The Halicti : the Portress 



ever deserts her post. Not once do I see her 

 leave her house to go and seek some refresh- 

 ment from the flowers. Her age and her se- 

 dentary occupation, which involves no great 

 fatigue, perhaps relieve her of the need of 

 nourishment. Perhaps, also, the young ones 

 returning from their plundering may from 

 time to time disgorge a drop of the contents 

 of their crops for her benefit. Fed or unfed, 

 the old one no longer goes out. 



But what she does need is the joys of an 

 active family. Many are deprived of these. 

 The Gnat's burglary has destroyed the busy 

 household. The sorely-tried Bees abandon 

 the deserted burrow. It is these who, ragged 

 and careworn, wander through the village. 

 When they move, their flight is only a short 

 one; more often they remain motionless. It 

 is they who, soured in their tempers, attack 

 their fellows and seek to dislodge them. They 

 grow rarer and more languid from day to 

 day; then they disappear for good. What 

 has become of them ? The little Grey Lizard 

 had his eye on them: they are easily snapped 

 up. 



Those settled in their own demesne, those 

 who guard the honey-factory wherein their 



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