nu 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 



Daisy wheelbarrow, carrying two Simplicity 

 hives, in the background, is another plea- 

 sant feature. The fellow behind him, still 

 further in the background, has probably 

 been taking his turn at the wheelbarrow, 

 for he seems to be resting. The trees which 

 are scattered among the hives, from their 

 boughs and foliage 1 should call the euca- 

 lyptus, or blue gum, that I saw in Califor- 

 nia. You did not tell us that it is yourself 

 holding a comb as if you were looking for 

 the queen, but I guess we will take it for 

 granted. The sunlight, as it falls on you 

 through the foliage, at first sight would al- 

 most make one think you had been picking 

 blackberries, and had got your shirt torn. 

 We are glad to know that you have been 

 successful in bee culture. We remember 

 your name and your kind words, away back, 

 almost if not quite as long ago as when 

 Gleanings first started. 



A LITTLE TALK ABOUT BOOKS. 



WHAT BOOKS TO READ. 



Of making- many books there is no end.— Eccle- 

 SIASTES 12 :12. 



fHE above text seems to have been very liter- 

 ally fulfilled of late years, for a great num- 

 ber of books are written every year, and 

 new books are being published daily. How 

 very different from what it was sixty-five or 

 seventy years ago! Books were not so numerous 

 nor so cheap in those days, and a family who could 

 boast of a library containing a Bible, Testament, 

 Hymn-book, Baxter's Saints' Rest, Call to the Un- 

 converted, Pilgrim's Progress, .Esop's Fables, a 

 few school-books, and perhaps a volume of history 

 or one or two story-books, were considered very 

 rich in literature; were looked up to, and often- 

 times envied by their ambitious but less-favored 

 neighbors. To-day, if any one should attempt to 

 enumerate the books of a good, bad, and indiffer- 

 ent character which are being brought into the 

 majority of homes in our land, they would find they 

 had undertaken an herculean task— one impossible 

 to accomplish. 



Although it would be impossible to give an ex- 

 tensive list of good books in a short article, it may 

 not come amiss to mention a few interesting ones, 

 and perhaps they may prove helpful to some per- 

 sons who wish to purchase books for Christmas 

 presents. 



" Letters to a Daughter," and " Letters to Elder 

 Daughters," are two excellent books (are small, the 

 two cost $ 1 85), by Mrs. Helen Ekin Starrett. They 

 will he welcomed and appreciated by any young 

 girl who desires to become a noble woman, digni- 

 fied and refined in her manners. 



" Six Girls," by Fannie Belle Irving, is an excel- 

 lent story of home life. It is bright, and full of 

 life; will be enjoyed by any girl, and at the same 

 will teach her useful lessons. 



Books by Pansy, Louisa M. Alcott, Mrs. A. D. T. 

 Whitney, the Mi6ses Warner, Miss Mulock, Hesba 

 Stretton, Mrs. Andrew Charles, Mrs. Elizabeth 

 Prentiss, and others of similar character, are 

 healthful in tone, good in sentiment, and enjoya- 

 ble. 



"Stepping Heavenward." by Mrs. Prentiss, has 

 been more widely read, I believe, than any of her 

 other works; aud right here let me tell you a little 

 incident concerning it. Some young ladies were 

 one day discussing books by various authors, 

 when one of them remarked in an interrogative 

 way: 



" ' Stepping Heavenward ' is a good book ; have 

 you read that, girls? " 



" No," said one ; " I never read it. but I have 

 heard a great deal about it, and would be glad to 

 read it if I had an opportunity, for I think I should 

 like it." 



" Well," said another,"! don't know whether 1 

 should like it or not. To tell the truth, T think the 

 name sounds too 'goody-goody; ' and T don't like 

 prosy or 'goody-goody ' books; they are too insipid. 

 I like good books, but I want them to have a little 

 spice of wickedness in them— just a little, you know, 

 enough to make the characters seem like human 

 beings instead of angels. Now, I am not very good 

 myself; and when I read of these marvelously good 

 people it makes me feel so awfully wicked. Then 

 I'll confess I'm seized with a desire to shake them 

 up and try to make them like ordinary mortals, or 

 else send them off to heaven, where they will find 

 congenial society." 



" Well, my dear," laughingly rejoined the first 

 speaker, "if you desire 'congenial society,' some 

 one with ' a spice of wickedness,' you can find it in 

 the heroine of ' Stepping Heavenward.' She had as 

 great a horror of being "goody-goody ' as you have; 

 and when she tried to be good and step heavenward 

 she found it exceedingly hard work. Read it, and 

 see if it is not so. It is an excellent book, and will 

 prove interesting as well as profitable." 



A book by Margaret Sydney, " How Tom and 

 Dorothy Made and Kept a Christian Home," is a 

 sweet little story of home life. It tells us how a 

 young couple made a home for themselves, and 

 lived true Christian lives under rather trying cir- 

 cumstances. It is well worth readingby any young 

 person, and might also benefit their elders. 



" Ben Hur; a Tale of the Christ," by Gen. Lew 

 Wallace, is so well known that one needs but to 

 say that it gives us an imaginary history of Christ's 

 life on earth; is exceedingly fascinating, seeming 

 to fill out the history given in the Bible, making it 

 more real to our minds, and is a book which can be 

 read and re-read with interest and profit. 



"In His Name; a Story of the Waldenses Seven 

 Hundred Years Ago," is a lovely Christmas story. 

 "Ten Times One Is Ten: The Possible Reforma- 

 tion," is a story of reformation. These two books 

 are by Rev. Edward Everett Hale, and are the 

 origin and foundation of the societies known as 

 "The King's Daughters," "The King's Sons," 

 " Lend a Hand," and some others. These books 

 are delightful, and profitable reading- for any one. 

 With Harry Wadsworth's motto— which is the 

 motto of these societies— we must close our little 

 talk. 



To look up, and not down ; 

 To look forward, and not back; 

 To look out, and not in; and 

 To lend a hand. 



Ipava, 111., Nov. 9, 1889. Anna B. Quillin. 



Many thanks, my good friend, for the 

 suggestions you make in regard to what 

 books to read. I can warmly second what 

 you; say about " Stepping Ileavenward ; " 



