64 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 



in your heart toward some of them makes 

 the obligation all the heavier. A little soul 

 lias just started — has just begun to take 

 root and grow, for Christ Jesus ; be careful 

 how you, by any careless act, shall tear this 

 young plant from the new soil in which it 

 has begun to take root. Be careful how you 

 in any way discourage or hinder, or how^ you 

 even by a sin of omission let one of these 

 little ones settle back and turn to other 

 ways.'' 



These thoughts passed through my mind 

 until, in almost anguish of spirit. I breathed 

 again ;uid again the little prayer, "Lord, 

 help I Help thy poor unworthy and unprofit- 

 able servant in this, his hour of greatest 

 need. Help him to feed thy lambs.'" Peace 

 came after this prayer ; and as I looked 

 from one face to another, reading their little 

 minds as I have learned to read them 

 through long acquaintance, lovable traits 

 and pleasant memories came up from the 

 past and gave me greater faith and greater 

 hope ; but for all that, I felt the power of 

 that service without a sermon, still, and I 

 feel that it is not only the little band here in 

 Medina who are resting greatly on my poor 

 self, but that it is perhaps hundreds of others 

 far away, who read Gleanings, and whom I 

 know nothing of (although they know me), 

 and who are perhaps learning to depend 

 greatly on my poor self. In view of this I 

 want to ask you to pray for me, dear friends ; 

 and I feel like saying, too, with an earnest- 

 ness and sincerity that I never asked before, 

 that I fear I am not fitted for the responsi- 

 bilities that are fast gathering about me. I 

 am only a very, very poor and imperfect 

 sinner at best." I do love righteousness, 

 however, and purity in thought and in deed : 

 and I do love Jesus, and 1 am trusting and 

 hoping, not in my own self, but in the blood 

 freely shed for me. 



L want you now, dear readers, to go back 

 a little, arid come with me to East Saginaw, 

 Mich. I was up early, had breakfast at the 

 hotel, and was hunting for greenhouses de- 

 voted to vegetables and market-gardening. 

 For some reason or other, they had put new 

 men on the street-cars for drivers ; and one 

 of these new men started me off on the wrong 

 line. The drivers were new, but the horses 

 were old. The street-car route lay along liy 

 the river, and soon we came to a bridge. 

 Now, the track branched so that one route was 

 across the bridge, and the other was straight 

 along the river-bank. I had been admiring 

 the intelligent-looking horse that made the 

 bright new car fairly spin on that bright 

 frosty morning. All at once the horse, 

 without orders, turned off in a strangely ec- 

 centric way, and began pulling sidewise on 

 the car. It fact, he persisted to such an ex- 

 tent in this strange manner that the mo- 

 mentum of the car pulled him backward, al- 

 most, for a distance. What should possess 

 a bright and intelligent horse like this one 

 to make such an ungainly maneuver as this. 

 right when the car was at full speed V The 

 driver woke up from a sort of sleepy indif- 

 ference, pulled his lines with a tremendous 

 jerk, called the horse a fool, while he gath- 

 ered up the ends of the lines and gave him a 

 big cut, and then berated him with loud, 



unkind words. Just then it became appar- 

 ent what had caused the mistake. The 

 horse liad evidently been in the halnt of go- 

 ing straight ahead ; and in order to go 

 straiglit ahead, he, instead of letting the car 

 turn off by the bridge, had been taught to 

 pull strongly over toward the side of the 

 straight track. This he did of his own ac- 

 cord ; but witli the new drivers the routehad 

 evidently been changed, and the switch on 

 the track placed so as to swing the car out 

 across the bridge. The driver liad been 

 told of this, but he was too stupid or sleepy 

 to give tlie horse notice of the different ar- 

 rangements on this bright winter morning. 

 Poor horsey ! His bright, intelligent, wide- 

 awake look was gone. The head that had 

 been lield proudly aloft as he carried his 

 burden, was now lowered in shame and dis- 

 grace. The blows from the lines hadn't 

 hurt him much ; but the sting of the words 

 had evidently sunk deep into his horse feel- 

 ings. His ears were dropped back as much 

 as to say, " There is no more enjoyment to- 

 day for me." And, dear friends, I can im- 

 agine that thoughts something like these 

 were passing in his mind. Don't you think 

 that horses have thoughts? Well, I do; 

 and this is what our poor dumb friend was 

 thinking, if I interpreted him rightly : 



'' Oh ! why did he scold me when J surely 

 was not to blame in that blunder V Why did 

 he not with lines or words indicate in some 

 way, at least, that, instead of going straight 

 ahead, we were to cross the bridge this 

 morning ? I don't mind hard work, for I 

 love to serve the children of men. I do not 

 mind so very much if I go sometimes with- 

 out food and water for a time. I can also 

 bear to be made to go when I don't feel 

 well ; but, oh I do hate to be scolded, and 

 called a fool. I love this busy world ; I love 

 to see the improvements that are going on 

 in it; I love the great bridges built by the 

 hand of man ; I love to see the lumber com- 

 ing down in great rafts ; I love to help carry 

 it to the mills, and then away from the mills 

 to the bridges that are to l)e built ; I love 

 the locomotives and the great railways ; I 

 love to see buildings go up, and to see the 

 march of progress and improvements, even 

 though a thousand things are involved that 

 horses are not permitted to understand. I 

 admire my masters's superior intelligence, 

 and I am willing to bow my head to him 

 meekly, as his servant. I accept my posi- 

 tion, and rejoice in it ; but oh ! I wish he 

 would not scold me when I am exercising 

 the best judgment that God gave me. I do 

 not mind being scolded or wliipped when I 

 am contrary or stubborn ; but for many 

 years I have prided myself on being not 

 only a good horse, but aii intelligent one. 1 

 have studied my work, and felt proud of be- 

 ing able to do it without so much as even a 

 suggestion. Of course, 1 love to be appre- 

 ciated. I love a kind word and an encour- 

 aging pat on the neck when I have com- 

 prehended what was wanted of me, and 

 have been able to do it without telling ; but 

 I can get along and be happy without 

 these words of encouragement. If he had 

 not called me a fool I could have forgotten 

 all the rest, My old master, wbom they 



