1896. 



rilE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



321> 



THE FACTORY CHIMNEYS. 



Where, bending far, tic iiztiro dips 



To kiss Ihi' wakirs wciiM Ijclovv, 

 Across the clay, in O.iirk itlipse, 



The soniber Inctory < 1: iinnc.vs show, 

 Like {iloon.y wurdciis (if llic lajul. 



With sodty lir.imc is wiile unfurled, 

 Above the elusti iid tdwn they stand 



And frown deti;;iice en the world. 



Yet they are litautiful to me, 



Th<)s(' fiiD'ky eliinineys jraunt and high, 

 For in their volleyed elouds I see 



A how of promise span the sky. 

 Oh, children at the eotti:f,'e d<Jor, 



Play en, for there is naught to dread I 

 The smoke clouds from the chimneys pour, 



And all the land is full of bread 1 



Those somber standards, floating far, 



Give token of the reign of peace. 

 More pot( i"t than the arms of war 



Their winrr ii;^ looms that never cease. 

 Beneath that ;"i-sky cloud is wrought 



The fabric of a people's fate. 

 The victories of love and thought 



Transcending all the spoils of hate. 



There comes the sound of mingled bells; 



I see the sturdy toil(>rs throng. 

 In haii-y In m(s, where plenty dwells, 



I hear the housewife's cheery song. 

 Amid t\w f:;cl< ry's V;usy hum 



Are mir:;!< d w< rds of hope and cheer, 

 That greet ihe nn rn whin day is come 



And bless the day when night is near. 



Far be the time when, high and wide. 



No smoke wreathsfrom the chimney tops 

 Send ch( tr 1o all the countryside 



And all the hum of labor stojis; 

 When men are ("umb, and children wail. 



And hearts grow sullen with despair. 

 And food : lul strength and courage fail 



And fan ine breathes in all the air! 

 -BobertC. Tdngue in Youth's Companion. 



A BICYCLE CHASE. 



War\vi( k ^va.'^ one of the subnrb.s of a 

 large city, Imt the tide of fashion had 

 not flowed in its direction, and it re- 

 mained a small, cnnipiict mass of ugly 

 honses, chiefly iulial)itcd by the poorer 

 classes. At tlie top of a Jiill two miles 

 avcay, however, whs a maguificeut n:an 

 Bion 8et ill tlie center of a large estate. 

 The owner cf this property, an ercentric 

 old man by tlie name of Ricliard Bonl- 

 den was drblie'd the earl, and his bouse 

 was generally known as the castle. In 

 It Mr. Beiuldeu lived with his granel- 

 daughter and an aged woman servant 

 He was re nuted to be very wealthy, and 

 the economies of his life were set down 

 by the good people of Warwick as the 

 Eccentricitii s ef a miser. There is ik; 



doubt tliat he was r. i erly, and he had 

 good re;;s('n for it, which he did not 

 care to give out to the world at large. 

 The truth wi;s tiiat he was as peior as a 

 church mouse-, and his fine prope-rty was 

 heavily movt^iged. The only ambition 

 he had in lile' was to pay off this nicjrt- 

 gage so as to leave his estate unincum- 

 bered to his crpiian granddaughter, 

 Edith, the only e.ther survivor of his 

 race. S'.ie w:;s such a lovely young girl — 

 so pretty ai.el jet so modest, so bright 

 and yet so considerate of others' feel- 

 ings — that all who met her liked her. 

 She seemed llie n ost perfect creature 

 on earth to Mr. Bemlden, for she was 

 the only seiJace of his retired life. And 

 yet phe had Jess pretty clothes, less 

 amusements, less everything that re- 

 quired tlie expenditure! of meme-y, than 

 the jjoorcst girl in Warwick, since her 

 grandfather, in his unselfish passion, 

 did not se<^ that the lack of many small 

 things in he r youth \\ as as hard to bear as 

 poverty would be to a grown up wemian. 



"The child wants for nothing now,"' 

 he thought. "If she wishes something 

 in the nicrnir.g, but does not get it, .she 

 has forgotten i'.,ll about it by night. But 

 after awhile she will .eel the lack of 

 money and what it brings. Then I will 

 be able to give it to hei:. " 



He did ne.t confide to Edith the cause 

 of hiij peuuriousness, and she thought 

 that he was wealthy; hence she could 

 not understand why he would not buy 

 for her the many little things she want- 

 ed. Her supply of pin money was very 

 scanty, and .'^he made all her own dress- 

 es. But in !-pite of this Mr. Boukleu 

 was not satisfied, and he was especially 

 irritated when one day she dared ask 

 for a bicyr le. 



"You spend too much; you spend too 

 much," he (ieciared. "What do you 

 want a bicycle for? To break your neck- 

 No lady sliouid ride one." 



"Oh, tl.cy a 1 do," said Edith indig- 

 nantly. "Till re's hardly a family in the 

 town that i.};snotgejt one. Here we live 

 two miles a^ay firm every one, and as 

 we haven't a carriage I have to walk 

 whenever I want to go down there. It'e 

 a shame. " 



"Ball! The Wi.lking does you good." 



"It's ail rielit if 1 have the time, but 

 I generally haven't. Come, be a good 

 old Santa Clans and drop one down the 

 chin:n(v ai (.l;ris.nias. " 



