958 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15. 



has paraphrased it: "The suffering one has 

 ceased (or is ceasing) from sin." I have been 

 learning this grand truth for years; but I do 

 not know that I have ever before realized it as 

 I do novif. Years ago I read a little story some- 

 where about the American Indians. A certain 

 tribe was in great peril. In fact, the chief of 

 the tribe was in deadly peril, and yet his people 

 were indulging in drunken orgies with whisky 

 fu'-nished by white men. Very likely these 

 same white men were the enemy that threaten- 

 ed the extinction of the tribe. A missionary, 

 however, was in the vicinity. The odds seem- 

 ed tremendously against him; but he decided, 

 however, to make a desperate effort to save the 

 Indians. Perhaps some of them had made a 

 feeble start in Christianity. The man of whom 

 he had expected the most was among the drunk- 

 ed crowd, and himself intoxicated. The mis- 

 sionary managed to make him understand the 

 condition of affairs. They were near a little 

 lake at the time, it would seem : and this drunk- 

 en Indian, when he dimly realized the situation, 

 without a word plunged into the lake. After a 

 severe self-inflicted ducking, he came out and 

 tried to talk. His cold-water bath was hardly 

 sufficient, under the circumstances, and into 

 the lake he went again, and ducked himself so 

 thoroughly that the missionary was frightened, 

 and tried to have him stop. I can not remem- 

 ber exactly his reply, but it was something like 

 this: "Me stop? stop and keep on with these 

 drunken fools'? stop when the /lonor of our 

 tribe is at stake, and our chief in danger? No, 

 no!" And down he went into the cool waters 

 again and again, until he was a sober man. I 

 think the tribe was saved through this one 

 brave man. Well, I have not hadexactly the 

 experience of this poor Indian, but I have a 

 good many times got into a way of straying 

 away from the path of duty. It has been more 

 often in thought rather than in deed, and some- 

 times it really seems as if nothing would awaken 

 me to a sense of my danger, or to a sense of the 

 responsibilities that rest upon me, except some 

 real trouble. Perhaps I have been indulging 

 in something I knew was dangerous. I strug- 

 gled feebly against the temptation until some 

 real trouble startled me. May he some dear 

 friend of mine, a professing Christian, is getting 

 astray in the same direction as mvself; but 

 having had fewer experiences, or having less 

 strength of character, he is going a great deal 

 further than I have been. At such times it has 

 seenied almost as if I could hear the prophet 

 Nathan uttering those scathing words that he 

 spoke to David: ''Thou art the man." At other 

 times I could almo«t hear a voice within me 

 saying, "There, old fellow, that is your own 

 ^oinj: You may not have realized it. but it is 

 the direct consequence and result of the exam- 

 ple you have been setting before others." I 

 can not tell you how thoroughly I have repented 

 at such times. Remembering the story of the 

 poor Indian I have said to myself, " Here vou 

 poor miserable unworthy fellow, this thing has 

 been going on almost before your very eyes 

 ^"1 ?°" ^^^ **^° much taken up with self and 

 selfishness to even notice it. Like the poor 

 Indian you were wasting your time in getting 

 drunk* when you ought to have been not only 

 setting a right example, but praying and plead- 

 ing with the weaker ones around you." Again 

 and again has suffering or danger or trial of 

 some kind roused me up and made me ashamed 



*I know that some of tlie friends will remonstrate 

 ag-ainst the extra.vaKant languag-e I am using- risrlit 

 herein rea-ard to myself: but please consider that, 

 mthesHihtnt God, my offense might have been as 

 great as was getting- drunk for the poor Indian 



unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be 

 much required. 



of myself. Again and again have I said to my- 

 self in my closnt. '■ O God, forgive me for my sin 

 and folly. Forgive, and receive me once more 

 to thyself, and help me to remember this bitter 

 lesson. Forgive me for fortjetting my responsi- 

 bility; and help me to rescue these friends, and 

 bring them back to Christ Jesus." Why, I 

 have sometimes thought that, if I did not have 

 disappointments, troubles, aches, and pains, I 

 should not be good for any thing at all. Some- 

 times a toothache has made me ashamed of 

 some selfish weakness that was filling my 

 thoughts up an hour or two before. Now for 

 the second point: 



Our pastor is a man of wide experience. He 

 is a highly educated and well-read man, and 

 yet what startling words are these! "I have 

 known many people to be brought to Christ 

 through loss of friends, loss of property, and 

 through adversity, meekly borne, but never a 

 one through indulgence or self-gratification, or 

 worldly pleasure or prosperity." I wish to call 

 attention to the concluding words. He has 

 never known a single person brought to Christ 

 through worldly pleasure or prosperity. Dear 

 friends, can this indeed be true? I know some- 

 thing about how many of us are praying for 

 things that are really little more than worldly 

 prosperity. But can it indeed be true that, 

 when God grants our prayers— when he gives 

 even more than we prayed for— that these very 

 gifts and blessings never lead us to him ? I am 

 glad, however, of the words that follow, that 

 our pastor has seen those who serve him render- 

 ed grateful by success and prosperity. Well, if 

 these things be true (and, dear friends, I think 

 we must ail admit that there is more or less 

 truth right here), should we not then try harder 

 to receive trials and suffering with meekness- 

 and humility ? You remember the old hymn: 



Nearer, my God, to thee, 

 Nearer to thee, 



E'en thougli it be a crons 

 That raiseth me. 



THE GAUI.T RASPBERRY. 



From the number of inquiries, it would seem 

 that there are many who wish to know more 

 about this new raspberry. I confess I have 

 been a little cautious about recommending it, 

 because so many things of which we expected 

 much prove to have grievous faults— the Tim- 

 brell strawberry, for instance. The Gault rasp- 

 berry has thrived for me one season. It has 

 shownitself to he a most robust, rank, and thrifty 

 grower, and does not seem to be troubled with 

 anthrachnose, blight, or any thing of the sort. 

 After my return from Missouri I found great 

 whopping berries under the foliage, down in 

 the dirt. The weight of the berries brought 

 them down. Besides its everbearing and per- 

 sistent-bearing habit, it has has a queer fashion 

 of sending out now and then a great broad 

 shoot having more the shape of a leather strap 

 than that of a raspberry-cane, and some of 

 these monstrous growths look more like the tug 

 of a harness than a leather strap. Well, the 

 funniest part of it all is, that this great big 

 green abnormal shoot will put forth a bunch of 

 berries more like a heavy stem of grapes than 

 any thing else. On next page is a picture of one 

 of them. 



Mammoth clusters like the above not only 

 appear here and there in friend Gault's planta- 



