Und] AND SYMBOLS. 367 



is disturbed by the quarrels of male with male or worker with 

 worker ; but these combats are not deadly. Never, moreover, 

 lias one nest of wasps been known to declare war against 

 another for the purpose of robbing it. The government of 

 wasps, says M. Victor Rendu, explains very well the gentle- 

 ness of their public conduct Amongst them there are no 

 despots; no one either reigns or governs, each one lives at 

 liberty in a free city, on the sole condition of never being a 

 burden to the state. They all act in concert, without privileges 

 or monopolies, under the influence of a common law the great 

 law of the public good from which no one is exempted. Why 

 should these creatures have a bad name ? I. 



Undesigned Services. 



In performing properly our duties in the world, we may often 

 be the means of effecting good of a character and to an extent 

 altogether beyond either our calculation or design. Like 

 the humble bees, we may accomplish unpremeditated service, 

 and be, like them, quite ignorant of the fact. Mr. Darwin 

 believes, from observations made over a series of years, that 

 humble bees are indispensable to the fertilisation of the heart's- 

 ease (Viola tricolor), as it is the only set of bees which visit that 

 flower. He has tried experiments which convince him that the 

 visits of bees are almost indispensable to the fertilisation of our 

 clovers. He has observed that humble bees alone visit the 

 common red-clover, as other bees cannot reach the nectar. And 

 he has very little doubt that, if the whole genus of humble bees 

 became extinct or very rare in England, the heart's-ease and red 

 clover would become very rare, or wholly disappear. So that 

 these bees, in going about their own business, perform unin- 

 tentionally a most useful service to mankind. It is impossible 

 to assess the limits of the influence of any act, even the act of 

 a bee. The creature which is true to its instincts may render 

 to creation marvellous services unawares. MU. 



Undesirable Protectors. 



When the policeman whom we have called interferes with 

 civil liberty which has not been forfeited, or the lawyer, in con- 



