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90 THE QUEEN OF THE BEES.

would be infinitely grander than ours ? I, for one,
have no doubt of it.

| «“<«That may be so’ you will say, ‘ but it is im-
| possible ; the human soul would sink beneath the
weight of such rapture. And besides how could
this joy be communicated to him? What organs
could convey to him every where and for ever the
feeling of universal life ?’

* Ladies, I know not ; however, listen and judge
for yourselves.
| The same day that I arrived at the chalet, I
had made a curious observation, namely, that the
blind girl was much pre-occupied with the bees.
When the wind was blowing, Resel, her face
‘buried in her hands, appeared to be listening in-
_ tently.
| Father,’ said she, ‘I think that at the far

end of the bee-house, the third hive to the right is
'still open. Go and see, for the storm comes from
the north. All the bees have gone in, and you
| can close the hive.’
“And the old man, after having gone out by a
| side-door, came back, saying,—

“¢Tt is all right; I have shut it, my child.’

“Then half an hour after, the girl, arousing
herself again as from a dream, murmured,—

«There are no more bees out now, but under-
'neath the roof of the bee-house, there are a few
waiting ; they belong to the sixth hive, near the
door. Go and open the door for them, dear
father.’

* And the old man went out immediately. He
remained more than a quarter of an hour; then he
came back and told his daughter that all was right,
and that the bees had just gone in. The child
bent her head, and replied,—

<< Thank you.’

“Then she seemed to relapse into her former
| dreamy state.
| « Standing near the fourneau, I was lost in
meditation : how could the poor blind girl know
that the bees had not gone into such a hive ? that
another hive was open? It seemed to me incon-
ceivable ; but as I had been there only an hour at
| the utmost, I did not think I had a right to ques-
tion my hosts about their daughter: it is painful
to talk to people on a subject which affects them.

“T supposed that Young yielded to the wishes of
his child, to make her believe that she was being
useful, that her foresight protected the bees from
a multitude of disasters. This idea seemed to me
the simplest ; and so I thought no more about the
matter.

“About seven o’clock, we had a supper of
cheese and milk ; and, night having fallen, Young
led me into a tolerably large room on the first
floor, furnished with a bed and a few chairs, and

panelled with pine-wood as is the case with the

greater part of Swiss chalets ; the room was sepa-
rated from the adjoining one merely by a thin
partition ; every step, every word reached the ear.

“That night I was lulled to sleep by the
whistling of the wind, and the rattling of the
window-panes, lashed by the rain.

“The next day the wind had fallen ; we were
enveloped in fog. On getting up, I saw that the
little panes were all white, lined with mist. On
opening my window, the valley presented the ap-
pearance of a steaming sea; a few fir-trees alone
projected their spear-like outlines along the jagged
mountain-ridge, out of this sea of vapour: below
the clouds were gathering in regular layers ; even
on the bosom of the lake all was calm, motionless,
silent.

“On descending to the kitchen, I found my
hosts seated round the table, taking their break-
fast.

“¢We are waiting for you,’ cried Young
cheerily.

“ «Excuse us,’ said the mother, ‘it is our break-
fast time.’

“¢Oh! don’t mention it. I have to thank you
for overlooking my laziness.’

‘‘Reesel seemed more lively than she had done
the evening before; a brighter colour glowed in
her cheeks.

“¢The wind has fallen,’ said she; ‘it has all
passed off very well.’

“ «Shall I open the bee-house ?’
Young.

«No, no, the bees would lose their way in the
fog. Besides, every thing is drenched with
rain: the bushes and the mosses are covered with
it; the poor bees would be quite drowned at the
first breath of wind. Let us wait a little... Ah!
I know they are getting tired, they want to work.
Tt always annoys them to have to eat their honey
instead of gathering more, but I don’t want to lose
any of them. We shall see how the weather is
to-morrow.’

“ The two old people listened gravely.

“Towards nine o’clock the blind girl wishéd
to pay her bees a visit; Young and Catherine
followed her; I did the same, moved by a natural
feeling of curiosity.

“ We crossed the kitchen, the door of which
opened on to a narrow terrace outside. Above this
terrace rose the roof of the bee-house; it was of
thatch, and from its eaves trailed a lovely honey-
suckle, and a few sprays of wild vine. The hives
were arranged on three shelves.

“ Reesel went from one to the other, stroking
them, and saying, softly,—

“*¢ Be patient... be patient. It’s too foggy this
morning. Oh, the little misers! how they are
grumbling !’

inquired