636 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15 



HELEN KELLER. 



Our readers have doubtless kept pace with 

 the wondtrful story of Helen Keller; but, not- 

 withstanding, I think they will keenly appre- 

 ciate the following extracts from a personal 

 letter to her good friend ( and our good friend ) 

 George O. Gootihue. I think no further in- 

 troduction will be needed for either one or 

 the other: 



Please tell Uncle Amos I had a letter from our dear 

 friend Helen Keller last week. She retains a firm 

 hold upon the warm affections of all her old friends, 

 and is constantly gaining new ones. 



■ She is now having her vacation ; has a new tandem 

 bicycle, with which she is perfectly delighted. How 

 Uncle Amos would enjoy being her guide on some of 

 these trips! It would certainly chase the "blues" far 

 away. She has also a " dear little boat," the Naiad, 

 in which she often rows a companion three or four 

 miles. I wish I could accept her invitation to join her 

 this summer in some of the.se trips. L,isten to her 

 whose beaulifulsoul eyes often see so much more than 

 ours of gro--ser and dimmer sight : 



" I do wish I could give you a row around King Phil- 

 ip's Pond, it is so beautiful. The trees and bushes 

 come down to the water's edge to look at their own 

 beautiful images, and the lovely pond-lilies greet the 

 day with a shower of perfume." 



Xot only does she see with loving, .sympathetic 

 sight earth's beauties, but her vision is aKo strong 

 and clear as to that which affects the welfare of the 

 world. The following extract is from another letter I 

 received some six weeks ago : 



" Of course, you are feeling ver>' sad about the war. 

 War is cruel, and this one seems unnecessary. I can 

 not help sympathizing with the poor Cubans -Spain's 

 cruel treatment of them makes me burn with indigna- 

 tion ; but at the same time it .seems dreadful that my 

 dear country should have i een the first to break the 

 peace of the world, even though her motive is so gen- 

 erous and humane." 



I will add one more extract from another of Helen's 

 letters, a charming illustration of her graceful clear- 

 ness of vision as well as tender heart. After telling 

 me of other books which interested her. she says: 



" I have finished Nansen's thrilling narrative of his 

 Arctic txpedition. I found it most fascinating. There 

 is something new and startling on each page, and I 

 was thrilled through and through by the bravery and 

 daring with which he and his clever men encountered 

 peril after peril, and passed safely through all dan- 

 gers in their wou'ierful vessel, the Fram. From the 

 regions of eternal snow and ice I descended into the 

 fair forests and mountain glens of Scotland, where 

 dwelt in the days of old the Lady of the Lake, The 

 poem is simply exqui.site. Its verses, as my fingers 

 run over tl em, pour out a .stream of song and ro- 

 mance; and ' the easy, graceful flow of the poet's 

 thoughts, and his lovely descriptions of beauty, valor, 

 and chivalry render it most charming. But I can not 

 help being glad that the poem belongs to the pa.st and 

 not to the present, and the endle.ss wars and struggles 

 which it celebrates are over forever; for I see. through 

 the shadowy veil of romance that .Scott has drawn 

 over these times, the ruin and desolation and sorrow 

 which were as much a part of those struggles as the 

 heroic exoloits of Roderick Dhu and his warriors." 



Danville, P. Q., Canada. 



Every time I get a glimpse of Helen Kel- 

 ler's life I can not help saying to myself, 

 " Why is it that there are so many having 

 two good eyes and yet do not see, and, having 

 two good ears, do not hear ? " Helen Keller, 

 with this double misfortune, is still joyous 

 over God's great mercies; and yet, can it 

 really be true there are those who have the 

 full use of all their faculties, who realty lack 

 for nothing, and yet throw their lives away — 

 yes, even commit suicide ? The very name of 

 Helen Keller ought to be a rebuke to every 

 one of us when we are tempted to complain, 

 or to forget God's many and great and pre- 

 cious gifts. Dear friend G., we are greatly 

 obliged to you for giving us these extracts. 



THE OMAHA EXPOSITION. 



Last fall we made application foi space in the Apia- 

 ry Department of the Omaha Exposition. When the 

 time came for opening we did not have our exhibit 

 ready, and we were so rushed with bu.siness that we 

 advised the management we could not get ready till 

 our orders were tali en care of. We recentlv forward- 

 ed an exhibit that we have every rea.son to believe is 

 in position. E. Whitcomb writes' us that, through the 

 heated teim, the attendance in the Honey Building 

 has averaged 100 an hour by actual count, while the 

 day before he wrote his letter it was four times that. 

 It is likely, now that the war is over, that interest in 

 the exposition will increase, and the attendance be 

 largely augmented from now on. 



DEPARTMENT STORE. 



Because of the increasing demands upon our time 

 and strength, owing to the increasing demand for the 

 goods we manufacture, also because of the need of 

 more room, as well as for other reasons, we have de- 

 cided to close out our department store. For the next 

 four or five weeks we shall push the sale of the stock 

 on hand by special low prices on many lines, especial- 

 ly of odds and ends not listed in on*- catalog. By Oct. 

 1st we e.xpect to turn the bulk of the stock that is left, 

 over to another firm with whom we have made ar- 

 rangements to succeed us in this line. If any of our 

 readers have in mind ordering goods from our depart- 

 me»t store we would advise them to do so at once, so 

 that they may have their wants supplied while we 

 have the stock to furni5h. 



LATEST FROM THE EDITOR. 

 Just as we close our pages the following 

 comes to hand : 



Friday, Aug.^, out in the ivilder7iess. — I rode 40 miles 

 on the stage-coach yesterday, with less fatigue than I 

 supposed possible; but we were all the while looking 

 at the "wonders." The women of our crowd declare 

 thej' will have a rope tied to me to day, to pull me 

 away from the edge of the boiling craters. Once I 

 was looking down into the awful chasm in the throat 

 of the Monarch hot spring. They said an eruption 

 was coming; but I wanted to see how it .started. Fi- 

 nally the driver thought we couldn't wait any longer; 

 but I had hardly turned mj- back when it shot up a 

 column of water and steam ahno.st 100 feet high. I 

 am just getting the " hang " of them, so I can get up 

 close and not get hurt. No words can de.scrilse the 

 beauty of the quiet hot springs that are unceasingly 

 building their structures of gorgeous coloring. 



Barnes' 



Hand and Foot Power 



Machinery. 



This cut represents our 

 combined circular saw, 

 which is made for bee- 

 keepers' use in the con- 

 .struction of their hives, 

 sections, boxes, etc. 

 Machines on trial. 

 Send for illustrated cata- 

 logue and prices. 

 W. F.& John Barnes Co., 

 545 Ruby St., 



Rockford, - - III. 



TESTED QUEENS. 



Three or five bands now ready to 

 mail at 75 cents each. None bet- 

 ter. No untested queens for sale. 

 M. D. ANDES, Bristol. Tenn. 



COR SALE. — Good ranch for bees and general 

 *^ farming near San Diego, California. Price very 

 low to make a .settlement. Address 



G. C. Gearn, 864 Fifth St., San Diego, Cal. 



