242 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1 



ed the text at the head of this talk. Then 

 I began to receive a blessing. The Holy 

 Spirit reminded me that I was getting- to be 

 a little bit proud — proud, perhaps, of my 

 past record and of my ability. I needed 

 humbling, and God knows \ felt humbled. 

 Then a blessing came. I resolved to see my 

 boys, and have a talk with Ihem. The first 

 one I met admitted, with rather downcast 

 eyes, that I was right and that they were 

 wrong. He said that, in some way, they 

 had gotten into a rut, and it seemed hard 

 to get out of it; and then he gave me a most 

 happy surprise by saying that the tall 

 young man had no thought of applying that 

 cutting remark to myself. There was a 

 mischievous little chap who generally help- 

 ed along all the merriment going on in the 

 class; and this fellow said, just as they 

 were going out, that he would not be afraid 

 to go up in a flying-machine clear up into 

 the air, instead of keeping only ten feet 

 from the ground. Then the tall one replied, 

 and his answer, to w;^,came as he passed me, 

 and, I thought, as he was looking at me. 

 The answer was, " Well, if they do take 

 you up I hope they will let you drop, for 

 we haven't any use for any such 'old 

 thing' around here." But my pride had 

 received a stinging lesson; and while my 

 young friend is fully exonerated I hope the 

 lesson I received may do me as much good 

 as if his remark had in truth been intended 

 for my poor self. 



I have had just one other experience late- 

 ly in being humbled. There are some more 

 strange words in that fifth chapter of Mat- 

 thew — I mean the ones right after, where 

 we are admonished to " turn the other 

 cheek also." The Savior said, "If any 

 man will sue thee at the law, and take 

 away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also;" 

 and in the 39th verse we read also, " But I 

 say unto j'ou, that ye resist not evil." 

 These admonitions, as I take it, are to 

 brace us up against the temptation to de- 

 mand continually "our rights," or, in oth- 

 er words, to make a big; fuss about a small in- 

 justice. A little difficulty arose about set- 

 tling up an account. The transaction oc- 

 cured during Mrs. Root's recovery from her 

 recent sickness. She was still weak and 

 rather nervous. We were taking great 

 pains to have every thing quiet around the 

 premises. But this particular business 

 transaction could not well be managed else- 

 where just then, and I felt sure, even if she 

 were listening, she could not gather what 

 was going on. Let me digress enough to 

 say that the senses of sick people are some- 

 times extremely acute. I know by expe- 

 rience that, where one is obliged to lie still 

 and watch the hours as they go by, listen- 

 ing to hear the clock strike to see how time 

 passes, they get so they "catch on" to 

 things that ordinarily would be unnoticed. 



In settling up this affair, which was, 

 perhaps, a little complicated, I knew my 

 neighbor did not feel pleasant toward me, 

 and I made up my mind that I would not 

 argue over a difference of three or four dol- 



lars; but when I was called on to pay 

 him twice that amount, which it seemed to 

 me I did not justly owe, I, in a courteous 

 wa3', asked for an explanation. My op- 

 ponent resented this, and, in spite of my- 

 self, /got somewhat stirred up. It looked 

 then and there as if it were right and prop- 

 er to resent extortion, no matter what the 

 consequences were. I had good sense 

 enough, however (thank God) to realize 

 that it was not safe for me to open my mouth 

 any further. That little alarm prayer that 

 I told you about years ago began to ring 

 loudly — that old prayer of mine, "Lord, 

 help! " and I dropped the matter. I sub- 

 mitted to what seemed to me great injus- 

 tice. Soon after, I passed through the sick- 

 room. I was hoping that Mrs. Root had 

 not overheard any part of what I have men- 

 tioned, but I was a little fearful. She 

 beckoned me with her finger. When I told 

 her I had submitted for her sake, if for 

 nothing else, she suggested that I should 

 beg luy neighbor's pardon. Now, right 

 here came a big tussle. I do not know that 

 it ever before occurred to me, circumstances 

 might make it a duty, not only to give way 

 to an unjust demand but also to beg par- 

 don because you did not submit to the un- 

 just demand with a more cheerful spirit. 

 When a loved one is on a bed of sickness, it 

 is of the utmost importance that there be 

 no disturbance or discord going on, espe- 

 cially nothing that the sick one shall get 

 hold of. Under the circumstances Mrs. 

 Root's slightest wish or even suggestion 

 was a law to me, and I made haste to do all 

 she suggested. In fact, after I had recov- 

 ered a moment I considered I could honest- 

 \y beg pardon of my neighbor for even ar- 

 guing over the matter of only six or eight 

 dollars at that time — that is, I could con- 

 sent to give him whatever he asked for, 

 whether right or wrong, to avoid any un- 

 pleasantness then and there. And then I 

 could see how such a spirit will help us 

 to get along in this world. One who fol- 

 lows Christ Jesus may be called on to give 

 not only his coat but his cloak also; and 

 that, too, when the demand for either of 

 them is a piece of injustice. Do you not 

 see, dear reader, how many lawsuits, fool- 

 ish quarrels, fights among neighbors, and 

 even niurdeis, might be averted where one 

 of the parties is willing to say that, for 

 Christ's sake, he would give up his coat 

 and cloak a 'so? or, in other words, if one 

 of the neighbors who are in a quarrel 

 should say, " My good friend, you are a 

 neighbor; and, even though I can not but 

 feel that your demand is unjust, I will sub- 

 mit to it rather than quarrel over a few 

 dollars;" or, if you choose, over a small 

 strip of land where there is a division line. 

 I have prided myself all my life on being 

 ready to be fair and honest in deal. I have 

 always prided myself on thinking that / 

 certainly am easy to get along with. I do 

 not know but I shall have to admit here in 

 my old age that, perhaps, I am not always 

 easy to get along with after all. It is easy 



