1881 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE, 



353 



|ttj' tmm- 



He that endureth to the end, the same shall he 

 saved.— Matt. 10:23. 



fJjROM what I have written in regard to 

 tliose whom it has pleased God to per- 

 — mit me to direct to the ways of salva- 

 tion, it might he interred that all are saved 

 with whom I have labored and striven. Es- 

 pecially might this be the case with those 

 whom I liave met in jail, and finally taken 

 into my employ. I presume you all know, 

 dear friends, tliat it is a much pleasanter 

 task to chronicle the way in whicli a sinner 

 forsakes liis sins, and sits, " clothed and in 

 his right mind at the feet of Jesus," tlian to 

 tell how he forsakes his new life, and goes 

 back to the camp of the enemy ; but for all 

 that, I feel that I sliould hardly be truthful 

 if I contented myself with telling the for- 

 mer, and leaving the latter untold ; for, be- 

 sides being in duty bound to give you trutli 

 and facts, we may often draw helpful lessons 

 and timely warnings by noting the down- 

 ward course of those wlio will go back. 



Last February I told you, in the Home 

 Papers, of a young man whom I called '' D." 

 Well, in the April No. I mentioned both 

 being present at our Saturday evening meet- 

 ing — just we thr(e, and that we had all 

 knelt together, before God, asking him to 

 keep and guide us. Up to that time, I feel 

 sure D. was in the straight and narrow path. 

 He had not united with any church, as had 

 M., but he was regular in his attendance at 

 the young people's prayer-meetings, and 

 usually took a part. During those days he 

 was honest, bright, and happy, and it was 

 particularly noticeable that he had lost all of 

 the disposition to be bitter and sarcastic in 

 speaking of his fellow-men, as he was when 

 I first met him. 



My friends, I wish to digress a little here, 

 to again emphasize the point, that it is al- 

 Avays those who are guilty at heart who are 

 so very vehement in denouncing the world, 

 and especially the Christian people of the 

 world, as hypocrites and thieves. In 

 fact, whenever you feel like saying there 

 are no honest people anywhere, bear in mind 

 the trouble is surely in your own heart. Re- 

 pent and reform, and you will find good, 

 pure, and true people everywhere. 



The first thing I noticed about D. that 

 troubled me was his showing me a picture 

 of a woman he Avas corresponding with. 

 Was there any thing wrong in this? I con- 

 fess, I could see nothing to object to, but 

 yet it gave me a feeling of trouble, without 

 my being able to say just why. I knew that 

 he had once been married, but he told me 

 his wife was dead. He also said he was en- 

 gaged to her. Shortly after, he asked me, 

 one Saturday evening, if I were willing he 

 should go to CJleveland to stay over Sunday 

 with his brother. Said he, — 



"Mr. R., I came here to stay with you, 

 and to learn to be a man and a Christian, 

 and I won't go an inch anywhere, without 

 your consent and approval." 



I thanked him for his confidence in my 

 poor judgment, but told him to go, by all 



means, and tell his brother's folks, when he 

 first met them, that he was a Christian, and 

 wished to go to church. My friends, you do 

 not know, all of you, as I do, how important 

 it is that you should always, under such cir- 

 cumstances, speak out at once, and pro- 

 claim yourself '' on the Lord's side." 



Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and 

 of my words, in this adulterous and sinful genera- 

 tion, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, 

 when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the 

 holy angels. -Mark S: 3i. 



There is no bragging or boasting about it, 

 but it is simply giving all your friends to un- 

 derstand just where you are; and while it 

 will often touch them, and pull strongly in 

 the right way, it will prevent most effectual- 

 ly even those who are unconverted, from 

 throwing any kind of temptation in your 

 way thoughtlessly. I do not know whether 

 D. did all this or not. Shortly after, he 

 asked to visit some friends in another di- 

 rection ; and as I had seen nothing amiss, I 

 of course gave consent. The next Sunday, 

 after Bible class, he came to me with the 

 confession that ne was a married man, and 

 had been all the time he was in prison ; but 

 having lost track of his wife, and her 

 whereabouts, he was ashamed to tell that he 

 was married. 



'' Why, D., you told me you were engaged 

 to the "woman whose picture you showed 

 me." 



"Oh! I was just joking then. I never 

 told you I wasn't a married man." 



"But you told me your wife was dead, and 

 we have all of us here in the factory con- 

 sidered you as an unmarried man." 



" Well, she was dead ; but I did not say I 

 had not married again. Here is a letter 

 from her, and you can see her signature as 

 my wife." 



I tried to explain to him that his actions 

 and life had proclaimed him an unmarried 

 man more plainly than words could do, if 

 possible ; and that he stood before God, if 

 not before men, as guilty of untruth. He 

 confessed, and once more asked what he 

 should do to retrieve the past, and commence 

 once more on a fair and square foundation. 

 I looked him squarely in the eye, and I con- 

 fess I did not feel quite satisfied with such a 

 ready confession and swift promises to 

 amend ; but what should the boy do? He 

 was once more placing the whole matter in 

 my hands, and said he would do exactly as I 

 said. I wish here to pay one just tribute to 

 D.'s credit. He was a splendid hand to work 

 at any thing ; and no matter what you set 

 him at, he did a tremendous day's work, and 

 did every thing he took hold of well. He 

 would even take charge of hands, and look 

 after them witli the eye of a proprietor ; and 

 at night I was always sure to find a straight 

 and honest result of the labors of the day 

 whether he was looked after or not. I need 

 hardly tell you that all who profess to be 

 Christians do not do as much. Well, it was 

 this feature of D.'s character that gave me 

 faith in him, in spite of his wrong-doing. 



"I will do just what you say, Mr. Root, 

 for I said I would stay with you and show 

 you and the world that I could be a Chris- 



