300 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 1 



who was enthusiastic about building a boat — 

 a boat that would carry him away out on the 

 St. John's River, and enable him to see some- 

 thing of the world. I found that boy had 

 grown to be a man, and had a wife and baby. 

 To meet my appointments, and save time, I 

 hired him to take me twenty miles to an ad- 

 joining town. We had lots of time to visit, 

 and talk over matters. I always enjoy these 

 confidential talks during my buggy-rides. I 

 talked with this young man about his financial 

 affairs. He greatly needed a little capital to 

 get a start with. But he smoked a pipe a 

 great part of the twenty miles. He had been 

 reading Gleanings, so he knew what I 

 thought of such things. Then he commenced 

 with a sort of apology. This opened the way 

 for me to speak freely. He said his wife felt 

 so bad about it that he did break off once for 

 three months, but that he wanted the tobacco 

 just as much at the end of that time as at the 

 beginning, and so he resumed the use of the 

 weed, a slave to tobacco while he was little if 

 any more than 21 years of age, with a baby to 

 bring up in the footsteps of its father. He 

 said his tobacco cost him about 50 cents a 

 month — $6.00 a year, and no more. 



Said I, " Charley, if you keep on using just 

 $6.00 a year, and no more, that amount of 

 money would buy a nice farm before you are 

 as old as I am. But let me tell you Satan will 

 not let his subjects off in that way. You tried 

 to break off, and couldn't. You yielded to 

 Sitan. You have acknowledged him as mas- 

 ter, and yourself as the slave — the abject slave. 

 He gives the orders, and you obey them. He 

 will say, ' A little more tobacco ; and a little 

 more ; and a little more.' He is saying it al- 

 ready. This very afternoon you are using 

 more tobacco than 50 cents a month will pay 

 for. There will never be a minute in your 

 life when it will be easier for you to break off 

 and declare yourself a free man than at this 

 very time. Satan is riveting your chains every 

 day." 



When I bade him good-by as he started 

 back home, I went up close to him and begged 

 him to remember our talk on tobacco. I told 

 him particularly to remember that, through 

 Jesus Christ, the great burden-bearer of all 

 humanity, he could be a free man, unfettered 

 and unshackled. 



It seems a little funny, but a few days later 

 I employed another man to take his horse and 

 buggy to carry me from Oakland to Orlando. 

 He, too, began to apologize for using tobacco, 

 e pecially as he was a member of the church, 

 and a good Christian man. Then he told me 

 the following story. Oh how I wish it could 

 be told in every home, in every pulpit in our 

 land ! yes, I will gladly send you printed 

 copies of this story by the hundred or thou- 

 sand if you will help me scatter them every- 

 where. I presume the man would not object 

 to having his name given if it helps humani- 

 ty, even if he does love tobacco. As nearly 

 as I can remember, the pathetic story he told 

 was something like this : 



" Mr. Root, I once broke ofT from tobacco, 

 and you may be astonished to know that I 

 broke off without a bit of trouble. I was a 



professing Christian, and the thing lay heavi- 

 ly on my conscience. It worried me day and 

 night to think that I was setting an example 

 before my family of growing boys that I knew 

 was bad. The habit kept increasing. Final- 

 ly I went down on my knees before God, and 

 begged him to give me strength and grace for 

 the ordeal that lay before me. The prayer 

 was answered then and there. Deliverance 

 came. For more than a year I was without 

 tobacco in any shape or form. You will hard- 

 Iv believe me, but I declare to you it is true, 

 I did not want it one minute, day or night. I 

 rejoiced in my freedom. I urged others to do 

 likewise. I was a clean man, redeemed and 

 emancipated by the Lord Jesus Christ." 



Oh what a testimony ! No wonder I thought 

 of Mr. Biider ; yes, and did I not think of how 

 even A. I. Root wis, years ago, delivered from 

 a fearful thing in just exactly the same way? 



ye of little faith! wherefore do ye doubt? 

 But my story is not ended. Now listen to 

 what my friend told me : 



" Mr. Root, after I had been freed from the 

 terrible bondage for more than a year I was 

 put on the jury. I was kept there several 

 days. It was very monotonous, and we all 

 became very tired. Every one of the other 

 eleven jurj'men was chewing and spitting al- 

 most constantly. The judge was chewing and 

 spitting. Lawyers on both sides were chew- 

 ing and spitting. Almost everybody in the 

 courtroom was using tobacco. Every little 

 while somebody would say, ' Have some to- 

 bacco with the rest of us to pass away the 

 time. You need not use it after you get 

 through court unless you choose.' Then I be- 

 gan to listen to the tempter. May God for- 

 give me. I trifled with temptation, and took 

 a chew. In an instant the old appetite opened 

 up like a great cataract. It swept me oflF my 

 feet, as it were. I chewed and chewed with 

 the rest of them, and I have been using to- 

 bacco ever since. Mav God help me ; but it 

 seems as if I could not break off now." 



It was almost a plaintive wail as he put 

 some more of the stuff into his mouth. I 

 said to him : 



" My friend, do j'ou remember that strange 

 passage in Matthew, where Christ says that 

 the condition of a man who has gone back to 

 evil ways after casting them aside for awhile 

 is worse than before he attempted to put the 

 evil spirit out ? The evil spirit comes back 

 and brings seven other evil spirits with him." 



"Oh! yes, Mr. Root, I do remember it. I 

 have often thought of it, and I am that man. 



1 see it clearly." 



Let us now go back to the judge and jury, 

 lawyers, and other officers of county and State. 

 In Florida the whole crew were using tobacco. 

 Is this an extreme case, or is tobacco kinq^ in 

 like manner in all the other States of this 

 Union? Is it true of the capitals of our States 

 as well as of our county seats ? How is it in the 

 capitol building at Washington? When a 

 man is accused of a crime, and the laws of 

 our land accord him a fair and impartial trial, 

 does he come before a body of his fellow men 

 who are clean men, pure in heart, with brains 

 undimmed by a drug of any sort? or does he 



