May, 1917 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



389 



T 



my 9e'vent_v- 

 seven years 

 of life I have 

 been blind- — first 

 when a school- 

 boy of about 14. 

 Some kind of in- 

 flammation set 

 in, and my eyes 

 •w e r e swollen 

 shut for two or 

 (liree days. Dur- 

 iiiii' that time (as 

 1 with my pecul- 

 iar temperament 

 must be doing' something) I learned to play 

 the then popular melodies on my aunt's little 

 French accordion. A short time ago, when 

 I happened to get hold of an accordion, to 

 my surprise I found that, altho 60 yeai's had 

 [lassed, 1 could still play, after a fashion, 

 the most of those old tunes. I think "Sweet 

 Home,'' just then comparatively new, was 

 ray especial favorite. 



Well, the accordion was lan innocent 

 amusement. It did not hai'm any one unless 

 it was the good aunt, and she doubtless was 

 pleased at my proficienc}', as she was my 

 teacher. 



My second period of blindness, instead of 

 two or three days was (I am ashamed to 

 say) for several years, and, worse still, after 

 I was a grown-up man. There is an old 

 hymn that has the stanza — 



The heathen in their blindness 

 Bow down to wood and stone. 



To tell the plain truth I was blind because 

 I was a " heathen," or something worse. I 

 was selfish, and recognized no god but self. 

 In Pilgi'im's ProgTess we are told that after 

 Christian liad gone quite a little way out of 

 the " narrow path " he had glimpses of a 

 great overhanging rock, and from this rock 

 now and then flashes of fire blazed forth, 

 and he finally became alarmed, fearing the 

 rock might fall down on liis head. I too 

 had occasional glimpses of that flaming 

 rock, and resolved again and again T would 

 get back into the manly path and stay there ; 

 but the " forbidden path " always had some 

 new allurement, and you know I have al- 

 ways been curious about new things to be 

 explored. I was, however, getting to be 

 more and more unhappy. Conscience was 

 at times getting to be a fearful load, like 

 that of poor Christian in the story. One 

 day I was so unhappy I went otf by myself 

 in the woods. I sat down on a log and 

 thought it over. I decided I must break 

 away from Satan altho I didn't call him 

 Satan just then. I finally rose up, raised 

 my hand, and called God to witness my 



OUR HOMES 



A. I. ROOT 



Lord, that I might receive my sight. — Mark 10:51. 



Ore thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now 

 I see. — .lOHN 9 :25. 



If ye were blind, ye should have no sin; hut now 

 ye say. We see; therefore your sin remaineth. — 

 John 9 :41. 



decision t h a t 

 hereafter \ 

 would be a man 

 and no slave to 

 any thing nor to 

 any body. I, 

 with head u]) 

 a n d shoulders 

 thrown b a c k, 

 marched home, 

 feeling pmud 

 that I was a man 

 once more. I 

 said, " maiched 

 home;" but be- 

 fore I reached 



home Satan trijippd me up and twis'ed nw 

 around his thumb until I felt like a whii)ped 

 puppy, and was too discouraged to think of 

 ever trying again. 



But a crisis was coming — I felt it and 

 knew it.* One night after closing my 

 store (I was a jeAveler at the time) I knelt 

 down in the darkness and uttered a prayei' 

 beginning something like this: "0 God, if 

 there be a God, have mercy on me a sinner." 



I don't know that I expected any answer; 

 but I was in trouble, and decided to see if 

 prayer would " do any good." It did " do 

 good " at once. A voice, or perhaps I 

 should say a suggestion, came to me some- 

 thing as Jesus said to the blind man : "What 

 wilt thou that I should do unto theef I 

 replied in my prayer : " Lord, give me 

 back the innocency of childhood — the hon- 

 est, every-day happiness I always had be- 

 fore I became a man." 



Perhaps I had in mind the lines, compara- 

 tively new at the time : 



Backward, turn backward, 



O time, in thy flight; 

 Make me a child again 



Just for tonight. 



Again the voice came, asking what price 

 I was willing to pay — how much 1 would 

 suiTender for this peace of mind I seemed 

 to covet; but before I made answer, some- 

 thing impelled me to make a mental inven- 

 tory of my present life. A revival was 

 going on in our town, and they were hold- 

 ing union meetings in the different churches. 

 I had never attended, and had even advised 

 against them. I held back; but the old lifp 

 loomed up again. Little by little T yielded 

 until I was ready to say, " All to leave and 

 follow thee." 



As I started to go home a new world 

 opened up before me, and, furthermore, a 

 new .-1. L Boot was ushered into the world. 

 I didn't worry any more about Satan " tri)>- 

 ping me up," for it was no more the old 



* The accordion was an innocent and harmless 

 amusement — not so the other. 



