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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15 



been a meek, inoffensive, and lovable young^ 

 woman, but a most indefatigable worker, 

 not only indoors, in her domestic affairs, 

 but out in the garden and on the farm, when 

 work wasgreatly crowding. I recommended 

 at once tha*; the young people plant their 

 own home at least several miles away; but 

 the son and father were working the farm 

 together, and it seemed a very hard matter 

 to dissolve their business relations. 



Another young man has or had a sickly 

 wife, and he was brute enough to keep 

 throwing it up to her during her sickness 

 thai shg was a "bill of expense, " and even 

 figured up how much she had earned since 

 he had married her, and how much her 

 doctors' bills had cost him. Poor fellow ! 

 What a poor comprehension he had of the 

 middle verse of our text — "and they twain 

 shall be one flesh"! Think for a moment 

 of a husband who can say to his wife, "It 

 has cost me so and so to hire doctors and 

 care for you while you were sick; and you 

 have not all together, since you and I have 

 been married, earned a fourth of that 

 amount." Then the fellow had the cheek 

 after that to suggest that she go home and 

 staj' with her father till she was well, 

 letting the father bear the expense of her 

 sickness. If she got well enough to be of 

 some use, she might come back and be his 

 wife again. What a comprehension of the 

 marriage relation I The young woman 

 went home to her father, but I believe she 

 has no expectations of ever going back. 

 She may have been at fault. I do not 

 i-now any thing about that; but there is 

 usually fault on both sides. I suppose it 

 is possible that, if she had preserved a 

 Christian spirit, and prayed for her hus- 

 band daily — perhaps prayed with him and 

 worked hard to earn his love — he might 

 have been pulled out of his awful ungener- 

 ous and unmanly selfishness. The trouble 

 is, too many women would say such a man 

 could never be made any better; but where 

 even one of the two is a professing Chris- 

 tian, and is full of the Holy Spirit, great 

 wonders may be done — yes, even like chang- 

 ing the leopard's spots as the prophet Jere- 

 miah expresses it. 



During Mrs. Root's recent sickness, one 

 day when she was getting better I leaned 

 over and whispered to her, "You are a 

 dear old girl." I remember the smile that 

 came on her face as she replied, "Yes, I 

 am beginning to think so myself." I did 

 not exactly catch on; but when she added 

 something about two nurses and four doc- 

 tors, I saw she was worrying about the 

 expense it made to get her well. But, thank 

 God, such a thought never entered my 

 mind. 



It is not always the mother in-law. The 

 father in-law or other relatives may stir up 

 discord between man and wife. The last 

 verse of our text says, "What God hath 

 joined together, let not man put asunder." 

 I suppose it includes the thought, let no 

 man put asunder. Every man, woman, or 

 child, should be exceedingly careful about 



doing or saying any thing that may destroy 

 the harmony that exists or always should 

 exist between husband and wife. I re- 

 member at one time in my life I was asked 

 to listen to a complaint against Mrs. Root. 

 I replied something like this: 



"My friend, you may abuse tne all you 

 like — call me any thing jou wish; but you 

 will have to excuse me from listening to 

 any complaint concerning Mrs. Root in her 

 absence. My shoulders are broad. I can 

 bear unkind words, and perhaps I could 

 bear a club if it were not a very big one, 

 and if it were not laid on too heavily, but 

 when you strike the dear wife, I can not 

 stand it, and you will have to excuse me," 



First of all, and above all, the Lord Jesus 

 Christ, who uttered the words of our text, 

 should rtile over the home. His presence 

 should be recognized and honored, not only 

 before every meal but before going to bed. 

 Both husband and wife should pray for the 

 presence of the Holy Spirit to crowd out 

 continually all wrong and unkind feelings 

 toward each other. You two may scold 

 and find fault about the great cold unfeel- 

 ing world if you choose; but never with 

 each other. If you can not go as far as 

 that, try very hard to avoid showing the 

 least trace of unkindness, impatience, or 

 indication of annoyance with each other 

 before the world, and, above all, before the 

 children. If there are differences to be 

 settled, go away by yourselves where no- 

 body can interrupt or overhear, then settle 

 them, if necessary, on bended knee, with 

 her hand clasped in yours. After this go 

 before the children or the outer world, and 

 let them see that you two are one in body, 

 spirit, and in soul. 



I have watched the growing spirit of dis- 

 cord among relatives and friends. It comes 

 on by slow degrees. Divorces are not made 

 up in a few days. The married pair 

 seldom come to the point of separation un- 

 til Satan has had them in control for weeks, 

 months, or perhaps years. The perfect 

 harmony and love that God intended should 

 exist between man and wife are easily 

 marred and put out of tune. It is like a 

 delicate instrument that will hardly bear 

 the disturbance of a gentle breeze. Let me 

 illustrate; and if 1 mention something I 

 have mentioned before, it will not matter. 

 Something I wanted very much and could 

 not find when I was in great hurry was 

 out of place. Mrs. Root declared she had 

 not seen it nor touched it. Nobody else was 

 around our home at the time. I finally 

 found it in a very unexpected and out of- 

 the way place. I told her she must have 

 placed it there. She replied quickly that / 

 certainly was the one who placed it there, 

 and had forgotten it. Then I retorted that 

 the circumstances were such that it was 

 absolutely impossible I could have placed it 

 where I found it. I remember that, at the 

 time, it seemed to me exceedingly plain to 

 any one who would reflect a moment, that I 

 could not have put it in that out-of-the-way 

 place. She replied, somewhat stirred up. 



