PERFECT SOCIETIES OF INSECTS. 201 



ber, when a boy, seeing the celebrated Wildman exhibit 

 many feats of this kind, to the great astonishment and 

 apprehension of the uninformed spectators. The writer 

 lately quoted (Thorley) was assisted once by his maid- 

 servant to hive a swarm. Being rather afraid, she put 

 a linen cloth as a defence over her head and shoulders. 

 When the bees were shaken from the tree on which 

 they had alighted, the queen probably settled upon this 

 cloth ; for the whole swarm covered it, and then getting 

 under it, spread themselves over her face, neck, and 

 bosom, so that when the cloth was removed she was 

 quite a spectacle. She was with great difficulty kept 

 from running off with all the bees upon her; but at 

 length her master quieted her fears, and began to search 

 for the queen. He succeeded ; and hoped when he put 

 her into the hive that the bees would follow ; but they 

 only seemed to cluster more closely. Upon a second 

 search he found another queen, (unless the same had 

 escaped and returned,) whom seizing, he placed in the 

 hive. The bees soon missed her, and crowded after 

 her into it : so that in the space of two or three minutes 

 not one was left upon the poor terrified girl. After this 

 escape, she became (juite a heroine, and would under- 

 take the most hazardous employments about the hives \ 

 Many means have been had recourse to for the dis- 

 persion of mobs and the allaying of popular tumults. In 

 St. Petersburgh (so travellers say) a fire-engine playing 

 upon them does not always cool their choler ; but were 

 a few hives of bees thus employed, their discomfiture 

 would be certain. The experiment has been tried. 



' ThorlcY loO— 



