GLEANIXGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 



semi for your l)ee-journal,"'' tlien you can do 

 it with a clear conscience. Just try it and 

 see how mucli liappier and liglit-hearted you 

 feel at once. The idea is, tliat you have ob- 

 tained an honorable discharge from the debt 

 for the time being, and no one whom yoa 

 are owing can say, as you take your period- 

 icals from the office, '■' I think "Mr. X. Y. Z. 

 liad better pay me what he is owing me be- 

 fore he spends money in that kind of way.'' 

 AVhen you want to go to prayer-meeting, 

 and are called upon, as God calls upon us 

 all, to stand up and testify for the Master's 

 sake, how much better you will feel when 

 tloing it, if you have "made honorable ar- 

 I'angements for all these outstanding debts! 

 It seems to me, dear friend, you do not 

 know how much it helps the world to have 

 faitli in Christianity and in a Christian pro- 

 fession, to have each follower of Christ at- 

 tend to these little things— these small items. 



You say you were once a professor of re- 

 ligion when you were young. I suppose 

 you know, my friend, that the danger is ten- 

 'fold greater that you go back, when you 

 have once wandered away from the fold. 

 The horse that has run away once is very 

 apt to run away again ; and after he has run 

 away three or four times the world generally 

 settles down to the conviction that there is 

 no cure for him — lie is always nothing but a 

 runaway horse. I do not say this to hurt 

 your feelings, but I say it to warn you of the 

 very great need there "is of being careful in 

 your second start. It is not at all impossible 

 for one to repent and come back afterward, 

 when he has wandered away, or even if he 

 has repeatedly deserted his Savior. It is 

 only a simple matter of the will. By dally- 

 ing with sin, the will power becomes weaken- 

 ed ; and when temptation comes we are apt 

 to think it does not make very much, differ- 

 ence if we go back to our sins, and then at 

 some future time make still another start ; 

 and by and by the poor deluded victim of 

 Satan does not care to try any more — he 

 gives up to his fate : therefore, one who 

 has once slipped back, and starts again, 

 must recognize that it is of the greatest im- 

 portance to watch every little thing, even 

 small trifles like taking a dollar to subscribe 

 for a bee-journal. The laws of God and the 

 laws of our land are terribly severe on those 

 who take what belongs to" tl^eir neighbors, 

 without rendering a proper equivalent. 

 (Jur text says, '' Thou shalt love thy neighbor 

 as thyself v' and the law of our 'land says, 

 '• If you do not respect the property of your 

 neighbor, you shall be severely punished." 



Last Sunday I met tvv'o of our neighbors 

 in jail, who were bowed down with grief. 

 One of them is the father of a little family. 

 He was sentenced to thirty days in the work- 

 house, in a neighboring city, and a tine be- 

 sides. 'What do you suppose it was forV 

 The two men together stole four chickens of 

 a neighbor. They Avere drawing this neigh- 

 bor some wood, and the chickens were very 

 tame, and came so near where they were un- 

 loading that it was an easy matter to pick 

 them up. They took two apiece, and took 

 them home ; but aftei'ward their consciences 

 troubled them so much that they went to 

 this neighbor and paid him to jiis full satis- 



faction for the fowls. The matter was sup- 

 posed to be all pleasantly settled. Not so, 

 however. A third party heard about il. 

 and had them arrested. The fact that they 

 had settled for their folly, and paid over tlie 

 cash for twice what the fowls were worth, 

 did not alter it. They were in heart, and 

 before God, guilty of stealing, and the law 

 did. not release them, even if they were sorry 

 afterward, and settled it. Now, forgive me 

 if I cut close. Suppose these two men had, 

 by entreaties, urged this neiglibor to trust 

 them for a few days for the fowls, but aftei- 

 ward, tinding themselves cramped tor mon- 

 ey, had put it olf from time to time, and 

 finally never paid him. Suppose, too, that 

 when" he was importunate for his money for 

 the chickens the men should get angry, and 

 tell him fhitly they would not pay it until 

 they got ready, and to help himself if he 

 could. In this latter case the law could not 

 touch them— that is, in most States at least, 

 they could own considerable personal prop- 

 erty, exempt from any claims the creditors 

 could make. If my knowledge of the law in 

 the above matter is at fault, please excuse it; 

 but I think I have it substantially correct. 

 In one case the ovrner of the fowls is wrong- 

 ed as much as in the other, or a great deal 

 more ; because, in the first case, he lost no 

 money at all— in fact, he got a big price for 

 the fowls. In the latter case he never gets 

 any thing, and perhaps spends a good deal 

 more time in trying to get it than the fowls 

 are worth. I have dwelt on this, because 1 

 wish to have the friends all understand, es- 

 pecially the younger ones, what a grievous 

 thing it is to" incur a debt one can not pay. 



Perhaps I might touch on another phase 

 of this matter of debt. There are those who 

 deliberately contract debts knowing there is 

 very little or no prospect of being' able to 

 pay them. The law can punish a thief, but 

 it can not punish tliis class. I believe, how- 

 ever, that this latter class is comparatively 

 small. I have never met many people who did 

 not fully intend to give value received when 

 they made purchases ; but even with honest 

 intentions, we often harm ourselves and 

 harm our neighbors. The class of people 

 who do these things are often those who are 

 bright, cheerful, and hopeful; and, my good 

 friend X. Y. Z., 1 hope you Avill excuse me 

 for saying that I feel almost alarmed to 

 hear you say. '• My prospects are at present 

 very f!atterin"g for the coming season . '■ May 

 be they are ; but judging from past experi- 

 ence, I believe I would rather you felt as if 

 they were the other way. I believe 1 have 

 known young men to get along better when 

 they looked at the future something like 

 this : " It is a sad truth, that the prospect 

 before me is not flattering. If I succeed il 

 will be only by earnest, faithful, hard woik, 

 early and late; therefore T have no money 

 to spend on amusements. 1 can not affoi'd 

 to stop and listen to gossip. 1 must )je at 

 work by daylight, and work while the day- 

 light lasts, or I shall never be able to meet 

 my honest obligations." One who feels this 

 way will come out all right. 



In regard to taking queens of you in June. 

 188G, we have been obliged to tell our friends 

 that we dare not promise to take queens so 



