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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15 



you are all anxious about — if possible I 

 feel as if the Holy Spirit prompts me not to 

 have any two prayers or "blessings" exactly 

 alike. If there is a general want of rain 

 when you sit down at the table I would say, 

 "Lord, give us the rain we are needing so 

 much if it be consistent with thy holy will." 

 If it has been raining for two weelis, and 

 everybody is wishing for sunshine (the way 

 it is now. May 7) I would say, "Lord, give 

 us the sunshine if it is best for us." Then I 

 would try to think of the things we have to 

 be thankful for. If there are those present 

 who represent other families or homes, let 

 the blessing be so worded as to include them 

 especially. If you have just succeeded in 

 banishing the saloons from your neighbor- 

 hood, do not forget to thank God for that. 

 It would surely help the cause. If there are 

 friends or neighbors ailing, remember them 

 when you ask a blessing; but do not make it 

 too long. Not only are the children restless, 

 but many times work is crowding. We often 

 hear complaints that prayers are too long, 

 but seldom that they are too brief. The 

 most effectual prayer I think I ever uttered, 

 and the one that has brought the most won- 

 derful and speedy answers, is my little prayer 

 that I have told you so much about — "Lord, 

 help." 



Now, do not forget, when you are having 

 trouble about help in the home, or trouble 

 on the farm, to utter that brief prayer, very 

 often — "Lord, help." 



In our town of Medina we have quite a lit- 

 tle colored help in the homes. Our people 

 send off somewhere, and advance several 

 dollars. The help sent is to pay this back in 

 work. Now, there are excellent colored 

 girls just as there are excellent white girls; 

 and then there are others who seem to take 

 advantage of you just because you undertake 

 to treat them in a Christianlike way. They 

 will be insolent and overbearing toward 

 some of the sweetest-tempered and most 

 beautiful Christian mothers. These girls do 

 not seem to have enough intelligence to rec- 

 ognize the kind and benevolent spirit shown 

 toward the people of their race. I know of 

 one colored girl who held her place for a 

 couple of years in a way that seemed to be a 

 credit to herself and a credit to the mother 

 of the home. The girl was intelligent, read 

 one of Booker Washington's books, and 

 seemed to be benefited by it. She studied the 

 Bible every day; but when there was a pros- 

 pect of a new comer in the family, this girl 

 began to be cross and overbearing, and 

 threatened to leave. She was offered an in- 

 crease in wages to fix things for a little while; 

 but she finally declared in substance she 

 would not work anywhere for anybody if 

 she had got to have small children around. 

 Notwithstanding her daily Bible-reading, 

 her religion seemed to be only a protest 

 against any more increase in population in 

 this world of ours. In the effort to find an- 

 other girl to take her place, girl No. 2 an- 

 nounced that she would not go anywhere, 

 under any consideration, where there was a 

 baby in the home; and I am informed it is 



getting to be the fashion for hired girls, es- 

 pecially since they can get a job almost any- 

 where {ivithout references), on almost a min- 

 ute's notice, to declare they will not work 

 for people who propose to have children. I 

 wonder if there is going to be a universal 

 strike, and that if those who propose to live as 

 God directed in our text will have to hire a 

 nurse at $4.00 a day. But I am not sure that 

 some of this "mothers' help" will be willing 

 to stay even then. Now the above are some 

 of the reasons given me why there should be 

 so many childless homes. This world is too 

 busy for children any more. Nobody wants 

 them around. Perhaps it is because there 

 is no room. "Of such is the kingdom of 

 heaven," and just now "heaven's kingdom." 

 A great deal is said in the papers about 

 patriotism, patriotic men — patriotic young 

 men, for instance— those who, instead of 

 thinking so much about self all the while, 

 have in mind the welfare of our nation. We 

 used to have patriotic speeches on the Fourth 

 of July, and we need them yet. At the time 

 of the war with Spain there were any num- 

 ber of patriotic volunteers. Now, friends, a 

 worse war threatens us— or perhaps I should 

 say something worse than war— worse than 

 ever before threatened this world of ours; 

 and nothing can avert this terrible calamity 

 but true patriotism; and in view of what I 

 have outlined in the above is it not true that 

 we need patriotic girls and women, as well 

 as patriotic men? And I do not know but 

 we need them even wo?'e— girls who have not 

 got their heads filled with schemes to get big 

 pay with little to do. Why, I heard a young 

 woman, whose business in life was to help 

 mothers, discourse eloquently on the desira- 

 bleness of getting good pay in some place with 

 rich people where there were no children 

 around. That seemed to be her idea of 

 heaven on earth. Are there no girls who 

 work for a living who are interested in the 

 future of America and American industries? 

 Where shall we get our statesmen? where 

 shall we get ovir great inventors, our electri- 

 cians, our Edisons, our college professors, 

 our learned divines, our historians, unless 

 some of these girls who work for a living will 

 volunteer to help the mothers in the homes? 

 I wonder if they think a way is going to be 

 discovered so we can people the world as 

 they raise chickens in incubators— chickens 

 that never had a mother and never saw one. 

 God forbid. There are not only educated 

 men and women in our land, but there ai"e 

 young girls who are devoted Christians, who 

 not only seek beautiful homes, but try to 

 honor God in their lives, in the language of 

 the old hymn- 

 In the cross of Christ I glory, 

 Towering- o'er the wrecks of time. 



But where are the girls who sing this hymn 

 as above? When I undertook to raise moth- 

 erless chickens in Florida I decided that at 

 the veryfirst opportunity I was going to make 

 a careful study of human babyhood. I want 

 to be where 1 can see some child of humani- 

 ty when it first begins to look about with 

 those baby eyes, to see what this world is 



