NOVEMBER 1, 1916 



A. I. Root 



OUR HOMES 



Editor 



Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the 

 leopard his spots? — Jer. 13:23. 



Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and 

 to break my heart? for I am ready not to be bound 

 only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of 

 the Lord Jesus. — Acts 21:13. 



Let us not be weary in well doing ; for in due 

 season we shall reap if we faint not. — Gal. 6:9. 



I have before remarked that I was one 

 of a family of seven. My older brother was 

 of a rambling disposition. When he was in 

 his teens he would go off and be gone for 

 days and even for weeks. He wanted to 

 see more of the world, and, as a conse- 

 quence, he found employment with ungodly 

 men — some of whom, it seems, took pains 

 to destroy the faith that a good mother 

 worked and prayed to implant. Even after 

 he was married and was the father of 

 grown-up children he was restless and un- 

 easy. He was all over the United States 

 and even away down in Mexico; and later 

 he bought a ranch near San Diego, Cal. 

 After the death of his first wife he married 

 the second time, and died not long after the 

 birth of two children; and when these two 

 children were of only tender years their 

 mother died also, and for some time they 

 were left only partly cared for in the city 

 of San Diego. 



When the civil war broke out, my broth- 

 er, in accordance with his nature and dispo- 

 sition, enlisted, and became an officer in the 

 army. After the death of both father and 

 mother it was deemed advisable to have the 

 children go to the Soldiers' Home in Xenia, 

 Ohio. I have before mentioned the build- 

 ings, extensive parks, and other arrange- 

 ments made for the best care of the children, 

 especially orphans of the soldiers. In fact, 

 it has been for years called " the Children's 

 Home." 



Well, the boy. Homer Root, seems to 

 have inherited his father's disposition. He 

 could not stay contented very long in one 

 place. I am sorry to say that, while in 

 California, without father or mother, he 

 learned to smoke cigarettes, to use bad 

 language, and to be untruthful. By the 

 way, some good authority has said that, as 

 soon as any boy begins the use of cigar- 

 ettes, he becomes untruthful. It is a i^art 

 of the cigarette business. Well, this 

 nephew of mine did not seem to get along 

 very well at the Soldiers' Orphans' Home, 

 and then came here to work for us in our 

 factory. Perhaps I have been unfair in 

 not speaking of the boy's good qualities. 

 He had a love for mechanics, and especially 

 for electricity ; but, like his father, he did 

 not soem to like being sliut up in any shop, 



ofiice, or factory. He took for a time a 

 particular liking for the machine-shop; but 

 soon became uneasy, and wanted to go off 

 on the railroad where he could be outdoors, 

 and work as an assistant to their electrician. 

 I think he did fairly well on the railroad; 

 but he soon wanted anotlier change, and 

 the first thing I knew he had enlisted in 

 the navy and was on board of the warshij-) 

 Arkansas for a cruise of three years. The 

 strictness in the navy seemed to do him 

 good, and he made a pretty fair record. 

 I have mentioned him frequently in these 

 Home papers, and have given place to one 

 or two letters from him, especially those 

 pertaining to the gyro compass. Well, 

 neither this boy Homer nor his father be- 

 fore him seemed to take much of a liking 

 for church or Sunday-school, Chi'ttStda.n.s 

 Endeavor, nor the Y. M. G. A. They did 

 not seem to come much along his line. Dur- 

 ing the past years I have kept more or 

 less in touch with him, and not only wrote 

 him letters but prayed for him; but I am 

 afraid that much of the time I prayed with- 

 out very much faith. I am afraid, also, 

 I had given up thinkii>g that he would ever 

 have much to do with Christian work in any 

 form. 



Dear friends, in years past I have several 

 times spoken of my " happy surprises ;" 

 and I think I have said that a Christian 

 who does his duty, and holds unswervingly 

 to the straight and narrow path, will, at 

 least occasionally, meet with " happy sur- 

 prises." Well, one of these came some 

 time last winter. It was a letter from my 

 nephew of whom I have been speaking. 

 Perhaps I should mention first that he 

 wrote me, perhaps a year before, saying 

 that he was thinking of getting married 

 to a young lady he had known at the Home 

 in Xenia. After getting the particulars 

 I advised him to get married, even tho 

 some of his relatives advised otherwise. 

 AVell, now for the surprise. While in my 

 Florida home, as I have said, I received 

 a letter reading something as follows: 



Dear Uncle: — I would give almost any- 

 thing in the world to have you hear a minis- 

 ter preach here in Springfield," etc. 



It was a surprise to me to know that the 

 boy was attending clmrch at all; and the 

 idea that he should ask me to go to church 

 with him was almost a huge joke. I gave 

 a shout of surprise, and forwarded the 

 letter to the good minister whose name he 

 gave. I took it that he must be an evangel- 

 is', somelliing like Billy Sunday; and so I 

 addressed mv letter to the "Reverend Mr. 



