THE SWARM 



prerogfatives of maternal predestination), 

 and then, her loss once known, after two 

 or three hours, perhaps, for the city is 

 vast, work will cease in almost every 

 direction. The young will no longer be 

 cared for ; part of the inhabitants will 

 wander in every direction, seeking their 

 mother, in quest of whom others will 

 sally forth from the hive; the workers 

 engaged in constructing the comb will 

 fall asunder and scatter, the foragers no 

 longer \y\\\ visit the flowers, the guard at 

 the entrance will abandon their post; 

 and foreign marauders, all the parasites 

 of honey, forever on the watch for 

 opportunities of plunder, will freely enter 

 and lea\e v^ithout any one giving a 

 thought to the defence of the treasure 

 Ess] 



