33(i 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Al'K. IT). 



in tliiiikiiig 110 need of cultivation unless there 

 are weeds to kill. Here in this long season of 

 dry weather we easily see the benefits of culti- 

 vation, which is. practically, mulching the 

 ground with tine (iarth for retaining the mois- 

 ture. The harder the rain the harder the 

 ground is packed: and the quicker it dries out. 

 comparatively, unless cultivated. 

 Lakeside. Cal.. Mar. 33. F. C. Crowell. 



0ui^ peMEg. 



Loi-d, when saw we thee a hungered, and fed thee '! 

 or tliiisty, and gave tliee drink y When saw we 

 thee a sti'anger, and took tliee in? or naked, and 

 clothed tiieeV Or when saw we thee sick, or in pris- 

 on, and came unto thee V— Matt. 25: 37— 39. 



I had it in mind to write something this time 

 in legard to the happy surprises that are con- 

 tinually falling to the lot of the faithful, ear- 

 nest Christian: and then the next thing was, to 

 find a text which embodied the thought. When 

 I found it in my well-marked Itihlc 1 saw the 

 very text I wanted was already so plainly out- 

 lined with a pencil that it must have been used 

 before. Never mind; I think it is just what I 

 want to-day. 



For several years before I accepted Christian- 

 ity, one of the uppermost thoughts in my mind 

 (perhai)S I might say Die uppermost) was, that 

 the world was not giving me due credit. I 

 would say to myself, and even to my friends, 

 " Here. I have invented this, that, and the oth- 

 er, and here it is described in this and that bee- 

 journal, and no credit given me whatever." 

 Again, I would dwell on the fact of what I had 

 done for different people, and not a word of 

 thanks, and no expression of gratitude. Dear 

 friends, did you ever get into this attitude of 

 mind ? I might go on giving you quite a list of 

 the ways in which I used to think I was not 

 getting my just dues, or did not have a fair 

 chance; but the subject is so painful to me, 

 and, in fact, I feel so much ashamed to think 

 that I ever cherished such luigratefulness and 

 such preposterous egotism in my heart, that I 

 would fain let it drop. I remember once of a 

 distinguished lecturer from some of the great 

 cities, who visited our town. Some friend 

 brought him into our establishment, and intro- 

 duced him to mi^ Now, here was an excellent 

 opportunity for me to /icff;' a g2-eat man talk. 

 But I remember quite vividly how 1 occupied 

 the whole fifteen or twenty minutes he stayed 

 at our establishnuMit. by telling him what won- 

 derful things I had done. In fact, I hardly 

 gave the good man an opportunity to say any 

 thing himself at all, even had he been so dis- 

 posed. Very likely some of you will say, " Why, 

 my good fi'iend Root, are you quite sure you 

 have entirely gotten over that trait of charac- 

 ter even now '?" I know v(M'y well, my fi'iends, 

 I have not. It is not an easy thing for anybody 

 to get c/(ti/'c/i/ out of the ruts and failings tnat 

 have clung to them for a good many years. 

 The grace of God has helped me. however, so 

 much in this respect that I feel as if I wanted 

 to tell you something about it. 



Before I became a Christian, if anybody trod 

 on my toes, or trespassed upon my I'ights, I was 

 ready to fight, or to go to law, "without a mo- 

 ment's warning: and the saddest part of it was, 

 that a good many times I Imagined they trod 

 on my toes purposely, or trespassed on my 

 rights purposely, when they had no such 

 thouglits or intention. By the way, do you 

 know of any thing much sadder than to have a 

 friend who laments that everybody is all the 

 while trying to steal what belongs to him? It 



does not matter whether it is the corn in his 

 crib, or the eggs his hens have laid, or even the 

 thoughts of his bi-ain: if he gets into the idea 

 that he has got to fight continually foi- his just 

 dues all througli life, the spectacle is a sad one. 

 A great part of the exhortations of God's holy 

 word are exactly to the contrary. How many 

 t(>xts do you suppose I could quote right along- 

 on this line? "'Cast thy bread upon the wa- 

 ters:" '" (iive. and it shall be given unto you:"" 

 '• He that tindeth his life shall lose it: and he 

 that loseth his life foi' my sake shall find it:" 

 "Thy Father which seeth in .secret shall re- 

 ward thee openly;" " Do good and lend, hoping 

 for nothing again."" 



Before my conversion I was greatly disturbed 

 if people talked about me, especially if they 

 said any thing that was not true, and then I 

 thought it incumbent on me to follow up any 

 such report, and go to the lioltom of the thing. 

 When any thing got into tiie papers reflecting 

 on me, I was ready to fight the editor, and pros- 

 ecute the man who told the untruth. I re- 

 member when a rival in business put in some- 

 thing abusive, and I could hardly sleep the 

 whole night after. Now. please do not think I 

 am bragging when I tell you of how I was 

 helped out of all this " miry clay." Remember, 

 I did not do it of myself, therefore the credit or 

 the praise can not in any sense belong to me; 

 but to Christ Jesus shall we ascribe all the glo- 

 ry and praise. After my conversion I fDrgot 

 about self: in fact. I did not care about self. 

 Why should I? The promises of the Bible, 

 without number, exhorted to the contrary. He 

 that loseth his life shall find it. I did lose my 

 former life, and I did find the new; and this 

 Hnding of the new life constituted " the happy 

 surpi-ises " that I wish to tell you about to-day. 



In a great measure, the desire to tight back 

 was gone; and, in real truth, it was not very 

 hard to love my enemies and to do good to tliem 

 that hated me. I did not find it very hard to 

 do fjoof?. and lend, hoping for nothing again, for 

 I was trusting in Christ Jesus, and 1 fully be- 

 lieved he would take care of the outcome and 

 the result. Many of you who have read 

 Gleanings kiioiv how it turned out. " When a 

 man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even 

 his eneTuies to be at peace with him." and it 

 happened just so. Many of the pleasant sur- 

 prises I have had come in the way of kind 

 words from those who have formerly been at 

 enmity toward me. People said I was queer 

 and odd and eccentric, and that they did not 

 understand me at first; in fact, I was not tryi,n(j 

 to have them understand n)e. I was trying to 

 have them understand Clirlst Jesus and the 

 holy Scriptures. A few days ago our good 

 friend Dr. Tinker paid us a visit. He said to 

 me, " Bro. Root, you may remember that I have 

 not always felt as friendly toward you as I do 

 now. I did not understand you. Since I have 

 b(»come acquainted, and know you bettei-, it 

 makes a vast difference; and thei'e are a good 

 many who do not understand you. even now^ 

 H' they could come here and go all around, and 

 see you when you are at work, they would, 

 change their minds, just as I have done." 



In that new life, instead of being afraid of be- 

 ing jnit in the papers, I did not care whether I 

 was put in th(» papers or not. Now, please do 

 not misunderstand me. Do not imagine that I 

 was one of the "don't care" sort. My care 

 was, however, that I should in no way dishonor 

 the Master. I was in great fear every day of 

 my life that I might not betruthful and honest, 

 aiid pure in heart. But after T had worked and 

 prayed through these temptations to be un- 

 truthful, or dishonest and greedy. I did not care 

 for the result, for that, in fact, rested with Him 

 whom even the tvinds and waves obeyed. Why 



