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,