23 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



January 



Lope to do full justice 1o all your c:x 

 pectations, aud Id ihe d.iys to coma .u- 

 stead of Caplain Mills we hope to hill 

 you as Major General Mills, command- 

 ing the Georgia militia.' 



" 'Lieuteuant, ' said I iu a trembliug 

 voice, as if too much overcome for ut- 

 terance and drawing my bandanna hand- 

 kerchief from my hat, 'I cannot express 

 the feelings of deep gratiUcatiou which 

 your words have inspired iu my heart. 

 I only hope that our relations may be 

 always as pleasant as they have beeu on 

 this occasion of our first meeting as com- 

 mander and faithful followers. It is 

 now with feelings of the deepest inter- 

 est iu your future welfare that I bid you 

 goodby. ' 



" 'Captain Mills,' said I, again imi- 

 tating the lieutenant, 'we all join iu re- 

 turning to you our most hearty good 

 wishes. Comrades, three cheers and a 

 tiger for Captain Mills of the Lost 

 Mountain volunteers.' 



" 'Hip-hip-hoo-ra-y !' 



"When the echoes of that cheer had 

 died away, I palled off my military coat 

 and sash, carefully wrapped them up 

 and placed them in my saddlebags 

 along with a copy of Scott's tactics, and 

 donning my everyday overcoat I started 

 to mount my horse. I had one foot in 

 the stirrup when I heard a little rustling 

 in the foliage of the fallen tree. 



"Turning around, I stood face to face 

 with the tallest mountaineer that I ever 

 laid eyes upon. He rose slowly out of 

 the crotch of the tree, and it seemed to 

 me that he grew taller and taller as he 

 straightened himself. He was red whisk- 

 ered, red faced and cross eyed, and his 

 flaming hair fell in wild profusion from 

 ■under his coouskiu cap. In his hand he 

 held one of the old fashioned squirrel 

 puncher rifles that glistened in the sun 

 as he fixed me with his stern and bale- 

 ful gaze. 



" 'Well,' said he, catching a deep 

 breath, 'I've seen fools, I've read of 

 fools, I've heard of fools, but of all the 

 goldarned fools that ever I saw you are 

 the goldarned infernalest. ' 



"By that time I had recovered my 

 composure to some extent, and reaching 

 in my pocket I pulled out a $2)^ gold- 

 piece, the only money I had. 



" 'Look here, my friend, I don't sup- 

 pose that you feel any particular inter- 



est in telling about this thing. You just 

 take this and say no more about it.' 



" 'Well,' said he, sighing regretfully, 

 'as I am not in the fool killing business 

 I reckon I'll take you up. But I feel 

 that I am missing a mighty fine oppor- 

 tunity. ' 



"I mounted my horse and rode off, 

 and that cross eyed mountaineer kept 

 bis word. But never in all my experi- 

 ence have I had such a close shave as I 

 did on the occasion of my first drill."— 

 Chicago Record. 



The Only Requisite. 



What is known in the United 

 States and in England as "evening 

 dress" for men plays quite a differ- 

 ent part on the European continent, 

 where the "swallowtail" coat and 

 white cravat are regarded as requi- 

 sites for "full dress" on any cere- 

 monious occasion, whether during 

 the day or in the evening. 



When the celebrated pianist, Hans 

 von Bulow, went to England for the 

 first time on a concert tour, he was 

 much surprised to find that the cus- 

 tom of the country made his dress 

 suit inappropriate at afternoon con- 

 certs, where he was expected to ap- 

 pear in a frock coat with light trou- 

 sers. 



Soon after his return from his tour 

 a young pianist called on him to get 

 his advice and opinion in regard to 

 a comprehensive pianoforte method 

 which he had just published under 

 the title of "L'Indispensable duPia- 

 niste." 



"Ah, my dear young friend, " cried 

 the great musician with a whimsical 

 smile, "you are far behind the times. 

 You ought to travel and enlarge 

 your mind. Then you will find out 

 that the pianist's only 'indispensa- 

 ble' is a pair of light trousers."— 

 Youth's Companion. 



, Appropriate. 



In a bookstore: Customer — Have 

 you "The Prisoner of Zenda" in pa- 

 per? 



Salesgirl— No; bound.— Exchange. 



