The Life of the Bee 
wing on which delicate perfumes float, the 
guide of the quivering light-ray, the song 
of the slumberous, languid air; and their 
flight is the token, the sure and melodious 
note, of all the myriad fragile joys that are 
born in the heat and dwell in the sunshine. 
They teach us to tune our ear to the softest, 
most intimate whisper of these good, natural 
hours. To him who has known them and 
loved them, a summer where there are no 
bees becomes as sad and as empty as one 
without flowers or birds. 
22 
The man who never before has beheld 
the swarm of a populous hive must regard 
this riotous, bewildering spectacle with some 
apprehension and diffidence. He will be 
almost afraid to draw near; he will wonder 
can these be the earnest, the peace-loving, 
hard-working bees whose movements he 
has hitherto followed? It was but a few 
moments before he had seen them troop 
in from all parts of the country, as pre- 
occupied, seemingly, as little housewives 
60 
