The Life of the Bee 



but in this instance as in all others the 

 queen was alive, unharmed, and full of 

 vigour ; and the last of her companions 

 had probably passed away in the act of 

 presenting the last drop of honey she 

 held in her sac to the queen, who was 

 symbol of a life more precious, more vast, 

 than her own. 



[ 28 ] 



This unwavering affection having come 

 under the notice of man, he was able to 

 turn to his own advantage the qualities to 

 which it gives rise, or that it perhaps con- 

 tains : the admirable political sense, the 

 passion for work, the perseverance, mag- 

 nanimity, and devotion to the future. 

 It has allowed him, in the course of 

 the last few years, to a certain extent 

 to domesticate these intractable insects, 

 though without their knowledge ; for 

 they yield to no foreign strength, and 



88 



