assists me in the accomplishment of this purpose, and with economical management keeps me free from anxiety. More than this. I am enabled sometimes to realize the truth, how much greater is the blessing "to give than to receive," for which I heartily thank my Heavenly Father.
Should you like to look still further into my domestic establishment? My agricultural and quadrupedal possessions are diminished and meagre. Never, until residing in this habitation, had I been without the appendages of gardens and a cow. Of course, I had never before fully appreciated their value. For several years after our removal thither, we continued to keep poultry, but robbers decimated them, and the servants disliked their charge, so they gradually vanished away. The only animated beings over whom I at present hold dominion, are a large pussy, and two hives of bees. Those winged chemists are my perpetual admiration. Their early explorations, their tireless industry, the mathematical symmetry of their hexagonal cells, their internal order, the mystery with which they seek to veil their habitudes, with other strong peculiarities, are a curious and pleasant study.
A German bee-master comes at stated periods to claim their sweet rental. He boldly takes them in his hands if he wishes to transfer them from one abode to another. I asked him by what art he surmounted their belligerent propensities. He simply answered, "By not