250 



GLEANIXGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 



to have $1.25. I know it is hard for very- 

 many of us to humble ourselves enough to 

 come clear down to the point where our ex- 

 penses are less than our income, especially 

 where that income is very small ; but, my 

 friends, it is the only way to secure real hap- 

 piness. There is really a rare kind of happi- 

 ness, to one who is strongly tempted to ex- 

 travagance, when he can so school himself 

 as to get down below that line of safety ; to 

 get where he can be willing to have folks 

 think he is poorer than he really is ; to be 

 willing to be called poor and stingy, for 

 Christ's sake ; to be willing to have folks 

 laugh and make unkind remarks about his 

 clothing, that he may have the satisfaction 

 of being able to meet all his promises 

 promptly and squarely. You have not only 

 paid your debts, but you have baffled Satan, 

 and you have come out victor, thank God! 

 Your clothes may be poor, your hands 

 rough, and your cheek browned ; but your 

 name is spotless, and you are not only not 

 afraid to meet anybody, but you are ready 

 for lots more work of the sauiie kind. Sup- 

 pose some of those dandily dressed fellows 

 do sit on the hitching-posts snickering to 

 themselves as you go along when you go to 

 town. What does it matter? Almost in- 

 voluntarily you quicken your steps as you 

 think fondly of the little home and the gar- 

 den, with the chickens and bees, and, more 

 than all, the happy prattle of the loved ones 

 as they welcome you home. They know 

 you, if the world does not. Your wife 

 knows your true w^orth, and God knows, as 

 you kneel at night with her hand in yours, 

 it is with no formal words, but it wells di- 

 rectly up from the heart, — 



"O God, we thank thee. We thank thee 

 for this little home, so bright and joyous, 

 and for these loved ones thou hast given us 

 to care for, and bring up. AVe thank thee 

 that thou didst, in thine infinite mercy and 

 kindness, put into the hearts of thy servants 

 to point us to the Lamb of God, that taketh 

 away the sin of the world." 



Friend Boot : —I like to read your ideas on men 

 and things that you come in contact with, although 

 i t causes a smile, sometimes, when you write that 

 God answers prayer. I do not care how much you 

 mix your business up with your religion ; it is none 

 of my business, any more than if you should mix 

 salt with your tea for breakfast. What concerns 

 me is, are you an honest man, and trying to do to 

 others as you would like to bo done by? Now, I wish 

 to give my testimony that you arc an honest man, 

 and you are doing a great amount of good for the 

 people, who read Gleanings, notwithstanding your 

 ideas of salvation and eternal life. Much in the 

 Bible is to be commended, much to be despised. I 

 once thought God wrote the Bible; I know better 

 now. Head the 109th Psalm, and ask yourself if God 

 had any thing to do with it. Again, read 38th chap- 

 ter of Genesis. A. I. Root, Esq., would not write 

 such infamous sentiments in Gleanings; for when 

 I wrote you a sarcastic letter, your answer was in 

 kindness, and taught me a lesson not to be forgotten. 

 You are doing good, and I want to help all men who 

 are trying to help others, but I don't think that God 

 has any thing to do with it, for I don't know as there 

 Is any such being, and I know as much as any other 



man living does, as the finite mind can't compre 

 hend the infinite; hence, no one knows. One point 

 you and I can agree on, and that is temperance; and 

 I hate Christianity, because it will not attack this 

 curse of the world. It bows down to the lousy god 

 Mammon, and the wealthy liquor-dealer is called a 

 good brother in any Christian church, if he pays a 

 large sum of money for the support of the church 

 Now, don't misunderstand me; I do not hate the 

 men an women who believe in Christianity; what I 

 mean is, I hate the creed they profess to believe, as 

 (to my mind) it causes drunkenness and crime 

 throughout the land, as there are more Christian 

 thieves and drunkards in our prisons than there are 

 infidels. My idea is, that if I do you a wrong I must 

 pay the penalty; no Jesus to save me; and when 

 this idea prevails, no more prisons will be required, 

 no more drunkards in the land, no more preachers, 

 but teachers like yourself who are doing good by 

 deeds as well as words. 



Now, I have written you some words, but thoy 

 would be of little use unless there were deeds with 

 them; hence find my subscription for one year, and 

 it is well worth the money. W. E. LeoNvVRD. 



Port Huron, St. Clair Co., Mich. 



I thank you for your good ophiion and 

 kind words, friend L. A few years ago a 

 man came to visit me who was an old bee- 

 keeper, and, after looking at the apiary and 

 asking a few questions, he declared, point 

 blank, that there was no such thing as a 

 queen in a hive, and that neither I nor any 

 one else had ever seen one. Do you think 

 my faith was weakened, and that I rushed 

 to a hive and opened it to see again if I had 

 always been mistaken V or do you think I 

 argued the point with him ? Well, what you 

 say about answers to prayer strikes me much 

 in the same way. I had been working with 

 the queens all day, and, althougli the mau 

 may have been 'ho'.iest, my acquaintance 

 with queens was such that his remark— why, 

 you know it is utter folly for me to say I 

 knew there were queens in the hives. Now, 

 please do not think me harsh Avhen I say the 

 evidence, to one, of a personal God, and one 

 who answers prayer, is just about the same. 

 Not that I see God with my eyes as I see a 

 queen, but that I feel his presence very much 

 as I feel this April morning sun when I close 

 my eyes. I wonder if a little experience of 

 the past few days may not make it plain to 

 you. 



In my work of trying to save souls, I often 

 meet with sad discouragements. Just re- 

 cently, in a case where forbearance ceased 

 to be a virtue, as it seemed to me, I rejn-oved 

 and rebuked most severely. In fact, I over- 

 stepped the line, and, I fear, took upon my- 

 self the responsibility of judging, where God 

 had not constituted me a judge. I thought 

 it was needed, and that I had done my duty; 

 but as the hours wore on, there began to be 

 a dull pain, as a sort of under-current in my 

 spiritual life ; and as my mind ran back, it 

 seemed to stop at the incident I have men- 

 tioned. The individual was gone, and I 

 could see nothing to be done. If he suffered 

 and wanted help, it was his place to come 

 and accept of it, for my last words had 

 been proffered help. During the after- 

 noon, the feeling increased so that I went to 



