New-York tribune., 1901-08-11

all movement slowly dies away In the dome
and for long hours this strange inverted cone
will wait in silence that almost seems awful
In Stiffness one might regard religious. for
the mystery of wax TO appear.
OF the architectural features which presently
reveal themselves as the evolution of the hive
proceeds NJ. Maeterinck writes with kr ding
enthusiasm. He has witnessed the labOrs of hi
tiny friends over the laying of the foundations
of their city he has seen them making passages
and streets; he has discerned in the erection of
their buildings the operation of genius not
only for stability, but for ventilation In il
lustratiOn of their 'fanatical' cleanliness and
their almost uncanny resource he cites their
method of disposing of the body of IN
truder too large TO be carried out of the hive
A mouse, for example, being stung to death
they Will proceed methOdically and hermetical-
ly to inclose it in a vertable sepulchre of pro-
polls and wax In one of his hives the author
recently discovered three such tombs inclos:ng
the remains of three snails. They stood side
tV side, erected with party walls, like the cells
of the comb, so that no wax should be wasted.
These pages abound in Similarly curious de-
tails, to which NJ. Maeterlinck lends added
interest through his exposition of them en-
veloped and controlled by what he terms the
spirit of the hive" With his temperament it
inevitable that the element in the life of
the bee most fascinating to him should be just
this obscure law which governs the laborous
little city. 1t is law to which even the queen
bee herself, otherwise supreme, is subject and
the extent to which it impresses itself upon the
imagination of an apiarist like NJ. Maeterlinck
is proportioned to it's extraordinary scope in the
hive-it imposes not simply habits of daily
istence upon the bee but makes self-sacrifice
the portion of every member of that strange
hierarchy, compelling them to abandon their
home precisely as they have brought it to per-
fection and have stored it with treasure.
Here, obviously, is the opening for the Belgian
writer's speculative impulse, and he improves
it with unfagging industry with unmeasured
enjoyment of the opportunity; yet, as we have
already stated he keeps himself under control.
The book is rich in imaginative suggestion, but
it is never forced or difficult of comprehension.
On the contrary, his pursuit of the workings
of .the spirit of the hive is steered so deftly
away from dogmatsm and caprice, is so con-
sistently tentative and reverent that it never
once lures the reader away from the tangible
matters in hand 1t leaves with our precious
ignorance, curious to know the why and where
fore of many a phenomenon, but with our con-
viction of the spirituality in nature not only
undiminished, but fortified. Science tells US
much about the bee. Nj. Maeterlinck, who is
ever faithful to science in his inquiry, is also
faithful to the spirit. After all he has learned,
and with his knowledge of natures facts
strengthening and clarifying his book, ne closes
the latter on a note of wistful humility before
natures unseen forces This volume. far more
than anything else he has ever published, COM
mends itself in wisdom and in charm TO the
lover of literature