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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1. 



few things: and he also asks us for a small 

 part of our time. Six days are granted to us to 

 do our work, and to do almost as we please. 

 The seventh only is set apart for the considera- 

 tion of our Creator. If the whole plan of the 

 world and humanity were submitted to a rea- 

 sonable being before the world was, and the 

 Author of the universe should submit the ques- 

 tion, who could say that it were any more than 

 fair that man be asked to give one day in 

 seven for the consideration of , something be- 

 sides .se?/is/( matters? The next step would be 

 for humanity to ask of God, " What, then, 

 shall we do. or how shall we makp use of this 

 one day in seven ?" And herein comes our 

 text— -'keep it Iwly." What does '-holy" 

 mean? I have submitted the question to a 

 great many young people, frequently in the 

 Sunday-school class, sometimes even to chil- 

 dren. I do not know how it comes about; but 

 there seems to be a general undc-rstanding. and 

 a prettv general agreement in regard to this 

 word "holv." Very likely only a few men can 

 define the" word " holy " in plain words: but 

 almost any urchin of a dozen years, sometimes 

 only half that, will tell you what is wA holy. 

 When I ask what the word means, very oftiui I 

 get no reply at all. If 1 change my manner, 

 however, and say something like this. "• Boys, 

 do you believe you are remembering the sab- 

 bath day to keep it holy when you go fishing 

 on that day?" the reply comes, prompt and 

 readv: 

 "No. sir; going fishing is not being holy." 

 •• Well, if you go out buggy-riding Sunday, is 

 that remembering the sabbath dav, to keep it 

 holy ?■' 



The responses are nearly as clear and decided 

 in this case: and by asking a variety of ques- 

 tions we can gath(M' pretty nearly just what 

 each one thinks God meant when he gave us 

 the command. The whole world recognizes it. 

 In discussing the matter with a lawyer who was 

 Sent to us by our new railroad to see whether 

 they could have permission to pass through the 

 new curve on oui- grounds with an excursion 

 train on Snndny. I propounded the question to 

 him. Although he was a church-member, he 

 defended the excursions on the giound that it 

 gives fresh air to folks shut up in cities. When 

 I asked him if he thought Sunday excui'sions 

 were strictly in k(H'ping with the command to 

 keep the day //o/iy. he frankly admitted that it 

 was not. but plead that it \\'as the leaser of 

 two evils. Of course, they make great promises 

 in their handbills and posters, that order and 

 sobriety shall rule. In fact, a man was s^elected 

 foroneof the Sunday excursions, for the spe- 

 cial purpose of going along to see that every 

 thing that was dcjne was strictly in keeping 

 with the sacredness of the day. Do you smile? 

 Well, I smiled a little, and 1 wondered where 

 this qood man would be found, who would con- 

 sent to act in such a capacity. The demand 

 was for a man something like this; Some good 

 faithful Christian— no. no. not Oiristian. but 

 some one who would go on a railroad train with 

 a band of excursionists to keep them decent 

 and in order. How did it turn out? Why. as 

 you might expect. This blind leader of the 

 'blind, before the day was half spent, needed a 

 guardian more, perhaps, than any of those he 

 was sent to guard I 



We are now ready to consider why it is that 

 Sunday seems to be an unlucky day for business 

 or recreation. For successful enterprises of 

 any kind we want ;/ood men. A good man can 

 not be found who will undertake business or 

 enteiprises for pleasure on Sunday. We may 

 sometimes meet with pretty fair men who have 

 no regard for Sunday; but.no matter what a 

 man believes, he must certainly be uncivil and 



ungentlemanly, to say nothing of being irrev- 

 erent toward God, who will deliberately set 

 aside the time-honored custom of keeping Sun- 

 day as a day of rest. I have tried it myself. 

 Atone time in my life I argued that Sunday 

 was no better nor worse a day than any other. 

 I had a lot of bees located in a swamp, perhaps 

 ten miles from home. Well, one Sunday I de- 

 cided to look after my bees, as I hadn't time 

 week days. In going to this out-apiary in the 

 morning. I met strings of people going to 

 church. The sight of them was a rebuke to me 

 that I shall never forget. In going back home 

 I met the same people returning from church. 

 I noticed the peaceful, quiet look on their faces, 

 which springs from a happy consciousness of 

 having done one's duty, and of having obeyed 

 God's holy command. While riding along I 

 promised God m^'Utally that, if he would for- 

 give the disobedience of that one day I would 

 try to take care that the offense should never 

 be repeated again. It was my first prayer, or 

 perhaps the first sentiment "in my heart ap- 

 proaching a prayer, that I had felt for many a 

 long year. Now. if you undertake any sort of 

 business enterprise on Sunday, you are of ne- 

 cessity obliged to choose from a class of i)eople 

 more or less devoid of cou'icience. They do not 

 hesitate to rob God, and. as a rule, they would 

 not. of course, hesitate to rob you. Is it to be 

 wondered at? Oui' railroad companies have 

 had so much (Experience of just that kind, that 

 many of them have decided they want nothing 

 more to do with Sunday excursions. Sup- 

 pose, however, you decide to do some work for 

 yourself — you won't ask anybody to helj) you at 

 all. The offense shall be yours and your.^ only. 

 Why should it turn out differently from any 

 other day ? Because, my friend, in deciding oii 

 this step you have violated the instincts of 

 your own conscience; and no man is pi'epared 

 to do his level best when he is in a disturbed 

 state of mind. Very likely there ai'e those who 

 have set aside the sabbath for so many years 

 that their conscience is hardened, and they feel 

 no qualms of conscience in boldly breaking 

 away from public opinion and from the laws of 

 God. But even if this be s-o, such pei-sons are 

 not the successful ones. They may be success- 

 ful in making money, perhaps: but the present 

 age does not recognize a man simply because 

 he has money oi- because he conti'ols property. 

 In fact, it is getting to be rather the other way. 

 The world }ii))tiirs the man who is helpful to 

 his fellow-man. who is honest toward his 

 neighbors and toward his God. I can remem- 

 ber that, in my childhood days, when I disobey- 

 ed my parents, or when I did something on 

 Sunday I knew I ought not to do. I did it with 

 a cei'tain nervous and excited feeling that un- 

 fitted me for using my ordinary caution and 

 good sense, therefore trouble came: and for the 

 same reason trouble will come to you. dear 

 friend, when you set aside and ignore God's 

 holy command at the head of this talk. " The 

 wicked flee when no man pursueth." Of cotirse. 

 they do. 



I do not know how many editors read these 

 pages. Well, the editors of this land have very 

 much to do with the morals of our land. They 

 preach to audiences much larger than are 

 reached in pulpits. They reach mixed audi- 

 ences, and they too often preach evil as well as 

 good. Dear brother, if you have been induced 

 to give publicity to Sunday excursions, or to 

 lend your influence in getting people to attend 

 these excursions, dinners, or dances to be held 

 on Sunday, phnxse believe me when I tell you 

 that you are losing money by so doing, instead 

 of gaining. Do the boys of our land need any 

 tirging in the way of Sunday excursions or bi- 

 cycle excursions, on God's holy day ? The road 



