114 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR, 



August, 1842. 



when, from tlie neglect of the custom, every bee 

 in the. apiary hail perished! Mr. Loudon men- 

 tions, that he was informed of an old man who 

 sans a psalm in front of some hives that were 

 not doing well, hut which, he said, would thrive, 

 in consequence of thai ceremony. I observe, that 

 when u hive is fixed over a swarm, the bees will 

 generally go into it of their own accord, uttering, 

 at the same time, their satisfied hum, and seem- 

 ing to be aware of the purpose for which it had 

 been placed; but how the queen-bee is made 

 acquainted that so convenient a place for her to 

 retreat to is near at hand I know not, but so it 

 is ; for surrounded by thousands of her subjects 

 who press around her, she makes her way through 

 them all, and enters the hive, followed by the 

 whole swarm; and here the work of preparing 

 future cells is instantly commenced; and I have 

 found that, although a swarm has not been able 

 for two or three days to quit tlie hive alter they 

 had taken possession, a considerable number ot 

 cells had been nearly completed ; and that, even 

 as soon as the foundation of a cell has been fi" 



ished, the 



que 



-bee will sometime de|)Osit 



egg upon it, the sides being afterwards built up. 

 As the cells increase in ntmiber, tioney and the 

 farina of flowers are stored in them. 



Nothing can be more melancholy than the ap- 

 pearance of bees in wet weather ; some of then 

 will come to the mouth of the hive, as if to take 

 a view of the passing clouds, and others who 

 quit the hive, return to it with the greatest d 

 culty. A sunny day in May is their delight, and 

 it is then that the bees seem most active and 

 most joyous, as well as every other living crea 

 ture !" 



The Bargains. 



BY T. S. AltTHUR. 



"James?" 



" Blest power of sui 

 What balm, what lif 

 To feel thee, is suet 

 That, had the world no joy b 

 To eit in sunshine, calm and i 

 It were a world too exquisite 



! genial day, 



" Men are so inclined to cnnten 

 is commonest, the spirit and the 

 dead to the impression of the hea: 

 that every one should study and n 

 faculty or feeling these things_ b. 





and the p< 



d the 



....„, -., - -., thod in his 

 jear to be entirely deprived ot 

 ly because they are not used to 

 tastn (.(''what is excellent, that the generality of people 

 take doHnht in silly and insipid things, provided they be 

 new. For. this Akason, we ought evekv dav. at 



LEAST, TO HEAR A LITTLE SO.NG, READ A GOOD POEM, 

 SEE A FINE PICTURE, AND IF IT BE POSSIBLE, TO SPEAK 

 A FEW REASONABLE WORDS." 



Goethe in WUhelmaMer. 

 THE WIDOW OX WINDERMERE SIDE. 



(From the new volume of W'ordiipotik's Poetry, as 

 yet unpublished in America.) 

 How beautiful, when up a lofty height. 

 Honor ascends among the humblest poor. 

 And feelins sinks as deep 1 .See there the door 



Ofc 



. left beneath 





Of blameless debt. On E' 

 She wasted no complaint, but strove to make 

 A just repayment, both for conscience sake 

 .^nd that herself and hers should stand upright 

 In the world's eye. Her work when daylight failed 

 Paused not, and"through the depth of niirht she kept 



Sue 



vigil 



that belief 



With some, the noble creature never slept; 

 But, one by one, the hand of Death assailed 

 Her children from her inmost heart bewept. 



The Mother mourned, nor ceased her tears to flow, 

 Till a Winter's noon-day placed her buried Son 

 Before her eyes, last child of many gone — 

 His raiment of angelic white, and lo I 

 His very leet bright as the dazzling snow 

 Which they are touching ; yea, far brighter, even 

 As that which comes.or seem.s to come,from Heaven 

 Surpasses aught these elements can show. 

 Much she rejoiced, trusting that from that hour 

 Whate'er befel she could not grieve or pine ; 

 But the transfigured, in and out of season, 

 .Appeared, and spiritual presence gained a power 

 Over material forms that mastered reason. 

 Oh, gracious Heaven, in pity make her thine ! 



But why that prayer ? as if to her could come 

 INo good hut by the way that leads to bliss 

 Through Death — so judging we should judge amiss. 

