52 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 



doing any harm, and bis children all promised 

 to come, as did all the little ones at the dis- 

 trict school when I went in and talked with 

 them. This promise they have most faithfully 

 kept, for during our zero weather, and in spite 

 of storms and snow drifts, I find them always 

 on hand. 



After everything was pleasantly arranged 

 for the opening of the school on the next 

 Sabbath, 1 went on to the conference meeting. 

 There was quite a disposition, then, to boast 

 u little of my success and the fine way in 

 which I was getting along, but a better im- 

 pulse said, "Will it not be a better way to do 

 all this work quietly, and say but little about 

 it, unless you aie asked ?" This voice pre- 

 vailed, and very thankful am I that it did so. 

 To one who is constantly in danger of carry- 

 ing things to extremes, it is a most comforting 

 thought, to feel that wc shall be even guarded 

 from these errors, if We are only willing to be 

 led. I remember telling my mother, about 

 this time, that in all my other works in life, 

 I constantly feared getting away into extrav- 

 gant ideas of things that 1 might look back to 

 and regret afterward, but that in this new 

 work, I felt I should be warned and 

 checked, if I only asked daily to be shown my 

 faults and failings. 



From that time to this, one of the pleasant- 

 est paths I have in life, has been with that 

 Sabbath school. Through all kinds of weath- 

 er, it has seemed far easier to go than to re- 

 main at home, and not one postponement has 

 there been so far. Once, and only once, I de- 

 cided to remain at home on account of a se- 

 vere rain storm, but after the horse and buggy 

 had been sent back, I began to feel so lost, and 

 for all Ihe world, "like a fish out of water," 

 that I very soon made up my mind the rain 

 would be the lesser of the two evils ; and 

 when once on the way, my path seemed pleasant 

 and peaceful once more. It is true only a few 

 little boys were there to greet me, but we had a 

 very nice time going over the lesson after all, 

 1 felt most emphatically that God was with 

 us, for we were in the path of duty, aud had 

 shown our good will to Him and Kis cause. 



A time came, along towards winter, when it 

 was deemed advisable that the school should 

 be given up until another summer, but I talk- 

 with the children in regard to the matter, and 

 told them I would be on hand all winter if 

 they would, and that if the school failed, I 

 would be the last one on the ground. I felt 

 that if I looked constantly to the right source 

 for help, it would not fail, nor has it. Just 

 about this time business became very dull, 

 and like many another mortal, I found that 

 our expenses were more than our income. I 

 dismissed a part of the hands, and — 



Just here allow me to digress a little. 

 When the school was commenced, I had not 

 the remotest idea, that it would ever be a prof- 

 itable investment pecuniarly ; but on the con- 

 trary, cheerfully accepted the livery bills, bills 

 for books and lesson papers, and proposed to 

 pay it all out of my own pocket. To make 

 the room look pleasant and cheerful to the 

 children I carried a little clock to encourage 

 prompt habits, and a plated call bell to avoid 

 talking and introduce system and regularity. 

 The room was very dirty and unpleasant at 



first, and finally my wife suggested to the wo- 

 men of the neighborhood that it should be 

 scrubbed. The hint was not lost, for we had 

 for some time after, as pleasant a room as one 

 could wish, and one little girl in describing the 

 event, said they actually "poured as much as 

 a half dozen pails of water right on the floor."' 

 Well, after the 3d or 4th Sabbath, I mentioned 

 that if anyone wished to assist our Sabbath 

 school, they could after the school was over, 

 drop a penny or moi'e, in the little box on the 

 stand. As soon as school was over, there was 

 a rush for the box, and they not only soon 

 paid for their lesson papers, but paid for some 

 of Moody and Sankey's singing books, and 

 their contributions have ever since avei-aged 

 more in proportion to their number, than onr 

 own school here in town. One of our livery 

 men who was a church member, gave me a 

 horse and buggy, and often a double carriage, 

 at 75c each Sabbath, less than half the usual 

 rates, making this expense much less than I at 

 first calculated. Again, many times in my 

 life, I have needed the services of quite a num- 

 ber of hands, but humilating as it was, I was 

 obliged to confess that I was unequal to the 

 task of taking-charge of more than a half doz- 

 en at one time profitably. I was either easy 

 and careless with them, or cross and fault- 

 finding, and as business began to increase du- 

 ring the summer months, I made the discovery 

 that the same spirit that made a good Sabbatii 

 school teacher or superintendent, made a good 

 employer. In other words, when I studied 

 the future good of those in my employ, anil 

 talked to them about bad habits, respect for 

 the Sabbath, etc., in a spirit that made me 

 want to pray for them, they straightway be- 

 came faithful and profitable hands. Here 

 came in the reward for my work on the Sab- 

 bath, and in a direction, to me, most unex- 

 pected. I have an own brother, who goes 

 with me Sundays occasionally, but who thinks 

 I am a little fanatical, I fear ; in mentioning 

 the matter to him, he exclaimed, "Why that is 

 only plain common sense ; if you treat 

 a person wfell and kindly, they will of course 

 try to please you in return." Very likely the 

 true spirit that Christ taught, is plain com- 

 mon sense, but unfortunately, it is of a kind 

 that oftentimes reaches farther than human 

 vision can foresee. Suppose a modern scien- 

 tist should say to an individual, 



"Go away off to heathen lands, and teach 

 them good morals. Leave your pleasant homo 

 and friends, and let the thought that you are 

 loving your neighbor as yourself, sustain you 

 in all your trials and hardships, and when you 

 die, you will be cheered by the thought that 

 you have added to the wealth and commei'ce 

 of the world, by carrying civilization among 

 savages." 



There may be those who would heed such 

 an appeal, but I must confess, that to me it 

 would be rather "slim comfort." 



At the time I felt it a duty to reduce wages, 

 I had been dreading to speak of the matter for 

 a long time, disliking to give the pain I felt it 

 must, to those about me. I was astonished to 

 find that all acquiesced pleasantly and cheer- 

 fully, and one of the employees even men- 

 tioned that he had expected u. Think you 

 that "strikes" could ever occur where such a 



