64 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 15. 



Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the 

 earth.— Matt. 5: 5. 



PLEASANT SURPRISES. 



Perhaps some of the friends may think my 

 subject inopportune at this crisis of financial 

 affairs, when so many are out of employment, 

 a good many in want, and a general disposition 

 to say that farming does not pay; when those 

 who ought to be able to advise. I'ecommend that 

 the unemployed turn to agriculture and our 

 broad acns, rather than do nothing and see 

 their families suffer. In fact, I have feared 

 that some might suggest that we have plenty of 

 surprises, without question, but that they are 

 mostly of anoth(M- kind rather than pleasant 

 surprises. But notwithstanding all these draw- 

 backs, I do believe we may so live that this 

 world of ours shall have in store for us pleasant 

 surprises every now and then. In one sense we 

 may look for them. In anothersense. we should 

 attend to business, attend to duty, and not look 

 for them. If we were looking for them all the 

 time they wouldn't be " surprises." you know. 

 Ida believe that the meek shall inherit the 

 earth; but the tendency of Young America 

 nowadays is too much like this: Somebody has 

 worked a while, and done pretty well. Then 

 he turns around and says, "Now, look here. 

 I have been meek a long while, but I have not 

 inherited the earth, nor hardly even the small- 

 est part of it." The trouble is, we are looking 

 too much toward the reward, and we are work- 

 ing for the reward; and, if I understand it, this 

 is not meekness at all; and the same way with 

 these pleasant surprises that I am sure a Chris- 

 tian will find if he does not get weary in well- 

 doing. In the first place, we must not expect 

 too much. We want to look out for the idea 

 embodied in the expression, " The world oives 

 me a living." It is a bad doctrine. We want 

 to start out with the idea that the world does 

 not owe us any thing; and we want to encour- 

 age more, I am sure, the thought that the 

 world generally pays what it owes. Sometimes 

 this great busy world is a little slow and a little 

 dull in recognizing what it owes; but I have 

 sometimes had a pleasant surprise in finding 

 the great busy world a little too ready to pay 

 what it owes— or more than it owes. 1 have 

 seen intemperate men reform, and start out to 

 do well; and I have sometimes felt sad to think 

 that this great busy world, or at lea?-t a small 

 part of it. had made a blunder in making too 

 much oi the reformed man. I'erhaps the world 

 discovered the blunder; and can we blame the 

 people if they said to themsc^lves, " Now. look 

 here; when another man starts out, or nays he 

 has started out to lead a new life, I guess we 

 had bett(M- wait a while, and see how well he 

 liolds out before we begin throwing favors in 

 ills way. and putting grave responsibilities 

 upon his shoulders"? So if we decide in the 

 outset that the world, generally speaking, will 

 recognize us for all we are worth, in due time, 

 I think we have mad(^ a good start. Blessed 

 are the meek, for they shall inherit the eai'th. 



One must not expect too much of the world if 

 he is going to start out for pleasant surprises. 

 lie must not demand too much of his good wife; 

 he must not d(Mriand too much of his children; 

 he must not demand too much of his neighbors; 

 of the hired man; or of his employer; of the 

 teacher; of thc^ minister. You see, if he starts 

 out demanding or expecting every one to come 

 fully up to Ills standard of things, he will be 



continually disappointed. His surprises will be 

 u/ipleasant ones instead of pleasant. He must 

 be meek and quiet, and cool and gentle. I do 

 not by any means mean he should not be a push- 

 er—God forbid! He can be a veritable " hust- 

 ler," and still be meek. Please do not get the 

 idea, dear friends, that i think I am this myself, 

 for I know I am nr-thing near it; yet I have 

 glimpses occasionally of the wonderful things 

 that may be done in that direction. I have told 

 you how I generally get such glimpses. 1 plead 

 vehemently for something I think ought to be 

 done. Perhaps it is in my power to have it done 

 instantly, if I use my authority, and demand 

 that it be done. I do not like to do this. It is 

 not well. A meek man should be very careful 

 indeed about saying this shall or sJiall not be 

 so. Well, after I have pleaded pleasantly but 

 vehemently, and have met only opposition, a 

 good many times I settle down sadly, and per- 

 haps sorrowfully, feeling that I am right, and 

 that it is hard to meet objections when I am 

 laboring only for the good of those in question. 

 A good many times I decide that about the only 

 thing that can be done is to pray for the stub- 

 born one. and ask God's help; then afterward, 

 when I find the person or persons, as it may be, 

 have changed entirely, and go to work with 

 cheerfulness and alacrity for the very thing f 

 urged, then I have my pleasant surprises. You 

 may say that, if I believe in prayer, there 

 should be no surprises at all. But look here, 

 my friend. When I pray that certain things 

 may be brought about. I do not always feel sure 

 that it is tlie best thing. God knows, but i do 

 not; therefore, when I discover that the great 

 (Jod above has recognized my convictions as 

 good and true ones, I have a double surprise — 

 first, because the thing I wanted te see done has 

 already been done; secondly, because it seems 

 as if God indorsed, my course. And by the way, 

 dear friends, I wonder whether you have yet 

 discovered that the quickest way of succeed- 

 ing, oftentimes, with stubborn people, is to sto]) 

 arguing or pleading entirely, and plead with 

 the great God above. 



One who would keep himself in favorable 

 condition for pleasant surprises should be care- 

 ful about being in debt. Let me digress a little. 

 Last summer the Weather Bureau was severe- 

 ly censured because it predicted rain, and rain 

 did not come. I imagine, after this these gov- 

 ernment officials got to be a little more careful, 

 for toward the close of our drouth they worded 

 their telegrams a little differently. Instead of 

 saying so positively that it ironld rain on such 

 a day, the telegram would read, " The conditions 

 will be favorahle for rain on Thursday after- 

 noon." I sometimes wish the //fu/ that they 

 furnish, to run up on the top of our water-tower, 

 had something printed on it to the effect thati 

 the conditions are favorable, instead of saying 

 squarely, rain is coming. Well, now, it is so 

 with tliese pleasant surpi'ises. Nothing in this 

 world will bring them aliout positively, that I 

 know of; or, perhaps I should say. at any spe- 

 cific time. We can so live. howev(>r. that the 

 conditions arc exceed i ntjly fa v<n-n])h' for happy 

 surprises. Well, what are these conditions'? 

 First, meekness, according to our text. Some- 

 times, however, we meet a kind of meekness 

 that is exceedingly provoking. We have a man 

 up in our jail just ru)w who came along as a 

 tramp. lie went into a house, and, finding no- 

 body at home except a girl of fifteen, demanded 

 that she instantly set to work to get him a good 

 square meal. Then he asked a blessing over it, 

 and. I tliink, repeated some Bil)le texts. Before 

 he left he managed to steal a watch. When 

 I remonstrated with him about his inconsisten- 

 cy he repeated the text, " Judge not, that ye be 

 not judged."' I told him, however, that there 



