H-A2 



GLEAN LNHa IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



gravel walk : and just as I got before the 

 screen-door, wliom should 1 meet but a very 

 dear friend whom I supposed at the time 

 Wds away off in Michigan? She huighingly 

 welcomed ns, saying at the same time slie 

 was pretty sure I made a mistake or I would 

 not have called there. Connie laught'd too. 

 declaring it was really so. But it was not a 

 very bad mistake after all, for the place was 

 owned by still another relative, and one of 

 the younger ones owned the bees. The fam- 

 ily "were all away, however, exceyjt the 

 two ladies, and with these I had a most 

 pleasant half-hour. 1 had the same feeling 

 as before, and I had also been waiting for 

 an opportunity to sp'/akwitli them in regard 

 to tlie matter "that was nearest my heart. I 

 hope, dear ie;ider, I can truthfully say, a 

 matter that is always uppermost, whatever 

 may for tlie time being take m.\ attention. 

 The opjiortunity came in tliis wa\ : One of 

 the ladies, who "was a !)ee-keeper, asked if I 

 had ever heard of any one swallowing a bee. 

 When I replied in the negative, slie remark- 

 ed that their liired man had, a few days pre- 

 viously, swallowed one wliile drinking. ITe 

 was watching his hoises at the time, and 

 drinking hurriedly, and therefore did not 

 see what he had done until he felt the bee 

 stinging him part wa>' down his throat. lie 

 came to her in gn^at trouble, and asked 

 wliat had better be done. Although she 

 was not very positive, she instinctively 

 gufssed that the safest thing woidd be not 

 to alarm him needlessly ; so she assiu'ed him 

 there was little probability of its giving him 

 any trouble at all. and thought he need not 

 feel any anxiety in regard to it. He accord- 

 ingly went on with his work, and it turned 

 out as she surmised. I was at first startled 

 when she mentioned the occurrence, and re- 

 marked that r should have feaied, more 

 than any thing else, the danger from swell- 

 ing so "as to cause suffocation. Perhaps 

 many of the readers of Gleanings may re- 

 member a case that was reported in Eng- 

 land, of a man who was strangled to death 

 by being stung liy a bee in his mouth or 

 throat. The talk then turned on the im- 

 portance of being cool and self-possessed 

 when things of this kind come up that may 

 cause fright, and I told the ladies of a little 

 experience of my own which had a moral to 

 it ; and as this moral may be profitable to 

 you also, I wish to tell it here : 



As long ago as when I was a boy in my 

 teens I was, and have been since, troubled 

 with a chronic sore throat. The first time 

 I was alarmed by it I was sleeping alone in 

 my store. While sound asleep, an irrita- 

 tion in my throat caused a spasmodic clos- 

 ing of some part of the respiratory organs 

 I sprang to my feet, and for a few "moments 

 it seemed (loid)tful whether I should ever 

 be able to force my breath again through 

 the passage that had closed so strangely and 

 so suddenly. During that time I mentally 

 faced deatii. i thought of dying alone by 

 myself, before I could manage to call any- 

 body, and make myself heard, as there 

 were none very near. Dear reader, at that 

 time T had no faith or hope in Christ Jesus. 

 I was taking care of myself, and doing as T 

 pleased ; but when I stood at death's door, I 



felt troubled, I tell you. You know how 

 the mind reviews events at such a time. 

 My past life passed before me with light- 

 ning rapidity. I summoned all the courage 

 J could, and tried to face the issue, but it 

 was hard work. There was no comfort any- 

 where. I was away out at sea, in utter 

 darktiess. No gleam or ray of hope showed 

 itself in any direction ; no friendly arm was 

 near me to" lean upon. After some pretty 

 hard struggles for the breath of life, the 

 spasmodic action passed away, and I could 

 breathe, though with difficulty, once more. 

 Ever since that moment I have realized 

 what a privilege it is to be able to breathe 

 easily and without pain. I wonder now 

 that I didn't say "thank God "when the 

 danger was passed ; but as I didn't recog- 

 nize any overruling power then, there was 

 nobody to thank. Uf course, I consulted a 

 physician at once, lie prescribed cauteriz- 

 ing the throat with nitrate of silver. After 

 submittingfor several months to the painful 

 treatment, resulting in no perceptible good, 

 I tried other physicians, and have been try- 

 ing. My opinion now, however, is, that 

 honest hard work in the oijen air has been 

 worth more to me than any doctor. 



Some years afterward, in consequence of 

 a slight cold, this throat trouble again be- 

 gan to be acute. In the middle of the night 

 my breath stopped again short and sudden- 

 ly. I sprang from my bed and got out on 

 the fioor. and tried in vain to open the pass- 

 age that had been shut by the spasmodic ac- 

 tion. By an effort that made the sweat 

 come from every pore in my body, a very 

 little air could be forced in and out of 

 my lungs ; but it was evident that life could 

 not last long in this way. Again I was 

 oV)liged to face grim death. For a time 1 

 was frightened and demoralized, and forgot 

 every thing except the intense and all-ab- 

 sorbing fight for breath. No one except him 

 who has passed through such an experience 

 can understand it. I not only felt that I 

 would have given worlds for the privilege of 

 breathing free again, but I felt that I must 

 have breath. I tried to reconcile myself, 

 and submit to death, if my time had come, 

 but there was no submission. It seemed as 

 though a long time elapsed, but I presume 

 it was only a few brief seconds ; but amid 

 the agony {menial agony, for as yet I had 

 suffered V)ut little, comparatively, physical- 

 ly) came that little prayer, "Lord, help."' 

 In an instant a feeling of thankfulness (that 

 is, thankfulness compared with the former 

 darkness) began to well up that there was 

 help and aid ; and while 1 prayed for breath 

 I prayed also for grace to submit, if it were 

 the Lord's will that I should never draw 

 breath more. It was a battle between self 

 and Christ— much such a battle as I had 

 fought many times before. But Christ tri- 

 umphed, and comparative peace came — not 

 that I was willing to give up life, by any 

 means, but I felt willing to submit it to the 

 Judge of all the earth, feeling sure he would 

 do all things right, ^ly wife was near me, 

 shaking with excitement and sympathy, es- 

 pecially to think that she was powerless; 

 for (liffeient physicians had told us before, 

 that nothing could be done in such cases. I 



