G-ijE.A.ijTiisra-s iisr ^ee cxjx.txjpie ex:ti^.a.- 



Ile that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also ivi luuoh.— Luke 1C;10. 



Vo'. II. 



JUNE, 1883, 



No. 3. 



OTYSEIiF AND OTY NEIGHBORS. 



WHO IS MY neighbor!— LfKE 10: 29. 



All things work toerether for good to them that 

 love God. - Rom. 8 : 28. 



WlffOW little do we realize how dependent 

 ™2| we are on our neighbors, until we are 

 — ^ suddenly deprived of one or more of 

 them ! I have told you something of tlie 

 new neighbor who has been of late taking 

 down Avhat I say to you, in the short-hand 

 writing, as you may remember. Well, of 

 late our mails have been very heavy indeed, 

 and almost every clerk in the office was get- 

 ting gradually a" little behind, even though 

 some of them worked pretty well into the 

 night, to l<eep up. We got more help, until 

 there was hardly sitting room for us; but 

 the new help could take hold of only a limit- 

 ed part of the work, as a matter of course ; 

 but as we were getting over into the month 

 of June, I thought we would not get very 

 much behind, for orders usuallv besin to 

 drop off a little toward the middle of June, 

 as a general thing. It did occur to me at 

 the time, that it would be a rather sad thing 

 if any of the principal clerks should be sick 

 right in such a crisis ; but I kept hoping 

 they wouldn't, just yet, anyway. Please do 

 not think I am speaking lightly of the bodily 

 welfare of my boys and girls, ifor I certainly 

 do not mean "to, but I only meant to express 

 my anxious solicitude for the rights of 

 those of you who may have to wait for 



your goods, as well as for the good reputa- 

 tion of our establishment. Well, just about 

 as soon as the June Xo. was sent you, our 

 short-hand writer asked for a couple of days' 

 absence, and I thought 1 could handle the 

 type-writer again for as much as two days, 

 without very much trouble, nnd so she went 

 away. Tliinking she would be back prompt- 

 ly, r piletl up some letters that I thought 

 could wnit as much as two days, witliout 

 harm. Instead of the mails getting ligliter, 

 they seemed to grow heavier, until great 

 piles of unread letters began to stare me in 

 the face before I went to bed at night. 

 Toward the close of the hrst week in June, 

 the neighbor right at my side, who bus al- 

 most sole charge of the' books, and all tlie 

 money that comes in and goes out, was sud- 

 denly summoned to the death-bed of her 

 mother. ( )f coui'se. it gave us a shock here, 

 to hear of a death iu the family of a shop- 

 mate; but to you who know us only as the 

 folks who liolil your money, and do not send 

 your goods, it was a dilferent matter. What 

 should we do to save you from loss, who 

 know nothing of our family affairs here ? 

 iXtoncel turned ray thoughts toward Ida, 

 of whom I liave ttild you ; for, in fact, Ida 

 was equnl to taking almost any post in our 

 whole establishment; but she. i)oor tired 

 girl, was already nearly overburdened. All 

 the help possitile was given her; but the 

 morning after the book-keeper was called 

 away Ida was taken with nervous fainting 



