December, 1921 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



779 



sidewalks had not been invented away back 

 in those days. Our walks were all made of 

 boards; and while I was praying something 

 as follows, ' ' Dear Lord, you see how I have 

 utterly failed, and, will you not take that 

 mistaken servant of thine in hand and make 

 him see how much the good of our town and 

 community demand that he should change 

 his mind?" While I was talking I heard 

 the sound of heavy footsteps along the 

 board walk, coming up behind me. As I 

 turned about one of the officers of the 

 church came up, and, placing his hand on 

 my shoulder, said, ' ' Mr. Eoot, our pastor 

 has asked me to catch you, if possible, be- 

 fore you reach town, and say that he has 

 reconsidered the matter you presented, and 

 that he will acquiesce in what you proposed, 

 and will do his best to make the meetings 

 a success." 



There you have it, dear friends — one of 

 my first surprising answers to prayer. 



At the time appointed, our four ministers 

 sat side by side in the pulpit of one of our 

 churches. Eev. A. T. Eeed, the "boy 

 preacher" I have told you about, opened 

 the meeting, and then said to me, "Mr. 

 Root, we four pastors of the churches of 

 Medina with this goodly audience are here 

 ready to do your bidding. Each one of us 

 cannot preach a sermon. What is your sug- 

 gestion?" 



I asked them to preach four sermons each 

 ten minutes long. I think the good friends 

 on the sidewalk, who promised to come to 

 such a meeting, kept their promise; and as 

 it was pretty well talked thru our town, 

 there was a large audience present. There 

 was a big revival and these union meetings 

 have been kept up more or less from that 

 time to this. When the weather is suitable 

 we often have our meetings on the park in 

 the center of our town. 



Only a few doors from my own store 

 there was another jeweler, a younger man 

 than myself. He and I had been in a jangle 

 as to who had the best goods at the lowest 

 prices. This jangle had got into our county 

 paper, and I am afraid we had been calling 

 each other names. I once apologized to the 

 editor for some statement that I wanted in, 

 and he replied something like this: 



' ' Mr. Root, it does not matter to mc how 

 much you two quarrel, so long as you pay 

 me ten cents a line for publishing what you 

 have to say." 



Of course, the editor was not a Christian. 

 Well, after I had visited the ministers it 

 occurred to me that my next job was to call 

 on my rival and tell him of my new depart- 

 ure. I had gotten hold of the beautiful text, 

 "Love your enemies, do good to them that 

 hate you, and pray for them that despite- 

 fully use you." I told him that if he would 

 forgive me for my past unbrotherly and un- 

 christianlike conduct I would try to help 

 him in'stead of hindering him in the future. 

 He did not say much. Perhaps he thought 

 he would wait awhile. 



Just at that time each of us had invested 

 in a silver-plated cake-basket. The price 

 was about $10.00. A lady had been looking 

 at both of the baskets. She fjially came to 

 me and said, ' ' Mr. Root, I like tlie basket 

 Mr. Wells has rather better than yours; but 

 I want to be sure it is just as good silver 

 plate. I believe you will be honest in the 

 matter, and tell me if you think his is what 

 he represents it to be." She added, "1 

 know I have troubled you a great deal al- 

 ready, and I hope you will excuse me if I 

 trade with him instead of you." I told her 

 that, altho the baskets were made at differ- 

 ent places, I believed that both were all 

 right, and that she need not apologize for 

 bothering me. I said it was a part of my 

 business. She took the other basket, and I 

 think she reported what she said; and for 

 several days, and perhaps for weeks, I sent 

 customers his way and felt happy in doing 

 so. What do you think happened? He 

 came to me one day and said something like 

 this: 



' ' Mr. Root, I do not understand this. I 

 never heard of such a thing before, where a 

 man would go out of his way to send trade 

 to one who has been a rival in business. 

 Now, if that is religion, I want some re- 

 ligion, too. God knows I need it." 



I took him over to my pastor's study, 

 where he knelt down with the pastor, and 

 said in effect, ' ' Goc have mercy on me a 

 sinner," and from that time on we were 

 friends; and it was my privilege to have a 

 good talk with him just before he died a 

 few years ago. I lost a little trade, to be 

 sure, by my new departure; but, oh dear 

 me! what comparison is there between a few 

 dollars and cents more or less and the sav- 

 ing of a soul? 



He which converteth the sinner from the error 

 of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall 

 hide a multitude of sins.- — ^James 5:20. 



In another Home paper I will tell you 

 something of the blessings that followed, 

 and more about answers to prayers. 



BRADENTOWN AND BRADENTOWN 

 PEOPLE. 



"Thy people shall be my people, and thy God 

 my God." — Ruth 1:16. " , 



"If ^e have faith ... ye shall say unto this 

 mountain, Be thou removed, and ... it shall 

 he done." — Matt. 21:21. 



"The wilderness and the solitary places shall be 

 glad for them ; and the de.sert shall rejoice and 

 blossom as the rose. — Isa. 35:1. 



Mrs. Root and I reached Bradentown, 

 Fla., Oct. 21, and my attention was at once 

 called to numbers of new buildings going 

 up almost everywhere, not only residences 

 on all the streets but great store buildings 

 in the very heart of the town. Of course 

 many of the residences, especially out of 

 town, were but humble "homes," but there 

 were quite a few that were to me gems of 

 artistic beauty. 



