1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Ill 



still the3' admitted it was a praiseworthy 

 work to be laboring- to make the world bet- 

 ter. Mr. Hilbert, however, had been with 

 us hardly 48 hours before he confessed we 

 had some good neighbors. He visited the 

 man who had the stingless bees; and al- 

 though they could talk only by signs, and 

 a little aid from Stephen, he came back 

 with praise of this man that wasn't stinted 

 either. 



Last Saturday night we got off the train 

 at Havana while it was raining. On ac- 

 count of our ivheels we could not get to our 

 hotel, either bj' cars or cab. We didn't 

 find anybody for some time who could talk 

 our tongue enough to guide us. Finally a 

 verj' gentlemanly well-dressed Cuban who 

 could talk English a little said he would go 

 with us. Mr. Hilbert offered to pay him. 

 but he declared "not a cent." This man 

 went with us clear across the city; and 

 then, as Hilbei^t declared he could "make 

 it alone " the rest of the way, he consented 

 to turn back. We were soon lost again, 

 however; and just as we decided we imisi 

 bother somebody else with our troubles, 

 this true friend reached ua on a run (in the 

 rain). He had been watching us from a 

 distance, fearing w^e might have more trou- 

 ble, and this time he piloted us to our hotel 

 door. I wish I had this man's address, so 

 that I might let his kind act be known. 



Now you can realize somewhat how it 

 pains me to hear my brother Americans 

 condemn so severely the whole of the Cu- 

 bans. Even though I can not talk to them 

 I have learned to love them already. I 

 like their musical speech; I like their ex- 

 travagant gesticulations, which are not 

 only expressive but often possess a degree 

 of grace. One little girl at Mr. Moe's (of 

 Candelaria) showed such an aptness that I 

 told Mrs. Moe she had talent for elocution; 

 and then Mrs. Moe explained that her 

 brother was a lawyer, and had been giving 

 her lessons. At my request she gave a 

 recitation she had once given at their 

 " Fourth-of-July " celebration. Afterward 

 she read some passages of English that 

 Mrs. Moe had taught her, and did it quite 

 well; and Mrs. Moe said she understood 

 the meaning of what she read. Now, this 

 child is thirsting for knowledge, and there 

 are thousands like her. Sunday I found a 

 Congregational church only a short walk 

 from our hotel (71 Prado), and the pastor 

 gave me a lot of little papers illustrated, and 

 in Spanish, by the Ajnerican Stcnday-sclwol 

 I'nion, so you see I was right when I de- 

 clared there was literature for these chil- 

 dren in their own language, if we could 

 only get hold of it; and how shall it ever 

 get to them unless we bestir ourselves, hunt 

 it up, and put it into their hands? There 

 is one child especially who lives near our 

 apiiry, and she and I have become great 

 friends. I can see in her the promise of a 

 noble woman if she is led aright. Well, 

 when Stephen told me he saw a cigarette 

 in her childish mouth, it did not di.scourage 

 me; in fact, it onlv made me more in a hur- 



ry to put into her little hands the story of 

 " Jesu " the "Cristo." 



In taking an old friend around to see 

 some of the sights of the city, in a beautiful 

 spot (Tacon St., No. 4), near the water's 

 edge we found a little bookstore that read 

 overhead, "American Bible Society." It 

 almost made my heart jump with joy. In 

 a neat glass showcase, almost out on the 

 walk, were open Bibles, one column Eng- 

 lish and the other Spanish. A New Testa- 

 ment in both languages is only 25cts. each. 

 Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the book 

 of Psalms were each in Spanish, very neat- 

 ly bound, for only 5 cts. per copy. I knew 

 this before, or ought to have known, that I 

 c )uld get all these helps of the Bible Socie- 

 t}', to which I have given hundreds of dol- 

 lars in years past. But' this is not all. A 

 very bright little Cuban woman has charge 

 of the store, and she is doing quite a thriv- 

 ing business in selling Bibles and Testa- 

 ments, and nothing else. She and I soon 

 became friends, you may be sure. 



During the war she went north, learned 

 our language, and was given this position. 

 Said I, "Surely, my young friend, you 

 have given jvcz/r heart into the keeping of 

 the dear Savior, so that you can rejoice 

 with every Bible that is sold. Is it not so?" 



" Oh! yes," she said. "I love to see peo- 

 ple buy these books, because I am so sure 

 it will make them happy." 



She urged me to call again, and kindly 

 told me what car to take to get to my hotel. 



Thank God! thank Godf there is one spot 

 in this great city of almost a quarter of a 

 million where something is sold that, in- 

 stead of tearing down soul and body, lifts 

 poor weak humanityfrom "death unto life." 



I got out of the car and sat down on one 

 of the seats in one of the beautiful parks at 

 the head of the "Prado." I opened my 

 Spanish Bible and began to stud}' it. Then 

 for the first time it began to dawn on my 

 intellect that a Christian's best book from 

 which to learn Spanish is the Bible. I 

 turned first to the title-page from which I 

 have taken my text. " Jesu " the " Cristo" 

 are to me now words sweeter than music. I 

 opened the book to " San Juan IV.,'" and 

 read verse 10. One who knows a little of 

 Latin can readily follow a good deal of the 

 Spanish; and then came one of my " happy 

 surprises." Reading the Bible in another 

 tongue gives another and often a new view 

 of the meaning. We are so familiar with 

 many passages they seem to have lost their 

 meaning to us. The effort to render it in 

 another tongue throws a strong searchliglit 

 on the words, if I may so express it; and 

 as I read I became very happ3% as I said 

 in my opening words. My mother used to 

 be happy in reading her Testament by 

 moonlight. Almost a hundred years later, 

 in a strang-e city, /found great joy in go- 

 ing over the words in a strange tongue. 

 Perhaps I felt happy, too, to think of the 

 little bundle of Spanish books and leaflets 

 I had just forwarded to my friends in Paso 

 Real for their children. 



