GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 



T0B^CC0 C©MMN. 



For weeks I wanted tobacco— steadily I resisted. 



y HEREWITH t'ive you the requested " Battle 

 lit ^'''^^^ ^^^*^ Tobacco Habit." First, to show how 

 ^r doubly riveted were the slavery chains of 

 "^ tobacco on me, I will relate an incident. I had 

 - gone from my residence to another farm, some 

 live miles away, to see to some work being- done 

 for me. Expecting' to be home to supper,! had 

 ne<?lected to take my pipe (I only smoked then). 

 Something- occurred which made it necessarj- for 

 me to remain at the farm all nig-ht; and atthe usual 

 time for my after-supper smoke I was minus my 

 pipe. None about the house; could g-et none from 

 the neig-hbors— they all chewed. Well, this habit of 

 tobacco was so strong that I actually could not rest 

 without it, and I got a piece of " dog leg," and, mis- 

 erable stuff as I knew it M-as then (in 1?60), I chewed 

 it. It was my first chew of tobacco I had ever taken. 

 Result: From that time I both chewed and smoked 

 (of course, 1 became very choice in my brands, and 

 chewed none but the best); chewed and smoked for 

 ten years. 



At Christmas of 18T0 I had occasion to travel some 

 fifty miles in my buggy; and as it was very cold I 

 wrapped myself well in buffalo i-obe, neck fur, and 

 fur grloves. Well, I chewed and spit and spit and 

 chewed all that fifty miles; and after a few days I 

 returned in the same way, and what, with the neces- 

 sity of ungloving to take a fresh chew every little 

 while, and the filthy condition of my furs when 

 about ten miles from home, I. became so exceed- 

 ingly disgusted with myself for being so much of a 

 slave to so filthy a habit as to befoul my clothing- so 

 disgustingly, Ithen and there resolved never to take 

 another chew of tobacco, and I threw away on the 

 roadside more than two-thirds of a paper of the best 

 fine-cut tobacco, and have never taken a chew since, 

 now nearly fourteen years. 



But I still held to the habit of smoking, which I 

 continued to do for some years, when I quit that 

 for about a year, but was tempted to resume it 

 again, and continued to smoke. 



I will here say, that during- the year that I quit 

 smoking, I continually suffered for tobacco. I had 

 not taken a very strong resolution against using it. 

 Well, I went at it again, and it appeai-s I took "seven 

 other devils" with it, for I went at it with tremen- 

 dous energy, and got along- so far as to be obliged 

 to get up in the night and smoke, in order to quiet 

 my nerves. The habit became so strong that I will 

 say, with truth, that, except during the time of eat- 

 ing, I was smoking a cigar from daylight (and in 

 winter before day) until generally ten o'clock, and 

 frequently until eleven or twelve. I generally used 

 up half a box of cigars a week. 



Well, after keeping- this up for some years I found 

 that, although I am a man of tremendous physical 

 powers, and with nerves as strong as a rock (I stand 

 G feet2'2 inches in my socks, and weigh 293 poundsi, 

 I was getting considerably worsted in the batfle. 1 

 could not get enough nicotine into my system to 

 steady my nerves. There were not hours enough in 

 a day to do it, and get enough sleep. I became 

 irritable; my throat and system generally became 

 dry, my heart beat like a trip-hamnaer, and very 

 irregularly; I could not sleep well; and, take it all 

 together, the er.c my was fast getting the better of 

 me; he had as tight a grip on me as ever he had on 

 any man. T saw it would not do, and 1 quit. 



I I had resolved never to use tobacco again, and I 



found it easier than I supposed, to resist. For a 



time I would not think of it, and then the desire 



would come again, but weaker every time; and now 



I for nearly two years I have had no desire whatever 



to use tobacco, and will never use it again. All my 



bad feelings have gone, and I am my own proper 



i self again. My heart beats regularly, and I sleep 



j well. Manj' persons say, " There is no use to try; I 



j can not quit;" but I believe there is no man but 



can entirely quit the use of tobacco, if he really 



j wishes to do so. As for intoxicants, I know nothing 



personally in regard to them. I do not even keep 



I them in the house for use in "snake-bites." 



i Francis W. Blackfohd. 



I Chillicotho, O., April 11, 1884. 



A LITTLE SEUiMON FOR THE BOYS; FROM ONE WHO 

 KNOWS WHAT IT IS TO USE TOBACCO. 



! My dear friends and brother bee-keepers, and all 

 ' readers of Gleanings. In reading- Gleanings, 

 I wl;ich is a welcome visitor to my humble 

 j house, I notice quite a number pledging themselves 

 to Bro. Root to abstain from the use of that filthy 

 ' weed, tobacco. Well, praise God, that a few see the 

 wrong in using the stuff'. But, beloved friends, are 

 you not also wrong in accepting a prize from our 

 ' worthy brother, in order to be induced to quit the 

 habit'/ I presume quite a good many of the friends 

 I claim to be followers of Jesus. Then if so, why not 

 ' take the Scripture way of doing'/ Paul says, II. Cor. 

 7:1, " Having therefore these promises, dearly be- 

 loved," speaking to professors, "let us cleanse our- 

 selves from all fllthiness of the flesh and spirit;" is 

 not tobacco-using " filtfainess of the flesh"? " per- 

 j feet holiness in the fear of God." But, dear friends, 

 tobacco is not all. Will not some of the readers of 

 Gleanings tell us what is the fllthiness of flesh 

 and spirit? You will find this a glorious study. 

 Also, what were the promises? Another beautiful 

 study; God wants us to be real Bible Christians; 

 then if God commands us to cleanse ourselves from 

 this filthy habit, are we doing right to accept the 

 prize smoker from Bro. R.? Had not all better stop 

 the habit by the grace of God, and remit 50 cts. for 

 the smoker? Shall we continue in sin that grace 

 may abound? God forbid. Be strong in the Loi-d; 

 quit yourselves like men, and "contend earnestly 

 for tlic faith o;i33 d3'.iver33 to the saints." I know 

 whereof I speak. I am now 33 years old; 3J years 

 of that time I was on the wrong side. I smoked, 

 swore, drank whisky, and did almost every thing 

 that was contrary to God's law, and knowing it was 

 wrong; therefore to him that knoweth to do good, 

 and doeth it not, to him it is sin. But, praise God, 

 last Mai-ch a year ago, he called on me for the last 

 time, and showed me I must wield my voice and pen 

 for the up-building of his cause. I met the condi- 

 tions of pardon; i.e., repented and confessed my 

 sins to him, and claimed the forgiveness, and by 

 faith it was done; but on this condition only, that I 

 abandon the habit of sin for ever; then God showed 

 me plainly that there was another work of grace 

 to be done; i. e., of presenting mj- body a living sac- 

 "iflcc, holy, acceptable to him. I did so, and 

 claimed entire cleansing, consecrated myall to him, 

 and by faith was cleansed from all sin; and the 

 blood of Jesus sanctified me wholly; and the word 

 says, " But tarry at the city of Jerusalem until you 

 be endued with power from on high," which is the 



