318 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



Apr. 



fore dinner. I asked my friend if I could 

 not shorten the distance by going crosslots. 

 She said she believed the traveled road was 

 considered the quickest and easiest in the 

 end. I, however, though tired and hungry, 

 rather preferred a new path. My wife has 

 scolded me over and over again' because I 

 always insist on going home by some other 

 route ; and even though former experience 

 has resulted in my getting lost, finding 

 bridges gone, getting the buggy muddy, and 

 things of that sort, she says experience with 

 me does not seem to amount to any thing. I 

 am up to the same okl trick whenever I get 

 rive miles or more from home. I saw an 

 opening through the rocky cliffs, right ahead 

 of that horse and buggy, and into it I push- 

 ed, with my photographs in my hand. Pret- 

 ty soon I had more climbing over the rocks 

 than I had counted on ; but I consoled my- 

 self by thinking it must be pretty soon down 

 hill instead of up. Yes, it was down hill, 

 but such a down hill as I never saw before. 

 I pushed ahead until I began to fear I 

 should fall into a chasm or be killed on the 

 points of the jagged rocks below me; and 

 then my imagination began picturing 

 Gleanings dressed in crape, and all its 

 readers saddened bv the intelligence that 

 its editor had been found crushed to death 

 at the bottom of a precipice. So I got back 

 to the beaten road, and, as soon as I could, 

 made for the railway track. 



What a boon is a railway track, even to a 

 footsore and weary traveler ! I had been 

 saying to myself, that, if I just got on the 

 railway track there would be no more up hill 

 and down hill. But I soon had experience 

 of this queer optical illusion that I have 

 mentioned before, as the effect of the moun- 

 tains ; namely, you are sure you are going 

 down hill when in reality you are on the up 

 grade. I looked ahead on the track, and re- 

 joiced at the prospect of seeing a place 

 where it was so much down hill that I could 

 easily run clear clown to the town; but 

 when I got there I could hardly believe my 

 senses. It seemed to me as if some evil 

 sprite from the Garden of the Gods were 

 pulling and tugging at my coat-tails, and 

 trying to pull me up hill backward. It 

 seemed so unreal, that I turned square 

 round and walked the other way. Would 

 you believe it ? — it was a great deal easier ' 

 walking up hill (at least my senses said it 

 was up hill) than to go clown hill toward 

 the town ! I looked around for a stream of 

 water. Sure enough ! I felt like the woman 

 who said, "There, it is just as I expected, 

 and I always thought it would be.'' That 

 contrary stream of water was running up 

 hill, just as plain as the nose on your face. 

 It seemed to be laughing and giggling to 

 think I was such a "greeny." By and by, 

 however, I readied my hotel ; and my good 

 friend who presides at the table had saved 

 out an extra nice dinner for me. It was 

 then only just half-past twelve o'clock. 



Does some one wonder what all this story 

 lias to do with the text at the head of our 

 talk to-day ? Well, friends, it is this : Great 

 multitudes are thronging Manitou, especial- 

 ly during the hot weather of summer. If 

 they come here they put up at expensive 



hotels, and then pay great prices for liveries 

 to visit these things I have told you about. 

 They do this to worship God through his 

 w r orks, some of them say. Now, they come 

 here for enjoyment and recreation, and in 

 order to get the very greatest amount of en- 

 joyment out of a certain sum of money or 

 for a certain number of days or weeks, and 

 they resort to various artifices to enhance 

 the attraction the place already possesses. 

 Expensive hotels furnish costly viands; and 

 the advertisements of their wonderful 

 springs unblushingly recommend Manitou 

 spring-water, combined with intoxicating 

 liquors ; and a good many people when they 

 go out to enjoy nature must have a bottle of 

 intoxicants along with them. I have some- 

 times wondered why one who loved whisky 

 could not get intoxicated just as well some- 

 where out of sight as to go to a picnic or ex- 

 cursion, or on a trip to some noted water- 

 ing-place. Many must have a cigar when 

 they are looking at the mountains, water- 

 falls, or nature"s caverns. Stumps of cigars 

 are scattered quite freely all through the 

 Garden of the Gods. I am told, also, that 

 the livery-stables do an immense business 

 on God's holy day. Now, then, friends, 

 with the above thought in mind let us read 

 our text : 



As I passed by I beheld an altar with this inscrip- 

 tion: To the unknown god. Whom therefore ye 

 ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. 



Now, let me tell you as Paul told the peo- 

 ple of Athens in olden time, " Him there- 

 fore whom ye ignorantly worship, declare I 

 unto you." I doubt whether any tourist 

 ever had more real enjoyment in Manitou 

 than I found. But I found it a little unex- 

 pectedly. It commenced in God's holy tem- 

 ple, among Christian people, in the house of 

 worship. You have heard my simple story, 

 which I have told as honestly and truthfully 

 as I knew how. Now, did any one, when 

 under the influence of the narcotic fumes of 

 tobacco, or through the intoxication of 

 strong drink, or even by the expenditure of 

 vast sums of money, ever find the happiness 

 that I have found V Did any Sabbath- 

 breaker ever enjoy himself so honestly and 

 thoroughly as I have done during this Mon- 

 day forenoon I have told you about? Per- 

 haps it is true that we are all seeking enjoy- 

 ment, myself among the rest ; but has not 

 Paul got it about right when he says, 

 "Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, 

 him declare I unto you " V The Bible tells 

 us, " Great peace have they that love thy 

 law.'' My testimony is, that it is true, 

 every word of it, and there is no peace in the 

 whole wide universe to be compared with 

 that which comes to the faithful, honest, 

 earnest follower of Christ Jesus. 



A VISIT TO BEE-CELLARS IN NORTH- 

 ERN OHIO. 



ERNEST OFF ON A RAMBLE— CONTINUED. 



fHE topic of our conversation gradually 

 merged into the wintering question. 

 Of course, I asked Mr. Boardman a 

 great manv questions about the re- 

 pository. To talk more understand- 

 ing^ we went out to look it over. Having 