 Since reason failed want is'her threateiied'doom. 

 Yet frequent transports mitigate the gloom : 

 Mor of these maniacs is she one that kiss 

 The air. or laugh upon a precipice ; 

 No.passing thro' strange sufferings toward the tomb. 

 She smiles as if a martyr's crown were won ; 

 Oft, when light breaks thro' clouds or wavin'' trees 

 With outspre.ad arms and fallen upon her knees 

 The Mother hails in her descending Son ' 



An .\ngel, and in earthly extacies 

 U«r own angelic glory sterna begun. 



" To-morrow is going to be a hard day with 

 me, 1 shall have to pay about three .tliousand dol- 

 lars in Bank, besides, a gtsod deal of borrowed 

 money. It will be necessary for you lo sell as 

 many goods as possible." 



"Sell at a profit, if you can. But sell any 

 how." 



"Yes, sir." 



The storekeeper remained for sonic moments 

 silent and then said — 



" Even if you have to take less than cost, sell. 

 It will be much better than paying two per cent 

 a month." 



" Yes, sir." 



Further instructions were prevented by the 

 entrance of a customer. 



" Let me look at some of your thread lace, 

 sir," said the lady, addressing the clerk, and seat- 

 ing herself, at the same time, quite leisurely by 

 the side of the counter. 



A bo.v of lace was handed down briskly, the 

 cover removed, and some twenty or thirty pieces 

 of all prices, patterns and qualities, displayed to 

 the eyes of the cu.stomer. 



"A beautiful article," the clerk remarked lift- 

 ing a piece. " We have the best assortment it 

 the oJty." 



" Very pretty," the lady said, musingly, pro 

 ceediiig leisurely to examine piece after piece 

 until she had got entirely through the box. 



"Have you no other?" she then said, with a 

 snfde and bow, looking U|) innocently into the 

 face of the clerk, who had stood patiently aw 

 iiig her selection from (he very choice patterns 

 before her. 



" None, except a very inferior quality, Mrs. 

 Shannon." 



" Let me look at them, if you please." 



Another box was taken down, and a great por- 

 tion of its contents turned out upon the counter, 

 when Mrs. Shannon discovered that none of the 

 patterns in either box pleased her. 



"They are very beautiful, Mrs. Shannon, and 

 we sell low," the storekeeper now said, coming 

 fiirward. " I am sure you will not meet with ii 

 finer assortment any where." 



"I don't know, Mr. Bradley, but 1 tlwnk Dra- 

 |ieran<l Cordovan have a much better assortnienL 

 What do you ask for this?" lifting, as she spoke, 

 with a careless, indifl\;rent air, a piece of lace of 

 exquisite fineness. 



" That is four dollars a yard, Mrs. Shannon. 

 Aiid it is very cheap at that, I do assure you." 



"O dear, no! Mr. Brailley. I saw a piece at 

 Griffith's much finer for three dollars." 



" You must have mistaken the quality, ma'am. 

 We bought our laces at the same house in New 

 York, and paid tlie same jirices. Now this arti- 

 cle cost ine every cent of three dollars and three 

 quarters a yard, by ihe piece; 1 have asked you 

 only enough to cover the cost and charges, he 

 cause I am anxious to sell. These are close 

 times, ma'am, and wc are all anxious to turn our 

 goods into money as quickly as possible." 



And Mr. Bradley attempted lo smile with 

 pleasant air, but the effort was a failure. The 

 smile was anything but a pleasant one. The 

 customer's quick eye detected the counterfeit and 

 readily took her clue. Shaking her head with a 

 knowing air, she replied — 



It's no use to tell me, Mr. Bradley, that 1 

 don't know the quality of a piece of lace, 

 have seen too much in my time. Griffith's piece 

 of lace at three dollars, I would just as soon 

 have as this." 



The storekee|ier stood musing for a few 

 meiits, and then .said — 



" How much of it do you want, ma'am ?" 



" Only a few yards, sir." 



"But how many, Mrs. Shannon ?" 



" O, some five or six yards." 



"If you will take six yards, you shall have tt 

 for three dollars and a half, and that is a quarter 

 of a dollar less than it cost me." 



The customer shook her head. 



