THE SWARM 



with honey and pollen, while each day be- 

 holds the birth of thousands of bees. The 

 overgrown males now all sally forth from 

 their cells, and disport themselves on the 

 combs ; and so crowded does the too pros- 

 perous city become that hundreds of be- 

 lated workers, coming back from the 

 flowers towards evening, will vainly seek 

 shelter within, and will be forced to spend 

 the night on the threshold, where they will 

 be decimated by the cold. 



Restlessness seizes the people, and the 

 old queen begins to stir. She feels that 

 a new destiny is being prepared. She has 

 religiously fulfilled her duty as a good 

 creatress; and from this duty done there 

 results only tribulation and sorrow. An 

 invincible power menaces her tranquillity; 

 [ 2 ] 



