1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



ool 



0a^ JlejiEg. 



Ye are not your own, tor ye are bought with a 

 price.— I. Cor. 6: 19, 20. 



^f^* RO. ROOT:— I have long- wanted an opportu- 

 P« nity to say a few words to you, and now I 

 1^ have it. You have opened the way in Our 

 ■*^ Homes, p. 479. I liave admired your zeal lor 

 years, but lamented that it lacked knowl- 

 edge; i. e., the knowledge that you were cleansed 

 from all unrig-htcousness. The work which Christ 

 came to do is but half done in jour case, for want 

 of consecration and faith. You confessed your 

 sins, and he pardoned you— yea, a thousand times 

 and more, and now in this talk (Our Homes) you 

 have confessed your unrighteousness, unciean- 

 ness, and depravitj'; now believe that he cleanses 

 you from aJf unrighteousness. You received your 

 pardon by faith, now receive your cleansing' by 

 faith, and hold it by faith— a continuous faith — 

 no matter what the devil says about it. He 

 is a liar. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cloaus- 

 eth us (continuously) from all sin (that is, the 

 justified believer, who by faith applies it). Re- 

 ceive ye the Holy Ghost. He will satisfy your 

 longings, and lead you into all truth and greater 

 usefulness. You have made atearfvil disclosure of 

 your state (and yet 1 knew it all), for it is the state 

 of cai-nality which can not be subjected to God; 

 but it can be cleansed out by the blood of Christ. 

 I know it! 



Thank you, dear brother, for your kind 

 admonition. No doubt you are in tlie main 

 right ; but, if you will excuse me, I am led 

 to believe that we are not only unlike in 

 our tastes and dispositions, but that we 

 are, in many respects, in our religious expe- 

 riences also. Furthermore, I am led to be- 

 lieve that God has different lines of work 

 for each one of us to do. Perhaps he calls in 

 different directions and in different ways. I 

 know I have many temptations and many 

 conflicts with Satan, and sometimes I have 

 wondered whether it was because of my 

 transgressions, or because God wished to 

 take me through particular experiences, that 

 I might be the means of leading others 

 through like trials. May be both are true. 



At one of our prayer-rheetings, some years 

 ago, I mentioned the fact that I had some- 

 times thought it strange that I should be so 

 continually tempted and tried. After meet- 

 ing, a good brother who was, liy the way. a 

 minister, suggested that it was not altogeth- 

 er improbable that it was well for me that I 

 was tried in these different ways. Said he, 

 " You have much in your life that might 

 make you proud and overbearing. If the 

 world saw no weakness in you, and you were 

 aware of it, you might get to holding your 

 head higher than you do now. Is it notpos- 

 sible there is a providence in this fact V and 

 may not these things contribute to keep you 

 humble? As it is, you constantly /eeZ your 

 need of Christ's pardoning power."' 



Since my last Home Papei- there have 

 beenseveval letters similar to the one I have 

 given above, and there seems to be some cu- 

 riosity, and perhaps anxiety, to know in just 

 what'ways I have been tried. I have felt 

 moved to give you one little incident as an 

 illustration. 



I have several times mentioned what I 

 call my ■■ Swamp (Jarden,'' within a quarter 

 of a mile of our factory. Almost on the 

 summit of a hill, there has been, since the 

 recollection of the oldest inhabitant, a sort 

 of bog, pond, or morass, inliabited by frogs, 

 turtles, and snakes, and gi()\vn up with 

 buslies and raidv weeds. Even in the driest 

 summer weather, water has stood there 

 most of the time ; and depths of vegetable 

 mold, decayed leaves, moss, etc., extend 

 downward many feet. During the winter 

 the bushes were all cleared off, and the 

 swamp nicely drained ; and some time in 

 May we were getting it ready for celer> - 

 plants. I was enjoying myself wonderfully 

 in helping to get out the roots, logs, and va- 

 rious trash ; and before I knew it I was 

 dripping with perspiration. My underclo- 

 thing had been all laid aside a few days be- 

 cause it was so near summer time. While 

 at work I noticed a delightful breeze spring- 

 ing up from the northeast ; but it seemed so 

 delicious I paid but little attention to it. 

 more than to thank (iod for that wonderful- 

 ly bracing gift of cool fresh air, and fo)' the 

 breeze that sprang up in the forenoon to le- 

 fresh the outdoor laborer. My friend, did 

 you ever taste such a breeze when working 

 in the cornfield, or when otherwise occupied 

 in the open air ? Pretty soon, however, tlie 

 breeze became fresher and cooler, and I Ije- 

 gan to feel a kind of chill through my thin 

 cotton shirt, the only covering for my arms 

 and chest. I put on my vest, but I was 

 chilly still ; and as my' coat was at the 

 house, I thought I could not take any harm, 

 as the sun shone so very warm. By and by, 

 liowever, I began to think best to start for 

 home and get a coat. I was chill> when I 

 got it; but I reasoned that a warm" coat, all 

 wool, worn during such a hot simimer flay, 

 would certainly fetch up the temperature 

 soon ; but as soon as I got home I was called 

 to attend a funeral, and was assigned a place 

 in an open doorway. I had by this time be- 

 gun to dread that northeast breeze, and 

 to wish it would not blow ; ])ut under the 

 circumstances, and as the room was crowd- 

 ed, I decided to keep my place in the open 

 doorway, rather than make any disturbance, 

 even though I felt uncomfortably chilly all 

 through the services. At dinner time I was 

 given a place again near an open doorway, 

 and I thought best to keep it, rather than to 

 incur the confusion of changing places. Avhen 

 everybody was tired and hungry. After 

 dinner I itound I could not stand as much of 

 a breeze from the open windows as many of 

 the girls in the otlice, wlio often feel like 

 complaining because I want the room so 

 thoroughly ventilated during working hours. 

 .Just now. however. I begged to have the 

 windows put down a little while. By this 

 time it seemed as if nothing could warm me 

 up. so I went home and got some hot lemon- 

 ade, put on my overcoat, and afterward my 

 winter i'ur cap. The temperature of my 

 system, however, seemed to have got into a 

 sort of falling way. and I kept getting cold- 

 ei" and colder. By night time I was ready to 

 be blanketed in bed. as friend Terry direct- 

 ed a lew months ago. The blankets didn't 

 seem to do much good, however. Mv teeth 



