1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



155 



impatient at the delay, and talked a good deal 

 as I thought of talking He finally said, as 

 nearly as we could make out : 



"Well, this is the dunidest place I ever 

 heard of when anybody happens to want just 

 s ich a trifling thing as a pen and ink." 



I presume he said something more in the 

 same strain. He declares he used the word 

 "dunidest;" but his wife says she under- 

 stood him to use a word much like it, but a 

 great deal worse. It resulted in a separation. 

 She left his home and went back to her 

 friends, and he said she could stay away until 

 she got ready to come back. Then the neigh- 

 bors took sides. Just as soon as I heard of it 

 I said, "No, no! they must never separate for 

 any such trifling misunderstanding as that." 

 But they had got a going, other things had 

 heen brought up, and some good friends of 

 mine were foolish enough to think the parlies 

 should stay separate. But they didn't, and 

 they lived together nicely and pleasantly for 

 years after that. Now, I need not multiply 

 •cases like this. You all know of them. Sup- 

 pose I should get around and call on you. 

 God knows it would delight my heart to make 

 a brief call on every one who reads these 

 Home Papers — that is, if they zvant to see 

 me. Now, suppose, when at your home, I 

 should happen to want a pen and ink, and 

 that the good wife should have a little trouble 

 in finding them — what would you think of 

 -me? or, rather, what would you do with me if 

 I should blurt out — well, the things I had in 

 tnind when Mrs. Root was doing the very best 

 ■she knew how? Or suppose I should say it 

 was the worst place I ever found in all my 

 travels to find so simple a thing as a pen and 

 ink. I do not knozv what vou would do ; but 

 I should expect you to " fire me out " of the 

 front gate, and I might think I got off cheap- 

 ly even then. 



You see I am discussing pretty much the 

 point I did in my Home talk just before this. 

 What is the reason we can not preserve the 

 same gentlemanly, courteous, and Christian- 

 like demeanor before our wives and children 

 that we do when in the home of a stranger? 

 It ca7i be done, dear friends It must be done 

 if we expect to be accepted as followers of 

 Christ Jesus. Temptations come to us in dif- 

 ferent ways, I am very well aware. There are 

 some people who seem to find it easy to be 

 courteous, smiling, and slow and deliberate 

 under all circumstances; but, unfortunately, 

 these people are not, as a usual thing, pushers. 

 The present day demands men and women 

 who are pushers — who will, for instance, push 

 the saloon, that is encroaching on their neigh- 

 borhood, completely out of existence. If 

 we have any severe words to use for any- 

 body, let us use them against the saloon-keep- 

 er or the midnight assassin. Don't let them 

 come into sight before or toward the woman 

 and the children you love. Let us remember 

 the example we are setting. Let us watch and 

 -pray that we enter not into temptation. Our 

 grievances and trials, many of them, are im- 

 aginary. In studying up the matter of fami- 

 ly relations of the two Utter brothers I was 

 impressed with this. I am sure their griev- 



ances are largely imaginary. We had one il- 

 lustration before a bee-keepers' convention 

 that I have once or twice alluded to. A rich 

 man located near a bee-keeper. The bees 

 annoyed him, and he told his neighbor he 

 would have to move them out of the way. A 

 big quarrel started. The two were at swords' 

 points. They made arrangements to go to 

 law, and there was a great long string of 

 grievances on both sides — at least I suppose 

 there was. The quarrel was growing and in- 

 creasing every day ; but, all unbeknown to 

 the two men,. something besides a quarrel had 

 been going on and " increasing every day." 

 The rich man had a son, and the bee keeper 

 had a daughter ; but the two men had their 

 heads so full of the quarrel and lawsuit they, 

 did not seem to know, either one of them, 

 that the young people had become acquaint- 

 ed. I can imagine this boy and girl inform- 

 ing their respective parents (and perhaps they 

 did it, too, with downcast eyes), that they 

 had better soften down a little, for it would 

 look bad to have a lawsuit and a wedding go- 

 ing on so near the same time. Well, these 

 parents had Christian grace enough — or sup- 

 pose we say good common sense enough — to 

 bury the hatchet, shake hands over the} awn- 

 ing chasm of discontent, and settle down to- 

 gether and be friends and neighbors. I often 

 think of this because it illustrates so clearly 

 that there was no need in the first place of a 

 quarrel Their reasons for disagreement (like 

 Electropoise (?) ) was all imaginary. It was 

 just Satan's work, every bit of it, and two 

 good bright business men could not see it was 

 he who was pulling the wool over their eyes. 

 Could not the outcome have been brought 

 about, all the same, even if there had not been 

 any boy or girl in the question? Yes, surely. 

 The love of Jesus Christ ought to accomplish 

 just exactly ih\s result every time : and the 

 love of Jesus Christ in the hearts of the two 

 parties who were looking for pen and ink 

 was fully adequate to scatter discord in a 

 second of time. Maj' God help us to bring 

 about that glad day when bis kingdom shall 

 come, and his will be done on earth as it is in 

 heaven ; and may he help us all to " watch 

 and pray " against the temptation that is sure 

 to come; yes, for the temptation that will 

 surely invade even " our homes." 



NOTES or TRAVH 



I BY A. I. ROOT : 



^r^-.^^^^ 



r^sK^:^ 



THE MICHIGAN BEE-KEEPERS' CONVENTION. 



When we go into a railway dining room or 

 even lunch-room we expect, as a rule, to pay 

 bigger prices than almost anywhere else. 

 Well, this in one sense is all right. The eata- 

 bles are usually first-class, they have to pay 

 high rents for the location, and they must 

 also keep every thing ready with plenty of 

 waiters to serve promptly the crowd that rush- 

 es in from the train. Well, in view of this it 



