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SINCE READING MAETERLINCK.

I used to think the honey-bee
A harmless little fellow,
An animated symphony
Done up in brown and yellow,
But since I read my Maeterlinck
I really don't know what to think!

Such marvellous sagacity
And delicate acumen,
Such zeal and pertinacity
Are really more than human;
Such order, industry and law
Inspire me with the deepest awe.

Republican in principle
Is laid their constitution,
And every little waxen cell
Accords with evolution;
Their national life is most complex—
Nor merely to be thought reflex!