The Swarm 



[36] 



But enough on this point ; were I to 

 cite every instance I should never have 

 done. To return to the queen, whose 

 position in the hive, and the part that 

 she plays therein, we shall most fitly 

 describe by declaring her to be the cap- 

 tive heart of the city, and the centre 

 around which its intelligence revolves. 

 Unique sovereign though she be, she 

 is also the royal servant, the responsible 

 delegate of love, and its captive custo- 

 dian. Her people serve her and vener- 

 ate her; but they never forget that it 

 is not to her person that their homage 

 is given, but to the mission that she ful- 

 fils, and the destiny she represents. It 

 would not be easy for us to find a human 

 republic whose scheme comprised more 

 of the desires of our planet ; or a democ- 

 racy that offered an independence more 

 115 



