344 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



November 



THE MOB. 



We dragged him out of tlie jail at night 



And owt of tlie reach of aid, 

 And off tlirough the gloomy chaparral 



We inarche:! in a giir.i x^aiudo. 

 ('Twas not for Ike evil heart he had. 



He was no worse than we. 

 But he was tempted, and we were not, 



And we r.U were as bad as he. ) 



So we swung his soul to another world 



While the moon looked on serene, 

 A siDiouette of tlie tice an.l man, 



With a stretch of rope beiween. 

 ('Twas not for the evil heart he had. 



He was tempted more than we. 

 And not a man in tlie st-Uen crew 



Was better or worse than he. ) 



—Town Topics. 



LIFE IN MEXICO. 



Housekeeping Under Difficulties — How 

 Clothes Are Washed — The Coolt's Domain. 



Au Aiuericau woman would grow 

 gray beaded in a mouth if she attempt- 

 ed to keep house in Mexico on the same 

 plan pursued by the native housewives. 

 There are no water mains in the aver- 

 age town, and water for domestic pur- 

 poses is drawn from the public fountains 

 and sold from door to door by leather 

 aproned venders, who carry it in pic- 

 turesque vessels of hide or pottery. 

 Pulque and milk are brought to market 

 in skins of sheep, pigs and goats, which 

 are stripped off the animal carcass by 

 cutting only the neck and legs and 

 turned inside out, all the openings but 

 one being tied up securely. The natives 

 do not object to the flavor of goat hide 

 and swineskiu in the milk, but visitors 

 do. 



The washerworaon have no faith in 

 modern methods. They get 25 cents a 

 day and are satisfied This sounds im- 

 probable to the Chictigoan, who is be- 

 ing "done up" by his laundress and 

 has to endure it. The washerwomen all 

 do their work beside an open stream of 

 water in a trough of stone or wood, 

 beating the articles with a round stone, 

 a piece of homemade soap and their 

 strong hands. No hot water is used. 

 The scene at the public washhouses is 

 an interesting one. The method breaks 

 button.s, bends buckles and tears goods 

 with the same ease as does a steam 

 laundry iu the States. 



The average Mexican rook is as primi- 

 tive as the washerwoman. No matter 

 how many times the use of a modern 



cook stove were explained to her, it is 

 probable that she would build the fire 

 iu the oven and put the bread to bake 

 in the fire box. What she would use ^a 

 callsd the brasero. Among the poor this 

 is an urn shaped affair of pottery with 

 a hollow base, where a tiny charcoal 

 fire may be kept alive by constant fan- 

 ning, the whole being not much larger 

 than a common flowerpot. In the 

 homes of the upper classes the brasero 

 is built in of brick, mortar and piles, 

 its surface as high as an American 

 cook stove, with holes afoot square, un- 

 der each of which a charcoal fire is kept 

 burning. Some of these .stoves have 25 

 or 30 ovens, and the operation of cook- 

 ing is so laborious that the cook has :j 

 relay of assistants to prepare the vege* 

 tables, wash the dishes and attend thi 

 fires. ^ — Chicago Journal. 



She Misunderstood. 



Many singers fail to realize the im 

 portauce of distinct enunciation, am! 

 the chrrm of a beautiful voice is often 

 lost by the listener who is vainly strug- 

 gling to catch the meaning of the song. 

 A young woman who considers her- 

 self an admirable ballad singer one day 

 received a severe shock from the crit- 

 icism of an old lady who had formed 

 one of her audience. Among other bal- 

 lads the singer had rendered "Rory 

 O'More" iu her best style and had re- 

 ceived much applause. 



The old ladj', who sat iu the front 

 seat in the little hall where the enter- 

 tainment was given, looked at first puz- 

 zled and then distressed as the familiar 

 song proceeded, and at the close of the 

 concert she waited to speak to the 

 young womau. 



"My dear," she said in a quivering 

 voice, "I remember when 'Rory 

 O'More' first came out. I have never 

 been a singer myself, but have always 

 been interested in music, and I am sure 

 I never heard the words as you sang 

 them tonight. I am not deaf. My hear- 

 ing is unusually good, but will you tell 

 me where yoa get your authority for 

 singing: 



He poitlticed the hock, 

 And she salted it down ? 



For, though I cannot remember the 

 original words, I am sure they were not 

 like that." 



The young woman's face was crim- 



