The Life of the Bee 
these, though a trifle languid perhaps, are 
still immovably faithful to the duty a 
precise destiny has laid upon them, still 
conscious of the part that they have them- 
selves to play; they resume their labours, 
therefore, fill as best they can the place 
of those who have gone, remove all trace 
of the orgy, carefully house the provisions 
that have escaped pillage, sally forth to 
the flowers again, and keep scrupulous 
guard over the hostages of the future. 
And for all that the moment may 
appear gloomy, hope abounds wherever 
the eye may turn. We might be in one 
of the castles of German legend, whose 
walls are composed of myriad phials con- 
taining the souls of men about to be born. 
For we are in the abode of life that goes 
before life. On all sides, asleep in their 
closely sealed cradles, in this infinite 
superposition of marvellous six-sided cells, 
lie thousands of nymphs, whiter than 
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