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A I'lCTUUK AND A THOUOUT.
Voii. vi f.
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od with aiitcnnii! delicate organs of
touch by which they commune with
one another, ami communicate their dc
sires and wants. A strong hive will con.
tain three thousand six hundred, each of
which, in order to be assured of the pres
ence ol its Queen, touches her every day
with its antenme. Should the Queen die
or be removed, the whole colony disperse
themselves, and arc seen in the hive no
more; quitting all stores of honey which
they have lalmred to collect for themselves
and the larva;, and perishing every one.
The Queen is the hand that holds them
together. She is their inspiration to la
1)0 r. "While all can touch her daily, they
are harmonious and work with faultless
skill and precision, providing for every
need of the family. What the Queen is
to bees, such is God to society. He is
the only hand which can hold it together.
He is the only inspiration to right cllbrt.
C. U. T.
-1 PICTURE AND A THOUGHT.
In Harper's Weekly for April 20th there
is nearly a full page wood cut, La Chat
elaine, from the painting by Ungues
Merle. The engraving is a scene in
Fiance representing almsgiving in oldon
times. A fair Chatelaine, leaning upon
the arm of her knight, is putting a coin
into the hand of a beggar woman by the
wayside. In the background riso the
walls and battlements of a feudal castle
from which the Chatolain and Chatelaine
have seemingly just emerged. This pic
ture is suggestive and instructive. It
shows at a glance the paternal care of the
feudal chiefs for their poor dependents.
Society and government were then con.
structed upon the family basis. The Bar
on in his castle ruled over certain districts
or territories with little short of royal
power. He was, in a certain sense, the
father of his followers. They looked to
him both for support and protection. It
was for the Chief's interest to provide
work, so far as possible, for every person,
ami look ofler the interest of the poor and
decrepit, Sucuie in his hereditary right,
a feudal lord dared to exert his authority
over his dependents, and felt bound to pro
tcct ttiul care for every man who attached
himself to his interests. This was the
system on which society was in feudal
times built up, from the king, who was
father of the whole nation, to the petty
lord who ruled only a few pensants and
retainers. Such u construction of soci
ety as this, by which men were separated
into castes and kept there, was an out
growth from the necessities of the times.
The commonalty were not capable of tak
ing care of themselves. The exigencies
of the times compelled men to centralize
power and wealth in the hands of a few
individuals. These individuals often
abused their high prerogatives and pc
came tyrannical and oppressive. In this
they did just what men everywhere are
apt to do who have the elements of power
in their hands. A millionaire, who by rea.
son of his wealth wields a great power in
society, can be.ncarly as tyrannical as these
feudal lords could be. They may sap the
very life from thousands of men who are
dependent upon them for their daily
broad. The nobility of oldbn times were
not to be censured for the power which
they wielded, so long as they omployed
that power justly. The people chose to
have them wield this power, to stand, so
to speak, as the fathers ol their respective
communities, and to hold the whip, which,
though it often scourged themselves, was
yet the means of holding them together
in communities, of protecting them from
anarchy at home and foes from abroad.
Neither are the money kings in our own
country, who in a certain sense stand in
the same relation to society as did the
nobility of olden times, to be censured for
the power which they are able to obtain
so long as theyjdo not abuse their right.
It it the business of the man of wealth
to furnish systematized labor to men who
have not the capabilities ol earning their