1>02 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



913 



cupying- important positions in life (that is, 

 when he has much to do with the welfare of 

 the people), who is not a married man, I 

 feel suspicious of him. Many times during' 

 my busy life men have confided to me the 

 story of their troubles. They were good 

 men who tried to do right, but they blun- 

 dered, and had troubles without end, be- 

 cause they could not believe that God kjieiv, 

 when he said away back in the beginning, 

 that every good man should have a wife. 

 Men have committed suicide who would 

 never have dreamed of such a thing had a 

 wife and children been the daily sharers of 

 their joys and sorrows. Of course, I have 

 in mind Christian homes. The love of God 

 sweetcens the home. It brings happiness 

 and joy. Reading the Bible every day, 

 and giving God thanks before every meal, 

 without putting in actual practice Bible 

 teachings, may not bring happiness; but 

 this is an age of practical Christianity. / 

 have been learning some lessons. Mrs. 

 Root and I do not always exactly agree — 

 well, let us say in regard to building " a 

 cabin in the woods." When wedon't agree, 

 after full discussion, what then? Well, 

 during the da3's I have mentioned I pon- 

 dered over the fact that at such times / de- 

 cide the matter and slie, of course, submits. 

 If it transpires she was right and I wrong, 

 she rarely saj's, " There, I told you so." 



I am going to say something now that 

 will make Mrs. Root scold " awful," I sup- 

 pose, when she sees it in print; but I am 

 sure it will do good, and be helpful in many 

 "homes." When we were first married, 

 and, for that matter, for years after, I con- 

 sidered myself greatly her superior. I am 

 afraid I never realized it until God gave me 

 that recent experience. Dear little woman! 

 She in her foolish but lo3^al regard for her 

 husband thought so too. Now, then, boys 

 (or men), how many of 3'ou are there who 

 are and have been, say all the years of your 

 married life, in the habit of looking down 

 on the dear little wife? Well, little by lit- 

 tle God has been teaching me that the wo- 

 man he gave Die, take it all around, is fully 

 my equal, and of late -he is teaching me 

 that in many things, if not all, I may safe- 

 ly look up to her and not down. If you 

 wish to straighten a steel rod j'ou must 

 spring it considerably past the straight 

 line, so that, when it springs back, it will 

 be right. In a like way, when I advise the 

 rank and file of married men to cultivate a 

 habit of looking up to their wives, rather 

 than down, I expect the result in the end to 

 be that there shall be no " up and down " 

 about it. It is true, God made )nan first; 

 but for all that, woinan, in the moral and 

 spiritual life, has always stood, and I 

 think alwaj's will stand, above him. It is 

 fitting Jind proper that the mothers of the 

 human family should be nearest to God of 

 all mankind. 



The day after Mrs. Root and I were mar- 

 ried, as I sat by her side in a carriage on 

 our way to the steition, the thought of hav- 

 ing her for a constant companion through 



life filled me with joy. I presume most 

 men have had a similar experience. It is 

 right and proper. It is what God intended. 

 Old heads often tell us, however, that this 

 is a sort of boyish devotion, and that it can 

 not last. I can not say now, after forty 

 3'ears have passed, whether or not I thank- 

 ed God that morning for his great gift and 

 for that great happiness; but I fear I did 

 not. Of this, however, I am sure: My boy- 

 ish dream has been more than realized; for 

 at sixty-two I prize the gift more than when 

 God gave it when I was a boy of twenty- 

 two. Now, please do not misunderstand 

 me. I did 7iot prize this gift until I gave 

 my heart and all I have into the keeping of 

 the Lord Jesus Christ. I might have lost 

 it or thrown it away as thousands do (di- 

 vorce or desertion) who neglect or reject 

 God's call. If some one should say that I 

 have said some of these things before, I re- 

 ply that I felt God wanted me to say them 

 again. 



NOTES or TRAVLI, 



• BY A. I. ROOT . 



GOING TO THE COUNTY FAIR; CHAPTER I. 



I have said every year since spending my 

 summers in Leelanaw Co. that I must at- 

 tend the county fair to see what this region 

 produces besides potatoes, peaches, etc. ; 

 and this fall it was held October 1 and 2, 

 just when I was so homesick because Mrs. 

 Root was away. I told myself it would be 

 just the thing, or, perhaps I should say, 

 just the diversion, I needed. It is held 

 every year in a little town called Maple 

 City, on the other side of Carp Lake; and 

 as no railway runs there I decided to make 

 the 18 miles on my wheel. This would be 

 an easy matter with level roads; but on ac- 

 count of the hills and sand it was thought 

 best to make a part of the trip by rail. At 

 Pouches Station I asked for a ticket to So- 

 lon; and, finding the price was only /</«^ 

 cents, I repilied I could make it on my wheel 

 while waiting for the train. 



"No, 3'ou can't, stranger," said the 

 agent; "and if 3'ou tr3' it, when 3'Ou get 

 over the hills and sand 3'ou will think the 

 nine cents for three miles is well invested." 



From Solon to Cedar I had a prett3' fair 

 road; and as Maple City is only four miles 

 further, and the sun was still above the 

 treetops, I decided to push on before dark. 

 I went through Cedar so hurriedly I had 

 onl3' time to notice the two most prominent 

 business buildings were saloons, and that 

 one whole side of the buildings was used to 

 announce the merits of their celebrated 

 "Beer," in letters a foot long or more. 

 Pretty much all the towns in this part of 

 Michigan keep "open" saloons; and I am 

 told this is in utter defiance of all and 

 ever3'' law. As I wheeled out of the town I 



