1878. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



129 



lur %cnjm' 



And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy 

 brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in 

 thine own eye?— Luke, 6; 41. 



nMrUST back of where I sit writing, we used 

 d'l to have a pencil case, with a glass over 

 the top. Occasionally, some customer 

 ox friend wliile talking^ would lesm careless- 

 ly on the glass, and it would be broken. 

 They would of course apologize for their care- 

 lessness, and hand over a sufficient amount 

 of money to make the case good, generally 

 remarking that they ought to have known 

 better than to lean on a glass in that way. 

 In a few days the case would be broken 

 again, in tlie same way, and I, finally losing 

 patience, spoke something in this wise, "I 

 do wish people had sense enough to keep 

 their elbows off a glass case.'' 



But still they broke them and felt badly 

 about it, and I took their money to pay for 

 having a new glass put in. What do" you 

 think about it my friends? 



The fact that good people kept leaning on 

 the glass, began to make me feel, especially 

 Avhen I was not in a complaining mood, that 

 l>erhaps I ought not to ask them, or rather 

 to expect them not to lean on the case, situ- 

 ated exactly as that one was. In one of 

 these better moments, I moved one case 

 ti way, (there were two of them) and had a 

 heavy plate glass, at an expense of $7.00, 

 put in the otlier. Of course there was no 

 more breaking. Do you not think I felt 

 better about it? And is it not well for us to 

 look carefully at home, and see if the fault is 

 not ours, before we blame poor humanity 

 for doing something that a great many peo- 

 ple would do, especially, when they do it in- 

 nocently, as was the case in breaking the 

 glasses, and to consider whether there is not 

 some unnoticed beam in our own eyes, be- 

 fore we are too severe on a brother, or many 

 brothers, because there are motes in their 

 eyes? 



In Mr. Langstroth's last writing for 

 Gleanings, he seems to have struck on 

 the same line of thought, and although for 

 years he thought that the world had been 

 treating him unkindly, \\iis he not in a bet- 

 ter and happier spirit, when he wrote the 

 following, that I liave taken from page 79, 

 of our volume III? 



Now a few words about patenting- devices which, 

 however valuable, can be easily made, and without 

 a large investment in machinerj-, &c. Such patents 

 will be largely infringed upon and the patentee will 

 usually find himself without any redress. The pat- 

 ent laws do not, and cannot protect him. He may 

 commence legal proceedings in the United States 

 Courts against infringers. But few have the means 

 to do this, even if it would pay to hunt up and pros- 

 ecute small infringers. The patent is like a good 

 pasture, with weak walls or fences, and hungry cat- 

 tle all around it— sure in due lime to be trampled 

 down and eaten up. If a patent is upon something 

 which requires much skill, and considerable capital 

 for its manufacture, it is far less likely to be infring- 

 ed. Men are not apt to invest largely without care- 

 ful inquiry as to the rights of others— they have too 

 much at stake and by their large investments can be 

 too easily reached for damages. 



Does it not approach, in spirit, to the sen- 

 timent expressed in, ''Father forgive them, 

 for they know not what they do?" 



I have, before, mentioned as an illustra- 

 tion, the experiment of hanging out a bas- 

 ket of fine apples, and requesting by a card, 

 that all who take an apple leave a penny. 



There is no question about it, all who take 

 one of the apples, should leave a penny in its 

 place; but so Jong as we are well aware that 

 humanity will not do it, shall we censure them 

 too severely? My friend, are you quite sure 

 that you would always leave the penny? 

 and you? and you? and you? 1 think it very 

 likely that nearly all of you say you would; 

 now please do not get angry, but my friend 

 I am not quite sure you would. To come right 

 home, unless I made some strong resolution, 

 or unless I had some particular motive to 

 make me vehement in the matter, I am pret- 

 ty sure I should, after a while, get to taking 

 the apples without leaving a penny. I 

 should have a good excuse, no doubt, for we 

 always do; I think it would come about 

 something in this manner. I would feel in 

 my pocket for a penny, and being very tired 

 and thirsty, I would make up my mind to 

 take the nice apple, and put in a penny 

 when I came back; or to make it all very 

 fair, I would sometime put in two pennies. 

 This I would do for a while, andtheni would 

 get more careless, and take a half dozen 

 without remembering how many, and to 

 make itup, put in a half dime, thinking I had 

 more than paid for all I had taken. If the 

 owner of the basket should ever call me to 

 account, I would protest that I had put in 

 more money than I had taken apples. If 

 proof were brought to bear that was un- 

 questionable I would in great astonishment 

 say, "Why, I cannot think it jiossible, that I 

 havereallj^ taken so many." 



At another time, I might Claim the apple 

 was a miserable little affair, and that 1 did 

 not think I ought, in justice, to pay anything 

 for it. Again the complaint would be that I 

 did not have it, it was somebody who was 

 going along with me. At another time, I 

 miglit say I had entirely forgotten the mat- 

 ter, and if censured for my forgetfulness, 

 perhaps I would claim I had done no wrong 

 at all, for I honestly meant to keep it all 

 straight, but it was forgotten, and therefore 

 I was not really to blame. 



The excuses would be almost endless, for 

 the disappearance of the apples, and the lack 

 of pennies in their stead. At the same time, 

 no one would be willing to be called a thief. 

 If you complained of yoiu' losses, and ap- 

 pealed to— to — well I hardly know who you 

 could appeal to, for you would be told oii all 

 sides that you must be a fool, to think you 

 could sell apples without standing hj_ your 

 basket and watching it. Is humanity to 

 blame because they will not pay for every 

 thing they have, without being watched? 

 All you that think they are to blame, please 

 raise the hand! Very well; now all who think 

 they are not to blame, please raise the hand! 

 If you want a little more time to study the 

 question, think of it a while. 



Again; should people be blamed for doing 

 just such things as we ourselves do? Be 

 careful now, or I shall have you in a ''tight 

 place." If you say they are, then you admit 

 there is a great iieed of reformation, and 

 that it should include your owii self. If you 



