71 8 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



nrl. but he insisted that it was true. In a 

 few days I saw this brother, and told him 

 plainly that I feared his being so dilatory 

 was a reproach on the cause of Christ. Of 

 course, he had a number of extenuating cir- 

 cumstances to tell me. There had been 

 much sickness in his family, and he did not 

 know that the man he owed felt as he did 

 about it. He, however, admitted that it 

 was a shame, and that the account ought not 

 to have been allowed to run as it had been. 

 As he had not the money to settle it just 

 1 hen, I proposed loaning it to him, telling 

 him he could pay me when he found it con- 

 venient. He seemed deeply touched. The 

 account was promptly settled, and in a few 

 months he paid me, and interest also, for 

 the use of the money. Now, friends, this is 

 one of the w r ays of overcoming evil with 

 good. I hardly need tell you that I felt hap- 

 py over that investment. Why, I do not 

 know when fifteen or twenty dollars has af- 

 forded me so much pleasure and real satis- 

 faction. Before this we were not on par- 

 ticularly friendly terms either ; but since 

 then it is always a pleasure to me to meet 

 him, and I am sure that he feels exceeding- 

 ly kind and friendly toward me. If I knew 

 a minister who did not pay his little debts, 

 I think I should go to him in just that way. 

 If his salary is small, and you can afford it, 

 just donate him right out enough to set him 

 free from his little embarrassment; and if 

 you do not find that you have been laying 

 up treasures in heaven by so doing, I shall 

 be disappointed. 



Now, just a closing word to the bee- 

 friends, especially those who have had trou- 

 ble with their neighbors in the ways I have 

 mentioned. Do not try to cure these trou- 

 bles by letting them alone. Do not repeat 

 to your other neighbors and friends the 

 story of their delinquencies and faults. Go 

 to them in a friendly way. If you have the 

 spirit of the little text in your heart they 

 will not be offended. You need not fear 

 that they will think it none of your busi- 

 ness; but if you should have a neighbor so 

 hardened as that, do not be troubled. It 

 does not hurt a Christian to be snubbed, 

 when he is trying to do his duty. Our pas- 

 tor, who has gone to China, once said," A 

 real true follower of Christ can not be snub- 

 bed or insulted ; " that is, an insult can not 

 be given where none will be taken. The 

 true Christian forgives unkind words, al- 

 most before they are uttered, and makes 

 haste to overcome evil with good. Why, 

 God bless you, my friend, you do not need 

 to be put out, even if some thoughtless 

 neighbor has sold his honey lower than he 

 need to, and thereby spoiled the established 

 price. Go and talk with him about it ; let 

 him see that your heart is large enough, and 

 that you are magnanimous enough to be 

 friendly and kind, even if he had done ten 

 times as much to injure you. You can not 

 afford to be spiteful and unfriendly because 

 of such troubles. One of our bee-men 

 raises blackberries after the honey season is 

 over. I think I will not tell his name. 

 Well, he has a very large patch, and carries 

 them to the surrounding towns. They were 

 going off nicely at 12 cents, and the proba- 



bility was that there would be no need of 

 selling cheaper. Finally some neighbor 

 who had a small patch began selling his for 

 10 cents. Our bee-keeping friend remon- 

 strated, and finally offered to pay him cash 

 down, right at his home, 10 cents for all he 

 raised. I should have supposed that this, 

 of course, would have settled the matter 

 pleasantly. It seems it did not, however. 

 The ten -cent neighbor refused to sell them 

 in that ivay, but was just contrary enough to 

 insist that it was his privilege to carry them 

 around and retail them out at 10 cents, if he 

 wished to. A case of the same kind occur- 

 red in friend Freeborn's neighborhood, with 

 honey. Perhaps some of you say, " Now, 

 Bro. Root, what are you going to do with 

 men who are stubborn, contrary, and ugly, 

 as in the above case V " My reply is, that I 

 am still going to overcome evil with good. 



If you will turn to the 12th chapter of 

 Romans, where our text comes from, and 

 look at the verse just above the text, you 

 will find this : 



If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, 

 give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap 

 coals of Are on his head. 



These friends have to be conquered by 

 heaping coals of fire on their heads. Very 

 much depends on how you do it. It re- 

 quires skill and tact, and, above all, a kind- 

 ly spirit of love for your neighbor, in your 

 heart. Few men like to be "bossed" 

 around, or, if you choose, most of us dislike 

 to have our liberty of action interfered with. 

 Satan gets his finger in the pie, and some- 

 times it takes quite a little effort and quite 

 a little time to rout him entirely. But it 

 can be done. Do not, I pray you, be weary 

 in well-doing. Do not get discouraged, and 

 say, " It will not work with this man." 

 Make up your mind that you are going to 

 say, as did Gen. Grant, " We will tight it 

 out on this line, even if it takes all summer." 

 Grant was fighting an enemy, and you, my 

 friend, are fighting an enemy ; but the ene- 

 my is not your misguided neighbor. It is 

 Satan. Why, you can not enjoy life at all 

 as God intended you should enjoy it, with- 

 out being at peace and on friendly terms with 

 your neighbors. Quite a few times, when I 

 have asked one bee-keeper to drop his work 

 a little while and go with me to see some 

 bee-keeping neighbor, he would say, " Why, 

 the truth is, Mr. Root, we do not have much 

 to do with each other nowadays." I be- 

 lieve, however, that I have always succeed- 

 ed in getting them to drop both work and 

 hostilities, and go with me ; and it has hap- 

 pened more than once or twice, that ex- 

 planations and misunderstandings were 

 straightened up right in my presence Now, 

 do not be cross, dear brother, even if people 

 are greedy and selfish. It is nothing at all 

 strange ; in fact, it is nothing strange if you 

 find me at times greedy and selfish. If you 

 do, however, I want you just to grab right 

 hold of me, and give me a good shaking. If 

 you can not do that, say in your letter, " See 

 here, old friend, why don't you practice a 

 little better what you preach ? " I shall 

 not be mad, I assure you. May be I will 

 straighten up. Now, then, whenever you 

 meet evil in any form, especially among 



