A Temperance Lesson for the Hornets. 165 



was n't. Perhaps, also, I should have put temptation 

 out of his way ; for I knew that all hornets, especially 

 yellow-jackets, are hopeless topers when they get a 

 chance ; that when a wasp discovers a fermenting 

 apple, it is all up with his steady habits ; that when a 

 nest of them discover a cider mill, all work, even the 

 care of the young, is neglected. They take to drink- 

 ing, and get utterly demoralized. But in the interest 

 of a new experiment I forgot true kindness, and left 

 the tumbler where it was. 



The next day, at noon, he was stretched out on the 

 sill, drunk again. For three days he kept up his 

 tippling, coming out when the sun shone warmly, and 

 going straight to the fatal tumbler. On the fourth 

 day he paid the penalty of his intemperance. 



The morning was very bright, and the janitor had 

 left the hornet's window slightly open. At noon he 

 was lying on the window sill, drunk as usual. I was 

 in a hurry to take a train, and neglected to close the 

 window. Late at nio-ht, when I came back to mv 

 room, he was gone. He was not on the sill, nor on 

 the floor, nor under the window cushions. His nest 

 in the casing, where I had so often watched him 

 asleep, was empty. Taking a candle, I went out to 

 search under the window. There I found him in the 

 snow, his legs curled up close to his body, frozen stiff 

 with the drip of the eaves. 



