1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



749 



trusted to one <>!' the boys with whom 1 have 

 f^ot aequaiiited thr()ii,<i;h (Jlkaninos. Yes. 

 it was none other thaii a young '" neighbor " 

 ol' mine away off down in Floi'ida. While he 

 was perfectly well acquainted with me, I 

 had no knowledge of his existence at all un- 

 til the morning after that pi'ayer. 1 was 

 reading my mail as usual, when I found ini- 

 der the paper-weight of '; (ieueral Matter "' 

 a single sheet of pai»er. On tliis sheet of 

 paper were the following boyish words : 



Diar rdcJc -l/iiof.;— About ii yeai- ajiO lii^t Maifli 

 lather sent for (ii.EANiNds. I read it a little at first, 

 reading- about bees, but 1 liad not any use for the 

 religious part; but tiiially. alter we had had it three 

 or lour months, I began to read Our Moines, and 

 finally 1 read that the first thing', and last January 

 they had it sent to )/if, together with a liound vol- 

 ume tor 188.">. 1 sent for Our Homes, Parts I. and ]l., 

 and read them as soon as 1 got them. Keadliig- 



your articles lead me to what/ Well, first to 



read other religious articles: and last Sunday to 

 finally Joining- the church and showing- the world I 

 was going- to try to be a Chi-istian. Go on with your 

 grood work. You may get others interested; and 

 ma.v (iod l)|ess you in it '. 



liast Marcii you said you e.xpeeted to visit Florida 

 some time. Well, if you do, come and|see us if jio.s- 

 sible. Can't you come this winter? We haven't 

 any bees, but e.vpeet to liave soon, as we are looking 

 lor some hives from you every day. IJut I have 

 g-Qt sfune g-arden, " t'othei- s;de of that fence " (see 

 1). ITTi. I have been very much interested in " What 

 to Do," etc. I am the gardener here, and I guess 

 you can imagine how 1 enjoy it, from you own e.v- 

 pericnce. I haven't very much now, as 1 have been 

 sick, and it is ^'ery dry; but as soon as it rains 1 am { 

 g-oing- to plant a big- one for you to see when you 

 come. Well, 1 have written more now than you 

 will ever get time t.o read, so I will close. 



EhMEH KECii, age 17. 



Bowling Green, Fla., Sept. 17, 1887. 



May the Lord bless you, friend Elmer, for ; 

 this little letterl Aiid did yofi think, my 

 boy, that Incle Amos might ever get tired 

 of reading such letters, or betoobusy to take 

 the time? Why. such testimony as you give 

 makes me happier than I should be to re- 

 ceive thousands of dollars in the way of or- 

 ders : and while I use tlie term '• dollars "' 

 to make the comparison. I feel ashamed of 

 myself ; for treasures in heaven can not be 

 compared at all with treasures on earth. 

 The testimony you give indicates that, 

 through my poor work, at least one of the 

 1 toys in this' wide, heedless, careless world has 

 changed liis mind in regard to religious 

 things. It speaks, in fact, of the new i)ii-th 

 that 1 was telling you about a short time 

 ago. It tells that one of the boys who go to 

 make up what we call •' Young America" 

 has turned his back on worldly temptations. 

 and united himself witii Christian people, 

 and has started in the strait and narrow 

 path from earth to heaven. The luinutf I 

 read your letter it seemed to me as if the 

 Master were saying. ■ Mr. Woot, d(tn"t be 

 troubled, even iif" you are si)ending a good 

 deal of time and energy in the pursuit of 

 l)ee culture, gardening, and other like indus- 

 tries, if, in so doing, you succeed in interest- 

 ing the boys ; and after tlic> lia\(' got ac- 



quainted with you through the medium of 

 these rural i)iirsuits. lead them to me and it 

 will be time well spent." .Vud. my dear 

 young friend, I am satislied now that it has 

 "been time well spent, although, very likely. 

 I liave oftentimes lost sight, somewhat, i)\' 

 the heavenly treasures in the perplexities 

 and cares of this world. Deal' child. I want 

 you to pra\ lor your I'ucle Amos, that he 

 may be still more usefid in tlie lield the 

 Master has accorded him. And now I want 

 to tell you that tliis little letter o()ens to me 

 a greater and giauder and wider lield than 

 e\er I looked upon l)efore. \'er> soon after 

 reading your letter it occurred to me that, 

 by using it foi- jHinl ;is I iiave done, it mighl 

 be an example to man.\ other boys to follow 

 in the path you have started in. The rea<l- 

 eis of (Ji.KAXiMis have looked on in sur- 

 prise and wonder, somewhat, to see so many 

 joining the ranks of those who promise to 

 give up tobacco. It is true, that, as a slight 

 inducement, J have offered the tobacco-us- 

 ers a little ]iresent by way of remembrance ; 

 but in this department, no earthly treasure 

 will be needed. Those who take up the 

 cross to follow Christ do not need any pay. 

 Tile satisfaction of having done right, and 

 the peace that he only can give, arc not to 

 be measured or compared or spoken of as wc 

 speak of earthly rewards ; and, dear friend 

 Elmer, please believe Tncle .Vmos when he 

 tells you that you will iiave battles to tight. 

 Yea, even the publication of this honest, 

 simple little letter of yours nuiy Vtriug you 

 persecution ; but be not troublecl nor afraid. 

 In the same way Lliey persecuted the great, 

 teacher Paul, and tlie prophets of old. If 

 you have trials and ditliculties. it simply in- 

 dicates that you are in the army of the Loid. 

 Keep your face steadfast toward the great 

 Commander. Don't say any thing back to 

 your jx'rsecutors. but tell Christ .lesus of 

 your troubles, and you shall cou(|iier. not 

 only through life, but through death also : 

 fordid not the Master lead e'ven grim death 

 captive? 



The part of your letter that pleases lue 

 most, my young friend, is where you say you 

 have united with the church ; aiid I am glad 

 you did not tell us wluit denomination il 

 was. It is some body of Christ's people near 

 your home, and that is all we waul to know. 

 Now. tremblingly and prayerfully I ask the 

 question, " Is there another soul among the 

 readers of Gle.vnings that has been lately 

 moved to give himself to the Master? or is 

 there is a single one who will stand up as 

 this young friend has done, and say that he 

 wants to be a ChristianV If. through (Jod's 

 providence, GKKAKiX(is can be nuide the 

 medium for receiving testimonials t<» 

 strengthen and encourage others to eidist 

 for the extension of (Jod"s kingdom, it will 

 enter upon an era of usefulness that even I, 

 w'ith all the faith that many of you have given 

 me credit for. have never yet dreamed of. 

 Now. boys, what otlier one is there who has 

 ttie coinage tosjjeak out and say. '" I tooam 

 on the Lord's side'"'^ What other one is 

 tliere who wants to commence right lier( 

 and iKHi- in hiyiii:', up tieasiires in heaven, 

 where moth and rust doth not corrupt, and 

 w here thieves do not break tiiroiigh nor steal? 



