THE TERRIBLE. 



fearfully in some parts. Suspended in the recesses 

 of these marble rocks are numerous large hornets' 

 nests, the inmates of which are ready to descend 

 upon any unlucky wight who may venture to dis- 

 turb their repose. Now, as the boats of these 

 European surveyors were passing up the river, a 

 cloud of these insects overwhelmed them; the 

 boatmen as well as the two gentlemen jumped 

 overboard, but, alas ! Mr. Boddington, who swam 

 and had succeeded in clinging to a marble block, 

 was again attacked, and being unable any longer 

 to resist the assaults of the countless hordes of his 

 infuriated winged foes, threw himself into the 

 depths of the water, never to rise again. On the 

 fourth day his corpse was discovered floating on 

 the water, and was interred with every mark of 

 respect. The other gentleman, Mr. Armstrong, 

 and his boatmen, although very severely stung, 

 are out of danger." 



Such is the story as narrated in the Times of 

 Jan. 28, 1859. But I have the pleasure of being 

 personally acquainted with some of the members 

 of the family of Mr. Armstrong, who have assured 

 me that the insects were not hornets, as repre- 

 sented, but honey-bees; it may be not the hive-bee 

 domesticated with us, but a species well known 

 as making honey. Whatever the true nature of 

 the insect, it affords an apt illustration of such 

 passages of Holy Scripture as the following: — 

 "The Lord shall hiss for . . . the bee that is in 

 the land of Assyria.'' (Isa. vii. 18.) "The Lord 

 thy God will send the hornet among them, until 

 they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, 

 be destroyed." (Deut. vii. 20.) 



And with this we shut up our "chamber of 

 horrors." 



255 



