858 



(iLKANINCS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec 1. 



1*^ gorry, b'red 

 Anderson, is 

 it yerself me 

 two eyes are 

 a beholdin'? 

 or, whist ye! 

 is it yer spir- 

 it?" 



Fred turned 

 suddenly; his 

 knees quak- 

 ed, and he grasped the railing for support. 



"Matt Hogan," said he, in an astonished 

 whisper, then louder, "Matt Hogan, and alive! 

 thank God!" 



"Ha, ha! me dear Fred, yees be a quare 

 janius to think me a dead man whin I am alive 

 from the sole of me great toe to the summit of 

 me head." 

 " But, Malt, how did you escape the flood '? " 

 " An' it's the same quesiion I'd be afther ask- 

 in' yerself." 



"But, Matt, that big tree-root knocked you 

 off the raft and under the water, before my 

 very eyes." 



'•An' sure I thought it served yees the same 

 thrick." 



"Oh, no!" said Fred; "that's where you lost 

 track of me." And Fred told the story of his 

 escape and sickness; "and you see 1 am rather 

 shaky yet; but 1 tell you. Malt, what a load is 

 oflf my mind to tind you alive and well! 

 Hurrah!" 



"Hist, there, now, Fred, with yer demonstra- 

 tions; yees make me blush, for this crowd will 

 think we're loaded with tangle fool; let's sit 

 down in some quiet corner where we can have 

 our celebration all to ourselves. Yer anxious 

 to know the manner of me escape; so, to make 

 me sthory short, I will mintion that, afther 

 shweeping me off the work-binch, that ould 

 tree-stump took another turn jist in time lo let 

 me get aboard. ' Wid yer lave,' said I, as I 

 sthraddled it. Thin another ould stump locked 

 horns with it so fasht that I had a raft of me 

 own. 'Thanks for shmall favors,' said I, ' an' 

 hurrah for the big ones.' Me gondoly avoided 

 all side isshues, an' kept in the middle of the 

 river all day; an', Fred, I had no idaa the river 

 was half so long; but, long as it was in the day 

 time, it raached out to the crack o' doom at 

 night; an' I began to faal loike slippin' off, 

 quiet loike, into the flood. But, do you belave 

 it? Miss Alfaretta's meremaids began to talk 



to me. I supp-^se it was all of me benumbed, 

 hungry, and fatigued condition; but a voice 

 seemed to say. ' Matt Hogan. yer a fool.' ' That 

 may be,' says I; ' but, please don't mintion it 

 outside the family.' Another says, ' Matt 

 Hogan, do yees love Biddy Malooney ? ' ' By 

 me soul I does,' says I. ' Do ye think yees '11 be 

 afther getting married ?' says another. 'An' 

 sure, I will,' says I. ' But,' says the meremaid, 

 'there's one condition.' 'An' what is that?' 

 says I. "Hould fasht to the stump,' says she. 

 'An' what if I don't ? ' says I. ' Why, you fool,' 

 says the voice, ' you'll be drowned. Thin it's 

 yer Biddy that '11 marry ould Tim Connor.' 

 ' Bad cess to yees, to the flood, an' to Tim Con- 

 nor. I defy yees all,' says I; an' 1 tell yees, 

 Fred, I kept me word, an' clung to the raft. 

 That Tim Connor idaa saved me life. Early 

 in the morning I was taken from me raft more 

 dead than alive by a rescue-boat, and taken to 

 Sacramento. I kept a saying 'Meremaids, 

 meremaids,' so they told me afterward; an' if 

 it was maids I wanted, they said I should have 

 them; an' they put me into the ould maids' 

 hospital. To make me sthory short, I had a 

 long run of faver. an' you see I am shaky yet; 

 but the seein' of yees puts new life into me;" 

 and the two shook hands again. "I see, Fred, 

 fur all the bad luck yees had, yees still inter- 

 ested in baas." 



"Yes; but. Matt, that was a discouraging 

 blow to me. I think I will look up some other 

 business." 



" Before you do," said Matt, " you'd best see 

 a man who is in camp near the hospital. He 

 has a baa-ranch in the mountains— but, by me 

 soul! there's the man now lookin'at that honey 

 exhibit," said Matt, grasping Fred by the arm. 



" Which man ? " asked Fred. 



" The large man with a slouch hat and long 

 grayish whiskers. He is a docthor; come over 

 an' I will inlrojuce yees." 



" Good afthernoon, docthor." 



" Why, Matt Hogan! glad to see you; what 

 has come over you, Hogan ? you look much bet- 

 ter than you did yesterday." 



" I have found a rimedy here to-day, docthor, 

 that puts new life into me. Dr. Hayden, allow 

 me to inlrojuce me friend Fred Anderson, the 

 fellow I thought was drowned along with his 

 honey." 



"Indeed, Mr. Anderson, I am more than 

 pleased to meet you. Mr. Hogan has given me 

 a history of your conversion of a bee-cave into 



