1887 



GLEANINGS IN J3EE CULTUliE. 



793 



inside of these prison-walls. I met a man here by ; 

 the name of Raructt, who works in the same de- 

 partment with rae. He talked to me about what 

 business would be best to take up with after ^oing- 

 out of here. \Vc talked of almost every thing-. 

 One day I sugg-ested the bee-business, and he was 

 all taken up with it. Ho has some means (while I 

 have nothing); and when I told him of Gt^kanings 

 he sent for it, and it is to this man that I and my 

 friend Myrtle are indebted for the priviledge of 

 reading- it. Friend Myrtle works with me, and we 

 are both trying to do right. We propose that, when • 

 we go out from here, >vith God's help, we will show 

 to the world that a person can go out of penitentia- 

 ry and still be a man. This jiroposed reform in us 

 has been and is being greatly strengthened through 

 your writings, which we appreciate and look for- 

 ward to with an.xiety, each number. We have i 

 taken the liberty of writing these letters to you, ' 

 from your request inGr.EANiNGS for Oct. 1. You I 

 wonder if anybody else has been benefited by your 

 writings besides your young friend in Florida. 

 We answer, yes, even we two, cast out and degi-ad- 

 ed as we are. Through the influence of Gt.EAN- 

 INGS, I quit the use of tobacco I'J years ago, al- 

 though it cost me a great effort. I commenced 

 using it when only aliout seven years old. I don't 

 want a smoker— that was not my object. 



It seems pretty hard for one so young as I (only a 

 boy, as it were), to be shut uoin this old bastile, 

 deprived of all ttiat is near and dear to me, and 

 losing four years of the best of my life. Yet I am 

 glad I am here; that is, 1 thank God from the bot- < 

 tom of my heart that he caused me to be cast be- 

 hind these prison-wails. It was the only way 

 there was to check me in my wild headlong speed to 

 destruction. Now, kind friend, perhaps my simple 

 letter will be of no interest to you; but when you 

 go to teach your Sabbath-school, tell them of me; 

 hold me up as an example, that they may profit by 

 my downfall. Tell them and all others how I left 

 my home and friends, not because of harsh and un- 

 kind treatment— no, but because I was treated too 

 well, with too much kindness. They tried to make 

 me a good boy, and to love and serve my God. When 

 I was fourteen years old I ran away from home. I 

 soon saw my mistake; but pride prevented me 

 from returning, and. Satan urged me on to resist 

 the pleadings of that still small voice (God's voice)- 

 so I went on, determined to become renowned in 

 one way or another; and here I am now. If there 

 are any such boys in your town, hold me up before 

 them as an example, that they may take warning. 



Frank C. 

 Jefferson%nlle, Ind.. Box- 340, Oct. 10, 1887. 



May God be praised, friend Frank, that 

 you remember Gleanings when in prison ; 

 and since yon sng^est it, I will gladly send 

 it, free of charge, to any inmate of any of 

 the prisons in our land. I know how tliose 

 shut up from outdoor amusements take 

 hold of the subject of bees, gardening, etc.; 

 and if my i)oor efforts can interest them in 

 these wholesome employments. I slnill be 

 only too glad to send it. Rememl)er, Fiank, 

 the promise is to those who endure to the end. 

 Don't get back, and don't listen any more 

 to the tempter. Hold last to the strong arm 

 of Him who died for such as we are. 



We williiiow coiii-lude our testimonies for 

 this time with some extracts fiora a brother 

 who is laboring in C'hina for Christ's cause : 



One obstacle we have to contend with in China, 

 and especially Soiiihern China, is malaria. Differ- 

 ent persons didor very much in their susceptibility 

 to malarial poison. Some enjoy years of almost 

 unbroken good health; others begin to ail as^ soon 

 as they land, and in a year or so are compelled to re- 

 turn home. The majority enjoy just passable 

 health, land can't work as they could in a better 

 climate. 



There is a striking analogy between temptation 

 and malaria, or miasma. Kuch^diseases ]as ague, 

 cholera, typhoid fever, lung fever, etc., are caused 

 by germs which infect the system, but there must 

 also be an antecedent state of the system which 

 favors the development of these germs. A devoted 

 worker, a sister of .). N. Stearns, spent nearly thirty 

 years in Fooehow, working hard, and ofteii en- 

 countering all the filth of the poorer Chinese dwell- 

 ings. But four years ago in June she had been so 

 well received among her _poor neighbors that she 

 continued her visits into the hot weather; and one 

 warm day when she had visited and talked^till near- 

 ly e.vhausted, in response to a pressing invitation 

 she visited a filthy, dwelling which was infected 

 with fever-germs. She took the fever and died of it. 



Fooehow is sometimes visited by the cholera; 

 but of the hundreds of thousands who eat the 

 same food, and breathe the same"'air, only ^a small 

 proportion have the cholera. The gastric juice of 

 a healthy stomach will kill the germs; but any 

 thing which. enfeebles the action of the stomach 

 opens the waylfor them to attack the system. 



A few years ago, during the prevalence here of 

 cholera, there was an idolatrous procession to pro- 

 pitiate the idols. The men who carried about tlie 

 idols in the procession were feasted with pork and 

 wine, and in a few hours 16 of them died of cholera. 



Temptation works in much the same way. There 

 is a germ of evil, a suggestion, or an impulse to- 

 ward the wrong; but there must also be a receptiv- 

 ity in the^nind. 



Again, the Chinese Christians are, of course, im- 

 perfect, and in particular they may bring with 

 them from heathenism habits of hypocritical seem- 

 ing, and low ideas of truthfulness. Only too prob- 

 ably, a few of them are nothing but hypocrites, and 

 these latter may for a time appear better than the 

 simple and sincere ones. This state. of things gives 

 the Adversary special facilities for suggesting 

 plausible but unjust doubts of the sincerity of all. 

 A man whom I have learned to love and trust, de- 

 ceives me about something, or I detect in him tricks 

 of Pharisaical seeming, and at once cruel doubts of 

 him and others like him are thrust into my mind. I 

 am tempted to say in my haste, "All men are liars." 

 This is a peculiarly trying experience, because it is 

 so important that we^and they love and trust each 

 other; but misplaced trust may also lead to dis- 

 astrous consequences, and the golden mean of 

 proper trust and distrust is often hard to discern. 

 On one hand the Chinese dcsiiisc gullibil.ty, and on 

 the other hand they are habitually distrustful; and 

 if we set them the example, they will only too readily 

 follow it. 



The Lord does helj) us in such trials. " Kesist the 

 devil, and he will flee from you," is a blessed truth. 

 I have had temptations, with which I had wrestled 

 for hours, dispelled in an instant by a text of 

 Scripture. The sword of the Spirit is the weapon 

 with which to resist the devil. J. E. Waf^kek. 



Fooehow, China, Sept. 1, 1887. 



