1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



503 



Fraser has a very expressive face. I think I 

 never saw any one who could with his mouth, 

 eyes, and brows — in fact, the whole of his 

 face — express as much as he does. I pre- 

 sume he has acquired it to a certain extent 

 by endeavoring' to make the people under- 

 stand when he had but iin imperfect knowl- 

 edge of their tongue. As he vvhirlo-l around 

 to see what was the matter with his audi- 

 ence I rose up and commenced an apology. 

 When he gave me a prettj' good shaking in 

 the waj' of a welcome, there was a good 

 deal of merriment among- the little flock. 

 He then turned to his audience and said, 

 after he had finished, that / would give 

 them a little talk. 



Oh how happy I felt to find that little 

 group so glad to see me once more! Just a 

 few daj's before, I had told them I was go- 

 ing back north, and might never see them 

 again; but I added that I would try hard 

 to make them a visit the following winter. 

 As I closed I said I hoped they would be 

 able to understand me in English a year 

 hence; or better still, perhaps, I could talk 

 to them a little in Spanish. Well, on this 

 particular evening when Bro. Fraser asked 

 me to talk I reminded them of what I said 

 on my former visit, and asked them if they 

 had learned to speak English since that 

 time. Now, these Cuban friends are al- 

 ways ready for a harmless joke, even in 

 praj'er-meeting; and instead of replying- to 

 my question they turned on me and asked 

 why I had not learned Spanish (espaiiol) 

 during the week or more that had passed. 

 Then I told them a little story. The credit 

 of my story belongs to the Christian En- 

 deavor World. 



MR. root's story. 



"Years ago the millionaires in the city 

 of New York decided to establish an asy- 

 lum for babies that had neither father nor 

 mother to care for them. They according- 

 ly put up a beautiful building, installed it 

 with the nicest cradles and little cots that 

 money could purchase. They hunted up all 

 the finest appliances, for caring for infants, 

 that the world could produce. Then they 

 got some of the best doctors; they had the 

 temperature adjusted just right for babies; 

 the milk was all sterilized; the water and 

 the air were chemically pure, and the en- 

 tire institution was up to the highest notch 

 in a scientific waj-, and they supposed 

 those babies would just grow and thrive, 

 and be away ahead in point of health and 

 intellect of those that grow up in filth, nnd 

 play in the dirt. But in spite of all their 

 skill — in spite of the beautiful cradles ;ind 

 little cots, the babies just cried and fretted 

 and— died. The doctors could not tell what 

 the matter was, and nobody knew why 

 those little waifs should not be happy and 

 he^ilthy. Finally somebody suggested that 

 they turn off the doctors and put the babies 

 in charge of some good woman who loved 

 bahics. I think they hired some mothers 

 who had had experience, and who, they 

 had reason to know, could get hold of the 

 babies and hug and kiss them in the old 



orthodox way. Now, mj' friends, what do 

 you suppose happened? Wh3s the babies 

 stopped dying, got well and happy, and 

 the institution was a success. The mortal- 

 ity was even less than in the outside world. 

 The whole trouble was this: The poor ba- 

 bies hungered, not only for plenty of milk, 

 but the}', wanted to be loved and kissed and 

 cuddled and talked to. When they opened 

 their eyes in this cold world, and found no 

 one who loved them as babies ought to be 

 loved, they said in their infantile mind, 

 ' Wh}', we might just as well die now as at 

 any other time. Nobody loves us, and no- 

 body cares for us; and what is the use of 

 living? ' 



"Now, little friends, what is the moral 

 of this story? It is this: It is not only the 

 babies of this world that want to be loved, 

 but it is grown-up people also. If you wish 

 to do anybody good, you must love him. 

 The dear Savior said we should love even 

 our enemies, and do good to them. If you 

 want to bring boys and girls to Christ Je- 

 sus you must love them, just as those moth- 

 ers loved the motherless babies. Just a 

 little way from where we are gathered here 

 to-night there is a reform farm where they 

 are trying to make the bad boys of Cuba 

 good boys. They have beautiful buildings 

 and fine gardens, nice places for these boys 

 to sleep, and plenty for them to eat; but 

 unless there is somebody connected with 

 that reform farm who loves these boys, even 

 the bad ones, they will never make any 

 progress in making them good. If there 

 are bad people here in Guanajay, not only 

 bad men and women, but bad children, we 

 can never make them good unless we com- 

 mence to love them. The dear Savior left 

 his home in heaven, and came here to earth 

 to save us all because he loved us. He 

 came especially because he loves sinners. 

 In fact, he once said that it was not the 

 righteous but sinners he came to save. 

 Sometimes people say God loves good little 

 boys or good little girls. Now, this may be 

 partly true; but it is not more than half the 

 whole truth. God especially loves bad boys 

 and girls, and bad men and bad women: 

 and with this wondrous love of his he tries 

 to make them good. God bless you, little 

 friends; and when I come again to Cuba, 

 may I not only find you loving one another, 

 but loving the great outside world, and by 

 this Christlike love endeavoring to bring 

 more and more bad boys and girls into this 

 mission meeting." 



I will not take time now to tell you of the 

 very pleasant time I had with Mr. Fraser 

 and his wife the following Sunday. I told 

 them where I was going, and had their 

 praj'ers joined with mine for all the bee- 

 keepers in Cuba. By the wa}', it makes my 

 heart bound now to speak the word "Cu- 

 ba," especially when I pronounce it as the 

 Spj'.nish do — A'(";-bah. 



Just as soon as it was light I was off on 

 my wheel. I had a good many adventures 

 that I have alluded to elsewhere — at least 

 some of them — before I arrived at Taco- 



