On the Threshold of the Hive 



tains so much that is wonderful does 

 not warrant our seeking to add to its 

 wonders. Besides, I myself have now for 

 a long time ceased to look for anything 

 more beautiful in this world, or more 

 interesting, than the truth; or at least 

 than the effort one is able to make 

 towards the truth. I shall state nothing, 

 therefore, that I have not verified myself, 

 or that is not so fully accepted in the 

 text-books as to render further verifica- 

 tion superfluous. My facts shall be as 

 accurate as though they appeared in a 

 practical manual or scientific monograph, 

 but I shall relate them in a somewhat 

 livelier fashion than such works would 

 allow, shall group them more harmoni- 

 ously together, and blend them with 

 freer and m.ore mature reflections. The 

 reader of this book will not learn there- 

 from how to manage a hive ; but he will 

 know more or less all that can with any 



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