1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



567 



0a^ P0MEg. 



But whosoever drinkcth of the water that I shall 

 give him shall never thirst; but the water that T 

 shall g'lve him shall be in him a well of water spriug'- 

 iuKup into everlasting- life.— John 4: 14. 



E are a world of people with inuumer- 

 IIA/ '^^^^ wants and longings ; we are, 

 **" as a rule, restless, arid looking for- 

 ward to something or other. Some 

 of us are fond ot change—of new 

 scenes, of excitement of some kind or other. 

 At this season of the year, when most peoi)Ie 

 who can afford it are" taking pleasure-trips, 

 going on excursions, visiting watering-places, 

 camping ont at pleasuiv- resorts, etc.. most 

 of us catch the prevailing spirit, and feel 

 more or less of an inclination to go too. We 

 seek enjoyment and happiness ; we want to 

 liave a good time in this world; and I think 

 these wants are, to a certain extent, right. 

 dear friends. We ought to have a good 

 time ; and where we have been burdened by 

 heavy labor during the spring and summer 

 months, it is well to have a little relaxation 

 and recreation during the months of August 

 and September. Of course, we have a great 

 diversity of tastes, and what is enjoyment to 

 one may not be to another. A certain class 

 enjoy tliemselves at parties and evening en- 

 tertainments, while others would find it a 

 great cross to be obliged to endure what 

 others so greatly enjoy. Of course, it is 

 every one's privilege to seek enjoyment ac- 

 cording to his own taste — that is, so far as 

 these enjoyments are innocent and harmless. 

 The children sometimes say, " Now what 

 shall we do to have fun y" and if the older 

 ones do not express it in exactly the same 

 way, perhaps they often feel. ""What shall 

 ve do to have fun V Tired mammas, while 

 they would not use just the term in the fore- 

 going, have a longing for some little change, 

 or some let-uj) to the monotonous routine of 

 caring for a family of little ones. It is not 

 altogether because we lack strength, for 

 those who go away for recieation frequently 

 use a great deal more exertion in tiieir plea- 

 sure tlian they do in their work at home ; so 

 it is not that we wish to be i-eleased from 

 making effort, but that we wish a change, 

 and something that so eidists our interest 

 that we shall not consider it drudgery, but a 

 pastime and a rest. 



Most of our pleasures, however, soon be- 

 come tiresome, and lose their interest. We 

 enjoy.new things for a certain length of time. 

 l)ut we soon become satisfied, and then turn 

 for something else: and as we journe\- on 

 toward the close of life, our tastes change, 

 and childish things no longer afford us the 

 pleasure they once did. The time finally 

 comes when "all these things nnist be laid 

 down. And then what? Who is there who 

 has not. after having looked over life and its 

 l)leasures and allurements, contemplated the 

 approaching end? And who has not summed 

 it all up, and rather asked himself the ([ues- 

 tion, •• \\'hat does it all amount toV" I sui»- 

 l)ose you have all read many times the little 

 story told in the chapter wiiere we find our 

 opening text. It has l)een for some time 

 back a chapter full of interest to me. The 



poor woman to whom the Savior was talking 

 had vainly sought for pleasure, through 

 many changes in life, bhe had, too, we 

 know, been led aside by Satan into sin and 

 crime. Is it any wonder that she listened 

 with interest when he told her of the waters 

 of life? "Jiut whosoever drinketh of the 

 water I shall give him. shall uever thirst!" 

 She was a woman of the woild. and had 

 probabl\ drank deeply of earth's pleasures. 

 She was one of tlie class who probably did 

 not sto}) to in(piiie very diligently whether 

 conscience was violated in seeking pleasure 

 or not; and she well knew what it was to 

 awaken, after one sin after another had been 

 connnitted, to the fact tliat all the i.leasures 

 this world of itself can give are far from fur- 

 nishing any thing that permanently satisfies 

 the longings of the soul. She was in a con- 

 dition to fully driid-: in the words of our text 

 — " Shall never thirst." Was it indeed pos- 

 sible that any thing in this vast universe 

 coukl furnish something so completely satis- 

 factory that it would be for ever an abiding 

 joyV She was illiterate and uneducate<l, and 

 Jesus had to repeat the words over and over 

 to her. but yet she seems to have had only 

 a glimpse of the great truth found In the 

 closing words of the text—" But the water 

 I shall give him shall be in him a well of 

 water springing n\) into everlasting life.' 



During tlie past few weeks we have had a 

 dilferent class of prisoners in our jail from 

 any I have ever met before. Three oitt of the 

 five whom I have met there are held for giv- 

 ing way to licentious impulses. I have had 

 long talks with them; and as is often the 

 case, our talks have many times drifted off 

 into other than spiritual things. In fact, I 

 almost always have to keep a pretty strong 

 hold on the conversation, or it will drift into 

 unprofitable talk, and sometimes I have a 

 feeling that, after having spent my hour 

 there, a great deal of our talk was more vis- 

 iting than spiritual talk, such as one should 

 expect at such a gathering. Sometimes I 

 find visitors there, and many times some 

 young friend goes in with nie; but when- 

 ever I go away with the thought that a great 

 part of our talk has not been to the point, I 

 have an unsatisfied feeling. Suppose you go 

 in to see a man who is in prison for the com- 

 mission of crime, and you waste the precious 

 moments in talking about the weather, how 

 much does it amount toV Or suppose we 

 talk about the crops, or new inventions or 

 discoveries, if you choose, or the current 

 topics of the day which they have got hold 

 of from the newspapers tliat are always fur- 

 nished the inmates. 



Jesus said to the woman, just before he 

 uttered the words of the text. " Whosoever 

 drinketh of this water shall thirst again." 

 Yes. my friends, and he shall thirst very, 

 veiy (piickly. Kven after iiaving talked 

 strawberries" (you will i)ardon me a little 

 just here, dear' friends, for you know I am 

 having strawl)eiiies for a hobby just now), 

 unless the strawbeiries have a great deal of 

 (iod al)out them, they are Hat and unsatisfy- 

 ing, com])are(i with that well of spiritual 

 water. There is, friends, a verse in one of 

 my old favorite hymns that closes with the 

 following: 



