1G8 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



Ju ne 



••They del'Liged my ear with water 

 froiQ a nearby stream, which they 

 brought iu a tin cup. Finding the spi- 

 der still unsubdued, one of the doctors 

 asked for a hypodermic syringe. Five 

 were instantly proffered. An icy arrow 

 penetrated seemingly to the seat of the 

 gray matter — still, without effect upon 

 the spider, whose pernicious activity 

 caused me indescribable agony. 



" 'Ether?' cheerfully returned the doc- 

 tor who was attending to me. 'Why,' of 

 course. Brcwn, fetch out your ether 

 bottle. ' Aiid if Brown did not produce 

 from the depths of his waistcoat pocket 

 a small bottle of ether may I be in- 

 stantly retired from the presidency of 

 our society. It transpired later that 

 Brown was a physician with an alien 

 hobby — entomology — and carried ether 

 with him everywhere to anaesthetize 

 his specimens. 



"In an instant relief came — such 

 blessed relief as only one who has pass- 

 ed through an experience like mine can 

 appreciate. 



"The rest of the story is soon told. 

 When I had gathered myself together, 

 the six doctors presented themselves to 

 me with due formality. They dined that 

 night at our camp on my elk. 



"Jack was thoroughly ashamed of 

 m.e. What did the elk and the bear 

 matter with the memory of the spider 

 fresh in our minds? 



"No, decidedly," Mrs. Jack repeats 

 as the maid fetches her a second cup of 

 tea, "I shall never dare to look a tigei 

 in the face tif ter my Waterloo on the 

 Big Muddy. It would have been a pleas- 

 ing legend for my tombstone, this: 



"One 

 To •whom the forests were an open book, 

 ■Who joined to Diana's daring the skill of hei 

 spear. 



Lies here, 



Slain by a bug in her ear." 



—Mary Wakemau Botsford in San 

 Francisco Argonaut. 



Dore as a Beggar. 



Gustave Dore could show invention 

 not only in his wonderful illustrations, 

 but also in matters of everyday life. 



One day a friend at Verona was tak- 

 ing a photogi-aphic view of a pictur- 

 esque old street, and Dore tried to as- 

 sist by keeping off the crowd of idle 

 lookers on. It was a diflScult task, and 

 the more he gesticulated and threatened 



rne greater became the tlu'oug. Sudden- 

 ly Dore had a .rplendid idea. 



"Wait a minute, " he called out to his 

 friend, "and I'll di.sperse them. " 



He then took off his coat, threw it on 

 the ground, and, assuming a pitiful ex- 

 l^ression, he went round, cap in hand, 

 to beg for a few soldi. As he advanced 

 the crowd drew back and melted away, 

 and his friend quickly obtained the neg- 

 ative. — I'hiladelphia Press. 



Castles In the Air. 



Dr. .John Wilkins wrote a work ir 

 the reign of Charles II to show the pos- 

 sibility of making a voyage to the moon. 

 The Duchess of Newcastle, who was 

 likewise notorious for her vagrant spec- 

 ulations, said to him, "Doctor, where 

 am I to bait at in the upward journey?" 

 "My lady," replied the doctor, "of all 

 the people in the world I have never 

 expected that question from you, who 

 have built so many castles in the air 

 that yoii might lie every night at one oi 

 youi' owji.'" — Pittsburg Dispatch. 



Mnman Sroth. 



A very singular superstition has just 

 come to light. According to an author- 

 ity iu Shanghai, the heathen Chinee 

 lives under the impression that the heal- 

 ing qualities of the human flesh are 

 practically unlimited. 



For this reason when a father or 

 mother is taken ill the flesh of one of 

 the children is frequently sacrificed in 

 order that it maybe made into what one 

 might describe as beef tea for the strick- 

 en parent. 



Not long ago a clerk in a government 

 office deliberately cut off his finger in 

 the belief that when made into soup it 

 would improve the health of his mother, 

 who lay ill. 



Atinosphere. 



There is a wide difference of opinion 

 among the learned men of the world as 

 to what would be the effect of wholly 

 removing the atmosphere. Some think 

 that if it were po.ssible to live afterward 

 all the stars, planets, etc., would be 

 visible in broad daylight. Others de- 

 clare that there would be no day, and 

 that the sun itself could not be seen un- 

 der such conditions. — St. Louis Repub- 

 lic. 



