120 THE LORE OF THE HONEY-BEE 



whole nation. Before her marriage-flight she was 

 the least considered of all the colony ; now she is 

 welcomed home with public ovation ; lauded, fed, 

 and fondled ; set up in the high place, a living 

 symbol of the tens of thousands unborn. As in 

 olden, savage times, the royal festivals had their 

 human sacrifices, so this paramount day in the 

 perfected communism of the bee-people must vent 

 its rejoicing in slaughter. But it is not tribute of 

 common slaves that is now to redden the State- 

 shambles, nor will the work fall to the common 

 executioner's knife. There are captive queens in 

 the citadel — a royal sacrifice ready to hand, and a 

 royal blade hungering for the task. Once the 

 queen has proved her intrinsic motherhood, and 

 the first few worker-eggs have been laid in the 

 comb, the guards will stand away from the royal 

 prison-cells and let her wreak her will upon them. 

 It is all very ghastly in a miniature way, yet very 

 queenly, as old traditions of human queenhood go. 

 She gives over her nursery-work gladly enough 

 for a moment, and flies to the slaughter, tearing 

 down the prison-doors, and putting each clamorous 

 captive fiercely to the sword. 



Apart from this tragic element of sororicide, 

 quickly over and soon forgotten in the general 

 rejoicing, there is true romance in the early life- 

 story of the Queen of the Bees — bridehood, wife- 

 hood, widowhood, following hard upon each other, 

 all in the space of a single hour. But in the 



