66 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 



that spoil confidence and stop trade, or induce 

 customers to go somewhere else, and linally 

 come back to the old place, with the sud feel- 

 ing that the world is about all alike. We can 

 not expect to lind business done according 

 to the golden rule anywhere. To come right 

 home, dear friends, the worst drawback to 

 the progress and prosperity of our business 

 is this same feature. It is with sadness 

 and sorrow I am obliged to confess, that, 

 notwithstanding the most careful Avatchful- 

 ness and prayer for God to help me over 

 these besetting sins, I see them cropping out 

 here and there, and all around. And yet in 

 spite of it, our business has been blessed — 

 blessed far more than we deserve. If it 

 were indeed true, that my meat is to do the 

 will of the Master, I should be very differ- 

 ent from what I am now. I find this same 

 disposition in the clerks who are working, 

 and it would be strange if it were not there ; 

 for they would have to be more than human, 

 if they did not lean tow^ard my interests in 

 all transactions. In the contents of a single 

 mail I find complaints like these. One very 

 good kind friend writes that a pair of scis- 

 sors we sent him were broken, and that the 

 piece of blade that was broken off was not 

 in the package, and so it could not have 

 been broken on the way. The clerk who put 

 up the order, surely did not do as he would 

 be done by ; because if he were buying a 

 l)air of scissors, and paid the full price for 

 them, he would want two full blades. An- 

 other clerk was going to send a friend a pair 

 of spectacles with the case half an inch 

 shorter, so that they could not be put into 

 the case ; and when asked for an explana- 

 tion, said it was the best that we could do. 

 Cases of a proper size were up on the shelf, 

 and forgotten. To do as you would be done 

 by, would prompt that the clerk should 

 come to me wdth the words, or something 

 like them, '' Why, Mr. Root, you surely do 

 not mean to send out cases that are not long 

 enough for the spectacles the customers buy 

 with them ? " 



And so it is all through. The prevailing 

 motive in life is not to give everybody else 

 just what you would like yourself, but to get 

 rid of inconvenient stock, and to get it off 

 from your hands. Poor short-sighted hu- 

 manity, who fondly hope to prosper by such 

 poor sliort-sighted economy I 



In the foregoing remarks I am, perhaps, a 

 little iincharitable, and may be it was this sin 

 of half-heartedness that allowed things to go 

 in this shape, rather than a w^ant of care for 

 the needs and rights of our customers. A 

 great many times things of this kind come 

 about because the person who allowed it to 

 pass did not seem to recognize that it was 

 especially /(/,s business to attend to the mat- 

 ter. This brings out another element that is 

 needed to follow Christ. It is, that you 

 should protest against wrong, whenever it 

 comes to your notice. Do not fall into the 

 error of thinking that one who follows .Jesus 

 must let every thing go in this world just as 

 he finds it. Of course, some wisdom and 

 discretion are needed to decide just how far 

 a Christian should interfere, and how far he 

 should let things pass. 



Since the first part of this article was writ- 



ten, I have attended a convention at Colum- 

 bus, and am now home again, bringing 

 many pleasant memories with me. I have 

 made the acquaintance of many new friends, 

 and have received many excellent hints and 

 suggestions from them. I found a new lot 

 of brothers, as it were. And now, friends, 

 perhaps I shall surprise you a little if 1 tell 

 you of one little simple remark that I trea- 

 sure up, and thank the kind friend who said 

 it, more than for any thing else I now re- 

 member. This friend and myself were hav- 

 ing a little familiar chat, and he was asking 

 about the factory, and my boys and girls. 

 Finally, with some little apology, he spoke as 

 follows : 



'•Mr. Root, I have followed you many 



years ; I read your Home Papers, and love 



them ; and I have often wondered how you 



bear such a multitude of cares as you carry, 



being, at the same time, only the 'slight and 



frail-looking man you are. Now, after say- 



j ing this I want to find fault a little. I visit- 



I ed you several years ago ; and while there I 



i heard you reprove one of the young ladies, 



I in a way that seemed hardly in keeping with 



' your general character. She made no reply, 



but seemed very much hurt. Now, 1 want 



to know if you' are in the habit of doing so 



often; and if you know how it may hurt 



your influence, and hinder the work I know 



you are trying to do." 



I Although the above were not the exact 

 j words, as nearly as I can remember they are 

 the substance. And may God bless that 

 friend for having said them ! One whose 

 meat it is to do the will of the Master should 

 I be ready enough and bold enough to reprove 

 j and to remonstrate in just that way, and un- 

 I der just those circumstances. And my mind 

 ran over the years that have followed since 

 I that incident, although I can not now re- 

 ! member it. It was worth more than I can 

 j tell, dear friends, to know that I had made 

 real progress against that one besetting sin. 

 j It has been hard ground to fight over, and 

 for years it seemed as though the progress 

 made was scarcely visible ; but through the 

 grace of the dear JMaster, the hard stern dis- 

 position I inherited from away back in the 

 line of the Puritans has been slowly molded 

 and made over. It is but a few days ago 

 since I was congratulating myself that al- 

 most a year had passed since I had given 

 way to that fretful, fault-finding disposition, 

 and really '' scolded." Now, friends, I have 

 i been greatly helped in this work by the ad- 

 ' monition, in plain talk, of Christian 'friends ; 

 therefore if you are to do Christ's work you 

 must be ready to reprove in just the way 

 I that the friend talked to me at the conven- 

 tion. 



Before closing this talk I want to give you 



a letter, just as it came from a brother who, 



like myself, is trying to light the good light. 



! I believe it will give a good raairy of us a lift 



toward eternal life. Let us read it : 



Friend Ro<)t:—H wish I could say Brother Root), I 

 cannot do without Gleanings. I would as soon do 

 without my supper. I can thank you for one thing, 

 at least, for sending out sample copies. I sent to 

 you for one in 1878. I then took the bee-fever. I 

 read and re-read that number until I dreamed of 

 bees. I then sent for s dollar quepn and two hj-^ 



