The prayer our Savior gave us in- 

 cluded this sentence : " Thy kingaom come ; 

 thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," 

 and every earnest, honest Christian, should 

 bear in mind that a part of this work and 

 this promise is to be fulfilled by our united 

 efforts. Shall we labor for it? 



Do you want to know what all this has to 

 do with myself and ray neighbors? Well, 

 these wrong thoughts and feelings I have 

 been speaking of are, I am sad to say, some- 

 times neighbors of mine. They do not live 

 across the way, nor up stairs nor down. 

 They are right in my own heart. I was 

 talkmg with my wife about it a few days 

 ago, and she said she guessed I was right 

 about it ; they were the result of bad, im- 

 pure seeds sown in my early life, during 

 those years when I did not profess to be a 

 Cliristian, and turned my back, as it were, 

 on Jesus the Savior. They will probably 

 continue to sprout and start to grow in my 

 heart as long as life shall last ; but I am de- 

 termined they shall be raked to pieces and 

 destroyed, just as soon as they show their 

 ugly heads. Those who know do say, that 

 ))y years of toil you can kill pretty much all 

 \\ eed-seeds in your garden ; and by God's 

 help I mean to see if 1 can not kill, to agreat 

 degree, every seed that I allowed the enemy 

 to sow in those early years of my life. 



THE OLD MAN'S BEE-STOKY. 



Good Cinthy was tending the cradle, 



And 1 in the field with my boys; 

 We suddenly heard the horn blowing-, 



And stranf^c unaccountable noise. 

 I hastily turned my steps homeward. 



And saw, with iii'y wondering eyes. 

 Black clouds in the wildest commotion 



All around our dwelling arise. 

 I found that my bee-bench had tumbled. 



The bees were intensely enraged, 

 And singing and darting and stinging, 



In general warfare engaged. 



The pigs all around me were squealing, 



And switching and running apace; 

 The puppies were bitterly howling, 



Calves bellowing over the place. 

 All over my head the bees 'lighted. 



And made my condition most dire; 

 And clawing 1 called out, "() Cinthy! 



Please bring me some rags and some fire." 



The windows were fastened securely, 



My baby was screaming for ease, 

 "Don't open the doorl " shouted Cinthy. 



"The babe will be killed by the bees." 

 T seized an old jiaii, and jrot tire; 



The ranks ol the warriors 1 broke, 

 And settled the lioi-rilik- oonllict 



Uy raising a voluuie of smoke. 

 My poor bees by hundreds were missing; 



But when all my hiving was done, 

 And platform made steady, my number 



Of hives was the same— lacking one. 



I got all my tubs and my buckets, 



And tilled them with honey and comb, 

 And now what good lesson, dear children, 



C'an we from this story take home? 

 Whenever you contemplate building, 



Whate'er it may be, do it well; 

 Be sure to have solid foundation, 



Not like my poor labi-ie that fell. 

 Dear children, you're building and building— 



Oh build up a character grand! 

 And let not your hopes for the future 



Be like the house built on the sand. 

 Columbus, Miss. Mus. M. A. Tapley. 



