§viii.] HUBER'S HIVE. 133 



superior man, and rose by his worth to become chiefmagis- 

 trate of his native village. In later years ' Ruber's son 

 Pierre rendered important aid. We quote the following 

 from " Memoirs of Huber " by Professor de CandoUe : — 

 "We have seen the blind shine as poets, and distinr 

 guish themselves as philosophers, musicians, and calcu- 

 lators ; but it was reserved for Huber to give a lustre to 

 his class in the sciences of observation, and on objects 

 so minute that the most clear-sighted observer can 

 scarcely perceive them. The reading of the works of 

 Reaumur and Bonnet, and the conversation of the 

 latter, directed his curiosity to the history of bees. 

 His habitual residence in the country inspired him with 

 the desire, first of verifying some facts, then of filling 

 some blanks in their history ; but this kind of observa- 

 tion required not only the use of such an instrument as 

 the optician must fiirnish, but an intelligent assistant, 

 who alone could adjust it to its use. He had then a 

 servant named Francis Burnens, remarkable for his 

 sagacity and for the devotion he bore his master. 

 Huber practised him in the art of observation, directed 

 him to his researches by questions adroitly combined, 

 and, aided by the recollections of his youth and by the 

 testimonies of his wife and friends, he rectified the 

 assertions of his assistant, and became enabled to form 

 in his own mind a true and perfect image of the mani- 

 fest facts. ' I am much more certain,' said he, smiling, 

 to a scientific friend, ' of what I state than you are, for 



