68 Ol.KANlNGS IN BEE CULlLRE. 



Our Homes 



Jan. 15 



By a. I. Root 



Brethren, if any of yoo do err from the truth, and one convert 

 ■him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from 

 the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a 

 multitude of sins. — Jamks 5 : 19, 20. 



Jesus saith unto them. My meat is to do the will of him. that 

 sent me, and to finish his work. — John 4:34. 



On our way down to Florida we reached At- 

 lanta, Ga. , about 3 p.m., and were told that our 

 next train would not leave until 9: 13 that night. 

 What should we do with the six or seven hours 

 that lay before us in that great and growing city.? 

 I went first into the grocery stores to see if I 

 ■could find the address of any bee-keepers on the 

 honey offered for sale, but didn't find any near 

 by. Had we known of this stop-over 1 would 

 have provided a list of our subscribers. A po- 

 liceman told us we should visit Lake Park, two 

 miles out on the trolley line, and we passed an 

 hour or two viewing the fine collection in their 

 zoological grounds; also the wonderful cyclorama 

 of the civil war in that vicinity. I talked with 

 the car conductor about prohibition irt their beau- 

 tiful city, and he assured us the " lid " was kept 

 "on " pretty faithfully. 



A lady passenger informed us that a mild beer 

 was sold to some extent, but not very much. 

 •Old topers objected to it because it took so 

 much of it to "do any good," and the authori- 

 ties were discussing shutting down on that aho, 

 because it seemed to keep alive the old appetite 

 in others. Mrs. Root suggested we go in and 

 sample it; but the places that had the " near 

 beer" signs out were hardly fit for a lady to go 

 into; and, besides, there was a general air about 

 such places of "nothing doing." I still think 

 Mrs. Root's point was a good one. Christian 

 parents should make it a point to go into all places 

 where their children are likely to go, and they 

 should also sample the thing the children are like- 

 ly to sample. With this idea in view we visited 

 a mo\ing-picture show. A scene from the Ara- 

 bian Nights was most wonderful in its get-up; 

 but we should have admired it more if some of 

 the nude (or almost nude) dancing girls had been 

 left out. 



After supper Mrs. Root sat down to await our 

 train in the beautiful new depot; but I went out 

 on the street, and I must confess almost with a 

 dissatisfied feeling with the selfish way I had 

 been so far using the bright new day. I think I 

 had just breathed something like the little prayer 

 I have been telling you about of late, " Lord, 

 help me to learn the lessons thou art striving to 

 teach me," when I looked into the plate-glass 

 windows of one of the largest and finest barbering 

 establishments I ever came across. I decided to 

 go in and get slicked up before I met my Florida 

 friends I passed perhaps a dozen chairs before 

 I found a vacant place. 



Let me digress a little here. While it is true 

 that some people " talk too much," especially on 

 trivial or unimportant matters, it is also true that 

 we who are "hungering and thirsting" after 

 righteousness mmt talk and get acquainted or we 

 can not do the Master's work. As I sat down in 

 that barber's chair I really had no thought of 

 lending a helping hand to any one in such a place 



with such surroundings; therefore I was almost 

 startled when the young man said, abruptly: 



" I have to-day broken off on tobacco. I have 

 given it up for good." 



Had I been among a lot of bee-keepers I should 

 have suspected some one was putting off a joke 

 on me; but as I glanced into the face of the 

 speaker he looked so honest and sincere that I be- 

 came convinced the dear Sa\ ior had heard my 

 little prayer, and this was a part of the answer 

 Said I: 



"My good friend, it would seem, then, that 

 you have some good reason for not waiting until 

 New Year's day. Do you mind telling me •xt/y 

 you have given up tobacco for good.?" 



"Well, for one thing it makes me nervous; 

 and for the trade I am just learning, one wants 

 all his nerves." 



It occurs to me just now that a barber also 

 wants a clean s-veet breath, if anybody does, be- 

 fore he comes so near the face of his customer. 



" Will you mind telling me of the other rea- 

 sons why you are so determined to break off.?" 



"Well, I have a boy thirteen years old who 

 has never used it; and how can I caution him 

 while I use it myself.?" 



I wanted to jump out of that chair and take 

 him by the hand at this; but I was not quite 

 ready yet. Listen: 



" My boy has been swearing, and his mother 

 said she feared she would have to punish him for 

 it; but I said, ' No, no! don't punish him. I am 

 afraid he has heard me swear. I will stop it for 

 his sake, if for no other, and we will both make 

 an agreement to break off.' " 



May God be praised for this simple honest tes- 

 timony. Some of you have laughed at me be- 

 cause I urge you to get married and have some 

 boys and girls; but can you not see from the 

 above how a wife and a boy brace a man up to 

 be a man created in God's own image.? May 

 God bless and strengthen that boy, and all other 

 boys like him, to do the work that none but a boy 

 can do. This new-found friend told me further 

 that he had once before given up tobacco ior four 

 years, and then went back. He said, too, he used 

 to drink somewhat, but the Atlanta wave of re- 

 form had helped him to give it up. No, he was 

 not going to church, but he had gone several 

 times to Sunday-school with that same thirteen- 

 year-old boy. 



Why, that boy is a messenger of righteousness, 

 and doesn't know it. 



By this time workmen from other chairs were 

 listening. A man near by, who was waiting for 

 a customer, edged up to us while I exhorted my 

 friend to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to take the 

 tobacco, swearing, strong drink, and all the rest, 

 and make a full and complete job of it. He 

 partly gave me a promise, and thien for the first 

 time Satan got in a finger and suggested that 

 these people were all "laughing in their sleeves" 

 to see an old man make himself ridiculous in 

 such a public place as a fine up-to-date "tonsorial 

 parlor." I am not sure I have got the name 

 right, but it was something like it. 



I went over to the fine depot, and told Mrs. 

 Root about it, and then added: 



"Sue, I have not yet had my afternoon nap, 

 and 1 really must have a little sleep or I can not 

 hold out until after nine o'clock " 



