1897 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



371 



WHllN PARLIN DRAWS THE BOW. 



When I'arli'i ; orzrirs up his bow 



An llie 1 t ; hnir whinos an squeaks, 

 I hnovz v.-ui's coiiiin an jes' lay low, 



But whon ihat fidt'le speaks 

 B'gosht all hemlock, I kain't keen mum, 



An I whoop an holler so 

 Ye'd think 'twas dawn o' kingdom come 



When larlin draws the bowl 



The bar'l 'at Parlin's settin on 



Keeps still 1 e. ruise it must, 

 But eve: y hui. :n 'at hears the fun 



Hez got to tauKe or bust. 

 W'y, even the candles on the wall. 



They dance an flicker low 

 When the boys jes' stomp as they "sasshay 

 all" 



An Parliu draws the bow! 



They hain't a tune 'at. he don't knnw^ 



"lenii.est" an " 'Ginny Reel," 

 "Vesitvianny," "Blackbird an Crow," 



"Lanceis" an "Ole Tarheel." 

 An he plays with such a ticklesome tottch— 



Ma's heventy-nine, you know, 

 But she'll skip an hop till it beats the Dutch 



When tailin diaws the bow! 



I wonder ef ther's fiddle strings 



To sound in paradise? 

 W'y no; V 'Iher's harps an trumps an things 



'At ain't not half so nice. 

 Waal, when I've crossed the crystal wave 



I'll dance a jig— by .lo, 

 I know 1 shall— on the jasper pave 



Ef Fai hn draws that bow! 



—J. L. Beaton in "Quilting Bee." 



A DRAMA OF THE SEA. 



Deeply rnuched and still quiveriug 

 with eino i;)u, 1 write these lines. 



Many and tnlJ of terrors are the sea 

 tragedies eiracted on this island, that is 

 nevertheless rightly named the "beauti- 

 ful." 



Its lovable and courteous inhabitants 

 are divided into two distinct classes — 

 farmers and lisliernieu 



The torn:er plant wheat, corn, oats 

 and potatoes 



The h:tter catch the sweet fleshed 

 tunny fish, sardines aid lobsters 



Neither farmers nor fishermen ever 

 become ric'i. and meat is almost un- 

 knowu in tlinr homes 



The pecple are. therefore, far from 

 strong, the women especially being tcu- 

 der and dlicare. with straight nose«. 

 slender, uracetiil necks and a slow, aris- 

 tocratic carnage. 



The men are of medium height and 

 ■well built Vvx lack the vigor charac- 

 terizing tin- |)ta^ants of Normandy 



The i^l<illl.t•rs are proud and ue\Lr 

 beg A card n I oh.^Tver cannot tail tO' 

 notice tb,,t among the many wriukus 

 which givi characttr to thur ta< "8- 

 those written by laughter are wanrmg 



Both inn and women have a .sen. us 

 and mt'lauciii.lv air. uiid their toreheao.s 

 seem burdened wuh ,sad memories or a 

 certain restles.sness Has not each one 

 a father a brother, or a son on the ma- 

 lignant water that lies out there — out 

 there- -encirciiijfi the island everywhere- 

 as far as the eye cau reachi" 



Here these people have lived for cen- 

 turies surrounded by a moving, agitated 

 cemetery that .smiles so alluringly and 

 at the same tune so savagely. 



Occasiduallv the laughter of a child 

 in one of the luns bubbles out townird its 

 mother wuiKiiig m the fields Her face 

 lightens up tur a moment, but she dare 

 not seem l.appy, tor as she turns there 

 lies the sea, and its waves sob as they 

 roll at her teet. 



• 4 « « • * * 



Yesterday there stood near me a 

 dainty little girl of 13. Hhe shaded her 

 eyes with one hand in order to watch as 

 long as possible her brother, who wi.s 

 walking down the street leading to the 

 harbor of Bordery. Soberly as a matron 

 she called after him: "Be careful of 

 yourself and do not take cold. An revoir ! 

 Good catch !' 



The boy disappeared, and his sister 

 returned to arrange her little household 

 for the home conang of both her broth- 

 ers, as the three were orphans to whom 

 the state paid a small pension. 



The girl was dressed in mourning. 

 Father and Mother Cjouenantiu having 

 died two '/ears before^ — he in the hospi- 

 tal after l'<idaysof cruel suffering caused 

 by the poi.sonous stiug of a fish, she at 

 few days later from consumption and. 

 grief 



Yes, there they lived, the three or- 

 phans. Thr elder brother, aged 18, had 

 arisen at daybreak to be ready for his 

 share of sardines, and the other, a lad 

 of 15, was .lust to depart with his cousin 

 PierreMaiie to catch lobsters. 



The three companions, I'ierre-Marie 

 Gonenantiu, Lugene (jouenautin, the 

 orphan, and Muhel !?amzun, boarded a 

 little boat, L hnfant du iJesert, hoisted 

 its pale blue sail and disappeared. 



