1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CUIvTURE. 



887 



John hung his head rather sheepishly, and 

 admitted that he did help them fill their pails. 

 Then we had a good laugh all round. This 

 man had been talking skepticism, had been 

 criticising his neighbors who made a profes- 

 sion, and had just said he did not believe in 

 Bible teachings, especially that part which 

 says, "Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed 

 him ; if he thirst, give him drink ; for in so 

 doing thou shall heap coals of fire on his head. 

 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil 

 with good." 



At this juncture /interposed : 



"Why, old friend, you not only put in 

 practice Bible teachings, but when you helped 

 them fill their pails with berries you did it 

 'with a vengeance.' I fear there are not 

 many professing Christians who read their Bi- 

 ble, and put its precepts right into practical 

 everyday use as you have done. You con- 

 quered them by heaping coals of fire on their 

 heads. Now let me ask, did these men ever 

 pick any more of your berries? " 



" I am quite sure they never did." 



" Your relations with them from that time 

 to this have been pleasant and friendly? " 



"Oh, yes! of course. A man had better 

 lose a good many berries before he has a row 

 with his neighbors."* 



I might say in defense of these neighbors that 

 their apology to John was, they went out after 

 wild berries and did not find any ; and on the 

 way back his own looked so very inviting they 

 thought they would take a few rather than go 

 home with empty pails, just as you and I 

 would help ourselves to apples or peaches 

 where we found a great plenty of them in go- 

 ing crosslots or something of the sort. 



If this little story could be read and heeded 

 in thousands of homes and among thousands 

 of neighbors, how much good it might do ! 

 There is more or less pilfering going on almost 

 everywhere. It often commences by taking 

 little liberties ; and as the Bible admonishes 

 us to be careful of even the appearance of 

 evil, I do not know but it is well, in view of 

 the example we may set before others, to be 

 •exceedingly careful about any sort of tres- 

 passing. 



When Mrs. Root and I were visiting that 

 " farm in the woods " it rained so we could not 

 ^et around as we had planned. There were 

 some very fine potatoes just over our line, but 

 the man who owned them lived a good way 

 off. I could not well hunt him up and get his 

 permission to take part of a hill for dinner. 

 So we built a fire under a tree with heavy foli- 

 age that shed the rain pretty well, and roasted 

 our potatoes in the coals. They were what I 

 ■called Empire State, and they were very large 

 and fine. We roasted them until the outside 

 was burned and black. Then we split them 

 in two lengthwise, and by squeezing the black- 

 ened sides with our fingers the contents would 

 come out almost as fine and dry as flour. 

 With some salt and bread and butter we had 

 brought along we had an excellent meal. But 

 I have felt a longing ever since to see the man 



* I fear I have not given the above conversation ex- 

 actly as it occurred, but it was substantially as I have 

 stated it. 



who owned the potatoes, and tell him how we 

 enjoyed them, and thank him for them, and 

 ask him to excuse the liberties we took under 

 the circumstances. 



This matter of hunting game on the farms 

 or premises of our neighbors is now calling 

 forth a deal of discussion. Ernest and Huber 

 are both skillful marksmen ; but I have urged 

 them again and again not to go on farmers' 

 premises without having full consent and per- 

 mission. When folks lived in the woods a 

 century ago it was not so important ; but now 

 when the land is almost all under cultivation, 

 and where we have quite often specimens of 

 high-pressure gardening, I do think we should 

 be as careful about trespassing on our neigh- 

 bors' land as we would about going to the 

 stores and groceries and helping ourselves. 

 By the way, some pretty good people have a 

 fashion of helping themselves to fruit without 

 so much as a " thank you," where fruit is of- 

 fered for sale. It is all wrong. It is one of 

 the first steps toward downright crime. If 

 we expect the promise in our opening text, of 

 that good time coming, we should all be ex- 

 ceedingly careful about giving any sort of 

 ground for uncharitableness and unkind feel- 

 ing among the people round about us where 

 God has placed us. After the words of my 

 text in the 55th of Isaiah, there are two more 

 verses containing wonderful promises, and I 

 think they will be a fit closing for my talk to- 

 day. The promises are to those who heed 

 God's words, who try to love their enemies, 

 and to do good to those who hate them. I be- 

 lieve in these promises, for I have had 

 glimpses of their fulfillment in my own life 

 during the past few weeks. 



For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth 

 with peace ; the mountains and the hills shall break 

 forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the 

 field shall clap their hands. 



Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and 

 instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree ; 

 and it shall be to the I,ord for a name, for an everlast- 

 ing sign that shall not be cut cff. 



NOTES OF TRAVLt 



* . BY A. I. BOOT . 



OUR MICHIGAN TRIP. 

 When Mrs. Root and I arrived at Traverse 

 City we procured a horse and buggy and start- 

 ed along the shore of Traverse Bay to our 

 farm in the woods. As our land does not run 

 clear down to the water we were obliged to 

 build on quite a little elevation ; and I rather 

 favored a home on the hills — at least on the 

 foot-hills. Mrs. Root is not sure, however, 

 that she would like to be very much higher 

 than the water or the main road, therefore we 

 made our first stop at the home of Mr. Cole, 

 mentioned on page 782, Oct. 1. Mr. and 

 Mrs. Cole have their home right adjoining a 

 peach-orchard away up on the summit of one 

 of the hills. We tied our horse by the road- 

 side, and walked up-hill for exercise ; and it 

 was pretty severe exercise, I tell you. But 



