THE NATURE-WRITER 129 



of the Bee," but only one of them, so far as I 

 know, had ever kept bees, and she had just a 

 single swarm in between the wall of her living- 

 room and the weather-boards outside. But she 

 had listened to them through the wall, and she 

 sent me her copy of " The Life," begging me to 

 mark on the margins wherever the Bee of the 

 book was unlike her bee in the wall. She had 

 detected a difference in the buzz of the two 

 bees. 



Now the two bees ought to buzz alike — one 

 buzz, distinct and always distinguishable from 

 the buzz of the author. In the best nature-writ- 

 ing the author is more than his matter, but he is 

 never identical with it ; and not until we know 

 which is which, and that the matter is true, have 

 we faith in the author. 



I knew a big boy once who had almost reached 

 the footprint in " Robinson Crusoe " (the tragedy 

 of almost reaching it !) when some one blunder- 

 ingly told him that the book was all a story, 

 made up, not true at all ; no such island ; no such 

 Crusoe ! The boy shut up the book and put it 

 forever from him. He wanted it true. He had 

 thought it true, because it had been so real. 



