1884 



GLEANINGS iN BEE CULTUttE. 



ooo 



and we shift the responsibility oil" from our 

 shoulders and let it pass. ' Some little time 

 ago, you may remember, I told you that a 

 man "wanted a smoker because he saw his 

 neighbor using one ; and finally he lianded 

 the neighbor 75 cents to send to me. The 

 money never reached us, and on being told 

 the circumstances I sent the smoker, asking 

 the one who ordered it to explain matters, 

 and get his friend to send me half price if he 

 could. The friend said he had paid for the 

 smoker once ; that he did not agree to take 

 any chances of loss by mail, and that he 

 would not pay for it again. The man who 

 sent for the smoker said he took the money 

 handed to him, and sent it to me as an accom- 

 modation, lie made no profit whatever in 

 the transaction, and therefore h<; should not 

 stand any of the loss. This reasoning is 

 very fair and reasonable on both sides ; Init 

 for all that, I had furnished the smoker and 

 had not received a cent by way of equivalent. 

 People often refuse to pay debts on just such 

 reasoning, and yet the one who furnished 

 the goods is oul'of pocket; and out of pocket, 

 too, as it often hapi^ens, as a reward for 

 having an accommodating spirit, and being 

 sorry for the mishaps of his neighbors. 



I presume the greater part of you who 

 have taken the trouble to read this paper to- 

 day are followers of the Savior ; you love the 

 Bible and its teachings ; you are trying to 

 seek first the kingdom of God and his right- 

 eousness; you recognize that '' the earth is 

 the Lord's' and the fullness thereof," and 

 that we are but stewards, and have our pos- 

 sessions only in trust. I know how prone 

 Ave are to forget that it is only trust, and 

 that we have no right to get ah idea that 

 any thing belongs to us in any sense — that 

 we can do as we please with it, AvhetherGod 

 approves or not. Keeping this in view, how 

 careful ought we to be to do nothing that 

 might stumble any one whom we would lead 

 to (Christ ! In our prayer-meetings and Sab- 

 bath-schools we profess to be deeply anxious 

 to see all mankind come in, friends and ene- 

 mies alike— especially the enemies— for our 

 Master has particularly commanded us to 

 love them and pray for them. To further 

 (iod's work we are desirous of Hiving "at 

 peace with all men, so far as in us lieth." 

 Friends, how can we live at peace with all 

 men when we have — shall we say borrowed 

 their wheelbarrows and kept them for our 

 own use, refusing to i)ay rent or return the 

 borrowed properly V 1 liave often thought it 

 was a kind of disease tliat people fall into, 

 for we tind jM-ofessors of religion, and mem- 

 bers of churclies. wlio do tliese things, and 

 do not seem to ])e very nuicli troubled about 

 it either. No doubt they would l)e troubled 

 if they kept a wlieelliarrow so long ; but 

 they keep money until they have almost for- 

 gotten they owed it, and perhaps finally de- 

 clare outright they do not owe it, and never 

 did. Of course, a great part of these trou- 

 bles come up by leaving things at loose ends; 

 time passes, and they are " kind o' forgotten 

 about." The one who lent, suffers, as 'a 

 matter of course, more than the one who 

 made him suffer ; and when tlie matter is 

 brought up, there is disagreement and un- 

 charitable feelings. My friend, is there any 



thing you can do in your neighborhood in 

 this line V Are you in any way to blame, 

 even a little, for the cause of Christ being 

 hindered in your own community ? Would 

 it not be well to read over our little text, and 

 consider it again in all its bearings ? 

 Owe no man any thinji', but love one to another. 



TeB^cce C0MMN. 



HEADED THIS TIME BY A JUVENILE'ONLY 10 YEARS 



OF AGE. 



*R. ROOT:— I am a little orphan boy ten years 

 old. Ma and pa are dead. My brothers and 

 sisters are in Arkansas. I live with uncle 

 Bailey. He takes Gleanings. I was 

 taught to chew tobacco when^ but a babe. 

 I have quit, and will not take ;another che-vv. Will 

 you please send me a smokerV Uncle Baileyjkeeps 

 bees. He says if you send the smoker he will give 

 me a stand. Then I will take Gleanings. 

 Brinkley, Tenn. Jasper.GriffiN. 



1 am very glad, Jasper, that you have de- 

 cided to stop where you are. "The effect of 

 tobacco on a boy of your age would probably 

 send a blight through your whole life. If 

 you give it up now, and take care of your- 

 self, you may perhaps outgrow tlu' ill.eifects 

 it may have had. We gladh' send you a 

 smoker, to remind you of your promise when- 

 ever you see it. 



On the first of January I quit the use of tobacco, 

 having- use'd it 38 years. 1 clainrthe smoker free. 

 Knob Noster, Mo.,'March 6,11884. ■ _:[I. Wample. 



T have quit smokingjtobacco, and please send me 

 a Clark's smoker; and if I resume, I will pay you for 

 it. I have a good section for my bees. CT have not 

 lost any yet. James C. Spears. d 



Rogersville, Ten., Feb. 5, 1S84. 



I read Gleanings with pleasure, and in it I read a 

 good many letters about folks using tobacco. Some 

 have quit it, some'quit awhile, and;_then commence 

 it again. I have used, it,' myself , in smoking and 

 chewing; but by the grace and help of God I quit 

 the use of it"about.8 or 10jears>go, and believe that 

 that grace is sufficient to keep me from using it any 

 more, and keep me from all other.vice, if I continue 

 in trusting in him, and^ ask him faithfully to help 

 me. Moses Brechbiel. 



Newburg, Tenn., Feb.'14, 1884. 



breaking THE CHAINS OF BONDAGE. 



For three years I have been" a reader ot'iGLEAN- 

 INGS. In that time I have been highly amused at 

 the varied experiences in the Tobacco Column. Very 

 likely my experience would be quite so to others. 

 Some 3.5 years ago it was my misfortune to learn, 

 among other vices, the use of tobacco— habits that 

 even nowibring the blush of shame to my cheek. 

 Over fifteen years ago I was enabled, through God, 

 to quit that which would intoxicate, and make a 

 man a' fool ; but, like many others, I , reserved the 

 right to smoke and chew. Oh what a blunder we 

 commit in this ! what blessings we deprive ourselves 

 of! Well, sir, I have given tobacco the shake, and I 

 am determined to be a slave no longer. May God 

 help many more to break the fetters that bind them, 

 that they may be free also! Wm. Battle. 



Blairsville, Indiana Co., Pa. 



