SOME BEE LORE 55 



" He never could box the compass round; 

 He doesn't know port from starboard; 

 But he knows the gates of the sundown straits 

 Where the choicest goods are harboured. 



" He never could see the Rule of Three, 

 But he knows a rule of thumb 

 Better than Euclid's, better than yours, 

 Or the teachers' yet to come. 



" He drones along with his rough sea-song, 

 And the throat of a salty tar. 

 This devil-may-care, till he makes his lair, 

 By the light of a yellow star. 



" He looks like a gentleman, lives like a lord, 

 And works like a Trojan hero; 

 Then loafs all winter upon his hoard, 

 With the mercury at zero." 



