THE CHRTSIS. 21 



•wishes to fly ; she comes out ; but the other, justly irritated, 

 pounces upon the daring intruder, beating it with her head. 

 She bruises and tears 'the brilliant gauze of her -wings, and 

 beats her down to the dust, where she falls stupified and 

 inanimate. 



The bee then enters into her nest, and deposits and prepares 

 her provisions; but, stUl agitated with her combat and her 

 ■victory, she sets out again through the air. I follow her 

 with my eyes for a long time, and at last she disappears. 



The poor chrysis is not, however, dead : she gets up again, 

 shakes herself, flutters, and attempts to fly; but her lacerated 

 wings will no longer support her. What can she do to escape 

 the fury of her enemy? It is npt her business to fly away; 

 her business is to deposit her egg in the bee's nest, and to 

 secure future provision for her ofepring, but the bee came 

 back too soon. She ascends, climbing painfuUy: at times 

 her strength seems to fail her; she is forced to stop, but 

 at last she arrives — she enters — she is in! This time the 

 interest is for her. Just now she was only beautiful, now she 

 is very unfortunate. I am aware that a long plea might be 

 made for the other. I should not like to be appointed judge 

 between them. Ah ! she is out agam — she flies away ! But 

 oh, how ha^py she is to have succeeded! Now I begin to 

 feel for the bee. The poor bee continues to bring provisions 

 for its young, which, nevertheless will die of hunger: she 

 makes fresh journeys to the flowers she loves; she places 

 herself on the catkins of the willow, upon the white flowers 

 of the arbutus, that beautiful evergreen tree, whose blossoms /-t/'. 

 resemble those of the lily of the valley, and whose fruits are „ 

 like strawberries; she stops also on the berries of the yew, ^*-'>^^ 

 that poor tree, so tormented in our gardens, by being tor- 

 tured into globes, squares, vases, swans, peacocks — a good, 

 kind tree, which lends itself to everything, and is naturally 

 abused. 



Were I to watch, one after the other, all the flies which 

 shine in the sun upon my house, the insects which c onceal 

 themselves in the flowers of the wistaria, to suck honey from 

 them, and the insects which insinuate themselves to eat those 

 honey suckers; the caterpillars which crawl upon the leaves, 

 and the enemies of those caterpillars and those butterflies — 



