THE QUEEN OF THE BEES. 91 “From the inside could be heard a continuous low buzzing, which grew louder till she had passed. “That drew my attention; I saw that some strange mystery lay beneath all this. But imagine my astonishment, on re-entering the kitchen, to hear the blind girl say in a melancholy voice,— © «No, dear father, I would rather not see to-day, than be distressed in so doing. I shall sing, I shall do something to wile away the time, but the bees shall not go out.’ *“ Whilst she was speaking thus, I was looking at Walter Young, who, glancing through the little windows, simply replied,— “You are right, my child; yes, you are right. Besides there isn’t any thing very particular to see, the valley is all white. Pooh, it isn’t worth the trouble of looking at.’ “And as I stood dumb with amazement, the girl resumed,— . ““< What splendid weather we had the day be- fore yesterday! Whoever would have thought that the storm from the lake would have brought so much mist? Now we must fold up our wings and crawl along like poor caterpillars.’ «Then after a short pause,— “¢ How happy I was under the tall fir-trees of the Grindelwald! How the honey-dew rained from the sky! It fell on all the branches. What a harvest we had, dear, what aharvest!... And how sweet the air was on the shores of the lake, in the rich meadows of the Tannemath, and the green moss and the balmy air! I sang, I laughed. Wax and honey were filling our cells. How delicious it was to be every where, to see every thing, to buzz in the depth of the woods, on the mountains, in the valleys!’ «‘ Again there was a pause. Open-mouthed and staring I listened with all my ears, not knowing what to think or say. «¢¢ And when it rained,’ said she, smiling, ‘ how frightened we were! And how that great clap of thunder terrified us! A huge humble-bee, hiding under the same fern as myself, winked at each flash of lightning; a large grasshopper sheltered itself beneath its own great green wings, and a few poor little crickets climbed up to a tall poppy to escape the deluge. But the most terrible of all was that nest of birds quite close to us amongst the bushes; the mother used to flutter from right to left, and the little birds opened their large yellow beaks so wide that we could see all down their throats. Weren't we frightened! my goodness! weren't we frightened? I shall never forget it! Thank heaven, a gust of wind blew us over the hill-side. Farewell, baskets, the vintage is over. We must not expect to go out again just yet.’ “There was no longer room for uncertainty after hearing these glowing descriptions of nature. «The blind girl sees,’ I said, ‘inwardly. She sees by means of thousands of eyes; the bee-house is her life, her soul: each bee carries part of it into space, then returns, drawn by invisible threads. Her soul dwells in the flowers and the mosses; it revels in their perfume; when the sun shines, it is every where ; on the hills, in the valleys, in the forests, as far as its sphere of attraction extends.’ “Twas amazed at this extraordinary magnetism, and exclaimed to myself,— ““*Wfonour, glory, honour to the power, the wisdom, the infinite kindness of the Almighty ! To Him nothing is impossible. Each day, cach moment of our existence reveals His greatness! “Whilst I was absorbed in these enthusiastic meditations, Reesel addressed me softly, with a sweet smile,— “ ¢ Monsteur Vétranger,’ said she. “<¢ Yes, my child.’ *“¢ You are very much astonished, and you are not the first: the rector Hégel of Neufchatel, and other travellers have come here on purpose to see me; they think I am blind. You thought so too, didn’t you ?’ “¢J did, dear child, and I thank the Lord that I was mistaken.’ “Oh!” said she, ‘I hear that you are kind; yes, I can tell it by your voice. When the sun comes out again, I shall open my eyes to see you, and when you go, I shall accompany you as far as the foot of the hill’ “Then with an innocent little laugh,— “¢ Yes, I shall make music in your ears,’ said she. ‘I shall rest upon your cheek. But take care, you mustn’t try to catch me, or else I shall sting you. Promise me not to get angry.’ “¢T promise you,’ I replied, with tears in my eyes, ‘and I also promise you never again to kill bees, or insects of any kind whatever, unless they be noxious.’ “¢These are the eyes of the Lord,’ murmured she ; ‘I have only my poor bees to help me to see ; but He has all the hives, all the ant-hills, all the leaves in the wood, all the blades of grass; He lives, He feels, He loves, He suffers, He does good through all these things. Oh! Monsieur Hennétius, how much reason you have not to grieve the good God who loves us so dearly!’ “Never before had I been so overcome with emotion, and it was only after a pause of a minute, that I was able to ask once more,— “©¢ So, dear child, you see by means of your bees; how can that be ?’ “¢T know not, Monsieur Hennétius. Perhaps it is because I love them so much. They adopted me when I was quite little ; they have never hurt | me. When I was very young I used to like to sit in the bee-house, all alone, for hours together,