1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



785 



how many other men and boys there are in 

 this world of oui'S who are as seltish and in- 

 different toward the devoted sister as I was 

 then. If there are many such, may God have 

 mercy on us. I was not a professing Chris- 

 tian at the time. I was not asking the Sa- 

 vior day by day to lead me and help me to 

 see and coi'rect my own grievous sins. As 

 memory goes back I think to myself, what 

 would I give if I could live some of those 

 days over again? We have some old pictures 

 of the children of our humble home; for pho- 

 tography was invented at just about the time 

 I write; and as I look upon the old faded 

 picture of that sister, and see again the un- 

 suspecting innocence of that childish face — 

 the face of one who knew so little of the 

 evil and wrong that are going on in this world 

 of ours — I am reminded that perhaps some 

 of us are more indebted than we shall ever 

 know to this unselfish devotion of .some sis- 

 ter, either younger or older than oui'selves. 



I will now explain, dear friends, what it 

 is that has prompted me to go back to what 

 happened abDut fifty years ago. I have just 

 paid that sister a visit at her home in North- 

 ern Michigan. She has a beautiful home of 

 her own, and has spent her life, as you might 

 expect, in untiring devotion in bringing up 

 a good-sized family in wisdom's ways. God 

 has rewarded her; but just now when the 

 gray hairs are beginning to add an addition- 

 al charm to that sweet and gentle face, the 

 great ivhite ])lagne has laid its grasp upon 

 her. Pneumonia set in some time last fall, 

 and kept her prostrated during the winter; 

 and when spring came she did not rally as 

 her friends expected and hoped she would. 

 There was a doctor in the family, and of 

 course he has done every thing that could be 

 done to save the loved mother. I begged 

 that she be taken to our Florida home last 

 winter; but there was no time when she was 

 able to take a long trip, and we are now 

 planning to try the sea-breezes of that south- 

 ern climate. The problem that confronts us 

 is to get her up to that point where she can 

 take the trip by next winter. The task 

 before myself and her large circle of rela- 

 tives is not one that we alone have to face. 

 Tuberculosis is taking off more people than 

 any other one disease; and it is one that con- 

 stantly threatens people of mature or ad- 

 vanced age. Our greatest and best physi- 

 cians are bending their energies to the task 

 of telling the world what can be done. Let 

 me illustrate it in this way: 



Suppose some fierce wild beast wex-e pur- 

 suing one of your own family, say a wife or 

 mother or sister, and that all agreed this 

 wild beast can not be killed. The doctors 

 nearly all agree to that. He may be divert- 

 ed off in some other direction, as people some- 

 times throw down their clothing to gain a 

 little advantage in time over some ravening 

 wolf. It is a cruel, relentless, unsparing wild 

 beast that is pursuing and running down 

 some of the ablest men and women of our 

 land. Like Goliah of old we are all afraid 

 of him. Our ablest physicians tell us there 

 is but little use in giving the patient medi- 



cine. In fact, most of the remedies may 

 weaken the patient and defeat our purpose 

 of trying to build him up. What shall we 

 do? What did the people do in Goliah's time? 

 Well, to tell the truth they did comparative- 

 ly nothing. They let this giant come out day 

 by day and challenge not only their best and 

 ablest men, but whole armies. 



Finally David, the shepherd boy, came on 

 the scene. He disdained their artillery of 

 war just as the great white plague laughs in 

 derision at our doctors with all their array 

 of drugs and medicines. David slew the 

 giant, and the weapon -with which he did it 

 was a sling, and a pebble from the brook. 

 God called David, and David not only listen 

 ed, but obeyed the call with a glad and boy- 

 ish alacrity. He was ready and willing to 

 respond to the call. I am sui'e, dear friends, 

 that God in a like manner is calling us. He 

 will deliver his children from all the giants 

 that stand across our way if we only put our 

 trust in him and go forwax'd. We are mak- 

 ing headway against the giant Intemperance, 

 and may God be praised for that. 



In a like manner we are going to make 

 headway against this other giant, the great 

 White Plague. You may think my figure a 

 little preposterous when I suggest that God 

 has called my poor self to do what I can to 

 slay the giant. Where is a sling such as 

 David used? Well, I think it is the good ro- 

 bust health he has given me now when I am 

 toward 70 years of age. Do you want to 

 know where I shall find the "five smooth 

 stones" ? Why, bless your heart, I have been 

 holding them up to your gaze for months 

 past. I did not exactly recognize them my- 

 self nor comprehend how God wished me "to 

 use them; but it begins to be plain now. Up 

 in the cabin in the woods, all alone, I knelt 

 down and asked God to make it plain to me 

 tvhy he called me away from home and 

 friends, and why he has seen tit to bless me 

 with such happiness and joy. When I was 

 down at our cottage on the island during the 

 past winter I knelt in the same way and ask- 

 ed him to make it plain to me how I could 

 be of benefit to my fellow-men in respond- 

 ing to these calls. 



Last Sunday evening it was my privilege 

 to speak to a houseful of young people in 

 that little church over among the hills near 

 the cabin in the woods. I said in my talk, 

 "Dear friends, my greatest desire in life now 

 is to be where God wants me to be most. 

 And I firmly believe that he wants me here 

 to-night more than he wants me anywhere 

 else in the great wide world; and, further- 

 more, that he has sent me as a messenger to 

 deliver a message to you. I am on "the 

 King's business ' — 



An ambassador to be 

 Of realms beyond the sea; 

 I am here on business for my King.* 



*We are planning to give you the entire hymn, 

 "The King's Business," words and music, here in 

 Gleanings, and then you can all sing it; and if it 

 gives you inspiration, and faith in God, and joy and 

 happiness, as you sing it about your daily task, in 

 the way it has lifted me up from care and worry, I 

 shall be glad. The above little stanza is taken from 

 this hymn. 



