358 The Honey-Makers 



yet there are some among us who could not with impunity 

 handle a swarm of bees even under these circumstances. 



There is no doubt that bees are friendly to some and 

 unfriendly to others, the exact cause for their likes and 

 dislikes being as inscrutable perhaps as the afiSnities 

 and repulsions which people oftentimes feel for each 

 other. 



By some it is believed that the possession of certain 

 herbs will attract bees to an individual. The belief in the 

 influence of these herbs upon bees is widespread. 



There is a European plant, variously called Melia, 

 Melissa, Melittis, Melianthus and Honey-blossom, though 

 probably it is Melissa Officinalis or our common Bee Balm, 

 which was formerly believed to have the power of drawing 

 bees to the hive where it was placed. 



It is noteworthy that in Germany the plant believed to 

 entice bees to the hive is also called Mutterkraut (mother 

 herb) and is considered heahng to mothers. 



There is another curiously suggestive superstition con- 

 nected with this plant, which is that he who carries it with 

 him can lead cattle wherever he wishes. 



The nymphs, as we know, and sometimes the muses, 

 had their origin in bees, — • whence in latter times came 

 the legend that good and industrious women also had 

 their origin in bees, and certain names of women are still 

 in vogue whose original significance may have been derived 

 from the legend. 



Melissa, as a name for women, no doubt had originally 

 the meaning belonging to -the word in Greek mythology, 

 though few of the Melissas of to-day suspect the significant 

 and complimentary character of their name as used by the 

 Greeks of antiquity. 



In French we have Melisse and M^lite, modifications 

 of Melissa. 



