1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



259 



scientious. Now, my dear brethren, you 

 need not smile with superior wisdom, for 

 you will have to admit that I have had more 

 business deal with all classes of people, 

 scattered all over the world, than most of 

 you ; yes, perhaps more experience in trust- 

 ing prolessintf Curistians ami non-profess- 

 ors than most business men in the world. 

 With this experience before me, I advise 

 you to go to some church-member in good 

 standing. I can not think of a business 

 man in all my acquaintance who would not 

 pleasantly and good naturedly advise a 

 young man. While I w^ite I have in mind 

 a number of young men who started out in 

 the world fairly, but who have become sour- 

 ed and cross — perhaps have lost faith in hu- 

 manity and faith in God, because their 

 " ventures,'' as our friend terms them, 

 have, one after another, turned out very 

 much as described in that brief little letter 

 above. 



I find I have unconsciously been talking 

 to the writer as if he were a young man. 

 May be it is a mistake; but 1 judge he is. 

 If so, there is hope for him yet. Yes, there 

 is hope for him any way, even though he be 

 80 or 90 years old, if he hold fast to the 

 Scripture and take it as it reads, and not 

 blame it for what he alone is to blame for. 

 Of course, I know nothing about the cir- 

 cumstances. I can not remember that I 

 have ever heard of or from the writer until 

 to-day ; but I feel safe in assuming that the 

 reason why one " venture after another has 

 failed, and one thing after another has had 

 to be sold," is because he is guilty in some- 

 thing the same way that the farmer was, 

 whom friend Terry was speaking of— guilty 

 in letting the manure and other things go to 

 waste. Many a young man is diligent and 

 industrious, and saves his money until he 

 begins to think he is old enough to go into 

 business. Then he begins making "• ven- 

 tures." If one venture turns out bad, an- 

 other one is pretty sure to present itself 

 that looks all right. He makes haste to get 

 out of the first one— may be sells unwisely 

 at a sacrifice, so as to embark in the second. 

 Then a third follows suit, and finally he be- 

 gins to blame his friends ; may be censures 

 his good wife, and finally complains of the 

 words of Holy Scripture, that would lead 

 him from darkness into light, if he would 

 take it as it reads. " Thou hast been faith- 

 ful over a few things, I will make thee ruler 

 over many things." Just hold fast to that 

 promise, dear friends, in trouble, and I as- 

 sure you that the light of prosperity, and 

 the light of God's love, will soon beam down 

 upon you. Don't aspire to great things— 

 that is. for the time being. Don't strive to 

 do as others do. Live according to your 

 means, and be diligent and faithful in the 

 humdrum duties of every-day life. Do not 

 get weary in well doing. 



At the present time there seems to be a 

 great mania for speculation. Farmers be- 

 come uneasy and dissatisfied, and Satan 

 pretty soon finds some mischief for dissatis- 

 fied ones. Will our farming friends please 

 remember that it is not the farmers alone 

 who are having a hard timeV In the letters 

 that come to me daily I hear as much com- 



plaint of hard times, and of the difficulty of 

 making an honest living, from those in 

 towns and cities, and in the different ave- 

 nues of trade, as from among farmers. 

 Grocers say that profits are cut down so 

 small that no one can live. Some of them 

 complain of foreign competition, and want 

 the products of their brothers across the 

 ocean taxed, or a tariff put on the product 

 of their industries. There are others who 

 complain that the newspaper writers, or 

 those who are employed by the state or gov- 

 ernment, are the only ones who have an 

 easy time. Please do not, dear friends, lis- 

 ten to Satan's suggestions in this line of 

 work. Could you see the piles of rejected 

 manuscripts that lumber our desks daily, 

 you would not think that writing for the 

 press is an easy way of making a living. It 

 is a very good and safe way, I admit, after you 

 have mastered the business, and have learn- 

 ed by hard experience and long study to be 

 able to furnish something that commands 

 good pay at sight. We must be faithful 

 over a/€w things, before we can become rul- 

 er over many things. 



Just now there are more people coming 

 here begging for something to do than per- 

 haps at any one time before. The warm 

 winter and the bad state of the roads have 

 been a clog to business, and this accounts, 

 perhaps, somewhat for the condition of af- 

 fairs. But as I turn them away, one after 

 another, almost hourly, it really pains my 

 heart to know that we are even now in need 

 of competent help. How do I know, you 

 may ask, but this very help that is offered 

 might not be just what I need? I know l)y 

 repeated trials and experience. Once in a 

 while we get a jewel ; but as a rule, we get 

 ninety-nine men who are not jewels before 

 we get the hundredth. I do not wish to 

 censure or blame these people, for they may 

 have had experience in some kinds of work, 

 but not in a line where we want them, and 

 in most cases nothing but the drill of our 

 own business makes them competent. We 

 have quite a few now in our establishment 

 who get a thousand dollars or more a year ; 

 but they acquired their skill by years of ser- 

 vice. A great many who come'to work for 

 us complain if they can not have the highest 

 wages after a few^ months'' experience ; and 

 when I try to explain the matter pleasantly 

 to them they become offended, and say hard 

 things of me. I quote to them over and 

 over again my favorite text, " lie that is 

 faithful over a few things shall be made 

 ruler over many things." But they re- 

 ject it. and try to find a place somewhere 

 else. Perhaps they go in business by them- 

 selves, and then learn by sad experience 

 that the things which I demanded, the 

 world at large also demands, and that 

 ''there is no excellence without great la- 

 bor.'' In the same parable from which I 

 have been quoting, there is mention of a 

 poor fellow who received only one talent. 

 Ilis lord very likely knew at the outset that 

 one would be all that it would be wise to in- 

 trust him with. In the end it turned out 

 that he was not worthy of having charge of 

 even one talent. He did absolutely nothing 

 with it. Very likely he proposed doing 



