1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



361 



ed to the right or to the left by some of these 

 many human impulses and feelings that so 

 often control us. If we could get rid of self- 

 ishness we might love righteousness and hate 

 iniquity right along. All around me I catch 

 glimpses every day of beautiful characters. I 

 love to talk with these friends who are helping 

 us, and I love to look into their faces. As a 

 rule they are working faithfully and honestly 

 — that is, when nothing occurs to try them se- 

 verely. 



A good many love righteousness and hate 

 iniquity unless they get angry. Anger makes 

 a man crazy. For the time being he is not 

 himself. Even a little stirring of his feelings 

 may swing him around so for the time being 

 that, without knowing it, he loves iniquity. 



During this exceedingly busy season we 

 have had a good many breakdowns — more this 

 past spring than ever before. When such 

 things happen the best men are selected, and 

 each goes to work with brain and muscle to 

 make good the damage, that he and his fel- 

 lows may go on with their tasks. It is often a 

 serious question as to which is the best way to 

 get the machinery started. One man has one 

 plan, and another a different one. We can 

 not wait long to deliberate ; so the head or 

 heads of that department have to decide. The 

 man whose counsel was rejected would have 

 to be a little more than human if he did not 

 feel a little bit pleased to find himself right 

 and the others wrong. Important men often 

 have to go without their meals, and sometimes 

 work nights, even after they have been work- 

 ing all day, in order to get things going. They 

 would have to be more than human if they did 

 not at times get irritable. Somebody thought- 

 lessly carries off the tool that is wanted most. 

 Sometimes the breakdown reveals the fact 

 that poor worthless tools have been tolerated 

 that hindered work, many times, more than 

 they helped it along ; but where there are so 

 many things to be looked after, some of them 

 will be neglected. When a roomful of skilled 

 mechanics are waiting patiently for repairs to 

 be made, you would think a man must be very 

 bad indeed who would willfully prolong the 

 period of waiting ; yet I have known men to 

 do this, simply because they were put out by 

 something, or because they got contrary. I do 

 not mean any particular man, but sometimes 

 our best men seemingly, or for the time being, 

 have acted as if they loved iniquity and hated 

 righteousness. I do not know of any thing in 

 this whole wide world that can entirely free us 

 from such departures from the straight and 

 narrow path except a constant love toward 

 Christ Jesus, and a bright and abiding faith 

 that God's eye is constantly over us, reading 

 our very thoughts. 



As I go over this matter, and think of my 

 own wayward and sinful heart, I can only 

 breathe again my little prayer, " Lord, help ! " 

 Perhaps I utter only the two words ; yet those 

 two words mean to me, " Lord, help me, by 

 the help of thy Spirit, to be continually proof 

 against the whisperings and promptings of the 

 evil one ; help me to keep down pride ; help 

 me to keep down self ; help me, O Lord, to be 

 meek and lowly, and easy to be led, even as I 



would that these friends of mine should be led 

 in wisdom's ways." 



Even in our domestic animals we see this 

 peculiarity — this matter of temper, or this con- 

 trary spirit of which I have been speaking. 

 We have in use two big stout horses — Mike 

 and Jack. Both, as a rule, try to do what is 

 wanted, and do it right. Mike has the greater 

 strength ; and when he is roused up by some- 

 thing that does not go right, he has not only 

 the strength of a lion but something in his 

 make-up that seems like a very tiger. When 

 he was a colt he ran away with a cultivator 

 dangling at his heels, and he has never forgot- 

 ten it, and we have to be a little careful as to 

 who shall handle him, or else his tiger temper 

 may suddenly show itself ; and before you 

 know it he will be acting as if he loved iniqui- 

 ty boiled down. Jack is meek and gentle. He 

 does the very best he knows how. He will 

 work in the lumber-yard day after day, stand- 

 ing still anywhere he is put ; never needs 

 hitching to a post ; and, in fact, if the men go 

 away and leave him for a whole hour, and get 

 clear out of sight, he will stand right there 

 faithfully, patiently, and honestly, until they 

 happen to want him again to pull up the car 

 of lumber. Every time I go around that horse, 

 or have occasion to use him, my heart warms 

 toward him. I can pat him on the neck, and 

 say, " Jack, I do not know what others think, 

 but I believe you love righteousness and hate 

 iniquity every hour and day of your life." 



I realize, when I say this, that some of the 

 men who know Jack pretty well will say that 

 I am mistaken. I once saw a strange man 

 jump into the wagon, and pick up the lines 

 and start to drive him. He backed, threw up 

 his head, and acted so that a bystander said 

 he was ugly, and needed a whipping. I did 

 not know what the matter was, but I felt sure 

 that Jack was not ugly. Finally the man who 

 drives him came around the corner and said, 

 " No, no ! don't whip him. His mouth is sore, 

 and you must not pull up on the bits as you 

 do with Mike. Give him a loose rein and you 

 can guide him anywhere you wish, and he 

 will go fast or slow, just as you wish ; but do 

 not whip or jerk him." 



Now, friends, suppose somebody had whip- 

 ped that horse for laeing ugly. Mrs. Root says 

 they would not do it if s/ie were around. No 

 doubt thousands of horses have been whipped 

 unmercifully when they no more needed it 

 than did poor Jack at the time I have men- 

 tioned. Just think, dear friends, of giving a 

 horse like that to a drunken man to drive ! 



Such things are sad to contemplate when it 

 is only a domestic animal that is punished and 

 abused when he is just as good as he can be. 

 Not far from where I sit dictating, a boy is at 

 work as busily and honestly and industriously 

 as a boy well can work. He makes his work 

 a study ; he tries hard to do every thing right. 

 He asks questions, and gets acquainted with 

 people and things pertaining to his business. 

 His whole mind is on his work. Even if he 

 should see this I do not think he would know 

 whom I mean, for I do not suppose it has oc- 

 curred to him that his good conduct has been 

 worthy of remark. When he first came here 



