172 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER, 



June 



SWttT MYSTERIES. 



Slowly tht! i-eecp in the garden are growing — 



Glad homilies! 

 Tides, set \n motion b.y winds briskly blowing> 



Pause ere they rise. 

 The nestling shall rise and aspire to heaven's 



gate, 

 And the butterfly, though in a shroud, he must 

 wait 



In dim surmise, 



Tor all things shall rise. 



Oently kind spring has awakened the flowers- 

 Sweet mysteries! 



Swiftly the grub on the ^ving, with new powers. 

 To happiness flies. 



Ever with refluent wave and strong motion, 



Landward now march the forces of ocean. 

 Grand auguries! 

 For all things do rise. 



In the world visible lurks the invisible. 



Making men wise, 

 Telling of blessed truths plainly perceptible 



To lovelit ej-es; 

 Telling of heaven and the happy tomorrow; 

 Telling of joy with no vestige of sorrow 



And of bright skies, 



Where love never dies. 

 — C. P. Wilson in New York Sun. 



HALF A MILLION. 



I had been in the dry goods business 

 ten years or more and had drudged all 

 that while, winter and summer, with- 

 out a holiday, except Christmas and 

 New Year's day and the Foui-th of Ju- 

 ly, when one summer, calculating my 

 profits, I made up ray mind that I 

 could afford to enjoy myself for once as 

 other people did — cut the shop outright 

 for a while aild spend a week or so in 

 the country. Trade was dull, and I was 

 dull too. So as Dobbins' aunt — Dobbins 

 is my head clerk — had a house at Shady- 

 slope and took a boarder or two and 

 was anxious to fill her unoccupied rooms 

 that summer, I gave my name to Dob- 

 bins to fill up the list and ran down 

 there with my trunk and bag about the 

 1st of July. 



I felt that it was an honor to Dob- 

 bins' aunt as well as to Dobbins, but I 

 made up my mind to be affable and 

 not to malce them more uncomfortable 

 than I could. No matter what your po- 

 sition in life, it is very \vrong to put on 

 airs, and I never do it, 



"Tell them not to put themselves out 

 on my account, ' ' I said to Dobbins, 

 "but to treat me just as they do the oth- 



er boai'ders, " and Dobbins said he 

 would. 



"Puff of Puff & Co. , " I said when I 

 met the aunt. "Don't disturb yourself 

 on my account. I am quite simple in 

 my habits. ' ' 



She said she wouldn't, though I could 

 see it was not every day that the head 

 of a firm ctime to Shadyslope. They had 

 three or four other people there, a few 

 who taught music and composed some, 

 you know, and an artist and a doctor 

 and a fev^- who wrote novels, but no- 

 body cf any importance. 



"When I sat down to the table that 

 night, I put them all at ease at once. 



"I distinctly desire it to be under- 

 stood that I don't want to disturb any 

 one, " I said. ' 'Go on just as you have 

 been doing. I want relaxation, and it 

 will amuse me. Simple pleasures are 

 veiy charming when one is weary with 

 application to more important matters. " 



Then I bovved. But you can't exi^ect 

 everything of people not up to the mark. 

 Two or three laughed — why I don't 

 know. 



It was very pleasant there — particu- 

 larly pleasant. My landlady had a 

 daughter, quite a charming creature, 

 with eyes like bluebells and a voice like 

 a canaiy. She used to sing a good deal 

 with the music man. The moment that 

 girl locked at me she appreciated me. 



Before the day was over she was des- 

 perately in love with me, and when a 

 creature like that gives you her heart, 

 how can you look coldly on her? 



Far be it from me to win the affec- 

 tions of an innocent girl, knowing as 1 

 do that I have a position in the v\'orld 

 and must marry with due consideration 

 of the fact, but knowing what emotions 

 I had awakened in her bosom I felt 

 obliged to be kind to her. We walked 

 together. We rode, we sung. I felt that 

 it was VN^rong, but my feelings ctirried 

 me av\'ay. Icften thought to myself, "li 

 that girl's father had been in the whole- 

 sale line and had left her well off, what 

 a bli.ss would have been mine!" But he 

 was nothing but a lawyer and had 

 scarcely left a penny. Excelsior is mj 

 motto. Large retail should always as- 

 pii-e to a connection with wholesale. 

 And Miss Briggs of Briggs & Bounce 

 smiles very sweetly when she bows to 

 your humble servant. 



