154 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 



toward the dose of the day, when it seemed 

 as if he could not live without a drink; but 

 he went resolutely home, kept away from 

 evil associates and temptations, and went to 

 bed without the drink. In the morning it 

 was all over. The tierce guawings of 

 appetite were gone, and gone a thousand 

 times better than had he given way to it. 

 He said this not only happened for months, 

 but for years. Finally he was taken sick, 

 and came near death. The doctors gave 

 whisky, as usual. Wlien he began to come 

 to himself a little, he tasted the whisky in 

 his medicine, and remonstrated with his at- 

 tendant, a near neighbor. The neighbor told 

 him he must take it, or else death would 

 probably result. AVell, our friend John is an 

 Englishman, and he has his full share of 

 English spunk and stubbornness; in other 

 words, he has a good '■'■ big chunk " of a tem- 

 per, like myself, lie replied, that he was 

 not goin.g to take whisky for (inyhody. 

 They sent for the doctor. 



I can not give his exact words, but the 

 substance of them is about like this. 

 '• Mr. E., this is serious business.'' 

 " Well, doctor, that is exactly what I think."' 

 ''If you take the stimulant we think best 

 for you, vou will probably get well ; unless 

 you do take it, we don't see any help for 

 you." 



Still our English friend was immovable. 

 and the doctor resumed : 



•'Mr. E., which would you rather do- 

 take whisky, and get well, or go witliout it, 

 and die?" 



The old hero looked the doctor full in the 

 face, and quietly replied, ''1 icoubl rather 

 die.'' 



\t this point in his speech the audience 

 encored until it seemed as if the building 

 would come t(^ pieces. Now, boys, that is 

 the doclrlnp. When Satan tries to enter your 

 heart, tell him squarely and decidedly,"! 

 would rather die."' Was this foolhardy? 

 Not a bit of it. Which is better— to live, 

 with a great prospect of dying eventually 

 the deatii of a drunkard, or dying an honest 

 death, free from the inlluenceof stimulantsV 

 "What shall it profit a man. etc. V" What 

 are a few years of life worth, providing the 

 life is a life of sin V When Mr. E. (irst signed 

 the pledge, it was at a Murpliy nu^eting. He 

 had always been much in the ^labit of stay- 

 ing at home on Sundays; ])ut this Sunday 

 evening, as he was out later tlian usua.!. his 

 wife looked u}) iiniuiringly. 



'• \Vhere have you been, John V" 



" 1 have been at the temperance nu-eting." 



She looked \\\), somewhat astonished. 



'• What did you do tliere V" 



lie put his hand in his ])ocket. aiid took 

 out a Murphy cai'd, and showed it to her. 

 Poor woman I Slie. like the rest of us, lacked 

 faith, and inquired if he thought he ould 

 keep it. 



"Jane," said he, " did you ever know me 

 to sign my name to a paper when my signa- 

 ture didn't mean something V" 



" No, John, I never saw your name signed 

 to a paper unless it meant all that was writ- 

 ten above it." 



She took the little caid and framed it with 

 a faupy frame of straw, worked out by her 



own hands, for she is an English woman, and 

 understands fancy straw-work, and hung it 

 up on the wall, and whenever John looked 

 up at the clock to see the time of day, there 

 stood his Murphy pledge, right above his 

 own handwriting. It was an objed-lcsson, 

 and a reminder. And so John pulled through 

 the years as they passed by. He has now 

 a nice little home ; bright and educated 

 children. and,-he is a man whom the town of 

 Medina delights to honor. 



iJear reader, do you Pee that oven an Eng- 

 lishman's stuliboinness can be made to 

 serve (iod V And do you see now that what 

 is needed to biing about this glad millenni- 

 um in our United States of America is. that 

 these tempeis and this stubbornness shall be 

 sanctitied and consecrated, and laid at the 

 feet of Chiist, telling him, '■ Here, Lord, 1 

 bring myself and all that I have— my appe- 

 tites, my i)assions, my tieice temper, and lay 

 them all at thy feet; and I ask thee to help 

 me to say in real earnest. 'Get thee behind 

 me, Satan.' And when the devil shall try 

 to put it into my heart to do evil, and foi'ge't 

 thee, may I. too, have grace and strength to 

 say, ' I would rather die.' '' 



i need not add, that om- friend did not 

 die. in sjiite of wiiat the doctor said ; neith- 

 er will ijoii die eitlier, my friend, although 

 you may think you are going to die ; for has 

 not the Savior said. 



Whosoever li\'cth and bt'lit'\'eth in luc sluUI never 

 die? 



Gleanings in Bee Cdltdre, 



VtlhUsh<<l Srini-JIotitlili/. 



.^. X. T^OOT, 



EDITOR AND PUBIilSHER, 



MEDINA, O. 



TERMS: $1.00 PER YEAR, POSTPAID. 



For Clntbing Eites, See First Page cf nsadiii Matter. 



ieliL'il ill till' )i:il;iiK"ps, and art IoiiimI wantiiiK- 



riilCE OV '2U lAi. SCALK UKDITCEI). 



We are pleaseri to tell you tluit wc arc al)le lo sell 

 these at .$3.50 cacli, or *tj.50 for two, and the double 

 beam one-third more. These arc the sauTe scale s 

 that we have sold lor years; and as the nianul'ao 

 turcrs gave us a better rate this year, we talic plea- 

 sure in giving- our customers the benefit of the re- 

 duction. 



,V COIiriKCTlON. 



In no'.icing circulars received, in oin- Issue lor 

 Jan. I, we Kavp t'lu address ol" J. D. Uiisk, Milwau- 

 kee, Orciioii, as Milwaukee, Wici'onsin, which last is 

 v.rong. While we are about it, we must say we 

 think it somewhat unfortunate to uaiiic new and 

 small towns New York, C'liicag-o, Philadelphia, etc., 

 when plenty of other f?0Qd names can be found; 

 and this hint is in accordance with tfec suggestions 

 of thD U. S. Postoflicf? Department. 



