Worcester daily spy., 1871-07-17
A swarm of Bees.


A story is going the rounds of the newspapers
to the effect that a swarm of bees lately lit upon
boy, in Missouri, and that the father of the boy
got hG off with but one sting, (given by bee
that the child hit to keep it out of his mouth,)
by telling him to stand perfectly still, and then
removing his hat, which was covered with bees,
and placing it on bush, to which the other
bees Immediately swarmed. This is pronounced
"gammOn" by some ignoramuSes, but to every
person who knows anything OF bees it will be the
most probable thing in the world. Bees are not
offensive creatures, and million OF them might
settle upon the naked person of the Kentucky
giant, and he not be stung even once, were he
to keep perfectly quiet; but were he to move, or
endeavOr to remove them, the bees would lmme-
diately assume the offensiye-defensive mode of
making war,-that is, they would defend them
selves by offending him,-and probably sting
him TO death in a few minutes, Many,
many years ago, we lived hard by
Squire s., in the town of blank
blank state, who kept dozen hives of BEES
we hadn't got learned enough then to have
apiaries-all of which stood on long shelves un-
der menstrous plane-tree that was in the yard
in front of the squire's house; and we never
think of Plato and thyme, and Hymettus and
the drowsy hum of bees, without being re-
minded of those dear honey makers of the long,
long ago,-or the window at which we sat at
school looked right out upon the hives, and
there was always a delicious murmur going on
nlurDltT of the neighboring woods. Well one
hot day in summer, the old squire was stand
ing before his hives, bare-headed and bald
headed, like Elisha the prophet,-but with bees,
not boys, Tor bears) near him,-an1 with moth
ing on him hut his shirt and shoes, and trousers,
when the inhabitants of one of the hives sud
denly swarmed, and lit upon the venerable mans
pate, which they covered in layers two or three
inches deep, making his head-pece the most
comical piece OF humanity we ever gazed upon,
SO that we never think of it without laughing,
though the worms ate it some forty years since
creeping in and creeping out, as their manner
is, and they will with yours, sir, clever as you
think it is-and with yours madame, handsome
as it is. We suppose the bees mistook the
'squire's face for gigantic iull-blown rose of a
new pattern, which required to be looked into
Immediately, for it was of a most beautiful
new rum color, which the Squire heightened
with twelve daily applications Of internal paint,
proper Tor rather commou) practice enough
in those ante (and anti-) Temperance times
when rum was rum and punch was perfect
The squire was thoroughly up to the dodges of
the apes, and so he stood still, as stiff as an
iron ramrod that had stood the inspection of the
great Frederick. Just then Mrs. S-came to
the door of the house, and, seeing her husband
in such plight, gave the usual feminine
screech in such cases made and provided, and
then said to him, keep where you are, while
| 90 and get the broom, 10 brush 'em off"
'lm IF ] dol" thought the squire. He
then managed to grope his way to large tub
that he had just previously filled with water
from neighboring brook, for rinsing purposes,
and which stood on a high bench. Into this
water he dipped his head, slowly, till it was en-
tirely immersed, and held it there, holding his
breath at the same time, till every bee was made
sufficiently stingless to have satisfied Mr.. Eu-
gene WrayburD himself. The water swarmed
with bees, and the old gentleman swarmed into
the house with the only white face he had worn
for almost half century, and which he never
repeated till lie lay in his coffin If, reader, you
ever should be swarmed upon, do as the squire
did, and prove the excellence of the water cure.
If you could contrlve to have the water iced, so
much the better for you-and so much the worse
for the bees. (Advice gratis-anl no charge
made if even one bee should sting you Boston
Tr0peLer