ItiSo 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUilE. 



20o 



coming: inside witli his bug'g-y, and he turned right 

 in among them, knodjing the hives over with liis 

 buggy-wheels. The bees just covered him, and he 

 did his very best to get under the ground, till he 

 got one of his buggj-wheels hung around a post, 

 and could not go any further, so lie lay right down. 

 We happened to have two large Bingham smolicrs 

 in full tune, and pa got on his bee-hat and gloves, 

 grabbed a smoker, and called for the blacli boys 

 with the other smoker, and they came to the rescue 

 like heroes. It took a hero to go out there, 300 

 stands of bees settling with a hoi-se and buggy. I 

 stayed in the honey-house (you bet I did). The 

 fruit agent went out with his hat otf, but soon re- 

 tired from the scene of action, regardless of cere- 

 mony. Pa and the black boys covered the horse 

 with smoke, cut him loose from the buggy, got a 

 rope around his neck, but he lay so still they thought 

 he was dead; but as they pulled his Iiead toward 

 the gate, and came down on his back with a stick, 

 he arose running, and went out at the gate and ran 

 a mile through the corn, and lay down. By evening 

 the horse was better, and pa tied the harness, and 

 the man left. He offered to i)ay pa; but as pa 

 wouldn't have any pay, he made him a present of 

 some strawberries, which ho was to send him the 

 next winter. But that was the last we knew of the 

 man or the strawberries either. It took lots of 

 smoke to persuade the bees that tliey ought to bo 

 Straightened, and tliey didn't want any more fool- 

 Mnicsii, and so tliey fought like tigers. 



Wai.tku JlAitTiN, age 12. 

 Henton, La., Jan. 24, lt8."i. 



Well, Walter, if yon never tried tt\ get 

 any thing without paying for it, I do not be- 

 lieve you have tliis time, for your st(n-y is 

 certainly worth any book in that wheelbar- 

 row full. It is really too bad to think what 

 troubles tlie poor man had when he came to 

 see you. so i)leasant and smiling. I am very 

 sorry he got into troiil)le, l)ut I don"t sup- 

 pose it ean do any particular liarm if we 

 laugh just a little. The vivid way in wiiicli 

 you tell of tlie transaction would do credit 

 to a veteran story-teller. I hope you will 

 give us some more letters, Walter. 



MISSIONS IN INDIA. 



A LETTKU FHOM O.NK Of (jril FOK.MEIt OFFICK 

 GIKLS. 



jr?% EAR JUVENILES:-The last time I wrote you 

 A tl 'twas on the subject of missions, in which I 

 1^ am greatly interested; and as I have listeued 

 '■*^ to-day to ^Irs. .VIexander, a lady wlio, with 

 her husband, lias been laboring in India since 

 1865, 1 am going to tell you something she said 

 about the Hindoos. 



The only god they accept, you know, is represent- 

 ed by great wooden idols, built by their own hands; 

 and their belief is, that after death their souls enter 

 the body of some animal, either the cow, oxen, 

 monkey, or snake. Isn't that dreadful"? lii con- 

 seciuence of this, none of these animals are ever 

 killed, and Mrs. A. says the reptiles are growing so 

 numerous that, in 18815, 20,000 people died from the 

 effect of snake-bites; the monkeys are so plentiful 

 and so mischievous that property is being contin- 

 ually destroyed by them. 

 One old gentleman met her one day and mourn- 



fully told her that they were tearing all the tile 

 from the roof of his house. " Why don't you kill 

 them?" she asked; but he gi-avely replied that he 

 might be killing his oivn hrotlicr. Isn't that funny':* 

 You wouldn't stand back for relationship's sake, 

 would you, my little men, if a snake should cross 

 your path? Just think what these missionaries who 

 go out there so gladly to do the Lord's work have to 

 bear, and how patiently they do brave all dangers 

 for his dear sake. They don't mind such little an- 

 noyances as lizards scampering over the walls, and 

 dropping, occasionally, on their heads below. In 

 fact, they rather welcome them, as they eat the 

 flies; but the terrible cobra de capello, scorpions, 

 centipedes, are tough citizens to deal with. 



Among other ti-oubles they have smallpox all the 

 year i-ouud, and nothing is done by the natives to 

 stop its spreading. In their ignorance and supersti- 

 tion they believe that it is some punishment sent on 

 them by their gods for certain misdeeds, so nothing- 

 is done for their sick and suffering, except, in occa- 

 sional circumstances, throwing ashes over them 

 when the dreaded itching begins. 



Mrs. Alexander, who speaks and sings their lan- 

 guage beautifull}', says that, when she enters the 

 huts of some of the villages for Bible-reading (es- 

 pecially where she is not known), it is not strange 

 to be surrounded by llfty women in a few moments. 

 Mother Eve's failing is predominant, even here. 

 They examine herself and apparel closely, and ask 

 numberless questions as to the race she represents. 

 It is no light work, here, dear little friends, lor 

 either man or woman to come boldly out on tlu" 

 I liOrd'sside; lor when one accepts the Savior here 

 I he has to give up mother, wife, children; in fact, 

 every thing which goes to make life hen; happy; 

 j for when a Fh-ahmin once loses caste, as he does 

 ! when he espou.ses Christianity, he is dead as far as 

 his family is concerned. Little girls are betrothed 

 I here at four and live, and married when ten and 

 I twelve jears of age. Mrs. A. told of one little 

 I married lady, about 14, who, while home on a visit 

 { to her mother, was converted. When she I'eturued 

 to her husband they commenced persecuting her— 

 accused her first of theft; they tested her inno- 

 cence by holding her feet over the live coals until 

 they were blistered. As she had nothing to confess, 

 even then, they gave that up; and as her husband 

 died shortly afterward, she was accused of poison- 

 ing him. In fact, she was persecuted so that she 

 tied to the Christians for refuge. Eventually she 

 married one of them, and is now one of the most ef- 

 ficient workers in the corps. 



Mrs. A. closed her discourse about this good work, 

 with an appeal for prayers and what material help 

 could be given. Dear little friends, do you realize 

 how the missionary pennies you give in. Sabbath 

 after Sabbath, help? Let me tell you what we are 

 doing in our Sunday-school. Every child who will 

 pledge himself to a i)enny a week is given a bank to 

 take home with him, and last Sabbath the banks 

 which were called in, after being out ten weeks, 

 yielded about §20.00. Doing pretty well, isnt it? 

 The banks were then given out again. 1 have nine 

 little boys in my S. S. class, and some got quite in- 

 terested in trying to see if they couldn't have more 

 in their banks, when added up, than their teacher 

 had, and I am not so sure but that they succeeded. 

 Do you like the idea? Bess. 



Washington, D. C, Feb. 5, 188.5. 



And SO it is true, dear old friend Dess. that 



