486 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15. 



bit of fatigue nor any inclination to sleep. 

 Now, this matter of health is of such impor- 

 tance that I want permission to digress a little 

 right here. On page 6:3, Jan. 15, I told some- 

 thing of my nervous troubles, and that, while 

 working in the office, I find it necessary to visit 

 the closet almost every hour. On this particu- 

 lar day I had felt no inconvenience in this 

 direction at all, and had not thought of the clos- 

 et since early in the morning. Had I been read- 

 ing the letters that were at that very time pil- 

 ed up on my desk, I should have been thorough- 

 ly exhausted and used up, long before noon. 

 As it was, when I came on to the beautiful 

 streets of Akron I felt bright and fresh, ex- 

 cept when I passed different buildings labeled 

 " Milk Station No. 7," or No. 8, etc., and began 

 to remember that a glass of milk would be ex- 

 ceedingly grateful just then. Then I remem- 

 bered, too, of the years gone before, when, in 

 going into a city, I felt a longing for a glass of 

 beer. Oh! it was not so very many years ago, 

 after all, since I felt that longing. When over- 

 worked mentally I feel that old craving for 

 beer; but when riding the wheel I would rather 

 have a glass of milk than any other beverage 

 in the world. Of course, 1 don't care for milk 

 until it comes near dinner time. When there is 

 a little craving for food, then the thirst begins 

 to be for milk. As I rode along I mentally 

 thanked God again and again that all the 

 craving I now felt for any sort of stimulant 

 was just for milk, the nourishment that comes 

 from God's own hand to his children. Now, 

 friends, there is a moral right here. We over- 

 task ourselves mentally; perhaps we bring on 

 ourselves care and worry, and with it comes a 

 thirst for stimulants. With an abundance of 

 the right kind of outdoor exercise, I feel cer- 

 tain the natural craving will be for the milk 

 and 7iot for the beer. 



By the time I reached the City Restaurant, 

 on North Howard St., I was quite ready for a 

 good meal. A tasty card hung out on the 

 street, with its inviting legend, " Dinner is now 

 r(>ady— only ~5 cts." After giving my order I 

 noticed a pitcher of milk standing near; also a 

 plate of nice-looking bread. In order to save 

 time I took a slice of bread and a glass of milk. 

 Oh! wasn't that bread and milk delicious! It 

 seemed to me as if I never tasted any thing 

 more refreshing. By the time the waiter got 

 around with a large slice of fresh tish. just 

 brown enough to be right, and vegetables to 

 match, I had emptied the cream-pitcher and 

 pretty nearly the bread-plate. It did not 

 trouble me, however, very much, to manage 

 also the good dinner he brought. I tried to 

 persuade them at the desk that they should 

 take more than 35 cts.; but they very pleasant- 

 ly replied that 25 cts. was enough, and that, if I 

 felt like it, I could tell my friends that they 

 furnished nice dinners on very short notice, and 

 at a very moderate price. I should have men- 

 tioned that the gentlemanly proprietor, Mr. 

 Molz, is somewhere near the door about dinner- 

 time; and his pleasant good nature, as he opens 

 the door and bows customers in. has much to 

 do with malving the place attractive. Howl 

 do love to see a prompt, energetic business man 

 look after the interests of his business! After 

 I had finished my dinner, as there were no 

 horses to hitch up or look after I got on my 

 wheel and started on. There were several rea- 

 sons for riding slowly. It was a very warm 

 day, and my course east was up-hill; and after 

 such a full dinner I thought I would ride lei- 

 surely for a mile or two. When I came to that 

 part of the city which used to be called Middle- 

 bury I noticed another neat little card in front 

 of a drugstore. It read, "Rest and refresh- 

 jnent, only 5 cents." As I was on an exploring 



expedition, of course I' stopped to inquire. A lot 

 of very pretty seats were fixed in front of a 

 soda-fountain: and the proprietor dispensed 

 ice-cream soda to his guests. After I had had 

 a glass of delicious soda and cream, flavored 

 with Riverside oranges, it occurred to me that 

 I could enjoy my trip more if I were to take a 

 little nap before going further. A boarding- 

 house keeper next door placed a dainty little 

 room at my disposal, in a twinkling. As it was 

 an upstair room, he told me I could open any or 

 all of the windows, and have just as much 

 breeze as I chose, and sleep just as long or 

 short as I chose. When the door was closed I 

 could not do otherwise than drop on my knees 

 and thank God for such a very pleasant vaca- 

 tion day as I was having. I thanked him for 

 this our native land, so full of industry and 

 enterprise, and so full of courteous, kind, and 

 obliging people. I thanked him that just now, 

 in this 19th century, it is so easy to get away 

 from home, and find home comforts at every 

 turn; and I felt glad to think, too, that it was 

 my privilege to reward all these good people 

 who seemed so willing to wait on me and do 

 their best, and, for a very small sum of money, 

 to furnish me all the comforts of life, including 

 this tidy little sleeping-room, with windows 

 almost all around; and I thanked him, too, for 

 the blessing of sleep. Truly the words of the 

 little text 1 have chosen are true. In almost 

 less than one minute, surroundings were for- 

 gotten. I slept a delicious dreamless sleep for 

 perhaps three-fourths of an hour. When 1 

 awoke, even before I knew where I was or how 

 I came there, I laughed almost aloud because I 

 felt happy. 



As I came out with my wheel, an electric car 

 loaded with passengers buzzed past the door. 

 Forty years ago this very vicinity was a wilder- 

 ness. I used to travel through here with my 

 father, driving a gentle horse that carried a 

 small load of stoneware. My father had a larg- 

 er load ahead. Could this indeed be Middle- 

 bury? What wondrous changes! Great tall 

 chimneys rose on every hand. Volumes of 

 black smoke poured forth. Factories and pot- 

 tery-shops wei'e on every hand. The gravelly 

 hills had been leveled down, and multitudes of 

 workmen were filling the factories, tunneling 

 into the earth for coal, iron, clay, and other 

 minerals. I started after the electric car, 

 thinking I would follow the crowd of well- 

 dressed people. It swung around a hill, and 

 pretty soon it stopped before the gate of a beau- 

 tiful park. Was it a fairy scene or reality? 

 When I used to travel through here I had never 

 noticed any pond; but over the gateway, in 

 large letters, 1 read, *' Blue Pond Park." I rode 

 up to the gateway, and asked if I could go in 

 with my wheel. " Why, most certainly," said 

 the gate-keeper. And all he wanted was a 

 nickel. Once inside I took my wheel again, 

 an4 enjoyed myself going around on the beau- 

 tiful track made of plank that entirely sur- 

 rounds Blue Pond. Up among the trees was a 

 refreshment-stand; and a little way oft' was a 

 merry-go-round, and painted boats were out on 

 the water for those who cared to fish. I left 

 Blue Pond Park; but almost as soon as I reach- 

 ed the main street a great derrick, toward a 

 hundred feet high, rose majestically against 

 the blue sky; and then I remembered that I 

 had heard they struck a great reservoir of oil, 

 not long ago, in this very vicinity. Of course, I 

 turned my wheel toward this well which, they 

 said, was already down .3()00 feet. Why shouldn't 

 I look up all of these wonderful things while I 

 was out on a vacation, with no more care or 

 worry than the butterflies that flitted from 

 flower to flower ? 



Continued in our next. 



