58 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Jan 15 



Root and put my arm about her lovingly, she al- 

 ways forgets and forgives. Yes, thank God, she 

 is always ready at any time to go more than half 

 way. S jmetimes when others are around, and 

 I do not wish to attract observation, I simply 

 lay my hand quietly over hers. She under- 

 stands it, and we two start out to meet life's 

 conflicts once more, hand in hand. Some of 

 you may think it is hardly worth while to be 

 so very careful about such little disagreements 

 as I have mentioned. As I think it over, and 

 watch humanity, I have decided it is one of 

 the most important things in this world, that 

 this perfect peace and harmony, this full un- 

 derstanding, this tender relation between 

 father and mother, shall ne%'er lapse for a sin- 

 gle instant. You may have to pray most ear- 

 nestly fur the influences of the Holy Spirit to 

 keep you from making a mistake and doing 

 harm, but it can be done,* 



After I had been home a few weeks my old 

 trouble from malaria came back. I caught 

 cold — I do not know exactly how. It settled 

 in my throat, teeth, and ears. I had tooth- 

 ache, earache, and sore throat all together. I 

 could not stand drafts, and had to be bundled 

 up. I had just got my new poultry-house fix- 

 ed very nicely with a floor of dry dust. Mrs. 

 Root admired the dry dust with me, but she 

 did not like to have it tracked into the house 

 on her carpets. One day when I was suffering 

 from my '" compound " maladies, I forgot and 

 walked through the house, leaving dry dust at 

 every step (at least she says I did). Well, 

 when she began to remonstrate, in no very 

 gentle terms, ptrhaps, I had partly opened my 

 mouth to say that a little dust on the carpet 

 was a trifling matter compared with some oth- 

 er things ; and then I thought of adding that 

 she made a great deal of fuss about a little 

 matter. Then Satan added (I know it was 

 Satan, because the observation or the sugges- 

 tion he made bore his ear-marks so plainly), 

 " If I were you I would just tell her that she 

 makes herself miserable, and everybody else, 

 by chasing around with a brush and dust-pan, 

 and making such a row about a little dust." 

 I really hope Mrs Root will not read this. I 

 am going to keep it away from her if I can, 

 because I do not know but she will bristle up 

 (like our big white rooster), ready for a fight 

 when she finds out that I ever tolerated for 

 one brief moment even the thought of saying 

 any thing so unkind and unreasonable. But 

 I did not say it, thank God, and, in fact, I did 



Every little while somebody takes the ground that 

 people who c mmit suicide are iu<-ane. I can not agree 

 with them. A few day.s ago a girl in her teens was 

 planning to go to a party. Her whole mind was taken 

 up with parties, and her mother hud objected because 

 of her youth, and because of the character of those she 

 was meeting Her mother told her she could not con- 

 sent to let her go. The girl declared she ri:'0!</(/ go. 

 When the mother would not relent the girl brcame 

 very angry, and told her mother, in a passion, that she 

 would be sorry. While still in anger she piocu'ed and 

 drank carbolic acid. Such cases are getting to be 

 alarmingly frequent — j es. even suicide among boys 

 and girls. The struggle between the mother and 

 daughter started in regard to a comparatively trifling 

 matter. Satan, as I have suggested, seems to be get- 

 ting a new hold on humanity right along this line. 

 I,et us beware how we invite his presence for a single 

 moment in unkind thoughts, or, worse still, in letting 

 those thoughts ^^/ itUo words. 



not say any thing at all. I will tell you what 

 kept me from saying any thing, even if I was 

 groaning with toothache and earache together. 

 Permit me to digress a little. 



Every fall, as soon as the flies are surely 

 gone, our screen-doors are taken off and car- 

 ried up into the attic. It is up two flights of 

 stairs, and one of them is pretty narrow. The 

 doors are rather heavy too — fome of them. 

 Huber has always done this work, but he is 

 off at school now, you know. Well, I told 

 Mrs. Root I would send one of the men over 

 from the factory ; but I kept forgetting it. 

 One day when I came home she said, " Dear 

 husband, you can not guess who took off all 

 the screen-doors and put them safely away in 

 the attic, the screws tied to each door so they 

 won't be lost, every thing all nice and 

 straight." 



"No, I do not believe I can guess. Who 

 did it?" 



She came up close to me so I could easily 

 get hold of her if I wanted to, and replied, 

 with an arch look, " It was the woman jou 

 love who did it." 



I would not tell this, dear friends, if it were 

 not that it gives you a glimpse of our usual 

 relation to each other better than any thing 

 else I can think of. I suppose she will scold 

 like every thing when she sees it in print ; but 

 I will try to explain to her that I have taken 

 the liberty of repeating such words only be- 

 cause I am sure it will do good in many homes 

 where Gleanings is read. She said it be- 

 cause she ^«i?rf/ it was /;'z/(?. Dear me ! haven't 

 I told her so enough times during the years 

 we have lived together so she might be sure 

 of it ? Let us now hitch our two stories to- 

 gether. 



This matter about the screen-doors happened 

 some two or three days before that of the dus- 

 ty carpet. When I came in suffering vdth 

 the cold in my head, I presume I was tired 

 out with many cares over at the factory, and 

 attending to correspondence when I hardly 

 felt able to do so ; but when those unkind and 

 uncalled-for words came into my mind, all of 

 a sudden the transaction of the screen-doors 

 came before me. Dear reader, was it not the 

 voice of Christ Jesus that said, " Gently, gen- 

 tly, child. Remember, she to whom you are 

 .o.bout to speak is 'the woman you love.' 

 Surely^, you do not feel unkind or even un- 

 pleasant toward her? " 



I had been praying that the dear Savior 

 would help nie to bear patiently whatever lit- 

 tle crosses I might be called on to bear. I 

 had prayed that the influences of his Spirit 

 might be near me and keep me from inconsis- 

 tencies ; yes, every day of my life, almost, I 

 pray for this one thing. My prayer was an- 

 swered. I did not say a w.ord. I presume I 

 might have scraped up grace enough to beg 

 her pardon for being thoughtless, and prom- 

 ised to be more careful. I certainly did not 

 feel unkind, but I was worried and wearied. 

 I hurried to my resting-place, and after about 

 half an hour's sleep I was myself again. 



The father and mother should strive above 

 all things to be consistent before the children. 

 It is right and proper that the children should 



