1881 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



43 



lur tcmf 



He that g-oeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious 

 seed, shall doubtless come affain with rejoicing, bring- 

 ing his sheaves with him. —Psalm 126:6. 



QUNDAY-SCIIOOL was over ; I had fin- 

 O^ ished my dinner, and was on my way 

 '^-"^ down to visit my mother, as usnal, dur- 

 ing the three hours that intervene before the 

 young people's prayer-meeting. I had gone 

 about lialf a mile, and was reriecting that my 

 life seemed rather unfruitful in the work of 

 saving souls for the past few weeks. ,^Vas it 

 possible that, amid the cares of business, I 

 was losing that hai>))y entliusiasm that I had 

 especially enjoyed Sabbath afternoons, and 

 that my life was settling down to a kind of 

 letting the world go on as it pleased, so that 

 it did not interfere with my plans and pur- 

 poses? How many a Christian worker has 

 had similar thoughts! The Abbey ville school 

 was stopped ; it seemed no fault of mine, 

 but still was it not possible I could have 

 done more to have kejit it going? Our class 

 at the Infirmary is stopped too, because of 

 the inconvenience of finding an hour for ser- 

 vices not contlicting with other duties in the 

 short winter days. It is true, I have our 

 own great Sabbath-school on my hands ; but 

 they have abundant helps and good teach- 

 ers, and some way I do not feel just as happy 

 after the school is over as I do after my 

 work among those who have not had all 

 these advantages, and to whom the gospel 

 is, at least in a measure, new. I longed and 

 hungered, as it were, for that joyous exube- 

 rance of spirits that I feel after explaining 

 the way of salvation to some poor boy in 

 jail. Was there any such work within my 

 field that'God wanted me to do? In that lit- 

 tle book called the Still Hour, by Austin 

 Phelps, he says that a Christian has a right 

 to have this joyous feeling always. I firmly 

 believe it is possible for us to have it, if we 

 are right in the harness, where God wishes 

 tis to be. As I walked along I prayed to 

 have my way pointed out, and promised to 

 follow in it. Almost immediately my mind 

 recurred to a young man whom I had met a 

 few times, but whom I felt pretty sure was 

 not a Christian. Somebody told me he had 

 lost his property by some misfortune. I 

 knew he was working hard, for I had no- 

 ticed him pushing ahead Avith considerable 

 energy in different employments, and the 

 last time I met him he had a lemonade and 

 candy store next to our counter store at the 

 fair. My thoughts ran 'omething like this : 



"Go and see this brothtr this very after- 

 noon." 



" But I do not even know where he lives, 

 and I am half way down to mother's now. I 

 will go next Sunday." 



" Next Sunday you may not feel like it ; 

 the roads may be bad, and your besetting sin 

 is to never do at all the things you do not do 

 on the first impulse." 



I began meditating whether or not this 

 were not really the voice of God, speaking 

 sometliing as he might have talked to Jonah 

 when he was told to go to Nineveh. As I 

 pondered, I walked slow^er. 



" Why, I rather think he lives at or near 

 B ; but that is three or four miles an- 

 other way, and I am now a full mile toward 

 mother's; besides, she is watching for me, 

 and will feel sadly disappointed if I do not 

 send her any word I am not coming. Be- 

 sides, it would be almost dark before I could 

 get there." The objecting voice almost said, 

 too," What in the world will he think to see 

 you coming away off there on Sunday, with 

 ho sort of a rational errand in the w^orld." 

 But the last observation was very feebly of- 

 fered. I had come to a standstill. 



" Nine miles is nothing for you, my boy ; 

 and if you get tired, you know, from pastex- 

 perience, that God will give you strength 

 by simply asking for it. You have told 

 mother before, that, when you fail to come, 

 she must keep in mind that a call has come 

 for you to go elsewhere." 



" Bight about, face," I turned, and I was 

 happy already. As I passed thej ail, I stopped 

 and explained to the one inmate there, who 

 was just about turning from a wasted life to 

 immortality, that I might be late before I 

 had my tisual talk with him ; and when lex- 

 plained where I felt called to go, he knew 

 the man, and with the help of the sheriff, 

 told me where lie lived. As I passed out 

 through the iron-barred door he said: — 



" My best wishes go with you on such an 

 errand, Mr. Root." 



" Do you not mean, friend D., that you 

 will pray for me while I am gone?" 



I can not remember what his reply was ; 

 but I know, by the look in his face, that it 

 was not an linpleasant suggestion. As I 

 passed over the hills I wjis somewhat weary ; 

 but God gave the strength as it was needed. 

 To be sure, I went on foot ; for, some way, 

 it does not seem as if I could do good work 

 without the exhilaration of walking ; and, 

 besides, people treat me differently (at least 

 it seems so) when I come on foot and alone. 

 When on a hill, where I could see the house, 

 I spoke to a couple of young men, and after 

 I had passed I saw them watching me. Per- 

 haps they Avere curious to know Avhat had 

 brought me out of the way so much on such 

 a day. As I crossed the bridge near the 

 house, a crowd of temptations assailed me, 

 just as they have a hundred times before. 

 All joyousiless had gone, and I felt for the 

 time that my errand, and the whole thing, 

 was the biggest piece of " tom-foolery " that 

 lever went into before. I stopped and gazed 

 into the frozen river, and at the same time 

 gazed into these feelings in my own heart. I 

 wondered where they came from, and wiiyit 

 should be so every time. I w'as not afraid 

 now, for I had seen them soon give way be- 

 fore, to a different feeling when I pushed 

 ahead. I trembled some as I raised the latch 

 to the gate ; but I prayed more earnestly 

 than usual, if possible, that God would show 

 me plainley why I was thus called away over 

 here, and that liis Spirit might go before me 

 and make the work sure. After I had got 

 into the house, and received a pleasant wel- 

 come, the painful feeling vanished, and it 

 was no great task to speak. 



" My friend, I have taken the liberty to 

 come clear over here on foot to talk with 

 you, and to invite you to accept Christ as 



