1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



815 



she gave me, too, a pleasant smile that I shall 

 long remember, and then she took up the next 

 diiHcult problem for somebody else. Later on, 

 when I purchased my sleeper ticket at the 

 same window, there were so many begging 

 her to hurry (for it was train time) that she 

 got the sleeper-berths a little mixed up ; but 

 she did not look cross, and did not answer 

 anybody short. On the contrary, she looked 

 up quite pleasantly to let us know she was 

 master of the situation, and said something 

 like this : 



" I have got things mixed up a little ; but I 

 can straighten it out all right if you will just 

 give me a minute, and I will see that all have 

 time to get on the train all right." 



A month later I found this woman at the 

 same window, and she was just exactly the 

 same. I do not think anybody would call her 

 a handsome woman, but yet her face and her 

 poise were a wonderful study to me. I do not 

 know whether she is a Christian or not ; but 

 she is certainly Christlike in her work. She 

 is a queen, not only among women, but she is 

 a model in business for our own sex. Some 

 of you may say she is that way during busi- 

 ness hours, because her bread and butter de- 

 pends on it ; but when she is off duty she may 

 be like other folks. Well, even if this is true, 

 she is head and shoulders above the rest of us, 

 even if she does no more than to carry that 

 gentle spirit with her during working hours. 



Dear friends, I would much rather narrate 

 scenes like the above than to complain of the 

 way public officers treat traveling humanity ; 

 but I think I can show you better how much 

 Christ's followers are needed in business by 

 giving you one instance on the other side. 



An old lady got on the train. I began study- 

 ing her at once, and I thought she seemed per- 

 fectly capable of taking care of herself. I 

 noticed in a little while she was asking the 

 conductor a good many questions. The train 

 stopped at Wayne, Mich., and a lot of the 

 passengers got off, the conductor with them. 

 While he was inside of the station the old 

 lady asked a woman in the next seat if that 

 place was Wayne. She nodded that it was, 

 and pointed to the sign on the depot. At this 

 the old lady gathered up her packages and 

 slowly made her way out on the platform. I 

 wondered why she was so late in getting off. 

 Just as she reached the door of the wailing- 

 room the conductor came out hurriedly. I 

 could not hear what he said, but he took her 

 by the arm, and marched her back into the 

 car, put her down in a seat, and then said, so 

 everybody could hear, " There ! don't you get 

 off that seat again until I tell you where to 

 get off." 



Now, I have made blunders enough in my 

 life so I can realize just how this poor old soul 

 felt. Everybody was looking at her, and most 

 of them were snickering. If the conductor 

 had not happened to come along just then, 

 and had he not remembered her, she would 

 have been a stranger in a strange land indeed. 

 My heart ached for her. Had I not been 

 afraid of meddling, and making matters 

 worse, I would have gone and sat beside her 

 and told her not to feel bad about it at all, for 



we all make mistakes sometimes. I rather ex- 

 pected some good woman in the car would go 

 and talk with her ; but she sat there all alone 

 in her misery — yes, it was misery, for I have 

 had my taste of it — until the conductor told 

 her where to get off. 



If Jesus were on earth I think we should 

 find him on the busy railways, among crowds 

 at stations, and possibly in little offices selling 

 tickets. What a glad world it would be, dear 

 friends ! and, oh what a glorious thought, that 

 it is the privilege of each and every one of us 

 to put hts yoke upon our shoulders, bear his 

 burdens, and show the Christlike spirit behind 

 the counter and everywhere else that humani- 

 ty is found !* 



I have been telling you for some little time 

 back how much I enjoyed my visit with Mr. 

 Hilbert. To tell the truth, I have not a rela- 

 tive in the woild whose mind and enthusiasm 

 run in channels so nearly parallel with my 

 own as does Mr. Hilbert's. He is never tired 

 of learning something more about how things 

 grow. He is an enthusiast on strawberries, 

 potatoes, peaches, buckwheat, growing clover, 

 bee-keeping, maple syrup, catching fish, and, 

 in fact, he loves every thing I love, including 

 good square w/^« and ivomen. We talked and 

 talked, and the more we talked the more we 

 found that was congenial. 



Now, I hope my good friend Hilbert will 

 not lose his friendship for me when I tell right 

 out in print that he uses tobacco. That first 

 morning when I called him through the tele- 

 phone I began wondering if I could tell by 

 the sound of his voice how old he was. I de- 

 cided he must be somewhere between forty 

 and fifty, and I got it pretty nearly right. 

 While we were riding together in the buggy I 

 conjectured by the smell of his breath that he 

 used tobacco ; but as daj-s passed by, and I 

 did not see him take a smoke, I began to feel 

 troubled. This is what troubled me : Every- 

 body who reads Gleanings knows how re- 

 lentless and unsparing I have been in regard 

 to the tobacco habit. He evidently had made 

 up his mind that while I was his guest he 

 would have to give it up. Of course, I am 

 glad to have anybody give up tobacco ; but I 

 do not want anybody to break off the habit 

 just on my account or because I am present. 



* since the above was written it has occurred to me 

 that we need followers of Jesus Christ at both ends of 

 our telephone lines : and I think it is fortunate that 

 women are filling so many of these places. Even in 

 our own little town I often hear the remark that when 

 a man presides at the central we can not get any ac- 

 commodations at all ; but when the girl gets around 

 in the morning she is always pleasant and cheerful 

 and accommodating. Mrs. Root says she can tell to- 

 ward night by the tone of the girl's voice that .she is 

 tired, but that she is always patient. I have told you 

 how friend Hilbert gets the good will of his postmas- 

 ter so he will even open and read letters for him. 

 through the telephone. Well, friend H. has a remark- 

 able faculty or gift for keeping the telephone people 

 good-natured. He has a .sort of comical pleasantry 

 about him, when he wants a favor, that is contagious ; 

 and it gets hold of a body, even through the telephone. 

 Now, he is not a church-member: and I am afraid he 

 knows very little by practical experience of the things 

 we talk about in our prayer-meeting ; but yet he has 

 a winning way and a winning voice that will make 

 him a power for righteousness when he is once en- 

 listed, and marching under the banner of Him who 

 "pleased not himself." 



