334 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 



I suppose that many of you feel like saying 

 tills is all foollsliness ; and I confess it is just 

 about what I think of it. But what shall my 

 brother and I do? He can probably overcome 

 almost every other temptation, without very 

 much difficulty; and I have been enabled to so 

 far get past nearly all the other rocks and 

 breakers, that with Qod's help, I have almost 

 forgotten that they ever existed to trouble me. 

 There is one thing pretty certain; when I kneel 

 in prayer with him again, I can from the bot- 

 tom of my heart, ask God to help us both, for 

 we both feel that we are helpless. 



Sometime, I hope to tell you something about 

 how I feel about prayer, and the way in which 

 it helps me in these difficult places ; but I can- 

 not do it now, farther than this one illustra- 

 tion. This matter was made one of special 

 prayer; and I told my Saviour that if it were 

 best that this temptation should not be re- 

 moved as others had been, I would try to do 

 the best I could ; and I asked to be shown 

 where the first of this evil came in, and more 

 of the mysteries of ray own heart. Very soon 

 it began to unfold itself, and to be made plain, 

 or at least plainer. My friend, if you are a 

 fault finder and a scold, and want to get over 

 it, you ha^'e very likely a pretty big job on 

 hand, and the mischief has doubtless a root 

 where von least expect it. 



I should hardly wish to say that all who 

 fliid fault are covvardly, but I do feel that 7 a n 

 too cowardly, or perhaps too weak or feeble to 

 take up what I know to be my duty, when I 

 get into a scolding mood. Trials will come, 

 and difficult and hard things to do, must be 

 done, or we mu-it take the cooseqiiences. Be- 

 cause a neighbor, or bscause those about us 

 have bid and glaring faults, we must not take 

 it for granted tliey are all bad. To illustrate : 

 Many of you may have neighbors who will 

 borrow your tea, sugar, butter or soap, and 

 they will do it without any idea of ever paying 

 it back again. I was told by a woman thai 

 she had to stop Ijuying her soap by the bo.x, 

 just because her neighbors would find it out, 

 and borrow it incessantly without paying it 

 back a2;ain. Perhaps they, poor souls, took it 

 for granted she must have an abundance of 

 money, or she would not have such a supply 

 of every thing, and a bar of soap was such a 

 mere trifle, it did not seem a very great sin, if 

 they should not repay it. The question will 

 well up, " Cm they be Christians and do this?" 

 Well, I confess, I don't know, but I think it 

 will be safer for us to conclude they can, that 

 perhaps their mothers and grandmothers did 

 the same thing, and that it is not very much 

 worse than things we do. But hold on ! we 

 are not to drop the matter there, by any 

 means. It is right that you should buy your 

 soap by the box, and thus save much useless 

 running, besides the saving in money; and it 

 is wrung for you to encourage in your neigh- 

 bors, what you all know to be a kind of petty 

 thieving. A responsibilty rests on you, and 

 you have no right to evade it. Your husband 

 is perhaps struggling hard to get the where- 

 with to get a whole box of soap, and you have 

 no right to allow yourself to be robbed in this 

 wav. 



You might remedy the matter by making 

 out u bill of the items of sugar, tea, coffee, eggs 



and soap, and sending over, but I fear it woukJ 

 produce much the same effect as would telling 

 one of the boys on the street, while swearing, 

 that he was a low lived vagabond, and de- 

 served to have his mouth slapped every time 

 he uttered an oath. Your neighbor might stop 

 borrowing of you, but you would be bitter 

 enemies henceforth. More than that, it would 

 probably have very little eflfect in preventing 

 them froTJ doing the same thing elsewhere. 

 Now I will try to tell you where the courage 

 comes in, and where I am an arrant coward. 

 The work that God calls on me to do, and that 

 I hang back from, evade and shirk in every 

 possible way, is going to them in the spirit of 

 kindness, somewhat in this way, 



" My friend, there is something I feel I ought 

 to say to you ; and yet I dislike to do it, you 

 know not how much. I do not wish to hurt 

 your feelings, or give you pain, and I do not 

 wish to find fault, bu;. 1 wish that we may re- 

 main friends. You have borrowed from me 

 for a long while, and for some reason unknown 

 to me, have not paid back what you have bor- 

 rowed. It seeras a small matter, but ray hus- 

 band and I have been obliged to closely econ- 

 omize. I have felt that I should feel better, 

 and thi^ it would be better all round, if I spoke 

 of this." 



I need scarcely tell you what the result will 

 b3, for you all know that if you do this in the 

 true spirit of kindness and love, you have made 

 a true friend for life. It may be that your 

 friend will have to be lifted up again, but if 

 you do your part well and faithfully, you will 

 soon have her working with you, for the good 

 of others. After takino; up such a cross as 

 this, how one can almost hear that still small 

 voice saying " Well done, thou good and faith- 

 ful servant." 



Now if we go ba?k still farther, we shall find 

 that the fault is a great part oars, that this 

 state of affairs existed. Long before your 

 neighbor made so free with your household 

 goods, you have parhaps in an unguarded mo- 

 ment of generosity, invited her to help herself, 

 and to be free to send for whatever she wished. 

 If you are prone to have cross sp^dls, beware 

 of getting too pleasant. Check both extremes, 

 to the extent of seeming cross and crabbed 

 when you do not feel so, if yon can do )io bet- 

 ter. Be careful and particular, and keep track 

 of ev;ry little item. Those who have taught a 

 village or country school, know well the result 

 of too much freedom with the scholars. Pre- 

 serve a proper and consistent dignity, and be- 

 ware how you invite freedom by telling any 

 body to go and help themselves, or to keep 

 their own accounts. Be pleasant and friendly 

 with those all about you, but beware how you 

 spend very much time in idle talk. I do verily 

 believe that idle talk and useless controversy 

 has, more than any other one thing, unfitted 

 me for grappling with the stern realities of 

 every day life, in a pleasant and cheerful man- 

 ner. I know I should be kind and friendly to 

 all about me, and I do know too, that this 

 kindness should be distributed in an even way. 



It is often a positive unkindness to a person, 

 to bo too lenient, or perhaps I should say, too 

 easy or loose in business with him. The hands 

 in a manufactory, may get into a habit of 

 smashing the tools, and although it seems 



