1878. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



131 



research. As usual, he made up his mind to 

 discharge the offender without mercy, just 

 as soon as he could put his hand upon Mm. 

 After the amount had reached a sum that 

 woiild send him to the penitentiary, the evi- 

 dence seemed to point in a certain direction, 

 but our friend could hardly think of the idea 

 of laying traps or playing the spy on any of 

 those around him. Any one or you who has 

 ever in life been in a similar predicament, 

 can understand how painful such a task is. 

 One evening, after the footing of the books 

 showed the cash sliort an unusual amount, 

 lie started out with the determination of 

 sifting the matter to the bottom, whatever 

 the expense, and no matter how disagreea- 

 ble the task might be. As he meditated on 

 the task before him, and felt how utterly ig- 

 norant he was of the means usually employ- 

 ed by detectives in similar work, and how 

 totally inadequate he was to the task, it oc- 

 cui'red to him that if his errand were a just 

 one, he had a right, nay it was his duty to 

 ask help of that Great Strong Friend who 

 had lifted him over his troubles and trials so 

 often. It was dark and rainy, and the pave- 

 ments were wet and sloppy, yet for all that, 

 down on his knees he went, and as the street 

 was, for the time, deserted, he prayed aloud 

 that God would give him wisdom and show 

 him how to keep his little property from the 

 hands of those who so luiscrupously appro- 

 priated it. I wish to digress here, just a lit- 

 tle. What is the use of praying aloud? 

 Does not God know^ our inmost tlioughtsV 

 These are questions I have asked myself 

 many times, and it is not imtil within the 

 past few months, that I have felt any veiy 

 strong desire to get away by myself, where I 

 could tell God my thoughts "out loud." I 

 can pray while walking along, or while sit- 

 ting here at my work and I often do ask God 

 to help me when confusion and cares seem 

 to multiply, but it does not ''make me ovt?r 

 new," like going down home into the honey 

 house where the sawdust walls prevent the 

 slightest sound from being heard outside, 

 and where I can tell Him all my troubles. 

 When we are in deep distress, and so much 

 In earnest that we can bow ourselves on the 

 wet pavement, and talk aloud to tliis friend 

 in need, we may be i>retty sure oiu' prayers 

 will be answerecl, if our requests are proper 

 ones, and not altogether scljish. I lay partic- 

 ular stress on these lavSt two words, for earn- 

 est prayer, is pretty sure to show us the 

 beams in our own eyes. 



As he knelt in the rain, the question came 

 very soon, "If you are given wisdom to hunt 

 up the offender, what will you do with him? 

 Is it the loss of your money that troubles 

 you, or the loss of the soul of a fellow being? 

 Will you forgive him if he asks to be forgiv- 

 en, and lend a helping hand, to one in more 

 distress, perhaps, than you?" 



Our friend had Christianity enough, to 

 turn about at once, and pray, not for him- 

 self, but for the guilty one, and to promise 

 God if the opportunity were given him, he 

 •would pardon all, and do his best to help a- 

 bout a reformation. As he rose up, through 

 the rain and darkness, new light seemed to 

 be shed on the matter in question, and the 

 difficult problem was as plain as A B C. I 



will relate the course he took to show you 

 liow, even an ignorant man, may have wis- 

 dom given him, that, it seems to me, will 

 compare very well -with that of a skillful 

 lawyer or detective. 



He knew the young man had been paying 

 out money, more than he had received, and 

 it took but a few minutes to get facts that 

 could not easily be contraverted. He then 

 went straight to his lodging place, called 

 him out, and in a frank straight forward way 

 spoke to him as follows : 



"Joseph, have you taken any money from 

 the drawer to-day ?" 



"No sir." 



"Not one copper ?" 



"No sir, but I put in a copper, and took a 

 postal card." 



"You are perfectly sure, you took no mon- 

 ey out?" 



"Yes I am perfectly sure I did not."' 



"Now^ do not hesitate, but answer the full 

 truth, promptly. Where did you get the 

 money you paid H. this morning ?" 



"A man sent it to me in a letter." 



"You have the letter ?" 



"No, I biuTied it up." 



"Come with me to the telegraph oftice, and 

 we will telegraph to the man." 



One moment of irresolution, a quiver of 

 the lip, and then a great sob, as he broke 

 forth, 



"Oh stop, don't go any farther; I have ta- 

 ken your money, I will own up all, but do 

 give me another chance, do let me try once 

 more, to be a better boy. I have tried not 

 to do so any more, and I have felt so badly 

 about it. But somehow I would get bad, 

 and I do not know what made me do so." 



As the hand of the employer took that of 

 the unliappy boy, do you know how fervently 

 he could pray, "forgive us our debts as we 

 forgive our debtors?" The boy is now at 

 work in his old place, paying the just debt 

 he owes, and the employer learned a lesson 

 about having a beam in ones eye even while 

 calling "stop thief" to one who is robbing 

 him. I do not mean to say I would screen 

 the guilty from the penalty of the law, but I 

 would be very careful that ail other means 

 were tried, before sending any boy to the 

 penitentiaiy. It may be that the young man 

 will go back to his old habits yet, but I think 

 if he is watched over and cared for, there 

 will be little danger of it ; and who can com- 

 pute the value of an immortal soul ? As the 

 employer went to his home that night with 

 a light heart, do you not think he could feel, 

 "blessed are ye when men shall persecute 

 you," and that truly, "all things shall work 

 together for good, to those that love and 

 fear the Lord?" 



ALiiraoST TTUE ft26. CHAFF KIVE. 



SOMETHING VERY INGENIOUS AT LEAST. 



p^HE following device, comes the nearest 

 Jl^ in my estimation of what is wanted, of 

 — ' anything yet submitted, and although I 

 have not yet decided to use it at all, our 

 friend has pennittedme to have the illustra- 

 tions made, and to describe it. 

 Let E, E, represent the end boards to a 



