SOLOMON AND THE QUEEN OF SHEBA. n 



were sorely grieved that the sagacity of the King should be at fault, 

 and his superhuman wisdom at last fail. But, lo, the spirit of 

 wisdom came upon the King in his perplexity. Observing some 

 bees clustering outside, he ordered the window to be opened, and 

 soon the bees came swarming into the court, and after hovering 

 for a moment about the one wreath, they straightway left it and 

 settled upon the other, which observing, " That" said the King, 

 " that, and not the other, is the wreath of the flowers that grew 

 from out the earth and in the sun, and were not fashioned with 

 hands." And the Queen was mightily surprised at the exceeding 

 wisdom of the King, and did obeisance unto Solomon, laying the 

 wreaths of flowers upon the steps of the ivory throne that was 

 overlaid with gold, and of which there was not the like made in 

 any kingdom. And the courtiers, and the princes, and the servants 

 of the King clapped their hands and cried, " King ! live for 

 ever." If we are wise and judge aright, we shall always, like the 

 bees of Solomon, be attracted by nature rather than by art, how- 

 ever beautiful. Our doctrine was never, perhaps, so briefly and 

 pithily enforced as by the Macedonian conqueror on a certain 

 occasion. A courtier one day asked him to listen to him how well 

 he could, whistling, imitate the notes of the nightingale. Alex- 

 ander declined the proffered musical entertainment with the con- 

 temptuous remark, " / have heard the nightingale herself." No 

 wonder that the would-be melodist slunk away abashed ; and such 

 be the fate of all mere echoers and imitators when at any time 

 they claim more than is their due, or would have us appraise their 

 pinchbeck at the value of sterling gold. There is an amount of 

 truth, and a hidden meaning and beauty, in Byron's lines, that 

 he was himself perhaps unconscious of in the ribald mood of the 

 moment, when, alluding to the statuary's art, he exclaimed 



" I've seen much finer women, ripe and real, 

 Than all the nonsense of their stone ideal." 



