1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



183 



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Charity suffereth long, and is kind.— I. Cor , .xiii. 4. 



ST seems that there are two extremes to 

 almost every precept in the Bible, and 

 — ' that it is the business of every one who 

 strives to build his character on that solid 

 rock, to try to choose that golden mean, 

 which will steer us clear of the shoals of 

 either. I presume there may be those who 

 have too much charity ; I say I presume there 

 may be such, for I am not really satisfied 

 just now, that any one mav have too much 

 Christian charity for his fellows. I have 

 emphasized "just now, 1 ' because — well, I 

 will tell you why, after I have told you a lit- 

 tle story. 



Years ago, says an ancient legend, a king 

 became desirous of knowing directly from 

 the mouths of his subjects, just what they 

 thought of him, and his ways of administer- 

 ing justice to his people. So strongly did 

 this idea take possession of him. that he one 

 day resolved to satisfy it by taking off his 

 royal apparel, or at least covering it up with 

 the garb of an humble day laborer. Ac- 

 cordingly he betook himself to the country, 

 and, as a matter of course, soon fell in with 

 a laborer returning from his daily work. In 

 an adroit way, he drew his companion into 

 conversation, which, ere long, was turned 

 on the subject of the political state of the 

 realm. Our friend, it seems, was one who 

 not only delighted in having an opportunity 

 of having his say, but also of "speaking out 

 his mind 1 - pretty freely concerning his neigh- 

 bors, or anybody else in fact. When the 

 conversation at length touched on the king 

 himself, our friend began to censure first 

 one thing and then the other, until he had 

 literally picked the poor ruler of his native 

 land into pieces, and had dwelt on every 

 fault and failing, real and imaginary, that 

 anyone ever thought of. You all know how 

 some people will talk, when they "get to 

 going' ' about a person or thing. Of course, 

 you are not one of that kind; it is always 

 somebody we know, and not ourselves, that 

 does these things. Well, this poor man "got 

 to going," and kept on, right to the king's 

 face you know, but, of course, he never 

 dreamed of its being the king himself, to 

 whom he was talking, until the king could 

 stand it no longer, and stopped him square- 

 ly. Straightening himself up, said he, 



"Sir! do you know who I amV" 



"No," said the man, "I do not know who 

 you are ; who are you?" 



"I am the king of the realm, of whom you 

 have just now been speaking;" and, suiting 

 his action to his words, he unbuttoned his 

 coarse outer coat, and displayed to the gaze 

 of the affrighted and astonished peasant the 

 royal insignia. 



The poor man. as his countenance paled, 

 looked down in shame, and. for a brief mo- 

 ment repented of his uncalled for folly in 

 thus speaking of one of whom he knew next 

 to nothing, and who, for aught he knew, 

 might have been all this time the best friend 

 he had on earth. He reflected that the prob- 



ability was that he would be hung as a trait- 

 or, and all for letting his unlucky and fool- 

 ish tongue run on as it had, about one who 

 had never, so far as he knew, wronged him 

 or his in the least. Finally, his native 

 shrewdness came to his aid. Raising his 

 eyes to those of his offended sovereign, 

 said he, 



"Sire king! do you know who /am?" 



"No," said the somewhat amused king, at 

 this unlooked for assurance, "I do not know 

 who you are; who are you?" 



Drawing himself up in his peasant garb, 

 and imitating the manner of 'the king as 

 well as he could, he replied, 



"I am of the family of Thingumbobs !" 



"Thingumbobs':' Well, suppose you are; 

 what of them?" 



"Is it possible you have never heard of 

 them?" 



"Never." 



"Why, I supposed that everybody knew 

 of them. Well, this is the peculiarity of 

 all the family and all their descendants. 'For 

 centuries past, it has been well known that 

 each and every one of them, one day in ev- 

 ery year, is crazy. This is my crazy day.'" 



The king took him by the hand, and, as a 

 compliment to his ready wit, forgave it all ; 

 and, although the story did not say so, I am 

 strongly impressed with the idea, that after 

 that the family of "Thingumbobs" did not 

 talk about their neighbors anymore, or, at 

 least, not more than one day in the year. 



To go back to the beginning of my "dis- 

 course," what troubles me "just now" is 

 that I am crazy a great deal more than one 

 day in the year. In fact I am crazy a part 

 of almost every day. It is true, my friends, 

 a part of almost every day my ordinary good 

 sense seems to desert me, and it looks then 

 right for me to do wrong things, and I do 

 not know what would prevent my going cra- 

 zy outright, and possibly raving, had I not 

 learned by past experience to keep still, and 

 to keep it all to myself, when these spells 

 come on. But how do I know when I am, 

 and when I am not crazy? This has some- 

 times troubled me a little, but I will tell you 

 how I tell, and how you can tell, if you are 

 ever disposed to have crazy spells too. 

 When I am crazy, I am unhappy. Come to 

 think of it, that is a pretty broad proposi- 

 tion; for it is quite probable indeed, that no 

 one is happy while he is crazy. Well, there- 

 is another way; when I am' crazy, I never 

 want to pray for those I am displeased with; 

 furthermore, if I do insist on taking myself 

 right away into that little room of mine, and 

 literally force myself down on my knees, 

 and ask God to help me, I very soon get over 

 being crazy, and get happy. In my crazy 

 spells, I ani very much disposed to censure 

 people harshly and severely, as did the poor 

 man the king; but I have learned by past 

 experience, most of the time, to keep it all 

 to myself, and so I just think ugly things 

 about my best friends. I think you are not 

 Christians, as I am ; I think you are self- 

 ish, while I am liberal; I think you are 

 thickheaded and dull, while I alone am 

 bright and keen. If I ever got drunk, I sup- 

 pose I should think all the rest of you were 

 drunk, and I the soberest man on earth. I 



