52 
THE HONEY-MAKERS. 
whose flickering light, instead of the “ Light of 
life,” the papal priests conduct their services; it 
looks upon us from the faces of images ; the chil- 
dren see it in their gaily-dressed dolls ; it blooms 
in fadeless beauty in flowers that rival nature in 
brilliancy ; it seals our messages of love, of joy, 
and of sorrow. One of Shakspeare’s heroines 
says, on opening her husband’s letter, 
“ Good wax, thy leave, — Blessed be 
You Bees that made these locks of counsel;’* 
and the quaint Fuller speaks of wax as “good 
by day and night, useful in law instruments to 
seal, and in physic.” 
Bees do not find wax, like honey, already made 
for them, but it is produced from the gathered 
pollen and honey by a chemical process in the 
bodies of the insects themselves. Honey is se- 
creted by the flowers, and stored in the little cups 
at their base ; pollen is the fine dust or flower 
which covers the tops of the stamens of blossoms, 
and in which the bee rolls itself and gathers its 
burden. The quantity of wax secreted depends 
upon the consumption of honey. 
