94 EYE SPY 



that a dead mule was the more likely source, 

 which recalls the above erudite allusion of heredi- 

 tary instinct of Billings. 



Yes, if time - honored popular prejudice is to 

 be accepted, the hornet is always on the ram- 

 page, always spoiling for a fight, always " mad " ; 

 and considering how many thousands of them 

 there are abroad, and what opportunity they 

 have of mischief, it is a wonder that poor hu- 

 manity is able to put its nose out of doors with 

 impunity. 



Let us see how far this bad reputation is sus- 

 tained by the facts. What is this black paper 

 hornet (more properly wasp) doing from morning 

 till night ? Buzzing among the flowers, creeping 

 over the bruised apple windfalls in the orchard, 

 whirling and dodging about the window or fence 

 or side of the house, or perhaps darting in our 

 faces as we sit at the open window. 



Two episodes which I recall, in which this 

 white-tailed black wasp from the big paper nest 

 was conspicuous, occur to me as I write, and as 

 the two stories, taken together, will show us the 

 true character of the suspect, and what he is up 

 to all day long, I will narrate them. 



The first instance is vivid in my memory. It 

 occurred in my boyhood — my boyhood .'' how 

 many another boy remembers the same incident. 

 That same hot day in August, that same cool,. 



