24 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



January 



jsan damoe. jruiati mm out lu me, trr x 

 wiJ] order my men to fire on you. ' 



"Ah, they were brave, my neighbors! 

 They made no reply. 



*' 'Then we will soon find out.' He 

 gave an order iu a low voice. His men 

 pinned me with my back against a wall 

 and placed rifles in the hands of my 

 son and his comrades. 



"And the officer said: 



" 'On the word of conamand you will 

 fire and kill that woman. If you dis- 

 obey, it will be your turn next.' He 

 urged on his men, who arranged the un- 

 fortunates whom he was turning into 

 assassins iu line in front of me. 



"A cry of horror ran through the 

 crowd, followed by a dead silence. I — 

 well, I offered my soul to le bou Dieu, 

 telling myself that I must try to show 

 how a Frenchwoman could die if need 

 be, and I waited, watching my son. 



"But he did not seem to see me. His 

 eyes were turned to his comrades. They 

 seemed to be making signs to one an- 

 other. 



" 'Ready I' the word of command 

 thundered. 



" 'Present!' And they obeyed, cover- 

 ing me with their rifles. 



" 'Fire!' They turned suddenly to the 

 right about. An explosion followed, and 

 four Prussians, the ofiScer among the 

 number, fell. And, above the roar of 

 the discharge, I heard my boy's voice 

 clearly : 



'* 'Fire! Yes, but on you, coward!' 



"A general volley on the part of the 

 Prussians followed, and I fell, with a 

 bullet iu my shoulder. Before I lost con- 

 sciousness, however, I saw that my son 

 was still unhurt. 



"I learned afterward that, just at 

 this moment, the cannon of the Fort de 

 Joux began to play. The commandant 

 had caught the reflection of the sunlight 

 from the Prussians' helmets, and, con- 

 cluding — none too soon — that something 

 untoward was taking place, had sent a 

 few shells into the crowd and rapidly 

 dispersed the enemy. It was those guns 

 which, some hours later, covered there- 

 treat of our Army of the East across the 

 Swiss frontier. " 



Mme. Jambe died a few years after 

 these events — which I have related as 

 nearly as I can in her own words — took 

 place. Her story was recalled to my 

 mind the other day on hearing that the 



son of this brave woman bad just been 

 promoted to the command of his regi- 

 ment. — Pearson's Weekly. 



First Tariflf Makers. 



If you turn to a map of Spain, you 

 will take note, at its southern point and 

 running out into the straits of Gibraltar, 

 of a promontory which, from its posi- 

 tion, is admirably adapted for com- 

 manding the entrance of the Mediterra- 

 nean sea and watching the entrance and 

 exit of all ships. A fortress stands upon 

 this promontory, called now, as it was 

 called in the time of the Moorish domi- 

 nation in Spain, Tarifa. The name 

 is of Moorish origin. It was the custom 

 of the Moors to watch from this point 

 all merchant ships going into or coming 

 out of the midland sea and to levy du- 

 ties according to a fixed scale on all 

 merchandise contained therein. This 

 duty was called from the place where 

 it was levied "tarifa," or tariff. — Phil- 

 adelphia American. 



His Preference. 



Her father is a physician and an ad- 

 mirer of culture. But he grows weary 

 now and then of hearing Mabel play 

 scales and five finger exercises. After a 

 half hour of work from her exercise 

 book she turned and said : 



"Father, I have taken up the study 

 of theory. ' ' 



"Have you?" 



"Yes. This," she went on, striking 

 a chord, "is a tonic. " 



"Mabel, " he answered in a tone of 

 patience sorely tried, "I'm ever so much 

 obliged, but I don't think that is what 

 I need. But if you had a sedative that 

 you could try on me I'd appreciate it 

 more than tongue can tell." — Washing- 

 ton Star. 



The Safety Point In Floors. 



Probably less is known by architects 

 and structural engineers regarding the 

 safety of floors than of any other por- 

 tion of a building. The relative cost of 

 the steel beams iu a floor, as compared 

 with the terra cotta or other filling, has 

 caused some build( rs to go to an ex- 

 treme in increasing the spans between 

 beams, thus greatly increasing the risk 

 of destruction by fire, even though there 

 may be ample strength in the absence 

 of fire. — Engineering News. 



