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GLEAKINGS in bee CtJLTUTlE. 



JiJNri 



time ago, I spoke to the hands, in a little 

 talk, about authority. I told them that it 

 was my prayer that 1 might be able to keep 

 the authority that was invested in me, en- 

 tirely out of sight. I toUl them 1 wanted to 

 move around among tliem as a fellow-labor- 

 er, a companion, and a friend ; that I pray- 

 ed God I might be able to keep out of sight 

 and out of mind the fact tliat I was employ- 

 er, or "• boss,'' as it is so often termed ; and 

 I asked them, too, that those who have 

 charge of rooms, and tliose who have lielp 

 employed under them, would try to do the 

 same— try to so manage that it should never 

 be necessary to say, in a peremptory way, 

 'Do this," or, " Do that." It is an easy 

 thing for me to speak to my boys out on tlie 

 grounds, when 1 wish them to take up some 

 other work, something in this way : " Boys, 

 will you please let this drop that you are do- 

 ing liow, and come with me?" or, " I think, 

 boys, I wouldn't do this work the way you 

 are doing, but like this." Now, I know by 

 experience how much better this way an- 

 swers; and I know by experience tiiat cases 

 are very rare wliere one we employ disobeys, 

 if we explain to him exactly what is v/anted 

 of him; but for all tliat.'past experience 

 seems to amount to nothing. All these 

 years of practicing and experimenting and 

 studying upon the way that God's com- 

 mandments work in the hearts of men seem 

 to count for nothing. Every few days I find 

 myself away off the track— away out of the 

 straight and narrow path. In place of the 

 pleasant good-natured child of God who 

 used to stand in my slioes (if you will pardon 

 the expression), my better self has gone out, 

 and a usurper hascome in. A man stands 

 there whom I shudder to think of or look at. 

 He is selfish and cold and unfeeling, and 

 domineering. He has no care nor respect 

 for God nor for God's commands. His god 

 is self, and he cares nothing for conse- 

 quences. If you tell him a certain act is 

 wicked, he says, " Who cares if it is? If 

 you don't want to get hurt, get out of my 

 way.'" His heart is in the right attitude to 

 utter oaths and curses ; he has no love for 



his fellow-man ; he has no respect for do 



you shudder, dear reader, at such a picture? 

 and do you say that that is the effect of 

 overwork and a disordered imagination? 

 Alas! it is but too true ; and those who have 

 been striving to follow Christ may recog- 

 nize the picture from its semblance "to simi- 

 lar glimpses they may have had of their own 

 hearts. Without the Savior's love — without 

 the grace of God in my heart, I should have 

 been a fearful specimen of humanity. I 

 have sometimes looked in wjnder upon the 

 friends and neighbors about me. I have 

 even looked upon unbelievers — those M'ho 

 liave never made any profession whatever, 

 and I have firmly decided that none of them 

 have had even a glimpse of the way in which 

 Satan has tried to get hold of me. I can not 

 believe it possible that others have ever been 

 tempted as I have been, and yet I do not 

 know. Each heart has its own secrets, and 

 only God knows how many a poor wretch 

 has breathed the prayer, "■ God have mercy 

 on me a sinner.'" I have sometimes won- 

 dered—yes, even lately I have wondered 



whether the dear Savior had any place in 

 heaven for sucli as I. I liave wondered 

 whether he could make any use of one 

 whose heart has been so full of wicked 

 thoughts and depravity, and yet I am not 

 sure the fault is altogether mine, for I often 

 think of the illustration in Pilgrim's Prog- 

 ress, where the evil one whispered evil sug- 

 gestions over Christian's shoulder, and then 

 persuaded him they came from liis own 

 heart. At such limes I turn with wonder- 

 fid Cdnil'ort to the saying that Christ Jesus 

 came into the world to save sinners. If be- 

 ing a sinner is one of tlie qualifications to 

 entitle one to Chiist's regard or love, surely 

 he came to save me ; and when I wonder if 

 it be possible that such a lieart as mine may 

 be really and truly cleansed, and be made fit 

 for the" courts above, then I remember the 

 text, ''The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth 

 us from all sin." Jesus told Peter that Sa- 

 tan desired to sift him as wheat, and I have 

 wondered whether Satan hadn't decided that 

 his best time to open up on me witli all his 

 artillery was just about now, when I am get- 

 ting to "be nearly fifty years of age. May be 

 lie has been sifting me, and perhaps he will, 

 after awhile, go away. But I do not want 

 him to go and torment somebody else as he 

 has tormented me ; in fact, if I thought he 

 had got to busy himself tormenting some- 

 body, I think I would try to bear it; for I 

 have Christ by my side to strengthen and 

 comfort me. and some other poor soul may 

 not have. There is a little verse in our 

 hymns that reads : 



Tempted and tried! 



Oh, the terrible tide 

 May be racing and deep, may be wrathful and wide ! 



Yet its fury is vain, 



For the Lord shall restrain. 

 And for ever and ever Jehovah shall reign. 



There is one other thing I wish to speak 

 of, and yet I dislike to, for the reason that 

 only a part of the friends may understand 

 me ; but I will try to make it plain. Some 

 of you may imagine that much property 

 would make you happy ; you may think 

 that having money to buy whatever you 

 may want would surely enable you to be 

 peaceful and happy all the day long. Some 

 of you may think, who have struggled long 

 years with debt, that great happiness would 

 surely be the result of having a balance 

 ahead in the bank. Some of you have hard 

 work to get along on your farms and keep 

 things in order, as you would like to have 

 them, and think it would add to your en- 

 joyment of this world to have plenty of help 

 to do every thing you feel you would like to 

 do. Others may have thought that asuc- 

 cessful man must certainly be a happy one 

 — that one whose plans, inventions, and 

 projects all turn out to be prosperous and 

 successful would be the one who could give 

 praise to God from the bottom of his heart, 

 day after day. I want to tell you, my 

 friends, that you are mistaken. It is true, 

 that when we have worked hard for the ac- 

 complishment of some object, a sense of 

 happiness and of God's approval comes to 

 us after the toil and the hardship are over, 

 providing, of course, the work be a praise- 

 worthy one ; but money of itself does not 



