1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



671 



I remember one bright-looking young girl 

 whom Miss Mason thought we might make 

 use of to do errands, and attend to little 

 tasks about the office work. This girl was 

 bright enough, but she could not bring her 

 mind down to the business of a book-keep- 

 er's helper. She noticed everybody who 

 came into the office; and when any member 

 of the firm had any thing to say to some- 

 body else she always heard it, and knew all 

 that was said or done everywhere, except 

 behind the ledger-desk. Miss Mason talked 

 to her, but was finally obliged to give up, as 

 I had done, that she was "no good" for 

 office work. It used to be a study to me 

 sometimes to take a look at those two— the 

 big healthy pupil who could almost look 

 down, physically, on her little teacher who 

 was so much above her, mentally, morally, 

 and spiritually, though from her childish 

 standpoint she could not comprehend the 

 difference between the two. 



Miss Mason was truthful and conscien- 

 tious, almost to a fault, if such a thing were 

 possible. Let me give you an illustration 

 or two: 



One Saturday afternoon I inquired if some 

 business transaction had been attended to. 

 She replied that it was all fixed. After I 

 left, she discovered she was mistaken— that 

 it had not been attended to at all. She set 

 to work with alacrity, and had it straight- 

 ened out before night. Inasmuch as she 

 answered me truthfully, but found out aft- 

 erward it was a mistake, and as she was 

 somewhat reluctant to have me know she 

 had been so careless, she decided there was 

 no particular reason why the matter should 

 be mentioned at all. Next day, however, 

 during the short recess between church and 

 Sunday-school, she came to me and con- 

 fessed she was mistaken when she told me 

 the matter in question was taken care of; 

 but she added she went right at it and fixed 

 it up at once. Of course, I said it was all 

 right, and that she need not have taken the 

 trouble to mention it. The reply was some- 

 thing like this: 



"Mr. Root, I tried to look at it in that 

 way, but it made me uneasy all night, and 

 my conscience has been troubling me till I 

 have made this little confession. Having 

 done it, I feel happy again." 



Now, I do not think she feared that I 

 might by some possibility discover that 

 what she had told me was untrue, but it 

 spoiled her peace of mind that night, and it 

 could not be restored until she had made 

 confession. Oh that we had more book- 

 keepers in this land of ours with a con- 

 science and disposition like that! Yes, and 

 if we had some bankers and business men 

 whose conscience and whose fear of God 

 were such that they could not rest until they 

 had made right even a statement they made 

 entirely by mistake, what a world of trouble 

 would be saved ! 



After almost twenty years of close appli- 

 cation to the book-keeping work in our 



souled, devoted Christians who try day by day to ben- 

 efit, help, and lift up their fellow-men. 



office, nature began to make a little protest. 

 We kept double entry, and the books were 

 made to balance to a copper the first of 

 every month. Our customers were all over 

 the world, and our dealings were not only 

 with thousands, but with at least a hundred 

 thousand, and both she and myself were get- 

 ting old. By the way, friends, our prayer- 

 meeting topic a few weeks ago was entitled 

 ' ' Growing Old Gracefully. ' ' May be, in con- 

 cluding the remarks of this Home Paper I 

 may be able to suggest to some of you the 

 way to grow old gracefully and to keep 

 good-natured and happy. Miss Mason and 1 

 both had some lessons to learn; but, may 

 God be praised, Christ Jesus was and is not 

 only abundantly able but willing to teach 

 these lessons. Sometimes there was neglect 

 or mistakes; and while it was my office to 

 point them out and to plan to avoid such 

 things in the future, it was not exactly my 

 fashion to do it in as kind and pleasant a 

 way as some people might have done it- 

 say the good friend of whom I have been 

 speaking. At one time I censured pretty 

 severely something that I pronounced inex- 

 cusable carelessness. She stoutly declared 

 it was not her fault, but I insisted that it 

 was, either directly or indirectly. She went 

 home feeling a good deal hurt, and perhaps 

 a httle bit out of a Christian frame of mind. 

 In the morning she came back to her work 

 fresh and bright, and with a smiling face. 

 I was a little surprised, for I expected that 

 the disagreement of the day before might 

 come up; but she soon explained why she 

 looked and felt bright and hopeful. She 

 took up the old Bible, that has been for so 

 many years on my desk, and, turning over 

 its soiled pages, she came to I. Peter 2 : 20. 

 May be it will do you good to read it, friends : 



For what grloi-y is it if, when ye be buffeted for your 

 faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do- 

 well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is 

 acceptable with God. 



She said in substance, "Mr. Root, when 

 I went home last night I was feeling very 

 unkindly toward you because you persisted 

 in blaming me for what I still think was not 

 my fault. But I finally turned to my Bible, 

 as I always do before I retire, and came 

 across these wonderful words. I know I 

 make mistakes, and I know I am often at 

 fault, and I have always felt willing to be 

 reproved, when I was to blame; but the 

 Bible says, as you will notice, that if, when 

 you are doing the very best you know how, 

 you suffer for it, there is some credit to you 

 if you take it patiently, for such a spirit is 

 acceptable with God. Now, whether I am to 

 blame or not I am going to take it pleasant- 

 ly and patiently, with God's help." 



There, friends, how many people do you 

 know in this world who go to their Bible in 

 time of such troubles, and who, after hav- 

 ing received counsel from such a source, put 

 it in practice as did our friend above ? 



After this event other things came up 

 that we could not either of us exactly ex- 

 plain in our work. When the book-keeper 

 declared it was not her fault, knowing how 

 truthful and conscientious she was I took 



