The Life of the Bee 
but in this instance as in all others the 
queen was alive, unharmed, and full of 
vigour; and the last of her companions 
had probably passed away in the act of 
presenting the last drop of honey she 
held in her sac to the queen, who was 
symbol of a life more precious, more vast, 
than. her own. 
[ 28 J 
This unwavering affection having come 
under the notice of man, he was able ta 
turn to his own advantage the qualities to 
which it gives rise, or that it perhaps con- 
tains: the admirable political sense, the 
passion for work, the perseverance, mag- 
nanimity, and devotion to the future. 
It has allowed him, in the course of 
the last few years, to a certain extent 
to domesticate these intractable insects, 
though without their knowledge; for 
they yield to no foreign strength, and 
88 
