272 



GI.EANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 1. 



to be along with them. Dear friend, as yon 

 grow older do you get along with people better 

 than you used to do ? Is the spirit ' ' of Christ 

 graced with meekness" finding a permanent 

 lodging-place in your make-up .'' If so, rejoice 

 and be glad. 



Sometimes people are contrarj', and some- 

 times lo/^ are contrary'. I take the liberty of 

 saying this, for I am contrary myself if I do 

 not look out. I have sometimes prayed most 

 earnestly, " O Lord, my great helper and my 

 best friend ! Give me grace, and give me of 

 thy Holy Spirit that I may be very careful 

 about the contrary spirit that sometimes creeps 

 in upon mc unawares. I need help and de- 

 liverance in this, O Lord ; for how can I 

 expect others to put away the contrary' spirit 

 while it has a lodging- place in my own heart?"* 



Sometimes very capable and in other re- 

 spects lovable people get contrary because 

 they can not have their own way. None of us 

 can have our own way in this world. You 

 may think thai, because I am the senior mem- 

 ber of this company, I certainly can have my 

 own way in almost every thing. But it is not 

 true. I am not very much troubled about hav- 

 ing my own way with the other members of 

 The A. I. Root Co.; but I am more troubled 

 because some of the helpers absolutely will not 

 do as I want them to. Do they know what I 

 want? Yes, I am sure they do ; and they put 

 on an appearance of doing just as I say, but 

 they beat me and get out ahead. I have al- 

 most given up sometimes, for they have ap- 

 parently whipped me out. Now, the very ones 

 I have in mind while I am saying this would 

 be astonished if I should say, " I mean you.'" 

 I do not suppose they are realty aivare that 

 they are planning and plotting not to do things 

 as I want them done. I do not believe they 

 realize it. The contrary spirit has got into 

 their hearts, and they actually do not know 

 how they are hurting my feelings and really- 

 spoiling their own money value. Most of Sa- 

 tan's work is done by persuading his victim 

 that he is doing the right thing. Je,sus once 

 breathed a strange prayer : ' ' Father, forgive 

 them ; they know not what they do." Of late 

 I have thought this same thing of some of 

 these friends of mine. I ought to forgive 

 them — at least to a certain extent, just as Jesus 

 forgave and prayed for his enemies, because 

 the}' certainly do not realize how wickedly 

 they are doing. 



But shall we let people go on being con- 

 rary ? Shall the soldiers in Bermuda let the 

 boys stone them ? No, no ! The one who 

 wrote the article in the paper told the boys 

 they would be dealt with according to law if 

 they persisted in their rudeness. Well, I ex- 

 pect these friends of mine to get over being 

 contrary. In fact, if they do not they will 

 suffer. How ? Why, pretty soon, when our 

 board meets, the matter will come up, and it 



* since the above was dictated, it has occurred to 

 me that David once breathed a similar prayer — "Cre- 

 ate in nie a clean heart, O God, and renew a right 

 spirit within nie. . . . Then will I teach transgres- 

 sors thy vvays, and sinners shall be converted unto 

 thee." How beautifully, and how sharply and clearly 

 the meaning of the above conies out. after having 

 yourself pas.sed through an experience of this kind ! 



will be remarked that such a one is not worth 

 what he is getting, because he is not working 

 for the best interests of the business. If he can 

 be told this in a quiet way — one that will not 

 provoke him to be niore contrary or to throw 

 up his job when he needs the place and we 

 need the man — then we are all right ; and my 

 principal thought in this talk to-day was how 

 best to handle such a case. Suppose you have 

 a hired man, and he is tiptop every waj^ except 

 that he is up so much nights, and out so late, 

 that he can not properly attend to his work 

 daytimes. Turn him off? No, no! not just 

 yet, anyway. Choose a proper time and place, 

 and broach the subject gently. Now remem- 

 ber our text. Do not say atl you feel like say- 

 ing — not the first time, anyway. Bring up the 

 matter very gently. State it mildly. Tell 

 about a quarter of the state of affairs as they 

 appear to you. You can tell another quarter 

 the next time. When 3'ou have told about a 

 half of the trouble he has made b}- his bad 

 habits or habit, whatever it may be, and it 

 does not do any good, the third time tell him 

 the third quarter. If three-fourths of the 

 whole truth does not answer, perhaps 3-ou had 

 better never tell the other quarter at all. If 

 you must part, part good friends. 



I know of a man who owed a neighbor al- 

 most a hundred dollars. It was not outlawed, 

 because he kept on saj-ing he would pay it. 

 Well, he finally did pay it, and got a receipt 

 in full, but he did not pay the whole amount. 

 He paid only about a quarter or a third. His 

 good neighbor pleasantly agreed to throw off 

 the rest in order to have it stttled up. Well, I 

 supposed they were going to be good friends 

 after that ; but the man who got the receipt in 

 full by paying onl)^ a small part of the debt 

 was tempted by Satan — I guess it was Satan — 

 in some way or other to say some hard and 

 unkind words to the neighbor who had been 

 so patient with him so long. I presume he 

 will excuse himself for saying those unkind 

 words by saying, " It is the truth." Oh dear ! 

 what a poor excuse for saying unkind things, 

 because — they are true ! Why, my good 

 friend, because they are true is one of the 

 best reasons in the world why you should not 

 wound the feelings of your neighbor by saying 

 things. 



Now, tn}^ dear friend, if you are having dif- 

 ficulty in getting along with your hired man 

 or your helper in the household, or your wash- 

 woman, or with anybody else, do not, I beg of 

 you, be in haste to dissolve the relations that 

 may have been standing for many j ears. 

 These friends who have been long wnth you 

 know what you want ever so much better than 

 anybody else. You know them in the same 

 way. B)- years of close relationship you have 

 got fitted to each other's ways. Do not be in 

 haste to quit, and do not be in haste to turn 

 off 3'our old " standbys." Fray for each other. 

 If one of you two is not a praying man or wo- 

 man, then let the other pray the more. Oh 

 how much better one feels when he has ac- 

 complished what he wished, without a quar- 

 rel ! I wonder if there is any need of my add- 

 ing that sometimes it seems as if a quarrel 

 could not be avoided. If this is indeed true. 



