502 



CLEAxMNGS IN T.EE CULTURE 



JUXK 1 



QUR 

 HOMES, 



BY A. I. ROOT. 



But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, 

 do good tothem which hate you. bless them that curse 

 you and oras- for them which despitefullv use you. — 

 Luke : 27, 28. 



After I g"ot on my wheel, as mentioned in 

 our last issue, p. 453, I remembered that it 

 was Saturday, and pretty well along- in the 

 afternoon; therefore it would be iinpossible 

 for me to reach Taco Taco, 60 miles away, 

 without encroaching- on the Sabbath; and I 

 will confess that for awhile it seemed as if 

 I would be almost excusable for pushing- 

 ahead, even on Sunday, especially as my 

 mission was for peace, and it was not a 

 very difficult matter to convince myself that 

 I would be doing- missionary ivork in recon- 

 ciling Mr. de Beche to my young friend 

 Gilson. Then I reflected that at Taco- 

 Trico I could not find a Sunday-school, nor 

 Htteni church service of any kind. So I 

 decided to stop over Sunday with my friend 

 Mr. Fraser and his wife at Guanajay. As 

 it was, I did not get in till after dark. I 

 found my wa.v, however, to the parsonage, 

 and was rejoiced to see the audience-room 

 filled as usual, and to find my friend Fraser 

 preaching a sermon. I did not know that 



FIG. /. — SPANISH SENOKITAS. 



. 9.— ROYAL PALM ^WITH ITS SWOLLEN 

 TRUNK. 



he had a service Saturday night. In 

 order that I might not disturb anybody 

 I opened the door carefully, placed my 

 wheel inside the court, and thought I 

 would slip into the audience-room qui- 

 etly, without disturbing any one. 

 Now, the only door to the chapel opens 

 into the corner of the room where the 

 organ stands. Bro. F"razer, when lie 

 talks to his people, stands beside the 

 organ. Just beyond him was a vacant 

 chair, right beside (and a little back 

 of) the -speaker. This chair was the 

 one I had been in the habit of occu- 

 jij'ing when I was present at the sei'- 

 vices. In order to reach it I would 

 have to go in behind him. I thought 

 I could do this without disturbing him 

 or interrupting the sermon. I failed 

 to consider, however, that the audience 

 had not only become well acquainted 

 with me, but that they would be sue 

 to show the pleasant surprise on their 

 faces when they caught sight of me in 

 my accustomed seat just tjack of the 

 pastor. It was too late, however; but 

 when I sat down I tried to look uncon- 

 cerned. Bro. Fraser read, by the broad 

 smiles on the faces of his audience, not 

 only of the old and young, but white 

 and black, that something had hap- 

 pened; and he gathered from the di- 

 rection toward which all eyes were 

 centering that it was a little behind 

 him, and off at his left. He stopped 

 abruptly in his talk, and then turned 

 right around and confronted me. Bro. 



