CHAPTER XXVIII 
HONEY-CRAFT OLD AND NEW 
"THERE never comes, in early April, that first 
bright hot day which means the beginning of 
outdoor work on the bee-farm, but I fall to think- 
ing of old times with a great longing to have them 
back again. 
Modern beemanship, at least to the wide-awake 
folk in the craft, brings in gold pieces now where 
formerly one had much ado to make shillings. But 
profit cannot always be reckoned in money. The 
old mysteries and the old delusions were a sort of 
capital that paid cent per cent if you only humoured 
them aright. Bee-men, who flourished when there 
was a young queen upon the threne, wore their 
ignorance as the parson his silk and lawn. It was 
something that set them apart and above their 
neighbours. All that the bees did was put to their 
credit, just for the trouble of a wise wag of the 
head and a little timely reticence. The organ- 
blower worked in full view of the congregation, 
while the player sat invisibly within, so the blower, 
after the common trend of earthly affairs, got all 
the glory for the tune. 
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