GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



slain enemy, by some subtle process, was 

 passed over into the body of the victor. 

 Certain it is that every temptation overcome 

 makes us that much stronger. Oh let us not 

 always pray for easy, sheltered, shielded 

 lives! Let us pray for strength to resist, 

 power to overcome! Let us pray for that 

 deliverance from evil which comes by vic- 

 tory over evil. — Bev. H. S. Fritsch. 



May I be permitted to add a little in 

 regard to forgiving our debtors'? It some- 

 times happens, although not very often, that 

 a man is absolutely unable to pay his debts, 

 pei-haps to i:)ay the baker for bread. Sickness 

 and other misfortunes may so bring it about. 

 In such a case the baker should forgive it 

 and forget it, and feel just as friendly and 

 pleasant toward the debtor as if it had 

 never happened. Of course there are people 

 who, perhaps, are a little too ready to give 

 up and say they can not pay, when they 

 really might pay if they tried hard enough. 

 There is another thing in connection with 

 this matter. The burden of supplying needy 

 but helpless people with bread should not 

 all fall on one person. When a man by 

 misfortune gets into a destitute condition, 

 the best way is to have some friend start a 

 subscription, and take the money thus rais- 

 ed from the community at large, and pay 

 both the butcher and baker, or at least pay 

 the gi-eater part of the debt. Still another 

 thing, this injunction to forgive our debt- 

 or, it seems to me, is intended to ward off 

 neighborhood quarrels, and especially to 

 guard against holding a " grudge," if I may 

 use the slang expression. Sometimes neigh- 

 bors get into a jangle and will not speak to 

 each other, not only for months but some- 

 times for years. I think this latter case, 

 however, is a good deal a thing of the past. 

 Yeai-s ago there used to be jealousy and 

 clashing between men in the same line of 

 business; but if I am right this is largely a 

 thing of the past. People in this enlighten- 

 ed age are becoming ashamed at this sort 

 of narrow-mindedness. "Forgive and forget" 

 is getting to be the rale; and I have reason 

 to believe, too, that people of the present 

 day will hardly tolerate a man who prays 

 in public, and cheats in a horse-trade at the 

 same time. 



The suggestion that we love to "nibble 

 at the devil's bait " made me smile while 

 I uttered my biggest amen. It made me 

 siTiile to think how many times during 

 the past seventy years I have gotten into 

 trouble because I was curious in regard to 

 Satan's machinery. When the spirit rap- 

 pings first came out and my good mother 

 urged me to keep away from their "seances," 

 I urged that it would do no harm to " inves- 



tigate;" but when I saw one good man, a 

 minister of the gospel, go to the insane- 

 asylum, I decided that my mother was light. 

 Small boys, and sometimes larger ones, are 

 curious to know what beer and whisky taste 

 like, and urge that " it would do no harm to 

 take just one taste," feeling sure that it 

 would be just one taste and no more. And 

 it is the same way with cigars and tobacco. 

 Oh dear me ! what a world of sin and trouble 

 comes from temptation that poor weak 

 humanity can not resist ! The temptation 

 to " coquette " with the devil, or to take 

 " just one little nibble," showing off our 

 skill in letting people see how we can "skate 

 on thin ice," is along the same line. 



If any of our friends would be glad of a 

 sample copy of this sermon to send to their 

 friends, just say so on a postal card. The 

 illustration of the foolish mother who wheel- 

 ed her eluld about in a cab when her child 

 was perfectly able to walk, brought out an- 

 other hearty amen. By all means let us have 

 the " blue toes " in place of the blue pills. 



MARCONI AND SOME INCIDENTS OF HIS 

 BOYHOOD. 



I presume our readers have seen a notice 

 in the papers to the effect that Marconi 

 expects to be able soon to telephone across 

 the Atlantic by wirele-ss. Just think of a 

 human voice being carried clear across the 

 ocean ! I well remember the excitement about 

 tlie Atlantic cable, and the cheers that went 

 up (after long and disappointing delays) 

 because sifjnals had actually been received. 

 Little did we dream then that the time 

 would ever come when that expensive cable 

 could be dispensed with, and that we could 

 not only talk through the wire but the final 

 outcome would be that we should be able to 

 talk without amj wire at all. 



With the above for a preface let me stafe 

 that I have quite recently had quite a talk 

 with Mr. A. E. Roberts, International Y. 

 M. C. A. Secretary, of New York. Just 

 recently Mr. Roberts was sent by our Gov- 

 ernment to investigate agricultural prob- 

 lems in the Old World. During his trip he 

 met at Bologna, Italy, Marconi's father, 

 still living. The father said this about his 

 boy : He said the boy either would not work 

 at what he wanted him to do or else he had 

 hard work to make him do it. He was so 

 busy exploring every thing that he could 

 not take the time for routine duties. One 

 of his tricks was to pull all the clocks to 

 ])ieces in the neighborhood to see how they 

 were made; but I think he get them togeth- 

 er all right. His father said he spent so 

 much time with wires, co8:wheels, and such 



