The Halicti : the Portress 



Well, which of the survivors, all equally 

 entitled to the succession, will inherit the 

 house? There are six of them, seven, or 

 more, according to the chances of mortality. 

 To whose share will the maternal dwelling 

 fall? 



There is no quarrel between the interested 

 parties. The mansion is recognized as com- 

 mon property without dispute. The sisters 

 come and go peacefully through the same 

 door, attend to their business, pass and let the 

 others pass. Down at the bottom of the pit, 

 each has her little demesne, her group of cells 

 dug at the cost of fresh toil, when the old ones, 

 now insufficient in number, are occupied. In 

 these recesses, which are private estates, each 

 mother works by herself, jealous of her pro- 

 perty and of her privacy. Every elsewhere, 

 traffic is free to all. 



The exits and entrances in the working 

 fortress provide a spectacle of the highest in- 

 terest. A harvester arrives from the fields, 

 the feather-brushes of her legs powdered with 

 pollen. If the door be open, the Bee at once 

 dives underground. To tarry on the threshold 

 would mean waste of time; and the business 

 is urgent. Sometimes, several appear upon 



