1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



585 



the present unfortunate state of aflfairs ; or 

 perhaps I might put it another way and say 

 by milhonaire brewers and distillers. God 

 helping us, deliverance is coming. 



On the morning of the second day we took 

 a wheelride down the river to Geneva. When 

 I first heard the words " Geneva, 111 ," I kept 

 saying them over to myself, wondering what 

 bee-keeper lived there. Finally I thought of 

 our veteran friend George Thompson, who has 

 been an old standby at our conventions for 

 years past ; so friend Pike and I took a wheel- 

 ride down the river. Friend Thompson was 

 down in his garden amid the shrubbery on the 

 river-bank, workings with his bees ; in fact, he 

 was just taking off his first filled and capped 

 sections of honey. When I stood before him 

 and burst out laughing to see his astonishment 

 (for he had had no notice of my coming) he 

 put down his tools, and, after shaking hands, 

 gave me, I think, the warmest reception I ever 

 received in any of my travels. He put both 

 arms around me, and gave me such a hug I 

 did not know but he was going to smash me 

 up, bear fashion. After our wheelride we 

 were naturally a little thirsty ; and while he 

 went to his cupboard he shook his finger at 

 me playfully, saying, "There, there! you 

 need not be afraid, Bro. Root. I shall offer 

 you nothing to drink that will trouble your 

 conscience." I have since wondered how it 

 was that a pitcher of lemonade happened to 

 be just there at that time ; but it hit the spot 

 exactly, and I don't know but I shall have to 

 take back a little what I have said about hot 

 water. There are times and circumstances 

 during a hot summer day when lemonade 

 seems to fill a " long- felt want " as nothing 

 else does in the world. Bro. Thompson is a 

 stanch Republican, and I was glad to hear him 

 tell of our President's many good qualities. 

 He lamented, like the rest of us, the canteen 

 disgrace, but ventured to say that the Presi- 

 dent may have had difficulties in the way of 

 doing as he wanted to that we knew nothing 

 about. However, when I finally told him I 

 might, perhaps, overlook it all if it were not 

 that culminating point where he tried to make 

 the delegation of women from the W. C. T. U. 

 believe that he supposed the temperance peo- 

 ple intended by their law that the canteen 

 business should keep right on, friend Thomp- 

 son was honest enougli, then and there, to ad- 

 mit, as evi-ry Republican or anybody else 

 should admit, there is a time when forbear- 

 ance ceases to be a virtue. 



In order to strike Vaughn's greenhouses I 

 took the train again next day for a station 

 named Maywood. F'rom there I was to wheel 

 it across the country eight or ten miles, as 

 nearly as we could guess by looking on the 

 map, to see Vaughn's greenhouses, about 

 fifteen miles out of Chicago. My ticket was 

 purchased, and my wheel checked for May- 

 wood ; but when we got to Geneva we were 

 informed that all should change cars. I saw 

 a man taking my wheel from the baggage-car, 

 and told him to be sure to get it on the train 

 that was just ready to start. He looked at me 

 as if he thought I was meddling ; but, not- 

 withstanding my suggestion, when the train 



began to move he was just picking the wheel 

 up from his truck to put it in the b\ggage-car, 

 and, to my dismay, off went the tra'n, leaving 

 him on the platform with the wheel in his 

 hands. This was about noon. The conductor 

 told me I would have to wait at Maywood till 

 5 o'clock to get my wheel ; and as this would 

 knock out the whole afternoon, and prevent 

 my visiting Vaughn's greenhouses, 1 remon- 

 strated somewhat. He replied he could not 

 wait all day for any baggage-man with such 

 slow motions as that fellow. Now, I was not 

 angry at all, but I remonstrated because the 

 conductor could not hold the train long 

 enough to set the wheel in the car. Finally 

 he got very red in the face, and talked pretty 

 roughly. At this juncture I concluded that 

 what could not be cured would have to be en- 

 dured ; and, to tell the truth, one of my fa- 

 vorite passages of scripture began to push its 

 way into my mind, especially that part of it 

 which says, " Pray for them for which despite- 

 fuUy use you and per.secute you." I did not 

 expect my praytr to be answered ; in fact, I 

 am ashamed to say I hardly ever do, even 

 when I follow the dear Savior's directions as I 

 did then. I stopped so abruptly, and took it 

 so meekly, the conductor must have been a 

 little surprised, for he came back after a little 

 while and sat down beside me and said he 

 was mistaken in saying I would have to wait 

 till 5 o'clock to get my Mheel. Said he, 

 "This train does not stop at Maywood, but 

 the next one does. You get off at the next 

 station, wait for the train after this, and you 

 will find your wheel on that train, and reach 

 Maywood a little after 2 o'clock. 



In due time the train brought up at the sta- 

 tion where I was waiting ; and after catching 

 a glimpse of my wheel in the baggage car I 

 jumped aboard with a light heart. Imagine 

 my consternation, however, to see a fellow 

 standing on the platform with i)iy wheel about 

 as soon as the train had got under fair head- 

 way. I called to him that that wheel was to 

 be put on that train. He replied he had orders 

 to take it off, and I was in a stew again. In 

 fact, I meditated jumping off the train while 

 it was under pretty good motion, for I could 

 not be happy just then and there without that 

 wheel. Pretty soon I became settled again, 

 and tried to think of some more scripture 

 texts to fit the occasion. Then the conductor 

 came along and informed me that tliat train 

 did not stop at Mavwood either — that I would 

 have to get off at the next station and wait for 

 a train later, where I would find my wheel. 

 Now, the above little incident illustrates sev- 

 eral things. First, the great railroads that run 

 in and out of Chicago like the spokes of a 

 wheel are running trains one after the other 

 every few minutes. Some stop at the little 

 stations, and some do not. Another truth is, 

 at least soine of the railroad men know what 

 they are doing, even if one conductor should 

 not ; and if I had kept my check in my pock- 

 et, and simply obeyed orders, without getting 

 into a fret, my wheel and myself would both 

 have been landed at Maywood a little after 2 

 o'clock, just as the agent told me who sold me 

 the ticket. When I got on the platform at 



