784 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1 



S^^^OV.^ 



byAJ.ROOT 



Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find 

 it after many days.— Ecc. 11: 1. 



And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him 

 five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in 

 the shepherd's batr which he had. even in a scrip; and 

 his sling was in his hand; and he drew near to the 

 Philistine.— I. Sam. 17:40. 



God is our strength.— Psalm 46: 1. 



God works through humanity. When he 

 answers our prayers it generally comes about 

 by moving the hearts of some of our fellow- 

 men to come to our relief; in fact, the prom- 

 ise in the first text, that the bread cast upon 

 the waters shall come to us after manydays, 

 bears largely on our readiness and willing- 

 ness to respond to God's call or to the prompt- 

 ing inliuences of the Holy Spirit Not only 

 is it our duty to cast our bread on the wa- 

 ters to the right and left, but there is a re- 

 sponsibility laid on us each and all, to be 

 ready to assist God and to spring with alac- 

 rity, so that those who have cast their bread 

 upon the waters, perhaps befoi'e we came in- 

 to the world, may find their reward in the 

 services that we may render in response to 

 the promptings of the Holy Spirit. 



The little story I am about to tell you to 

 day may seem at hist very commonplace, 

 and perhaps very selfish. You may be tempt- 

 ed to wonder why I have so much to say 

 about my own family matters. But they are 

 not only of intei'es't to me, as recollection 

 goes back, but may prove a helpful lesson 

 to humanity of the present age. Be patient, 

 friends, for I believe this Home paper has 

 been prompted by the Holy Spirit and that 

 it may give hope and courage to many a dear 

 brother and sister who are feeling helpless 

 and hopeless under the burdens that God 

 seems to have imposed on them. 



One of the first things I can recollect, as 

 memory goes back to my early childhood, is 

 the advent of a little sister in our humble 

 home. I remember objecting because the 

 mother's care promised to be given largely 

 to another instead of her weak invalid boy 

 of three or four years old. One of the good 

 women, however, cheered me up by telling 

 me the little blue-eyed sister would be my 

 companion and a comfort to me, and per- 

 haps she would make me some pants to wear 

 like papa's when we both got older; and that 

 lilue-eyed sister did indeetl come to be a com- 

 panion and a devoted friend all through the 

 years of childhood. As I was odd and 

 somewhat different from other children, va- 

 rious differences arose; but this youngest 

 sister, as soon as she was old enough, alw ays 

 stood by me and defended me. Much has 

 been said about the unselfish devotion of the 

 wife and mother. Now I think, as memory 



goes back, that the loving sister has not al- 

 ways had due credit. This sister always had 

 something nice saved up for me when I re- 

 turned after any al»sence. If somebody dis- 

 tribvited presents among the family of seven 

 (there were seven of us finally — three boys 

 and four girls), Sarah always gave me a part 

 of her portion, and sometimes uU of it, say- 

 ing she did not care particularly for it; but I 

 found out afterward she did care, perhaps as 

 much as I did; and all through her pure gen- 

 tle life she seemed to find it more blessed to 

 give than to receive. When I was criticised 

 or punished, this sister seemed to feel the in- 

 fliction just as much as I did, and perhaps 

 more. What troubles me just now, as mem- 

 ory goes back, is that I can not recall a sin- 

 gle instance where I made any adequate re- 

 turn for this unselfish devotion all through 

 childhood, and until I had a home of my 

 own. She, dear gentle loving sister, cast her 

 bread upon the watei's thus freely without 

 any hope or thought of finding it after many 

 days. I am afraid I did not even thank the 

 dear child for her persistent, unselfish devo- 

 tion to my poor self. May God forgive me; 

 and if you, dear reader, can look back as i 

 do and remember a like extended service, 

 God grant that this may be a reminder, and 

 that you may at once make haste to let that 

 sister know the promise holds good, even if 

 it should be "after many days" that the 

 bread returns to the lavish giver. 



I can not remember that this sister and I 

 ever had the smallest particle of difference 

 unless it was when I became old enough to 

 think of the sister of somebody else. When 

 I was away at school my father moved on to 

 a farm near Medina. Well, in this new lo- 

 cality the sister found a friend among the 

 schoolgirls, and they became very intimate. 

 In one of her letters to me she said she had 

 found the best girl in the whole wide world 

 for me for a wife. You see the dear child, 

 to cap the climax of all her loving service, 

 had considered my companion for life. She 

 not only wrote to me about this dear school- 

 girl friend, but 1 think she told the friend 

 something of her absent brother — the brother 

 whom she, in her girlish devotion, imagined 

 to be all that was good and noble and true. 

 When I arrived home, of course we two were 

 introduced. I do not know but my sister 

 Sarah feared her plans would not work, and 

 that I might not think as she did about her 

 new-"found friend. Well, I am ashamed to 

 tell you that her plans not only worked well 

 but too well. Of course, she had not planned 

 (poor child!) to be left out in the cold; but 

 she was striving to do both of us a great ser- 

 vice; and I fear that, to be honest, I shall 

 have to confess that I almost forgot the ex- 

 istence of my own kind sister in giving all 

 my attention, time, and thought to this sister 

 of somebody else. I remember taking a new 

 book— in fact, I had been taking every thing 

 else— over to this " best girl " of mine. When 

 my own sister remonstrated a little because 

 she had not yet finished the book, 1 took of- 

 fense, and 1 fear I spoke unkindly to her, al- 

 most for the first time in my life. I wonder 



