181)4 



GLEANIN(JS IN BEE CULTURE. 



339 



not yet got quite through with this matter of 

 corns, however, iuid may be we shall tiiid a ser- 

 mon right there. Somt; of you may say that 

 paling corns with a nice siiaip knife is a very 

 poor way of tixiiig matteis. Well. 1 sliould tx; 

 glad of instruction. I luive tried corn doctors; 

 but 1 should ne<'d one about once a month; and 

 with a good Unife I can work faster than they 

 do. and clicupcr. How about corn remedies? 

 Well, I have not tried all of them; but Mrs. 

 Root has trii'd all, or pretty (ico;/// all. I was 

 going to say. Tiiere is one i-emedy that suits 

 my notions better than either a knife or medi- 

 cine. It is right in a line of doctoring without 

 medicine — going barefoot. This. I know by 

 experience, is a perfect and complete remedy; 

 and wading in thci creek— in warm weather, 

 of course — 1."> minutes a day. I believe, would 

 answer; or go out some warm night when 

 there is a heavy dew. and piomenade up and 

 down the lawn. This plan answers nicely. 

 Vou need not tell me my boots were too light 

 or bad-littiiig. They were made to order, and 

 I liave tried every variation, almost, to get 

 them so as to make the least trouble. A boot 

 that is too loose is not an <>a>^y one. When it is 

 real warm I wear cloth shoes. These are next 

 thing to going barefoot. I should be glad of 

 help in this matter, but I do not believe I want 

 any more corn medicines. 



Now, then, even from a ('hrtstian standpoint 

 of view you can not afford to be tormented by 

 corns. You can not afford to have your 

 strength, energy, vitality, and endurance, 

 sapp(?d out of your whole system by one little 

 insignilicant corn. One of the ladies' journals 

 has had something to say in referenci; to this 

 matter. A woman may wear herself out more 

 in half a day than she would ordinarily in 

 months, by being dragged down by a trouble- 

 some corn. Most of you have had experience 

 more or less in this line. Again: If there is 

 another weak pointin the system, the pain and 

 irritation from the corn will run over to that 

 weak point iind aggravate it all along the way. 

 So much for the pliysical corns. How is it with 

 the spiritual ? Very likely one can, if he takes 

 great care and pains, avoid having corns— or. 

 at least, he can avoid being very much troubled 

 with them: and in the same way he can and 

 should beware of letting spiritual corns grow, 

 increase, and drag him down. Suppose there is 

 some cider in your cellar, that was purchased 

 to make into vinegar. Sometime you happen 

 to t>'< down there alone, and you are tempted to 

 take a drink. You are a professor of religion, 

 and a temperance man too. You know it is 

 rvronij. You would not have your boy do the 

 same thing for the world. Away back years 

 ago. when you were a child, a good many good 

 people used to drink cider. But ours is a pro- 

 gressive age. Intelligent Christians are expect- 

 ed now to shun temptation. Perhaps you are 

 alone in the house. May be it is after dark. 

 There is not a soul anywhere near. You feel 

 in especial hankering for the cider, and .Satan 

 say>, "No one will know it. anyhow. Besides, 

 it is your own business and not theirs." Very 

 likily he adds that, in the present state of your 

 health, it will do you good and not harm. You 

 yield to the temptation. My friend, in such a 

 case you are afflicted with a spiritual corn, 

 You won"t l)e just tlie same as you were before 

 until you have 1io)iesthj repented and asked 

 (Jod to forgive you. If you do not do tiiis, this 

 spiritual corn will act like the others I have 

 been telling you about. If you have a hanker- 

 ing after other things that you know are wrong, 

 these otlier temptations will rush up and put in 

 their plea. They will say. "' You yielded to the 

 ippetite for cider; now be fair and consistent 

 ill round, and let u.s have our chance too." 



Tht! one ai)petite is lik(^ the corn I told you 

 at)out— it will streak over to the other, and 

 tliey two will mutually help each other. If 

 you have been keeping your tem|;er pretty well 

 undei' control. an<l a sudden teMiplation comes 

 over you. the m-tnory of thai cider experi-^nce 

 will stret k over to the teiiijM-r. and you will be 

 ever so much mori; likel\ id give way. You 

 know intemperate^ men g>L mad on the slight- 

 est provocation, and act wiilioiit scruple or 

 s(>nse. If you have been battling with some 

 low ai)petite or passion that need not be men- 

 tioned here, they all start up with unwonted 

 energy; and if tlie three get united in trying to 

 storm the citadel— the citadel held and ruled 

 by reason and a Christian s|)irit— you will lind 

 resistance will he like one man lighting against 

 three strong men who have pounced upon him 

 all at once. •■ Wlieii a strong man armed keep- 

 eth his palace his goods are in peace; but when 

 a stronger than he shall come upon him. ;wid 

 overcome him, he taketh from him all his 

 armor wherein he trusted, and divideih his 

 spoils." 



Giving way to one little temptation started 

 the whole of it. When a man feels himself 

 sinking it begins to be exceedingly hard for 

 him to attend worship as usual, and to go 

 through the forms of daily worship. The Bible 

 begins to seem to him arbitrary and unreasona- 

 ble. He begins to hate (rod's people and God's 

 word, just for the reason that " men love dark- 

 ness rather than light, because their deeds are 

 evil." And tlie next verse makes it plainer 

 still: " But he that doeth truth cometh to the 

 light, that his deeds may be manifest that they 

 are wrought in God." You see, this latter in- 

 dividual loves (iod's holy word, and rejoices to 

 meditate in it day and night. He did not let 

 any spiritual " corn '' destroy his peace of mind 

 and his communion with his Maker. The 

 wages of sin is death; and in the same line the 

 consequences of just a little sin is deadeiiinrj to 

 one's spiritual nature. One little corn, if allow- 

 ed to grow, saps one's very strength and vitali- 

 ty. So one little spiritual corn, if allowed to go 

 unrepented of, saps and kills spiritual vitality. 

 Bad men curse the name of (Jod. and curse and 

 jeer and ridicule his holy word. Why does a 

 drunken man swear? and why does he hate 

 Christians? That old veteran Paul knew all 

 about it. He said. ' Put on the whole armor of 

 (Jod. that ye may be able to stand against the 

 wiles of the devil." Do not let any little sins 

 kill out your spiritual enjoyment. Do not leave 

 even the smallest break in the armor. '" Where- 

 fore take unto you the wliole armor of God, 

 that ye may be able to stand in the evil day." 



GETTING TIP STAIRS AND DOWN. 



SOMETHINf; IN Till'; WAV OK I'AS.SKXOEU EI,?> 

 VATOIi.S. 



A few days ago. when I was rushing through 

 the wax-room, the foreman began to smile. I 

 stopped, and asked him what was wrong. '"Oh! 

 nothing," said he; '"but I have been thinking it 

 is not any wonder that you are wearing out, if 

 you have to climb stairs, and rush from one 

 room to another ;it the rate you have been 

 doing this morning. If they could give you a 

 hic\irle that would enable you to run up and 

 down sUiirs. it would lie a big thing." 



Well, we liove a power elevator to carry 

 heavy freight up and down — yes. three of them; 

 and sometimes when 1 am tired I do avail my- 

 self of the elevators. But they are too slow, 

 and a good deal of the time they are not on the 

 floor where I want them. Besides, they are 



