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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



September, 1919 



words." This injures their value. No one 

 wants a paiTot that swears. It is true that 

 saloon-keej^ers, or at least some of them, 

 might consider a swearing parrot a good 

 advertisement for their business; but, may 

 the Lord be praised, saloou-keei^ers and sa- 

 loons are now a thing of the past, or veiy 

 soon will be. Well, this little story was, I 

 sui^pose, made up. It told of a man who 

 had a swearing parrot, and he was deter- 

 mined, if it were a possible thing, to break 

 it of the habit. Accordingly, every time 

 he heard the bird swear he not only gave it 

 a good scolding but soused it in a barrel of 

 rainwater. After one such baptism it was 

 walking about and trying to shake the 

 water off its feathers in order to dry out a 

 little better, and went around the house to 

 get into the sunshine. It haj^pened that 

 morning that somebody had neglected to re- 

 plenish the dish where the chickens usually 

 got their water. Some of them discovered 

 they could get a drink by flying up on the 

 barrel containing the rainwater. As a mat- 

 ter of course, three or four were joushed in 

 and were nearly dead before the good wife 

 found them ; but as they showed some signs 

 of life she put them down in the sunshine, 

 thinking that that would revive them. Well, 

 Mr. Parrot, when he went around the house, 

 got a glimpse of the drowned chickens. He 

 tipped his head on one side to survey the 

 conditions for a minute and then broke out, 



" Huh ! little fools. Been swearing, 



I suppose." 



Maybe you wonder why I have given 

 space to such a foolish yarn as that. It is 

 because it illustrates so well how hard it 

 is to break the habit. Why should any one 

 take the name of the great God and Father 

 above in vain? and especially why should 

 any poor, infirm child of humanity under- 

 take to link together heaven and hell, par- 

 ticularly as there is between the two places 

 a great gulf so that the Savior said it is 

 impossible for any to pass from one side to 

 the other. It is not only the parrots; but 

 the children, if they hear such words ut- 

 tered, are almost sure to learn to use them. 

 Years ago, when I was on the school board 

 of this village, swearing in the juvenile 

 building became so prevalent that the 

 school board was asked to do something. 

 I went and talked to the children, and got 

 them to feel well enough acquainted so as 

 to tell me where they got hold of such 

 awfully bad words. They said they heard 

 the men on the streets on their way to and 

 from school use such talk; and I finally 

 went out on the street myself to see how 

 far it was true. Then T put an article in 

 our eoimty papei"s; and when T heard a 

 man swearing I kindly reminded him that 



tlie children in the streets would hear his 

 words and pick them up. Then the ques- 

 tion came, " Why do children — yes, and 

 grown-up people — catch on to such words 

 and use them, more than anything else ? " 

 My good friends, the explanation is that 

 the " prince of the powers of darkness " 

 makes it his business to encourage that kind 

 of disloyalty — yes, I think we may call it 

 anarchy — against the great God above and 

 against his holy laws. Woids that I heard 

 uttered in my childhood come back to me 

 even yet. It seems as if Satan himself 

 stands near by when I happen to be se- 

 verely provoked or vexed, and pushes a 

 bad word out before me and suggests, 

 "Here! that will fit the situation exactly." 

 Why, as good a woman as Mrs. Root is — 

 and oh, how many times I have thanked 

 God for giving me such a partner in life ! 

 — as good a woman, I say, as Mrs. Root 

 is has confessed to me that sometimes when 

 she is sorely tried, and perhaps very tired, 

 '• harsh words " come into her mind in spite 

 of anything she can do. Of course she 

 says, "■ Get thee behind me, Satan," and 

 banishes all such thoughts and feelings as 

 speedily as possible. My remedy at such 

 times has been for years past, as you may 

 know, mv little " emergency " praver, 

 "Lord, help." 



Somebody has said — perhaps it was the 

 Sunday School Times — that the person who 

 swears is never truthful. Look about you 

 and see if it's not so. 



And now, dear friends, with the above 

 ]n"eface I hope you will be able to see and 

 take in the glorious beauties of that won- 

 derful text T have quoted so much of late 

 — " Let the words of my mouth, and the 

 meditation of my heart," etc. You cer- 

 tainly know the rest of it by this time. 

 First and foremost, be very careful of 

 what you say. Do not, under any circum- 

 stances, let a word get past your lips that 

 you may aftenvard regret having spoken. 

 And then, after that has been done, go a 

 little further and do the same with the 

 '• meditation of your heart." Shut out 

 every unkind and uncharitable feeling. Do 

 not let it gain a lodging place. " Do good 

 and lend, hoping for nothing again." Re- 

 turn good for evil. Let the Holy Sjiirit, 

 e\en the spirit of Christ Jesus our Lord 

 and Savior, have a permanent abiding place 

 in that heart of yours. I am bad and wick- 

 ed even yet at times, but I am making prog- 

 ress; and I am becoming happier and hap- 

 piei- eveiy day because of the progress I 

 am making. I have just had a refreshing 

 sleep down in the cool basement of our lit- 

 tle cottage; and as I -woke up refi'cslied and 

 ready for work in the garden adjoining, or 



