THE FAERY YEAR 



raised to life, is severe on the errors of other 

 authorities : for instance, on Rousden, a rival. 

 Rousden perhaps paid too much heed to Virgil, 

 who said that the bees fetched their young from the 

 flowers, and who wrote of the king bee instead of 

 the queen. Anyhow, Rousden broached the theory 

 that there was a king bee as well as a queen. 

 Warder complains of the " antiquated imperti- 

 nences " and the " unexperienc'd whimseys " of 

 such erroneous authors. Bee literature bred a good 

 deal of heat in later times, when Huish attacked 

 Huber with the truculence of Charles Waterton 

 himself. 



Ringdove Flights 



To watch, week by week, winter relax its hold 

 on the earth is one of the elemental pleasures in 

 life. Whilst the sense to watch and the health to 

 enjoy remain, this pleasure does not lessen. The 

 stealing years may add to it, not take away. The 

 many little signs and sights with which we concern 

 ourselves in the field or wood, that make up, as a 

 whole, the delicious ache for spring, cannot be 

 caught and kept in the cells of language. The 

 chaffinch is growing rosier to-day to-morrow an 

 indistinct something of yellow and red may be 

 noticed about the tips of the yew-tree twigs. We 

 cannot express in terms of pleasure what we feel 

 about these familiar things there is no adequate 

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