The Swarm 



pathetic welcome. They will flock eagerly 

 round her ; excited groups will climb over 

 each other in their anxiety to draw near ; 

 as she passes among them they will caress 

 her with the long antennae that contain so 

 many organs as yet unexplained ; they will 

 present her with honey, and escort her 

 tumultuously back to the royal chamber. 

 And order at once is restored, work re- 

 sumed, from the central comb of the 

 brood-cells to the furthest annex where 

 the surplus honey is stored ; the foragers 

 go forth, in long black files, to return, in 

 less than three minutes sometimes, laden 

 with nectar and pollen ; streets are swept, 

 parasites and marauders killed or expelled ; 

 and the hive soon resounds with the gentle, 

 monotonous cadence of the strange hymn 

 of rejoicing, which is, it would seem, the 

 hymn of the royal presence. 



83 



