1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



285 



"Yellows ui'ii iiil right, for a bailor vesti- 

 bule, but they iiuist uut be used in any 

 room in which one rests or reads or works. 

 Why? Because yellows do not absorb any 

 light, but are strong reflectors, and the re- 

 flected rays of light are not only trying to 

 the eyes, but positively affect the brain and 

 the spirits, creating a distinct disturbance 

 of the nervous centers. So the modern 

 scientilic dc^corator, at any rate, tells us, 

 and we believe him. 



"On the other hand, bnffs and creams 

 are reconmu'iided for the nursery and chil- 

 dren's slcei,ing rooms because of their 

 tonic qualiiies. They are better than 

 ■white, which is apt to disturb the young 

 optic nerves by its brilliancy, and are cal- 

 culated to impart a cheerful btit not too 

 boisterous ttanperament as well as a good 

 complexion to the youngsters." — Uphol- 

 sterer. 



Not AH at Once. 



Suzanne Logier was a good actress, but 

 extremely stout. She was one night en 

 acting a part in a melodrama with Tail- 

 lade, the original Pierre of "The Two Or- 

 phans," and this actor had at one moment 

 to carry \wv fainting off the stage. He 

 tried with all his might to lift the "fat" 

 heroine, but although she helped her little 

 comrade by standing on tiptoe in the tisual 

 manner he was uualjle to move her an 

 inch. At this juncture one of the deities 

 cried from the gallery, "Take what you 

 can and come back for the rest!" — Pai'is 

 Letter. 



STEVENSON'S PIRATICAL PLAN. 



3le Tells How Easy It Would Be to Kob 

 Iiondoji Hotels on Sunday. 



The last time I had the happiness of see- 

 ing Stevenson w^as on Sunday, Atig. 21, 

 1887. He had been brought up from 

 Bournemouth the day before in a wretched 

 condition of health and was lodged in a 

 private hotel in Finsbury Circus, in the 

 city, ready to be easily moved to a steamer 

 in the Thames on t\w morrow. I was 

 warned, in a note, of his passage through 

 town and of the uncertainty whether he 

 could be seen. On the chance I went over 

 early on the morrow, and, very happily for 

 me, he had had a fair night and could see 

 me for an hcnir or two. No one else but 

 Mrs. Stevenson was with him. His posi- 

 tion was one which might have datmted 

 any man's s])irit, doomed to exile, in mis- 

 erable health, starting vaguely across the 

 Atlantic, with all his domestic interests 

 roofed up, and with no notion where, or 

 if at all they should be replanted. If ever 

 a man of imagination cotild be excused 

 for repining, it was now. But Louis show- 

 ed no white feather. He was radiantly 

 humorotis and romantic. 



It was church time, and there was some 

 talk of my witnessing his will, which I 

 did not do, because there could be found 

 no other reptitable witness, the whole crew 

 of the hotel being at church. This set 

 Louis off on a splendid dream of nmiance. 

 "This," he said, "is the way in which our 

 valuable city hotels — ^packed doubtless 

 with rich objects of jewelry — are deserted 

 on a Sunday morning. Some bold pirat- 

 ical fellow, defying the spirit of Sabbata- 

 rianism, might make a handsome revenue 

 by sacking the derelict hotels between the 

 hours of 10 and 12. One hotel a week 

 would suffice to enable such a man to re- 

 tire into private life within the space of a 

 year. A mask might perhaps be worn for 

 the mere fancy of the thing and to terrify 

 kitchen maids, but no real disguise would 

 be needful to an enterprise that would re- 

 quire nothing but a brave heart and a 

 careful study of the City Postal Directo- 

 ry." He spoke of the matter with so much 

 fire and gallantry that I blushed for the 

 youth of England and its lack of manly 

 enterprise. No one ever could descr! >e 

 preposterous conduct with such a convinc- 

 ing air as Louis could. Common .sense 

 was positively humbled in his presence. — 

 "Personal Memories of Stevenson," by 

 Edmund Gosse, in Century. 



The Humiliation of a Pharaoh. 



The official Egyptian has apparently no 

 particular respect for the remains of his 

 ancestors, even when these are of royal 

 lineage. Brugscii Bey, who has been a.s- 

 sioting M. de 2vl organ, the Egyptologist, 

 in lihi explorations, recently discovered a 

 nnimmy, believed to be one of the i^hara- 

 ohs, and prepai'ed to transport the prize 

 to Cairo. On reaching the railway station 

 he resolutely declined to conUde this pre- 

 cious package to the luggage van. Tliis the 

 oiiicials did not greatly mind, but they 

 coiiipelled the discoverer to take a first 

 dims ticket for Pharaoh as well as one for 

 hii:i;:ulf. 



On reaching Cairo there was fresh trou- 

 ble with the "octroi" officials. "What 

 have you got there?" Brug.sch Bey was 

 asked. "Anuimmy," was the reply. "Ah, 

 you can't get that through without pay- 

 ing." "But," urged Pharaoh's guardian, 

 ' ' niumm ies surely don't pay ' octroi' duty?' ' 

 "Don't they?" replied the official. "We 

 will see what the register says." Here the 

 eiitire staff consulted the register; but, 

 strangely enough, the article in question 

 had been overlo( )ked by the administi-ation. 

 "Well, "said the officer, "we will enter 

 that as dried fl.sli. Duty, three ijiastres!" 

 — Westminster liazette. 



The Transvaal is the country beyond the 



Vaal. 



