1878. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



165 



\m gctmi' 



He that is slow to ani^tr w better than the mig-hty; 

 and ho that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a 

 city.— Proverbs, 16; 32. 



fJjRIEND ROOT :— Have read the chapter In Feb. 

 Gleanings about yourself with much Interest. 

 "-^ 'Tis rather a new way to talk and criticize 

 ones self, but seems to prove the Scripture "And 

 their works do follow them." Could we realize that 

 our works follow us and that there is no "Salvation 

 from sin" except bj^ "doing wnrhs" "meet for re- 

 pentance," we could not afford to knowingly do 

 wrong. If you are really in earnest in changing 

 from evil to fe'ood, I would like to live near j-ou that 

 we might try friendly "mutual criticism" and try to 

 help each other. 



My besetting sin is a quick ungovernable temper 

 which causes me much trouble. My first recollec- 

 tion of mechanical work, is of trying to build a "box 

 trap" from bits of lumber. When nearly completed 

 an unlucky nail made a bad split; in an instant the 

 angry hammer made splinters of the trap. In a few 

 moments I was at work again on another trap, this 

 time boring a hole for each nail, to make a "sure 

 thing." Playmates of my boyhood could tell how 

 easily I used to "get mad." After long years of hai'd 

 trying I can generally keep cool and civil towards 

 human associates, but my favorite horse, pet cow 

 and gentle sheep are all liable to come in for their 

 share of abuse, if I chance to think they knowinglj' 

 disobey. The bees are a perfect checkmate; when 

 they won't "down" there comes a sort of feeling that 

 they won't scare easy— that kicking the hive over 

 won't pay— that sticks, stones, loud talk or even 

 "cuss words" won't do any good; so I quietly use 

 smoke or sweetened water; now what i want and 

 need is not simply to prevent an outward show of 

 singer, but the spirit and self control that prevents 

 the first feeling of anger; can vou help me? 



Mt. Airy, N. C, March 14th, 'VS. J. H. B. 



If my writing took liold of yrm, my friend, 

 yon can hardly imagine lio\V your kind 

 words have taken hold of me, -ind how my 

 heart warms toward you, for the simple lit- 

 tle confession you have made. May God help 

 us both to conie nearer to that Golden Mean 

 where the first feeling of anger may be re- 

 pressed in tlie outset. I do not krioAV how 

 it seems to you, but with myself, 1 feel that 

 I have far, oh, so very far, to travel before I 

 shall reach that point. At the very moment 

 I am now writing, between 30 and 40 fellow 

 beings are working for me. all about me, 

 and I believe without exception, with wil- 

 ling hands ; they are all willing. I am sure; 

 for at different times in the past years, they 

 liave come to me one by one, asking me to 

 give them something to do. They have 

 helped me and 1 feel indebted to them ; per- 

 ha])s I have helped them, and they feel in- 

 ilebted to me. 8ome of them are skillful 

 naturally, and some are not. Now this 

 sounds rather hard, for I have faults as well 

 as they, and well they know it, but I liardly 

 think there is one in the whole lot, that 

 would speak as unkindly of me. as I am at 

 this very minute speaking of them. 



I am often advised not to keep hands that 

 do not prove trustworthy ; but some way 

 when I kneel in i)rayer ;it night the thought 

 keeps coming u]), '"inasmucli as you have 

 done it unto the least of one of these, you 

 have done it unto me,'' and I resolve to be 

 kind and ])atient. Pretty soon I discover 

 some very valuable trait in the very one who 

 lias tried' my ]i:vtience so severely. Like the 

 lesson of last month about the glass, I begin 

 to think the fault more mine' thaii theirs. 



after all, and I assure you it is a much 



Eleasanter thought than to be all the time 

 laming somebody. 



It was but yesterday that two of the 

 younger hands, boys in their teens, annoyed 

 me repeatedly by leaving their work and 

 rambling over the premises, under one pre- 

 text or another, until I had fully resolved 

 that I would cut down their wages, temi)o- 

 rarily, as a punishment ; but when I consid- 

 ered how keenly they would feel such a re- 

 ))roof, aside from the loss of the money, I 

 felt that it would be at least a safe way, to 

 talk to each one mildly, first. I waited un- 

 til after dinner, when all were in a pleasant 

 mood. In a quiet friendly way, I told them, 

 each one by himself, that they had wasted 

 their time, and that it was not fair, for me 

 to pay them just as good wages as those who 

 worked steadily all day long ; and although 

 it might seem to them a small matter, I felt 

 obliged to si)eak about it, on account of the 

 intluence it might have upon others, as well 

 as for their own good. Both of them re- 

 plied to me in a frank manly way, and i)rom- 

 ised to do better. Do you know how much 

 better I felt than if I had scolded the poor 

 boys V And yet it would have been no more 

 than right to have told them "whafs what," 

 as the world expresses it. When I have re- 

 proved a hand in that kind and friendly 

 i spirit, I believe I have never yet found one 

 so bad as to refuse to comply with iny re- 

 quests ; and yet over and over again, I have 

 to fight the same battles, to resist the tempt- 

 ation to indulge in "righteous indignation." 

 Is not righteous indignation sometimes prop- 

 er y Perhaps it is, but I fear God never in- 

 tended to entrust me, with any such weapon, 

 for I always hurt myself whenever I under- 

 take to handle it. 



A few weeks ago a boy who, I knew, had 

 been considered ratlier quarrelsome, applied 

 to me for work. I was not very much ac- 

 quainted with him, but from what I had 

 heard, was rather i)rejudiced. Although I 

 told him I was in need of no more hands, 

 and rather evaded his request, he came to 

 me the second time, and begged for S(uue- 

 thiug to do. He said he would go to meet- 

 ing, but he had no clothes fit to wear, and 

 that if tiiere was anybody that really needed 

 to be given something to do, he was the one. 

 He said he would woik for whatever wages 

 I might give him. This is a trilling thing 

 to relate, I know ; want and suffering are 

 common things in this world, and they are 

 very apt to be trilling things, to those who 

 have an iibundance. I gave him work, and 

 he took hold so eagerly, that I fairly pitied 

 the boy; when I discovered that he was 

 rather slow to understand, and often made 

 mistakes, I pitied him tlie more, for well I 

 remembered the time when I was scolded 

 and laughed at for my slowness of jtercep- 

 tion,and my extreme awkvrardness, when 

 asked t<i do anything I was not familiar 

 with. I was so slow in getting hold of the 

 right tiling, or getting hold of the right 

 place, esi)ecially if it hapi)ened that there 

 was not a minute to lose, that even my own 

 father, half in jest, nicknamed me "snail 

 driver," and when the rest took it up. and 

 when all the bovs of niv own age seemed so 



