262 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



June 



§fa "%vcMw%r 



[This department is to be kept for the benefit of 

 those who are dissatisfied; and when anything is 

 amiss, I hope you will "talk right out." As a rule 

 we will omit names and addresses, to avoid being 

 too personal.] 



Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, 

 when saw we thee a hungered, or athirst, or a 

 stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not 

 minister unto thee? 



Then shall he answer them, saying. Verily I say 

 unto you. Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the 

 least of these, ye did it not to me.— Matt. xxv. H, 45. 



! |J£jS)EllIIAPS the above is a rather queer 

 |{r^ text to start a growlery with, but I 

 — ' guess it will do first-rate, when we get 

 right at it. When the Growlery; was first 

 started, I had a sort of premonition that it 

 could be made the most valuable, and, if you 

 choose, the most profitable part of our jour- 

 nal. The vexations and mistakes, the blun- 

 ders and misunderstandings of this life, are 

 about as potent to invoke trouble and mar 

 happiness as any other one thing in this 

 world. Do you not know what it is to sink 

 in one instant almost from joyous anticipa- 

 tion to almost abject misery, through the 

 heedless blunder, careless certainly, if not 

 intentional, of some one whom you trusted? 

 If you don't, I do. Well, have you never 

 noticed in our little text above that wonder- 

 ful thought that it is through our fellow 

 men, that we get glimpses of God? Now 

 take it a little further, and, the first time 

 you get severely tried with somebody, im- 

 agine, if you can, that it is to Jesus himself, 

 you are talking when you scold, complain, 

 or feel bitterness or revenge. About 75 of 

 my fellow men are at this moment here at 

 work, depending upon me to guide them ; 

 several thousand are writing to me for ad- 

 vice, and sending money. In one day's mail, 

 last week, there were $715.38. This business 

 has been built up within a few years, simply 

 by trying to hold in view the idea I have 

 given you above. I have made bungling 

 and stumbling work of it, as many of you 

 know, but God has seen fit to honor even 

 these feeble efforts. My friends, there is ab- 

 solutely no limit to what may be done in 

 this direction ; let a man only get selfishness 

 only partly out of his heart, and the world 

 will crowd around him, and clamor for his 

 services. I can make it plainer by some in- 

 cidents in real business. By showing you 

 my failures and mistakes, I think I can 

 show you glimpses of that fair land away 

 beyond, where God would lead us, and 

 where we may know him as he is. 



A customer ordered, among other goods, 

 " Two cold-blast smokers, like those men- 

 tioned in Gleanings, at $1.50 each." The 

 clerks came to me to know what they should 

 send him. There are no $1.50 cold-blast 

 smokers, for we sell our largest size at $1.00 ; 

 Bingham has a $1.50 smoker of which we 

 sell a great many, but it is not a cold blast. 

 There is a Quinby at $1.50 also. As he said 

 cold blast, he must mean ours, reasoned I, 

 and I directed that two of ours should be 

 seat at $1.00 each. He was in a hurry for 



the goods, and there was no time to wait. 

 Here is the reply : 



A. I. Boot: — Goods are apparently all right except 

 the two smokers; they are of no use to us. Those 

 parties for whom they were ordered will not accept 

 them. I ordered 2 smokers at $1.50 each, medium 

 size, as advertised in Gleanings. I wish you would 

 send them at once, and tell us what to do with the 

 ones we have. H. K. 



His order was hunted up, and as it was 

 found that he made no mention of wanting 

 Bingham smokers, we wrote him that as he 

 did not say what kind he wanted, he must 

 pay the express charges back on the cold 

 blast ones. Was this right? I presume the 

 greater part of you will say it was exactly 

 right. So I thought; but conscience kept 

 tugging at me after I had directed the reply. 

 I argued the point with conscience, and de- 

 clared the cold blast smoker was the best ; 

 that we were making over a thousand a 

 month ; and that everybody was pleased 

 with them this year. Conscience replied 

 that everybody was pleased with Bingham's 

 too, and that no one had ever been disap- 

 pointed Avho had received a Bingham by 

 mistake, while quite a number had Tbeen dis- 

 appointed greatly, when a cold blast was 

 sent by mistake as in the above case. The 

 battle was fought, like many others, and 

 when I was humbled enough to say, "I will 

 obey ; tell me. Lord, what thou wouldst 

 have thy servant do," the answer came 

 something like this : 



"Be just as ready to send a Bingham 

 smoker, when there is any doubt, as to send 

 your own ; or still better, a little readier, to 

 be sure you are not biased by a selfish pref- 

 erence for your own hobby. Secondly, do 

 not tell anybody like the friend above, what 

 he must, or must not, do. You know him, 

 and know he is disposed to be fair and hon- 

 orable ; tell him, if you like, that it seems 

 to you, under the circumstances, he should 

 pay the charges, but never that he must. If 

 he does so, well and right ; but, if he does 

 not, pay it yourself. ' It is not by might nor 

 by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of 

 hosts.' " 



I know, my friends, how humanity rebels 

 against "knuckling under" in such a way as 

 this, and I know how many of you there are, 

 who will say, " No sir 'ee ! I do not do bus- 

 iness in any such way ; " but, for all that, it 

 is the straight and narrow path to the gates 

 of the Eternal City. 



Please bear in mind that the above course 

 in no manner encourages a loose and slip- 

 shod way of doing business, for it is as far 

 from that as daylight from darkness. 



Here is one more letter : 



The sheets of foundation are too small. When 

 placed on the comb guide, next to the top bar, they 

 are 1 inch from the bottom bar, and they lack % in. 

 of touching either side. Did you intend to send tin 

 separators? AVe got none. I had nothing to do with 

 the order for the goods; but Mr. D. told me that 

 we were to have a complete v: 2 story Simplicity 

 hive. 1 have a good sized elephant on my hands,— 

 not a nail or brad suitable for putting up the hives, 

 except Gd. finishing, nor can I get any. I therefore 

 send you $3.00 for which send me that machine for 

 putting starters in section boxes, and the balance, 



