188B 



(iLfiANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



691 



The wisdom that is I'rorn above is first pure, then 

 peaceable, gentle, and easy to Ik? entreated, full of 

 mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and with- 

 out hypocrisy.— James 3: 17. 



"^ AST winter I told you something about 

 1^ how muclt my wife enjoyed attending 

 •i^ a bee-convention at Columbus; that 

 ^^ is, after we had overcome her diffi- 

 dence enougli to get her away from 

 home and out into the world. Well, I told 

 you then that we proposed, this present 

 summer, going out into the world more than 

 we had done. Many caies have kept us at 

 home, however, especially my wife. When 

 I proposed making the trip to our relatives 

 in Tallraadge, and up to friend Terry's, to see 

 them dig potatoes by horse-power, she got 

 back pretty much into the old track, and 

 fairly begged to be allowed to stay at home. 

 She had not seen any of these friends and 

 relatives for eighteen or twenty years. 

 She had never seen Mrs. Terry at all, and it 

 was a real task to get her to consent to 

 undertake the journey. There were a mul- 

 titude of objections Well, we have just re- 

 turned, and I am not very much surprised to 

 hear her declare that these three days have 

 been three bright days in her life. She nev- 

 er knew before there were so many nice 

 people in the world, and so many beautiful 

 liomes. She is an enthusiast on this matter 

 of homes, like myself ; and just now she is 

 full of enthusiasm in regard to the homes of 

 our neighbors. I told you, a short time ago, 

 that my talks about our homes and our 

 neighbors were getting pretty nearly into 

 one subject, and my talk to-day is going to 

 be considerably about ouv neigKbors'' hcnnes. 



The principal point that has been im- 

 pressing itself on my mind, or, in other 

 words, the message that God has desired me 

 to deliver to you all in this talk, is in regard 

 to having a wider and broader charity for 

 these neighbors who occupy homes, and to 

 have a better faith in these neighbors and 

 fi lends of ouis. I am very much inclined to 

 think that those who speak ill of their neigh- 

 bors, and who say cutting and sarcastic 

 things, and suggest evil constructions to be 

 put on tlie acts of our neighbors, are those 

 who do not visit very much. 



A few years ngo I l)ecame acquainted with 

 a family who impressed me with their gentle- 

 ness and Christian courtesy. They seemed to 

 possess remarkable intelligence, and to ex- 

 hibit rare refinement, not only among them- 

 selves, but toward all their fellow-men. As 

 1 became better acquainted with them, it is 

 not very strange that I was soon accused of 

 thinking there was nobody like them ; and 

 even when it was suggested they were not 

 quite such saints as they appeared, I stout- 

 ly took their part. Finally some one said, 

 if I would use a little reason he would 

 show me how I had been humbugged. I 

 listened, and looked into matters, and I was 

 forced to admit that one member of the 

 family had been guilty of something that 

 was, to say the least, very unwise. Then a 

 flaw was pointed out in"^ the character of 

 another ; and finally both the good father 



and mothei' were assailed. In fact, little 

 by lit^tle, tfie sti ucture, if such I nuiy call it, 

 ortliis model household, Ijegaii chnngingto 

 dust. Instead of grand, noble, self-saciific- 

 ing characters, 1 beheld narrow, contracted 

 scheming natures, and sadly I began to con- 

 clude that it was all outward show, aiul that 

 1 had, as the voice of scandal suggested, 

 been simply fiumbugged. Did you ever 

 stand just there, my friend V Well, if you 

 did, let my experience be a warning to you. 

 It w;is only for a little while that I allowed 

 Satan to tear down and trample in the dust 

 these characters that had l)efore been al- 

 most sacred and holy. The little text about 

 thinking no evil began to occur to nie, aiul 

 I said mentally, "Get thee behind me, Sa- 

 tan." The lesson I learned was simply 

 this : That we are but dust, the best of us ; 

 and he who demands or even expects to find 

 perfection in this world will be disappoint- 

 ed. May God help us to overlook these 

 earthly imperfections in the friends and 

 neighbors around us, as we would that he 

 should overlook the earthly imperfections 

 in ourselves ! The truth of the matter is, 

 this family of whom I have been speaking 

 are, as a whole, excellent Christian people, 

 and rather above the general average ; but 

 in my admiration of the virtues which they 

 really possessed, I had, perhaps, Ijeen a lit- 

 tle extravagant, and had forgotten to bear 

 in mind that they were, like ourselves, hu- 

 man. When their defects had been careful- 

 ly exhibited, one after another, by one who 

 was, perhaps, unconsciously prejudiced, 

 and wlien things had been ])ointed out to 

 me that 1 could not avoid seeing, I was in 

 danger of listening to Satan's suggestions, 

 that the world is all a hollow sham. Do 

 not, 1 beg of you, my dear friends, forget 

 the good that exists in almost eveiy human 

 character when you are called upon to take 

 notice of the bad ; and do not, I beg of you, 

 forget for one moment the great danger 

 there is constantly near almost all of us, of 

 being in haste to think evil. The text at 

 the head of this talk suggests the true se- 

 cret of enjoying life as God intended we 

 should enjoy it. 



These thoughts that I have just been 

 speaking of were brought vividly to mind in 

 visiting at friend Terry's. It has been to 

 me for some time a sad puzzle to know why 

 so many should feel called upon to pitch 

 into our friend, and try to find faults with 

 his farming or with his writings. You may 

 remember that I was one of the first to call 

 attention to this man who chose potato- 

 growing for his lifework. I almost by acci- 

 dent dropped in to a farmers' institute held 

 heie in Medina. I heard liim read a paper, 

 and 1 went home and told my wife that, if 

 he kept on in the same line in which lie had 

 started, he would be one of the shining 

 lights in agriculture of the present age. 

 Mr. Terry had nothing whatever to sell. In 

 that respect he was more free from the 

 charge of having an ax to grind than your 

 old friend A. I. Root, when he came before 

 the reading public. ])Ut it did iioi seem lo 

 make very much difference. Those of you 

 who read the agricultural papeis. especially 

 the Ohio Fairner, know how friend Terry 