"I am sure that is very low, ma'am." 



"I couldn't pay that much for it, Mr. Bradley. 

 It is not worth it. Griffith's is only three dollars, 

 and if there is any difference, I like his best." 



" 1 can't afford to take three dollars," the store- 

 keeper said in a half desponding tone. 



" Well, if you will take three for it, 1 might be 

 induced to buy a half a dozen yards or so. I 

 don't care a great deal about it, but am willing to 

 give that, iHiii no more." 



The storekeeper hesitated a few moments — 

 "Three times six is eighteen," he said to himself. 

 ' Eighteen dollars is too niticli, too much to let 

 go out of the store, and I so hard run." 



"You can have it ma'am, though it's actually 

 ihrowiiig the goods away," he at length said, in a 

 tone and with a manner that showed the real re- 

 hiciance lie lijit in sacrificing his goods. 



" You can measure off six yards then," the 

 customer responded. 



The six yards of lace were accordingly cut off 

 and handed to Mrs. Shannon, with the stereotyp- 

 ed question — 



"Is there tiny thing else that I can show you, 

 madam ?" 



"Have you a handsome assortment of silks?" 



"Yes, ma'am, a large and beautiful assortment. 

 What color would you like ?" 



"Let me look at a lew pieces. I have hardly 

 made up my mind yet." 



Piece after piece, was now taken down, open- 

 ed, and the beautiful material within displayed. 

 Each passed in turn, a careful examination, and 

 each was successively tossed aside with an air of 

 dissatisfaction at the result. 



" Don't you like any of those, Mrs. Shannon ?" 

 asked Mr. Bradley. 



" No, sir." 



"Are they not fine enough in <]Hality ?" 



"Not so fine as I wish, f always like the very 

 best of every thing." 



"I have a beautiful piece of plain colored 

 Gros d' Afriqtie." 



"Let me see that, Mr. Bradley," and the custo- 

 mer's face Inighteiied. 



The plain colored Gros de Afrique was hand- 

 ed down from the shelf, and its shining fold 

 opened to the eyes of Mrs. Shannon. 



" Is not that beautiful, ma'am ? I think I have 

 never seen so rich a piece of goods." 



"It is handsome, Mr. Bradley, what is the 

 price ?" 



" This piece of goods cost me three dollars a 

 yard, and I will sell it for cost, if you will take 

 the whole of it." 



" How much is there in the piece?" 



" Fifteen yards." 



Mrs. Shannon shook her head. 



" Indeed 1 think it high." 



"I'll give you two and three quarters for all 

 you will bring me, ina'ani." 



Mrs Shamion again referred to the silk, hold- 

 ing it up to the light, examining the thread and 

 noticing its rich lustre. 



"You will take two for it, I know, Mr. Brad- 

 ley," the customer said with a captivating smile. 



"No ma'am, not of any one's money," was the 

 positive leply. 



"I'll give two for it." 



" I cannot take that, Mrs. Shannon. Only 

 think, ma'ain, it cost me three dollars. Surely 

 you do not wish to get my goods at a price that 

 would leave me a serious loss." 



"If you will sell it at two dollars, I will take 

 the whole piece Mr. Bradley." 



' Indeed, ma'am, that's too hard. I should 

 prefer leaving the goods on my shelf, to selling 

 at that rate." 



And the storekeeper commenced folding the 

 silk, and replacing it in paper envelope, in quite 

 an earnest, business like manner. There was a 

 brief silence, broken only by the rustling of the 

 Gros d'Afrique, when Mrs. Shannon said — 



"If you will sell the piece for two and a half, 

 I will take it." 



" Mr. Bradley pausnd, looked upwards, as if 

 engaged in a calculation, and then drawing a 

 long sigh said — 



" I suppose you must have it Mrs. Shannon, 

 hut it is a terrible sacrifice." 



" It's not dear at that price certainly," Mrs. 

 Shannon remarked, in a quiet satisfied tone, and 

 with a self complacent air. 



The silk was measured off and folded up. 



" Have you any handsome shawls ?" Mrs. Shan- 

 non now asked ; " I shall want one this Fall." ■ 



" Opened a case yesterday of most superb 

 embroidered erape, just from New York." 



